Kaikoura Coast Farming

After a relaxing and enjoyable stay at Suzies place with good discussions, excellent food and a lot of reading we left for the Kaikoura Coast again, where we previously worked in the vineyard but now bound for the traditional Kiwi Cattle and Sheep farm. The Armstrong family's homestead was one of these NZ houses with a view worth millions. The vast Pacific Ocean with Chile and Peru on the other side in front, the outline of the Kaikoura Peninsula where we had previously been walking and whale watching, the Kaikoura Mountain range further north and westward a first range of grassy coastal hills. Surrounded by lush vegetation and a rich garden, lettuce, tomatoes, grapefruit, figs, lemons, parsley, carrots, artichokes, snow peas, plums, apples, quins, pears, zucchinis, pumpkins, peaches and peaches and peaches. It was a delight walking in the garden before breakfast, lunch or dinner and get your fresh produce.

Salimos de ChCh, con destino a nuestro segundo Woofing (Work on Organic Farm) cerca de Kaikoura. Ya habíamos hecho un primer Woofing en Kaikoura, en una viña que si bien, la pasamos bien y nos dio tiempo para conocer los alrededores haciendo caminatas y un poco de turismo, esta vez era algo distinto, pues era el primer Woof que hacíamos consiguiéndolo por nuestra cuenta, y no sabíamos muy bien que íbamos o cómo sería a donde llegaríamos... Solo sabíamos que era una familia kiwi (NZ) con una propiedad de cerca de 18 hectáreas de campo cerca de la playa. (El primer Woof en la viña fue gracias a nuestro amigo Félix de Palmerston que nos puso en contacto con Mel, y Feli y Clari ya nos habían contado más o menos como era el cuento en la viña, así que ya íbamos con una idea más o menos armada.) 

The farm was acquired by early Scottish settlers from the MacFarlane family somewhere in the middle of the 19th century. Due to the much needed skill of sheep breeding and farming a big farm was built up and through generations split up in 3 or 4 smaller properties still 1800 ha big. Previously managed by Bruce and Heather, the farm was now in the hands of their daughter and son-in-law, Lydia and Rob, our hosts for the coming 2 weeks, together with their children Skye, Alex and baby Freddy.

Llegamos al lugar, una casa sobre una loma, desde donde tenías una vista espectacular de la playa hacia el lado derecho, y a la izquierda, campos ... Verde y más verde, ovejas y vacas. Nos recibió Lydia y Freddy Blue (el bebe de menos de un año y más pequeño de la casa). El lugar donde nos quedaríamos, era llamado EL LOFT (tal y como le llamábamos al dpto donde vivíamos en Stgo) un espacio con todas las comodidades, acogedor, con unos ventanales con una vista privilegiada al mar. 

Farming is somehow similar to mining in the sense that, success depends on how the operation is run but also by environmental factors which you can not entirely manage and finally sensible to pricing cycles driven by foreign markets. On the other hand, while mining companies are publicly listed, a farm can be a family asset with private capital. Nevertheless, one of the first and foremost things I learned on the farm was that, considering a properly run farm with the work well done, if you can not spend time with your family and doing things you like to do because you have to work from dawn to dusk, as is the traditional farmer's image, than the farm is not worth farming.

Debo decir que disfrute mucho la estadía en nuestro Woof, Lydia y Rob fueron muy amables y tuvieron mucha paciencia para explicarnos todo acerca de la granja. Nos tocó trabajar un día con las ovejas proporcionándoles una dosis de tratamiento contra gusanos, con las vacas...moviéndolas de un campo a otro, trabajando con los 7 perros (mi actividad favorita)   recogiendo duraznos de los árboles y preparando duraznos en conserva, ayudando en el jardín podando arbustos, recogiendo los huevos de las gallinas, alimentando a la chancha Poly, llevando a pasear a los perros, haciendo un poco de fencing... Todo lo que involucra trabajo en un campo. Aprendimos muchísimo, pero también disfrutamos mucho del tiempo que compartimos con la familia. 

From fence pricing and methodologies, to soil and grass quality, to cattle selling, Rob would answer our hundreds of questions combined with his personal view on the matter. I particularly enjoyed the talks on sheep genetics and cattle psychology and sociology. Letting the farm dogs out for a run, shifting cattle and sheep, dosing sheep with their worm treatments, fencing, we got the all-in farming experience. In and around the house Lydia taught us how to deal with food on the farm, enjoying the lush and variety of summer garden abundance in the day to day meals while preparing for winter by bottling and preserving.

Our accommodation had the same name as our apartment in Chile, The Loft, but the view could not be more different, from the apartments in front of the Jorge Washington 276 building to the sunrises on the Pacific Ocean tainting the Kaikoura Mountains in all colors from orange, to pink, to purple. At first not sure how much we could and should interrupt the family, they made us very clear that their doors were open and we enjoyed the morning coffees in the kitchen after the kids-to-school-rush peace, the cooking and the family dinners, the discusiones on NZ views on the world, the moral support in our struggle with the Australian immigration and the casual glass of Fern & Spring Indian Pale Ale.

Compartimos almuerzos juntos, preparación y disfrute de una rica cena, nosotros preparamos un día un lomo salteado, compartimos cervezas, copas de vino, noches de conversaciones, los café en la mañana antes de salir a trabajar al campo. 

Lo que me llamó la atención fue el trabajo que hacía Rob con los perros (7 perros), la mayoría sabía muy bien cuál era su rol, y sabían responder a los llamados de Rob, mientras íbamos a ver las ovejas o vacas. 

Getting behind!!! Y el perro se mantenía detrás de la cuatrimoto

Georgeee,    Georgeee, good girl...+ palmadas ... y la perra (que se llama george) corría y subía montañas persiguiendo y moviendo las ovejas.

Walegow, y todos los perros ponían atención a la siguiente instrucción.  

In the spare time, I had some good an unforgettable experiences as well, my first successful paua (New Zealand Abalone dives) which were then deliciously fried in butter and garlic, and then the pig hunting outings in the weekend with the local president of the pig hunting club. Pig hunting is a bit controversial in New Zealand and at the same time it is very Kiwi. Pig hunters are often considered rough not very civilized people with brutal dogs but that is probably, as in many cases, the image of a few stigmatizing many. For a start, wild pigs were introduced in New Zealand and do considerable damage to farmland and native bush and, as I was told, will be waiting for the sheep to lamb to eat the newly born lambs. As such, wild pigs are considered a pest (as are deer) and their population is tried to be controlled by several methodologies, one of them hunting. During the hunting, dogs will sniff and track the pigs and once found bark at them and bail them so the pig stays in place or otherwise grab it by its sensitive parts and hold onto it until the hunter arrives and stabs the pig in the heart, both hunter and dogs end up covered in pig blood and sometimes wounded by the pig's tusks. I believe the latter ones are the main reasons of the brutal image of the sport. On my 3 hunts, I did not get to get a pig but I thoroughly enjoyed walking in the early hours through native bush, working with and understanding the dogs and rush through thorn bush, rivers and steep hills when the dogs started barking at a potential. Still unsure if this is really my favorite sport I enjoyed the experience and sharing a bit of the culture that surrounds New Zealand pig hunting.

As not every experience can be perfect, I then came to my big disappointment. After a carefully planned and successfully executed eel spearing trip with Rob, resulting in 3 middle sized eels (best eating according to the Maoris), the eels were skinned, gutted and after still moving after 24 hours in the fridge, put in the smoker. Waiting for the smoking to be finished, with a cold beer, a warm evening and a beautiful full moon on the ocean having good conversation, this seemed a perfect last evening at the Armstrong farm in Cheviot. Biting in the golden brown crispy toasted skin eel fillet and getting a mouthful of methanol infused fish was a severe blow to the morale. Something (still not sure what) had gone wrong in the smoker, and smoked eel will be for a next time. But, with this event being one of the mayor disappointments of our stay at the farm and our travels so far, I can say I am a happy man. Everything is relative....

Estuvimos cerca de dos semanas con ellos, viviendo con una familia kiwi y sintiéndonos mas de una vez como parte de la familia. Fue realmente una experiencia que nos quedara en la memoria para toda la vida, aprendimos un poco sobre el manejo de las granjas, aprendimos a preparar nuestro propio pan ... y todas las mañanas nos despertábamos con el olor de nuestro pan recién horneado y caliente, una vez mas confirme de que cuando decida tener una casa donde establecernos, debe ser cerca al mar... tendremos un mini huerto con verduras y arboles frutales, haremos nuestro propio pan. 

Muchas gracias Lydia y Rob por habernos hecho tener esta linda experiencia de Woofing en su acogedor hogar y con su hermosa familia. 

After a few times postponing our departure with Rob and Lydia, we had our coming Wwoofing experience getting closer. We had an incredible real NZ experience on the Sheep and Cattle farm in Cheviot and had the pleasure to stay with a truly good Kiwi couple, that in the end we felt closer to be friends than employers. Thank you so much Rob and Lydia and we hope we can come back one day to make the Kaikoura Coastal track complete.