hello there family and friends--just wanted to say a quick hello and share a photo link with you all:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=75921&id=520444603&l=98fd5278ea
love,
jill
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
we made it to bali
we were fortunate enough to find an internet place with air conditioning (air con, as the call it here) here in sanur, bali...because it...is...hotter than blazes here. we step outside and in seconds we're sweating. i really enjoyed being in ubud, an inland city, but it seemed to be even hotter there with all of the exhaust from the traffic. here in sanur, a coastal town, we seem to get an ocean breeze. any time we feel beaten down by the heat, we just remember how many times we said in australia "man, i can't wait for warmer weather." ha! :)
in ubud we stayed at a "homestay" run by a lovely couple named aji and ibu--i got connected with them through one of my former UVM instructors (one of the leaders of the trip i took to samoa). we toured around ubud a good deal on our own, but we also had some nice walks around the city with aji, who was able to show us parts of the city that we never would have seen otherwise. one evening we went to a traditional dance performance by the Legong Dancers (aji's father actually used to perform with this group--they have toured all over the world, including the US and parts of Europe). there is a very important cremation ceremony coming up on may 3rd in ubud--three people from the royal family died within a span of about a month and a half i believe--aji explained that in the past two people have died within a short time of each other, but never three and this was significant. the preparation for the ceremony is extensive to say the least--three huge bulls are constructed along with a very ornate tower for each of the deceased (i've included some pictures of these), among other things. because we are going to miss the ceremony, aji took us to see how the construction was progressing. in order to do this we got to visit the royal family's compound, which was very beautiful.
we stayed at aji's place for five days before heading here to sanur. we've decided to head onto lombok earlier than we had originally planned--to cut down on some of the traveling and staying places for only a couple of days at a time, as it takes a good deal of effort to find accomodations in each place and we're feeling ready to just be at one place for a good chunk of time. we'll definitely spend time in senggigi and the gili islands...and we'll see if we feel inspired to check out any other places on the island.
enjoy the photo link!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=73117&id=520444603&l=7cb95be075
in ubud we stayed at a "homestay" run by a lovely couple named aji and ibu--i got connected with them through one of my former UVM instructors (one of the leaders of the trip i took to samoa). we toured around ubud a good deal on our own, but we also had some nice walks around the city with aji, who was able to show us parts of the city that we never would have seen otherwise. one evening we went to a traditional dance performance by the Legong Dancers (aji's father actually used to perform with this group--they have toured all over the world, including the US and parts of Europe). there is a very important cremation ceremony coming up on may 3rd in ubud--three people from the royal family died within a span of about a month and a half i believe--aji explained that in the past two people have died within a short time of each other, but never three and this was significant. the preparation for the ceremony is extensive to say the least--three huge bulls are constructed along with a very ornate tower for each of the deceased (i've included some pictures of these), among other things. because we are going to miss the ceremony, aji took us to see how the construction was progressing. in order to do this we got to visit the royal family's compound, which was very beautiful.
we stayed at aji's place for five days before heading here to sanur. we've decided to head onto lombok earlier than we had originally planned--to cut down on some of the traveling and staying places for only a couple of days at a time, as it takes a good deal of effort to find accomodations in each place and we're feeling ready to just be at one place for a good chunk of time. we'll definitely spend time in senggigi and the gili islands...and we'll see if we feel inspired to check out any other places on the island.
enjoy the photo link!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=73117&id=520444603&l=7cb95be075
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
how do two americans make their way to kancoona valley, victoria?
this is a question we heard a number of times during our two-week stay at the small family-owned winery in kancoona valley. and truly, it's well off the beaten path. during our brief return to melbourne after the first aussie farm fell through, we phoned up this family (our current hosts) and they explained that their grape crop was too smoke-damaged to pick and process this year, but there were other tasks around the place to be completed and they would be happy to take us in. so the next day we were on another train--this time about three hours northeast of melbourne.
there are about 10 or so acres of vines on the property and the family specializes in making preservative-free wines (cabernet sauvignon, merlot, shiraz, dolce, chardonnay, and pinot noir i believe, although they didn't have any available during the time we were there). they only started making their own wine with their grapes about 6 or 7 years ago and, unfortunately, their crop has been damaged 3 of those years due to the drought and/or smoke from bush fires. the terrible bush fires that occurred in victoria in february of this year came within a km of their farm (they showed us pictures of the flames coming over the ridge just above their house, but fortunately for them the wind direction changed and the fire began to move away from their property and they were spared).
a couple of years ago they also opened a restaurant on the property, which is typically only open on the weekends or when special events are booked. most of my time was spent helping with the restaurant--i helped out with some farm tasks for a couple of days, but there really wasn't enough work for three people so i did what i could to keep the restaurant kitchen in order. tom helped out in the restaurant on occasion, but he mostly worked on the outdoor projects. the restaurant was open friday-monday for the easter holiday and it certainly took all three of us (lena, tom, and myself) to manage the restaurant. on sunday, in particular, the place was buzzing--i think we figured that we had about 40 or so customers, which was one of the busiest days they've had so far. we were exhausted by the end of the day and were more than happy to collapse with a glass (or two) of wine. i never had much interest in working in a restaurant and, although it was a good experience, i maintain that lack of interest in ever working in a restaurant. i'd be a nervous wreck the entire time.
we leave kancoona valley tomorrow to catch a train back to melbourne, then fly from melbourne to brisbane, then brisbane to bali where leave our wwoofing days behind and become full-time tourists. we're staying in a city called ubud for the first 4-5 days--this is the only part of the trip we really have planned. we'll probably travel around bali for a bit before heading to lombok (another nearby island) for the remainder of the time. we're looking forward to entering a more tropical climate once again, as we've been gradually moving into autumn here in australia and the weather has gotten quite cold at times. this is all fine and good for the most part b/c i really love autumn, but clothing-wise we're very ill-prepared for cold weather.
photo link to come very soon...
jill
there are about 10 or so acres of vines on the property and the family specializes in making preservative-free wines (cabernet sauvignon, merlot, shiraz, dolce, chardonnay, and pinot noir i believe, although they didn't have any available during the time we were there). they only started making their own wine with their grapes about 6 or 7 years ago and, unfortunately, their crop has been damaged 3 of those years due to the drought and/or smoke from bush fires. the terrible bush fires that occurred in victoria in february of this year came within a km of their farm (they showed us pictures of the flames coming over the ridge just above their house, but fortunately for them the wind direction changed and the fire began to move away from their property and they were spared).
a couple of years ago they also opened a restaurant on the property, which is typically only open on the weekends or when special events are booked. most of my time was spent helping with the restaurant--i helped out with some farm tasks for a couple of days, but there really wasn't enough work for three people so i did what i could to keep the restaurant kitchen in order. tom helped out in the restaurant on occasion, but he mostly worked on the outdoor projects. the restaurant was open friday-monday for the easter holiday and it certainly took all three of us (lena, tom, and myself) to manage the restaurant. on sunday, in particular, the place was buzzing--i think we figured that we had about 40 or so customers, which was one of the busiest days they've had so far. we were exhausted by the end of the day and were more than happy to collapse with a glass (or two) of wine. i never had much interest in working in a restaurant and, although it was a good experience, i maintain that lack of interest in ever working in a restaurant. i'd be a nervous wreck the entire time.
we leave kancoona valley tomorrow to catch a train back to melbourne, then fly from melbourne to brisbane, then brisbane to bali where leave our wwoofing days behind and become full-time tourists. we're staying in a city called ubud for the first 4-5 days--this is the only part of the trip we really have planned. we'll probably travel around bali for a bit before heading to lombok (another nearby island) for the remainder of the time. we're looking forward to entering a more tropical climate once again, as we've been gradually moving into autumn here in australia and the weather has gotten quite cold at times. this is all fine and good for the most part b/c i really love autumn, but clothing-wise we're very ill-prepared for cold weather.
photo link to come very soon...
jill
Friday, April 3, 2009
guide to unsustainability
well, i'm in melbourne rather than loch sport right now which is some indication that the plan to wwoof at the "eco-building" place we were so excited about didn't so much work out. we had planned to be at that farm (turned out to not really be much of a farm at all, rather just a building site) for the remainder of our time in australia. we knew fairly soon after we arrived that staying three weeks at that place would drive us as nuts as the guy running the show. maybe that's not completely fair, but he most certainly did have some very, very strange ways of relating to people. we found it very hard to communicate with him or see eye-to-eye on his ideas of sustainability.
there was a main living site that was kind of like a campsite except that we all stayed in either shipping containers or caravans. the shipping container we slept in was not really renovated or converted as we thought it would be. it was simply a shipping container with some furnishings moved in, which meant that there were no windows and hence, no light. we also shared the space with an ATV that presented a very strong "new rubber" smell.
we ate all meals together in a family-sized tent. i guess when i think about working on an organic farm, i would expect that the hosts are growing and eating some of their own produce and would be somewhat conscious of what they're putting into their bodies. this did not seem to be the case. to be fair, we had a couple of really nice meals while we were there, but we also had chili cheese dogs, onion rings, ramen noodles mixed with a jar of processed nacho-like cheese, and bologna for lunch most days. i mean, i'm certainly not above enjoying a good hot dog every once in awhile, but the trend was not looking promising.
but the other thing that made us very uncomfortable about staying there was the construction project on which we were working. i don't know a lot about building or construction methods, but i could spot that there was something strange about the fact that so much styrofoam was being used to build a sustainable house (especially when that particular kind of material is banned from construction useage in several other countries). the host was a first-time builder and didn't seem to have a very well-organized vision or approach. he was kind of the "project manager" if you will and it seems that he has utilized a number of wwoofers or other volunteers to build this house, which may account for some of the inconsistencies in technique, as people have varying skill levels. but there seemed to be a number of structural issues that had been corrected in one way or another as well.
so that's a summary of the scene and some of the reasons why decided to find another farm for the next two weeks. for me, it just didn't seem like a very healthy environment and we both felt that we would get a better educational experience somewhere else. we spent a couple days in melbourne searching for another farm and were able to make arrangements at a vineyard north of the city about 300 km or so...more to come.
a couple pictures of the scene (they're a bit dark, but hopefully you can make it out)
these were taken on a walk down the main road just outside the host's property
there was a main living site that was kind of like a campsite except that we all stayed in either shipping containers or caravans. the shipping container we slept in was not really renovated or converted as we thought it would be. it was simply a shipping container with some furnishings moved in, which meant that there were no windows and hence, no light. we also shared the space with an ATV that presented a very strong "new rubber" smell.
we ate all meals together in a family-sized tent. i guess when i think about working on an organic farm, i would expect that the hosts are growing and eating some of their own produce and would be somewhat conscious of what they're putting into their bodies. this did not seem to be the case. to be fair, we had a couple of really nice meals while we were there, but we also had chili cheese dogs, onion rings, ramen noodles mixed with a jar of processed nacho-like cheese, and bologna for lunch most days. i mean, i'm certainly not above enjoying a good hot dog every once in awhile, but the trend was not looking promising.
but the other thing that made us very uncomfortable about staying there was the construction project on which we were working. i don't know a lot about building or construction methods, but i could spot that there was something strange about the fact that so much styrofoam was being used to build a sustainable house (especially when that particular kind of material is banned from construction useage in several other countries). the host was a first-time builder and didn't seem to have a very well-organized vision or approach. he was kind of the "project manager" if you will and it seems that he has utilized a number of wwoofers or other volunteers to build this house, which may account for some of the inconsistencies in technique, as people have varying skill levels. but there seemed to be a number of structural issues that had been corrected in one way or another as well.
so that's a summary of the scene and some of the reasons why decided to find another farm for the next two weeks. for me, it just didn't seem like a very healthy environment and we both felt that we would get a better educational experience somewhere else. we spent a couple days in melbourne searching for another farm and were able to make arrangements at a vineyard north of the city about 300 km or so...more to come.
a couple pictures of the scene (they're a bit dark, but hopefully you can make it out)
these were taken on a walk down the main road just outside the host's property
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
so it turns out that those last minute wwoof arrangements that i had previously been so wary of can really be blessings. so was the case with our most recent wwoof host, Dieter. we called up Dieter and after a short conversation, he decided we could "give it a try." Dieter mostly operates on intuition we found out later so he must have sensed something special in my voice :) ha!
the next day we caught a bus from nelson to motueka where Dieter picked us up and drove us to his home/farm/orchard called Treedimensions (treedimensions.co.nz). we had our own flat which was very roomy and comfortable. the climate could be classified as mediterranean i guess and this suited us just fine--the mornings and evenings were crisp and cool and the work hours were warm, sunny, and dry. the whole farm was just beautiful, by far my favorite farm yet. there are just some places that i connect with and i felt an instant attraction to this farm--the landscape, the design, the plants growing on the property, the creek running through it, the beautiful home that Dieter and his children lived in...it's one of those places that made me feel alive and healthy.
most of our work took place in the orchard, which was a new experience for me and i instantly loved it. tom and i picked fruit for hours almost every day--mostly apples, but also pears, plums, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes. we worked really long days, usually from about 8:30am until maybe 5pm or sometimes 6pm--but the interesting thing was that it just didn't even feel like work and the hours passed so easily and happily. i didn't even mind working on the weekends, but we did usually take sunday afternoons to relax which Dieter encouraged. Dieter has designed his farm and orchard according to the principles and practices of permaculture and biodynamics. he had a lot of great reading material for us to peruse and we did spend hours sifting through all the information.
we had such a rich two weeks there that it's a bit overwhelming to put into words, but i'll just mention some of the other activities:
*picking/grading fruit for sale or processing
*observing and helping with a "juicing" (aka making apple juice or what would be considered apple cider in the States)
*clearing woodlots
*picking and cracking hazelnuts, then roasting them and making hazelnut butter and hazelnut/chocolate nougat
*weeding the house vege garden
*picking and coring crabapples for making jelly--the jelly turned out to be delicious!!
*bee-keeping demonstration
*pruning grape vines, picking grapes for sale (mostly table grapes)
we'd love to tell you all more about our time there as it was very inspiring in a lot of ways, but that might have to wait for face-to-face conversations.
we arrived in melbourne on march 18th and tom has now headed to the next farm, which is in Loch Sport (a couple hours southeast of melbourne, on 90 mile beach) and i'll be joining him in the next couple of days. we've been fortunate enough to stay with my cousins here in the city--they have been such gracious hosts and it's been a lot of fun for me to get to know them both better, as i haven't had much contact with them due to living so far away.
here's the link to another facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66640&id=520444603&l=2b2c22c8f8
more blogging to come--we don't know what the internet situation will be at this next farm so it could potentially be awhile until i can post again. much love to you all back home........
jill
the next day we caught a bus from nelson to motueka where Dieter picked us up and drove us to his home/farm/orchard called Treedimensions (treedimensions.co.nz). we had our own flat which was very roomy and comfortable. the climate could be classified as mediterranean i guess and this suited us just fine--the mornings and evenings were crisp and cool and the work hours were warm, sunny, and dry. the whole farm was just beautiful, by far my favorite farm yet. there are just some places that i connect with and i felt an instant attraction to this farm--the landscape, the design, the plants growing on the property, the creek running through it, the beautiful home that Dieter and his children lived in...it's one of those places that made me feel alive and healthy.
most of our work took place in the orchard, which was a new experience for me and i instantly loved it. tom and i picked fruit for hours almost every day--mostly apples, but also pears, plums, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes. we worked really long days, usually from about 8:30am until maybe 5pm or sometimes 6pm--but the interesting thing was that it just didn't even feel like work and the hours passed so easily and happily. i didn't even mind working on the weekends, but we did usually take sunday afternoons to relax which Dieter encouraged. Dieter has designed his farm and orchard according to the principles and practices of permaculture and biodynamics. he had a lot of great reading material for us to peruse and we did spend hours sifting through all the information.
we had such a rich two weeks there that it's a bit overwhelming to put into words, but i'll just mention some of the other activities:
*picking/grading fruit for sale or processing
*observing and helping with a "juicing" (aka making apple juice or what would be considered apple cider in the States)
*clearing woodlots
*picking and cracking hazelnuts, then roasting them and making hazelnut butter and hazelnut/chocolate nougat
*weeding the house vege garden
*picking and coring crabapples for making jelly--the jelly turned out to be delicious!!
*bee-keeping demonstration
*pruning grape vines, picking grapes for sale (mostly table grapes)
we'd love to tell you all more about our time there as it was very inspiring in a lot of ways, but that might have to wait for face-to-face conversations.
we arrived in melbourne on march 18th and tom has now headed to the next farm, which is in Loch Sport (a couple hours southeast of melbourne, on 90 mile beach) and i'll be joining him in the next couple of days. we've been fortunate enough to stay with my cousins here in the city--they have been such gracious hosts and it's been a lot of fun for me to get to know them both better, as i haven't had much contact with them due to living so far away.
here's the link to another facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66640&id=520444603&l=2b2c22c8f8
more blogging to come--we don't know what the internet situation will be at this next farm so it could potentially be awhile until i can post again. much love to you all back home........
jill
Sunday, March 1, 2009
back in nelson...figuring out what comes next
hi friends. we're back in nelson after spending a couple of weeks in the stunning Cissy Bay in the Marlborough Sounds region of the South Island. we are in the process of figuring out the next phase of our journey, or in other words which farm we're headed to next. the hosts in New Zealand are much more keen on making last minute arrangements with WWOOFers (than say some WWOOFers are...) so we're kind of crossing our fingers at this point and keeping faith that something will work out. and if not right away, Nelson remains a good town for hanging out. it's kind of nice to re-enter civilization after a couple of weeks in a very remote place...Cissy Bay really isn't even a town, as there's nothing there besides a handful of homes/farms. there are about 10 residents in the area.
the Cairnhill Farm was much more laid back than the previous farm in Hawaii, which we anticipated. we just kind of helped out with whatever tasks they needed done for the day, which ended up including a good deal of weeding, dismantling a fence, herding sheep, a landscaping project...and house-/pet-sitting, which wasn't anticipated. our hosts had a wedding to attend so they left us in charge of the place for about three days. almost every resident also attended the wedding so we truly felt isolated. this was an opportunity to practice just "being" in a place.
the view from the farm is gorgeous--the Sounds are really beautiful and impossible to capture with a camera, but you can check out the photos anyway at the link below. some of our hosts friends invited us out on a fishing trip one afternoon/evening so we had an opportunity to see more of the Sounds area and lots of bays we wouldn't have otherwise seen. this was one of the highlights for me. i've fished probably two times in my life so i wasn't sure what i was getting myself into, but i had a great time and found it to be very relaxing. and i actually caught fish, which was exciting. we were fishing mostly for blue cod, but our host Syth also caught a red snapper and a fish called a Blue Dory (sp?).
here is the facebook link to some pictures from Cairnhill:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=62096&id=520444603&l=778f5
also, here is the complete "auckland/nelson" album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59462&id=520444603&l=9a067
more to come later!
jill
the Cairnhill Farm was much more laid back than the previous farm in Hawaii, which we anticipated. we just kind of helped out with whatever tasks they needed done for the day, which ended up including a good deal of weeding, dismantling a fence, herding sheep, a landscaping project...and house-/pet-sitting, which wasn't anticipated. our hosts had a wedding to attend so they left us in charge of the place for about three days. almost every resident also attended the wedding so we truly felt isolated. this was an opportunity to practice just "being" in a place.
the view from the farm is gorgeous--the Sounds are really beautiful and impossible to capture with a camera, but you can check out the photos anyway at the link below. some of our hosts friends invited us out on a fishing trip one afternoon/evening so we had an opportunity to see more of the Sounds area and lots of bays we wouldn't have otherwise seen. this was one of the highlights for me. i've fished probably two times in my life so i wasn't sure what i was getting myself into, but i had a great time and found it to be very relaxing. and i actually caught fish, which was exciting. we were fishing mostly for blue cod, but our host Syth also caught a red snapper and a fish called a Blue Dory (sp?).
here is the facebook link to some pictures from Cairnhill:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=62096&id=520444603&l=778f5
also, here is the complete "auckland/nelson" album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59462&id=520444603&l=9a067
more to come later!
jill
Monday, February 16, 2009
photo links...
here are a couple of links to my facebook photo albums--the "auckland/nelson" album is not yet complete, more photos to come...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59079&id=520444603&l=42181
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59462&id=520444603&l=9a067
peace,
jill
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59079&id=520444603&l=42181
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59462&id=520444603&l=9a067
peace,
jill
Sunday, February 15, 2009
a long over-due entry
hi friends,
it feels much longer ago than a week since we were in hawaii and now we are much, much further from home. we are currently in nelson, which is a smallish town on the south island of new zealand. our next host will pick us up on tuesday to take us to their farm in cissy bay, which is in the marlborough sounds area (prime wine country, well-known for their sauvignon blancs). we enjoyed a beautiful summer day here--sunny with very low humidity, which was a welcome change from the muggy fiji weather (not complaining by the way). we'll be at this farm for about two weeks and the lifestyle sounds much more laid back than the previous farm. if anyone is interested in checking out the farm the website is: cairnhill.ws
so after we left kona on the big island we ended up in the honolulu airport for a very sleepless night spent on the airport floor. the next morning we flew to nadi, fiji and were instantly blasted by hot, humid air as we walked off the plane. we were there during the off-season and our "resort" was all but deserted--i think one day the handful of other guests had all gone into town and we were the only ones on the property. it was kind-of weird until we realized it was awesome. we had the pool to ourselves (the ocean water was about 90 degrees so the pool was much more refreshing). we had planned to just hang out at the this resort for the two days we were there until some other guests highly recommended checking out one of the smaller islands. the location of our resort was not straight out of one of those gorgeous pictures you typically see of fiji, but that was okay with us. but after looking into the tours we decided on a day cruise to a 6.5 acre island called mala mala--and it was by far the highlight of our time in fiji. it was ridiculous--there were only four other people on the tour with us--a couple from canada and a couple from australia and they were lots of fun. we went on two guided snorkeling adventures, which were amazing!! we even saw a white tip shark--the guide advised us to just say "bula!" to the shark if we saw it b/c it's harmless ("bula" means "hello" in their language). i also saw a stingray briefly but it quickly swam under some coral, which was fine as i wasn't too keen on it sticking around for long anyway. the tour crew prepared a fabulous meal for us and challenged us to a scrappy game of sand volleyball before heading back to the main island.
then we arrived in auckland on feb. 12th and made it safely to the home of the mom of a friend of tom's (got that?) who is working in the city for about 16 months or so. she lives in a really cool part of the city called ponsonby. she was extremely hospitable and we felt very fortunate to have to opportunity to spend time with her. we had one very nice day in the city just wandering around and taking the ferry to another part of the city called devenport. it rained most of the next day, but we forged ahead with our plan to take the ferry to a nearby island called waiheke where there are about 30 vineyards and some very nice beaches. in our soggy state we still managed to visit a couple of wineries for some lovely wine tastings and we found a funkalicious cafe where we escaped the rain a couple of times. and, go figure, the sun graced us just as we were leaving the island :) it was a great day regardless--beautiful scenery for sure.
we'll hopefully have some wi-fi available at the next farm so i should be able to send some updates over the next couple of weeks. i'll send the links to the most recent facebook albums soon. with much love....jill
it feels much longer ago than a week since we were in hawaii and now we are much, much further from home. we are currently in nelson, which is a smallish town on the south island of new zealand. our next host will pick us up on tuesday to take us to their farm in cissy bay, which is in the marlborough sounds area (prime wine country, well-known for their sauvignon blancs). we enjoyed a beautiful summer day here--sunny with very low humidity, which was a welcome change from the muggy fiji weather (not complaining by the way). we'll be at this farm for about two weeks and the lifestyle sounds much more laid back than the previous farm. if anyone is interested in checking out the farm the website is: cairnhill.ws
so after we left kona on the big island we ended up in the honolulu airport for a very sleepless night spent on the airport floor. the next morning we flew to nadi, fiji and were instantly blasted by hot, humid air as we walked off the plane. we were there during the off-season and our "resort" was all but deserted--i think one day the handful of other guests had all gone into town and we were the only ones on the property. it was kind-of weird until we realized it was awesome. we had the pool to ourselves (the ocean water was about 90 degrees so the pool was much more refreshing). we had planned to just hang out at the this resort for the two days we were there until some other guests highly recommended checking out one of the smaller islands. the location of our resort was not straight out of one of those gorgeous pictures you typically see of fiji, but that was okay with us. but after looking into the tours we decided on a day cruise to a 6.5 acre island called mala mala--and it was by far the highlight of our time in fiji. it was ridiculous--there were only four other people on the tour with us--a couple from canada and a couple from australia and they were lots of fun. we went on two guided snorkeling adventures, which were amazing!! we even saw a white tip shark--the guide advised us to just say "bula!" to the shark if we saw it b/c it's harmless ("bula" means "hello" in their language). i also saw a stingray briefly but it quickly swam under some coral, which was fine as i wasn't too keen on it sticking around for long anyway. the tour crew prepared a fabulous meal for us and challenged us to a scrappy game of sand volleyball before heading back to the main island.
then we arrived in auckland on feb. 12th and made it safely to the home of the mom of a friend of tom's (got that?) who is working in the city for about 16 months or so. she lives in a really cool part of the city called ponsonby. she was extremely hospitable and we felt very fortunate to have to opportunity to spend time with her. we had one very nice day in the city just wandering around and taking the ferry to another part of the city called devenport. it rained most of the next day, but we forged ahead with our plan to take the ferry to a nearby island called waiheke where there are about 30 vineyards and some very nice beaches. in our soggy state we still managed to visit a couple of wineries for some lovely wine tastings and we found a funkalicious cafe where we escaped the rain a couple of times. and, go figure, the sun graced us just as we were leaving the island :) it was a great day regardless--beautiful scenery for sure.
we'll hopefully have some wi-fi available at the next farm so i should be able to send some updates over the next couple of weeks. i'll send the links to the most recent facebook albums soon. with much love....jill
Monday, February 2, 2009
final week in hawaii
manini beach--yep, the one with the donkey, can't miss it
the view from "the coffee shack" a fantasic little local breakfast joint
only the finest fresh-squeezed orange juice
first sea turtle sighting--two step beach
ho'okena beach--very popular family-type beach
another of ho'okena
another chameleon, horned this time
tom and caleb (another wwoofer) hangin' out with the chameleonwe now have less than a week left in hawaii and, upon reflection, we came up with a list of some of the quirky, unexpected things we've encountered during our time here:
* a shocking number of children and adults with mullets--now, i'm not just talking about the typical short-long, particularly when it comes to the kids--the parents have actually shaved their children's heads, save for a long layer at the bottom that may flow down below their shoulders...or it may be braided into the ever-impressive "rat tail"
* huge trucks with lifts and giGANtic tires--we hitched a ride in one of these bad boys and i could barely make it into the thing, it wasn't pretty
* frequent usage of the "hang loose" gesture--it is alive and well here and can mean anything from "be cool, catcha later" to "no, we're not going to pick you up from the side of the road even if it is raining and getting dark, but take it easy anyway"
* drinking while driving--this one is more than a little disturbing, but doesn't seem to be all that uncommon.
* over-priced coffee--appartently, the u.s. labor costs drive up the price of 100% kona coffe, making the going price around $30 per pound--but it is quite delicious
* the sheer number of coffee farms in the area where our farm is located--they're practically on top of one another, some organic and some not which makes certification difficult as sprays and produce easily cross boundaries
* beaches with donkeys roaming around, eating people's food sometimes, but generally minding their business (see above)
* ridiculously steep driveways that necessitate 4-wheel drive
* wacky water shoes (picture a shoe where your big toe is separated from your other toes, the sole resembles a s.o.s pad, and a green and yellow striped knee sock fits snugly around your calf) and equally wacky wet suits (unfortunately don't have any pictures)
these are just a few--we'll share more later. good times!!
sending love...jill
Monday, January 26, 2009
a bit more about hitch-hiking
so i think i mentioned that our main mode of transportation is hitch hiking, which is a fairly new experience for both of us but happens to be extremely common here in hawaii. for the most part we've had good fortune in the world of hitching, with the average wait being about 5 minutes or so. there have been the discouraging instances where we're a good 10-15 miles away from home and the sun is setting and we're still waiting for a ride after about 20 minutes or so. morale not so high at those times...but then something always works out miraculously.
hitching is certainly a good chance to meet some of the local folks and most people are happy to chat and find out what on earth we're doing in hawaii. we've met some real characters and get a good laugh out of some of the wacky conversations that ensue. turns out there a good number of chilled out older folks who have gotten out of the rat race and moved to hawaii to start farms and surf and whatnot. we've gotten some good suggestions from these people about places to see around the island. so some rides are from locals, but a surprising percentage of people who pick us up are visitors in oh-so-obvious rental cars (we can spot 'em a mile away) and apparently these tourists just love to pick up strangers, which we can't quite figure out but from whom we are more than happy to accept a ride. sometimes we even end up giving them advice on places to visit even though we've only been here, what, three weeks :)
this one young woman picked us up one day and we were doing the typical chit-chat "so where are you from? what brings you to hawaii?" yada, yada... but this time she said that she too was from indiana...bloomington, in fact...knows where paoli is and happens to know my friends darren and esprit who have a farm in paoli...and has actually been to the farm. weird to say the least. she wasn't going in exactly the same direction as we were but once she knew we were fellow hoosiers she demonstrated that winning hospitality and took us right home. we hope to meet up with her again before we leave.
we've noted how different our concept of time and space is without a car to rely on. our pace has certainly slowed down significantly and we comment much more on our surroundings than we might if we just hopped in a car and found our destination in five minutes rather than a half hour of meandering down the road--we find ourselves checking out coffee trees along the way(now that we've picked coffee a couple of times), or mac nuts on the ground, or noticing the sun setting or the clouds rolling in...we've been surprised by the homes we pass by, as a good number of them are pretty run-down with cars rusting in the front yard. at times we really do feel that we're in another country, such as the ones we visited during SST. but life really is fairly simple here, people don't seem to exhibit a lifestyle of excess or extravagance.
we have about two more weeks to explore this area and there are certainly more things to see and do than we have time to accomplish. our stay here will be over before we know it. i'll try to post more pictures soon. i hope all is well at home and that you all are staying warm!...much love, jill
hitching is certainly a good chance to meet some of the local folks and most people are happy to chat and find out what on earth we're doing in hawaii. we've met some real characters and get a good laugh out of some of the wacky conversations that ensue. turns out there a good number of chilled out older folks who have gotten out of the rat race and moved to hawaii to start farms and surf and whatnot. we've gotten some good suggestions from these people about places to see around the island. so some rides are from locals, but a surprising percentage of people who pick us up are visitors in oh-so-obvious rental cars (we can spot 'em a mile away) and apparently these tourists just love to pick up strangers, which we can't quite figure out but from whom we are more than happy to accept a ride. sometimes we even end up giving them advice on places to visit even though we've only been here, what, three weeks :)
this one young woman picked us up one day and we were doing the typical chit-chat "so where are you from? what brings you to hawaii?" yada, yada... but this time she said that she too was from indiana...bloomington, in fact...knows where paoli is and happens to know my friends darren and esprit who have a farm in paoli...and has actually been to the farm. weird to say the least. she wasn't going in exactly the same direction as we were but once she knew we were fellow hoosiers she demonstrated that winning hospitality and took us right home. we hope to meet up with her again before we leave.
we've noted how different our concept of time and space is without a car to rely on. our pace has certainly slowed down significantly and we comment much more on our surroundings than we might if we just hopped in a car and found our destination in five minutes rather than a half hour of meandering down the road--we find ourselves checking out coffee trees along the way(now that we've picked coffee a couple of times), or mac nuts on the ground, or noticing the sun setting or the clouds rolling in...we've been surprised by the homes we pass by, as a good number of them are pretty run-down with cars rusting in the front yard. at times we really do feel that we're in another country, such as the ones we visited during SST. but life really is fairly simple here, people don't seem to exhibit a lifestyle of excess or extravagance.
we have about two more weeks to explore this area and there are certainly more things to see and do than we have time to accomplish. our stay here will be over before we know it. i'll try to post more pictures soon. i hope all is well at home and that you all are staying warm!...much love, jill
Thursday, January 22, 2009
link to photos
hey there--this is the updated link for the most recent photos--the last link was incorrect.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53760&l=1265c&id=520444603
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53760&l=1265c&id=520444603
Monday, January 19, 2009
some more photos...
hi folks! i'm trying something new for this post because people seem to really want to see pictures mostly. check out the link below--it's a facebook album...i'll write more later. take care!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1205388&l=93171&id=520444603
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1205388&l=93171&id=520444603
Monday, January 12, 2009
big island week 1
so it's now been about one week since arriving at the farm on the big island we now call home. and an interesting week it has been. after a five hour delay at the portland airport, we had great flights all the way to the kona region of the big island. we got to the farm in the dark so waking up in the morning to the beautiful farm was a fascinating experience. bonnie, the main farmer, gave us a walking tour of the 8 acre farm the first morning to get us oriented. i was mostly just in awe at that point...i'm not sure much information was really absorbed and bonnie had, and always has, a lot to say about her farm :) she is extremely knowledgeable and loves to share information about the way the farm operates. the main crops are kona coffee and macadamia nuts, but the farm is full of other wonderful produce including avocados, papaya, pineapple, breadfruit, persimmons, five kinds of bananas, and lots of oranges. we've really enjoyed having fresh squeezed orange juice every morning.
so a typical day on the farm involves getting up around 6:15am for some breakfast, juice, and sometimes coffee (which we still need to perfect). we work for two hours 7-9am doing various things--sometimes raking mulch and scattering it under trees, weeding the gardens, picking up fallen fruit, etc. then almost every morning so far (after a half hour break) we pick up macadamia nuts. this involves strapping on some fairly awkward knee pad things, covering up almost every inch of ones body to avoid mosquitoes, and crawling on our hands and knees on the ground gathering mac nuts. my back has had to adjust to this hunched over position--it's still not very fond of the activity. so that's three hours of picking nuts, which can get long but is much improved by the use of an iPod, which the hosts strongly encourage us to use. then we have the afternoons free--12:30 on. we've checked out some beaches, some stores, bummed around on the farm figuring out what to make for dinner (this is a constant topic of conversation and we've come up with some very creative, though not always tasty, concoctions!)
so a typical day on the farm involves getting up around 6:15am for some breakfast, juice, and sometimes coffee (which we still need to perfect). we work for two hours 7-9am doing various things--sometimes raking mulch and scattering it under trees, weeding the gardens, picking up fallen fruit, etc. then almost every morning so far (after a half hour break) we pick up macadamia nuts. this involves strapping on some fairly awkward knee pad things, covering up almost every inch of ones body to avoid mosquitoes, and crawling on our hands and knees on the ground gathering mac nuts. my back has had to adjust to this hunched over position--it's still not very fond of the activity. so that's three hours of picking nuts, which can get long but is much improved by the use of an iPod, which the hosts strongly encourage us to use. then we have the afternoons free--12:30 on. we've checked out some beaches, some stores, bummed around on the farm figuring out what to make for dinner (this is a constant topic of conversation and we've come up with some very creative, though not always tasty, concoctions!)
so internet access is not what one might call convenient (or cheap in these parts it turns out). we have to hitch rides most of the time to get anywhere so we're never sure how long it will take to make a trip anywhere. so i may not be posting all that often, but i'll try to at least update the blog once a week.
hope all is well!! much love--jill
hope all is well!! much love--jill
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