Day 31 26.8.2011 – The Markets and the Yards - Distance Travelled:1745 km

Feilding → Wellington

Hello all,

Today was our last time in Feilding as were heading out to Wellington. Gavin took us along with Joyce to the Farmers Market in the town centre, there was some great local produce available and some very tasty home baking! As per usual Gavin knew every one!!! As he says ‘only in Fielding’ and it is a lot of fun when he runs into someone because there is always a really interesting story to that person or what relation Gavin is to them.

He also took us along to a tour of the sale yards they have, they are now the second largest in the Southern Hemisphere, they used to be the largest but over in South America they are just getting bigger and bigger! So we were taken around the yards and saw some auctioning in action, they speak so quickly it takes a while to understand what they are saying.

We headed back to sort out our things and head off to our next destination. But before this Gavin showed us some of the heirlooms and family history he has in the Safe. Like an old £2 gold coin and other very old commemorative objects that have been passed down to him. I am going to do some research for Gavin when I get home.

We said our goodbyes, which was sad as they are lovely people and we could have spent much more time with the family getting to know them, but we needed to make more progress...so on to Wellington!

This is me signing off....J

Day 30 25.8.2011 – Like lambs to the slaughter! - Distance Travelled: 1530km

Feilding

Hello all,

Today we went to Takapuo. There they have a freezing works where they process lamb; the company is called Silver Fern. The livestock comes off the Lorries which bring in 600 per full load, and they are washed off as they make their way along the pens towards the main part of the plant. At its peak it can hold 12,000 sheep, then enter the works and are stunned then killed. They are killed in a way that is consistent and Hal al, so it is good to be shipped anywhere in the world.

We were all a bit apprehensive at first as we thought seeing blood and guts would be off putting but there was no smell and the whole process was very interesting to watch. Our guide EJ took us from the killing all the way through to the huge section where they cut all of the different cuts of lamb.

The whole experience was eye opening and very interesting to see, I think it was a good thing to see as we know the whole process but to see it in real life and up close is something that not many people get to do.

By the time we got back we helped out Gavin with some jobs and cooked him dinner, he had to go pick up a guest for the B&B, so we spent the night in the camper.

We met the woman who was coming to stay as we were all in the lounge. She is an American called Joyce, she moved over the New Zealand 6 months ago as her husband got a job over here at Weta Digital, she was a lovely person and it was amazing to hear what movies her husband had worked on. He worked at DreamWorks and worked on such movies as How to train a Dragon!!!! And did the bit where Hiccup holds his hand out for toothless and he leans in. It’s a very cool bit!! Oh he also did the starting sequence for the DreamWorks titles, you know the bit with the boy in the moon who is fishing off of it...that was him! 

We were all very interested in what she was telling us but I think Mikey and I were the most excited!

This is me signing off.....J

Day 29 24.8.2011 – Tradition and trips - Distance Travelled: 1530km

Feilding

Hello all,

Well today has been a great experience, we were first taken down to Gavin’s calves and steer. We went on the quad bike and fed them. We got a bit muddy but it was all good fun. After we headed out to a Marae (which is a traditional centre where the Maori gather) we met George (his English name) and his wife, who gave us a talk and introduced us to a small part of Maori culture and tradition. The way you are introduced and welcomed into the Marae was very special as we are sung in by the women of the tribe through the gateway that leads up to the hall.

On the outside of the hall are all intricate carvings that represent the original ancestors of the sub tribe the Manumanu (I sincerely apologise for the horrible misspelling). We were greeted into the hall by the traditional welcome of leaning in heads and touching noses while saying ‘kia ora’. We were also sung a song of welcome as we had sat down in the hall. George also told us about the history of the tribe and how they can trace back their ancestry. Also how as a sign of respect they have to know how they are linked to all the other tribes all the way back to the 9 great canoes. 

All of the carvings at the back of the hall represent the ancestors that died before the construction of the Marae and at the front of the hall were the relatives that were still alive during the construction. The hall is built to represent the body with the arms over the entrance and the spine of the roof and the spine of the body.

It was a once in a life time experience to be taught about the tribe and Maori culture as very few people are given such a detailed and broad talk about it all. We felt very honoured to be welcomed in as this is a special place and not commercial like other sites and shows that there are in New Zealand, of course no disrespect to them at all.

We also learnt about the Maori words whakapapa (pronounced fuckapaka) and Whanau (pronounced Farnow) which are genealogy and family respectively.

Gavin also took us over to the old Coach House Museum which has some of our ancestors pictures in it.

Then headed over to Palmerston North where a new interactive Rugby museum has just opened, it was really interesting to see how quickly the sport spread across New Zealand and see old relics from the whole history of rugby.

Finally we all headed out to a small Irish pub in Feilding which was sporting its deal of the day.... ‘Steak night!!!’ Needless to say we all had that!

After all this we were all shattered or Puckarooed!! (as Gavin likes to say)

This is me signing off...J

Day 28 23.8.2011 – Meeting the family - Distance Travelled: 1530km

Ohakune → Feilding

Hello all,

Today we travelled down to Feilding, to meet some of our relatives on the Hobday side of the family, the long and the short of it (for those who don’t need the whole history, and for those that would like to know, I shall try and explain when I get back) we are blood related by our great great grandparents (if I remember correctly) they moved out over here, as just like at home our family is quite large but all very welcoming and lovely, again just like at home.

So we are staying with Gavin and Brenda Scott, they have a lovely house with a B&B attached to it, which we are staying in instead of the motor home for a few days. Gavin took us around Feilding showing us some of the work he is involved in. Also we got to try our first Kiwi pie (which was very tasty!) and Gavin was teaching us some Maori, all I can remember at the moment is ‘Kia Ora’, meaning hello and goodbye.

We met more of the family later in the evening at dinner, which Brenda made and was great. We are going to stay here for a few days as Gavin is going to show us about.

 

This is me signing off....J

Day 27 22.8.2011 – Mordor and Puzzles - Distance Travelled:1437km

Lake Taupo → Desert Road → Ohakune

Hello all,

Today we have been a bit more cultural than normal, we went off to the Haka Falls just out of Taupo, a great torrent of water flowing very fast through a narrow gorge out into a decent sized river, the falls themselves are not very high but the sheer power and speed it is flowing at is very impressing.

We then headed onto the ‘Craters of the Moon’ geothermal steam vents, it’s a nice 45min walk around the vents which are all just steaming holes in the ground and in some places just steaming ground, there was also a set of mud pools bubbling away. As we made it to the top section of the walk we saw the tallest mountains in North Island appearing in the distance and knew that we would be travelling past them today on the desert road.

After that we headed off to a glass blowing factory, the sheer variety, size, colour and shape of all of the glass was very impressive. We also went into see the guy at work creating new perfume bottles in about 15mins per bottle. It’s a great craft to watch and is, with all these types of craft, and art form that it great to watch and make you want to try it out and you know you would make a mess of it!!!

Finally we drove over to puzzle world! Now it sounds huge and great but really is a small place with a few random attractions, like a maze, mini golf course and a decent Lego display surrounded by very cool 3D pictures.

We looked at the Lego and played a quick game of mini golf (which I won, Steven second and Mikey third), then had lunch and set out to cross the Desert Road, which had been closed the past week due to all the snow and bad weather. But we were pleasantly surprised most of it had gone and the mountains were still covered completely. A small side note about the mountains is that they are in Tongariro National Park, which is where some parts of Lord of the Rings were filmed.

Most noticeably Mordor and the second highest peak (Mt Ngaruahoe) or its more famous name of Mt Doom, although more is added with CGI, and lava and evil the mountain and it’s brothers were very impressive to drive past. It is a stunning landscape across the Desert Road, as before and after it are lush and green whereas on the plateau it is bracken and moss. While stopping every so often to take pics we came across a couple setting out a picnic on a bench at one of these stops. Now it was around 5°C, we stopped for a chat while snapping away but once in the van we realised how crazy they must have been to be out there!! Oh well, they were nice and friendly, like everyone else over here, we haven’t met a moody kiwi yet!! (at least not until the rugby!!!)

This is me signing off...J