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Ruapehu Farm Stay - New Zealand Farm Stay

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Date 30 October 2003 AuthorChristopher Ford Contact
c.ford@mcrmail.com WERE WOOFERS NOT DOGS

Traveling doesn’t come cheap. Even with a very strong pound and
a stern budget I still crossed my fingers and prayed waiting for
cash at each ATM I visited. I’d been away from home 5 months to
date, jumped off, climbed up, and swam through, every piece of
land, rock, and stretch of water in New Zealand. It was time to
give back a little of what I’d taken, and take back a little of
what I’d spent.

Backpacking notice boards and hostel hearsay persuaded me to
travel north to Ohakune, North Island, New Zealand. My reason
for coming, to WOOF: that is to be a Willing Worker on an
Organic Farm. Four weeks of intensive farming, in exchange for 3
home cooked meals and a bed. A chance to rebuild my connection
to mother earth, live the organic life, and more importantly,
preserve enough money for a skydive in Taupo.

Although Ohakune is large enough to export world famous carrots
and skiing, it is still yet to discover the merits of public
transport. With my thumb outstretched, and sporting my best
‘pick me up I’m not a psychopath smile’ I called upon the good
will of passing motorists to get me the extra 3km south to the
farm, my destination.

Sadly, as it transpired, that’s exactly what the passing
motorists did. Pass me by. One car became two, and 78 became a
joke. A few cars away from my thumb becoming the finger, I
started to walk.

4km on, braving more rain than I thought existed, I swung open
the white picket gate, sent my backpack to the ground, and
introduced myself to the host. The person on the other end of my
arm was Sue Allomes; teacher, foster mother, and all round
matriarch. She briefly showed me around the farm, to my
accommodation, and once introductions to the other workers and
animals were made, dinner was served.

The accommodation was a caravan. I can’t find a better word than
grim to describe it. Electricity, gas, or running water hadn’t
been seen since the mould arrived in the late 80’s. I entered
nonetheless and fought back the stench to get a closer look. The
only reason the roof wasn’t gushing water was because the rain
had since stopped. Still, I pinned a postcard on the wall,
prayed for a drought, and called it home. Caravan #4, Ruapehu
Homestead, New Zealand.

The main income for the farm comes from the horse trekking
business they operate that runs a 3-hr guided trek across the
scenic Ruapehu district. Also offered was a selection of lodge
accommodation, and country dining in the restaurant. The WOOFERS
were responsible for maintaining, cleaning and the general
upkeep of everything inside the picket fence. First impressions
were good. I was eager to hang up my compass and reach for the
elbow grease.

Routine soon concreted itself into our day. We groomed and fed
the horses not long after ourselves and set about the daily
chores with the fresh enthusiasm each day. Bread was to be
baked, fences to be fixed, and weeds weeded. Simplistic in
theory yet pathetically executed in practice. In the first week
alone, I was responsible for all the inedible bread in the
house, destroying 3 fence posts, and digging up the all the
broccoli in one vegetable patch. I then decided to do what any
other person worth their salt would do: deny it. “Come to think
of it Sue, I did see the new German girl leaning on the fence
yesterday”.

In addition to this, I set about inadvertently electrocuting
myself on the paddock fence more times than I care to remember.
Organic farming was proving to be test that no university
education could prepare me for, and my appreciation of farmers
soared.

The work was hard, but faking delight when meals were plated up
was harder. Our meals came from the garden and drinking water
from the sky. I’d enjoyed the benefits of drive thru’s since
Grease was playing in the drive in’s and longed for a
Mc’Anthing. The cook had two philosophies, ‘We need to be
sustainable and eat the food we grow’, which I understood, and
‘WOOFER’s will eat anything’, which I despised. True to her
word, we would and we did, but never by choice. “I’ll pass on
the rack of lamb thanks, just dish me up some of that disgusting
looking cabbage bake and some rainwater in a glass, Ta”.

Food was something we spooned into our mouth, chewed, swallowed
and digested. Carbohydrates were always on the menu, carbs
equaled energy, and energy equaled fixed fences and weed-less
vegetable patches. Everything that could be eaten was. Any food
left over from the WOOFER’s was given to the cats, and any food
the cats refused was fed to the chickens, although the order of
which I still remain skeptical. We’d collect chicken eggs, rip
up spring onions and siphon water from the gutters to continue
the cycle of farm life.

The horses, however, lived outside this cycle. They ate carrots,
literally by the lorry load, and when the lorry was empty they
turned to the grass. We’d feed them and they’d belt us with
their hooves as a way of saying thanks. They would also bite,
nut, and stamp on impulse. With one between my legs I felt the
next stop was nearly always the ground, and the ground was far.
‘Just get up, and get back on its easy’, ‘There is a reason he’s
bucking me off’. Horses are unquestionable beautiful and handled
correctly probably receptive. But my relationship with them
started with the first shin kick and probably won’t continue
past spreading manure on the garden.

Still the cycle continued. The work list never shortened and I
was using more salt and pepper on my meals than ever. Progress
and recognition were never achieved nor given and I soon felt
drained and unwanted. This raw approach to life I’d craved a
month prior was beating me. Operating such a self-sufficient
lifestyle was very admirable, but I yearned for a glass of water
that didn’t taste of the roof and a bed with a mattress thicker
than the duvet.

I’d learned many skills, formed new friendships and put to bed
any horse riding desires I had. I’d eaten my weight in carrot
bread, could spot a Christmas fern from poison ash and tie a
Flemish hitch faster than most boy scouts. But, it was time say
goodbye to the gang and farewell to Mother Earth. I scrawled
Taupo on a sheet of cardboard and picked up my bag.

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So many people over the years have had a lot to say about fathers! Here are some quotes about fathers to think about this Father’s Day:

“It is a wise father who knows his own child.” - William Shakespeare

“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” - Charles Wadsworth

“To be a successful father, there’s one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don’t look at it for the first two years.” - Ernest Hemingway

“If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right.” - Bill Cosby

“Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.” - Ruth E. Renkel

“It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.” - Anne Sexton

“The most important thing that a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” - Theodore M. Hesburgh

“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” - Clarence B. Kelland

“Love and fear. Everything the father of a family says must inspire one or the other.” - Joseph Joubert

“Noble fathers have noble children.” - Euripides

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” - Mark Twain

“A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child.” - Knights of Pythagoras

The best quotes for the Father’s Day Holiday:

“It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.” - Pope John XXIII

“Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!” - Lydia M. Child

“It is much easier to become a father than to be one.” - Kent Nerburn

“The greatest gift I ever had came from God, and I call him Dad!” - Anonymous

“One night a father overheard his son pray: Dear God, make me the kind of man my Daddy is. Later that night, the father prayed, Dear God, make me the kind of man my son wants me to be.” - Anonymous

Nicola takes great care in celebrating Father’s Day, both as mom to her husband’s children, and as a loving daughter. She can help you find great Father’s Day presents with tips and news, information and views at http://www.ILoveMyPop.com

This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. All rights reserved. Copyright http://www.ILoveMyPop.com

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Britain’s magnificent and time and again unthinkable past is beyond a shadow of a doubt most embodied in its historic structures & nowhere is this further apparent than in those properties connected to the Royal Family and their gatherings.

For a long-lasting occasion now the English Monarchy has been believed to be highly significant to the achievement of the United Kingdom. They have captivated foreign tourists for years & continue to motivate the curiosity of overseas sightseers of all age bracket. Buckingham Place has been certified the London home of the British monarchy from the time when Queen Victoria became established into office as queen in eighteen thirty-seven. its one of a minute number of operational royal palaces enduring in in Great Britain currently. Vital information on Buckingham Palace can be found here: www.enjoyengland.com.

Buckingham Palace is used on the whole as a place of work, but can as well turn out to be a festivity venue for the fifty-thousand guests invited to the Palace every single year. There are more than six hundred quarters, including nineteen state housings, fifty-two royal and visitor bedrooms, 78 bathrooms, 92 offices, but more remarkably an in-house theatre and swimming pool.

During the spring & summer, overseas tourists can trek around the beautiful state dinning rooms, which make the heart of the Palace. These splendid rooms are highlighted with numerous of the best riches from the Royal compilation of works, including sculptures by Canova as well as paintings by the many famous artists for example Rembrandt, Rubens and Canaletto.

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“Lucky” Chinese New Year symbols are an important part of
celebrating the Spring Festival.

Afterall, it is the start of spring — a perfect time to
have your New Year wishes come true!

And what better way to usher in happiness, prosperity and
health than to enjoy “auspicious food” with family and
friends?

Here are the Top 8 auspicious food symbols for Chinese New
Year.

Top 8 Auspicious Food Symbols for Chinese New
Year

1. Hot Pot

A steaming hot pot (or chinese fondue) with meat, seafood
and vegetables) is a must.

Huo3 in hot pot huo3 guo3 火锅 is the same word as huo3 in
hong2 huo3 红火 “prosperous and booming”.

2. Fish

Another must-have dish if you want to experience abundance
in the new year.

Fish yu2 鱼 is the most popular dish served during Chinese
New Year.

In Chinese fish has the same sound as “surplus” and
“abundance” 余.

A whole fish is served on Chinese New Year’s eve for the
reunion dinner.

Usually the fish is steamed.

It is a good omen to leave the bones and head and tail
intact.

This symbolizes surplus/abundance and a good beginning and
end in the new year.

Best served whole.

3. Shrimp

Shrimp xia1 虾 in Mandarin and ha in Cantonese sounds
like someone laughing.

Eat shrimp for happiness and well-being.

4. Boiled dumplings

A Chinese New Year tradition is eating boiled dumplings.

These are shaped like gold ingots.

Dumplings jiao3 zi 饺子 sounds like jiao1 zi3 交子which
means the hour of transition into the New Year.

Hence, in northern China, dumplings filled with meat are
eaten on Chinese New Year’s eve to usher in good luck and
wealth in the New Year.

Sometimes a coin is placed in one of the dumplings. Whoever
bites on it will have plenty of wealth in the new year.

When dumplings and yellow noodles are cooked together they
mean “golden threads through gold ingots”.

In the eastern cities of China, like Shanghai, Hangzhou and
Suzhou, egg dumplings are eaten as they look like gold
ingots.

5. Oyster

Hao2 sounds like hao3 shi4 好事 which means “good
things”.

In southern China, it is served with thin rice
noodles.

6. Green vegetables

For close family ties, serve some greens.

Qing1 cai4 青菜 sounds like qing1 亲 as in qin1 re 亲热 mea
ning “close/intimate”

7. Sticky rice cake

Nian2 gao1 年糕.

Nian2 means year and cake gao1 sounds the
same as high gao1 高.

So eating this steamed cake made of rice flour and topped
with red dates has the meaning of attaining greater
prosperity and rank in the new year.

8. Noodles

Known as chang2 shou4 mian4 长寿面 meaning “longevity
noodles”.

A wish for good fortune — Good Luck, Prosperity, Longevity,
Happiness and Abundance — is central to the Chinese way of
life.

Even more so during Chinese New Year!

For more auspicious Chinese food symbols and DIY Chinese recipes, visit www.living-chinese-symbols.com.

Want to discover the culture of Chinese symbols
and characters and enhance your life? LIOW Kah Joon is your
guide. Read his Chinese New Year Special and
sign up for his free monthly Chinese Symbols ezine at
Living
Chinese Symbols.

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