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
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