NZ Farmlife

My last week of WWOOFing before I take a flight back to Auckland (and a week after that my flight home!) is taking place on a beautiful dairy goat farm near Christchurch. The family owns a small herd of Nubian goats, a dozen chicken, four cows and your average crowd of farm dogs and kittens. As the hostess recently spent five days in the hospital nursing a hand infection, I'm quite needed and will be taking over all kinds of farm duties, from milking the goats all the way up to cleaning the chicken coop.

Living like a Queen ~

The yoghurt we made yesterday, with blackcurrants from the garden!

The hosts believe in organic and sustainable farming, are 90% self-sufficient and make their own cheese, soap, yoghurt, etc. Even the power and heating is done by solar and log-burner.

I will be learning how to make cheese and bread, have my own queen-sized bed and can take a shower without having to guess how to turn on the hot water.

And here we have homemade cheese, which tastes incredible.

 It's definitely very interesting and I have been learning a lot about organic remedies and sustainable living, as well as animal care and human nature.

Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold

The last few days have been non-stop stunning displays of nature.

After the second (and probably not last) Bungy the Stray bus took me to Mt Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand with roughly 3.700 meters height.

The walk to the lake and Mt Cook was roughly three hours, with several cable-bridges that didn't look very comforting (with signs warning of the maximum load of 20 people.)









That special mixture of sun and icy wind and the sound of avalanches on the far mountains made the walk feel like half an hour. I couldn't stop staring.

And here, obscured by clouds, we have the highest Mountain of New Zealand.

 The next day we drove to Lake Tekapo which is such a ridiculously beautiful shade of blue it makes your eyes hurt. Every damn picture looks like a post card.

I can't find words to describe what I've seen, so pictures will have to do instead:

I feel so blessed having lived to see these amazing sceneries.

Highwire Bungy

It was one of those random decisions that set your teeth on edge and your hair on end...

So one of the WWOOFers in Lumsden wanted to do a Bungy, but wasn't sure if he wanted to do it alone, so he asked me to come with him. Me, having a big mouth, told him Bungys aren't as scary and I could easily do a second one.

The Bungy he wanted to do though happened to be the Highwire Bungy, the highest in the Australasian region.

134 meters, jumping out of a box strung up on a wire running from one side of the Nevis Gorge to the other. It is as crazy as it sounds.

And in case anyone was wondering, having done a Bungy Jump does not, in any way, make the second one less terrifying.

(Video music had to be changed due to copyright.)

Queenstown 2.0

Good-bye Lumsden, never thought I'd spend two weeks there, let alone be sad to go. After the goodbyes, one of the WWOOFers (Lucas) and I hitched a ride into Queenstown from a farmer, who also informed us on all things cattle.

The view isn't half bad, even the second time around.

For dinner we tried the most famous and popular burger in new Zealand, the Fergburger. Doesn't matter if it's breakfast or dinner or middle of the night, there is ALWAYS a queue.

And I have to admit, this was the goddamn best burger I have ever had in my life.

Bigger than your face, affordable, and so indescribably delicious..

Lumstopia

For almost a week now, I have been working, eating and sleeping in the tiniest of towns, Lumsden. Population: 400. Halfway between Invercargill (the southernmost city on the mainland) and Queenstown, Lumsden is surrounded by rolling green hills and pastures.

The couple I am WWOOFing for is renovating and landscaping an old farmhouse as well as a run-down pub down the road. Together with a few other WWOOFers we paint, build and redo the main house while Janel, the hostess, supplies us with plenty of meals.

At night and after work we hang out around the pub, which is also our accommodation. If you're not too squeamish about mice and the lack of heating (only if there is a lack of firewood) it's actually a pretty cool, retro place to stay.

The glorious Lumsden Hotel!

The past few days I have been mostly painting and once there was a little bit of muddy outside work. The work keeps us busy enough so that we don't have too much free time, which suits me just fine because other than the five minute walk around Lumsden there isn't a lot to do or see.

Until I've figured out my travel plans for the last month, I will continue working in 'Lumstopia' and get accustomed to New Zealand countrylife.



And in conclusion I present to you a picture of my newest Lumsden friends:

The Eigth Wonder of the World

After Queenstown, the Stray bus cruised at last into the famous Fjordlands National Park. The wettest region, Milford Sound can reach over 250 mm of rainfall within 24 hours. The bus ride there is as beautiful as the Sound itself, with waterfalls cascading down the cliff faces.

 This was the view into the valley:





Before we boarded the ferry that would take us through the Sound, our bus driver had to maneuver the bus through a handcarved tunnel, barely wide enough to not scratch the bus roof.

Once on the ferry, the cruise was actually as breathtaking and magical as advertised. The clouds that were obscuring the view in the beginning gradually cleared up, revealing the enormity of the Sound.

Sadly, New Zealand internet refuses to let me upload pictures without painfully long loading times, so here are the best ones:

After viewing the Eigth Wonder of the World, which is unfortunately in the middle of nowhere, we spent the night in a camp without power, heating our little huts with firewood.

Many are left underwhelmed by the Sounds, as they are one of the most hyped actractions in New Zealand, but I think it's safe to say that you can't tell from just the pictures.

Definitely worth being called a Wonder of the World!

Leap of Faith

So a 20 minute bus ride from central Queenstown, there is a river, flowing through a gorge, which has a bridge running across it, which is where decades ago a couple of crazy fellas decided to jump off, a cord attached to their feet.

Thus, the Bungee Jump was born.

Guess who jumped off that very bridge today?

Yep.

There is no doubt that the ten minutes before the Bungee Jump were the worst and longest minutes of my life. But the adrenaline rush, the ground coming towards you, the pure terror and freedom of the jump - it's all completely worth it.

Other than that, I think the video says it all! One more item ticked off the bucket list!