Christmas and Boxing Day on Stewart Island

Ruben discovered kind of late that the Gore Medical Centre was closed for Christmas and Boxing Day and he didn't have any call responsibilities. We checked online and discovered that the ferry service to Stewart Island (the third largest of NZ' islands) was running, so we made reservations, and off we went (after R's Christmas morning omelet breakfast courtesy of Henny and Penny). I learned in The Southland Times (our local newspaper) that the origin of Boxing Day is that the day after Christmas England's wealthy citizens would box up their leftovers to distribute to the poor. The point of making it a statutory holiday is to foster an ongoing spirit of charity after Christmas, but it seems like it's become NZ's Black Friday instead. All the shops were having big blowout sales. Anyhoo. Back to Stewart Island...

Our departure point from the South Island

Halfmoon Bay, the main port for the one settlement (~400 people) on Stewart Island

View from our hotel room toward Halfmoon Bay

We were picked up on the warf by the manager of our hotel, a very kind but fast-talking Kiwi called Robin. We arrived at 10:30 and he was closing the hotel office at 11. So he was interested in getting us checked in--and fast. He started to apologize that nothing on the island was open, but we stopped him and said we had brought our running shoes and planned to entertain ourselves that way. He pointed out that if we planned to eat between now and Wednesday morning we had better go to the grocery store right away because it would only be open between 10:00 and noon. We checked out our kitchenette facilities and made the grocery store our first stop. We discovered that remote island living is even more expensive than main island living, but we laid in the necessities. R took a nap and I took a walk.

It was warm enough to swim, but as this shed depicts, there are great white sharks
in the Pacific around Stewart Island.

These islands, especially the uninhabited predator-free ones, are home to wild kiwis.
They are nocturnal, and since it doesn't get dark until after my bedtime, this is the closest I came to seeing one.

We finally got our act together and took off with our map to explore the "track" system on the island. Most were "improved" with a crushed gravel surface, but some were pretty rugged, even muddy in places. We ran for about 2 hours, with many breaks to study the map and enjoy the views (and, at one point a snack of "Wiggles" a fruit leather product I found at the grocery store in Gore.)

Don't worry, I'm not considering becoming shark bait. I'm just cooling off a
bit on a beach with beautiful soft sand and extremely clear water.

We don't look too happy here. Must have been before the Wiggles break.

We ran past this telephone hung on a tree trunk as we were running down a road connecting two tracks. The wires weren't connected and there was no dial tone (I checked), but the Yellow Pages was a current edition!

 On Boxing Day we took a boat tour. It was fun to see from the water where we had run the previous day and to see parts of the island we didn't didn't get anywhere near during our little outing. The national park on the island features a 3-day Rakiura Track Great Walk, an 11-day Northwest Circuit Track, and a 5-8 day Southern Circuit Track, with huts along the way for overnight tramping. We shared the ferry with backpackers with some pretty serious looking packs. From the aroma coming off some of them, Stewart Island was not the first stop on the adventure.

During the boat tour, we stopped at a predator-free island. The postmaster used to live on this island when there were active sawmills on the surrounding islands and the mail boat came every 5-6 weeks. Now, although the postmaster's cottage is still there, it is next to a summer home for a family that has been on the island for four generations. Because it is free of predators, it is a great place for birding. Personally, I never saw the appeal of birdwatching, but this was really fun. Listening to the bird calls was very relaxing and it was exciting to spot one of the birds we were looking for, like kakas (parrots), yellow parakeets, this, wekas, and Stewart Island robins.

Can you see the robin in this leaf litter? He's about the same color.

From the boat we saw albatross. These are seriously big birds.

Our guide guesstimated that his albatross flying over our boat had a wingspan of 2.5 meters (~8 feet).

The boat tour dropped us off with 5 minutes to spare before our ferry back to the South Island. Apparently we weren't the only ones who had worked up an appetite during the afternoon because a little girl a few rows ahead of us was eyeing Ruben's Wiggles snack pretty intensely. I should have taken a picture, but I had developed a chill during the boat tour and was huddling around my cuppa.

There was slightly more traffic on our way back to Gore than we had encountered early Christmas morning, but Vitzi (our name for our little Toyota) was a trooper and with pedal to the metal even passed a couple of other cars. This coming weekend we're venturing west rather than south to the Fiorlands National Park. Keep your eyes peeled for posts...

Running at Dolamore Park

Sorry nonrunners, this is another post for the people interested in running destinations. This week we went to Dolamore Park, about 10k from Gore. It is a lovely park that includes a campground, arboretum, and several walks (the kiwi word for hiking trail). This is the only substantial forest left near Gore. It was set aside as a reserve in 1895, and these walks are not for wimps. We have learned that when the sign says "1.5 hours return," expect short but steep. This did not disappoint.

Ruben got a wee lead on this slight downhill.

R's favorite part of marked paths--the signs.
You HAVE to stop running to read the signs.

The summit

We found a connector trail between two walks.

Viewpoint from the second trail. No pictures were taken during the climb;
it was hard work (sore legs from rotten track workouts!)

At the viewpoint. Out of six tries, this is the best self-portrait. 

Merry Kiwi Christmas!

Interfaith Christmas Carol Service in Gore Gardens

Candles were lit as the sun set at about 9:45 pm

Ruben and I are sending our greeting this year from New Zealand (I dearly love writing to--and hearing from--each of you each Christmas; next year I'll be back with pen in hand, I promise!). This is a truly beautiful and welcoming country, but the warm weather and long summer days do not lend themselves to a "traditional" Christmas as we know it. That might be a good thing: We would miss you all too much!

Ruben's work as a general practitioner at the town medical center is going very well. The computer system has taken some getting used to, and the ins and outs of the health care system pose some challenges, but he finds his clients to be patient and friendly--and they don't beg for antibiotics. Plus he loves riding his bicycle to work, his morning tea break, and being able to come home each day for lunch. Lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle!

I have been able to maintain my freelance editing jobs, which not only keeps me busy but also helps finance this adventure. From our flat we have views of the Hokonui Hills, the other side of which lies Fiorland National Park, home of the incredible scenery made famous in movies like "Lord of the Rings." We have a few trips planned...

Newly weaned lambs are calling for their mummies and the garden is calling me to gather some veges, so I'll conclude this wee letter. Ruben and I hope you find many prezzies under the tree and are looking forward to a 2013 full of wonders.

It has been awhile since I have posted a note. I have been working almost 2 weeks now.  The medicine part is ok-fortunately the kiwis I deal with are human. It is the computer software and quickly learning the ins and outs that's tough. It is getting better and thus I am getting faster. Today was a good day. I saw everyone on a reasonable time and didn't fall too far behind.
We had treats with our morning tea time today. One of the doctors at the clinic is leaving soon for a maternity leave. It was quite a spread of food snacks, plus a "cake" made of nap pies.

I was given the duty of being on-call this weekend. The new guy gets Christmas weekend. I don't think it will be bad since it sounds like a lot of people are going to the beach (gotta love summer Christmas) or just out-of-town.

I was able to leave work at 5:20p and meet G and the running group for a track workout. That was a mistake. Not only are track workouts tough on the body, but being out-legged by 10 year old children--girls, too--that's just wrong. Now that I'm at home and showered (I smelled) I can cry and moan in pain. My back and legs are so sore. It was also hot and humid (25˚C). Am I changing or did I bring home some of the track (grass track)?
Anyways, G is out of her turn in the shower and will totally change my meandering thoughts of my post if she sees this note.
Cheers! Happy Christmas!

Sheep Shearing!

Sheep at Killearn Farm

The medical director at Gore Medical Centre lives on a working sheep farm about 21 km from town. Her husband grew up on this farm and one of her three sons will most likely take it over when his parents retire. The weather cooperated (no rain; you can't collect wet fleeces because they will get moldy before they can be processed) and the shearing crew confirmed that this Saturday was the day the farm's sheep would lose their winter coats. We were invited to watch what happens, and we jumped at the chance.

Saturday was a brilliant day. Bright, sunny, and warm. We arrived at lunchtime (excellent planning!) and after coffee and a bite were able to catch the crew's afternoon work. Shearing teams travel from farm to farm. The crew at Killearn Farm this weekend included 3 shearers (all men) and 3 collectors (all women). They sheared and collected fleeces from 600 sheep between about 8 am and 3 pm. This is not easy work, but the pay is good: $20-$25/hour for collectors and the shearers are paid per sheep. A ram can weigh 70 kilos (150 lb), and they do not necessarily want to be shorn. The sheep didn't make much noise in the barn, but in the barnyard it was very loud. Many lambs had been weaned from their mothers just a day or two ago, and there was almost constant calling between ewes and lambs.

Sheep are lead into the barn and separated into pens. Sheep do not like to be split from the group and got very anxious if they found themselves alone. Killearn Farm has three sheep dogs that helped with the process, although we found that often the dogs preferred the company of people to that of sheep. They had to be convinced to go back to work. The men doing the shearing went into a pen and physically dragged each sheep to his shearing station. We learned that the key is the hold. If a sheep is held too tightly, for example, it will fight and kick and make all sorts of trouble. In my opinion these shearers were experts and fully in control of their sheep.

The collectors worked as hard as the men shearing. They were extremely diligent at keeping the shearing station floor clean of cuttings (the shearers clip off dirty, matted sections of wool) and immediately when a fleece was free from its former owner, it would be gathered up and laid out on a large table. Any additional yucky areas were removed by hand (American hygiene freaks will notice that not one of these workers is wearing gloves) and collected in a bin. The best remaining fleece is kept in one piece and rolled into a loose ball that is put in another bin. That bin includes a hydraulic compressing mechanism that squeezes the fleece into a bail. The wool broker will send a truck out in a few days to collect the bails, determine the wool quality, and pay the farm.

Before

After

Unweaned lambs waiting to be reunited with their mums.

 After shearing the sheep are unceremoniously ejected from the barn through a shute. They seemed to shake off the experience pretty quickly and milled around until the rest of the mob was shorn. Then it was time to be put out to pasture. That they liked. Some were not the brightest and got cornered by fences or trees. The dogs (and Ruben) helped get them where they needed to be.

Lambs were happy to be reunited with their mums,
but still hesitated to follow down this steep embankment

 Just watching all of this was exhausting! We were very happy to join Glynnis, Jim, their son Ben, and daughter Emma (in town for the shearing from Nelson) back in the house for cool drinks and fresh bread with jam. We had the most delightful conversation, too. Everyone we've spent time with her is so nice!

It's a slow news day. Ruben and I are both back to work, so posts might be slower to appear. My major activity Monday was baking muffins using rhubarb from the garden. And chia seeds as an egg replacer. I can't find ground flaxseed here, which is weird, but I can find chia seeds (I simply MUST have my vegetarian-sourced omega-3s). I'm getting sorted (that's a kiwism) regarding my limited kitchen. That's improving my mood immensely. The flowers are loving all the rain we've had lately and Rosalie's daisies are blooming. So I brought some inside.

Speaking of Rosalie's yard, did I mention that she has two chickens?

Henny and Penny

This morning Rosalie gave me two pretty brown eggs courtesy of these girls. I was tempted to make an omelet for dinner, but R has issues with breakfast food for dinner. So I guess that will wait for the weekend.

We are really enjoying Gore. If the gym was a little better (not enough cardio classes) I could live here. Ruben loves that he can bike to work in 5 minutes (downhill on the way there), see people he's met at church or at the bike shop, and have morning and afternoon tea breaks. He comes home for lunch, so I get to clean up after his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Awesome.

In a few minutes I'll take off to hopefully meet some runners in a parking lot (this is my favorite thing to do). Finding said runners has been tricky, as I've been sent from person to person to person, but I think today's lead sounds promising. Word is folks from the group are recovering from the Kepler Challenge, a 60K trail race in Te Anu, held 1 Dec. Promising! Today is 11 Dec--10 days is plenty of rest!

Takitimu Street

So here's the scoop on our flat on Takitimu Street. How do you think that is pronounced, by the way? Tak-ee-tee-moo? That's how I've been saying it, but it's probably wrong. "Kumara" (sweet potato) is pronounced koom-arah, not Koo-mah-rah. But I digress.

This is a photo of the outside of our flat (top floor). Our landlady's name is Rosalie. She's very kind and has been trying desperately to offer us local entertainment. She asked what we like to do. I told her run and swim and bike. That was not the answer she was hoping for.

Rosalie

The flat is fully furnished, and by that I mean full of furniture. There are four full table and chair sets, four side chairs, a big sofa, a bunch of assorted end tables, and countless items of brick-a-brac. That's all well and good, but not all that practical. There are ~20 blankets and quilts (handmade by Rosalie) in the closets, but no hangers. There are ~35 tea pots, but the biggest drinking glass we can find is a 6-oz juice glass. We're considering lining up six or eight of them with each meal. I've uncovered a half dozen ceramic, wood, or glass chip-and-dip sets, but not one mixing or serving bowl. One drawer has a serious-looking chef's knife set, but the only cutting board is a tiny 8-inch diameter bread board. Don't get me started on food storage. Ruben approached me today with, "Gayle! I need cooking spray!" (to bake up some chicken goujons). Does he think I carry that around with me? If it's not on the shelf in the pantry that I emptied of cream pitchers and sugar bowls to store our six cans of beans, jar of peanut butter, and box of cereal, we don't have it. I was roasting everything in the oven, by the way, until I figured out today the oven's symbol for fan bake.

Fortunately, Rosalie has a nice garden going. I plan to raid it frequently for herbs, broccoli, onions, and spinach. I miss my friends the most, but my pantry is a close second. I mentioned to Rosalie that I was looking for cooking utensils like a colander and measuring cup and she offered me a table-side Parmesan cheese grater. I guess Rosalie doesn't cook much, either.

A portion of Rosalie's garden. Note the scarecrow!

The flat has a nice washing machine but no dryer (that's not too surprising). I asked Rosalie what she does to dry clothes and she took me around back to the clothesline. I'm good with that! She suggested that I use the right half and she'll use the left half. I said that if I see her doing laundry I'll simply wait until the next day to do mine. She said it might take 3-4 days on the line for clothes to dry, especially during spring when it rains several times a day. I know I was spoiled with 1-hour dry times in Colorado, but if you leave your clothes out in the rain for 3-4 days, wouldn't you have to wash them again? Add clothes drying rack to the shopping list.

This crazy tower thing is the old Gore water tower. It is right on the edge of Rosalie's property, and makes a handy landmark.

Speaking of town, here's a shot of part of Main Street (aka Hokonui Street). Forgive me if it's shaky--it was taken as R tried to navigate a roundabout on Driving Day 1.