Day 277-279: Karamea, New Zealand

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Friday, October 30th

Happy birthday Lize! Hope you have a fantastic day and an awesome party! May you have a blessed and amazing year.

We slept late then spent a few hours catching up with the blog. As we were preparing lunch Paul came by and asked if we could help to catch the sheep because they needed to be sheered. It took two tries to get the sheep in the pen because on the first attempt they ran at one of the girls who got a fright and ran away. While Ferdi was helping with the catching and sheering Talita and Tim caught a chicken that wandered into the house and they safely deposited her in the chicken tractor.

Before the sheep sheering started Ferdi helped to catch the lambs and Paul would put rubber bands around their tails and (gulp) balls if they were unlucky enough to be male. Ferdi felt ashamed for helping to neuter another male. It just feels wrong. The neutering is important because it prevents the young males from mating with their mothers and sisters in the small herd of about 20 sheep. We had a blast catching the sheep and dragging them out to be sheered by a professional guy who takes about 5mins per sheep. In some cases it took a few tries to get the best of these wooly beasts. They might be walking meals but they're surprisingly strong.

With the sheering done we did some more prep work on the log home model and we had to cut more branches to get the quota needed for the support structure. We enjoyed a glass of wine in the late afternoon sun, then Ferdi and Tim went shopping for supplies. Back home Tim cooked up a mighty curry while Ferdi made a fire. After dinner we helped to dress Tim as mummy because he was going to a big Halloween party outside of town. When he left we "old folks" stayed home and watched a movie with Bruce.

Today's highlights:
1. Catching the sheep.
2. Watching a movie in front of the fire.

Saturday, October 31st

This morning, during our quiet time, we came to the realisation that going back to SA won't be so terrible. The things we've seen and the things we're learning have changed us profoundly and we are now free from the fear of returning. This allows us to just enjoy where ever we are without worrying about the future too much.

We've also been struggling to find peace here in Karamea. It probably stems from being on our own for almost nine months and then suddenly being surrounded by people and politics. Talita's been struggling with nightmares and Ferdi feels total social overload. It's been a period of adjustment, but then all forming processes are difficult.

During the morning we discussed the design of Paddy's house and started to build the model. In the late afternoon Ferdi went to pick up Bruce and the dinghie while Talita made Peppermint tart. The van that was running on empty but the petrol station was closed so we couldn't get any diesel. We had to make another plan cause we needed to launch and photograph the dinghie today. Ferdi tried to siphon diesel from Tim's van but couldn't get into the tank so we tied the dingy to Rick's car and drove the 20km to Kohaihai River. Ferdi put on Bruce's waders and took hundreds of photos as we took turns rowing on the river. It was a gorgeous area but unfortunately it was also swarming with sandflies and we got eaten alive. The dinghie looked absolutely brilliant (literally) out there floating lightly and maneuvering easily

Back home Ferdi downloaded the pictures for Bruce and then we went to the Halloween pot-luck dinner at Rongo Backpackers. We dressed up as Bananas in Pajamas (Ferdi had no idea what they are but at least a few other people knew who we were). We had another huge meal and Ferdi tried Hare for the first time. He was a little dubious at first because Lewis made the hare and he's known for eating road-kill. We had an amazing dessert and Talita's tart was devoured in no time. She was very chuffed with all the compliments. They made a huge bonfire outside but we were exhausted and soon after went home to catch up on some sleep.

Today's highlights:
1. Launching the dinghie.
2. Halloween Pot-luck dinner.
3. Talita's peppermint tart.

Sunday, November 1st

We had a quiet morning so we went for a walk by the estuary. After lunch we said goodbye to Guiseppe. He has been struggling with some inner conflicts and as a result caused a lot of negative vibes in the group. This was obviously not part of his current journey, so with a little positive nudge from Bruce he went on his way. Hopefully he will find his peace and come back to join us when he is ready.

We packed Bruce's logging gear and headed to the spot where we'd be doing the practical part of the log home building course. We had permission to use the spot we’d wanted in a small pine forest and we were really keen to see Bruce work his magic. We started off by finding a good building site. Bruce fell a couple of trees and then took us through the sequence of building the work cradle. He then did the demonstration, taking us through the various things we'd be learning in the course. It's amazing what a chainsaw can do in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.

Back home we had another awesome dinner, then watched a bad movie in front of the fire while munching on chocolate. We're gonna get real big if we don't watch out.

Today's highlights:
1. Walking by the estuary.
2. Bruce's building demo.

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Comments

[lize]

dankie!
hi ouens. baie dankie vir die b-day wense! dit lyk asof julle op 'n fantastiese journey is. geniet elke oomblik!