Farm

Last week Andries and Belinda van der Zande invited me down to their dairy farm to help in preparations for the cows return. Yes, the cows go on a bovine holiday (think ClubMed for cattle) and return ready to reproduce.  The farm is a little over an hour south from Dunedin toward the town of Clinton.  The van der Zandes just moved to this area where Andries manages the farm There was much cleaning, mending, and general grunt work to do.

Cleaning the udder suckers (non-technical term)

Belinda and the dogs.

The Farm with Andries doing some mowing--in winter!

The dairy shed

Disassemble, clean, reassemble

Putting flowers in the garden.

Not pleased to see an American with November just around the corner.

Life on the farm.

Very cold here once the sun goes down at 5 PM.

Making more friends.  Four wheelers and AG bikes are the preferred modes of travel.

Another of the very positive aspects of New Zealand is variety of expatriates one meets.  Andries is a former Montessori principal and cafe owner from Amsterdam and Belinda is a former journalist from Jersey (the isle, not meadowlands!).  The world is a smaller place.

Stroll

Today was a pretty nice day.  A friend and I went to Ross Creek to see the waterfall there.  As I may of mentioned earlier, Ross Creek is in the city and well within walking distance of where I live.  Despite its proximity to Chinese Takeaway and automotive repair shops the stroll was quite therapeutic and an opportunity to take more pictures of running water.

Ross Creek

The waterfall

Not as big as Nicols Waterfall but nicer, I think.

This is the wooded area just before Shelob's cave.

Ross Creek Reservoir

Whilst walking on the trail, we found this miniature scene set up in the hollow of a long fallen tree.

Let's make this blog interactive, shall we?  I-SPY: Can you find a horse, a duck, Sylvester, a hedgehog, the letter 'M,' and a dragon?  

Glow-Worms

Today friends took me to Nicols Falls. This story about Nicols Falls is from the Otago Daily Times and written by Antony Hamil:

The 15m-high Nicols Falls are minor by Fiordland standards but make an interesting short walk.

Nicols Falls were a major Dunedin tourist attraction in the 1800s.

Visitors to the South Seas Exhibition of 1889-90 were routinely taken to the falls as they were Dunedin's greatest scenic attraction.

A track was built and a toll of 6 pence per person was charged by the landowner. Tragically, a Mr Jenkins died in 1894 while trying to climb to the top of the falls.

The creek became part of the Dunedin water catchment and by 1920 the public was prohibited access to the area. This has changed in recent times.

A visit is more interesting at night as the cliffs by the water intake and falls are the home to a large population of glow-worms.

The glow-worms lower sticky threads and emit light from their tails to capture insects for food. Once caught, the glow-worm retracts the thread and eats its insect prey.

 We did not go at night.  However, it was a nice little tramp.

Camelia and Nathan approach Nicols Falls.  Recalling 1894, they did not try to climb the falls.

Dunedin, Otago Harbour, and the Leith Valley from the fall track.

Of course I did not see any glow-worms, but I found a picture of one on the internet.  

Glow-worm

It does not look much like a worm to me.

Independence

I had a wonderful evening on July 4 with two other American couples.  We made chilli dogs and mac and cheese (as you know) and drank Miller High Life.  We watched an episode of the Andy Griffith Show in which Andy teaches Opie about US History (and meets Miss Crump for the first time).  Then we watched A Face In the Crowd.  If you are even the slightest fan of the late Andy Griffith, you really should watch this film. It will shock you.

We did not do any fireworks as you can only buy fireworks in New Zealand on the four days leading up to Guy Fawkes.  Its very odd to walk outside on the night of July 4th and be met by cold wind and no sounds of rockets or sights of red glare.

Rush

-or-

I Know What is Buried Under the Tarmac of Auckland Airport

Abandoning any chance of sightseeing in the monsoon, I headed back to the Auckland Airport with my  instant oatmeal and cheese and mac.  Looking out of the observation windows at the domestics terminal was like looking out of the windshield when you are going through an automatic carwash.  It came down in buckets.  I did lots of reading and drank lots of coffee (no blogging as the internet is a bit pricey at the Auckland Airport).

Apparently, many of the Hobbits that work at the Auckland Airport were away making some movie or something with Sir Peter Jackson. To replace the Hobbits, the Auckland Airport Authority has brought in Leprechauns.  And the Leprechauns brought their pots of gold and do you know what they did with all that gold?  That's right, they buried it under the runways.  I have photographic proof!

Not only that, but there is so much gold there, that it takes two rainbows to show its location.

There is gold buried the length of 23L/05R! 

I suspect it will all be gone soon as Sir Peter is almost finished with the Hobbits and they will be heading back to the luggage carousel.

Cheesiest

As Molly's flight back to the US was a late night one, I could not get a flight back to Dunedin the same evening. I decided to spend the following day in Auckland and fly back to Dunedin on the late afternoon flight.  In hindsight, this was a poor decision because it was quite cold with torrential rain in Auckland, making sightseeing impractical. However, I did find this:

Martha's Backyard

Martha's Backyard: The American Store. Martha's carries a variety of American made items, primarily food of exceptional shelf life.  Some of the items include Twinkies, Apple Jacks, Famous Dave's BBQ Sauce, and the pinnacle of the Midwest soda pop family: Big Red.  No kidding.  Big Red in New Zealand. I understand the good people at Martha's are working on a Velveeta supply.

What did I get?  I got a box of Quaker Oatmeal, a small box of Bisquick, and a couple of boxes of Kraft Cheese and Macaroni.  I'm not that big a fan of The Cheesiest, but I am attending a July 4th party and will be able to bring a little touch of the Colonies with me.

Molly

By no means is every day a happy day in Dunedin or any where else in New Zealand.  This is not utopia and there are a lot of things that are difficult to get use to if you are from the Land of Convenience. But today was a very unhappy day, but I am glad it happened.

Molly returned to Bloomington today.  She made a good effort here, but missed Claire desperately and we all decided it was best for her to go back now. She has done an extraordinary job, made some good friends, and learned a lot about herself.

I miss my family, but every tick of the clock brings us closer to being together.