The Catlins - Meowww

(because you know I can never pass up the opportunity for a pun, even if the pun makes no sense whatsoever)

Spent the last week in the Catlins, and I'll upload some photos when I get the chance. This is the very southern edge of New Zealand's south island. I could go even further south to Stewart Island (or if I wanted to be krazy, could go to the Campbell Islands or the Auckland Islands, which have little besides endangered birds and rocks), but it's time to get back to the beaten track for now. The Catlins are lovely and often overlooked by non-locals - it's sort of like England's Lake District or Vermont's Northeast Kingdom in that respect, meaning you could drive for an hour or so amongst dramatic ocean views and vast expanses of native bush and farmland, and see maybe two or three cars. Which I did, several times. I also did an overnight hike and slept in a trolley bus from pre-1960s Dunedin, which had been converted to have bunk beds and a gas stove and all that. Kinda cool. Saw a total of one person for 36 hours on that hike. So I guess you get my point - very sparse in terms of people (though really not that far from a few semi-major population areas). Way more sheep then people. Even the endangered Hooker's sea lion species that inhabits many of the beaches probably rivals the human population here.

But, glad to be back in a city for now. I'm in Invercargill this morning, which is cool in places but is kinda bland for my tastes. I'm heading back to Dunedin this afternoon to check out the Fringe Festival there for a few days, then heading up through Central Otago (wine and gold country) for a few days, then wwoofing some more in Wanaka in the mountains, where I'll be doing chicken work, planting some native plants, and building stone walls (something I sort of know how to do!)

So, next step will be putting up some pics, which I'll do when I get to Dunedin (will try, anyway...)

Dunedin

Been in Dunedin the past two days, and will be here for another two days. Yesterday, I ran up this hill - the steepest street in the world - in a race called "The Gutbuster":

I ran the children's race, since I got there as it was starting (this is the adult's timed race pictured).

A Week in Canterbury, Part II (Thoughts on Organic Farming)

(Part II on my time in Yaldhurst, New Zealand.)

So before I left for New Zealand, I began reading Michael Pollan's excellent The Omnivore's Dilemma (and actually, I'd started reading it before I even made any of these crazy plans). In it, I read about the concepts of grass farming and permaculture as practiced by an organic farmer in Virginia. The object of these things - to create a natural sustainable environment that produces large amounts of food, by ensuring a healthy grass environment, using activities animals do anyway as part of the farm work. Cows, goats, and/or sheep eat the grass, keeping it well maintained, and poop in it, fertilizing the soil. Pigs and/or chickens then seek out insects which are living in the soil (and eating the poop), rotating the soil. If this is done in a controlled manner (ensuring goats don't overgraze, or pigs don't dig up the soil too much, using pens), this can be very effective.

The beautiful thing about it is how common sense it all seemed when I read about it, and experienced it. There is not a lot of energy needed to maintain this - I helped Carla on her week off, and things went fine with my five hours per day, and the two times a day Carla went out to milk Minnie the new mommy goat, and feed the pigs. And the animals are doing things they should be doing. These were some happy looking creatures (Ivanhoe II, above, kind of seems like he's smiling, doesn't he?). Was definitely in stark contrast to animals you'll occasionally see on TV, crowded in barns and such, and written reports of how chickens in cages are treated (and how small those cages can be). I've often had some guilt about eating meat; I generally try and limit how much meat I consume, and tried vegetarianism very briefly back in '07 before realizing it wasn't going to work for me...but after seeing these happy animals, much of that guilt was gone. I had a lot of bacon at Carla's place, and knowing that it came from a pig that was as happy as the ones I fed during my stay there, it felt better, and even tasted a little better, too.

But, as for the work - I spent most of my time moving hay and soil around (another product of the grass farm - hay to sell to horse farmers and such). Exciting? Not especially so. But important-feeling? Maybe even a little bit noble? Yes. I was charged with evening out little patches of earth (maybe 15 feet by 100 feet) that pigs had dug up. I had plenty of time to think while I was doing this, and of course, when I get to thinking, I go to nerd-dome. I imagined I was terraforming a new planet, making it suitable for life to grow, and of course, part of that was true (not the new planet part.) What I experienced was a very small sliver of chores that could potentially be done on organic farms, but it was an interesting task - and I may go back to it fairly soon now that I've had a break from it (beats a desk job for now, anyway).

Misty Mountain Hop

So, I made it to Mount Cook Village, and will be hiking up to get a closer look at Mount Cook (also known by its Maori name, Aoraki) and the glacier that's got it in its clutches, Hooker Glacier in the morning. It's been a busy couple o' days since I last posted (and I know I owe a report on the farming itself, will get to that at a later date).

So, yeah, purchased a nice cheap car in Christchurch. I was in elementary school when this car was made. Oh yes, I am now the owner of a 1989 Honda Accord LX. It actually runs pretty decently (the mechanic was quite surprised) and there's just over 200,000 km on it (120,000 mi), so it'll work for me. I paid $1500 NZ for it ($750 US), so if I treat Maggie May (that's her name now) real nice, I can maybe sell her for just about the same price when I'm done. So yay, I can get around easily now! Have even figured out the side of the road thing pretty nicely, haven't slipped up yet. However, from today's road trip experience, I can report that NZ drivers are rather nutso, doing things like passing on two lane roads around curves and getting pissed when you're doing the speed limit (sorry man, I didn't feel comfortable doing over 100 kph around these mountain passes).

Had a nice last night in Christchurch though, met a bunch of folk in my room and had a nice social time around the hostel picnic tables and learned drinking games from around the world (hence my late start this morning). Was really the first night I've had socializing with people since I've been here, which was really quite nice. Apparently there's a sizable portion of people that reside in hostel rooms long term. The ringleader of last night's gathering has lived in the hostel I stayed at for months (he's a tennis instructor in town). Interesting life to lead - may end up being what I do at some point if I settle down in a town - but could definitely imagine missing privacy a great deal.

Today's road trip was interesting. I saw the following things:

• The world's largest jersey
• A replica of the Bayeux Tapestry constructed of metal bits, including an interpretation of what the last missing bit would have looked like
• A cafe on top of a mountain
• Mt. Cook from afar, which looks almost exactly like the Paramount logo from Lake Pukaki (will upload all photos I have when I get to Dunedin in a few days...)
• lots and lots of sheep

That's all I have to report for now - will report more later, but I'm pretty tired...may be an early night for me.

A Week in Canterbury, Part I

(This will be part 1 of 2, this one will focus on my week in general, the next on my thoughts on organic farming as I've experienced it in the past week will follow in the next day or so.)

Reporting from Yaldhurst, Canterbury, New Zealand:
For about 6 days now, I've been out here at the beginnings of the New Zealand countryside (the beginnings of suburbia and it's little planned subdivisions peek up just down the road), about 2 miles from public transit and without a car. It's here that I've realized my first mistake of my trip - not working out the car situation 100% before I started planning stuff. Like most of America, it's quite difficult to get around without some sort of transportation, so I've more or less been almost entirely on the farm, with the exception of helping my host Carla's daughter move, and me getting out on foot to see stuff like the farmer's market about 4 miles down the road and going to the local hotel pub, about a 20 minute walk from here.

So yeah, definitely going to get that car situation worked out on Friday. I've bid online for one, and if that falls through I'll check out what Christchurch has to offer me. After that happens (and ONLY after that happens) I'll move onto Mount Cook - may skip out on Banks Peninsula for now, since I can get hiking and hilly-ness at Mt. Cook and dolphins further up the coast at Kaikoura when I go on a whale cruise (which Carla recommended)...also the weather's supposed to be decent in the western mountains and want to take full advantage of that.

But, back to this week - as I've said I've been more or less confined to the farm with a few exceptions when Carla was going out on an errand.
The positives:

• I haven't been spending any money at all, other than a few bucks at the farmer's market and at the pub just now (where I met some nice local farmers and we chatted a bit, one of them explained some more technicalities of cricket to me, so that'll help next time)
• I have had time to really sit back and think about the trip ahead - some more planning will probably help me out on this trip. Other than the four days I'll be doing the Milford Track and various days to explore the wilderness, I have a feeling I'll be spending much of the next month and a half fluttering between Dunedin and Queenstown - Dunedin supposedly being the hip, chill, Williamsburg-y type town, and Queenstown being the bungy jumping/high adventure/melt off your face with awesomeness type town (CAR PEELS OUT!!1). I guess I won't know till I get there what I want to do.
• I have gotten a better idea of how much farming I want to do compared to how much tourism - I want to do more tourism, to the extent that I can afford to do so. I will probably have the opportunity to pick up the occasional odd job to supplement my cashflow, as I did today when Carla asked me to make a simple website for the business she's starting, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for those. Basically, I've realized that WWOOFing should be used as a tool to prolong my stay in an area I've grown partial to. That thought continued in part 2...
• I think I might be getting buff, or at least less of a fatty than I was when I left NYC.
• I have really caught up in my sleep, seriously. I was over my jet lag by late last week - but I've been sleeping like 10-12 hours every night. I haven't slept like this since high school. I don't know if it's the air, the physical work, the lack of stress, but my sleep has been of high quantity and quality (I've also started having dreams and remembering them like every night, which hasn't happened in a damn long time.)
• I have witnessed emus in person, and they are some badass creatures. Stay away from their legs though, they have a mighty kick (from the bruise I saw on Carla's leg my first day). Goats and pigs are pretty cute too, even if they are dirty, dirty creatures (especially goats - seriously, who poops where they sleep? Even dogs don't do that.)

The negatives:

• I haven't been able to explore at all, in terms of people or scenery. The trip started out pretty nice, was meeting some people briefly at the hostels, but then came out here and was essentially confined to the farm. Even with a car, would have been difficult, because 5 hours a day is more than it sounds.
• Farming isn't all that easy.
• So is separation from the interwebs.

So yeah, positives outweigh the negatives, definitely. But that first negative, the not being able to explore thing is a big one (that's sort of the main reason I'm here). So, yeah, may alter course slightly. Though again, all depends on me getting a damn car.

That's all for now!

Punting!

I punted yesterday after going on a punting trip through the park. The dude let me drive for a bit. It's pretty easy in theory - you just push against the bottom of the river. Though I couldn't keep the boat straight, and I gave the pole back to its rightful owner after a few minutes.

Here I am!

Off to go farming in a few hours about half an hour outside of Christchurch, not sure what sort of internet she has there, and was not able to get a car just yet (may not get one for a month or so), so may not report back for the next week. We'll see.

Canterbury Tales

(cause see, I'm in the province of Canterbury - get it!)

Arrived in Christchurch yesterday after a quick plane hop. Had a window seat so I got to see a lot of New Zealand from up above, and I really got the idea of how rugged much of the countryside is. Auckland was pretty hilly, but nothing compared to the mountains I was flying over. made me realize I'm going to have to visit Aoraka/Mt. Cook (the highest peak in NZ, clocking in at over 3700 m) at some point in this journey.

I arrived in Christchurch around 4 in the afternoon, and - wow. This city has completely charmed me. The place was laid out by Oxford scholars, and, you know, they were smart dudes. The place is beautiful - gothic church buildings everywhere, many no longer functioning as churches, but instead government buildings (no separation of church and state here! ;) ) and cafes and such. The river Avon snakes through the city, and people are kayaking through it and punting. There's a tram that goes in a square around the city, past my hostel, which is pretty nice.

And then there's the Botanic Garden. The Botanic Garden completely kicks ass, and in my own opinion puts every urban park I've ever seen to shame (including Prospect Park, Golden Gate Park, etc.) in terms of pure natural beauty. Christchurch calls itself the City of Flowers, and for good reason. I've spent maybe 5 or 6 hours of the 24 hours I've been here wandering through it, getting lost in it. It seems to contain almost every type of plant on earth.* Western trees coexist with NZ native plantlife, and could be a nice metaphor for NZ itself. Yeah, why not. It's a metaphor. Anyway, I've never really given much of a flying fig about botany, but after seeing this place, I want to buy a pack of fig newtons and start pelting people with them. I've taken a bunch of pictures and will put them on Facebook or Flickr maybe tonight.

Debating what to do now...I was going to buy a used car at the backpackers car market but have gotten some cold feet as I realized I've never actually bought a car in my life and also know next to nothing about cars. I will probably have to do it at some point, so may suck it up and just go. Or maybe will go to the Arts Centre or Canterbury Museum across the street. It's my last day here before I go to the farm (out in the suburbs of CC), so could always wait a week and come back. There's a lot here I'm going to not be able to see before tomorrow.

* - may be hyperbole.

Bagels: The Thinking Man's Crumpet

(subject may not necessarily relate to content of blog post - was just a bumper sticker I saw today at the airport and it was funny)

Well, I arrived in Auckland today after the marathon flight which involved Mac and Sweet Dee from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, a Fijian who was a leg spreader who couldn't stop fidgeting (but who actually turned out to be nice), and quesadillas that I really should not have eaten before it was bed time. Upon arrival, didn't get any trouble about the visa and no return ticket, but did get in trouble for not declaring my boots (fortunately the customs lady, after having me unpack the entire bag, saw that they hadn't been worn more than once and let me go - guess it's a good thing I didn't tell her that I wore them in NYC and hence were potentially carrying every biohazard known to man...bwahaha)

After checking into the hostel, I decided to spend a few hours this afternoon seeing some of the Central Business District. Since I'm a little sleepy still I basically did what the Lonely Planet guide told me to. My first impression though - Auckland is what would happen if San Francisco and Los Angeles had a baby and hired a British nanny to watch it. And some Chinese and Maori baby friends. I dunno. It's interesting and somehow familiar. I walked through Albert Park, saw some of Auckland University, wandered down a pedestrian enclave, and down to the waterfront. I walked past the Sky Tower (the tallest building in NZ, sorta looks like the Space Needle in Seattle) - thought about going to the top but then reconsidered after checking out the price - not to steep, but I'll be back here at some point in my journey. Plus, it's totally not related at all to World 5 in Super Mario 3, so I couldn't be bothered today. Before coming back to the hostel I found an old Irish pub in the older part of town and tried to watch a cricket match between India and the NZ national team (the "Black Caps"). I found myself understanding it even less after having watched it. Oh well, I'll learn at some point!

So, yeah, first day in NZ going well. Weather's definitely an improvement on what I left behind, and Auckland seems pretty, though I really only scratched the surface today.

Tomorrow, I conquer Christchurch, where I begin my great journey (as my visit to Auckland today was mostly an attempt to break up the madness of all that flying).

NZ minus 30 hours

So, I fly out of jfk in 5 hours, and from there we'll see just how
crazy I am to be doing this. The total travel time from here to
Auckland will be 25 hours and 40 minutes, including layovers in LA and
Fiji. I'll get to Auckland 12:45 on a Tuesday, spend the day/night
there, and then take a short flight to Christchurch the next day, when
my touring begins in earnest.

Finding a farm was admittedly a bit of a struggle as I was having
trouble getting replies to my emails to the farmers, but finally got
one yesterday. Working out the timing but looks like I'll be helping
out with tidying up a small farm (a few goats and pigs), fixing
fencing and whatnot. It's in a suburb of Christchurch and doesn't seem
too far from the coast... So maybe can get some beach time in, who
knows.

Will report back when I'm in NZ! So long for now, USA!

NZ minus 30 hours

So, I fly out of jfk in 5 hours, and from there we'll see just how
crazy I am to be doing this. The total travel time from here to
Auckland will be 25 hours and 40 minutes, including layovers in LA and
Fiji. I'll get to Auckland 12:45 on a Tuesday, spend the day/night
there, and then take a short flight to Christchurch the next day, when
my touring begins in earnest.

Finding a farm was admittedly a bit of a struggle as I was having
trouble getting replies to my emails to the farmers, but finally got
one yesterday. Working out the timing but looks like I'll be helping
out with tidying up a small farm (a few goats and pigs), fixing
fencing and whatnot. It's in a suburb of Christchurch and doesn't seem
too far from the coast... So maybe can get some beach time in, who
knows.

Will report back when I'm in NZ! So long for now, USA!