I think my last proper blog expressed some fatigue at the never-ending setting-up process for
PiwiWiwi. Whisper it to avoid jinxing it; I think we might just about be there! In other news we are doing a Maori course, seem to be fitting into the community a bit & have (obviously) done some surfing (oh & running).
So, first of all, the van thing:
PiwiWiwi’s vans are 98% done, the admin setup’s 80% there & marketing is proving frustrating. But having things so close to ready is brilliant & means we can devote ourselves to getting the vans rented out & the maybe even start planning a life where
PiwiWiwi is only part time. It’s very frustrating having the
Rugby World Cup on & seeing lots more rental vans & tourists around & about but not having much business ourselves. Considering we’re paying over $1000 for the privilege of having our flyers displayed there you’d think the Auckland
i-Sites (tourist info centres) would be making it easy for us but it was a struggle even getting a quote out of them. Still, it’s done now & I think its one of the key bits of marketing we need for the short-term.
I’m considering upgrading our fleet already. We’ve had a few enquiries for 4 seater/sleeper vans & also for kayak carrying abilities.
This van from
Jucy will do 4 people, but why is being sold brand new? What did they do wrong? Build too many or build this one badly? Either way, it won’t handle a kayak without some massive modification.
PiwiWiwi is now a member of
Raglan’s Chamber of Commerce. This seems like a positive group with ideas for taking things forward & growing. Far from what I think of when chamber of trade / commerce is mentioned. Take note
Narberth! They provide us with a subsidy towards a business mentor with business mentors NZ & hopefully we’ll be getting a mentor soon to kick us into shape. We attended a ‘business breakfast’ of theirs where we got to learn about NZ IP laws. Anna then stood up in front of the assembled horde (about 20 folk) & explained
PiwiWiwi to them. She did good!
A couple of weekends back I also had to stand up in front of a group of people & explain ‘us’. It came about as part of a rather chaotic ‘Maori for Tourism’ course that we have found ourselves on having expressed an interest in learning the culture of our new home. The class went to the
Marae (a local tribal house / community centre) where they were doing ‘
whakapapa’, each person describing their family tree (& some of their background). Even though we were just guests/visitors we took part. Explaining my motivation to be on this course -my issue with (mainly English) people moving to Wales & making no effort to learn the local language & culture - seemed to draw nods of appreciation. I think we’ll learn some good stuff on this course but not directly through the learning programme, probably more subtly by chatting with our course mates (we are the only
pakeha!).
Raglan is having its regular ‘
Sustainable September’ with workshops on many subjects including beekeeping, permaculture, stoat-trapping & ‘eco-thrifty renovation’. Anna went on a worm-farming course & is thoroughly motivated (but that’s a story for her to tell). We both went to the ‘Renewable Energy’ workshop run by Simon (who I think I’ve mentioned before). It was good, explaining the various alternative options for power generation available & some good tips on passive things such as getting the orientation & design of the house right at the build stage of the project. What was really good was taking things back to basics, explaining what power is, how much various appliances need & encouraging you to think about how much ‘stuff’ you actually need & the impact of the stuff you have. Simon himself has lived within the confines of his 300W inverter for a couple of years now. That’s 1/10th of a kettle – think about it! There were only 5 on the course & it was taken in a relaxed manner so Simon & I had some good chats about various things including washing machine motors & producing methane from chickens. He works at
Xtreme Waste & I think (based on what followed) he may have mentioned me to the guys there.
Next bit of news & community-joining is WOK. This means ‘Whaingaroa Organic Kai’. Whaingaroa is the original name for Raglan, before some colonials came & renamed everything. Kai is Maori for food. So… It’s an organic food co-op where we get some good fruit & vegetables, packaging & travel-free once a week. Run by John who lives on John Street it seems reet good.
Then there was last weekend, two parties, one poorly-refereed rugby match, all good for making & cementing friendships. Lesley, our neighbour, had a get-together to celebrate her daughter’s birthday (who was in town from Dubai – we should have some leaflets out there now). There were genuine locals of all ages, curry, chat & then an exodus to the pub to watch the first match of the
RWC. I can’t comment on the match but there was a great atmosphere!
Saturday saw me up at 5:30 for dawn surf which was beautiful. Seeing the sun come up over Karioi while watching for waves is magic. The session included a top-speed, neck crunching wipeout, which wasn’t so good! Never mind, I got dusk surf in as well before we went to an ex-pat’s party. Three birthdays: Two French folk (names escaped) & Kit (who I-as PiwiWiwi have finally bought a surf board from). It was a cool do, plenty of chats with existing & new friends, lots of daft happenings & a nice vibe.
Sunday, Raglan’s ‘
Creative Market’ & Rachael’s Cornish pasty stand-all good. After two pasties (I was hungry!) we ventured over to Rick & Liz’s stall. Here we got a pot of pesto, home-made from home-grown ingredients & an interesting invitation. Rick & Liz as well as running their impressive permaculture-based farm are involved in the running of (& establishing in the first place actually)
Xtreme Waste. Rick had heard that I was an Engineer looking for work. He suggested I drop in during the week for a chat..
And so, the Wales South Africa match. They did so bloody well & if only they hadn’t missed those two sitters they’d have won & there’d be no controversy. But they didn’t so that’s that. Hopefully they’ll win when we see them against Samoa this Sunday.
Finally for this long old entry, my meeting with Rick. In summary, very exciting. Rick’s seen
CAT (The Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth) & his long-term vision is something similar – a working site that is highly educational too. There’s loads of things to be done, loads of room to play, loads of tools & loads of scrap. Essentially there’s a world of opportunity; enough rope to hang myself with or snare an occupation that satisfies my visa requirements, doesn’t involve travelling over the hill to Hamilton & does very much interest me & is creative. Sorry for the structure of that sentence but I’m excited!
Bottles full of water to proof-test the surfboard straps
Boards have a room of their own
But here comes our stuff
and now the boards are evicted
Surfing Whale Bay. Lovely wave, photos don't do it justice. Lots of scary rocks.
Bikes are here!
?
Getting van straps in
Surfboards strapped in, tidy! Shelf on top boxed in nice & all.
& relax!
USB Charging
Idiot pointing
Strafed
Around Raglan mitt van.
Bridge project continues
For Lisa!
We know where the waves are.
Bikes, I've missed you
?
Pictures, books, stuff
Lists!
Sunset & wild windy seas
Stig in a soap...
& again in English perhaps?
I made Sri Lankan Curry last night
