New Zealand Adventure

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Taking the pigs to market

A project that I'm taking on at home this year (with lots of assistance from son, nephews, brother, brother-in-law, friends, etc) is having three pigs raised by a farmer. Actually 4 pigs. One is for the annual pig roast. We are going to build a smokehouse and do our own butchering of the pigs and making sausage, hams, bacon, etc. We will take the pigs to a slaughterhouse to be killed.

One of the things that can potentially be stressful to the pigs is taking them to the slaughterhouse. I was talking to the couple here, and in NZ, they have someone come to the farm and kill the pigs here. They said is is very calm. They put some feed in the trough and the pigs come up and then they are shot in the head. They then dress the pigs out and remove all their hair and then hang them in the truck for transportation to the butcher. Seems like a much better way to do this than we do it. I'll look into this at home, but I'm guessing that it is not allowed as there probably needs to be a USDA meat inspector there at the time.

Farm visit

I began my farm visit and working today. I got a tour and got to meet the chickens, pigs, goats, lambs, and cattle. Very nice operation. It is definitely something that I can see doing back home. The owners goals are to be self sufficient.

I really like the cattle that they have. They are Dexters. They are a smaller cattle who are good for both meat and milking. They are currently just using them for meat, but are hoping to get a home cow for milking. Dexters are also know for their easy going and approachable demeanor.

The chickens are brown shavers which are

primarily used for egg laying.

The three little pigs are a combination of Bershire and Wessex Saddleback pigs.

The sheep are white and fluffy (I forgot what type, and I'm not sure I would remember anyway).

There are a couple of types of goats, but the ones I remember are Angora goats. They have a

great coat, and it brings a fair amount of money when they are

shorn. They are about the only variety of goats that are shorn.

Today I helped out harvesting potatoes from the vegetable garden and helped with brush and burning a brush pile. I've asked lots of questions and hopefully by the time my 5 days is up, I'll pass my apprenticeship!

Pictures:

1 - Dexter mom and 2 calves
2 - Brown shavers
3 - Three little pigs helping me by loosening some of the dirt. The plant is gorse, which is an invasive from England that was brought over for hedgerows and then went wild. They are trying to eliminate this.
4, 5, 6 - The shaggy goats are the angoras. The others are for eating gorse and the rough stuff in the paddocks.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Current News

As I did on my last sabbatical, I've not seen any news (sports - excluding cricket, etc., political, financial, etc.). My thoughts are that I can't do anything about it, and what difference does it make. On the last trip, we made some predictions that came out true. They were that Congress would still be arguing about social security reform, the Pope would still be sick and that several famous people would die. We were right about all of those predictions.

Not watching TV has been easy, since I don't have it at home to watch. There have been a few times when I'm on the Internet that I've been tempted to look, but I've not done it and will not. My goal is to limit the amount of time I spend on the news when I get back. It really seems to be a waste.

My predictions for this trip are that everyone is still going to be arguing about healthcare, the Democrats and Republicans still won't have anything that they will agree on and several famous people will have died. The last one is a no brainer! The thing is, I won't know which famous people have died until a year or two and I get into a discussion with someone and they say that they have died. Most famous people who die are only in the news for one or two days at most.

Train ride

I took the train from Greymouth to Christchurch. It is supposed to be the most beautiful train ride in New Zealand. It goes from the West coast of the South Island to the East coast and crosses the Southern Alps.

This was my first train trip (5 hours) with the exception of commuter trains. They actually had

an outside observation car so you could take

pictures. I went out there once, as my seat was on a car about 5 cars away from the observation car. There was also a dining car that offered poor excuses for food and beverages, including beer and wine.

They had a very humorous commentary regarding the scenery as we went, so no one would miss anything.

It wasn't bad, which is good since I've got a train from Christchurch to Wellington (including a ferry ride to get me from the South Island to the North Island) and a 12 hour train trip from Wellington to Auckland.

Pictures (from Christchurch):

1- Anglican cathedral from hotel room

2 - Inside of church (no one can say I didn't go to church on my visit!).

3 - View from church steeple that I climbed.

4 - Chess in square for my friend Don

Monday, March 29, 2010

New Sport

At pubs, I've basically been introduced to either cricket, soccer or rugby, with one night of Formula 1. Last night, there was a game that I thought was women's basketball, until I took a second glance. It was net ball (I had to ask the bartender). There is a basket, but no backboard. The basket is only about 7 feet high. They only pass the ball. When they get the ball passed in close, it is like no one can move and the person takes a shot. The defenders can raise their hands, but can't move their feet off the ground. Very strange. Seems to be a big sport over here.

Fellow travelers

I know I've commented on this before, but I find it interesting the make up of the people that I meet. At most restaurants, pubs, resorts, and activities, the workers are from somewhere other than NZ. It seems to be easy to get a 1 year work/travel visa, and then people come over here to do something so they can make enough money to travel.

The majority of the travelers seem to be either younger than myself, or older. There aren't a whole lot in the middle (although, I'm probably starting to trend to the upper middle). On the glacier climb, I was at least 20 years older than the next oldest in our group. At least they didn't call me Dad! Most groups seem to have a large number of Aussies, which is understandable, since it is only a three hour flight to NZ.

I'm guessing that part of the reason for the age spread is that only the young and the old have enough time to make the major travel. I'm also surprised by the amount of time that many people are spending. I thought I would be near the top at 5 weeks, but I've run into a number of people who are spending 3, 4 or even 6 months. These do not include the people going to spend a year working.

The make up of the glacier climb was interesting. It was 1 US (me), 2 Canadians, 1 UK, 2 Dutch, and 6 Germans. The Germans did not all know each other. I was surprised that there were no Aussies. I'm guessing that the older demographics opted for a shorter climb, or the heli-climb (helicopter up to the glacier and then walk around for a bit and a ride back down).

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Glacier climbing

I went climbing on the Franz Josef glacier today. They were sold out for the full day climb, but I was first on the waiting list and got on. It was a

fine day! Not a cloud in the sky. This is pretty remarkable since Franz Josef gets about 7 meters (22 feet) of rain per year. They are on the west coast and the winds from the west pick up moisture in the Tasman Sea and then drop it as they start to climb the mountains. The mountains get 30 to 40 meters of snow per year. This all feeds the glacier.

We spent 6 1/2 hours on the glacier. My feet are sore from the crampons that are strapped to your hiking boots. I think I may have gotten some neat pictures of the crevices that we climbed through and an ice cave that we went into.

One of the toughest parts was that we were allowed to use the restroom at 8:30 before we went out and then couldn't use it again until we got back at 5! I saw a lot of blue ice, but no yellow ice!

I promise I'll try and find a place where I can post some pictures. I'm using a machine that gives you internet access as long as you are drinking. The sacrifices one must make in foreign countries!