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After spending a day in Auckland, we decided that it was a great city but we knew we didn't want to be living in downtown hostels for two weeks. We started doing some reasearch about our options and found out we could be a member of WWOOF: worldiwde opportunities on organic farms. Essentially, you work on a farm in exchange for accommodation and food. I started digging into it (no pun intended) when I realized that there was likely to be a chance that we could work with horses... which given my history with horses, it was something I was excited about. I found an ad posted by a family who owns a horse ranch and cattle farm and decided to reach out to them. That afternoon they called me and we arranged for Karin and I to be on the train to their farm the very next day.
The family is wonderful. The grandparents live on the property, the brother owns the neighboring property, and the cousins own the next neighborining property. The family who owns the property I am on is a husband and wife and their two kids who are 6 and 8. The land is stunning. It is greener than green rolling hills and on one side is the Tasman Bay and on the other is the Pacific Ocean. Karin and I are staying in the "bunker" which is an old barn they transformed into a giant guest house. It is bare minimal, but has everything we need. It is about a five minute walk from the main house, but they gave us a four wheeler to ride back and forth. Our work includes everything from helping around with the horses to basic house work and cooking. It doesn't even feel like we are working... especially when I get to be with the horses.
We will be here until Dad and Charlie come, and I can already tell that I am going to be sad to leave.
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