When I got to my Workaway in Ti Point, I had a brief moment of shock. Distance-wise, this place was not far, but it was just an entirely different set up.
The thing that drew me to this listing was the fact that the hosts were very involved in the folk music scene. But in this moment, as I was being welcomed by an under-the-weather Jenine, I was like shit – this is going to be interesting.
It was more unkempt than my rustic cabin accommodation in Pakiri. And when I got there, I remembered that I was supposed to be staying in a caravan in the yard. Ooof. With an outhouse too. OOOF. Thankfully, she ushered me into a room in the house, which was a good omen. There was some helpful introspective writing on the walls that I could consult in case of utter panic. Then she gave me a list of tasks for the week (one of the items was cleaning said caravan and outhouse). I dropped my bags and got started. I was trying to buy myself time to process the update in surroundings.
After a few hours of stacking wood and getting invested in the “Up & Vanished” podcast, I came inside and settled in. Shortly thereafter, Nat (Jenine’s husband) came home from work. He was awesome and immediately engaging and personable. That really set me at ease. The whole family had super fun personalities so there was nothing to worry about.
The second day I was there, I was woken up early with a bang on the door. “We’re going on an adventure!” …Ok. I finally got filled in that we were going for a morning paddle in Whangateau Harbor. Down. The weather was perfect and the water was like glass. The tide was in but the whole spot was really shallow so you could easily see the bottom.
They went out of town for the weekend and I was graciously allowed use of another vehicle so I got some good exploring in. A few highlights were the Ti Point Coastal Walk, Tamahunga Trail Hike, the view at Omaha Bay Vineyard and wandering around Tawharanui Regional Park.
As for the work, it was mostly tidying up around the property. I cleaned the caravan and outhouse (so many spiders) and did a decent amount of weeding. I got to use a chainsaw to shred a fallen tree limb into firewood and such.
I was also charged with getting their burn pile going. It had a bunch of old grapevines, dried branches and the aforementioned weeds.
I’m no stranger to a large fire. We’ve done this at my parents house a decent amount. And you know what helps get these types of fires going?
An accelerant.
Good ol’ petrol sounds good.
I set up two catch points and then found out that there were only 3″ matches available. Like only a few.
No problem. I got this. The first bunch petered out.
Shut the fuck up wind. Just for a second.
I was down to my last two before a deece flame began. Cool.
I probably could’ve let it go and it would’ve taken off. That’s the thing that gets people in trouble in these situations – patience. I wanted a good fire immediately.
You know what’ll do the trick? An accelerant.
Some more good ol’ petrol sounds good.
I put some in a small cup to make a trail. I had a real plan in place. And as I poured it, I thought about how good my fire would be.
So then, naturally, the flame shot into my cup and I caught on fire. Legitimately, my arm and chest were on fire.
Let me tell you something: this is why they spend all that time in elementary school ingraining “Stop, Drop and Roll” into our young brains. It works, guys. It really does.
After taking the yard for a nice spin, I stood up and rejoiced that I still had all my limbs. Then I witnessed the most beautiful and long-lasting fire anyone has ever lit.
[FIRE NOT PICTURED]
I don’t know what material Under Armor is using – because I’m too lazy to look at the tag – but I would highly recommend it. I had two layers on and neither of them had burn holes. Genuinely good news because I only have 4 shirts anyway. Wish I could say the same about my chest hair. That shit singed off in a weird ass pattern.
But don’t worry. To get some of my dignity and manhood back, I chopped the hell out of some wood.