We apologize for our delay of this blog post, due to lack of internet access.
We arrived to a farm just outside of the small town of Warkworth, where we were greeted by Anne and members of the Verdonk family. We were also kindly welcomed by a small Maori family living on the farm. As we settled in to our new home for the next week we were all captured by the breathtaking scenery. After meeting Anne’s son, Sam, he took us on a nice tour of the 150 acre farm. That evening all 25 of us enjoyed a delicious barbecue.
The following morning we were introduced to farm life in New Zealand. The Huckleberry farm is whats known as a lifestyle block, which is similair to a hobby farm. The farm was full of green pastures with cattle being being raised for sale. After the introduction we were all assigned duties for the week such as cooking, cleaning, and tending to the fire. Our first day it was pouring down rain, so in lieu of going to work in the rain we got to enjoy a day filled with movie watching.
The following days brought beautiful weather and lots of hard work. We planted over 700 plants along a creek in order to prevent erosion and improve the overall health of the environment. Our other work consisted of demolishing a shed and putting up a few fences. We also created some spontaneous adventures for ourselves throughout the week like sailing with Sam, killing and skinning a pig, and exploring the beautiful rolling green hills. We all thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the farm, and Anne has said her door is always open to any of us in the future.
Sincerely Nick and Riley