Our Adventure

It's beginning to sink in more that we have left and that this is the time we need to spend doing what we set out to do. Today we had a penguin tour booked for the evening so we spent the day exploring Akoroa town again which started with some lovely Crepes for breakfast in the town. Akaroa was first settled by the French so it has a strong French style of architecture so it was nice to see this has been carried through into the cafe we visited. We went to all the shops around town and although we'd done this before we still enjoyed strolling around together. After 4 months of working with only last Tuesday and Saturday off together it's lovely to just be in each others company again. We headed back to the campsite to make an early tea so we would be ready in time for our tour. After a quick easy pasta meal we met up with the tour operators back in town. We were divided into two small groups so their was actually only 8 of us in our mini bus. The drive to the site took us up and over the hills which gave some lovely views out over Akaroa. We ended up at a house right near the coast of Flea Bay. We discovered that the Little Penguins use to nest on the peninsula but after the introduction of predators they pretty much disappeared. The couple who built the house here discovered a couple of penguins nesting under their house and decided to help encourage the population to come back through building nest boxes and predator trapping. They now have over 1000 successful breeding pairs of penguins on their land which is just incredible. All the farm lands nearby have also helped with this process. The land is also private so no one can turn up with torches and disturb the penguin's natural behaviours. When we arrived we were greeted by the local sheep who help keep the grass between the nesting boxes and the shore short, making it easier for the penguins but also harder for predators to follow their tracks. As an added bonus we were able to feed the sheep before being given camouflage overjackets and binoculars to wear. As we walked up to the view points we saw many nesting boxes, some with chicks or an adult peering out from inside. We moved as quietly as possible to not disturb them too much. From the lookouts we could see the penguins bobbing on the water waiting for the cover of darkness to come ashore. It was amazing watching these little penguins jump out the water and on to the rocks. Our guide was very worried about not disturbing them so as soon as it looked like the penguins were going to climb up the bank to their boxes we retreated back to the house so nothing would be in their way. It was an amazing, informative tour and it feels good knowing some of the money we spent is going to continue to fund this great project. The best thing we learnt is that the penguins here are a much lighter blue colour on top compared to the ones in Dunedin down the coast. This is because the sea here is fed by glacier water so is much lighter in colour and amazingly overtime the penguins who arrived here changed colour to adapt to this colour change. How cool is that?!Læs mere

It's quite hard to believe that there is only one week left until we leave the farm. It's exciting, nerve wracking and sad all at the same time. I've been trying to do as much as possible with the girls this week which isn't the easiest with Cassidy at preschool most of the time. We still try to fit in at least a walk if there's time in the afternoon. We've had a lot of rain so that means it's also been harder to get out and about. While we were travelling I bought a puzzle for Cassidy that was quite advanced and this week she managed to complete it without the picture for help within 45 minutes which was pretty good going. Admittedly I was falling asleep on the floor but I was still rather impressed everytime Eliza said "wakey wakey Charlotte" and I saw how many more pieces she'd put in. Eliza was also very kind and got off the rocking horse and came right up to me and crouched down so our faces were almost touching and said "Charlotte, turn?" She's getting so considerate now a days and is definitely much better at sharing. After I said I was okay she hopped back on and started rocking again. I'm realising more and more how much I love these girlies and how hard next Sunday will be. Cassidy keeps telling me not to worry and that she will get her mum to save me some of her birthday cake for when I come back. It's become quite impossible to hide any more that we won't be back and I do think she's suspecting that this is more of a major goodbye than last year. I've also come to realise how much I appreciate Tika. She's helped me get over a fear of dogs and I couldn't have asked for a noisier dog to do that. I've learnt to accept the barking and am now fully comfortable with her being around me. We definitely have a bond that I will miss. I got a bit experimental this week and made ginger flavoured cupcakes with a cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg butter cream icing. They went down so well at the shed which meant it was a success. In RD1 this week Eliza saw the picture in the photos on the wall and said "Nick?!" which was followed by "Cheryl?" who is her auntie. I do hope she's thinking the guy who looks about 30 is Nick rather than the old chap in the photo! After visiting this shop 2-3 times a week it's weird to realise that I will miss the people in there as well. The lady I made the baby box for had a boy in the end so I'm glad I made it very unisex despite Bruce saying he was adamant that she was having a girl. Eliza has now started telling me she loves me when I leave in the evening, almost as if she can tell that there is only a week left. It's utterly adorable and so natural to tell her I love her too.Læs mere

It's quite impossible to believe that we arrived back on farm 2 whole months ago. We only have 2 and a half months left and that's both exciting and super scary at the same time. We've become so comfortable in our little bubble of Geraldine and what is familiar that it will be very hard to walk away from this place knowing we aren't coming back this time. At the moment we are just trying to make the most of being back here and enjoy it while we can. The weather has been very up and down this week with freezing days followed by afternoons of intense sunshine. It's hard to work out how to dress a child for all possible weather outcomes and you end up taking whole new outfits with you just increase we get that sudden heatwave or downpour. I've been trying to make the most of Cassidy being at preschool and having that one on one with Eliza. It's actually pretty awesome to see her get to play with everything she wants to and not have to negotiate with an older sister to try and get it. I think it's made me realise how important that is for her and how it's only fair when Cassidy got so much undivided attention before Eliza came along. Developmentally she's also at a very different stage to Cassidy so it gives me time to sit down with her and teach her so many new things. One thing that is beyond brilliant is her counting. From us playing hide and seek all the time she can now count to 10 without any slip ups most of the time. Admittedly she counts at 10 times the normal talking volume because of how you play hide and seek but it is so exciting that she's counting before she's 2 when it took Cassidy until she was well over 3 to start. I'm not deluded about it though and do realise she doesn't have a concept of what those numbers mean in terms of quantities but the fact she knows the words will just make learning that association so much easier. She's even learnt the "ready or not, here I come" part which is beyond adorable. She does believe that she needs to hide herself while she counts but at least we know she isn't peeking while counting behind the curtains unlike Cassidy who loves to peer through gaps in her fingers. We often play team hide and seek with Eliza and I teamed up against Bruce and Cassidy which is a rather entertaining way for us all to spend weekend lunchtimes with dad. The calves are still coming thick and fast and it's beginning to feel like the numbers will never end. Cassidy loves it when we spot them in the paddocks, especially the brown ones and the ones with pink noses. I told her that the calf in the shed was adorable the other day and she went around every pen saying "oh Charlotte look, that one's just sooo adorable" repeatedly. Such a parrot! Speaking of parrots, Eliza and I went to the playground together, despite the fact everything was wet, and visited parrot McKenzie for the first time this season who we met last year. She is so into animals that she was blown away by the fact he could say "hello" to her but she found it most exciting when he said "tickle, tickle". She spent the whole afternoon going up to people and tickling them while saying "tickle, tickle" in the same voice as parrot McKenzie.Læs mere

It's definitely feeling like calving! Nick has quite a few mobs out in the paddocks now to go and feed with the feeders. The cows are still giving birth so there's a steady flow of new borns in the sheds too for him to tube feed and teach to drink. Eliza absolutely loves going to see the calves in the sheds and continually tries to reach out and touch them. She's giving Cassidy a new found confidence that she didn't have last year and slowly this season she's getting closer and closer to the fence. She's yet to touch one but I think she might do it by the end of the season especially after seeing Eliza do it so often without any reason to be alarmed. We had our first calf neighbours of the year when I got home the other day. Our house is right next to paddock 1 where they have been put and it's so nice to see them all running around from our window. They get so excited by grass when they experience it for the first time so it's very sweet to see them enjoying it. Some come up to you at the fence for a good scratch or to suckle on your fingers hoping to find some milk. You can tell Nick truly loves and cares for the calves when you see him with them. We've befriended a German couple, Anja and Simon, who are working on farm for 8 weeks. They've been here a month all ready but I hadn't really met them until recently. They invited us over to dinner at their house where they made what they called German noodles. Essentially it was homemade thick pasta with a white style creamy sauce which was full of cheese. They made 3 bowls full and went through 1.5kg of flour and 1kg of cheese! It was the most dense and heavy meal to eat but tasted pretty good. The salad we had with it helped make it feel less heavy even though it was only for a brief moment. We really enjoyed getting out and socialising for a change. I felt bad though when we were an hour late because I couldn't leave work until 7pm. We've started playing a German card game with them as well which initially was hard to understand, especially when the written rules are in German only, but we seem to now be getting the hang of it. I think we will have a few nights playing cards while they are here as something to do in the evenings to unwind and to enjoy each other's company. I plan to cook for them another week and I'm trying to work out what is a good British meal to introduce them to. I'm not sure what to make yet but it will definitely not include kilograms of ingredients that's for sure!Læs mere