Moutohora Farm

I have been staying at Moutohora Farm for the last 10 days. This is a small farm located about 10km from Whakatane. There are 800 olive trees on the farm. It's hard to imagine, but 800 trees is considered "small farm".

The farm is owned by Gerrit and Wil, a friendly couple in their mid-60s. They are originally from Holland, but migrated to New Zealand 30 years ago. All their children have left home: one is in Holland, another in Perth, Australia. So they are enjoying their time together on this quiet farm.

Olive trees.

It is impossible for 2 people to handle all the work on the farm, and that is where I fit in as a WWOOF volunteer. You may ask, what is a WWOOF volunter?

WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunity on Organic Farms. It is an organization for people who are interested to volunteer to work on farms. The farms that participate in this organization are usually small family farms (usually organic) who can't afford to hire full time workers.

The volunteers (called WWOOFers) work 4 hours a day. They don't get paid, but instead get free food and accomodation. The farms get free help, and the volunteers get to experience live on an organic farm, so it's a win-win scenario. It is also a cheap way to travel around the world, which is why many WWOOFers are young people on holiday work visas. There were 2 other volunteers at the farm, Julien and Rémi. Both of them are from France.

Because I arrived late in the season, most of the harvest was already done. However, I did get a chance to help on the remaining harvest. It was hard work. I was the slowest, and my body ached because I was not used to it. But I get plenty of rest, and the food is amazing.

Dinner consists of olives (homemade from the farm, of course), salad (some grown on the farm), main course and dessert. Main course is different every day: I've had pasta, nacho, rice, beef, chicken, venison, mussel. Wil is a great cook. She makes everything from fresh ingredients. I wish I could cook like her.

Dinner with myself, Wil, Gerrit, Julien and Rémi.

The place is beautiful. It is only 10 minutes walk to the beach. Due to the remote location, this beach is almost empty. It's like having a private beach to yourself.

The beach. Moutohora (Whale Island) visible in the background.