Speaking "Kiwi"

Bree in her "togs".

One of the things that made it easy for us to come to New Zealand for my sabbatical was the fact that it is an English speaking country. That has made it easy for Bree to be able to fit into the school system and for me to be able to meet with farmers. But the Kiwi’s add their twist to everything and that includes the English language. In the spirit of a typical 6 year old Bree has embraced this and prefers to use the Kiwi terminology over ours. She is even starting to speak with a bit of an accent.

Some of the words are quite different from at home and to me many seem to be very similar to British terminology. Bree and I have started keeping a list of some of the ones that we hear very often or that we find quite different. Here is our list:

Bikkies – cookies, it is short for biscuits. These go with tea which you have in the morning and afternoon (similar to our coffee break at work and snack time at school). There is also tea in the evening which means dinner. I have had to clarify this a few times as when I am invited over for tea I am never sure if it is a cup of tea or for a meal.

Brilliant – great. I tend to use this a lot now as in we had a brilliant time.

Chemist – pharmacy.

Chilly bin – cooler.

Chips – French fries. Crisps are what we call chips.

Fizzy – pop or soft drink.

Flash – fancy. Bree loves this one, she calls everything flash now.

Fringe – hair bangs.

Ice block – popsicle.

Jandals – flip flops. Comes from fact that these sandals used to come from Japan.

Keen – interested in, excited by. Many of my colleagues use this word such as he was a keen hiker.

Lollies – any type of candy. Bree uses this word all the time as in “Mom I want a lollie!”.

Mufti – plain clothes, as opposed to the school uniforms that everyone wears here.

Sweet as – an expression used to say things are good. I think it is really short for sweet as pie or sweet as sugar.

Togs – swimsiuit. The first time I saw a sign at the pool that togs must be worn I thought they meant sandals and went back and put mine on!

Tramp – hiking.

Ute – a truck, it is short for utility vehicle.

There are many more words but these are ones that we use quite often. There is also a tendency to abbreviate or shorten everything over here such as uni for university and kindy for kindergarten. This also goes for most of the towns and everyone here calls Palmerston North "Palmy".

I have grown to really enjoy the words here as they are often more fun than our equivalents at home. I think Bree likes them because many end in ie or y making them sound cute or more child like. The accent has grown on me as well although I still can have a tough time understanding some people.

As a Canadian one of the terms I find amusing is the use of the word eh. We tend to think of this as a very Canadian way of speaking but in New Zealand it is used very often. Generally it is at the end of a question such as in the weather is fine today, eh? It must be common among the kids at school because Bree is saying it all the time now. It isn’t a short, crisp eh either, you draw it out a little. But learning the language is part of the cultural experience and as with everything we are trying to embrace it while we are here!

A Weekend in Wellington

Bree and I finally made it down to Wellington for the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Wellington is New Zealand’s capital city and home to New Zealand Parliament. From Palmerston North it is only a two hour drive south down the Hwy 1 and so even a day trip is an option. We decided to travel down on a Friday after school and then spend the weekend so that we would have sometime to see many of the areas attractions. 

I booked a hotel over the internet but lucked out as it was a small and beautiful family run hotel, called Hotel Willis, right near the downtown core. We were able to park the car in their lot and leave it there for the entire weekend as everything was walking distance. They also had a little lounge area and served breakfast for a small fee.

On Saturday morning we headed out early and had a bite to eat on Cuba street, which is well known for its diversity of restaurants. We then walked along the waterfront and over to Te Papa, the national museum that is very interactive based. One of the many great things about Te Papa is that there is no entry fee. The place is huge and it is worth having a map to decide how to best allocate your time. We started with the large interactive New Zealand map and then went on to learn about volcanoes and of course earthquakes. Bree went into the earthquake simulator house and found
 that pretty scary. Since the recent Christchurch earthquake and then the one in Japan she has been very concerned about possible earthquakes.

We then went on to visit bush city, the mountains to sea exhibit, the story of the peolpe in New Zealand (passports) and some other exhibits. On almost every floor there are also designated areas for children with hands-on activities and Bree loved to spend time in these areas. Outside in the bush walk area there was even a large sand pit where children could dig for fossils.

After about 4 hours our brains were full and are stomachs were empty so we headed out to the waterfront to get some lunch. There was a big dragon boat event taking place so the entire area was full of food booths, crafts, and every kind of ice cream treat imaginable. It was a beautiful sunny day and so we strolled along the water front and sampled a variety of items. We eventually ended up near the cable car and decided to take a ride up to the top. Wellington is a pretty hilly city so the short ride up the cable car gave us some great views and you can then walk through the botanical gardens.

Also at the top is the Carter Observatory and so we went to check it out. They have exhibits and also a planetarium show which we took in. After that we walked through the gardens to a wonderful playground where Bree spend about an hour on the flying fox (a kid’s version of a zip line). By late afternoon we made our way back to the Cuba Street and looked for an interesting place for dinner. We ended up at the Flying Burrito Brothers (Mexican) and had a nice meal before heading back to the hotel at almost 7pm.

On Sunday we went to the Wellington Zoo which you can spend an entire day at. Every half hour or so are different talks you can attend and Bree especially enjoyed the “be a vet in 5 minutes” where she was able to dress up as a vet and help do a health check on an animal. We had to be back at Palmy by 5pm so we left after lunch but I think we could easily spend another day at the zoo.

Wellington was a great trip and in some ways it reminded me of Vancouver. I think the beautiful weather helped make the trip a success as walking around in the rain would have been less enjoyable. I do think we will head back again as there are just some many things to do and two days is not enough.

The Gumboot Festival



Bree in the gumboot throwing competition



The town of Taihape is about 100 km north of Palmerston and is best known for gumboots. A small farming based community Taihape has put itself on the map by marketing the town as the gumboot capital of the world! In keeping with this they host Gumboots Days every year and we decided that we needed to attend this event as it definitely fits under the category of “cultural experience”.

The festival was held on a sunny and hot Saturday down at the town park. There were bouncy castles for the kids, craft booths, food carts, sheep shearing demonstrations, entertainment and of course the gumboot throwing competition. The competition ran all day allowing you to sign-up for a small fee (which goes to Rotary) and then having your three throws. There were “officials” who measured the distances and recorded these and all of this information was collected. At the end of the day the farthest throws for each category were announced. It was all in the spirit of fun but there was over $2,000 up for grabs if you could beat the world record gumboot throw distance (apparently there are records for everything!).

Bree went in the competition and as a child she was allowed to throw a child’s size boot. She didn’t win anything but she did get an official certificate for participating. We toured the stands and enjoyed the entertainment. We both really liked the gumboot art displays and there were even gumboot cakes and cupcakes. All in all a fun day and something a little different in the cultural department.








Dairy Farming in New Zealand

On March 13 Bree and I attended the Federated Farmers of New Zealand’s “Out in the Paddock” Farm Day. Farm Day is an event that has been run for several years now and allows people in New Zealand to connect back to farming with the main target being the urban population. There are Farm Day events across the country and the one closest to use was at Stewart Dairylands just about a 15 minute drive outside of Palmerston North.

As is typical in New Zealand, the Stewart’s dairy operation is based on pasture grazing and milk production follows the pasture production cycle. That means that the entire dairy herd is bred to calve in the spring so that maximum milk production corresponds with maximum forage production. They stay on grass through the summer and fall and the herd is dried off (so out of milk production) usually for June and July which are the winter months. They do put up supplemental feed such as grass silage and corn silage and this can be fed out when grass regrowth is slower.

They also have a concrete feeding area which they can use for feeding of supplements in the winter or if the fields get too wet. If the fields are wet and the cattle are out on them they can cause “pugging” which means they create a very uneven surface. The concrete feeding area has no housing as the temperatures are never cold enough to require housing for the animals. There is also a manure collection system connected to the feeding area so that the material can be stored and then applied back onto the pastures during active plant growth.

The milking areas are called cow sheds here and from the road they look like a small open shed but when you get up close you realize that they can milk a lot of cows in these sheds. The farm we visited had a 38 sided herring bone parlour (so 38 cows per side) and they could milk the 38 on one side in 10 minutes (or less) and then move on to the next side. I have also seen several 50 stall rotary parlours. The systems are all automated and can usually be run by 1-2 milkers but individual production per cow is not recorded at many of the operations.

The Stewart’s farm is a family based operation and they currently milk 650 to 700 head of animals. It is common here for dairy farmers to have Holstein x Jersey cross animals so you will see a mix of dairy breeds out in the field. The advantage of the Holstein is large milk volumes while the Jersey’s are smaller animals (easier calving) and also higher milk fat production. The crossing results in increased hybrid vigour. Some people have on farm bulls but most use artificial insemination for the main herd.

New Zealand is a net exporter of their milk so the fact that production is not even year round does not matter as most of the milk is not being shipped as fluid milk but as dried milk products or processed milk products. To meet the countries demand for fluid milk there are some producers that fall calve so that they will be producing milk when the other farms have all their cows dried off. This demand is fairly low compared to the total volume of milk that New Zealand produces (I think 8% is the number that I have heard).

Overall the diary industry here is very interesting and the grass based production means that farmers can keep costs down. They have no subsidies and no quota so in times of feed short falls they can just dry cows off sooner or decide if it is economical to purchase feed in. This gives them greater flexibility as they are not trying to maintain a current volume of production year round like we are with our quota based system in Canada. The dairy industry is currently growing in New Zealand while both the sheep and beef industries are declining. I think the industry will continue to grow but it still faces challenges in terms of nutrient management and other environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions as it moves forward.

Some More Tramps

The slip along the Otaki Forks tramp

In the past few weeks I have managed to get out on a few more tramps (or hikes for those not familiar with Kiwi terminology). Last week the group headed south to the Tararua Ranges and a hike in the Otaki Forks area and this week we went north to the Ruahine Ranges for a hike in Oroua River.

The hike in Otaki Falls area had to be altered from our original plans due to the weather forecast. At first tramp was to go up to a hut that required at least an hour or so of walking up a stream. However the forecast was for rain and given how quickly the water rises here in New Zealand it was decided that this was not a safe option. So we instead decided to combine several smaller tramps to make a day of it. The first was a small loop that had us end at a nice hut just in time for morning tea. Then we walked back to the vehicles and drove further up the road to another parking area and set off on a longer tramp. This was an out and back on a trail heading towards Field Hut with the trail bordering the Otaki River and running along Judd Ridge. The hope was to make it to the swing bridge but about 30 minutes in the rain started and it just didn’t stop. We marched on undeterred everyone here being quite used to tramping in wet weather.



Ruahine Ranges



Part way in we had to cross a large “slip” (or what we call a slide). It had happened last year and a temporary trail runs across it at mid slope. It is pretty steep and the soil is quite unstable. At the time we crossed it on our way out the rain had just started. As we continued on so did the rain. By our designated lunch time stop it was still pouring. There is pretty dense forest growth in New Zealand so we tried to take shelter under the trees but we just couldn’t escape the rain. We had a short and soggy lunch stop and then decided to head back. By the time we reached the slip we could see the water at the bottom entering the bordering river and turning it brown. The ground seemed even less stable and we decided to keep our distance from each other when crossing and also to get across as quickly (but safely) as possible). We had to be careful of moving rocks and so everyone was relieved when we had made it back to the other side. It was amazing to see how much the little streams we had crossed on the way in had already risen doing our short tramp. We headed for the warm vehicles and drove just north of Levin for a nice cup of warm coffee and some cake.



Mount Ruapehu in the background



The hike into the Ruahine Mountain Range was on a nice clear but cool sunny day. The weather is starting to feel like fall and I am not hiking in my tank top anymore but have started to wear my wool t-shirts and even long sleeve light base layers. We hiked into a beautiful hut called the Alice Nash Memorial Heritage Hut which is only a short way in and had morning tea here. Then the majority of the group decided that they wanted to tackle the uphill to the ridgeline towards Turnupo peak instead of heading downstream to Iron Gate Hut. I liked this idea as it was such a clear day and I knew we would get some spectacular views from the ridge.



Farmland west of the Ruahine Ranges



It was a good steady climb but we eventually got out from the dense forest into the brush. They have a shrub here called leather wood that would make walking off trail impossible so even though we were above the treeline I still couldn’t see much. Finally we got a little higher and the views opened up. I was able to see out to Mount Ruapehu (the active volcano that is the highest mountain on the North Island and also the ski area) and to Kapiti Island on the West Coast.

 

The Alice Nash Memorial Heritage Hut



On the hike were several retired professors from Massey University so we had some “shop talk” on the hike up. One of the club members, Margaret, is a wealth of knowledge in terms of native plants and she has been pointing out many of the different species to me. I told the group that they were like a tramping/naturalist club and this comment was received with horror. Apparently many people here think naturalist means nudist so they asked that I please not call them a Naturalist group! Next week the plan is to head into a hut on east side of the Ruahine Ranges which is an area I have not yet had the chance to explore. Hopefully the nice weather lasts because although I am a keen tramper I haven’t fully embraced the New Zealand rain yet.

 







A Rainy Weekend



Bree petting a Weka

 This weekend finally felt a bit like fall and with the slightly cooler temperatures came rain. Coming from Kamloops I am not that used to rain and I was surprised by how heavy the rain can be here at times. We did have some nice patches but when it starts to come down you better have an umbrella handy because it is like someone turned a hose on you.

The rainy weather didn’t keep us in and we started Saturday morning by visiting a family from Holland that we met when we were camping in January. Josh and Sandra both have backgrounds in agriculture and have lived in New Zealand for several years now. Their daughters are 5 and 7 which puts Bree right in the middle. They have just built a beautiful house out in the country not far from Massey University and it was nice to chat and have coffee well enjoying the view of the surrounding grazing areas. Bree could have stayed and played all day but I managed to drag her out at lunchtime and we headed south on highway 57 to do some exploring. 

A Weka



Just after the small town of Shannon we came to Owlcatraz, a native bird and wildlife park. The rain had lifted so we decided to stop and check it out. We arrived just in time to join the tour which highlighted some of the native birds of New Zealand. We were able to see some breeding pairs of Weka’s, another endangered New Zealand bird, and Bree was even able to pet one. Weka’s are also flightless birds and just like the Kiwi are threatened by predation from ferrets, stoats, dogs and cats. We also went inside the owl building and learned all about New Zealand’s native owl, the Morepork. The tour ended with a visit to a petting zoo and Bree got to feed an ostrich and hold an ostrich egg. For her this was a highlight and she really want to spend $20 to buy one of the empty eggs they had for sale but since we can’t bring it home she was finally convinced to save her money.



Bree holding an ostrich egg

 

After Owlcatraz we continued south to the town of Levin as I knew of a cafe and museum in that area. We had stopped at the cafes on our way back from the tramp last week so I knew they had wonderful cakes and good coffee. They also have large area off the back that is full of items from the early settlers as well as a Helenstown, over 200 models that make up a typical early 20^th Century New Zealand town. We had something to eat and then toured the museum area. Bree was intrigued by the old toys and the school room area. By the time we left the skies had opened again and the rain was pouring down so we headed home for dinner and had a quiet evening watching a DVD with all the episodes of the Muppets from season 3. The Muppets are Bree’s new obsession and it was fun to sit and watch the show that I remember from when I was growing up. 

On Sunday we walked down the road to St. Peter’s Anglican Church and attended the morning service. One of the women from the tramping club is a member of the congregation and had invited Bree and I to come to the service. Bree really enjoyed the Sunday school session and we stayed afterwards for a special pancake lunch.  

Helenstown, a minature New Zealand town



Then it was off to Ewen’s, a co-workers house, for afternoon tea. It turns out that Ewen’s wife is from Vancouver and her family used to farm in Ladner. In fact at one point our family would have been renting some of the area that her family had originally homesteaded. Heather also completed her undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Agriculture at UBC (same place as I did) and although we did not attend at the same time we knew many of the same people. Bree entertained us by putting on the Muppet Show using all of Heather’s now teenage son’s old stuffed animals.

A settlers school room

So another weekend has come and gone. At first I thought weekends might seem long since we don’t know many people here but instead we seem to be very busy! We already have a long list of areas we would like to visit and some of the local sites we would like to see before we return home so I have a feeling the weekends will continue to pass quickly.

Networks

When people think of networks they often imagine computer systems but networks also refer to the support system of sharing between others with common interests. We all have networks in place and the support we get from these helps us to make it through our busy lives. I think that we sometimes take the value of these for granted, especially when we have always had them around us. I have to admit that I probably did. There is nothing like travelling to the other side of the world and moving to a town where you don’t know anyone, in a country where you don’t know anyone, without your spouse and with a 6 year old daughter in tow, to find out how important these contacts are in your day to day life.

Having moved here for a temporary period it makes it a little easier as I know it is only for the short term. However, I am a social creature and I really enjoy doing things with like minded people. I have now been in Palmy for over a month and I am slowly building up that network but it has been more challenging than I had anticipated. I am fortunate that having an office at Massey University has instantly surrounded me with a group of colleagues with similar academic interests. Visits to the coffee room (or common room as they call it here) have allowed me to quickly meet a large group of people. Fortunately I am not shy and so I just make sure I place myself into the conversation.

One of my other main interests is outdoor sports. Palmerston is full of different clubs so I decided the way to meet people who had the same sporting interests was to attend some of these club events. The first club I checked out was the Manawatu Striders which is a local run and walking club. They were very welcoming and I joined a small group of runners for their Sunday morning run. Here it is nearing the end of summer and people are well into their training plans while I have just come from snow and downhill skiing (which doesn’t really tax the cardiovascular system). The group is road focused so my first run was a 90 minute road run. My lack of fitness was pretty obvious (to me anyways) but I persevered and made it through. I did enjoy myself and the people were great but I am really searching for more of a trail running group. So far I have had no real success but I have managed to find some local trails near the campus and I run on these at lunch. Through this I have slowly met a few people at Massey who run at lunch and now I have some company.

I would also like to do some mountain biking but not knowing where the trails are makes it difficult and to be honest I prefer to ride with other people (especially since I seem to be able to find my way off the bike unexpectedly). There are areas to ride in Manatuwa (the region I live in) but they are generally outside of Palmy so you need to go with others to find out where these trails are. I have made some contacts and hope to get out with the mountain biking club on one of their weekend rides in the near future.

One of my main challenges has been availability. I have the time in the evenings and weekends but I also have Bree.  I have now got one babysitter so I have a little flexibility but I do need to be reasonable about how much time I can go out for in the evenings or weekends. I have found that I have to squeeze my exercise into the time when she is at school but I also need to balance that with the time that I have to get work done.

There is also a transition for Bree but she seems to be handling it well. She has made friends at school and also in her after school care program. She would really like to have some friends over for “play dates” but I first need to get her friends contact numbers and meet their parents. This is a bit of a challenge as I don’t pick her up from school so I have not met many of the other parents but I am working on this. We have actually been so busy on the weekends that we haven’t really had time to have other kids over.

To be honest our social calendar has been pretty full with invitations to different people’s houses on the weekend and taking care of the normal week day activities (homework, swim lessons, grocery shopping etc.). I think I probably just want to do too much! I know that I am only here for a short period of time so I want to experience all New Zealand has to offer in that time but I need to be realistic. I am sure as our time here progresses we will both make many new friends but I do miss my friends and family at home and I think this trip has helped me to see how important they are to me.