Farmin' (and shootin') in the Waikato

Yesterday Tally and I went on an excursion into the Waikato ("why cot o") with my workmate Dixie.  The Waikato is one of 15 regions on the North Island of New Zealand and is good dairy country.  We were invited to the Hallet dairy farm by my friend Mel who also works at PwC.

View from their front yard. Not bad.

We arrived just in time for some lunch on the farm which consisted of cold ham and cheese sandwiches with avocado. This was the first thing that reminded me of home (whenever we needed a quick lunch mom would make cold ham sandwiches). We were also privileged to spend the day with my friends (and coworkers) Nate and Ava, who are planning to move to Houston in a few months.

After lunch we took the "quads" or four-wheelers down to the "paddock" or pasture where the cows were patiently waiting to be milked. Before we took the cows home, Mel and her brothers, Shawn and Adam, showed us their duck hunting shed down by the pond. Duck hunting in New Zealand is probably as popular as deer hunting is in the Midwest. Oh, and the second thing that reminded me of home was Mel's farming brother Adam, who reminded me of my brother Ted. They both are naturally good at what they do, and they thoroughly enjoy farming and harping on the other siblings for not being as agriculturally gifted.

Me driving the quad

Tally and Dixie down by the  pond

We brought the cows home and helped Adam milk some 250 of them. It was a team effort. We even looked the part with the shit kickers and the "Breaking Bad" style overalls. And guess who got down and dirty, right up in the cows' teats? Proof is in the pictures -- I was very proud of her for having no fear. She even got splattered with numbers 1 and 2 from the ladies and didn't call it quits! 

Tally and I getting psyched up for milking by playing with the doggies

 Nate and Tally hooking up the milkers

Tally and I  in the milking parlor

After we finished milking we got to the fun part: clay-pigeon shooting! The Americans (Nate, Tally and I) were really hoping that we could keep our country proud by showing up the Kiwis. In the end we realized that the trajectory of the clay pigeons plus the guns being sighted in metric system plus the earth's gravitational pull being different in the southern hemisphere were the primary reasons why as a group we only managed to hit 3 clay pigeons out of around 50 (don't want to brag, but all 3 were hit by me). After reviewing footage taken from the scene we noticed that Tally's stance was a bit weak as she jerked back a step or two with each pull of the trigger. She does get credit for trying. 

Me showing the other Americans how it's done

By this time is was evening and time for dinner. The Hallet family continued their superb hospitality by BBQing some chicken, lamb chops, beef burgers, and potatoes. We topped off the night with some good conversation at the dinner table with some Tip Top ice cream (a NZ-household staple) and fruit and wine and beers. All in all, not too bad of a day on the farm.

The third thing that reminded Tally and I of home was how great it is to spend time with family, be on the farm, and have people go out of their way to show their guests a good time. We have now claimed the Hallet family as our NZ family away from home! 

This was a great reminder for us to invite people into our home and to be as hospitable as we can!

Merry Christmas and God Bless,

Will 

Sails Away!... and other weekend adventures

This past weekend we took a trip to Tauranga, which is on the eastern coast of New Zealand.

We decided to make a weekend trip to use a groupon deal we bought for a sail around the harbor. We had the chance to stay with a friend's parents so we had the local tour and good company (oh and a free night's stay!)

On the boat Will got to play skipper (I really don't know what an actual skipper does, but go with it) and steer the boat, even participating in "tacking" several times, including one time 20 feet from a large ocean liner. Needless to say this control freak was about to cry as we are barreling towards a large mass, but they made their calls and "tacked" and the ship turned in an instant. It was really cool to see as I have never been on a sailboat before. I got to enjoy some sun and wine while the boys did all the work. Not too bad!

Will casting off

Driving the sailboat 

Enjoying some vino and sun

After the sailing trip we tried to go to the ocean front beach, which was stunning, but the onshore wind was too strong, and the sand too fine. Sand was blowing everywhere, including my eyes, ears, nose and mouth. This lady was not a happy camper so we left the stunning beach for the harbor beach which was more sheltered.

The harbor-side beach. Apparently it's common here for little boys to do the Winnie the Pooh look at the beach? Saw 3 little boys rocking that look...including one that came over and stood next to Will and just stared at us...awkward. 

Sunday morning was the physical activity portion of the trip. We walked up "The Mount" and it was super intense. I was trying to keep up with my friend's mom (no use in keeping up with the boys as they were far ahead) and that was quite the challenge. I really wanted to stop and have a break, but she doesn't stop so I didn't want to be the young wimp who can't hack it. Vistas along the way were nice when I could muster enough energy to turn my head to the side :) It was totally worth it when we got to the top for some neat photos. The walk down was a bit easier, but at the steep grade it was almost as much work keep yourself from falling down! After the climb we got to have a great brunch where I tried Eggs Benedict for the first time. What have I done without this as a breakfast option all these years!!

View along the mount walk

At the top! The beach below is the one we tried to go to, but was too windy

Looking out over the bay and islands of Tauranga

Our lovely hosts Pete and Ngaire

The Mount we climbed. 

Close up of the pohutukawa tree, blooms around Christmas time so is New Zealand's equivalent to the snowflake as a symbol of the holidays

Looking East out to the ocean. Nothing out there til South America!

Another one from the top of the mount. Can you see my hair plastered to my face in sweat? 

We had such a lovely time and look forward to doing it again!

Ch Ch Changes

After 7 months of living here I thought I would share with you 7 lifestyle changes I have made. For those of you who know me well you will be VERY surprised by a few of these!

1. I have adopted a bit of a change in style. I attended a baby shower where everyone wore fascinators. I wear more dresses, even in winter, as it is not - 30. I have also embraced the bun on top of the head craze as it is so stinking windy here J

High Tea

2. Since I only have a part-time job, I have more time on my hands. To prevent boredom I joined a gym. And I actually go 3-4 times a week. Shocking.

3. I have greatly changed my vernacular. I use words like keen, sweet as, post shop, and togs in everyday conversation without thinking about it! I even sign all my emails "cheers" without the pretension of an American who does that back home. 

4. I am cooking more. I make most foods from scratch now including cakes, muffins, and delicious dinners. I even get up and make Will hot breakfast most mornings since I’m a housewife and all J

Made from scratch whole wheat strawberry white chocolate muffins

5. I walk almost everywhere. I now would choose to walk 30 min rather than drive 10: how un-American of me, I know!

6. I eat a globally balanced diet. Normally I might think to have an “ethnic” food once a month, now we’re making and eating out non-white people food at least once a week. Indian, sushi, yum char, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Turkish and Thai so far… Oh and I eat FISH.

Fresh off the grill pot stickers. Normally I'd ask for some chicken strips...

7. I’ve been to the beach 3 times in the last 3 days. I’d say that’s usually my record for a whole summer (a lake beach, not ocean...) and its only December. Summer usually goes until April, so hopefully I'll actually be tan for more than a week for the first time since I was a kid in Cuba!

What a horrible way to spend a Sunday afternoon... Kohi beach

Cheers mates!

Ka Ka Kayaking!

This weekend Will and I went on our very first kayaking trip! We went to Ruakaka beach which looks like this....

Rough, I know. But we had to make due with the scenery we were given :) For those of you who remember Will and my first anniversary trip to Grand Marais, you might remember me telling you the story of how we almost got divorced in Canada while trying to canoe back (across the lake) to Minnesota. It was the hardest thing I'd ever done physically in a very long time. We had to fight against a strong wind and current in a boat that was not easy to maneuver. So at that time I said I hated canoeing and never ever ever want to do it again.

Actual footage from the fateful canoe trip. You can't see my facial expression, which is a good thing!

Well....Kayaking is a totally different story! First of all we each got individual kayaks so we didn't have to work as a team (is it bad that is a pro?). Secondly, the vessel is so much more sensitive and controllable. Several times I was able to maneuver between a narrow space with precision and perfect timing. Thirdly, the paddles are double sided, so you don't have to switch back and forth, it's just one fluid motion. It was so peaceful and you feel a lot more connected with the water than you do on a canoe or bigger boat. The entire trip (2.5 hours) I continuously said "I love this", "this is so awesome", "can we get kayaks?" We will definitely be kayaking many times while here and purchasing kayaks when we get back home to explore rivers/lakes of Minnesota. But don't worry about our marriage, we'll get single kayaks :)

Sadly we don't have any pictures from the actual kayak trip as we didn't want our camera to get wet/damaged if we happened to fall in. But you can take our word for it, we looked like total pros (on a calm river at a leisurely pace with a small group).

Here are some pictures from the rest of our day at the beach relaxing...and getting sunburned. That's right, we'll be as red as Santi Claus come Christmas!

Picking up shells

Ruakaka Beach

Tally walking along the ice-cold water!

Will applying sun screen to the part of his body that haven't seen sunlight in over a year (his chest). If you look closely you can see his sweet handlebar mustache from Movember

The Whangarei Heads