Third Wwoofing experience
Trip Start
Nov 13, 2007
1
18
27
Trip End
Mar 23, 2008
Bega, Australia
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
They have a small orchard where they grow apricots, plums, nectarines, kiwis, peaches, and lemons. We spent half our working hours in this spot. Ana's main job was to pick up the fruit that had fallen off the trees (mainly apricots) and put them in the "throw away" pile or "keep" pile. The "keep" pile would be made into jams and chutneys, which came out very very well, as we can attest to (thanks Hallie & Corinne for the tasty plum jelly!). One of my jobs was to pick off stink bugs from the citrus trees as they would eat the buds. This was easier said than done. The official name for these critters are shield bugs, but we dubbed them stink bugs because they shoot a foul smelling liquid from their bums to ward off predators. Not only did this smell bad, but it could stain your skin, and very painful if it got in your eyes. So I had to wear very thick rubber gloves, as well as plastic eye protection since I was all up in the trees. Once plucked from the trees, they were thrown into a bucket of water to drown. To me, this turned into a treasure hunt. I never thought finding a stink bug in a lemon tree could be so satisfying, but it was. The adults were inch long black bugs, but the nymphs were small green ones. So finding a nymph was particulary fun. My eyes got big once these guys were spotted and carefully plucked from the hiding spots. Then, I'd hold up my catch so Ana could indulge my pride by oohing and ahhing, after which I'd ceremoniously toss them in the bucket and go in for more. Good times, good times.
Our other main duties consisted of weeding (these weeds were grasses that sent shoots along the ground and proved to be quite long. This is where I had to indulge Ana as she loved showing me how long certain weeds were and I couldn't continue working until I acknowledged their superior size), planting beans, mulching, and walking their two dogs. We couldn't get over their two dogs, sisters with a German shepard/labrador mix. One black (Boobah) and one tan (Motek). They loved going for walks, getting attention, and most of all, escaping. The first day we were there, we were warned about only letting one dog outside at a time. If both dogs got out, they would take off, but ONLY if both dogs got loose. If only one dog got loose, he wouldn't leave. They had to escape together. If they did, they would be gone for a couple hours, but always return. Ana and I got to witness this one afternoon. The orchard, where they spent a lot of them, was gated. As Ana and I were cleaning up, Boobah got out and started making a break for it. Motek was right behind her but we were able to grab her before she got out. Boobah sprinted about 20 yards, turned around and waited for Motek to follow. Once she saw that Motek was caught, she admitted the jailbreak was foiled, and slowly came back inside the fence to get her stomach scratched. We'll miss them.
We had one other job. Our hosts require that their Wwoofers cook one meal from their own country. We came prepared for this and already had what we were going to cook in mind. Except instead of cooking for 4 people, we cooked for 10 - yes, ten - since a few extra friends and neighbors were invited over. That may not be a large number to most of you, but to Ana and I that was a lot! Although that added to the stress level, we came out looking like professional chefs, or close to it at least. Ana made filipino eggs rolls, while I made pecan-encrusted chicken. We don't know if they were just being nice, but we got rave reviews. Besides the food, that was just a very fun evening talking to everyone about all sorts of topics and getting suggestions on where we should go next.
On our off days and evenings, we toured the surrounding country side. The place we stayed was about 30 minutes to town and very much in the country. But they were also in the middle of a wide range of activities. We went to the beach, toured several small towns, went to a couple markets (one of which had a vendor selling American pennies for 50 cents. I was going to sell him one of mine for 25 cents, but Ana whisked me away before I had the chance to make a fool of myself), went hiking, took an amazing canoe trip (which was paddled almost entiredly by me! Although Ana was quite pleased with herself for yelling out orders), and went swimming at a local swimming hole. This particular swimming hole was deep in the woods which was accessible only by a dirt road, as most things are in Australia. It was a deep section along the creek, and the obvious highlight was the natural slide. This area has a special Aboriginal significance. Back in the day, when the boys were old enough they had to do this walk, and at the end of this very long walk, they would slide down into this deep pool and in essence become a man. That's what we were told, but to me and a couple other people there, it was just a fun slide in a very picturesque setting. I'm still amazed about how smooth that slide was. I guess after thousands of years of people going down it, that tends to happen.
Overall, another very worthwhile and fun learning experience!
