We spent the last week on a duck farm in Warkworth NZ, about 45 minutes north of Auckland. We found this work through a website called WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities in Organic Farming). In exchange for 4-6 hours of help, the hosts provide lodging and meals. Wwoofing (pronounced like woofing) is quite popular in New Zealand as everyone we have met has understood our position as “wwoofers”.
Our hosts, Katie and Peter, were amazingly pleasant and welcoming. Both were enjoyable conversationalist and among the friendliest people I’ve ever met. We could not have asked for better hosts.
The work was basic: feeding the ducks, collecting eggs, and cleaning sheds. With the price of food and housing as high as it is, our “pay” was quite substantial.
During our free time our hosts entertained us well. We went to a rugby match, fraternized with the local farmers at the weekly social club and attended an “emergency meeting” of the whiskey connoisseurs of northern New Zealand.
We have secured a second wwoffing gig farther south at a sheep and beef farm that lays on the east coast near the Mahia Peninsula. Will share the experiences as the come along.
-Jake