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| Graeme shows us the battery storage system for his solar panels. |
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| A neat little set up for using the sun to run a fan and heat up a cold metal shed! |
Despite our time here winding down, we were up with the sun and rattling our dags to get as much in as we can and today was no exception. The weather gods smiled on us with brilliant warm sun (and strong gales from the northwest) that boosted our spirits. We started our day at Graeme and Karen's lifestyle block farm. Graeme works at Landcare Research and in his "spare" daylight-savings time (even in winter) hours manages to keep a farm of apples, apricots and almonds. When he is not tending to his trees, he is busy keeping up with all of the latest technology from the world so that he can be as off the grid as possible. His house and farm sport solar panels and all sorts of gadgets he has rigged up like a tinted plexiglass panel for collecting and distributing heat from the sun to his cold metal shed and a system in his house to heat the water from the wood stove. He collects the rainwater to filter and use in the house and even has a wind turbine that he is working on getting up and running. All very inspiring to show how much can be with little things and little steps to lower our impact on our planet.
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| SHEEP! And LAMBS! |
Graeme and Karen also keep some sheep to help with strategic mowing in the orchards and it is lambing season, so, of course, we had the extra treat of getting to visit with the sheep and their babies in a field and feed them. Tooooooo cute!
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| Lincoln Market |
Next we were off to two Saturday Markets - Lincoln's boasted their monthly special market with the stall holders entertaining patrons with their musical talents (and a Happy Birthday to our friend Amy who turned 15 today), and Riccarton Bush was bustling with folks on such a beautiful day.
Back in Lincoln, Hillyer's pies were in order as this delicacy is not easily duplicated in the states. By the way,
here are the winners of this year's New Zealand pie contest.
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| Lemurs watching us watching them. |
In mid afternoon we loaded up the Gatorwaka and set out for
Willowbank Reserve.
Willowbank cares for New Zealand wildlife that occurs both naturally in the country as well as species that are part of the country's history (i.e., species that were introduced by colonists over time). Some of these species are domestic such as chickens and horses, others have become pest species such as wallabies and possums. The park seeks to educate residents and visitors as to the heritage and challenges New Zealand's animal species bring to the table.
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| Ancient, wise and prized by the Maori, the Tuatara can live to 300+ years. |
Our tour also included native New Zealand species where we saw our first Tuatara, Kiwi, Takahe, and Morepork.
And, we got to experience Ko Tane - a Maori cultural performance. Connor got to be our chief and made sure to let the Maori Village know that we came in peace by accepting their offering and performing a proper Hongi. We all had a wonderful time, and our gals got to give Poi a go, and our guys got to give a Haka a go as part of the performance.
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| Traditional stick game song. |
Following our tours we had a traditional Hangi dinner and had a chance to thank Colin, Tupelo, and Jámm for their assistance with the course, and of course, the students for their enthusiasm and sense of adventure for making the course a success!
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| Enjoying the Hangi together. |
Finally, we ended our evening with the locals at the Famous Grouse Hotel/Pub to cheer on the Crusaders in the Rugby Finals. Unfortunately it was not in the cards for the Crusaders who lost in the last second by one point to the New South Wales Waratahs.
Cheers, Meryl and Mark
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