Wellsford, Kingfisher Farm

We just spent ten days working on Kingfisher Farm near the village of Wellsford. We did a lot of weeding in the pumpkin patches, mulched saplings, hung and braided garlic, and took care of the animals while the family was away over Christmas. The farm itself is run along sustainable practices--free range hens produce the eggs, the gardens and fields are chemical-free, and the family is very committed to sustainable and organic living and commerce. They are wonderful people who took very good care of us. They even wrapped a few Christmas presents for us to open on Christmas Day! Great people, working a great little farm. We really enjoyed ourselves.

The work itself was pretty relaxing and fun. Debbie of course did all the mathematical work--grading the eggs and recording various tabulations in the farm log. She also nimbly jumped around hanging the garlic and proved to have a keen eye for judging the moods of the hens. I got to feed the hogs and deal with the more recalcitrant hens, or "chooks" as they're called here in NZ.

So, we had a great little Christmas and a great experience on the farm--thanks to the wonderful Robertson family. Perhaps someday we'll have a little farm of our own...

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season filled with lots of carrot cake and cheer! We hope you and yours are enjoying all the festivities. We are having a lovely Summer Solstice, spending a quiet holiday on a New Zealand farm. Peace! Debbie and Jude

Auckland

We just spent three days in Auckland. It was great to be in a city, especially an city as internat'l and diverse as Auckland. There are people here from all over the world, especially Japan, Korea, China, and Thailand. And as a busy city, there is almost continual bustle and noise, which is pretty different from Berkshire County. The view from the window of our hostel was a caged bungy jump, just a little different then Adams.

The city itself straddles a small stretch of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. We took the Coast to Coast Walk, a ten mile walk through the various neighborhoods, up Mt Eden, One Tree Hill and into Cornwall Park, from the Eastern shore to the Western. The volcanic cones form hills that have been turned into parks from which the city is laid out in vast panorama.

Whakanewha Regional Park, NZ

Last Saturday we took a little camping trip to Whakanewha Regional Park here on Waiheke Island. The park's Maori name translates loosely as "Cover ones eyes from the setting sun." The pronunciation is a story unto itself. If you want to know how to pronounce this (and you're over 18) just send us an email, and we'll relate the sordid details.

The Park, regardless of how it is pronounced, is absolutely lovely. We had a sweet little camp site next to the beach on a soft green lawn. We laid about in the sun, took lots of walks through the forest on some great trails. The wildlife of New Zealand is dominated by birds, and we've seen so many incredible birds both here and in Hawaii, but rarely have we had our camera ready to actually shoot one, so this picture is especially pleasing. This bird is called a kereru, and it stood still long enough for us to fumble out the camera and take at least one credible shot.

The walk out of Whakenewha on Sunday afternoon was through a steady rain. We ended up on this tiny road in the middle of nowhere, looking for a bus stop. After a few minutes of walking, we spied a bus shelter at the end of McMillan Road--a tiny and scruffy little corner of the island. We had a hard time believing that a bus would actually come to this desolate location late on a Sunday. As we were pouring over the posted schedule, a sweet little old lady appeared out of the mist and assured us that the bus would be by shortly. In a few moments, we were joined by four other riders, and the bus arrived right on time to take us away. Gotta love reliable public transportation!

Waiheke Island, New Zealand

G'Day all. After a loooong flight from Hawaii, which included a stop in beautiful Fiji, where we never left the airport, we have arrived in New Zealand!

Our current location is lovely Waiheke Island, a 35 minute ferry ride into the Hauraki Gulf off the coast of Auckland. It is late spring here--headed for the Summer Solstice, and people are gearing up for summer. School ends in two weeks and the beaches are calling. As you can see, Debbie and I have been taking advantage of the warm weather and long days, along with our new friends.

The people here are laid back and the island is great. We've been staying with a family doing some landscaping and child care in exchange for room and board. So far, we've managed to avoid death and destruction while running, walking, and driving around the island, even though all the people who live here insist on driving on the wrong side of the road.

Mauna Kea

We were missing the change of seasons back home so we grabbed all the fleece we could find and headed up the volcano. It's the highest point (13,796ft!) for thousands and thousands of miles. Absolutely amazing to go from steamy jungle to barren, windswept, snow and ice in a short drive. And the star gazing is stunning! The big island has only long-wavelength (yellow-red) streetlights to cut down on light pollution. So there's no background light, just clear cold air and extreme darkness. We had a lot of fun with the cold wind blasting our faces and the altitude making us short of breath, and got a great astronomy lesson from a UH-Hilo grad student at the visitor center.

By the way, we changed the settings on the blog so that now you can post a comment without having to sign up for anything. So comment away!

Kona

Hooweee. Last week we went for five days to the western side of the Island, called the Kona Coast. It is amazing to drive over the hump between the two huge volcanoes and leave behind the rainy windward side to arrive on the sunny leeward side. Only about 60 miles separate the two coasts, but the climate and ecology are totally different.

Kona coast has white sand and black sand beaches in abundance, where the windward side has mostly rocky coasts. Kona has gentle swelling surf, while the windward side has pounding, crashing surf. Kona side is dry, desert, looking a lot like the Western US, while the windward side is all jungle.

We had a lot of fun camping on the beaches, visiting the resorts, and snorkeling in the crystal clear, warm blue water amongst myriad different fish. It was awesome--we're both completely tan and relaxed.
Up slope (mauka) of the coast is the best coffee growing climate in the world. Numerous coffee plantations grow coffee that is orders of magnitude better than any other coffee I've ever had. It's almost like it's not even the same drink. To add any cream or sugar to it is close to blasphemy. We got completely wired one afternoon touring and sampling (Debbie drank coffee and got all hopped up--wicked fun!)

Near the southern end of the Kona Coast is the Place of Refuge (Pu'uhonua O Honaunau). This idyllic spot on the ocean is where the royal families of ancient Hawaii made their homes, and where islanders in trouble with the law could escape to receive a reprieve (if they could make it). Very cool spot with lots of ancient Hawaiin buildings and carvings.

South Point & Green Sands Beach

Last week we went to South Point (Ka Lai), which is the southernmost point on the Big Island, and, consequently, the southern most point in the United States. It is vast and windswept. The water at the point itself is calm--you can safely jump off the cliffs--but just a few hundred yards away the ocean surges and waves crash on the rocks.




If you look hard enough, you can see Antarctica in the distance.









A 2.5 mile walk along the rocky coast from Ka Lai brings you to this gem of a spot--Green Sands Beach. The walk is over lava fields and brings you past the most ancient human settlements on the island. Stone structures built first by the original Polynesian settlers 1,300 years ago, and rebuilt by anyone camping along the coast in the many years since. At the beach itself, the sand has been eroded from an outcrop of lava with a high olivine content. This means the sand is green. The waves are perfect for body surfing in this little cove. It is sheltered from the main pounding of the waves that cross thousands of miles of open ocean, but the wind can be fierce.

Lava Tree State Monument

Near to the place we are staying and working, on the south eastern slopes of Kilauea next to the sea, we ran across Lava Tree State Monument. Here you can see a mature rain forest, and among the living trees there are lava trees. These rock formations are caused by lava flowing around a living tree. Because the tree contains so much water, it is not instantly incinerated, and the first layers of lava cool in the shape of the tree. The water quickly vaporizes and the tree burns away, but left behind are these chimneys of cooled lava. The liquid lava receded into giant cracks in the ground, leaving cleared land and lava trees.

Eventually, the forest grows back among the lava trees. This particular forest is over 200 years old, as the lava trees were formed in the lava flow of 1790. This is a most beautiful and serene place.

Volcanoes National Park

Soon after our arrival, we spent a few days at Volcanoes National Park, which is absolutely amazing. The park consists of two of the three active volcanoes that comprise the Big Island of Hawaii, Mauna Loa and Kilauea.

Mauna Loa is the 13,000 ft mountain that can be seen in the distance behind our tent. The main caldera of Kilauea can be seen smoldering in the eighth photo down. Kilauea is the most active volcano on the planet, and we spent some time hiking around its slopes through lava fields and rain forest, into lava tubes and to the coast where the lava forms huge cliffs and a sea arch. One of our hikes was right across the caldera itself--two miles across the baked and smoking landscape, across gaping cracks in the crust and scalpel sharp a'a lava.

Above Kilauea, on the slopes of Mauna Loa, we found a Kapuka, which is an area of raised land that escaped a lava flow. A mature forest has grown up on a small patch of land that is surrounded by desolation. It was here that we discovered the mighty Koa trees growing to their full stature. Obviously we couldn't resist the opportunity for a family portrait.

Since we were camping at 4,000 ft, there were cool breezes and no bugs, and the sky was unbelievably clear. I was awakened in the middle of the first night by a bright light shining into the tent which I at first thought was someone's flashlight, but turned out to be Jupiter.

We could have happily spent more time in the park, but we are, unfortunately, working our way around the world, and we had to return to our jobs.

Two nights ago the volcano reminded us that it makes up the whole island when we had an earthquake of 4.2. You don't leave the volcano when you leave the park.

KoaMaya's World Trek Itinerary '07-'08

Sept 29/30, 2007 NYC to The Big Island, Hawaii
Our address while in Hawaii is Kalani Retreat, RR2 Box 4500, Pahoa, HI 96778.
Our cellphones will be able to take messages until Dec 2nd, after that they will be inoperative for the remainder of the trip.

Dec 1/2, 2007 Hawaii to Auckland, New Zealand via Fiji
While in NZ we hope to WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) and maybe spend some time working for an adventure outfitter on the North Island.

Jan 17/18, 2008 Auckland, New Zealand to Kathmandu, Nepal via Bangkok
In Nepal we plan to visit Kathmandu, Pokhara and other spots as we travel to Jude's villages (Peace Corps '90-'91). We hope to trek the Anapurna Circuit, possibly hike up to Everest Base Camp and will be volunteering at Sam's House, an orphanage in Pokhara.

Feb 19, 2008 Kathmandu to Bangkok, Thailand
Our time in Thailand will be purely vacation time, we hope to complete a scuba course in the warm and beautiful South China Sea.

Feb 27, 2008 Bangkok to Beijing, China
We will be volunteering in Yantai, Shandong Province through Global Volunteer Network/Sinoculture Exchange for two months. We will be volunteering teaching English to Chinese students and traveling the country on our off time.

Overland From China to Paris, France
We plan to travel via the Trans-Mongolian Railway from China to Russia, through Mongolia. Beyond that we will make our way into Europe to visit Jude's family in Italy and France, and my friend Julia in Germany.

June 5, 2008 Paris, France to Newark, NJ
Back for some summer fun with all our friends and family- get ready for the slide show!

*This is the most complete trip scheme we are able to provide at this time, it is all very subject to change. The best way to be in contact with us will be via email, debbie.koamaya@gmail.com and philip.jude.koamaya@gmail.com. We are planning to whip up a blog once we have fun photos and good stories to share. A warm invitation to anyone who may be able to join us along the journey.