New Years Eve

Slightly earlier for us on this side of the world than it would be back in the UK.........

Have had the most incredible few days. Christmas day was a ball, starting with a huge slap up breakfast on the terrace for 14 of us, with bucks fizz, freshly baked croissants, bacon and eggs, pancakes and more. Exchanging gifts then, for those that wanted, off to the beach. Spent a good part of the day enjoying the surf with several others from the house, the boys are really good surfers now so headed much further out into the bay, how exhilerating to catch what felt like huge waves right out in the sea. Am so glad that i left my bodyboard here last year as it's getting loads more use..... and allows more people to enjoy the waves. Chilled for a couple of hours in the late afternoon sun before returning home to a massive Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, went to bed fat, full and glowing from an amazing day.

Glen and Lauren, the Canadians had a car, and we spent a day touring round the area, stopping off at all the tourist spots to clamber through the bush to scenic viewpoints overlooking secluded bays and tracts of native forest, watch cheese being made at a local factory, with the obligatory tasters, wander round Akaroa, the local town, with its recently rediscovered historical French connections and take a miriad of photographs.

A day out in the harbour fishing was so much fun and we came back with enough fish for several big meals, some of them look familiar but they have different names, Mokie, Blue Cod, Red Cod, Snapper, all delicious but none as good as the huge crayfish that Michael, the younger son, came home with after a days diving with some friends. Two cray fed eight of us really well, they were massive and so so tasty. He also brought back Paua and mussels from another trip, these can only be caught when snorkelling, to conserve stocks, and are often 8 + meters deep so not the easiest things to catch. They also hang on pretty tight.

The other Helpx people have all moved on now, and my hosts John and Julie headed off this morning for a couple of days away, leaving me house sitting for the New Year. I have a good book and a beautiful view, plenty of food and drink and a good pub just down the road so should be just fine.

Looking forward to a couple of days chilling before i head off into the nearly unknown, and a market garden further down south to learn about herb and salad production and sample a bit of the good life for a bit.

So, farewell 2007 and a big Hello to 2008. Hope you all enjoy the celebrations welcoming in the New Year and hope that all comes good for you in the coming year. Big love to you all, see you next year. S

Two more days of picking

then it's time off to party.

Christmas preparations are coming on a treat here. The living room is full of boxes and packing materials for flowers and either we're out in the fields picking Leucodendron flowers, down in the basement grading them and packing them into boxes eating or sleeping. No, its not that work orientated, the family and paid workers do far more than us helpXers and are somewhat more tired than us too.

Have read a couple of good books whilst the weather has been wet, if it rains overnight, which it as done several times, we have to wiat till the plants have dried off a bit before we pick so we get a free morning then work into the evening so tend not to go out.

The other helpers are great, a Canadian couple, late 20's librarian and sculptor who are having time out for their honeymoon and a bit of an adventure, are sure that they are so so different to people from the USA, but i don't see it myself, Adam a young lad from the UK, near Lyme Regis, full of jokes and amusement. Two individuals from Japan and one from Malaysia, they find the language and cultural differences quite different but more involved a time goes by. A good interesting mix of folk with plenty of interesting conversation and discussion as well as plenty of fun.

We'll sort Christmas in a couple of days once the last flowers have been dispatched, everyone has some thought on what they want to contribute so it should be good. We may even go as far as getting a Christmas tree, though its hardly worth it if the weather picks up and we spend all day outside in the warm.

Through the jet lag

I've just spent a few minutes reading the first entries of this Blog from last year and i'm a bit stumped as to what to write. Hopefully i'll get into the swing of writing again before too long.

Have been in New Zealand for about a week now, it seems loads longer and obviously a lot more familiar the second time round and feels really great to be back. So far i'm following the same route and am back picking flowers until Christmas. John and Julie are such great hosts and everyone seems to fit in as part of their family. 2 canadians, 2 japanese and 2 english helpers here this season, along with several local paid helpers that come and go as necessary.

I'm through the strange experience of jetlag where everything seems fine until you reach the end then it becomes hugely aparent that the last few days have been spent in a vague confusion. Thankfully all over now and my brain has returned to its usual useful state.

The weather is much much better than last year, much warmer and sunnier than previously although we have just been through a day of Devon drizzle and wet. It allowed us all a day off from picking and a bit of a break. Visited the South Island Art Gallery in Christchurch, only to discover that a high proportion of the exhibits are european and the instillation art is similarly obscure to those back home, still, it was a good afternoon out and saved getting soaked. The museum was much more interesting without jetlag (last visit) with historical displays of maori arrival through european discovery up to near persent day. A huge collection of Antarctic items reclaimed from early explorations and plenty of other random stuff.

Off to pick flowers again now. Catch you all soon.

It's starting again

Am off into the big blue yonder again.

I got the bug last time and can't shake it off so i'm gone!!!!!

Departure on 5th december 2007 will see me back in New Zealand in good time for christmas. My visit this time will be in a slightly different vein, are my thoughts and memories of moving to NZ for good real? will it really be so good that i want to stay the second time? Watch this space and discover more. I for one have no idea at the moment, i just need to go and find out.

the rest of the trip should be fun too and a great experience.

Please try and comment, its great to see who's logging on, and, more often than not, chatting to each other in the minature world of comments - so much more exclusive than facebook.

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gotta just show you these

Gotta go n catch a plane. See you soon and thanks for logging on and all your comments

more beaches

Back in Sydney for the last few days, and doing more of the sights that i didn't get to do earlier. The beaches, Manly, Bondi and Coogee to say that i've been there, get some sun and catch a few waves and chill before the big ride home.

Being lazy, so not much to write about, just enjoying the scenery and trying not to spend too many $$$ unnecessarily on crazy souvenirs.

further into the bush

Now this really is rural, still within the lush coastal swathe of countryside and not what the Australians call the outback.

My hosts Carl and Rachel live in a great house on the very outskirts of a small village right in the bush. There were signs along the road warning of kangaroo, koala and emu. Two of which i saw, the roos plentiful in the shade of giant eucalypts in the afternoon sun, a couple of emu and the koala being somewhat elusive or just too well camoflaged, asleep in their trees.

I strimmed and weeded and installed irrigation for the new veggie gardens, mended the chook fence and washed the pig, cleaned out gutters and fed the worms in the worm farm and the chooks and the rabbit.

In the afternoons we visited a couple of local towns on the coast, shopping and to go to the beach or i took the car and went exploring or to the beach for a swim, shame i didn't have my board, as the waves were better than ever and the beach almost deserted. Cooked some great dinners, chilled with home brew or homemade ginger beers out under the shade of the eucalyptus till dusk when we hid inside behind the protective mesh door and window covers that kept out the clouds of mosquitoes that came in search of blood each evening.

They warned me about snakes, which freaked me out a bit, i was cautious about the tall grass and about lifting bits of wood and moving things that were lying out in the sun and checking in my bed each night and am slightly dissapointed to have come away without not even the sighting of a tail fleeing into the undergrowth.

I am fleeing too now, back towards Sydney where the big metal bird awaits to take me back to England at the end of the week and i still have plenty to do....