It’s been raining in Motueka pretty much since we arrived. This is supposed to be the sunniest part of the country, but a storm larger than Australia has encamped over New Zealand and doesn’t seem to want to let up. It’s snowing all over both south and north of us, but here it’s just rain. The farm is covered in muck and all the animals are sodden, but we’re eating really well, and we’re happy to have our own little place to ourselves looking over the kiwi orchard.
Mornings here consist of greeting Perry the paradise duck on the porch, then going around to all the hen houses and collecting eggs, refilling feed buckets, and letting the hens out for the day. They’re free range, but they naturally tend to go home to roost at night, so Len and Kate, our hosts, shut them in each evening around sunset so they’re safe from predators, and they don’t develop any bad habits like laying eggs in the woods. We bring the eggs back to the main barn and wipe down any dirty ones, then sort them into cartons for delivery to some of the country stores and restaurants that Orchard View supplies. We get about 25 dozen a day, and Jason and I get to take home enough to make breakfast each morning. I’ve learned all kinds of things about hen habits and the nature of eggs, like the fact that you don’t want to wash eggs before packaging them if you can help it, because they’re naturally covered with a kind of bacteria, referred to as a bloom, that makes them slightly shiny and protects their porous shells from letting in bad bacteria while the eggs await consumption. You can’t always get away with not washing the eggs however, because they sometimes have some less appetizing chicken products on them, or they get muddy if the chickens have come in from mucking about in the mud all day and then go to laying.
Len and Kate also have 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 llamas, 3 horses, 7 peacocks, a pig, a gaggle of paradise ducks, turkeys, geese, and a number of sheep, including 3 lambs this year. The small number of lambs this season was a disappointment to Len, who feels his ram may need replacing. He seems to have gotten a little lazy.
Orchard View is what Kiwis refer to as a “lifestyle block,” more hobby farming than farming for large profits, but the eggs do bring in some grocery money, and the chickens get sold off after they’re about a year old to other people in the area who are interested in year-old layers. They don’t lay quite as many eggs as the poulets (<1 year but sexually mature), but their eggs tend to be larger. These chickens are better for people who are looking to have some eggs around but aren’t depending on the chickens for maximum production. The sheep also make a little money, but the remaining animals are more “paddock candy” than anything else, say Kate and Len. They are cool to watch, and they keep a person busy, so I understand what they mean.
We’ve also helped with a little bit of raking, some lawn mowing, and helping to restore a piece of furniture that is soon to go in the cottage where we’re staying. I may also help Len to update his in-store signage for his eggs if it doesn’t quit raining. He doesn’t like us doing chores outside in the wet…which is fine with us. We pitch in for about half the day and take afternoons to do whatever we choose, including taking the horses out for a walk (if it ever stops raining) or running into town for a look around. Yesterday we went to the oldest winery on the South Island, called Seifried. It’s owned by an Austrian family and specializes in Austrian-style wines like wurzer and gewurtztraminer.
Kate is an amazing chef and Len’s a flexible and competent crew captain, assigning jobs quickly and clearly, setting expectations, then leaving us to our work. He stops us a couple of times a day for tea and coffee breaks so we can warm up, and he’s full of positive reinforcement, but not afraid to provide guidance if something isn’t quite being done how he’d like it. It set us to wondering what Kate and Len’s backgrounds were, and wouldn’t you know it? They were skipper and chef on private yachts in the Mediterranean and Caribbean for about 30 years. It makes sense when we think about it. After a life lived coaching and supervising teams of diverse crew members doing daily maintenance tasks at sea, living in small spaces with limited privacy, it’s not surprising the couple feels natural housing and feeding travelers who are willing to give them a hand around the property. Funny that out of all the places to stay in Motueka, this is the one we picked.
We hope to have a nice enough day this week to drive out to the Abel Tasman National Park and do some hiking or kayaking. We invested in a complement of “tramping” gear (that’s “hiking” to us North Americans) on sale in Nelson in the hope of having the right stuff to go overnight walking and stay in huts on trails in the national parks. Now if only the weather will start cooperating, we’ll be all set. Jason’s also had to postpone his hang glide until this southerly buster passes, so we’re hoping for light winds and sunny skies soon.
6 Responses to Stormy Weather at Orchard View
wow, looks like you guys are really settling into the windness of the south….a far cry from florida i can imagine:o) hope yer having a ball. see ye again soon in auckland…before we all get washed out hopefully….pretty bad!!!
Hey Aisling! Yeah, we’re definitely settling into the lifestyle of the South, but man is it cold! Sorry to hear the weather’s wet up there too. We’ll be heading south from Collingwood tomorrow probably to see the glaciers on the West Coast. Then through Queenstown and Christchurch on the way back. We’re thinking Oct. 20 or so to be back in Auckland, but we may be longer…we keep finding places we want to stay a few days. Can’t wait to get back and do another night out with the crew. Miss you. Lara
This is really one of your best posts yet and great pictures too. The peacock is amazing. I don’t know how you guys are managing to find those incredible places to stay but you sure have been in luck. It sound like the farm stay has been a very positive experience for you both. I grew up on a farm but did not know that eggs should not be washed. Of course they are “usually” clean and don’t need washing so that’s the way we used them. The pictures show both of you wearing rubber boots so I guess that is required footwear around the farm and also with all the wet weather you have mentioned. Lara keep up with you posts and pictures; they really mean more than you know. Pete
Thanks Pete. Will definitely do our best to keep up. I’m currently typing on a dial-up connection from our inn near Farewell Spit on the northwestern corner of NZ’s South Island. Definitely no photo uploads from here, but we’ll get back on the pics once we get to Queenstown in about a week. It’s pouring rain at the moment, which is not welcome at all for this place since we only planned to be here one full day, but it gives us time to catch up on computer backups, etc.
Ack! so much to see and say! Skype me!
Just a quickie obs, fetching wellies guys and I know you’re glad to have ’em. And you have a Polkaspot! That’s the name of the llama on The Fabulous Beekman Boys, a couple of gay guys in upstate NY with a pretend farm too. They have goats though. I’d think it would be a popular farm animal in NZ but not listed.
Have you gotten pecked yet La? If you can get into the kitchen, Indian and Thai food are excellent with Gwertz. Sweet v Spicy is a bang up combo. I love your little place!
No pecks, and yes, I love my purple wellies. It’s just another part of a whole new wardrobe I’ve acquired since we arrived in NZ.