Life in NZ

So, where are we in NZ and what is it exactly that we are doing here? We are staying in a place called Conway Flat, which is about 2 hours north of Christchurch and about 45 minutes south of Kaikoura, on the east coast of the South Island. The closest town is Cheviot, which is about 30 minutes away. This visit is a combination of relaxation, exploring more of the South Island, and taking care of Jeff and Stuart's property. While their property is not a farm, the rest of the area is filled with farms raising sheep and cattle. 

As you can see, the views of the mountains and the sea are both spectacular. We spend a lot of time just admiring how beautiful it is here. And, as it is spring, we have a lot of lambs and calves, with their mothers, as neighbors.

The main chores we have are maintaing the pool, mowing the lawns (the property is huge despite the fact that most of their 12 acres are leased to local farmers as pasture land), and maintaining the garden. The first thing we learned about this process is that when you go outside, it is best to wear gum boots rather than your own shoes.

Very stylish, right? 

Taking care of the pool is quite easy. While the garden is a total crapshoot -- we have a lot of lettuce and chard to eat now, but we will see if any of the lettuces that we planted grow. Unfortunately, the many fruit trees in the orchard will not be ready for harvest until after we leave, but we are enjoying some frozen fruit from last year's huge crop. Fingers crossed we'll enjoy strawberries soon. As for the lawn, there is a riding mower, which I have become fairly proficient at using.

 

We have also met some of our human neighbors (none of whom are very close), and a few of them run a track for walkers (a very big  thing in New Zealand). They invited one of us to see part of the track and help them maintain it. Shana took them up on the offer and rode up the nearby mountain in an open four-wheel vehicle (there was only room for one of us). Although the day was hard work, she got to hang out with Bee, who is an adorable and extremely friendly dog.

But Bee, sheep and cattle are not the only nearby animals. There are dolphins (which we have not seen yet) and seals in the sea by our place. One afternoon we went out for a walk and saw this one sleeping on the beach just a few hundred feet from our house.

At first we were concerned that it was a dead seal, but Shana made a bit of noise and it lazily turned its head toward us a bit so we could confirm it was alive and get this shot.

We have been here for about four weeks now, and while we have worked hard, it hasn't been all chores. But, more about what else we have done so far in the next post.

Hasta pronto,

Jeff annd Shana