A day in Abel Tasman...

I was so excited to get out to Abel Tasman National Park http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/PlaceProfile.aspx?id=38455. I booked my ticket for this past Sunday. The whole track takes 3-4 days with stops in huts or campgrounds along the way. I'm not quite prepared as I didn't bring my sleeping bag or a tent so I just decided on a day trip. Hopped on the bus at 7:30 AM and headed an hour north to Kaiteriteri. The plan was to take a water taxi from Kaiteriteri, be dropped off in Torrent Bay, then hike up to Bark Bay, get picked up by the water taxi and brought back to Kaiteriteri. It was a great plan until the sky decided to open up. I stepped into a small shop while waiting for the taxi. A lady walked from out back and started chatting with me about what I was doing. She said, "It will be an interesting ride for you today!" For a split second I thought I should cancel it for the day and reschedule, but I was optimistic that the rain would subside. Several of you will scold me for this but I wasn't prepared as much as I should have been. I had my raincoat, but not my pants (just some hiking pants).

As we boarded the small motorboat (there were 4 others silly as me to attempt the walk), our driver handed us life jackets and said, "it's going to be rough out there today." I thought to myself, "it can't be that bad. I've been on choppy water before" I was so wrong. I've NEVER been on water like that before. It was terrifying and so much fun! The swells were enormous. We would climb to the top of a wave, be airborne for 2 seconds then KA-BOOM! slam back down onto the water, then up, up, up, KA-BOOM! Each time the boat came back down, it sounded as if it were going to split in half and the impact rattled our brains as we lunged forward. I was holding on to the bar in front of me with a white-knuckled grip. The waves were coming from all directions and the driver was constantly looking around us for waves that might come down over us. All the while I was trying to keep my eyes on the horizon towards land, but it was difficult. The boat would lean sideways while we were at the bottom of a swell, then I could feel the boat rise up, the land would appear but suddenly a giant wall of water would block it again, leaving us encircled. It was hard to get a sense of direction. We finally arrived at Torrent Bay. He pulled the boat up to the beach and we quickly hopped off. The rain was torrential and I was already hopelessly soaked and chilled. The scenery on Torrent Bay was stunning. I had my camera in my bag but was unable to take any photos obviously. I took time to appreciate the beach as much as I could, and then hurried to the trail where I could be under the cover of the trees. They didn't help much and the trail was a river of mud. At that point I began to wonder how I would survive two hours of this. I began to walk quickly, keeping in mind there was a hut with a fireplace at Bark Bay where I could eat my lunch and dry off. I took in as much as possible, I didn't want my time here to go to waste. The rain let up for a half hour period as I approached a huge swing bridge. It had a warning sign of a maximum of 5 people. It crossed a river which came down from the mountainside. Looking up there was a huge raging waterfall and down river it led to the sea. It was beautiful. I stood in the middle of the bridge for several moments, listening to the water and feeling the wind rock it back and forth. I noticed movement in the water below and saw that there were seals playing and fishing directly underneath me! It was so cool to see them pop up, sometimes leap up out of the water and carry fish along in their mouths. They looked up at me curiously. I did manage to snap a couple of photos of them. I then realized that my camera bag was soaked through. Time to keep moving!

I arrived at the hut where there were other people taking shelter, their clothes and boots hanging over the tiny gas stove, trying to soak up as much heat as they could. My hand were numb and my fingers barely able to function as I tried to eat my lunch. I had walked so fast that I now had three hours at the hut. The others arrived shortly after me. None of us had the will to explore anymore...we just wanted shelter. I took a nap after eating my lunch, as did everyone else. The rain wasn't letting up. People started to slowly clear out of the hut and head back out on the trail. The water taxi was picking us up from this beach so we just had to wait. At 3:00, the three of us left put our sopping wet gear back on and headed down to the beach. We had to jump on board quickly as the waves were crashing and it was quite dangerous for us and the boat. The ride back was just like the one in, except this time the driver was looking around much more cautiously, and several times he had to go full throttle to avoid waves chasing us down. Two of the ladies on the boat were supposed to be dropped of in the bay above Kaiteriteri but they had to come in with us because it was too dangerous in that bay. So we all breathed a sigh of relief as we pulled up to the shore. As we were handing our life jackets to the driver, he laughed and said "Thank god that's over."

I'm hoping to go back on a nice sunny day. There were so many moments that I wanted to pull out my camera but couldn't. Perhaps if Marmy and Jim come out to see me we can go there. You would love it. :) (hint, hint)

Tailing

Below are some photos that Adi took on tailing day. We drenched, vaccinated and tailed over 300 lambs! The photos below are not gory and they are not close ups, but if you don't want to see tailing, then skip the pics. :)

Vaccinating

I look a little too giddy with that needle in my hand

Me, Hayden (Adrian's son), Tom and Nicky

NEW PHOTOS!

I’ve posted photos! There are too many to post up here so please check out my Picasa site for the full set! The link is on the lower right side. Oh, Danny and Gram- regarding the photo of the fern…It’s actually a tree fern…either a ponga or a black tree fern.

With a heavy heart I left Totaranui. What an amazing place and a wonderful family! I hope that my experiences to come can rival it. Thanks Adi, Adrian & Keelan! I will miss you!

Wellington was a great city. I spent two days at the YHA…and to be honest it was a big retail therapy trip. I shopped, rode the old cable car up to the Botanical Gardens (which were beautiful). I’d say they are right up there with the Boboli Gardens in Florence. I had lunch at J.J. Murphy’s, an Irish pub. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to charge my camera battery before I left for Wellington so I didn’t get any photos. But I may go back.

Now I’m in Nelson. Adi and Adrianne dropped me off on en route to a ski trip they are taking. What a great little town. Nelson is THE sunniest place in the South Island (so they claim). It’s at the very top of the South Island right on the Golden Coast, just south of the Abel Tasman National Park. There’s lots of art and craftsmen, coffee shops, restaurants and galleries. The Nelson Market is held every Saturday, where artists sell their goods on the street. The night I arrived, I met a traveling nurse from the UK. We walked into town to get some wine and then headed back to the hostel where there was an acoustic guitar jam session in full swing. What a fun way to kick things off.

This morning I got up early, as I like to do when I’m in a new place. I like to get out and watch the town wake up….get a cup of coffee, see the shops put out their signs, and plan what I will do for the day. Most of the activity and buzz is on Hardy Street and around the cathedral. I visited the jeweler that created the rings for the movie “The Lord of the Rings”! They have several of them on display in various sizes because when they were filmed, they needed large and small sizes. It was actually quite interesting.

So my next step is to find a job! I’ll keep you posted…

Just thought I'd post a few quick pics from our walk the other day.....These were taken by Irma, a lady in the walking group:



Walking out to the trail from the farm...

On Sunday I'm flying out to Wellington for a few days! I'm excited to see the city. I don't have lots of time (only 1 full day) but I figured since I was up this way, I'd take the opportunity to check it out. Then I'm returning to Totaranui Farm for another week...This farm has been one of the highlights of my trip so far.

A traditional Kiwi meal and my first midwife experience...

Yesterday was cold and full of drizzle. In the morning we went to feed out the cattle and check for new calves. In the early afternoon we mustered some of the sheep for tailing, vaccination and drenching. Tailing is for the lambs…they are placed in a harness and their tails are cut off using a special tool that cauterizes the skin so they don’t bleed as much. It sounds awful and from what I’ve heard, it’s not a fun job, but it’s important for their health because it keeps their rear ends clean and helps to prevent flystrike. It started to rain a little and the day seemed to get away from us so we decided to wait for another day. Adi and I drove Adrian up one of the valleys so he could pick up the digger and drive it home. We stopped at two different river crossings on the way back. The rivers here are beautiful with big boulders and little waterfalls with palm, manuka and gum trees all around them.

We stopped by one of the yards to check on a ewe that began lambing while we were mustering. She is actually a hogget. A hogget is a year old sheep, and they usually run into trouble when lambing, so Adrian had placed her in a separate pen so we could keep an eye on her. So when Adi and I approached her, we noticed that she had started to give birth, but the head was coming out first and appeared to be stuck. This was potentially serious because both the ewe and the lamb could die. With lambs, you want to see the two front feet coming out first. So we needed to help her. We went back to the house for supplies: a bucket with disinfectant, towel, and elbow length plastic gloves. Once we caught her, I held her still while Adi went to work, pushing the lamb back in so she could grab the legs and pull them forward. It’s not as easy as it sounds. It wasn’t a pleasant experience for the ewe as you can imagine. Adi had to fish around for the legs, going under a shoulder bone. Every time she made a little progress the ewe had another contraction and we would have to wait. Finally she found both legs and pulled them forward, getting the lamb in the correct position. We then left her alone to give birth. The less you interfere, the better chance the lamb and ewe will bond. Both are doing fine now. :)

I wanted to take a picture of the scarf I’m knitting but the battery on my camera has run out and I don’t have an electric converter for my charger out here! I’ll have to wait until the next time I’m in town. I call it my swiss cheese scarf because I’ve somehow managed to create a pattern with little holes. I’m using pretty red wool that Adi gave me.

Tonight Adrian brought me outside to show me a possum up in a tree. Then I watched him pluck the fur after he had shot it (I didn’t want to watch the actual shooting). Possum fur is expensive here and you can get good money for it. There’s been lots of hunting going on here. One of Adrian’s sons came to the farm this weekend to do some wild pig and deer hunting. They got two pigs and a deer. I’m not sure if I mentioned this before but Adrian has 4 sons. Keelan (10 and lives here at the farm), Fraser (18 or 19?), Hayden (21?) and Garreth (24). Adi has one son, Daniel, and he is 15 or 16 I think. Other than Keelan, the boys live in other areas.

Tonight we had flounder for dinner and it was fantastic…and I mean a whole fish, not the filleted stuff you see in the frozen section of stores. Adi, Adrian and the boys fish for flounder with spears here in the sounds. They had to show me how to eat it properly because there are lots of little bones. We had pavlova for dessert, which Adi and I made this morning, topped with whipped cream, pineapple and kiwi fruit. We decided to make it because the chooks have been laying eggs like crazy and we need to use them up! The recipe calls for 5 eggs.

Tomorrow there is a walking group coming and we are going to walk one of the tracks that I haven’t seen yet. I’m excited to see a new area of the property….if only my camera worked!!!

The Marlborough Sounds and Totaranui

I arrived in Picton on Friday, the 24th. It’s a quiet little seaport town with a nice downtown area and harbour. This is where the Interislander ferry docks when bringing people from the North Island to the South. I spent three nights at Sequoia Lodge Backpackers just on the very edge of town. It was about a 10 minute walk to the harbour. The hostel was really nice…huge kitchen with everything you could possibly need, lounge area with a log burner, TV room, internet and a cedar spa. I never got around to using that. AND they baked and served chocolate pudding (bread style pudding) every night. I puttered around town seeing the sights. I visited the Edwin Fox…the 9th oldest ship in the world! They have a small museum for it and you are actually able to walk around inside of it.



That Saturday I decided to hike part of the Queen Charlotte Track from the very top, at Ship Cove to Furneaux Lodge. It took around 3.5 hours. Ship Cove is where Captain Cook landed and spent some time when first exploring New Zealand. The hike was beautiful. We couldn’t have had more gorgeous weather. The Queen Charlotte Track can only be hiked one way, and you have to access the starting point by boat. The boat left the harbour around 9AM. There were probably 30 people total. The forest was beautiful with all kinds of palms and vines I’d never seen before. Towards the end of the hike there are some beautiful beaches with aqua blue water. I ventured down to one of them and started snapping pictures. I noticed two bikes on the beach (with no one around) but thought nothing of it as there was a big group of mountain bikers doing the track that day. I heard a strange noise….was that…moaning??? I turned to my left and saw the naked ass of a woman partially hidden by bushes! I immediately turned and walked really fast back up to the trail, with my hand over my mouth, trying not to laugh. They must have thought the hikers were well behind them! The track is unique in that there are little cottages and small lodges/resorts that are connected to the track via side trails. Usually they are down near the water. So if you are hiking along and decide you want to stop for the night (for those that do the whole 4 day hike) you can stay at these places. As usual, I took lots of pics so I will try to post those soon.





Upon returning to the hostel, I decided to look for another farm to work at. I came across a place in the Marlborough Sounds nearby. Adrian Harvey and Adi Watson are my new hosts and they are wonderful …very friendly and have lots of interesting stories about the area. The farm is in Clova Bay. Clova Bay is on a peninsula above the Queen Charlotte Track. It’s a 2 hour drive from Picton or an hour drive if you take the water taxi to Torea Bay (which is what I did). Adi picked me up there. She was a nurse for 30 years but mostly she works on the farm now. Her partner Adrian grew up on the farm. It’s been in his family for 5 generations and they have quite a bit of info about it. They also have an earthmoving business. It’s very, very remote. 2 hours to any stores, gas stations…pretty much anything. They only have a handful of neighbors spread out over several miles. If you are injured, most likely they need to send in a helicopter to bring you to Blenheim or Havelock perhaps. The house is nestled at the foot of a mountain with streams running through the property. In fact, there are mountains on three sides with fields and the bay about a 15 minute walk away. There are beautiful pastures, trails, and old house sites. The house itself is filled with charm. It was built in the late 1800s and has lots of neat little cupboards and contraptions that I’m constantly trying to figure out what they are. There are old hearths and a neat old iron safe, where they used to put hot irons that had been heated by the stove. The original wallpaper is still up in the living room! They have sheep, Angus cattle, chooks, two dogs-Beetle and Belle, a handful of cats, and a pet lamb named Betsy. I’ve been calling her Bitsy because that’s what it sounds like when they say her name. She’s adorable and follows us around everywhere. We also have to bottle feed her which is so much fun! You know when it’s feeding time because she baaas at the kitchen door. She’s even started scratching at it! The cattle are calving right now and so far there are around 12 new calves…just days old. Adi names them and records all the births in a log book. She named one after me… it’s very cute being all black with a grey ear, and just the other day she named one Kayde after my sister.



My accommodation is in a cozy little caravan. I have a fridge and stove and running water…I just have to shower and use the toilet in a separate outhouse.



So far I’ve helped with their veggie gardens and some other clean-up, wall repair, painting, cooking, baking etc…I’m learning a lot about traditional kiwi food here. I dug up an old strawberry bed and separated out the plants because we are putting them in a different garden. You’d never think that such an ordinary task could be such a beautiful thing but it really was. The sun was shining, I was mucking around in the dirt, Betsy was grazing just outside the fence and then snoozed in the shade next to me…all in the setting of these beautiful mountains and pastures. The cherry trees are in blossom too and smell wonderful. This Friday Adrian and I got in the truck and drove around the property to look for Peaches, a cow that had just given birth, but we couldn’t find her. He showed me some of the paddocks and where the old sawmill used to be. We stopped and I picked daffodils and snowdrops that are growing wild where an old house used to be. On our way back, we were driving across streams and rocky pastures, cattle and sheep with their lambs stood in our path and took their sweet time getting out of the way.



The other day I drove the tractor pictured below back from the cattle paddocks. I only stalled it once. You’d be proud Marmy, it’s a manual. Haha Today we had to rescue a ewe and her newborn twins because a southwesterly blew in with cold wind and rain. The lambs would have died from the cold. So Adi and I scooped them up and placed them in a box with some wool while Adrian captured the ewe and loaded her into the back of the truck. They will stay in the woolshed until the lambs are stronger.



Tomorrow Adi and I are going to a mosaic class. She is also going to teach me how to spin wool and to knit!