Wwoofing around the north island, New Zealand

My dear family and friends,

Im not a regular blogger, as you have noticed, but I do keep on writing. I love to share with you guys what I have been up to. It will probably help me later in life to remember what I did myself as I tend to forget ;)

So we are talking about a period of four months since I last posted a story and photos. Time seems to be running. I turned 29 a month ago. Still cannot belief that Im heading 30 next year. Getting old hahaha!

New Zealand has been great so far and there are still so many things to look forward to! 

(Tongariro Nationial Park or also known as Mount Dome  in  the Lord of the Rings)

Went trekking here for four days with a fellow-Wwoofer

Before I arrived here, I had a clear vision. I wanted to grow on a spiritual and personal level. In order to accomplish that I organized myself volunteer places (Wwoofing) at several retreat centres around the north island. Workwise those places are perhaps not so interesting, but it is not the work itself that attracts me. It is the environment, the people, the food, the vibe etc. Work is between four and six hours a day, consists of simple tasks around the kitchen, garden or house keeping, it is labour intensive, but most important not stressfull and quite meaningfull. You work in a team with people from all over the world and all aspects of life. Dynamics can be challenging sometimes and it forces you to have a closer look at yourself and perhaps make the occasional adjustment.

The first retreat centre I worked at is called Mana Retreat Centre* located west of the Coromandel Peninsula. This place is very populair among Wwoofers, and therefore it is necessary to arrange your spot months ahead.

*Website:  http://www.manaretreat.com/

When I was in Asia I didnt make a lot of plans and I loved the spontaneity of it. But this year here in New Zealand is different. I got a whole plan sorted until the end of january and a general outline until the end of my visa, which runs till august 2014.

I stayed for six weeks at Mana. Really had a wonderful experience! It is all vegetarian food and you will not belief how diverse and delishes it is. When I thought of vegetarian before I left Holland, I visualized a standard Dutch plate made of patotoes, a portion of vegetables and just the meat left out. How wrong was I? It is so more then that! I am absolutely inspired by Mana cuisine and cannot wait unil I have a kitchen for my own. I love cooking and although I dont see the necessity to be a 100% vegetarian, I will probably cook for 90% meat free. I just have too big of a love for the Dutch pancakes with crispy bacon and maple syrop hahaha!

After my stay at Mana I met my friend from Australia. We rented a campervan for two weeks and explored Northland together. We made loads of walks and saw many giant Kauri trees native to New Zealand, with some of them being more then two thousand years old. Absolutely breathtaking!

The second Wwoofing place was at Te Moata Retreat Centre, this one located on the east of the Coromandel Peninsula. I stayed there for three weeks accompanied by a fellow Wwoofer from Mana. Te Moata is located in a valley surrounded by gorgeous bushland with no electricity or phone signal. Yes they have solar power, batteries and gas bottles to provide guests with basic necessities. This created a perfect opportunity to cut myself off from buzzing outside world and to focus on just being there. My meditation is not always very constant, but here I sat every morning and most evenings. I had to do just a few hours of volunteer work and the rest of the day I had completely for myself to practise a bit of yoga, reading, teaching myself how to knit and walking along the treks into the green bush.

After that wonderful quiet stay it was time for a next chapter. Together with the fellow Wwoofer from Mana, her name is Karin from Germany, we planned to do a self-organized fast/detox retreat. A commitment of about three weeks of which one week was just about drinking juices and broth. For ten days we stayed at this gorgeous little cottage on the property of Tony, a generous and lovely Kiwi man who we met through Mana. For another eight days we housesit, which is a very commen phenomenen in NZ. The idea is to take care of a house, perhaps animals en plants during the time the owners are away. The houesitter dont have to pay a cent and the owners can have their holiday or whatever without worrying about home; a win-win situation for both.

The fast itelf was a very intensive experience. Because I hardly have coffee or any alcohol anyway, I didnt really experience withdrawls. For four days we just had fruits, vegetables and brown rice to ease-in the body, the following seven days the actual fast on juices, broth and herbal teas, and the last seven days taking time to slowly go back to a normal eating habit. The fast was accompanied by enemas, appropiate supplements, body scrubs, no use of soap, deodorant or shampo, external castor oil packs on the liver just before bed time, meditation, yoga, reading spiritual books and mindfully eating. This all to cleanse the intestines, to release toxins through the organs, but also to let go of mental obstructions. I felt wonderfully light after, my skin was glowing like never before and I lost a modest two kilos. Although this fast was quite intensive, I can imagine myself having an occasional fast once or twice a year. Just clean it all out hahaha!

Right now Im at my third retreat centre. This time a bit further down south, close to Lake Taupo, named Tauhara Centre*.

*Website: http://www.tauharacentre.org.nz/

I have been here a week already and will stay until 26th of December. They are organizing a festival for Christmas and New Year, named Chrissiefest. It is gonna be packed with people here, lots of workshops, music and all sorts of gatherings. Looking forward to it!

The reason why Im not staying for New Year at Chrissiefest is because on the 27th of December Im starting a Vipassana Retreat*, which is a meditation course of ten days. I have done one in India so you might remember me talking about it. To refresh your memory ;), it is completely in silence and you are meditating for ten hours a day. Because I have done it once before, Im considered as a 'old' student and therefore not allowed to eat anything after midday. As you can tell, it is hard work. We get clear instructions what to do, but it is a solo journey focused inwards. 

*Website: http://www.dhamma.org/

You wont probably here from me before the end of the year. Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderfull Christmas and New Year! That 2014 may be a year full of inspiring moments, changes that are for the better and lots of love for ourselves and others.

A warm and big hug to you,

Liekachu

 Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland in Taupo 

 Tongariro National Park