Rural life in New Zealand

The New Zealand All Blacks beat the Australia Wallabies in the Rugby World Cup finals on Saturday. The only reason I know this is because we were in Australia for the semi-finals and New Zealand for the finals. The kids really wanted to watch the finals at a sports bar or somewhere with a crowd, but we ended up waking up early Sunday morning at 5 AM to watch the game in our hotel room. Being in New Zealand, we cheered for the Kiwis.

The rivalry between the Kiwis and Aussies was on full display during the lead up to the event. Listening to some Kiwis, they seem to see themselves as under-appreciated by their larger rivals the Aussies, who they consider brash. Which is funny since the two countries are such close partners in business and politics. Reminds me somewhat of the relationship between the U.S. and Canada.

We drove south from Christchurch to a rural hobby farm near Oamaru. We enjoyed the drive through the countryside, which was very beautiful. The country has been turned into grassland for the sheep and cattle, which were everywhere. It was very striking to see the rolling hills all covered in grass like an endless lawn. The grass was often watered by industrial sized sprinklers. The fields, or blocks as they call them here, were bordered by hedges of cypress trees, sometimes 30 feet tall and shaped like a square hedge you might see in the suburbs, just bigger. It was very pleasing to the eye to see all these rolling hills, all the while with the snow covered mountains in the distance, called the Southern Alps.

We're saying at a hobby farm near Oamaru, or as they call it a lifestyle block. Our hosts Andrew and Tracy are very nice, and we've enjoyed speaking with them. We've learned a lot about their farm. Their sheep are having lambs right now. A couple of lambs with black faces were born two days ago and one ewe is due to give birth anytime. They have chickens, and the kids have learned to feed them, pick them up, and check their roost for eggs. We cooked up some of the eggs this morning - they were tasty. Tracy was also kind enough to saddle up one of their horses and give Elizabeth and John a ride around the paddock.

The weather was really pleasant today with sunny skies and a high in the low twenties. It's springtime, and the trees and bushes are in bloom. We're not having any problems with flies and insects here either - no bush flies to be found in these parts, unlike Australia. Good thing we got out today to enjoy the weather, mostly around the farm. The next couple of days the weather will turn as the rain and cold come up from the south.