Wellington is a nice place, with beautiful cafes and interesting people. I like it here and am probably going to stay here for New Years eve. On of the colorful inhabitants of this town is called Ben Hana, aka Blanket Man, definitely read his story!
Another cool thing, I have for the first time seen bumblebees mating! I saw it in the botanical gardens here.
There is much more to say, but I don't pursue completeness :-)
Happy 2008 everyone!
vrijdag 28 december 2007
Landed in Wellington
The queen bee has nested in Wellington, in a beautiful place called princess bay, just 8 km out of the city center. Some other travelers are parked there too, and there is a nice atmosphere in the evenings. The sunset is often amazing, and we rate it every night.Click here for the satellite picture
zaterdag 22 december 2007
Fotos!!!
Hier dan eindelijk wat foto's van mij en Nieuw-Zeeland! Klik op de fotos hier en je wordt door de magische wereld van het world wide web naar de desbetreffende picassa pagina gebracht.
 Northland |  Mount Maunganui en omstreken |
 Roadtrip to Coromandel Peninsula |  Gisborne |
 On The Road Again |
maandag 17 december 2007
Ode aan Gissy
Gisborne, vrijwel elke reiziger rijdt er achteloos voorbij. Het lijkt ook een stadje van 13 in een dozijn van achter de autoruit. Maar stop hier voor een paar weken en je krijgt een ander beeld.
Gisborne, toevluchtsoord van oude hippies, surfers en kakkerlakken. Bedankt voor je gastvrijheid, je bijen en je geweldige inwoners.
Bedankt Peter voor de job en het bier
Bedankt Colin voor je kindse glimlach, je geweldige verhalen en je goeie raad
Bedankt Andres voor het gezelschap en onze gedeelde passie voor muziek
Bedankt ook Yassum, Hajji, Snake en de twee oude hippies van op de hoek (voor vanzelfsprekende redenen)
Geweldige tijd gehad hier, maar nu de voorjaarsoogst tot een einde komt is er nog maar weinig werk voor mij. Dus ga ik nu een tijdje leven van het geld dat ik hier heb verdiend, een wel verdiende vakantie lijkt me. Ik trek verder naar het zuiden, en hoop binnen een goede twee weken op het zuideiland te zijn.
Gisborne, toevluchtsoord van oude hippies, surfers en kakkerlakken. Bedankt voor je gastvrijheid, je bijen en je geweldige inwoners.
Bedankt Peter voor de job en het bier
Bedankt Colin voor je kindse glimlach, je geweldige verhalen en je goeie raad
Bedankt Andres voor het gezelschap en onze gedeelde passie voor muziek
Bedankt ook Yassum, Hajji, Snake en de twee oude hippies van op de hoek (voor vanzelfsprekende redenen)
Geweldige tijd gehad hier, maar nu de voorjaarsoogst tot een einde komt is er nog maar weinig werk voor mij. Dus ga ik nu een tijdje leven van het geld dat ik hier heb verdiend, een wel verdiende vakantie lijkt me. Ik trek verder naar het zuiden, en hoop binnen een goede twee weken op het zuideiland te zijn.
zaterdag 8 december 2007
A day in the life of a beekeeper
Leaving Mt Maunganui was not easy. I had made some good friends there, and was realy beginning to feel at home. But because the flowerpicking season was over, and I was fed up with working for Hamid anyway, the time had come to go.
I decided upon Gisborne, because Pierre had stayed with a beekeeper there on the WWOOFing scheme. He recommended his place highly. So I filled up the van and drove off to a new adventure, singing On the road again. I have now been working for Peter 5 days, making a lot of hours and even more fun. Let me tell you how a day looks like.
I get up around 8 in the morning and with a smile remember where I am. The "backpackers" Peter runs here is very funny. He built all these rooms next to his house and has people staying from all over the Uruguay, Japan, Filipines, Brazil, Germany, Czech Republic and Belgium. It's dirty and doesnt provide the services a backpackers should, but its a lovely place in a strange way.
When I come out of my room I see Colin arriving. He yells out "Time for breakfast boy", and gets out his waterpipe, which he fills to the brim with Marihuana. When we are both high anough to work, we get in the truck and drive to the factory. We pick up some empty beeboxes and put them on the truck. While we are working 'Snake' arrives. Colin tells me nobody knows his real name, and they've known him for 20 years. Snake is always high, and yells out things like "Ooooh yeah boy, machines I say". He 's crazy, I like him.
We drive to the places where the bees are kept, about an hour driving, through the mountains. It is incredibly beautiful here and completely isolated. Colin amuses me with his stories from on the fishing boats, where he spends half of the year, and about his previous life in Amsterdam, Ireland, Paris and South-Africa. He's on of those mad ones Kerouac talks about.
When we arrive at the bees, we put on our suits, which arent very good, and start collecting honey. If it's good you can hear Peter yelling "That's more like it", if it's bad you can hear him swear all day. We put some new boxes on top of the hives, so the bees can collect some more honey. It's hard work, and I get stung a lot, but that doesnt worry me anymore. The venom keeps me alert, especially when I'm high.
After the work is done, which is sometimes late in the evening, we smoke some more and go back to the factory to put the honey boxes. By the time we finish there, Peter usually has bought some beers, and rolls a big joint to share with everyone. After that we go back to the backpackers where I cook up some dinner and fall asleep easily and happy.
I really like this job and want to learn more about it. Kemps, tell your dad to prepare a hive for when I come back!
I decided upon Gisborne, because Pierre had stayed with a beekeeper there on the WWOOFing scheme. He recommended his place highly. So I filled up the van and drove off to a new adventure, singing On the road again. I have now been working for Peter 5 days, making a lot of hours and even more fun. Let me tell you how a day looks like.
I get up around 8 in the morning and with a smile remember where I am. The "backpackers" Peter runs here is very funny. He built all these rooms next to his house and has people staying from all over the Uruguay, Japan, Filipines, Brazil, Germany, Czech Republic and Belgium. It's dirty and doesnt provide the services a backpackers should, but its a lovely place in a strange way.
When I come out of my room I see Colin arriving. He yells out "Time for breakfast boy", and gets out his waterpipe, which he fills to the brim with Marihuana. When we are both high anough to work, we get in the truck and drive to the factory. We pick up some empty beeboxes and put them on the truck. While we are working 'Snake' arrives. Colin tells me nobody knows his real name, and they've known him for 20 years. Snake is always high, and yells out things like "Ooooh yeah boy, machines I say". He 's crazy, I like him.
We drive to the places where the bees are kept, about an hour driving, through the mountains. It is incredibly beautiful here and completely isolated. Colin amuses me with his stories from on the fishing boats, where he spends half of the year, and about his previous life in Amsterdam, Ireland, Paris and South-Africa. He's on of those mad ones Kerouac talks about.
When we arrive at the bees, we put on our suits, which arent very good, and start collecting honey. If it's good you can hear Peter yelling "That's more like it", if it's bad you can hear him swear all day. We put some new boxes on top of the hives, so the bees can collect some more honey. It's hard work, and I get stung a lot, but that doesnt worry me anymore. The venom keeps me alert, especially when I'm high.
After the work is done, which is sometimes late in the evening, we smoke some more and go back to the factory to put the honey boxes. By the time we finish there, Peter usually has bought some beers, and rolls a big joint to share with everyone. After that we go back to the backpackers where I cook up some dinner and fall asleep easily and happy.
I really like this job and want to learn more about it. Kemps, tell your dad to prepare a hive for when I come back!
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