My new home!!!!

The View outside the Lodge. 

Taharua River

Guest Lodge

Guest Room

My Car

The View

Lake Taupo (in town)

Entrance to Poronui

My House

Living room at Lodge

Dining Room at Lodge

I am here. A day and a half of traveling, couldn't have gone better. I was met at the airport by one of our fishing guides/ hunting manager and taken around the town a bit to show me the place. It is very cute. Very much like Lake Tahoe. It looks to be a very active community: surfing, skydiving, bungee jumping, fishing, diving, hiking, fishing and hunting....to name a few. The town, Lake Taupo, largest lake in New Zealand was formed by a volcanic eruption 186 A.D. and since built the town around this beautiful lake.

Poronui, my new place, is very much a part of the culture of this community. Although the ranch is right off the main road... it actually takes 35 minutes to get to the lodge. I thought i knew a bit coming out here, but i found out that i didn't know the half. The wildlife out here is incredible. We have 3 different types of deer, sheep, goats, pheasant, quail, pigs, chickens, goats, dairy cattle and jack rabbits. The guide said that i tell him what i want to cook (not horses) and they will hunt it and bring it in for me to prepare. It doesn't get any fresher than that. All of our produce, meat and seafood is local and abundant. It looks amazing. We have several different houses on the property... all have different kitchens for me to cook in. Depending on the guests' activity will also dictate where i will prepare the food. Once a week we will do a BBQ and a Wine Cellar dinner. Both in separate houses on the property. The Owner's lodge, is amazing! It has four double rooms and two bunk rooms and just about the coolest house i have ever seen. There is a kitchen there that i will cook in if a group rents that house out separately.

We have two permanent chefs, myself and Caine (the breakfast/lunch cook) and two part-time chefs that will assist us and fill in on our days off. Also if we have an event at the Owner's lodge and regular guest at the lodge. I live in a separate house on the property about 6 miles away. Right now all the staff is on a two day holiday, so i am with the manager, Eve, until they get back. I will be living with the two girls that run the horse stables. The guides do stay on property, but their cabins are next to the guests at the lodge. Myself and Amber, one of the girls that tend to the horses are the only non-Kiwis here. (Kiwi=people from New Zealand). We also have 6 full-time guides, 4 part-time, and three contracted helicopter pilots.

Some things i get to look forward to outside of the perks in my job is that i have a scheduled day off a week and we get to leave and travel when we don't have guests. Eve said that when that happens, the staff will go sty at hostels or drive to the beach. New Zealand is not huge.. because it is centrally located, you can get to most other towns in only a few hours. One thing i have to get used to is driving a car on the other side of the road in the other side of the car... while shifting with my left hand. Yikes!!! I went about 10 miles an hour to figure it out.

That is all i got for now. I won't actually cook my first meal until Wednesday. My cell does not work out here, but i do have wireless at the lodge and you can sign up to Skype (mopeck02) or ichat (mopeck@mac.com) and talk to me very easily. I called my family today on it, cheaper than a calling card and if you have a video function we can see each other. Take care!!