We had made it 1 year and 2 weeks on our travels and unfortunately we ran out of money. We think it was a huge achievement to have made it this far without having to work..others think we are just lazy! Anyway, we realised if we wanted to travel anymore we had to get ourselves some jobs! How exciting. Or not.
We chose to work in Blenheim as this is where all the wine is made! I got a job as a waitress in a winery called Highfield, one we had visited on our wine tour here earlier this year. Chris got a job in the vineyards attending to the vines. His duties included wire lifting, undercutting the vines, pruning, netting and general maintenance with the vines. The money was awful but he enjoyed the outdoor labour. We decided to stay living in the van to cut out on rent costs and we found a lovely spot by the beach called Rarangi. This was home for about 3 months! It was a beautiful beach with amazing turquoise water. We witnessed some incredible sunsets that would turn the sky purple and orange. Due to our silly routine of getting up at 6.30am to go the gym and shower before work we got up with the sun every morning..the only good thing about this was the sunrises..they were magnificent!
We quickly got into a routine, and started to feel at home at Rarangi. We met Stuart who was living in the van next door, he worked with Chris in the fields and we often shared a few bottles of the local Pinot Noir in the evenings. Unfortunately the vineyard work dried up a bit and with about 10 minutes notice Chris was told there was no work for 3 weeks! So he came and joined the waiting team at Highfield which was great..we both earned a lot in tips from the tourists. (unfortunately Kiwi's don't tip so we had to rely on the Brits and Americans!) It also worked better this way as we were able to have days off together- we had a few trips away from Blenheim to Kaikoura and Nelson Lakes National Park. We also went to the local Mussel Festival about half an hour from Blenheim in Havelock. It was a really fun day out and we enjoyed the mussels and wine! We also went to the Marlborough Wine Festival in Blenheim which was a very drunken day out!
We had a few issues with the van while we were in Blenheim..we were on our way to Kaikoura on our day off and he broke down! It was terrible, we got towed to Kaikoura where a mechanic had a good look and kept him overnight. Something to do with the carburettor?! Still not too sure but he told us he fixed him, only to break down again on our way back to Blenheim! It was so sad..we left the van in Kaikoura for a week and we had to stay in a hostel near the winery so we could cycle to work! It was actually quite fun staying in a room but we were so happy to have the van back all fixed and running like a dream!
I think my favourite part of our stay in Blenheim was all the wine! We tried so many and really got to know all the different flavours and tasted some really really good wine. The Highfield wine was superb and we got to drink a lot of it which was great! Its turned into a bit of a problem now as we are now “wine snobs” and only really like good wine..not good for the budget! The staff at Highfield were all lovely and good fun to be with, I organised a staff meal at the local Thai restaurant one night and we also had a yummy BBQ evening, as well as enjoying a few glasses after work every week. Another reason we loved going to work was to see Astro, the winery dog! He was amazing..we will miss him the most!
Tom arrived after about a month and started picking grapes in the vineyards so he was staying at Rarangi with us too living in his car! It was a great little set up and lovely to stay in one place for a while and really get to know it, and also being an hour or so drive away from so many amazing places..it was a good time and I will miss the wine!
We quickly got into a routine, and started to feel at home at Rarangi. We met Stuart who was living in the van next door, he worked with Chris in the fields and we often shared a few bottles of the local Pinot Noir in the evenings. Unfortunately the vineyard work dried up a bit and with about 10 minutes notice Chris was told there was no work for 3 weeks! So he came and joined the waiting team at Highfield which was great..we both earned a lot in tips from the tourists. (unfortunately Kiwi's don't tip so we had to rely on the Brits and Americans!) It also worked better this way as we were able to have days off together- we had a few trips away from Blenheim to Kaikoura and Nelson Lakes National Park. We also went to the local Mussel Festival about half an hour from Blenheim in Havelock. It was a really fun day out and we enjoyed the mussels and wine! We also went to the Marlborough Wine Festival in Blenheim which was a very drunken day out!
We had a few issues with the van while we were in Blenheim..we were on our way to Kaikoura on our day off and he broke down! It was terrible, we got towed to Kaikoura where a mechanic had a good look and kept him overnight. Something to do with the carburettor?! Still not too sure but he told us he fixed him, only to break down again on our way back to Blenheim! It was so sad..we left the van in Kaikoura for a week and we had to stay in a hostel near the winery so we could cycle to work! It was actually quite fun staying in a room but we were so happy to have the van back all fixed and running like a dream!
I think my favourite part of our stay in Blenheim was all the wine! We tried so many and really got to know all the different flavours and tasted some really really good wine. The Highfield wine was superb and we got to drink a lot of it which was great! Its turned into a bit of a problem now as we are now “wine snobs” and only really like good wine..not good for the budget! The staff at Highfield were all lovely and good fun to be with, I organised a staff meal at the local Thai restaurant one night and we also had a yummy BBQ evening, as well as enjoying a few glasses after work every week. Another reason we loved going to work was to see Astro, the winery dog! He was amazing..we will miss him the most!
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