Harpers Kiwi Orchard

As our lift to the orchard was coming to an end, and we decided we still wanted (needed) to work, we took up the offer of staying on the kiwi orchard in the "pop-top". This was the Harpers name for a coverted, carpeted, guest room above their shed. Sounds horrible but it was nice and cosy!! A few more days of tea and cake sounded too good to miss. So it was deceided. We were going to say there despite the hostel rules stating that you have to leave your job it you leave the lodge. We just gotta do what we got to do. So long as we kept it top secret so that neither us nor the Hapers got in troble from the hostel owners Rick & Sheree, everthing would be fine.

In the meantime we were having probs with selling the car because at this pont the whole engine was b*****ed. This person was going to buy it, then that one, and then no one ended up buying it. So we tried to sort out scrap merchants but they were offering too little. Until we had to take the last day off work to get rid of the damn thing. Then it turn out that no one works in NZ on a sunday, and all the scrappers were shut. GOD DAMN IT!!! thak god that Rick (the hostel ownwer) was there to help us through it and phone contacts up. Yet still to no avail. So on our last day of work it was decided we would leave it there and Rick would sell it for us or we could arrange for it to be scrapped. At this point we had no energy to care about the sodding thing anymore and wanted to never speak of it again. So we didnt.

Our 'last day' of work was finished and we came back to the hostel, and as arranged our friend Rick (or Rick with a silent 'P' as he liked to call himself- great joke) we were going to get a lift in to town where we were pretending to stay for the night. All was fine untill or caring friend Rick decided that we couldnt possibly go into town loaded up with nowhere booked to stay. So he booked us into a hostel in town which was quite far from where we had arranged for the Harpers to pick us up from. Emma was inwardly panicking at this point because she cant lie. I just went along with it. We did feel quite bad lying to Rick as he had done so much for us and we were kind of on the same wave length (actually he was more insane-hard to believe i know). At one point the lies just got more elaborate and little cracks would show in our story eg. wanting to shower and have tea before leaving the hostel, emmas high pitched squeals when he said he would bring all aur bags into the 'new hostel'. None the less we arrived a little traumatised but alive, and as we said our goodbyes in the new hostel reception and Rick walked out, we felt like idiots. We wondered how we always get ourselves in these situations? I smiled at the reception person and explained there was a mistake and he was ok about it. We phoned the Harpers and got them to pick us up at the new rendevous. On looking out for the Harpers car i noticed that Ricks Bell Lodge backpackers van was still there so i started to panic and thought what if he suspects? what if he finds out? what if he phones us up at the hostel about the car?? arhhhhhhh But we hung tough and Ricks van was gone when we next came out of hiding. The Harpers arrived a safe distance after and Me and Em couldnt get over our rediculuasness. We expalined our childlike elaborate lies with much laughter and i think our boss ( Ross) thought we were drama queens. Which we are but we love it and it makes an intersting tale, and better memories.

Looking out of the car we drove away to our new home for the time being....we thought that wasnt a bad hostel Rick booked us into there...nice view... maybe we wil stay there when we finish work...

We arrived at the Harpers and settled into our new room. It was lovely and cosy. we had a sofa bed, air bed and a wonderful view over the garden. Just far eneough fom the house so we wouldnt be too annoying. We were suprised to find that they have Top Gear on tv over here, and watched it with great pleasure. This stay was going to be just fine. Then it was a dodgy comedy with that guy from cold feet as a burglar then bed.

The next few day passed in blur of kiwi fruits, tea and cake, sleep, lovely meals etc untill it was our last day. It was scortching hot under the vines and it was a relief to be finished. Unemployed again, fantastic. I collapsed on to the grass and gazed up at the sky. I herd Ross mutter something about a beer and i was up. No sooner than you can say Dom-Jolly we were placed on the patio overlooking the garden with home brew. We chatted about how he wanted to get in the top 10 of Gold Kiwi producers, our plans etc. As he lit up a ciger and sat in scilence listening to the early evening birds, we realised we ahd been accepted as one of the lads. This was nice and things just got better. For tea we had his homemade pasta lasagne (Ross actually made the Pasta at lunchtime from scratch as Julie-his mrs- worked in town today) and steamed fruit sponge. It was lush. Then to top it off we got paid. The day was going to come to an abrupt end as the alcohol made us sleepy and we were just plain worn out. So we slept, missing the opportunity for a home made liquer.

The next day we said our goodbyes and left some our stuff with them (as they suggested) hoping that it would gaurantee our return to their home and possibly work in the picking season. They dropped us back to where Rick had left us and we were to begin our travels again...back we left off two weeks earlier.