*DRIVEN A MANUAL TRANSMISSION

Ok so two disclaimers for this post:
1. I have technically driven a manual before, back in high school, in a parking lot. I was under the instruction of my best friend though, who had learned a mere few weeks before attempting to teach me, so I mostly try to block out those memories. The name of that car was "Ghetto Magic" so I'm sure you can imagine that it wasn't the most trustworthy of vehicles. Therefore I suppose this post should be called "Never Have I Ever SUCCESSFULLY Driven a Manual Transmission" But, whatever.
2. I know that is isn't a New Zealand specialty and that manual transmission cars exist all over the world so this really isn't that big of a deal. I decided that it's more the situation in which I learned how to drive a manual that is specifically New Zealand oriented.

So, we WWOOFed for a week on a very farm-y farm. We were looking for a way to continue moving north (toward our final destination of Wellington) and we found a farm located just outside of the town of Dunedin. We thought, "Great! Part farm, part civilization! Just what we need!" I sent an email asking if they would be willing to host us, and I got back the most wonderful email:

Boom just like that they are willing to have strangers stay in their home, drive their car, and take care of their animals! This is the real New Zealand people!

The day came for our arrival, Gillian picked us up at the bus stop, drove us to the grocery store so we could pick out whatever food we wanted then came home and made us squid risotto. It was all so normal.

Gillian asked me, as we whizzed up Three Mile Hill (exactly what it sounds like) if I would be comfortable driving in NZ. I stated, that yes I was quite good at driving on the left side these days. She said, "And how about a manual?" And I'm pretty sure I laughed in her face? Not in a rude way, just in more of a "Absolutely-not -no-way-that's-hilarious-and-crazy-why-would-I-ever-know-that" sort of way. Her response was a cool and calm, "We'll talk about that."

Next thing you know, I'm behind the wheel of a car that is easily my peer (definitely in the 20+ age group), on a deserted dirt path, in MOSGIEL NEW ZEALAND. And it's raining. About 12 minutes later, I vaguely understood what my relationship with the gear shifting and clutch were. The next day, Gillian had enough confidence in me as a driver to have me drive her to the airport! We made it there in one piece (5 mins ahead of schedule, might I add!) then it was up to Hannah and I to make our way back, on the dark country roads. We survived and I only stalled one time!

It was just so perfectly Kiwi of this family to completely trust us with their home, their animals and to insist I drive this car that I could potentially harm (she did say "There's really nothing you can do to that car, its old and we bought it cheap." But was I suppose to take that like a challenge? Because I felt like my skill level was for sure telling me something bad was potentially about to happen with me + Isuzu.)

Me and my partner in crime : Blue Isuzu. 

 She insisted that we would be able to take advantage of the area much more if we had a car, and she was completely accurate. She was so calm and trusting, a perfect teacher for this random driving lesson.

Although my anxiety was attempting to distract me as I drove on the left side of the road, on the right side of the car, in an old manual Isuzu Trooper that I learned to drive less than 24 hours beforehand, I think I held my own pretty well.

I learned that practice makes perfect in the world of learning to drive stick shift. So we took the 'ol Trooper out for a few different rides, and I even managed to drive into Dunedin, an area with many more hills and many more people than the town of Mosgiel. I am extremely glad that I will no longer have to rely on a manual transmission car during this trip (fingers crossed) but I am very grateful that I learned how to successfully not injure myself or others (or the car I suppose) while driving stick. So,I'm awarding myself many gold stars for my performance.

Sidenote about our time in Mosgiel:
On top of caring for this elderly vehicle, we were also the sole care givers to:

Luke the dog, and a number of noisy unnamed fowl.

1 dog
1 cat
2 turtles
2 goats
5 roosters
15 hens
5 chicks

Katie and Billy

Everyone was pretty low key, even for the mass quantities of animals that were existing in this one lifestyle block, but I will be excited to hear the rumblings of a city rather than the crowing of a rooster all.day.long. in the very near future.

WWOOFED BEFORE

After two weeks, Hannah and I had successful acquired what I like to call "vacation stamina" (the ability to be constantly on the move, possibly even sleeping in a new bed each night and not caring what is half way down in your backpack because you have already decided you don't care anymore and will just be wearing the same thing everyday.) At this point though, we were both ready to a)stay in once place for a semi extended period of time and b) actually be productive members of society.

That's where WWOOFing comes in! WWOOFing is more than its totally awesome name, it's a program that encourages cultural exchange and ecotourism, offering opportunities for travelers to assist organic farms. WWOOFing stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms OR World Wide Opportunities On Farms, so you can choose which one sounds better to you. 

After an evening in Dunedin, we boarded a bus headed for the presumably farm-tastic oasis of Clinton, New Zealand. The bus driver was pretty surprised to find out that was our desired destination, essentially saying "are you SURE you're sure you want to go there?" So that gave us heaps of confidence. Nevertheless, he dropped us off on a pretty deserted road that was supposedly located in the town of Clinton. Luckily, I'm in New Zealand so you never really need to be worried about anything.

We stopped in the nearest gas station to ask for directions and almost before I even finished my question, the cashier, Jo, said "You're going to Wairuna Organics aren't you?" She had seen our kind before.

Jo decided she didn't want us lugging our backpacks up the road so she said "Run 'round to that wee red car. I'll give you a lift." Welcome to New Zealand.

Wairuna Organics is owned and basically solely operated by one man, Shaun. He is equal parts endearing and terrifying. His entire income relies on the money he makes from the Dunedin Farmers Marker each week. He also relies entirely on WWOOFers to keep the place going. Therefore, you are literally dealing with this mans livlihood each day you work on his farm. Hence, the terrifying-ness he can have at times. He hosts approximately 170 WWOOFers A YEAR. So, he definitely knows what works, who works, and what doesn't.

He hosts up to 15 WWOOFers at time. When we arrived there were two Korean guys, a French guy, a German guy, and a Malaysian girl working. Pretty cool international crowd.  Everyone is given their own sleeping space, and then we share "The Station" where we can cook/eat/watch TV/hang and such.

Our humble abode. 

 The deal is that you work from 10am-2pm every day in exchange for a bed and three square meals. Pretty good set up, I'd say. 

Our first day of work, we were sent straight to the fields. Garlic fields. Our mission was to weed the garlic and Shaun gave us a little inspirational speech before we began, "Don't you f*&^ing pull out the garlic!" So with that attitude, and the anxiety over potentially ruining an entire crop of garlic, we were off! Later, our job was to weed the raspberry bushes. Luckily we got to start this job just as it started to rain! Shaun asked us, about 45 mins into this job, "Have you guys WWOOFed before?" I said enthusiastically/apologetically, "Nope, this is our first time!" and he replied, "It shows." But then he smiled and laughed so its hard to actually dislike this guy, because I'm sure he was completely right, our weeding abilities were most likely not up to par.

Not a terrible view to look at all day while wedding garlic.

For the next week we continued to weed the garlic and raspberries, we picked lettuce (at least five different kinds), we picked and cleaned carrots (white, purple and orange carrots) and tended to the crops in the massive greenhouses he owned. We also hung out with his dog Chloe, a lot. 

Sorting carrots to sell.

Shaun was very stern and precise about what he wanted you to do, but then one second later he would give you a lesson about the type of vegetable you were working with. Where it comes from, what its used for, its likes and dislikes, all those sort of things. 

Each night we prepared dinner together, usually including a minimum of 2 completely homemade items, including but not limited to; bread, cheese and cheesecake. This was great because I really love food a lot. 

Cheese, passionfruit cheesecake, veggies and veggies.

Even though the farm ended up running out of water, and we had to sleep in layers on layers on layers each night (seriously 2 pairs of pants and 5 sweatshirt kind of layers) our time on the farm was amazing. It felt great to be doing something helpful, and we met interesting people. To top it all off, when we visited Shaun at the Dunedin Farmers Market a week after we left, he gave us a deal on the lettuce we bought! Can't beat that!