A day in the life

I've almost been at Rongo (meaning Peace in Maori) for two weeks now. It's been a perfect transition time between Awaroa and getting the wandering vibe on again. I'm definitely in the wandering zone, or this would certainly be in the 'one of those places I'd stay a long long time' category.

I've just finished the RosieJane Radio Show - Laura (another British wwoofer) and I did a British music hour (more like three!) on Karamea Radio 107.5FM! Really really fun! We had a Machynlleth/Essex standoff playing local bands and generally brought the best of British music to the people of Karamea. Now I'm cooking a roast din dins for the wwoofing team, Yorkshire puds an all - so it's been a great day. I finally finished digging over my flower patch and tomorrow i shall make a cobble path and sow some flowers along the borders. We also managed to fit a long beach walk in there in the break between the rainy Sunday weather, and I wrote a few angry emails about 1080 poison to NZ Government people. Good day. Happy days.

Today....

.... I have mostly been gardening!

I'm creating a little flower patch at the start of the vege garden for all to see. Lots of digging and wedding and manurification (new specialist gardening term for shite-shoveling). Plus creating a little cobble path and some circles maybe....Annnnd sowing lots and lots of flowers to go in it. It's all very enjoyable.
My brassicas I sowed last week have already germinated! Very excited. The weird thing being that I won't be here to see them come along, or to look after them when they are ready to leave the greenhouse and go into the big wide world. Makes me want a garden of my own. I know however that they will be cared for here, by another wwoofer passing through. Loverly loverrrrly flowers. Lovvvvverly vegetamableees.
xx

On a more serious note. 1080 = Death.

PHOTO = your average sign on entry to national park

So no art today. No peacocks either! The little blighters thought their new home unsatisfactory and buggered off...we looked but we did not find. Found a feather, it was a shadow of its former beauty on Mr Peacock. Oh well, Mr and Mrs and their pea(cock) sized brains took off to greener pastures and we learnt that you can't contain beauty.

So prepare yourselves, I'm about to enlighten you on New Zealands dark side.

Newsflash - their government is crap too.

Reason - for the last 35 years the Government's Department of CONSERVATION have been poisoning their national parks with a noxious chemical called 1080 (sodium Monofluroacetate) in a bid to control the risk of bovine TB from stoats and possums. They have succeeded in this to an extent. Possums by all accounts are much fewer and far between than they were 30 years ago. But so is all other life in the parks, especially noted are the major decline in bird life. Native bush that was once described by Cook as 'so deafening he couldn't sleep' is becoming increasingly still and void of the life that makes it so incredible. And although pest levels are down they are not down sufficiently, so the NZ Government continues to indiscriminately drop 4 tonnes of 1080 poison on the national parks each year. A valuable solution to the problem? Yer right.

A few facts for you -

• Aerial application of 1080 poison is banned in the U.S due to the "extreme hazard to human health and the environment" (U.S Environmental Protection Agency)


• There is NO ANTIDOTE. It takes just 1/500 of an ounce to kill the average man.


• The poison DOES NOT break down in a carcass. Therefore your pet dog eating this possum months later would die.


• 1080 is an effective insecticide, it is highly toxic to ALL avian species.


• Aerial drops regularly go off target. 8 -10 deer died when 1080 pellets were mistakenly dropped into their field.


• It kills EVERYTHING. And not quickly either. Even a possum can take a day to die. In agony.

Why do people put up with this? They don't. Locals are generally strongly against 1080. They support finding more humane, cost effective ways of pest and TB control. Ways that don't risk their livelihoods and their health. People are protesting with more organisation than ever before but the Government isn't listening. A very small percentage of the NZ population live on the West coast and are directly affected by 1080. Easy for the Government to ignore? I hope not.

This is a poison capable of wiping out entire species. It stays stable in distilled water for up to 10 years. It is an insane, shortsighted, frightening approach to pest control that I can only see continue causing major environmental instability and poisoning whole areas of native bush, killing everything as it goes. It is despicable and makes me very sad that a country so seemingly proud of its Clean, Green, 100% Pure New Zealand image has a government that commits such crimes against nature and the very assets it promotes for tourism.

If you'd like to know more visit this excellent website by a local Karamea action group.

http://www.kaka1080.co.nz/

Here is a poem from the website:

1080 Poem

The 1080 aerial drop

leaves nature more dead than not.

The animals fled,

for fear they would be dead.

1080 is near, does no-one care?

The 1080 aerial drop must stop!

Emma Toseland

12 yearsJune 2008

Living art

"Take art off the wall, and out of static display
Adorn the body in wildly wonderful ways
Celebrate creativity in lavish and unique onstage spectaculars -
that inspire all" The World of Wearable Art, Nelson

PEACOCKS.....


Majestic birds, so stunning in colour they barely look real, until you remind yourself that all our chemically made colours are inspired by and found in nature in one form or another. The peacock hosts my favorite colour combinations, and not only that but the Male's tail feathers, the eye, to me is simple classic beauty. An inspired painting.


We had two additions to the Rongo family today, and yes you've guessed it, it was a pair of peacocks. I learnt a thing or two from the farmer - like chickens they will eat scraps, and grain and like geese they are good grazers. They lay sizable edible eggs and should you find yourself with an excess they are also good eaters - taste like chicken or so he says. Whilst learning about the functionality of the fowl it struck me that I had previously placed peacocks in the 'pretty but not practical box' when really they are both. They are certainly the epitome of living art, and art is a necessary and vital part of our existence and therefore it serves a function. Without art in life we might as well all walk around wearing grey looking like the sky was about to fall in. What rubbish! Defeats the purpose really as I'm pretty sure that making the most out of our short lives in the name of the game. That means different things for different people, but it seems to me that the most enjoyable-to-be around, sorted people have got an excellent balance between practicality and art/joy in theirs lives. A person who makes the most wonderful expressive art but lacks the skills to market it or to look after themselves will rely on others for survival. A purely practical person is simply dull. Harsh but true. I think the peacock has found its balance - it definitely swings further into the beauty before brains camp but having its other uses shunts it way up the scale for me. I can see peacocks as a part of my future smallholding, bringing joy to the community but also food and grazing.

Calves...or is it an otter?

Today i saw the cutest, and i mean the CUTEST little calf. It had just been born, like two minutes ago, and it came to our attention when we saw the herd crowding round to meet the new arrival. I wonder whether it was simply the smallness of the newborn that made it so very cute, or watching it try and find its feet, again and again, falling over numerous times but never giving up. We sat there wondering how it knew that it must stand, watching the fast progression from just out the sack to being licked and licked into life, finding its curiosity rising, finding its wobbly too-long legs. Did it know, instinctively, that it was a cow? It looked like an otter. But no, baby cows. Miraculous so nature instills in us these instincts, this knowledge - the things we are drawn to do without knowing why. We just know, it is enough. I think there is nothing better than following your intuition and instincts and seeing where you end up. The calve in 20 minutes went from otter-like cute creature to curious little cow! Amazing.

sunset, heaphy side

Karamea, oh lovely sunny Karamea.

Check out http://rongobackpackers.com/ to see where i am!

Its great to be here. The hostel is full of good energy and lovely fellow wwoofers, there is lots of inspirational floating around and thats really refreshing. I feel like lots of my ideas are being subconsciously worked on just by being here. I'm here for two weeks supposedly, and although i can see why people get stuck here and tend to stay much much longer i think i'm keen to keep moving after being still for so long. Its great to meet people and talk and share ideas and this is somewhere that would be wonderful to put down roots, if thats what you wanted.
Karamea is the end of the road on the top west of the south island and its stunning. It has its own semi-tropical climate and is a haven for artists and environmentalists.

I just had a flashback of me leaving Awaroa and its this really beautiful Harry Potter style photograph of AJ, Sven and Joles waving me off from the beach as the boat speeds away. Then George the dophin came and said goodbye, riding the waves behind us for a full ten minutes! It was really wonderful, like a childrens story. I walked part of the Heaphy track today and watched the sunset from the beach - although the track is very similar bush to the Abel-Tasman the beach is the opposite. Its wild and rugged and fierce instead of calm floaty sea. Both have their beauty.

transitions...

PHOTOS - Motueka market - Disa and freinds busking. Beth and Little White Lilly. Me juggling snow along the way to Westport

Hello all,
I HAVE LEFT!! My last few days at Awaroa went smoothly and by yesterday a new phase of my NZ travels had begun. I have a FRIEND. YES INDEED - her name is Lilly - derived from the name Little White (but in Taiwanese) that her previous owners called her. She is a little white Nissan Pulsar. Shes lovely and safe and solid car and we've spent the day getting to know each other through snow, rain and mountainous terrain. It feels like FREEDOM to have a car and be able to drive where ever i want. But scary too, I was really happy to have Beth (fellow awaroa lodge ex-staff) with me for the long drive to the West coast. I thought i was completely happy and ready to leave Awaroa, and i am, but it was a more emotional experience than i expected. I had a little moment when i was taking down my photos of friends and family - my home for the last 5 months is no more. I guess it is more losing that security and comfort in a home-base that i spent so long creating that made me emotional, more than the wish to stay longer. I don't want to stay longer, i came travelling to take myself out of the comfort zones not find one and sit in it.

Travelling is perfect for self expansion and really challenging who you are, how you think, why you think like that and really trying to grow as a human being. Its too easy to just find a place that is OK with a person who is nice and just ignore the nagging feeling that maybe there is more to life than that, or maybe i could be a better, stronger more rounded individual by actually stepping out and challenging myself. I don't think i want to go home until I've done that.

Last night i went out in Motueka town to see a couple of bands with Disa, a lovely free-spirited Swedish girl I've been working with. I met all her friends and had a good dance for the first time in ages. It was a great night but added to my slightly home-sick nerves because it reminded me of Machynlleth so much. It was like the first week when I arrived at the centre of alternative technology to meet loads of like-minded beautiful individuals who i knew i would be getting to know - only this time i knew i was leaving the next day. Having placed myself for a long time in an extremely isolated place with a lack of such like-minded people seems like a strange thing for me to do to myself. (Despite the wonderful beautiful setting and enjoyable work and good people and workmates, Awaroa lacked close friends for me) But i realise that in Awaroa i learnt, or started to learn, something really important - I can survive intense loneliness and can learn to be happily alone for a time. At the beginning it was really hard and by the end I'd developed a really effective way of making the best out of the place. I found strength in myself from that experience, and i wouldn't now have that knowledge if i had been surrounded by Disa's lovely hippy people for those 5 months instead.

So now i make the transition back into travelling society...we are in WESTPORT right now. Um...its pretty drab...OK its bad. Bad town. Grey. Its raining cats and dogs. Its grey. Bad. In a hostel with a coach load of English tourists who would rather pay loads to get carted around on mass than think for themselves and travel independently. Harsh of me yes, but they are EVERYWHERE.
Anyway it matters not as Beth and I are off to lovely artist end-of-the-road town on the upper west coast called Karamea tomorrow. I'm wwoofing in a lovely hippy rainbow painted hostel called Rongos for the next 2 weeks so it should be perfect for this transition time.

So talking about transition.... I read today that Mokueka is starting the journey of becoming a Transition Town - here's a quick reminder of what that means for those of you who may not know (No you do not need to read on but YES you should because it is both interesting and important)...

The transition town initiative was created by a guy called Rob Hopkins. It is a movement that started in Totnes, Devon in 2005 and aims to help communities prepare for the twin challenges of peak oil output and climate change. Since then it's spread across the United Kingdom and to towns across the world. And yes, its here in NZ with scores of towns starting the think about this important issue.
Fundamentally, it's a grassroots initiative, and Hopkins believes that the move to an oil-free society is about community and individuals more than industry and government. Transition works by helping local people get together and find ways they can reduce their reliance on oil as a community, and cut their carbon footprint in the process. So issues like local food production and cutting down communities reliance on oil is key. Also just rebuilding a strong sense of community, working together to face our future without oil.
I love it! I love the fact this is being talked about all over the world and that more and more people are realising that we have to become more self sufficient and not exceed our beautiful planets capabilities to provide for our greed. Need not greed and all that... Plus the loveliness of working together and having more contact with the people around you, having real community....
Its all about community. Anyway, that's enough for now. I do believe that might be classed as a rant?

xxx

"Within the oil crisis and climate change there is the opportunity for an economic, social and cultural renaissance the likes of which we have never seen before," Rob Hopkins.