Travel really does change you. I am a generally anxious person, and not too much of a risk taker, but these six months in New Zealand have pushed me so far out of my comfort zone for long enough that I've become comfortable outside it! I've always wanted to risk a little more than I usually risk, and so I decided to spend another two weeks wwoofing while Kara and Jordan go to Wellington to find work.
After I dropped them off there, I drove three hours (by myself-- on the left!) up North on Highway 2 to Ormondsville, just outside Dannevirke. (I'd never heard any of these names before now.) It got dark just before I reached the house, and it's rural enough that even with my brights on I had trouble finding the drive way! But I finally found the sign with the name of their house: Missalonghi. Once I found it, I realized that the house was going to be amazing-- the gate was shrouded in darkness, but looked imposing and grand.
The house is AMAZING. It's huge! The decoration is all very bohemian chic, and there's interesting art everywhere. It's massing. My room is crazy big and fancy, and so comfortable!
They also have two very interesting cats: Mezmot, an Oriental, and Lumi, whose fur feels like a rug. Toyah says that Orientals are usually really friendly-- almost like dogs!- so that's going on my list of things to think about when I get home. There are also two horses, Halo and Charlie, and TONS of really interesting chickens (including chicks!). Have you seen the Fantastic Chickens calendar? The chickens look like those chickens! (Note from later: apparently 4 of the interesting chickens are actually Helmted Guineafowl!) There are also a peacock I haven't yet met, and some sheep.
Toyah came home and is also wonderful. We chatted about all sorts of things over dinner. At around 11, her husband Greg came home from two weeks away, and he is-- wait for it-- wonderful.
However, it's so cold! I took a hot water bottle to bed and still it took forever to warm up. A lot of houses in New Zealand-- especially older houses it seem-- have no electrical heating. They have a great fire going in the kitchen at night, though.
I do find it difficult to arrive at a place and try to fit into their life and schedule, which is an important ability to have while wwoofing. But I think that's a skill that can grow, and it certainly pushes me out of my comfort level in ways that are good for me!
In the morning, after literally being awoken by roosters (!) I was a bit unsure of what to do about breakfast and tasks. Aya was my savior! She took me to learn how to feed the chickens, and then we had breakfast. And then we got our task for the day-- we went through the horse paddock and (quite literally!) shoveled shit. And I actually enjoyed it-- I find that methodical jobs, where you can see what you're accomplishing, are my favorite. Also, talk about a workout! It hadn't been done for 5 days, and horses apparently make about one wheelbarrow full of shit per day. And there are two of them. (Thankfully, also two of us!)
There was one frightening moment when we went out to paddock- Frank, who is a dachshund, got into the horse paddock and almost got trampled by Halo. Because he was okay, it was actually pretty funny-- Frankenstein freaked out and was yelping nonstop until Toyah picked him up, and then he was just nestling for comfort. He's like a baby who is even more adorable then a baby! He is a really easily spooked dog, but he also is the Dog in Charge. He licks everyone and everything to show his dominance. :)
After we were done, it was lunch time and also doing-whatever-we-want time, which is a grand thing about wwoofing. Aya and I made avocado sandwiches, and then I sat down to write this blog. :)
Later, before dinner, Toyah showed me pictures of their house in Hamilton that they're trying to sell. The bought a one hundred year old house (like this one) six years ago and then moved it on a truck to it's current location-- apparently that's normal in NZ!- except that the company doing it messed up and the whole house had to be gutted. Normally you chainsaw the house in pieces and then nail it back together/replace the outside wood siding, but the house wasn't put back together level. She showed me pictures of it on a truck, pictures of them gutting it and redoing everything, and then current pictures. They did EVERYTHING themselves. Greg is an engineer and Toyah used to be in building, so they know how, but the amount of work was staggering. I was exhausted listening to it, but the house turned out to be the most beautiful house I've ever seen. Anyone want to buy property in NZ? Let's make it happen.
Anyway, I think I will do a day-by-day report while I'm here- it'll be easier to keep up with it that way!
DAY 2 THROUGH 6
Ok, I will NOT be doing a day-by-day report while I'm here, apparently. The past few days have been really wonderful! Aya and I do work in the morning, and then we have the rest of the day to do whatever we want. Instead of blogging, though, I've been working on job applications and also watching Daredevil. (So good!) Job applications are going well- I have 3 interviews at temp agencies when I get into Wellington, and a possibility at a bookstore!
So, let's see, what I have been up to! Picking up a lot more horse poop (seriously-- a wheelbarrow a day per horse), raking leaves, and generally taking care of a really large lifestyle block. We've also spent some time up in the woodlands bringing down fallen sticks to burn them. It's amazing the amount of work it requires to keep this place up and running, which is why Toyah and Greg have wwoofers. Toyah has been working the swing shift at her job this week, so she'll come home at 1 AM, sleep until 7, do really physical and difficult work (think chopping wood, moving wood piles to be burned, etc) until 1, and then leave to start work by 2. Almost very day!
It's been really nice getting to know Greg and Toyah and Aya more, and also their animals. I got to meet the peacock, their two wild pet turkeys, and also their two brand new chicks! And of course, their beautiful horses. Greg is really funny, and Toyah and Aya and I have had some great conversations about topics as wide-ranging as cultural differences, weddings (Greg and Toyah had a circus theme!) and the nature of memory. It's definitely different here than any place I've wwoofed before-- Toyah is a bit more hands off, and so Aya and I are a bit more free-range when it comes to deciding what we'll do each day and when we'll start. I usually prefer a bit more direction, just so that I know I'm doing the most helpful thing at the moment, but as I get used to the pace of the farm I'm starting to be able to figure out what that is by myself anyway. Greg has been away in Auckland the past few days to see his son graduate, and Toyah is working nights right now, so Aya and I have had the house to ourselves in the evening. We've had all the evening responsibilities of feeding the horses, dogs, and various chickens/ducks/turkeys to ourselves. It's been sad not to have them around, but nice to spend each evening chilling by their fire stove with an amazing dinner...
And that's the update for the past few days! Good work, good food, good company, a comfortable house-- things couldn't be better. Tomorrow, I go to get a new Warrant of Fitness for our car, though, so wish past me luck (by the time you read this.)
Life continues apace! Lots of horse poop, lots of raking, lots of fun physical work in a beautiful outdoor setting. I have now bonded with Frankenstein the Licking Dog, and he comes and sits on my lap and I love him. I am also in a constant battle with Lumi the Cat, who wants my bed. I kick her out every night and she scratches at my door every morning telling me to the get the heck out so she can get the heck in. (I don't particularly like sleeping with animals- they always want to go right in the middle, and then you can't roll over!)
Aya went yesterday. :( She has a new job as a vet tech in Levin, which is very exciting, but now I am the only wwoofer which means there's twice as much horse poo, LOL. Today is was raining, so I didn't go out-- we'll see what it's like there tomorrow. I miss her! And I we'll keep in touch. We had some really fascinating discussions about Japanese culture vs. American culture before she left, and I reaaaaaalllly want to visit Japan. Especially Kyoto!
I'm sad Aya's gone, but in her place I've gotten to meet Caleb. He's Toyah's son, 18, and a very talented rapper. (Check out his facebook page.) So that's pretty cool!
A few days ago I went to get the new warrant of fitness for our car (older cars need to do this every 6 months in NZ- they check things like the brakes and the lights), and I got to spend a bit of time exploring in Dannevirke. It's definitely a working town rather than a tourist town, and it's filled with takeaway joints and dollar stores. For all that, it's pretty nice. I even found a Blockbuster!!! (?!)
And that's largely been it! Working, reading, eating, applying for jobs, hanging out in a beautiful house with a beautiful family and their AMAZING DOGS. I have LOVED getting to know all the animals better. We'll see what the next days hold!
What the next days held was.... a surprise road trip! Toyah had a couple of days off work in the middle of the week, and decided to drive up to their old house in Hamilton that they're currently renting out in order to go pick up some animals that were still there. Our number one goal was to trap the wily peacock, Salvador, and the number two goal was to get the chickens they couldn't bring over when they first moved.
The day started out with a potential disaster: I had forgotten to feed the chickens the day before (I KNOW, but usually Aya did it...!) and when we went out there to feed them on the morning of our trip, the 10 baby chicks where nowhere to be found. The mom was there. No chicks. I figured that they'd gone farther afield to find food since I hadn't fed them (they're free range) and had gotten eaten by Moses or a feral cat or something. The Moses thing seemed to be a real possibility, since just as we were noticing that the 10 older chicks were gone, a new baby chick (with a different mom) ended up in Moses mouth. So. That sucked.
So, convinced that I was a baby chick serial killer, I got in the shower to get ready for the 7 hour drive. SAD/GUILT SHOWER. Ugh, the thought of telling Aya, who loved them more than anything.... However, miraculous day, the chickens were alive!!!!! The mom had come up to feed and left her babies down by the horse paddock, which is why we didn't see them, but they were all there minus one, who maybe did get himself eaten. THANK GOD, OH MY GOD, WHAT A FEELING OF RELIEF.
I did not ever again forget to feed the chickens, LOL.
Toyah and I loaded up her horse truck with some cages for the animals, and then we hopped in and hit the road!
Anyway, it was a really enjoyable drive. My favorite highlight was passing an old couch on the side of the road between Napier and Taupo. She said that someone had put the couch there about two years ago. A few months after that, someone dropped off a coffee table. And then someone stuck a TV on it. Etc, continued! Alas, only the couch was there when we went by, but I loved it. Very emblematic of New Zealand humor.
When we got to Hamilton it was dark out, and we went straight to her rental house to get the chickens. Chickens roost at night, so that's the easiest time to grab them. We tipped-toed over to the chicken coop in the dark, and Toyah went it and picked up the first one. OH MY GOD, you would have thought there was a terrible murder happening! I've never heard such a panicked bird! I couldn't understand why the rest of the birds weren't completely freaking out and running away, but Toyah told me that they can't see in the dark. I almost died. Can you imagine sitting on your perch in the pitch black, as one by one all of your friends are mysteriously grabbed and sound like they're being stabbed repeatedly? Poor chickens! One rooster did escape, actually- Toyah grabbed him and he managed to run away once he was out of the house. We decided not to chase him, because Toyah didn't really want the roosters anyway.
Annette is a really lovely, generous host! She made and absolute FEAST of a Chinese (?) noodle/pork/coriander dish that I am genuinely obsessed with, and I need to get the recipe. Her friend Glennis was there too, along with a Brazilian woman named Laura that Annette met in Brazil a few years ago and invited to come say. That's how you can tell how awesome Annette is--- who invited someone they met on a train in a foreign country to come stay, and then actually has them?! What a woman!
Dinner was filled with lively conversation and a bit too much wine, and then the biggest individual dessert pies. Heaven heaven heaven.
When we woke up the next morning, we finally saw the view: HEAVEN.
Toyah and I then headed back to the Hamilton house for the peacock. Salvador is extremely wily and people have tried to catch him before; alas, he was onto us before we ever arrived.
We set up a few chickens in their woodshed and in a large cage, along with some food, and we hoped he might get curious and come check it out. But he gave it a wide berth, and when we tried herding him he escaped into a tree. He came down eventually, but then he just hopped over the fence into the neighbors yard. LE SIGH.
We also loaded up 11 railway sleepers. They're the wooden things that go on train-tracks, so they're VERY heavy duty. I think each one must have been over 120 lbs, because Toyah and I carried them, and I know I can lift 40 pounds easily enough but I had SO MUCH TROUBLE with these. After the first few, we had to take breaks to rest really frequently, but we did it! With arms that were killing us, but we got them all. :)
In the end, though, we didn't get Salvador. He just wasn't interested in the truck ride. So Toyah will be content with Zeus, her albino peacock in Dannevirk, and Salvador will live out the rest of his life in Hamilton. Alas!
Before we started the ride home, Toyah and I went into Hamilton for her to pick up a paining that was on layaway. She drove me through the town (in the horse truck- hilarious! Hamilton is one of the biggest cities in NZ, so it was definitely pretty busy). Here is the coolest thing: Hamilton is the home of Richard O'Brien, who created the Rocky Horror Picture show! There's an awesome statute of Riff Raff. There's an old house there that he used to stare at and daydream about on his work breaks, and that's the genesis of Rocky Horror-- and Toyah showed me the house, though behind some trees and I couldn't get a good picture. I loved it though.
The next few days were quite-- more horse poo, more job applications, I finished two books, etc. Wonderful. But the day before I left, Toyah and Greg decided to look at buying a new horse and they took me along! Greg wants to get back into riding, so that he and Toyah can go on trips together, and Bear is a very nice, easy, laid-back riding horse. The woman who owned him did a bit of the hardsell, but he really is a nice horse. Toyah and Greg both tried him out, and although you can't get to know a horse immediately, they liked them and they bought him! So that was thrilling. He's so cute and his fur is so nice! I'm not a horse-rider, but I'm a bit jealous. :)
While we were there, I saw the GREATEST CHICKENS OF MY LIFE.
Basically, Greg and Toyah are just WONDERFUL PEOPLE and I'm so lucky to have come to stay with them and I'm sad as hell to leave and gdi I'm gonna keep in touch. I can see why so many of their wwoofers stay for three or even six months!
The morning I left, I wrote on the wall. It's a new tradition they're starting. Each wwoofer leaves a message on their wallpaper. I love it, and after MUCH thought, this is what I wrote:
...the car wouldn't start. I think I'd left the keys in, and they were turned just a little, and the battery was completely flat LOL.
So, Toyah and Greg charged me up, and THEN I (still sadly) hit the road to meet Noemie in Napier, to spend a week with a beekeeper! MY LIFE RIGHT NOW!