Marlborough

New Zealand... ROCKS!

The Kanuka is one of many natives fighting for land in NZ 

Chapel lives on

The Wither Hills above Blenheim

The above is a collection of new pictures as well as some older ones that did not make the cut in past entries.

We are now in Marlborough, New Zealand's man wine producing region, where we have begun work as vineyard pruners.  More on this aspect of our life when we have more experience (this was our second week, but spoiler: it is hard).  The pruning season lasts through mid-August, and so you can look forward to many pictures of my Popeye forearms and accompanying stories about us going to bed at 8pm.

Before arriving in Blenheim, the "major" town nearest the vineyards, though, we did finally have a fantastic WWOOFing experience.  For about a week we helped our host Christine clear her 22-acre Nelson property of invasive gorse, blackberry, barberry, etc. to help with the re-forestation of native trees. About 2/3 of New Zealand's native forests have been cleared for grazing, though there seems to now be a significant minority of landowners intent on restoring the land to what it might have looked like.  The work involved slashing and clearing dense growths of thorny plants on a hill that might have been too steep to ski down (though, I cannot ski).  It was satisfying work, and by the end of our stay the attractive young native trees were the dominant presence on a hill that had been overgrown by nastiness days before.

Some other bits from our stay:

- A Series of tornadoes came off the coast of Nelson and passed right through our neighboring valley!  They tore apart a steel shed and cleared a path through a pine forest.  Neighbors pointed a flood light into the forest and saw a cyclone of pine needles!  It all happened overnight during a loud lightning storm, and Christina slept through the whole thing.  In another time she might have been the deep-sleeper left behind by the fleeing tribe to keep the invading grizzlies busy.

- Our host Christine's niece, Carmen Staaf, grew up in Seattle and is now a notable jazz pianist in New York.  I may have helped write about her once or twice for Earshot events, and we had a good laugh when Christine pulled out some ancient copies of Earshot Jazz.  Who knew?

Our lives have slowed dramatically since we ran out of money a few weeks ago.  And when we aren't exploring the country it can feel like we are stuck in a collection of provincial towns, all too expensive to ever go out in.  (One example: the Burger King opening in Blenheim was literally front page news, however a meal there would cost you fifteen dollars per person!)  Work has made life more stimulating, or at least we are too exhausted to worry about it much, but I think we realized that we need to keep active this winter, if it is hiking or skiing or whatever, in order to stay happy.  In the meantime, though, Christina has emerged a fierce competitor at the card game Egyptian Rat Screw.  Only minimal bleeding from the hand so far.