Farewell Turangi

It's been nice these past two weeks living in Turangi & taking care of the little farmlet. I'm glad I got to experience what it's like to take care of chickens & the rest of the animals. Now it's time to move on. Wellington, here I come!

Rafting New Zealand

I went rafting today down the Tongariro River, which flows through the volcanic bed of the ancient Taupo volcano. Our trip was a lazy Class 3. The river flowed calmly over low rapids, & was surrounded on either side by high cliffs covered in pine trees. The 4-hour trip usually costs $120 NZD, but I got my trip for half price!

This is not my group, but you get the idea:

Halfway through the trip, we stopped off at a side canyon, waded a few hundred meters in & came to a cascading waterfall. New Zealand really is amazingly beautiful.

The water was about 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). Brrrr!! Good thing we had wetsuits on! (Not the guy in the picutre. He was a guide, so was manly enough to go without.)

Life on the farmlet

7:30 - Get up & start morning chores

Feed the cats
Feed the dogs
Feed the chickens
Pick up the chicken poop
Pick up the dog poop

8:30 - Relax on the porch with a cup of coffee

9:00 - Turn on the computer & start working

10:30 - Break

Feed the chickens
Pick up the chicken poop
Take the dogs to the park

12:00 - Lunch

Feed the horses some plums from the tree
Forage in the horse paddock for blackberries

3:30 - Afternoon break

Feed the chickens
Pick up the chicken poop

5:30 - Dinner time

Feed the cats
Feed the dogs
Feed the chickens
Pick up the chicken poop

8:30 - Bedtime for the animals

Put the dogs to bed
Feed the chickens
Pick up the chicken poop

10:00 - Bedtime for me

Shower
Crawl into bed with a book

12:00 - Lights out

Housesitting in Turangi

As I've said before, I love housesitting because it feels much more like home than any hotel would - even if it's someone else's home. Many people say they don't like to visit touristy sites when they travel, that they prefer to see how the real people live. Well, this is certainly the way to do it!

I'm currently in Turangi, New Zealand, on the southwest side of Lake Taupo. I'm staying at a small farmlet about a kilometer from the center of town. There's a decent-sized vegetable garden & a few fruit trees around the property. My companions include two dogs, two cats & five chickens, & our neighbors are two beautiful horses.

I'll be spending two weeks here taking care of the animals as I continue to teach English online. There are a lot of hiking trails around here, & there's kayaking on the river. Plus, there is a bit of thermal activity in the area, so I'll have the chance to relax in some hot springs while I'm here.

Hamilton --> Turangi

I'm two-thirds of the way through my stay in New Zealand. After spending two months in the Hamilton area, I'm heading south today to spend a couple of weeks housesitting in Turangi.

I'll be taking care of a house, two dogs, two cats, five chickens and a good sized vegetable garden. Turangi is a hub for hiking and river sports, so I'll have plenty to do while I'm there.