Easter in New Zealand

It is strange to be celebrating Easter in the fall instead of the spring. But the fall weather here is so nice that it is actually warmer than spring is at home. We started off the four day weekend with Bree having a friend sleepover at our place. I am not really sure why they call it a sleepover or slumber party since there is typically very little sleeping occurring. The girls did crafts, baked a cake and then watched a movie. We had to have pillow fights and play wrestling and by the time I got them to bed and asleep it was 10:30pm. Of course they did not sleep in and were up at 6:45am ready to go!

On the Friday we drove to nearby Sanson to check out one of New Zealand’s Amazing maze’n’maize. These are located across the country and are large corn fields in which elaborate mazes have been made. From the air these mazes are actual pictures and are around 20ha in size or more. The maze had an Easter egg hunt on so Bree, Layrah and I went to check it out. Luckily we arrived early and by the time we had spent 2 hours running through the corn field looking for clues and for the Easter bunny the rest of New Zealand had arrived. When we left there was a line up of 100 people and I am not sure how everyone was going to get around in the maize as it is pretty narrow. It was also muddy so by the end of the day I imagine it was getting a little messy.

On Friday evening I held my first dinner party at my place. We had five kids and three adults and I soon found out that I only have 7 sets of cutlery. Luckily I had my camping gear! I also don’t have a lot of chairs but the girls were happy to sit on the ground and use the coffee table. After dinner the girls had the music going and put on quite a dance show for us.

On Saturday we drove down to Levin, which is about 50km south of Palmy, for the Balloon Festival. Bree and I arrived early and it seemed like a small event with some food booths, a few kids rides and a music stage. We hit all the candy stands, had some hot dogs and then the balloons started arriving. At first there was just one hot air balloon and you could go up and see how it worked. But then 8 more balloons came from a nearby park and landed right in the field where we standing. They also had these large (bigger than me) bowling pins that some of the balloons were attempting to knock over. They called this event “skittles”.

Around 5:30 pm more people arrived and started setting up balloons and by 6pm there were over 15 balloons out in the field. You were able to walk around all the balloons and talk to the owners. Once it was dark they lit up all the balloons at once. It was pretty impressive. Then they had the balloonists all try and light their balloons in time with the beat of the music - which made this huge flickering across the entire park. By the time we went to leave we could not believe the number of people that were there. The cars were parked along the roads for miles and the sidewalks were full of people. I am really glad we went to see it because although the pictures are beautiful the experience of being there with all the large balloons around use was magical.

Sunday was Easter and Bree was a little worried that the Easter Bunny might not find here in New Zealand but she soon discovered that the bunny visits here first (since we are a day ahead of Canada). The bunny did arrive and Bree even got an All Blacks chocolate egg and a World Rugby Cup bag to put her treats in. In the afternoon we headed into town for the Easter Retro Festival which is a weekend celebration of classic toys and memorabilia all from the 50’s. There were events going on all weekend but we only attended a few of the exhibits.

Easter Monday also turned out to be ANZAC day in New Zealand this year. ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. Held on April 25 each year it is a national day of remembrance, much like our Remembrance Day, and the date marks the anniversary of the soldiers landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turley in 1915 during World War I.  Now ANZAC day it is used to commemorate all military who served for their countries and services are held all over New Zealand.

So Easter was a busy but fun weekend. I really enjoy all the different festivals that the different towns hold. We could have attended many other events in nearby towns as well but there is only so much you can do. Given all the choices I would definitely recommend the Hot Air Balloon Festival to anyone because it was really spectacular.

New Plymouth

It is now Easter Break in New Zealand and all of the primary schools are off for two weeks before term 2 begins in May. We are staying in Palmy for the break as I still need to finish up some work but we did decide to take a quick trip over to New Plymouth. New Plymouth is situated in the Taranaki region which is a large curve of land on the west coast that extends out into the Tasman Sea. It is mainly flat but in the center is Mount Taranaki (or Mount Egmont), which is a 2518 m high dormant volcano.

We first drove to Hawera, a small town on the coast and went to visit the Tawhiti Museum since we had been told it was definitely worth a stop. With its life size figures and smaller scale figurines this museum makes history interesting, even to a 6 year old child. We took a boat ride through the Traders and Whalers exhibit which has life sized figures depicting different scenes from when the Maori and the Europeans began to trade. Then we went through the other exhibits and learned about the Musket Wars that took place with the Maori. There was also an entire section on the life of the early settlers and Bree loved all the old toys.  

From Hawera we took the scenic Surf Highway 45 around the coast to the City of New Plymouth. Mount Taranaki was just visible but it kept hiding behind clouds. New Plymouth is a city of about 70,000 people and has a small central downtown business district that is located right on the water’s edge. Bree and I stayed right downtown and were just a short walk to the coastal walkway. We splurged and went out to a fancy Italian restaurant for dinner and had appetizers, a main course and dessert.

The next morning there was a Farmer’s Market on the street outside our hotel. We bought a bag of feijoas  and a bag of fresh passion fruit and had a good snack before heading to the walkway. Bree rode her bike and I jogged along side. It was great fun because the surf will hit the rocks and sometimes come up onto the path. Bree was actually trying to get splashed since it was a sunny day. After a morning in the fall sun we jumped in the car and started the 3 hour drive back to Palmy.

On the trip home we took Hwy 3 which runs around the east side of Mount Taranaki and takes you through dairy country. We took some side trips down country roads so that I could get some photos since it is now fall and all the trees are changing colours. I now have hundreds of photos of agriculture in New Zealand but really need to take the time to organize them all while I still remember where each is from. We were back home by dinner time and now Bree is attending a holiday camp although we might sneak off for a day or two over the Easter weekend.

A Wild Wedding

Bree's wedding outfit

Last weekend Bree and I attended Sally and Alex’s wedding. Bree goes to school with Sally’s older daughter Layrah and Sally often looks after Bree after school so that Bree does not have to attend the afterschool programme every day. Sally and Alex are great people and have been very kind to me during my stay here. When they invited us to their wedding I was very honoured.

The first thing was a suitable outfit. I have not brought a lot of clothes with me and fancy dress was definitely not on my mind when I packed. I had one decent sundress and the weather was still warm enough that I thought with a light jacket that would do. I managed to get some nice black shoes with a small heel for 50 cents at the near bye thrift store (called opp shops here which are short for opportunity). Bree and I frequent the opp shops because you can really find great deals. I also picked up a black jacket for a few bucks so I thought to myself "great job and all for under $5". But it was not meant to be! Later that evening I went to fix the ribbon on my dress which was very wrinkled. I found the iron and when I tried to flatten the ribbon I also managed to instantly burn a large hole in the front of the dress. Apparently the light gauzy material should not come near irons or heat as it melted instantly. I was now left with no dress and a big mess on the iron (which I am still trying to remove).

So off to the shops and $50 later I had a nice dress again. It is something I will keep so I guess it was worth spending the money. It is just that I am trying (but failing) to not accumulate stuff here as I need to get it all back to Canada and we only get 1 free bag of luggage each. After that it starts to cost quite a bit of money.

I digress, so back to the wedding. The ceremony was held at Alex’s boss’s house in their back garden. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were all looking for shade. After the ceremony there were refreshments and some snacks while people mingled. There were lots of kids there and soon Bree was part of “the girl gang” running around screaming in the front yard.

Layrah and Bree singing

We then headed to the China Inn for the reception and this is where all the fun began. Alex is Greek and quite an extravert. The China Inn has a karaoke machine and I can tell you it was put to good use! The evening started with a few toasts and some appetizers. Then the Greek music started and Alex performed a dance which was full of plate breaking. The kids went crazy over this. Bree wanted to dance and smash plates too but I had to restrain her. The poor waitresses did not know what to think and one would just get a plate swept up when another one would get thrown down. The plate breaking only lasted for a song or two and then it was just dancing. The kids all joined in with this and soon they were at the karaoke machine too.  Dinner just kept coming and as all the kids at my table were full after the appetizers there were only 3 of us left with heaps and heaps of food.

It was great fun and Bree who has not really been to many weddings now thinks that all weddings are this exciting. She talked about it for days after and would really like a karaoke machine.  I have told her that we will have to wait on that (until we get a sound proof room I think).

A Weekend in the Mountains

Last weekend Bree and I went with our friend Sue up to her cabin in Rangataua which is at the base of Mount Ruapehu. Mount Ruapehu is the largest mountain on the North Island at 2,797 m and is also an active volcano. Sue’s cabin is only about a five minute drive from Ohakune and from there you can drive about 15 km up the road to the Turoa ski field. There is also another ski field on the north side of the mountain. Mount Ruapehu, along with Ngauruhoe and Tongariro all form part of the 7,600 km² Tongariro National Park.

Sue’s cabin is quite large and can easily sleep 8 people. From road by the cabin is a beautiful view of Ruapehu but as the locals say “she likes to wear her skirts”. The entire time we were there we never had a full view of the mountain with cloud always obstructing part of her. The weather was fine so we did get out and do some of the local tramps and Sue pointed out a variety of the native flora and fauna for us. We drove up to the ski field but even though it was sunny below it was blowing a gale up the hill. I was barely able to get the car door open to get out and take a few photos. I imagine skiing up there is next to impossible on windy days as there are no trees so it is entirely exposed.

 

Bree with the NZ silver fern

On the Sunday Sue took us to Raetihi, a nearby farming village, to visit her friends who run a small farm. Mary and Andrew lease their land for sheep and cattle grazing but they also are bee keepers. We walked around the farm and sampled a variety of their apples. Andrew used to work in forestry and showed me their small pine plantations that they have on their property. Bree found a nice muddy area to play in and also a sheep skull which she really wanted to take home. In the end I convinced her that just taking a tooth from it would be the best idea. We also sampled the honey and Mary gave us a jar to take home.

Sue has kindly offered to let me use the cabin when Russ comes over so maybe we can make it back up to the mountain when winter comes. I don’t know if the ski season will start before we have to leave at the end of June but if it does I would love to get a chance to ski on an active volcano. In the news this past week I heard that the lake at Ruapehu has been warming up and there is some speculation that there might be an eruption sometime. There have been small blasts of ash in the past but no large eruptions so no one is sure if this is a sign of a small eruption or possibly something more. I imagine they will keep monitoring this and will be able to predict any upcoming eruptions. 



A rainbow as we drive down Mt Ruapehu











The Twilight Gala

Last Friday Bree's school held its annual Twilight Gala. It seems that it is common for schools here to hold these galas as a type of fundraiser. A typical gala has food booths, fun games, small "rides" for the children and large bake sale tables.

The week before the gala the organizing committee was meeting parents as they dropped the kids off to school and asking them to "do their part" in helping out. I had never been to a gala before so I was hesitant to volunteer for running a booth but I did offer to bake. This seemed like a simple task until I realized that although we are quite equipped for basic meal cooking at our rental flat we don't have much in the way of baking equipment. I ended up at the grocery store buying a cake pan and also all the baking supplies.

Bree and I set out to make 3 cakes and 1 tray of brownies. We had all the supplies but only one cake pan so we could only bake one cake at a time. We also only had a hand egg beater for a mixer which I didn't think would be a problem but wow, 3 minutes running an egg beater is hard on your arms! We baked two cakes on Wednesday night and finished the rest on Thursday. Bree helped me ice the cakes and we decorated them with sprinkles and roses.

The weather for the gala was not great but it didn't rain. There were fun games, face painting, a bouncy castle and of course all the food booths. You could buy hot dogs, meat sandwiches, curries and any type of baked good imaginable. There was also an ice cream booth which was a favourite for the children. There were no carnival rides but one innovative parent had set up a magic carpet ride on the school grounds. This was a carpet pulled behind a large quad and the children tried to stand up on it as it went around the field. In typical Kiwi fashion there were no helmets and protective gear but all the children had fun and came out unscathed.

A fun time was had by all and hopefully the school was able to raise some money. Bree really enjoyed the gala and I have to admit that it was better than having to do door to door sales to raise money.

Parallels Between Canadian and Kiwi Agriculture

As part of sharing information from my sabbatical work I have agreed to write three articles for the Beef in BC Magazine. Here is my first article which will be published in the May/June edition.

Part 1 of 3:  Parallels between Canadian and Kiwi Agriculture

Kia ora (Maori for hello) from New Zealand! One of the many wonderful things about being a University Professor is the opportunity to periodically take a research sabbatical. In my current position at Thompson Rivers University, in Kamloops, I teach grassland ecology, range management and an agricultural sciences course that focuses on food systems. Therefore I wanted the goal of my research sabbatical to be developing a better understanding of food systems globally with a focus on beef production. That is how I ended up living in New Zealand for six months and working at Massey University in Palmerston North. 

As a way of sharing some of the things I am learning, I have agreed to write a series of articles for Beef in BC. This introductory article will set the stage by providing a more general introduction to New Zealand agriculture and draw some general comparisons of agriculture production between New Zealand and Canada. In later articles I will move on to the specifics of beef production.  

About New Zealand

New Zealand with a land base of 268 thousand km² and a population of 4.4 million people is much smaller than Canada with our large land base of just over 9 million km² and a population of 34 million people. However, the population density in New Zealand is higher at 16.1 people per km² versus our 3.7 people per km².

What is unique about New Zealand as a developed country is that it still remains an agrarian based economy with pastoral farming being the main land use. Over 52% of the land base is dedicated to livestock pasture, cropping or is fallow. New Zealand is highly dependent on trade with agriculture accounting for approximately 50% of the total merchandisable exports; approximately 90% of the pastoral products produced in New Zealand are exported.

The mild and temperate climate allow for almost year round grass growth making this a very low-cost way to raise pasture-fed meat and produce pasture-based milk.  At a recent conference I attended one politician made the statement that the basis of New Zealand’s economy is grass growth, unfortunately this is not a statement I have heard echoed in BC.

General Agriculture

In the pastoral sector the main players are dairy, sheep and beef with the 2010 estimates showing dairy numbers close to 6 million, sheep near 32.5 million and beef at 3.9 million head. However, there have been changes occurring in these industries with sheep production declining from its peak of over 60 million head back in 1980 and dairy numbers continuing to increase. Beef production has also been decreasing, mainly due to a decline in prices and it seems many beef farmers have shifted into dairy production. Without a dairy quota system, it is easy for pastoral beef and sheep farmers to switch to dairy production as all dairy herds are also grass fed. Dairy is now the leading agricultural sector accounting for 22% of total exports but meat remains the second main export at 12.4%. Much like at home primary producers are often the price takers and struggle economically while money is made in the value added components of the food industry.

What is interesting to me is some of the striking similarities with general agricultural trends in Canada. Both countries are experiencing decreases in the total number of farms but overall farm size is increasing. The trend is toward intensive production, though it seems to me that there are still many small farms across the countryside in New Zealand. The average age of farmers continues to rise in both countries making people question were the next generation of agricultural producers is going to come from. Even though a large part of New Zealand’s land base is in food production, over 87% of the population lives in urban areas, which is higher than the 78% recorded for Canada. The gap between urban and rural residents is a challenge for both countries and exacerbates this disconnect between the people and where their food comes from.

The Beef Industry

When looking specifically at the beef production sector there are some major differences to Canada. In New Zealand essentially all the beef production is grass based and this is achievable due to the year round grass growth. Some forage is preserved as silage and hay but in general very minimal feed supplements, other than forage, are used. The majority of beef farms also have sheep or deer production giving some diversity to the income. The dairy sector highly influences beef production with cull dairy bulls making up a large percent of the processing or manufacturing beef production and it is estimated roughly 65% of New Zealand’s beef production is of dairy origin.

However, much like Canada, the New Zealand beef industry is small on the global scale but it is one of the top net exporters of beef. The main market for New Zealand beef is also the United States but they are exporting a frozen, manufactured (ground) beef product versus the prime cuts that Canada is exporting. With domestic beef consumption being a fairly small part of the New Zealand market, the focus for beef industry is to continue to expand export markets into the future.

Travelling to another country is a great way to learn more about your own country. In my search to better understand the different agriculture industries in New Zealand I find myself comparing them to our systems in Canada. In general, I have been surprised at how similar the trends in agricultural are between both countries. In terms of beef production though, the systems used and the pasture management in New Zealand are quite different; this will be the focus of my next article.  Ka kite ano (Maori for until we meet again).

References

Smeaton, D.C. ed. 2003. Profitable Beef Production: A guide to beef production in New Zealand. New Zealand Beef Council. 220 pages.

Statistics Canada. 2007. 2006 census of agriculture. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/95-629-x/95-629-x2007000-eng.htm

Statistics New Zealand. 2003. Agricultural statistics 2002. http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/agriculture-horticulture-forestry/agriculture-stats-2002.aspx

Statistics New Zealand. 2010. Agricultural production statistics June 2010 (provisional). http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/agriculture-horticulture-forestry/AgriculturalProduction_HOTPJun10prov.aspx



We Love Palmy!

The Square at night.

We have been living in Palmerston North for 3 months now and I just realized I have not really written anything about what it is like here. When I was first arranging for our trip over to New Zealand whenever I mentioned to a Kiwi that we were going to live in Plamerston North they would say “why?”.  I started to get a little concerned that maybe it was a dive but now that we are here I am happy to say that it is not.

I think that many New Zealanders don’t think of Palmy as various glamorous as it is not a big city like Auckland or Wellington. It is also not a real tourist destination but is more of a University town that is located a little off the beaten track. For us the location of Palmy is ideal. It is in the Central North Island and although it is not on the coast it is not far to drive to either the east or west coast from here. In fact we can drive to a beach in around 30 minutes. That means it is easy for use to take weekend trips to a variety of places (Napier, Wellington, New Plymouth to name a few). It is also located between the Ruahine Ranges to the north and the Tararua Ranges to the south; this makes it ideal if you like to get out and do some hiking (or tramping).

I also really like the layout of the town as it is fairly compact and easy to get around. The majority of the town is on the east side of the river and is very flat, a novelty to Bree and me. This has made biking to school and walking places very convenient for us. In fact Bree is now riding her bicycle without training wheels which may have taken a long time to happen at home given that we live on the side of hill and I even find it challenging to bike in our neighbourhood.



Bree's school - Hokowhitu



Palmerston also has all of the amenities we need. With a population of around 80,000 it has a downtown core with a wonderful library (we spend every Friday afternoon there), lots of shops, and a nice large park in the center. Spread throughout the community are several swimming complexes, lots of smaller shops, restaurants and cafes. What I like is that it is never very far to find a local dairy (small corner shop) and everything is not centralized into areas that you can only reach by car. We can walk to our local grocers and there are a variety of smaller shops in our neighbourhood or district as it is called here.

The other advantage to living in a University town is the cultural diversity. There are people from all over the world here. Even in Bree’s class at school there are students from several different countries. I think that this is wonderful and there are always different cultural events being held at the Square (the downtown center). For Bree this has meant that she is not really different at school and the other students have been very welcoming as they are used to seeing new students from other countries.

The wind farm.

The climate here is pretty mild and even though it will get cooler in the winter it won’t ever be cold enough for snow here. The surrounding area is mainly lowland farming and they pretty much have year round grass growth. That is great for the cattle and sheep but I guess it would mean year round lawn mowing! Fortunately the flat I live in has a person who takes care of the lawns so I have not really worried about it.

Palmerston can get windy though and on the nearby ridge there is a large wind farm. There is also quite a bit more rain here then I am used to but so far we have had more clear skies than cloudy. We are into fall now and the daytime temperatures still reach 18-20 degrees C although it is dropping down to 9 degrees at night. I am still wearing flip-flops (jandals) and Capri pants so I won’t complain.

Overall, I am very happy that we ended up in Palmy. For me it is a nice size town making it easy to meet people and to get around but still has all the services available. We were lucky to get a nice flat that backs onto a park so that we can play outside in the evenings. Bree’s school is wonderful and I am really enjoying my time at Massey University. And even though winter is on its way we are not worried since we will be going home to summer just as it starts to get cold here.