Lots of Helpers

Our family's life in New Zealand

You are here: Home / Archives for Away From Home

Away From Home

Fly-Out

by Leave a Comment

Simon has started a new job, since his time at the dairy farm came to an end. He is now picking moss. I don’t know where else in the world sphagnum moss is harvested, but the West Coast of New Zealand supplies a large share of the world’s supply. This moss grows wild in the swamps here, and harvesting it is a big business. Simon is going along with a man who has been doing it most of his life and loves the work, learning from him. He came home from work one day last week and told me they would be doing a “fly-out” the next day, and we should come to watch. I had planned to stay home and get some work done here, and do some school, but I decided we would have a field trip, instead. Sadly, we arrived just too late to see the bags flown out, but we learned a lot about the rest of the process! Another time maybe we’ll get to see that part.

This is a patch of moss in front of Simon’s boot. This is a thin spot, not worth harvesting, but because it was raining we didn’t want to go much farther. Anyway, he said that the mud gets pretty deep the farther you go into the swamp, and we didn’t want to get that dirty! They have to cut the gorse out, and then they use pitchforks to pick up the moss, cleaning mud and sticks out of each forkful before putting it into the bag.

These wool bags are filled with 200 kg of moss. Two are filled side by side, and when they have enough to fill a truck with 72 bags, they call in a helicopter to lift them out. The helicopter can lift two at once. Simon said that at first it was a 40-second turnaround between dropping off one set of bags and the next, and by the end it was 50 seconds, since the helicopter had to go a little farther.

Close-up of some of the moss.

The moss is trucked to the sheds. These are long, low buildings with clear roofs and lots of ventilation. The moss is spread out on these tables, made of bird netting fastened to frames, to dry.

After it has dried some, the moss is put through the kiln. This used to be a tobacco kiln, but is now used solely for moss. After the moss has dried enough here, it is sorted again to get out any more stuff you don’t want in your hanging baskets, and baled in an old wool press. The original 200 kg now weighs 11 kg.

Simon took a video with his phone of part of the fly-out. He told me that a lot of static electricity builds up in the cable. He unhooked the bags that were loaded onto a smaller truck, and said that he got shocked with every set of bags!

Orana Park, Again!

by Leave a Comment

We went to Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch twice in the past, but it has been a long time. We needed to go to Christchurch to pick my mom up at the airport, so Gayle and I decided to take our younger family (we have four older children and four younger, separated by four years) to the zoo. We spent about five hours walking around enjoying the animals. What makes Orana Park really stand out, though there aren’t very many animals compared to most zoos, is that we got to watch many of the animals being fed. We followed the schedule and saw every feeding for that day.

The meerkats were given eggs for this feeding.

Though the African porcupines normally sleep during the day, they came out eagerly for their dog biscuits!

Baby emus are cute!

When we arrived at the otter enclosure, they were standing up, begging in high-pitched squeaks and whistles for their fish!

All four children watching the ducks on one pond.

I’m not sure what type of birds these were, but they had a nest in the moat around the rhino enclosure.

Everyone’s favorite part of the zoo visit was feeding the giraffe! We were given olive branches, which we held up so the giraffe could strip off the leaves.

This is the baby giraffe–he’s about a year old.

They had fun feeding the turkey and chickens!

The lion feeding is always fun, too. This was the first day since Covid started that the truck was used to feed them. Only staff were on the truck for the trial run, but they plan to start selling tickets to the public again soon. Two of the three lions in the enclosure remembered this, but one didn’t seem to.

Tasmanian devil

We were very close to the rhinos while they ate their special treat: lucerne (alfalfa) hay.

I was talking to one of the zoo volunteers at the rhino enclosure, and happened to notice this nest right above his head. Not sure that was a good place to stand!

The children loved feeding the trout–and the ducks love the trout food! I tried to get a picture of the trout, but my battery ran out right there.

Napoleon Hill 4WD Trip

by Leave a Comment

Elijah bought a Surf a few weeks ago, and badly wanted to try it out on a four wheel drive trip. He organized one on Labour Day, and a lot of friends came along. I stayed home, but Gayle took all the younger children–neither of the girls wanted to be left behind! Gayle, Elijah and James all took photos and let me use them. In this first picture, they were approaching the farm through which you gain access to the track.

Off on the trail! James took most of the pictures; he rode in a friend’s Land Rover, between Elijah’s Surf and Simon’s Safari, which another friend was driving.

The line of vehicles, taking a break.

The cemetery at Napoleon. About 100-150 years ago, this was a thriving mining town–today there are hardly any traces of it!

They drove through a couple of tunnels.

One boy rode his family’s quad bike. Partway through, it started having trouble, and they discovered that the battery was about to burst into flame! One family was driving a ute, and they were able to push the bike onto it to get it home.

I patched together several video clips from Gayle’s and Elijah’s phones and James’s camera. The last two clips, of the Surf going through a creek, are from a one-vehicle trip a few days later. This is the creek where we stopped on Christmas Day, thinking a vehicle couldn’t get through.

25 Years! (Part 2)

by Leave a Comment

I shared a few pictures last week of our anniversary getaway. The next morning, we tried to find some rock pools that Gayle had explored with a friend while doing supervision when this friend had his children on a visit, but the tide was too high, so we gave up. We drove towards Westport, and stopped at Tauranga Bay. We walked up the Cape Foulwind walkway, and enjoyed seeing the sights along the first part of it.

This is Wall Island, where several different species of sea birds nest. It is one of the few predator-free places in New Zealand.

Next, we came to the overlook above the seal colony. There were just a few mothers and pups hauled out. One pup was very active, moving around from place to place.

This rock was just offshore from the seal colony. We saw waves breaking over it!

This was a fun place to take a picture!

There is Cape Foulwind in the distance. A rain squall was on its way, so we turned around and walked quickly back to the car. We drove around to the other end of the walkway, but it was raining so we decided not to walk any more.

We went on to Westport, and drove out to the Tip Head, the end of the breakwall on the north side of the Buller River mouth. Then, we went back to the beginning of the breakwall and doubled back, going out to the beach again. We found this beautiful little garden, in memory of someone.

This beautiful picnic area was next to it, and there were wild cherry trees all around.

It was raining, and the Whitebait Festival was happening, so Westport was crawling with people. We decided to head home. I got these next two pictures while we drove through the Buller Gorge.

We ended up buying our lunch at the supermarket in Reefton and having a picnic, then walking around the Powerhouse walk because the sun had come out. It was a wonderful time away–I think we should do it more often!

25 Years! (Part 1)

by Leave a Comment

This week, we celebrated 25 years of marriage. Looking back, it sure doesn’t feel like it seems that a quarter of a century should feel, but the calendar (and our 24-year-old daughter) prove that it has been that long. We decided we should do something to celebrate, and Esther offered to take care of the younger children for us, so we went away for one night. Esther only had two nights at home, and I wanted to spend a little time with her, so we kept this short. It was special, though! It was the first time we went away overnight without a baby along. We went to Charleston, on the coast just south of Westport, and found a motor camp where we rented a cabin for the night. (I can highly recommend the Charleston Motor Camp, by the way. It’s old and basic, but very clean and has everything you need.) After we settled in, we walked down to the beach, and then drove to another beach. As we were walking, we saw this family of ducks.

This was the first thing we saw when we reached the sea. This is Constant Bay, and there were some pretty impressive waves pounding in through that narrow opening! We walked around to the right, after admiring this for a few minutes.

This is Joyce Bay, on the other side of a tongue of land.

Next, we drove north a few kilometers to the Nile River, and out to the mouth. I thought it was fun to visit the Nile!

We ate a picnic here in this spot, beside a cold fire, and watched the sun sinking toward the rocks in the distance.

After we ate, we walked up the beach a little, to where we could see the sun set into the water. It was such a beautiful spot!

These little blue things, about 3 inches long, rather startled us. At first, I thought they were plastic toys, or balloons, or something, but we soon realized they were sea creatures. What really startled us was when we started seeing some of them moving! Watch the video, and the last clip shows one of them moving a little. These turned out to be blue bottle jelly fish, and according to an article I found online after we got home, they are actually four organisms in one. One is the float, one is the tentacles, and two others handle digestion and reproduction. They look fragile, but I stepped on the first one we found to try to see what it was, and it would not pop. It was very tough. They were all over the beach! We were glad, later, that we didn’t touch them, because they sting.

We sat on a log and watched the sun set. Such a special evening!

Next, I’ll share the rest of the pictures we took while we were away.

Picnic

by Leave a Comment

I took the children to town today. There was a Bookarama–a huge book fair–and I decided we would go secondhand shopping, as well. There are four secondhand shops in Greymouth, and I don’t get to them very often, but thought today would be a good time. Elijah was working in town, laying carpet or vinyl in a house (I forgot to ask which), so I asked him yesterday if he would like to eat lunch with us. I was just planning to take along sandwiches for us, but he decided he wanted to order pizza, instead. So, he ordered it and I picked it up. Then, we met at a beach about five minutes’ drive from where he was working, and we had a picnic. It was sunny and not too windy, although not very warm, either. The waves were gorgeous, and we had an incredible view of the Southern Alps, which were covered with a fresh layer of snow. It was a nice time together. I enjoy getting to spend time during the day with my adult sons who work! The cloth we sat on, by the way, is a sheet I had just bought at an op shop. Little Miss loves that set. I’ll be putting them on her bed tomorrow.

Simon’s New Life

by Leave a Comment

A little over a month ago, Simon quit his job as a mechanic and started a new job at a dairy farm. He has always said that he wanted to farm, and was getting very tired of being inside all the time. He moved to the farm at the beginning of calving, so he was rather dumped into the deep end. All at once, he had to learn how to milk, how to rear calves, and how to fend for himself! He and another man who lives on the farm work together to cook their meals. He’s learned a lot about feeding himself in the last month. He was very overwhelmed the first couple of weeks, but has gotten to the point where he really enjoys his work now.

We all went up there the day before he moved to the farm, to have a look at it. It is about 45 minutes away, to the south of us, at the base of the mountains. Here we are having a look at the milking shed, a double 34 herringbone.

We also went up a couple of Saturday evenings after he moved, and took a meal along. Esther took a few pictures the second time, since it was still daylight. This is Lake Haupiri on the way up (Gloriavale is just on the other side of the lake.)

These next two pictures are valleys we saw on the way to the farm.

Simon spends a lot of time feeding calves in these sheds.

The sunset we enjoyed from Simon’s house was incredible! I just stood there at the window and soaked it up for awhile.

Esther also got some video clips of the calves–and Miss Joy. She loves calves!

Snowball Fight

by Leave a Comment

Last weekend, we went over the hill (to the other side of the mountains) to visit friends. On the way home, we stopped near the top of the pass to play in the snow. There wasn’t a lot, but enough pockets of it here and there among the grass and bushes that we could have a rousing snowball fight. What fun! I hadn’t done that in probably 20 or 25 years. I’m a very poor aim!

This was the first time Miss Joy had ever been close to snow, and she enjoyed her experience!

Esther took several video clips with her phone, and I put them together here. The last bit was when Mr. Sweetie threw a snowball at her, and she dropped her phone. The screen protector cracked, but the phone itself was uninjured.

We were right beside this beautiful little lake. We often stop here as we go over the mountains, and enjoy the scenery for a few minutes.

We had to stop in Reefton, because Miss Joy was feeling sick. After she walked both directions over this swing bridge, she was fine and we could drive the last half hour home.

Cone Creek

by Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, all five of our boys, as well as two friends of theirs, went on a tramp. That Friday was a holiday, so they took off fairly early in the morning and headed up into the mountains. Their destination was a hut the older boys had been to, coming in from the opposite direction, a couple of years ago. Some friends of ours tried to go to the hut last year and couldn’t find it, so the boys wanted to be sure to arrive in the vicinity with plenty of daylight–and Elijah also downloaded an app onto his phone with topographical maps of the entire country. They found the hut with no trouble, and spent a few hours chopping firewood to replenish what they used.

On the way up the river, the boys spotted this wild sheep, off by itself.

They also spotted a pair of blue ducks.

A view up the misty valley!

When the boys reached the hut, they found snow on the ground.

Inside the hut. They said that the open fire didn’t heat the hut very well, but they were out of the weather and comfortable.

The front of Cone Creek Hut.

Elijah was trying to focus on the river here, but I liked the horizontal tree in the middle.

I’ve never seen a bright blue mushroom like this before! (This picture is for you, Mom.)

A stop for lunch on the way back down on the Saturday.

The boys loved their tramp and want to go again!

Big River 4WD Trip Part 2

by Leave a Comment

After we ate our picnic lunch, we decided to cross the river and walk up to the restored winding house, then on up the mountain to the old poppet head. Some of us had worn shoes rather than boots, so one man kindly let us ride across the river. Here we are loading up–several people clung to the running boards to get across!

We walked up the track on the other side to the old winding house, through dense bush. One place opened out into this little meadow cut through with several narrow creeks. I’ve never seen anything quite like this!

This is inside the winding house. This steam engine used to power a huge winch that pulled a cable which ran up the hill to the poppet head. From there, the cable dropped down underground in the the mine shaft. I think it went down about 600 meters–that’s around a quarter of a mile. The original winding house was vandalized after the mine was abandoned, but then rebuilt recently and the machinery restored to its present condition.

Next, we walked up another track to get to the poppet head. This is the foot of the pile of tailings that cascades down from the top. We walked around to the left on a foot path.

Along the way, we passed a drilling platform. A gold mining company based in Reefton is exploring for gold. They set up a drilling platform at likely locations and drill multiple holes for core samples, at all angles from this platform. The platform and all equipment was brought in and placed by helicopter, and it is resupplied by helicopter, as well. The men live in a hut down the mountain a little ways; they are able to drive to it and up to the base of the pile of tailings with a 4WD, and then walk to and from the platform. One man in our group works for that mining company, and on this particular Saturday he had to visit this platform to check on their core sample, so he was able to drive his family up to Big River with a company vehicle. He took off within a few minutes of arriving at the car park to do his job, and Simon went with him. Simon got to spend a couple of hours, before we got there, talking to the men doing the drilling and learning all about it. He happened to know the man in charge, so that was pretty exciting for him. Our friend snapped this photo on the drilling platform with his phone.

When we arrived, our friend (the man in the orange camo shirt) explained the entire process and brought up a box of core samples to show us. This hole had just passed 300 meters, so it was time to pull the drill out of it and start a new one.

The core samples are brought up three meters at a time, and laid out carefully in these boxes so that they can be reconstructed in the shed later. Our friend analyzes them to see what type of rock is present, looking for signs that gold might be present. The blue numbers on the samples represent the levels of arsenic–more arsenic means more likelihood of gold. The white streaks are quartz or fools gold, both of which indicate gold may be present.

Our next stop was at the top of the mountain, where the poppet head still stands over the old mine shaft. This tower used to be covered with boards to protect against the weather. The cable from the winding house came up here to a huge pulley, and then down into the shaft to pull men and rocks up, and lower supplies and men down.

The view from the top is incredible!

Our friend the geologist handed out cloth sample bags to the children and challenged them to find a rock with gold in it. They were each to find a likely-looking rock and give it to him, and he would analyze the rocks to see who was closest. The tailings contain a lot of gold-bearing rocks, since the technology at the time that this mine was in operation couldn’t recover nearly as much gold as we can today.

The children scrambled all over the mountain of tailings on their way down, searching for the perfect rock!

The rest of us carefully picked our way down this very steep slope, holding on to trees most of the way to keep our balance.

After we got off the mountain, we loaded up again and headed out the track, trying to get out before it got fully dark. We made it–just! Then, all except one family gathered at the home of the family who live in Reefton, and enjoyed fish and chips before going home. It was a great day!

Here is a short video I put together from several clips that Esther recorded. The parts of driving on the track were on the tamest stretches. If she had been recording on the worst parts, it would make you carsick to watch!