Lake Ellesmere

Today I went for a long walk after feeding all the animals and cleaning out some cages. The weather was amazing and I got a distant glimpse of Lake Ellesmere.

Ponyparties

Sorry for not updating for a while! I certainly have something to write now. I left Akaroa for Motukarara where I'm wwoofing with www.ponyparties.co.nz
It's a really nice family with lots of funny animals. I've already helped with two parties and we're doing one more today. Last night we went for a ride in the sunset :-)

Akaroa

I've had a wonderful day! It started in Pigeon Bay with the Holten family. I spent some time with the cute kids playing with lego. Then I got a ride into Akaroa, the biggest town on Bank's Peninsula. An interesting town that was settled by the French. In the morning I took a boat cruise in the big bay. We saw dolphins, penguins, seals and albatrosses in the beautiful scenery. I didn't manage to get any good photos of the constantly moving animals so you'll have to take my word for it ;-)


For lunch I had a fish burger made from freshly locally fished fish. Then I went to the Giant's house. It's a big garden decorated with mosaics, statues and plants. Absolutely stunning! Reminded me of Hundertwasser and Gaudí. But Josie Martin has got her own slightly more feminine style. It was worth every cent I spent on the entrance!

Between sunrise and sunset

I've had a wonderful time with the Holten family. The sunrises here have been stunning and the sunsets are also pretty good. The hours of daylight I've spent in the garden or playing with the children. I've learnt a lot from hands on experience, things like dubbel digging, mulching and komposting.
But tomorrow it's time to move on. There's so much to see in New Zealand. No time to hang around and mess about :-)

Pigeon Bay

I'm wwoofing here:

with the Holten family. The house is situated above Pigeon Bay on Bank's Peninsula. Everyday I enjoy beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and in between the bay is constantly changing. One moment we're shrouded in clouds and a couple of hours later the wind is tearing up the cover and the sun colours the hills golden. The family is nice and interesting. They are selfsufficient, so I've mostly worked in the garden (planting onions, garlic, cabbage, salad; harvested carrots and potatoes; weeding; mulching; spreading kompost, minerals and sheep manure). It has been very interesting to see their food processing. They've slaughtered two pigs while I was here, dried herbs, made their own pasta, müsli and toothpaste. But mostly we eat vegetables, homemade cheese and homebaked bread. Cornelia also has her own business making herbal remedies http://korukai.co.nz/

I've learnt a lot about gardening and herbs. 

Diamond Harbour

I've just taken the bus out to Lyttelton and then the ferry across to Diamond Harbour. Now I'm off to Pigeon Bay to my next wwoofing!

The garden city

This morning I walked through the rain in Riccarton bush. A reserve for the native trees that once covered the entire plains. Then I continued to Mona Vale garden where the roses are still in bloom. After that I went through Hagley Park. Last but not least I took a stroll in the botanic garden of Christchurch.

Christchurch

I'm spending this weekend in Christchurch. It feels like a city that's in the process of shredding skin. And since cities have long life spans it takes a while. Since the earthquake 2011 things are still not rebuilt. And even though I think it might be great once everything is finished, seeing it the way it is now makes me a little sad.