One thing we really wanted to achieve during our time in New Zealand was finding some volunteering work on a vineyard. At the time, before I’d set foot in the country, I wasn’t much of a wine lover. Sure, I enjoyed the odd glass or two *cough cough*, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Scott, on the other hand, having worked in hospitality for years, knew a lot more about brands, grapes and types of wine than I did. This quickly rubbed off on me and I realised I wanted to know more about how wine goes from grape to bottle, as well as discovering my favourite flavour of grapes.
We signed up for the WWOOF New Zealand website and scanned all of the listings, but only one really stood out to us. Many of the assignments were on farms, not vineyards, which narrowed down our choices somewhat. We applied, but never heard anything back. So, we did what any normal people would do and stalked the owners of the vineyard until they accepted us. (I joke, of course, but we did follow up our application with a personal email stating why we wanted to work there.)
It turned out that our arrival in Marlborough on the South Island (where the vineyard was based and where many large vineyards are based) wasn’t going to coincide with the picking season, which was when they really needed manpower, but that we’d be able to help them with securing the netting around the rows of grapes in order to protect them from birds before harvesting.
We had to hitchhike our way to a small grocery store where the owners of the vineyard picked us up and drove us to the vineyard, out in the middle of nowhere. A beautiful nowhere, I might add.
The vineyard was set up so that there was a separate outbuilding where WWOOFers could sleep, which consisted of a main room with around 6 bunk beds in, a small kitchen with a few basic appliances (kettle, microwave, fridge) and a tiny bathroom. We were lucky that there were no other WWOOFers staying there at the same time as us, otherwise it would have felt a little cramped and awkward.
We stayed on the vineyard for a week and in return for working every day, we got all of our meals cooked for us by the couple who owned it. They were a very nice Belgian couple, but the wife couldn’t speak very good English and would sometimes get frustrated with us if she couldn’t understand what we were saying. We also got the impression that she had had very bad experiences with WWOOFers in the past, as she was very strict with certain rules and would even sometimes come and check our outhouse when we weren’t there (perhaps for drugs?)
All of our meals were delicious as many of the ingredients were hand-picked from the farm. The major downside for us was that there was no internet access apart from in the main house and we weren’t allowed to use that due to bandwidth restrictions.
The work itself was fairly strenuous, mainly because we had to crouch down and clip all of the nets along each row of vines, as well as cleaning out the fermenting room. On the second morning I could hardly walk because I had been using muscles to crouch down all day that I hadn’t used before. Don’t get me wrong – it definitely wasn’t as hard as it would have been had we been there during picking season, but it made me realise that that was a blessing in disguise.
One benefit of working on the vineyard during the week we were there was that the owners invited us to go sailing with them and their friend and take part in a sailing competition on the stunning Marlborough Sound. That was an experience we’ll never forget and also wouldn’t have gotten had we never volunteered on the vineyard. It was special and almost made the week worthwhile in itself.
By the end of the week, I was able to appreciate wine much more, as well as understand the process of how it was made. It was a memorable experience that I will never forget, however there were some definite downsides, including the living quarters, no internet access and the (sometimes) rudeness of one of the owners. Here’s my tips on what to consider before you sign up for WWOOFing in New Zealand:
- Do the people who own the farm/vineyard speak your language? If not, there may be some language barriers.
- How much work will you be expected to do and what will you get in return?
- Do the owners have good reviews from previous WWOOFers?
- Do the owners have any house rules that you need to be aware of?
- Will there be other WWOOFers there at the same time as you and if so, what are the sleeping arrangements like?
- Is it easy to get to the location (public transport, etc) and if not, will the owners be able to pick you up?
I would definitely recommend WWOOFing as a good way to give back and experience something unique, but must stress that it isn’t just a free place to stay, as some people seem to think. You will be expected to work in return for your bed and board and you should treat the place you stay with as much respect as you would treat your own home. Simply put: if you’re not prepared to chip in, then WWOOFing isn’t for you.
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