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.