Pure Jersey Cream, Part 4 of 4

My cow adventures are finally (and sadly) coming to a close...  Enjoy, my friends.

Day 13 (Saturday)

After the morning milking and getting the cows out to feed on fresh grass and hay, all the other animals were ready gnaw on something too.  If I walk anywhere near the hen house, I’ve got 3 dozen chickens following me in a matter of seconds.  Either they are on a feeding schedule, and thus follow around anyone that nears them every morning around 9:00am, or they’ve imprinted on me already.  After I feed these cackling chooks, Stu picks me up on the tractor to spread hay.  Peter (milking hand) had to take off early after milking, so it is just me on the trailor balancing between 6 bales of hay stacked higher than I am tall.  How am I going to cut the cord on these things without throwing myself off the tractor while trying to balance as we hit all the potholes and have cows mooing after me with hunger?

After a ton of farm chores compressed into 5 hours, at noon we take off and drive south to Paringa for a Hereford & Angus bull auction.  I’ve been thinking about this bull auction for the past week, hoping we’d go, having no idea what to expect.  The event was even more than I imagined!  I watched HUGE Hereford and Angus bulls get auctioned off for $3,000 - $6,500 dollars each, which is apparently lower than last year’s take.  The grandstands were filled with out 200 farmers, half of them in overalls and gumboots (muckboots), and the other half in jeans and boots.  I took oodles of pictures of all 36 different bulls, and eavesdropped on everyone’s conversations.  Apparently good traits for Hereford’s are panda eyes, clarity, white shoulders and throat, body length, good feet…

Learning about the merits of each bull is a science unto itself, and this beginner’s eavesdropping course I just took was decent.  These bulls were truly incredible beasts, almost like teenage boys, full of energy, budding strength, and constantly butting heads.  I got in the pens with them… when in the safe company of those more experienced than I.  The bulls are fearless, feared, and utterly fearful. 

Pure Jersey Cream, Part 3 of 4

10-mos old calf

Part 3 of 4 - The Dairy Farmers Life

Travel dates: May 17 – June 2, 2010

Day 6 (Saturday)

Morning and evening milking.  I’m tired.  Very tired.  Am I getting used to the smell of cow poo and urine?  I dream about cows nearly every night.  Last night I got up and looked around my room because in my dream, I thought there were cows in the house.  Cows, cows, everywhere! (but not in the house)

Day 7 (Sunday)

The morning started early despite more than an extra 30 min of sleep (6:30am).  It rained the entire night, and I dreaded climbing out of bed to head to the milk shed.  After milking Stu, two of his brothers & Peter headed to the deer paddock to round up the deer for culling.  The enormous 20-point stag was separated from the hinds (aka doe, NZ speak), and the others were corralled into a small shed.  Four men, me and 30 deer were enclosed into an area no larger than a standard size bedroom; I was shocked so many hearts could fit in one room.  Eighteen big does were separated and released (the ‘moms’) and as each left the shed, they galloped and gave a great leap of over 8’ high.  I was reminded of the grace and agility of these animals but looked around and was also reminded of their vulnerability as I was surrounded by 12 young females.  The plan: each deer would be shot and drug outside (while I stood carefully outside) and then eviscerated.  At this point I did not feel confident going in the shed to participate in dragging, nor was I exactly keen on looking into the soon-to-be empty eyes.  I stood outside as did Brother John.  Pop.  One by one a deer was lifelessly pulled out of the shed.  

Pure Jersey Cream, Part 2 of 4

Part 2 of 4 - Farm work begins!

Travel dates: May 17 – June 2, 2010

Day 1 (Monday)

After venison pies for lunch, we rode bicycles down the way to move electric fences to shift the 10 month old calves onto a new grassy paddock.  These girls (around 40 of them), as well as all of the other cows, get moved onto new grassy paddocks every day or two, depending on how many are in the herd.  As we walked up, there was so much commotion that I thought the calves were in trouble.  MOO! MOO!!!  40 of them were synchronously mooing at Stu and I; it was perplexing!  What is happening?  WELL, It seems that cows are just regular chatterboxes, and the mooing was to ‘talk’ to Stu & I, and to let us know they were hungry and wanted to be on greener pasture!

Stu has about 165 cows in his herd that are currently being milked twice a day, and at 5pm we headed to the Milk Shed for the evening milking.  My nerves were on edge, but  I was so excited for this new milking adventure!  There was a lot of following-Stu-around involved, explanations, and nods.  There were neither pretenses nor excuses, and after my lessons, it was my turn to have a go at it.  Grabbed a hold of the first teat, cow didn’t jump around nor sense that I was a first-timer, or try to kick me.  All good signs.  After a few cows, I was starting to feel relatively comfortable, and liked the process.  Good thing, because there was a lot of cow milking to come.

Cook big delicious dinner, drink wine.  Go to bed before 11pm.

In the milking shed, wearing full bib & overalls

Pure Jersey Cream, Part 1 of 4

Hi friends & family!

My next WWOOFing adventure took place on a dairy farm on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.  This was my first true experience living and working on a farm; it was so exciting, mucky and rewarding!  In lieu of my normal large summary of events, I wrote about my experiences every day while I was there.  What follows is essentially my journal of Farm Living!  I was on the farm for 3 weeks, wrote a lot, and will send the adventures in 4 parts.

Enjoy! Jessie

Travel dates: May 17 – June 2, 2010

Waitaha Valley

“Hello, this is the Mayor of the Waitaha Valley .  I’m not in, but I am home.  I’m out on the farm either milking the cows, driving the tractor, or shooting a opossum for the night’s supper.  Please leave a message with your number, and I will call you back.”

After my first call to Stu Davidson (and receiving his above answering machine message), I knew I HAD to wwoof with this man.  Anyone with that message on their “answer phone” had to have a lot of character, and was someone I wanted to meet.  Turns out, that was one of the best thoughts, and subsequent decisions, that could have happened in New Zealand.

My Glacially Frozen Bum

Travel dates: May 14-16, 2010

Fox Glacier, Franz Josef Glacier, Lake Matheson

After 6 nights with the Organic Family in Wanaka, NZ, fellow german wwoofer Manny & I set off for the West Coast on Friday for a long scenic drive through mountains, beach and rainforest. Can you imagine all three sceneries in a matter of 4 hours drive? The latter was seen through thick rain, however, as the West Coast (of the South Island) gets more rain than any other part of the country. Manny & I played English-German games while driving, which generally included lots of “Was? Was? Scheize!,” bad pronunciation, and hilarity.

Keeping it Organic

May 8-14, 2010
Wanaka, NZ

I like to eat healthy. I like to buy organic foods. I didn’t realize that my habits were so primitive compared to my next family of five! There is something to be said for incorporating organics, sustainable methods, and eco-conscious products into your life ranging from vegetables, fruit, toothpaste, meat, hand & face lotion, towels and clothes... Admittedly, those latter few are not regularly part of my greenie tree-hugging lifestyle, but I’m not opposed. Naturally this family had a compost pile, actually multiple composts all in different stages, a worm farm for the garden and compost piles, 50 or so odd sheep, 2 cows, a dog, couple rogue cats, vegetable gardens galore, fruit trees recently planted, and an overall goal of self-sufficiency. In addition, in an effort to encourage organic product availability the family started a small “store” out of their garage, open one day per week, delivering and selling organic products to their community. Good people with good goals in life.

What Lies Beneath

May 2-7, 2010
Kokonga, Central Otago
Two nights in a Dunedin hostel filled in the time between Crazy Americans in Waikouaiti and the next wwoofing host, Potato David, in Kokonga.
That Sunday night was supposed to be an early bedtime in the backpackers, but 6 new chatty roommates had other ideas. The night prior was a big party night for Aerin & I, as the ‘big’ night in Dunedin is best had on Saturdays. Sometime Saturday night/Sunday morning I strolled into my hostel after lots of dancing, drinking, and a late night snack, and checked the clock: 2:25am, not too bad. A nice sleep until 9:45am gave me nearly a full night’s rest, or so I thought. The next afternoon I met a friend for picnicking in the Dunedin Botanical Gardens, and an excerpt of our conversation follows:

Jessie:       I got home just before 2:30am, not too bad. How about you?
Mikenna:     What?? Umm, Jessie, that’s not possible… I left you at 3:30am to walk home.
Jessie:       Are you sure? Is your cell phone set to the right time zone?
Mikenna:     Yes, I’m sure. I walked into my place at exactly 3:59am; I remember looking at the clock on the wall.
Jessie:       Uh oh, um…. (pause, pause, more pause…) Oh no! I read the clock wrong!! I switched the big and little hands!… It was actually 5:10am!!!

Fairy dust and Pixie sticks

April 27-30, 2010
Waikouaiti
One day while wwoofing with The Pringle’s (native vegetation folks) we had a big day out attending a Native Tree replanting at a nearby beach, where Aerin & I would meet our next wwoofing hosts, AKA the “Crazy Americans”. My skepticism was high, particularly considering wwoofing is an ‘exchange,’ primarily between two cultures, so what kind of exchange would be had with an American couple? “Surely not much…” Boy was I ever wrong!!

In wee Waikouaiti, New Zealand (1-hour north of Dunedin) I sat in the living room of an outrageously strange American couple's home pondering how and why I was looking into a crystal ball.  I equally wondered why there were mini table and chairs sitting on top of cupboards and bookcases? When I say strange, I mean it to the N-th degree. Fairies, tarot cards, pagan ceremonies, crystal balls... the works! Perhaps some of this is standard fare for you, but truly I was baffled. Let’s just say, there was indeed a ‘cultural exchange’ that occurred! Through many odd conversations with the wife, whose locks were dyed bright orange, I learned that there was “a place for the fairies” in every room of the house, which explained the mini furnishings and décor scattered on top of cabinets and cupboards.

Long Beach... a long way from California!

April 19-26, 2010
Invercargill

After five great days of hiking, marvel, beauty, partying, and fun times in Queenstown, I should have known disappointment could only follow. There was some difficulty finding the next wwoofing host, and we quickly realized that many farms and homestays were leaning up their operations for the approaching winter months. Success prevailed though, and with bus ticket bought and luggage loaded, there was a quick email check before shooting off for Invercargill:  New Zealand’s southern most city. Bad news was revealed 3 minutes prior to leaving: our new hosts backed out.
The trip started off with a powder keg bang, and continued down a dreary path. All in all this city, one which I could do without visiting again, greeted us with 80 kph wind, gray skies, rain showers, and just overall depressed gloom. By making the best of the situation, we found a gardening-for-accommodation exchange at a hostel in an insalubrious neighborhood, which turned out to be much more rewarding that originally anticipated. Taming a neglected and wild garden into something respectable can be highly satisfying, so we gave it all we had for 2.5 days!

Adrenaline's Playground

April 14-18, 2010

Queenstown
After a week of wwoofing work, Aerin & I were ready for a vacation! ;) We were off for some traveling, pure tourist style. We left the north of the North Island for the south of the South Island (each island is about the length of Florida) en route to Queenstown, New Zealand’s Adventure Capital of the Country. This tiny town of less than 15,000 permanent residents is guidebook listed as: “Surrounded by the soaring indigo heights of the Remarkables (mountain ranges), crowned by Coronet Peak, and framed by the meandering coves of Lake Wakatipu, it’s little wonder than Queenstown is a show-off. The town wears its ‘Global Adventure Capital’ badge proudly, and most visitors take the time to do crazy things they’ve never done before.”

The plane ride in was the first stop on the adventure circuit. The plane flies extremely low between two mountain ranges, leaving only a minor gap, and our flight was blessed with an abundance of crosswinds! First attempt? Whole failure as we jetted quickly past the tiny town searching out another landing route. Circled, descended, and I started getting worried about when I felt the plane rocking from side to side, up and down, I’m catching air. I tighten my seatbelt, grab onto the armrests.

Returning "home"

Hello all!

In lieu of sending you old travel updates (and the fact that I am surprisingly up-to-date with my current travel updates!), I have included some details of my most recent adventures!

April 8 - 13, 2010
Waitakere

On the day of my birthday I boarded a plane in Brisbane, Australia with the entire crew of the Georgia Tech 2010 Pacific Program, which included 36 students, Program Director (Awesome Dave), and Program Assistant/Lab Instructor (Awesome Me). A few hours and a few time zones later we landed in Auckland, New Zealand. Thirty-six people flooded the International Transfers line, while two people got teary-eyed and hugged all of the people in line, slowly walking past the Transfers line en route to Baggage Claim. One of the students, Aerin, and I were adventurously embarking on a new journey in New Zealand. We both changed our return plane tickets home to extend and discover more about the country we have come to love. We planned to chase Kiwis for 4 weeks together, then Aerin flies home, and I run around the country for 5 more weeks on my own. To that, add on 1 week for me in Tonga, and we’ve got 6 months of living out of suitcase! Essentially I will not have any permanent mooring place for longer than 7 days!

Yes, its true... Round two!

After the end of last year’s journey, I returned to the United States with the optimistic hopes that I could repeat my good fortunes in the South Pacific with a second round of joy. Two semesters of classes waited my US return, and I am happy to report that as of Dec 09, I have finished my THIRD Bachelors degree – Bachelors of Science in Biology from Georgia Institute of Technology! Yes, you read that correctly…three. I am thinking of wallpapering a small bathroom with these pieces of paper; seems the most useful thin to do. Additionally, I was able to finish my last semester of eligibility as a GT Rower in the Fall, and my very last race served as a grand finale send-off with a 1st place win by a mere 3.6 seconds!! What a great way to finish things off!

Alas my dreams were able to come true: my opportunities to return to New Zealand and Australia were realized. The plan? Before and after work officially would begin, I would ‘sandwich’ the NZ/AUS trip with Pacific islands! Spoiled? Yes, maybe.

SO, before New Zealand = Fiji, and after Australia = Tonga. Not so shabby, eh? Before this adventure, however, there was one small detail I needed to iron out --> get Open Water SCUBA certified. Check! Now I was fit to take on my job again! (Pacific Program)

Pictures  SCUBA cert & Rowing

"It’s just a job. Birds fly, grass grows, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.” Muhammad Ali

Really loved the above quote… it makes me think of my opportunities in the South Pacific. “It’s just a job.” I get to teach a subject I love, lead hikes through rainforests and over volcanoes, inspire others through education, and basically have the time of my life. For pay! I really am so lucky and fortunate.

Hugs, Jessie

Leaving the Kiwis… Gimme the Aussies!

I’ve decided that being back in classes at Georgia Tech (all summer, now Fall semester) definitely does not encourage much in the way of extracurricular writing. GT? Go figure! Ha!!

The last of New Zealand (in and around Wellington): http://picasaweb.google.com/Jessie1508/AroundWellington#

FISH!
Who rises at 5:30am to go see, smell, taste and photograph raw fish, crustaceans and bugs? I do! I do!
The Sydney Fish Market Tour adventure included donning bright orange reflective vests reminiscent of roadside workers…

First stop on the tour…learning about fish markets, fish mongers, fish, Dutch auctions, fish, cold slurries, more fish… In brief, the industry was deregulated about 50 years ago, and thanks to Sydneysiders preference and love from fresh fish, the Market has grown and grown! The SFM ranks as the second largest in the world, only outsold in volume by the Tokyo fish market. This, however, seems close in size by statistics, but the Tokyo market sells in two weeks what Sydney sells in one year. WOW! Interesting point, however--- the SFM uses a silent reverse (Dutch) auction that allows about 1,000 sales / hour versus the Tokyo fish market still uses traditional voice auctioning and is limited to around 200 sales / hour. Imagine the Tokyo possibilities.

The Big One

With only two weeks left in New Zealand, and I decided to go for broke: Mount Taranaki.. I planned on getting to the summit of that beast. Have you seen The Last Samurai? This is the volcano used in that film. It is truly a beast at 8,260 feet to the summit!

The week prior 7 guys from my program also made the summit their goal, all physically fit, but half way through two had to turn back at the half-way point. It is a 7-8 hour total return climb for a fit hiker, and you need every bit of light that you can scavenge. Mount Taranaki, aka Egmont, is the most fatal mountain in New Zealand; many of these deaths occur due to unprepared hikers and quick (alpine) weather changes.


I arrived at the parking lot base early that Saturday morning with lots of winter-ready clothes, food and water in my pack. I took one step out of the car, and realized that half of my clothes needed to get put on immediately! No layers were shed the entire hike up until I stood atop the summit and smiled for the camera!

The beginning of 1000s of stairs!

After a steep but relatively flat 1.5 hour 5000 feet climb from the carpark, you reach an overnight hikers lodge. After you leave the lodge (nice rest stop and views across the country), you hit a series of steps. The steps, at least on the downhill, are a welcome (structured) addition to the climb. There are about a million steps, but hey, who’s counting? After all the million steps, you are at decision point. You hit about 2200 feet of scoria (“scree”); this is the point that the 2 guys earlier had to call it quits. Scree--> Think pumice stone (also volcanic formed), but slightly heavier. Now picture 2200 feet of this stuff, all shapes and sizes from the size of a dime to half dollar, all layed out on a 35 degree climb up it. Basically, “one step forward, two steps back” is the trend, so you can either try to take lots of steps quickly to lose less in the end (quickly tiring), or take one step, try your best to plant that foot, and swing the other foot up the incline. Repeat a thousand times, give or take a hundred.

Halloween, Rugby Style

(As some of you may know, I have made my way back to the States, and am back in Atlanta now. I will continue to send out these fun stories and pictures (slow and steady wins the race), but just let me know if you’d like off the list!)

Let’s get to it!
Fact: Kiwis (i.e. New Zealanders) do not celebrate Halloween.

Timeline:

Friday
12:00pm
Walking to a cricket match in Wellington . See three bananas standing on a balcony, one of them eating a banana. Chiquita banana lady close by.
3:00pm
Watching cricket match. Twin Jesus’ pass by me in the stands, big smiles on their faces. Mario & Luigi were right behind them, bouncing like balls.
6:00pm
Eating dinner at an outside café, and at least a dozen hot pink flamingoes pass me by.

From Middle Earth to Mount Doom

Growing up I had an impression that volcanoes were dangerous locations containing enormously deep craters at the top in which a person could disappear whole. They were unpredictable and could swallow a person on a whim. Volcanoes were NOT something that you purposefully sought out.

Ski lifts to the top of Mount Ruapehu (Mount Doom!)

Toss all of that out the window! The entire Georgia Tech students and faculty of the Pacific program headed to the Taupo Volcanic Zone, which (technically) lists 22 volcanoes in the region!!! 50+ persons later and we had all taken a few ski lifts to the top of an active volcano, Mount Ruapehu, which erupted as recently as last year. Who in their right mind does this?

An impromptu classroom!

  Well it turns out that volcanoes are not such menacing creatures that I had invented. The next day I even purposefully hiked a few including – the Tongariro Alpine Crossing – billed as the best one-day hike in all of New Zealand, and listed as one of the Top 10 one-day hikes in the world. Simply amazing, a 19km hike that with 2 million years of volcanism below foot, passing by some of the most spectacular sights and glowing cones all around. This hike, friends, explains why Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand. Some of the formations, colors and scenery looks like it came straight out of a movie. Or some other alien planet! I saw Emerald Lakes that possessed the color of brilliant (manmade bright!) emeralds! And craters so deep and colored by red that only a 64 box of crayons could have made the hue so rich.

Hiking down the scree with Mount Tongariro and the Blue Lake in the background

Marine Lover’s Paradise

Wellington --> Picton --> Queen Charlotte Sounds --> Kaikoura --> Blenheim --> Wellington

Second weekend in New Zealand gave me a chance to reach exploration adventures of mammoth proportions! By mammoth I mean a heart the size of a VW Beetle, and hiking tracks that go on for days and days. However with the term “weekend”, only sampling size proportions were possible. Oh well.

Queen Charlotte Sounds

First stop: Queen Charlotte Track in the northern sounds of the South Island. The entire track is 70 kms or so, usually done in 4 days. I tackled 15 kilometers (around 9 miles. Uphill. Both ways.) , and threw in the proverbial towel. I’d have to say that this was really my first big “hike”, so there were lots of new experiences… Packing all my food on back. Packing weather-change clothes. Eating for necessity every hour, drinking more frequently (all in, no out!). But long-haul hiking virgin, I am no longer!! Man it was awesome. Step one, Queen Charlotte Track. Step two, the entire Appalachian Trail! Yeah right.

15 kms down, and one beautiful coastal drive to go! Destination: Kaikoura, New Zealand

Dusky dolphins (smaller than the common or bottlenose)

This drive was one of the most scenic and gorgeous drives I have ever observed, and I hope you might someday have the opportunity to see this as well. I literally had difficulty not pulling the car off the road every 15 minutes. This town’s tourism is really the only reason I planned this trip though – the drive was simply a bonus. The tourism industry? Marine, marine, marine! Whale watching (yes, I paid the exorbitantly overpriced tourist rates), dolphin swimming (skipped this one, but was on the verge), hiking (another fur seal colony!), coastal relaxation, cold brews (definitely), just bliss.

A Three Lighthouse Weekend

Who knew New Zealand and Australia would be so busy? As the sole TA for 45 study abroad students, plus designing and teaching two 3.5 hour biology labs every week, I have been busy trying to cram in personal time. Have no fear, I have made plans for weekends on the North and South Island galore!

After the beauty of the gannets, then the soothing Art Deco town of Napier, I wandered to a NZ brewery! TUI is kind of like the Miller of the US, complete with lots of funny advertisements in the form of “yeah right” slogans on everything from billboards to buses:

Summer is more than just beers, BBQ’s and bikinis. Yeah right.

I was reading her t-shirt. Yeah right.

I want to hear all about your day. Yeah right.

I’m really keen to see your mother again. Yeah right.

Beer doesn’t really go with that. Yeah right.

It’s getting too cold for beer. Yeah right.

This is just the beginning!

My first weekend in New Zealand I found myself with a rental car cruising the North Island. You have already had the pleasure of reading the many farces and many first (unnatural) moments of left-side driving (PS- The steering wheel is on the right side too...) with curbs hopped and windshield wipers turned on every 5 minutes. Silly, exhausting, and SO well worth it.

View from on the trailor

Friday morning I drove like lightning from Wellington to Cape Kidnappers (rental car company “forgot” to pick me up Friday morning!) to see the world’s largest gannet colony (it is a bird, by the way). I arrived just in the nick of time to catch my tractor trailor coastal tour along the South Pacific. An hour and a half tractor and trailor pull down the Cape Kidnappers coastline yielded a several “get out and walk” moments to lighten the load as we got massively stuck between rocks and sand (and birdshit). I'd like to think this was the fault of the drivers, and not the overindulgence of any passengers...

Stay Left, Look Right

Here is the summary of my first 3-day driving adventure on the opposite side of the road:

(Number of times…)

2: Honked at and/or flipped off for driving slow in the fast lane. They are switched.
3: Turned into the wrong lane. Obviously switched.
3: Curbs hopped. Oops!
4: Attempts to get in on the passenger side of the car to drive.
25 or more: Turned on the windshield wipers instead of the blinker. Switched too.
Every single time: Reached with left hand to put on seat belt. Came up empty every time.

I don’t know how many of you have had this joyous experience, but it is one that leaves you very uncertain at all turns. And there is always the extremely menacing feeling of a car traveling directly at you in your lane, but it is actually in the correct “right” lane. Oh man.

Now I just look left and right at least 5 times before turning or even crossing...

Picture below was written on the blackboard by the program director to the students (and staff!) for their first weekend away. By the end of the day it had been partially erased, resulting in my (mock) motto for the Pacific!