Alright!
I've finally gotten a chance to post a quick edit of my time here. I've been staying in the Christchurch region on the South Island which is beautiful and in some ways reminds me of Marin County. My first host family was out in Diamond Harbour on the Banks Peninsula; Di and Nigel were wonderful and so kind to me. I was fed well, and there was plenty of work to be done on their property. I cleared over 200 sq meters of weeds, laid down weed mat and mulched it all in about 2 weeks. During my free time I would read or go on a walk. There was a really adventurous coastal trail that walked right along the edge of all the small bays in that region, so I found myself doing one section of the trail at a time.
Eventually I decided to move on, so I thanked Di and Nigel for making me feel so at home and I found my next host, Ron. Ron has property both on the tip of the Banks, and in Christchurch. He is renovating his property on Mt. Pleasant in Christchurch with the intention of it becoming a Buddhist Darhma center. I helped with some projects around the house, but eventually he decided that we needed to go to his other house out in Akaroa.
Ron also manufactures medical grade ozone machines with which he has cured dozens of cases of terminal cancer. He took me to his place in Akaroa and showed me his process, in the hopes that I might be able to bring ozone to the US.
While at his house out there, we were surrounded by nothing but farmland and beaches. I spent days cutting back a MONSTEROUS juniper-like hedge that bordered one edge of his property, and when I finished for the day I had a chance to walk down to the private beach down the hill. To get to the beach I walked through acres of sheep land, which was quite an adventure in itself. I enjoyed many hours of having that beach all to myself, and so far it has been the highlight of my experience here.
In a couple of days I'm going to leave the Christchurch region and head further south to stay on a farm in a small town called Naseby.
It's hard to believe that a month has nearly gone by already! I've learned and experienced so much in such a short period... I am truely loving every moment. Some days are certainly more challenging than others, but I've found it is just all part of the experience.
I hope to post as often as I can, so check back in a couple of weeks!
I've finally gotten a chance to post a quick edit of my time here. I've been staying in the Christchurch region on the South Island which is beautiful and in some ways reminds me of Marin County. My first host family was out in Diamond Harbour on the Banks Peninsula; Di and Nigel were wonderful and so kind to me. I was fed well, and there was plenty of work to be done on their property. I cleared over 200 sq meters of weeds, laid down weed mat and mulched it all in about 2 weeks. During my free time I would read or go on a walk. There was a really adventurous coastal trail that walked right along the edge of all the small bays in that region, so I found myself doing one section of the trail at a time.
Eventually I decided to move on, so I thanked Di and Nigel for making me feel so at home and I found my next host, Ron. Ron has property both on the tip of the Banks, and in Christchurch. He is renovating his property on Mt. Pleasant in Christchurch with the intention of it becoming a Buddhist Darhma center. I helped with some projects around the house, but eventually he decided that we needed to go to his other house out in Akaroa.
Ron also manufactures medical grade ozone machines with which he has cured dozens of cases of terminal cancer. He took me to his place in Akaroa and showed me his process, in the hopes that I might be able to bring ozone to the US.
While at his house out there, we were surrounded by nothing but farmland and beaches. I spent days cutting back a MONSTEROUS juniper-like hedge that bordered one edge of his property, and when I finished for the day I had a chance to walk down to the private beach down the hill. To get to the beach I walked through acres of sheep land, which was quite an adventure in itself. I enjoyed many hours of having that beach all to myself, and so far it has been the highlight of my experience here.
In a couple of days I'm going to leave the Christchurch region and head further south to stay on a farm in a small town called Naseby.
It's hard to believe that a month has nearly gone by already! I've learned and experienced so much in such a short period... I am truely loving every moment. Some days are certainly more challenging than others, but I've found it is just all part of the experience.
I hope to post as often as I can, so check back in a couple of weeks!
My new friend and guide, Ron.
My walk to the private beach
I had this place all to myself
A curious finding
This was part of a beautiful path I found in Mt. Pleasant
My Coastal Trail walk in Diamond Harbor
The rising moon on an afternoon walk
Tide pools and my five fingered shoes which I love
Diamond Harbor at sunset
