Peeing it down in Paihia

bed count: 36

In Paihia for the weekend sussing out this job opportunity. All seems good with the place, though its peeing down here at the moment. Have seen pics of what they bay is like when you can see it though, and it looks lovely.

Paihia is the main town in the Bay of Islands and is probably about the size of Loch Gilphead and Ardrishaig combined. It's very tourist orientated here and I would guess about half the houses were B&Bs, motels, hotels, etc. However, it doesn't feel tacky in the way some really touristy places do and it is very pretty here (I am going by the pics I have seen...).

Obviously, in the summer there is a big boom in population with tourists and it's one of those places that is probably better appreciated on a sunny early spring / late autumn day so as to avoid the masses. Lots of nice gift shops and a good range of cafes and restaurants (and even a fish and chip shop Larry and Lesley!).

Met Jo, who manages the apartments, and her husband Jason but Mark, the owner, is still off on his travels. The arrangement seems good though. They don't appear to have unrealistic expectations about how long it'll take to do the work and accomodation is available for a couple of months at least. Casual housekeeping work is also available and Jo says I might get a couple of hours a week somewhere else too.

On the whole it looks like we might end up getting the kind of work / life balance we've been looking for with 4-5 hours work a day and the rest of the time to explore. Accomodation in exchange for the web work and casual work for food / petrol / quad biking...

The accomodation is lovely too. Will put some pics up when we come up properly. It's on a hill overlooking the bay and has been recently refurbished. There's a big lounge area with a comfy sofa and a table (we haven't had a table to eat our dinner at for ages) and a well equipped kitchenette off. There's a king-sized bed at the back of the living area which can be screened off with curtains, but there's also a small double room too, so there's plenty of space. Fairly big bathroom too with one of those posh glass sinks too!

Went out for a meal last night and Jo gave us a $35 voucher for one of the restaurants in town. What with that and getting our accomodation for free it's been a pretty good weekend really.

So - Jo and Jason seem nice, the accomodation is good, Paihia is more our kinda place than the big city and the work exchange is a good deal. Looks like we'll be moving to Paihia for the next little while then. Watch this space...