Milford sound

The fiordland region is truly one of the most amazing places I have ever been to. Words can not do it justice.  The presence of the ominous mountains carved out by fiord's from the tasman sea is just incredible.  I felt very insignificant..

Rob roy track, mt. Aspiring national park

Queenstown. Crown range

Christchurch region/lincoln University..

G'day all,

Here I am just outside christchurch.  Having a nice time, staying with a friend at Lincoln University.  It has been interesting seeing what New Zealand "uni" life is like.  Not all that different from what I experienced in the states.  Some of the accomodations seem to be a bit nicer, potentially because there are less students to house..
For instance each student has there own room (nice wood work) and a space heater.  Every student flat has a kitchen that comes with pans and other cookware, washer and clothes line.  And the best part is the community orchard where you can graze! I got to collect apples, hazelnuts, and walnuts for free.. How wonderful! And they offer lots in their community organic garden so that students can grow personal veggies.

I also attended some classes.  The three classes I attended were agricultural subjects covering soil degredation, dairy farming yeilds and the current [world] market, and also organic gardening (a nice lecture on green manure being an alternative for your garden over synthesized fertilizers).

On saturday a few friends and I drove down to arthur's pass for a day of bouldering at Castle Hill.  Spectatular scenery, even found a cave about 10km from where we were.   

Walk out from waikoropupu springs

Waikoropupu springs.

Australasia's largest fresh water cold spring.. i've never seen fresh water that blue or clear.  Located in the golden bay region (takaka).

allergic to the south island!

Oh dear.. It seems as though NZ has very strong pollen.  At the stonefly lodge I woke up after my second day feeling very ill.  I ended up leaving early because I was feeling so sick.  But it was also a good excuse because I wasn't having a very good time at this particular wwoof experience.  The lodge was very nice and the view was breathtaking, however the hosts were not of the "wwoof standard" that I have boasted about previously..  They were very caught up in there business and would host wwoofers for exploitation of cheap labor.  I am writing my own rule book as I learn lessons about where look for hosts.   The cool part about my timing was that a discovery channel crew was at the lodge filming for a tourism show to be aired sometime in 2012.  I captured some footage of their helicopter landing on site in at the lodge.

After three days I caught a ride with this guy I was working with at the lodge (building a stone wall) and headed back to nelson.  This is when I realized I had the hay fever.. which actually is not as bad as a flu or virus.  But regardless it felt good to leave that slave yard.  Ah to be free again..

Back on the road heading to Takaka which is located on the west coast in the Golden Bay region.  The West coast is known for its scenery.  

cheers,
N

The StoneFly Lodge

Two quick nights in Nelson and then off to my next wwoof host.  I will be working at the StoneFly Lodge located on the banks of the Motueka river.  It is not a farm, but I believe it does have gardens and seems to be a popular spot for fly fishing vacationers.   Probably will be doing landscaping, one of my many professions out here in NZ.

I am hoping to get some serious bush walking in since I will be amongst some wonderful scenery and walking tracks.  I really want to get to mt. arthur!!

http://www.stoneflylodge.co.nz/default.aspx

THE SOUTH ISLAND

made the trip over from wellington.  safe and sound in the town of Nelson. posted up in a hostel (nicest I have stayed in yet, free bikes!) to get some much needed rest then I will figure the next move.. Farm or national park?

cheers... and goodnight

Wellington!

Capital of new Zealand. Great little city that I am happy to be apart of. You can walk the city in about one hour but there is lots of good culture, especially cafes art and music.  Tea time means a latte, tapas, and or a glass of wine with a good book.

Saw two great live music acts tonight at the" mighty mighty" bar. Originally planned on two nights but I am staying for the rest of the week.

Earlier I visited the Te papa museum and an awesome botanical garden.

The culture is very" hip." Much fun to be had. Wellington's layout is very Mediterranean.   There is a music festival going on friday that I decided to stay for.  Well known reggae act Fat Freddy's Drop is playing and I figured.. why the hell not?

Back on the road..

... tomorrow!

Nestled in the valley.

What a week it has been..

Ah yes, the blog.

I seem to have lost track of time, this week has been full of news.  Tragedy continues via plate tectonics as japan suffers from an earthquake the world won't forget; followed by a tsunami that creates nuclear havoc. My thoughts go out to those in need.

Fortunately I am safe at mangarara.  It has been a good week of work I am continuing to learn much about livestock farming (and family life).  The Hart clan has been quite fun to be a part of, not a dull moment.  Their compassion and generosity has made my stay here unforgettable.

On Monday two things happened that are worth noting.  First, another family came to the farm to stay for a couple night's during their own nz journey.  Also greg hart gave a presentation that night at the local town hall about is experience at findhorn Eco-village in the UK.  Greg shared some great points including how stronger community is an effective, and essential way to live more sustainably in our daily struggle against peak oil/limited resources and climate change.  It is so difficult because of the influential nature and strength of consumer culture and capitalism which seems to lose a sense of community in a wash of individualism.

A good example of a cause-and-effect of consumer culture would be the current situation in japan.  Their government  had built an excessive amount of nuclear power stations and were pushing very hard to sell more and more cheap energy to consumers via electronics like heated toilet seats and heated floors.  The sad irony about the first explosion was that the plant that was first damaged was set to be decommissioned this march.

~

The family that came to the farm originally is from the usa but now lives in fiji.  They have invested much time in Eco-communities and had recently finished the one that they currently reside in fiji.  They are visiting nz to wwoof as a family. They were wonderful company and I hope to see them again some day.

One last weekend on the farm then back on the road.

Much love

The farm house.

Notice the solar panel. Also the house uses a wood stove and is able to collect wood frond Ethe property for fuel (law. For some areas in nz is you must have 10 acres to use a woodstove in order to reduce polluting emissions)

Grazing sheep. Today was a shearing day..

Grapes growing right at the front door

A bit more about the farm..

Rain water is collected and runs right to the farm house to be used for cooking,drinking, bathing, etc.  All water used then is filtered then runs back to the lake (biodegradable soaps used to ensure cleaner water). Lake water runs out to the fields and fills water troths for grazing livestock to drink.

All fruits and veggies grown organically. I am very much enjoying fresh peaches and apples.. seasons are beginning to change here. Moving into fall. Cold mornings but still lots of sunshine during the day!

Much love,

Nate

Magarara farm

Well this is my current residence.. 1500 acres of grass fed live stock.. sheep, cattle, and pigs... and also an organic garden where the Hart family gets their veggies. I am very lucky to be at such a special place for my birthday.. mrs. Hart made me a gigantic chocolate cake!

Riding the quad bikes is quite the joy but are used quite seriously to traverse the vast landscape. Today we shifted several cattle packs to graze fresh pasture and separated a bunch of sheep to be sheared tomorrow.  I am learning a lot while getting covered in poop. It is great. Heading out for a kayak.

Much love.

The dci stupa

Walking a certain direction around the top is good for the mind and assists meditation!

Pics

Next stop, and some thoughts on the DCI

Well, it has been a wonderful week.  I have spent time and lived with some wonderful people who have opened their hearts to a stranger and shared their living space.  Working in the Institute's gardens has been quite the joy.  The evening's were always fun with great conversations with Nick the songwriter, Willy the eccentric Australian, William the pianist and music transcriber, and Richard the entertainer... just to name a few.  And the monks have been very kind and expresed that they were sad to see me go, inviting me back for another stay down the road.  I will surely try to pass on the karma and generosity they have given me.

Next is the Mangara Family farm, heading south to Hawkes Bay from my current location of west Auckland. You can check out the farm here : http://www.thefamilyfarm.net.nz/. More to come on this!

much love,
Nate


  

My room..second try

Prayer wheel.

Spinning for christchurch.

My room at the DCI

Tonight's class should be very interesting as the subject is wellness&  meditation. Leaving saturday morning. Heading south to the small town of waipawa.  Working on a family operated livestock farm, specializing in sheep!

never swim against the stream

Sharing a meal with Tibetan Monks is like hanging with movie stars. 

Life at the Institute.

Gidday all.
Went for a walk downtown and found the library where I finally came across some free internet.  The institute is a wonderful place to stay.  I have my own room, and there is a communal kitchen and bathroom which is shared by 9 other resident and monks.  The residents are everyday kiwis who rent the space to live, some have been there for 3-5 years.  They are very kind and have been helpful with some local advice.  My chores mainly consist of gardening and helping out around the communal areas.  Another nice thing about wwoofing here is that I get to attend all of the classes for free.  Classes include Buddhist services and meditation practice.  Tonight there is a group prayer session for those suffering in Christchurch.

  At the end of the weekend I plan on heading south to the Hawkes Bay/Napier Area.  There seems to be some nice farm and orchard work available.
love,
Nate

Waiheke island

KIA Ora, as they say..

Still in auckland. Booked another night due to a slight hangover.  Still looking for the farm but enjoying,myself in the mean time. Took a ferry from the downtown port to waiheke island.. a bit touristy but a paradise nonetheless filled with several white sand beaches and known for it's wineries.  But I found a brewery (wild on waiheke) which made me happy, enjoying local libations : pale, dark, malt, and a wheat beer.. even a refreshing ginger beer. 

Auckland is nice but I am itching to hit the countryside. I will call several wwoof hosts today, if that fails I found a Buddhist seminary that takes wwoofers. 

-n

Arrive.

Just a quick note,

I have arrived safely in auckland. I am relaxing in a local cafe with a cup of tea. I first heard about the earthquake in christchurch an about an hour after leaving the airport. The new Zealand herald's front page reads" our darkest day".  Blessed to be safe in the north island. 

On a lighter note there was a funny looking man snoring very oddly in my hostel 4 bed room.

Patiently waiting..

..to carry me across the world.  Feeling a bit anxious to fly @ san fran international.

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