You’ve gotta slay dragons to win princesses…

Tara and I rented a wicked campervan while we were in the south. For 6 days we lived in it – it was our home. These wicked campervans are famous for their designs and graffiti plastered on the outside. The designs are loud and the vans are fun to drive. Our van was a Gene Simmons van. Hilarious. We named her Geena and she was a beaut. All you see on the roads in NZ are campervans. They’re everywhere – everyone here is traveling. We parted from Cecilia (Noel’s car who treated us well on our trip to the south) and Noel for that time. Noel decided to keep going further south. We hung around Queenstown area then our plans were to head to Christchurch and work our way back up the east side of the south island. I did most of the driving as I learned very early on that Tara doesn’t do well on the left side of the road! She was happy to do the small trips and so was I. Hehehe…sorry Tara you know I love you but it was a bit scary when you were behind the wheel especially the one time when you ran us off the road because something caught your eye – it’s like you forgot you were driving. Luckily we weren’t traveling fast. It was so fun to be out on the open road and park anywhere to sleep - Not so fun when you wanted to go to the bathroom or brush your teeth. Thank god for public bathrooms. No running water can lead to one stinky van and don’t let our pretty faces fool you – we smelled really bad. One morning in Queenstown we woke up to frost. I don’t think I’ve ever been that cold in my life. We didn’t have extra blankets. I woke up sore from being so tense from trying to keep warm in fetal position all night. Tara and I both couldn't sleep – it was too cold – that sucked. Ahhh, the open road…destination, anywhere.

as usual, check out my pictures…http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson#100283

Acing Queenstown

Tara and I were suppose to stay in Queenstown for only 1 or 2 days...we ended up staying for 5. This is the place where we fished for trout and jumped out of a plane. Enough said.

Check out some pictures from our Queenstown stay...http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson/100241

Ukulele Magic

Tara and I got the best gig ever…we cooked dinner for The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra. They are a well-known band here in NZ and I was introduced to their music the 2nd week I got to this beautiful country – thanks Noel :) I was instantly hooked. You definitely need to check them out. One morning in Wellington while I was having my tea I met the band manager. We hit it off and she was telling me about the tour and a light bulb lit up inside my head. I had a great idea. A few days later I sent her an email asking her if it would be possible to cook the band dinner before one of their shows. To my surprise her response was YES…the band would LOVE to have us cook them dinner…all 16 of them! We decided to go to the Lyttelton show on April 21st. The venue, Harbour Light, was great. It was small and intimate and the show was amazing. My friend Will Kerner brought delicious wine from his vineyard (Kerner Estate) and drank too much of it (see pictures attached, he's the guy passed out at the show). Thanks Will for keeping our glasses full! Moving on to the delicious menu…

Honey roasted kumara and pumpkin soup (this was a very eco-friendly starter. we served the soup in small pumpkins and noel, being the crafty guy he is, shaped spoons out of carrots. It was brilliant. no dishes or utensils to clean) For the main we made polenta cakes served over greens topped with a veggie stew and an herb oil and for dessert we poached pears in red wine and topped it with a crème friache and goat cheese mixture. The menu had to be light, healthy and energetic. I believe we succeeded…the Uke’s loved it and we got a thank you serenade after dinner and a special thank you on stage. This experience was one of my highlights on my trip here in NZ. After all, this is what it’s all about - I got to cook great food for great people and in return I got to listen to great music. It doesn’t get any better then that. The Ukulele’s rocked it that night and so did we in the kitchen. We made magic happen. By the way, I bought a ukulele – I’ve been inspired by the band so I’m going to learn how to play. Pictures of that night...http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson/100202

Dinner is served...

I have mentioned before that I want to go fly fishing (didn’t get a chance in Wanaka) so I inquired about it here in Queenstown. I found this fisherman named Stu who took us fishing but we didn’t get a chance to fly fish here either due to the unfavorable conditions and lack of insects so instead we opted to go out and do a little boat fishing on Lake Wakapitu. Queenstown is known for it’s beautiful rainbow trout. I was hoping and praying we would catch some dinner that day. Stu mentioned that we can take our catch to a restaurant in town where the chef prepares the fish for you - now this is an idea I can play with! Not only were we fishing on a beautiful lake for beautiful fish, we were catching dinner and it was going to be fresh and healthy. Can’t beat that.

It was a beautiful afternoon – perfect for fishing. We picked a spot and as soon as I cast my line I got a bite! Stu couldn’t believe it. He said he’s been fishing for 14 years and no one has ever caught a fish that fast. (maybe he was lying to me - who knows but it made me feel special) I reeled it in with the biggest smile on my face - like a fat kid at an unlimited buffet. I knew this would be dinner for the night. I caught a beautiful salmon but trout is what I was really after since I don’t eat salmon. (no worries the salmon did not go to waste) A few minutes later I caught a brown trout. I was getting hungrier by the minute. We ended up having a great trip. After an hour and a half we managed to catch 1 salmon, 1 brown trout and 4 rainbow trout (I let one go – it was a female and I figured she plays an important role out here - we need to preserve these beautiful fish).

We went into town heavy handed with our fresh fish and met Chef Tim at the Pub on the Wharf. He was the man that would be cooking our delicious dinner that night. We quickly discussed the preparation with him and decided to roast them whole stuffed with herbs and citrus. Simple. We shared the wealth and gave some fish to the staff since we had so many. We also put one aside for lunch the next day (which was quite perfect with a beer;).

Tara and I returned that evening and ate like queens. It was so fresh and so delicious. To be able to catch dinner and have a chef prepare it for us that same day was a fantastic experience. Check out some pix…http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson/100225

FearLESS at 15,000 feet

Yup, that’s right…I jumped out of a plane at 15,000 ft. Queenstown is one of the only places in the world where you can jump out of a plane at that altitude. I stepped out the aircraft door and for 65 seconds I plummeted towards the ground at 200KM/H (125m/h). After the freefall (which is the best feeling ever and yes it feels like your flying) Ralph, my tandem partner, opens the chute and we fly over the lake and mountains to the landing for about 5 minutes. You can only imagine what the view looked like from up above. It was beautiful. He even let me steer the chute! I figured if I was going to do this then go all out and jump the highest I could. It was thrilling, scary as hell, and ultimately effing awesome! I let myself go, I let go of the fear and for a few minutes I was flying like a bird and nothing else mattered. It was peaceful. The world was silent. I dedicated this jump to my 3 little birds, who gave me the courage and wings that day to overcome my fear.

I must not fear, fear is the mind killer.
Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain

-Frank Herbert

check out pictures at...http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson#100194

Lake Wanaka

WOW. It’s beautiful. The color of the lake is a blue I can’t quite describe. I created my own color and called it zeal blue. Parallel to Lake Wanaka is its twin lake called Lake Hawea. These 2 lakes are the largest in NZ and they have some of the best trout fishing here. My dinner is definitely swimming in those lakes. I’ve always wanted to go fly fishing. This is the place to do it. I also want to paraglide (b/c I'm too chicken to skydrive but it's not out of the cards for me) so that’s on my list of things to do while I’m here.

We arrived to our new wwoofing home. I say “home” because this is the first kiwi family we are staying with. All the other farms were larger scale with many more wwoofers. This will be a nice change. Willie is an artist and her husband Bas is a sick musician but runs his own company selling tools to contractors. They welcomed us into their home with a bottle of wine. I've gotten sweet guitar lessons, which I'm super stoked about. They've made us feel right at home…the kiwi way.

So far we’ve helped Willie set up her “chef’s garden” which requires a lot of work. We had to pull everything out because she’s rotating all her crops and setting it up for the winter. We got to plant trees, which was very gratifying and do a little landscaping. She has a lot of land here so there’s plenty of work for us…speaking of which I’m heading out now to plant a few trees...here are some pictures of our drive to Wanaka.

http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson/100179

Glacier Galore

We made it to Franz Josef village and went to see the Franz Josef Glacier. It was really cool to be standing in a rain forest in the morning and then standing in front of a glacier later that day. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson/100169

The Fantastic West Coast

As we pulled away from wine country I looked back to the sea of grapevines and waved goodbye feeling thirsty. Hadn’t I had enough? I drank and tasted a lot of wine during my stay there but yet I still felt a thirst as I drove away. A thirst for more grape harvesting, a thirst to learn more about organic and biodynamic vineyards, a thirst to make wine and really understand the complicated and delicate process. What can I say? I fell in love with the place. That’s some good living the kiwi’s have there and I was happy to be a part of it even for a little while. I met some great people and had a lot of laughs. I also walked away realizing I really want to learn how to make wine. Another goal and project for when I get home.

We loaded Cecilia with our stuff and headed south towards the west coast, destination Wanaka. If you take a look at a map it’s a pretty far drive from Blenheim so we had a lot of ground to cover the next few days with some planned stops. Everyone has told me that the real New Zealand (all those beautiful pictures that you see when you google NZ) is the South Island and boy were they right. As soon as my eyes hit the Tasman Sea and the mountains along the coast, I knew what they were talking about. Route 6, the one major highway, (they don’t have many here) runs along the West Coast with amazing scenic views the whole way. I really enjoyed the ride except for the really windy roads through the mountains. I was car sick for most of the way but I have to give it to Cecilia she hugged those turns like a champ.

Our first major stop (I say this because we stopped a lot due to Tara’s weak bladder – that girl can piss - she’s no longer allowed to drink water while we drive or anything for that matter) was Punakaiki. We stayed at a retreat hidden in the rain forest right off the coast. You can hear the waves crashing on the shore just outside our window. A kiwi from the vineyard told us about it and it was a hidden gem so we were lucky to get the skinny on this place. We had a great walk along the Pororari River and went to see the fantastic Pancake Rocks and blowholes (I know, it sounds like a band – a very bad one) which was cool. We spent 2 days there and hit the road again…next stop, Glacier Country. Check out the pix...

http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson/100162

Aroma Therapy

We left Seresin Estate (was sad to leave as I fell in love with the place but must move on to bigger and better) and have been traveling south on the West Coast of the South Island for the last 5 days. Made some stops and saw some spectacular views. The West Coast is where it's at...breathtaking and so different from the North Island. I will post about my travels as soon as I can with pictures. We arrived at our new home last night so I need to catch up with myself (simple things like take a hot shower since I've been on the road and basically living out of a car for the last 5 days - the smell coming out of Cecilia is raw. 3 smelly people and all of our shit stuffed in that poor car - not a nice aroma and yes, she's still purring like a kitten. she got us all the way to Wanaka where I'm at now. she's been good to us.) so for now check out these pictures from my Seresin stay in Blenheim (some pix from a Katchafire concert in Nelson too) and a trip to Kaikoura where I was up close and personal with some seals.

http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson#100150

http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson#100133

Vineyard Yoga Sesh

I'm very lucky to be traveling with a Yoga instructor. Having Tara on this trip has been great (for a million reasons). Here's Tara teaching me a thing or two at the vineyard...

http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson#100154

Message in a Bottle

Seresin Estate

http://www.seresin.co.nz/

I'm in heaven. This place is incredible. I know, I know I've said that about each farm I've been too but really this place is amazing. I'm surrounded by a sea of beautiful grapevines. Each morning I wake up to the sound of gun shots going off to scare the birds away but it's a beautiful reminder of where I am so it's worth the noise in the AM. These are the kind of gun shots you want to hear outside your door if ya' know what I mean. Cinematographer Michael Seresin owns this place and what a unique place this is. This vineyard has it's own veggie/herb garden we harvest from to eat and feed the rest of the crew working here, a cow to milk (which I did this morning all by hand - no machines), chickens for fresh eggs (can't get enough), compost making and collecting lactating cow shit for soil preparation just to name a few jobs around the farm. Most importantly everything is organically and biodynamically grown, hand-tended and hand-picked. They really put in a lot of work and care to preparing the soil which is used to make a compost tea they spray (of course all natural) on the produce, herbs & grapevines. The results are quality grapes and produce and it shows. So far this has been my favorite farm/vineyard. The people here are so knowledgeable and passionate about the land and what it offers.

I got to harvest grapes for the first time the other day. We hand picked Pinot Noir. They grow several grapes here including Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, & Riesling. Majority of the grapes are Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Both very good. I got to do a tasting the other day...well, it seems like I'm doing a tasting everyday hence the lack of posts lately. All I do is drink wine here and I love it! I work hard and play hard. It's a good balance. I'm so excited to be a part of the harvest. There's something about a vineyard that is so romantic and to be able to walk through them hand picking the grapes while the sun is shining is totally gratifying...well let me be honest, after a few hours of hand picking in the hot sun you tend to get really tired and it can become tedious but at least I had the smell of the grapes to keep me going and I got to munch on a few too so it wasn't all that bad. I will be harvesting again this weekend...for now, I hear the grapes calling but this time they're not calling from the vines...they've left a message in a bottle. Cheers.

check out pictures...http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson#100150

People are strange, when you're stranger...

So I get to Wellington and decide to shop around a bit in the cool little city. I really like this city - it has a lot of character. I pop into an internet cafe to type up my bio to send out to a winemaker (at this point we are still in search for our next farm/vineyard). Tara and I are talking out loud and a Kiwi starts up a conversation with us because he recognizes our American accents. He happens to live in NYC and is in town visiting. He's a hilarious, warm man (wearing a Big Lebowski Dude t-shirt and he looks just like him too) who has us laughing with his wit and sense of humor; his name is Gavin (Gav). We tell him our stories and that we are chefs from the U.S. and out of nowhere he comes up with a brilliant idea that we should come to his friend Rich’s tonight and cook dinner for 12 people and he will film it. It just so happens that Rich and his roommates take turns each week cooking a dinner for one another and invite friends and tonight was Rich’s night! Gavin decided that Rich was definitely stepping it up a notch by bringing in two American chefs to prepare the dinner for his cooking night. I was so excited for the opportunity to cook in a lovely home by the sea for a group of people from NZ! Its exactly the type of experience I was seeking. Tara and I immediately agree with his offer and just go with it...I knew I was in for an adventure.

We meet at the market about an hour later with somewhat of an idea of what we will make (some sort of fish since we are surrounded by the sea with feijoa - we want to use local NZ products) and we cruise the store with Gavin filming the start of our “reality” cooking/food hit tv show. Immediately we are approached by store staff asking if we have a permit to film and Gav knows exactly how to confidently handle the situation by telling the man that its all been taken care of with “Ed” the manager and that he should go speak with him. Its works! and on we go...feijoas, coriander, lime, ginger, teraki fish, quinoa, coconut milk, pistachios...the list goes on and the menu comes together.

We decide on beautiful rocket, watermelon salad with goat cheese, pistachios and a balsamic reduction followed by the main course of coconut quinoa infused with vanilla bean and roasted teraki fish which will be topped with a feijoa and nectarine salsa with a hint of ginger. We check out of the market and off we go to Rich’s flat. We wind up into the hills of Wellington and park the car high up with an amazing view of the sea. Down about 100 steps (no joke - that part sucked), is Rich’s place (a.k.a. Ricardo or Schnitzal) nested in the hill overlooking the sea. Rich is the owner of a bar in Wellington called “Mighty Mighty" (http://www.myspace.com/mightymightybar) and he lives with about 7 others who are various musicians/artists/travelers. So, here we walk in - these perfect strangers with Gavin filming and we tell the roommates that we are filming a show for the states where we meet random people and take them on a culinary adventure where we take them shopping and cook in their homes and Rich was lucky enough to have us choose him. This is all of course for authenticity of our filming purposes ;) I was loving this random experience with the locals and how they effortlessly invited and welcomed us into their home without a blink of an eye...oh and even better, they let us pitch our tent in their yard so we found our lodging for the night. Although the wind almost took our tent down (they don't call this place Windy Welly for no reason) This place has Chicago beat - it's the windiest city in the world.

The night was amazing. It was a wonderful evening with A LOT of laughs. These guys were hilarious, we had the best time! I'm looking forward to seeing the final footage from Gavin once he edits it down. I'm sure by the picture you can tell who is who- Gav and the Schniztal. In the end I got to cook, toast to serendipity, eat and drink with the perfect strangers.

Pictures from the night and ferry...enjoy!

http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson#100117

On the road again…Southbound

Tara and I have a new member to our little traveling family of 2, Noel, the kiwi from Tauroa Farm has joined us in our adventure. How lucky are we? We have a kiwi traveling with us - our own personal guide! He’s originally from the North Island and has been to the South Island a few times. We are traveling in Noel’s car. It’s an 87’ white Ford Sierra (hatchback). This poor car is filled to the rim with our backpacks, a tent, 2 mattress’s, sleeping bags, a few pots and pans, a guitar, my iPod with shitty speakers (yup, no radio/CD player in the car – it seems to be the norm for all cars in NZ) and a few other random things. Let’s just say we are chancing it by taking his car all the way to the south island. I hope she makes it. Her name is Cecilia and she’s been good to us so far.

It’s about a 5 hr drive from Havelock to Wellington.Wellington is a major transport hub: anyone going from one NZ island to the other (by sea) passes through here. Cecilia will be boarding with us on a ferry to the South Island but first we will camp out for the night in Wellington. We are headed to the northern part of the South Island also known as wine country. I’m VERY excited. I can’t wait to be working on a vineyard and the timing couldn’t be more perfect – harvest season is around the corner! Not sure which lucky vineyard we will be working at as I’m still working on landing one but I have a few in the pipeline and waiting to hear back so for now check out a few pictures from my stay at Tauroa Farm in Havelock, NZ...

http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson/100102

Got Happy Milk?

I finally got to milk a cow today! Well, sort of. They use machines here on the farm because it takes too long to do it by hand but I did get to prep the cow’s udder and start the milking process by hand. The night before they separate the milking cows from their calves so they can’t feed. In the morning the udders are filled with milk and the process begins. First I got to steer in the cows from the holding gates into the cowbell (this is where the milking takes place). One friendly happy cow named Sausage (I milked her) came right up to me so I can pet her. Not sure how she got that name. We feed them hay topped with molasses to keep them happy. The molasses is a nice treat that’s very good for them. Can you imagine munching on dry hay all day, everyday? Give me some moolasses...that's what they're saying when they moo. They seem to like it and getting them into the holding spot was a breeze. I got lucky because sometimes the cows can be cranky but today these cows were cool, calm and filled with milk.
I had to clean the udder with a warm damp cloth. Once cleaned you tug and gently pull on each teet (i know, that sounds funny) to get the happy milk flowing. You place the suction pumps on to the udder and the machine takes it from there. This is much quicker then doing it by hand. In about 5-7 minutes the bucket was full which would have taken me hours! I got to taste the milk. It was warm and surprisingly light and sweet – quite delicious. They pour it into containers and it lasts in the fridge for about 4-5 days. I did think about the whole milk pasteurization thing we do in America and at first I was afraid to drink it but I figured what the heck. Everyone on the farm drinks it and they're ok. I've been drinking it the whole week and nothing has gone wrong. It's tastes really good fresh and raw. I do love me a good cold glass of milk - it makes me happy. I learned that a happy cow produces happy milk and these cows are definitely happy here. Thanks for the glass of milk Sausage.

Cape Kidnappers

I got to walk along side of the Pacific Ocean in an area called Cape Kidnappers. It was a 6 hour walk/hike to the top of the plateau where the largest gannet colony exist. These birds nest here and what a great place to call home. The views were amazing - well worth the walk. Although I wasn't saying that on the way back. I was exhausted and couldn't wait to sit down. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that we were going to a wine tasting after the walk so that gave me motivation to keep moving. If you want to walk Kidnappers you have to leave in the morning and once you hike the plateau you need to start heading back shortly after noon or you'll be swimming with the fish. The tide comes up and splashes against the rocks giving you no way to get back. I barely made it. But that first glass of wine was rejuvenating and I felt great. We hit a vineyard (Te Awanga) on the way back. Their Chardonnay was delicious! I'm convinced that a nice long (very long) walk along the ocean mixed with some wine, sun and music makes for a great day and I was SO glad to be sitting with a glass of wine in my hand.

Here's a little bit of history on Cape Kidnappers:

Maui-tikitiki-a-Taranga, the Maori mythical hero, was fishing with his brothers, when he decided to show them his supernatural powers. Using a sacred jaw-bone as a fish-hook and the blood from his nose for bait, he hauled a great fish up from the depths. He fished up the North Island or as the Maori name it, Te-Ika-a-Maui, the Fish of Maui. After Maui departed, his brothers attacked the fish with their weapons, hacking it into pieces and helping to form the mountainous terrain of the North Island. The sacred jawbone used as the hook was left to form what is now known as Hawke Bay. The fish hook shape of the Hawke Bay coastline adds to the legend of Cape Kidnappers origin.

When Captain Cook visited the area in 1769, a group of Maori in canoes came out to the ship Endeavour to trade. They took aboard the canoes a Tahitian boy. Shots were fired at the retreating canoes resulting in some Maori being killed and the boy swimming back to the ship. Cook then named the area where this occurred as Cape Kidnappers.

Welcome to the shear shit show

I’m at Tauroa Farms located in Havelock North…how can I explain this place? It’s heaven on earth. The views are incredible and the peaceful sounds of nature are constant. Heather, the woman who owns this farm is originally from Vermont. She has a lot of land here (750 acres) and she hosts wwoofers to help maintain the farm. There’s a little bit of everything here…sheep, cows, chickens, veggie garden, fruit trees, nut trees, horses and even a bathtub outside under a tree for a soak after a hard day of work. Haven’t taken a dip yet but planning on it. This farm is known for their Feijoa trees. Feijoa fruit is a staple here in NZ. Every kiwi family has a feijoa tree growing in their back yard. They harvest them in late April early May so I’m hoping to taste a fresh piece before I leave. So far I’ve only tasted feijoa cereal and it’s delicious. Heather has about 1800 feijoa trees planted on her farm. Rush Munro, an ice cream company here in NZ, uses her fruit to make delicious ice cream.

We sleep in an active woolshed. Yes active, meaning they still use it! This means that once and awhile they bring in a herd of sheep for shearing. They basically shave around the crotch area to keep them clean since they get shit on themselves. This can create diseases from all the maggots and other good stuff that grows in that area if not cleaned. I happen to witness this and it was a bit traumatizing. First, because it just seems like it hurts them and second because Nick, the farmer, was doing it right next to my bed!!! I’m not kidding. It was like a scene out of Pulp Fiction with the creepy music playing in the back ground. I have video of it. Notice my bed it's under netting to keep bugs out but not the smell of shit and the visual of maggots and sheep hair on the floor. This is where Tara and I lay our heads at night. You get use to the smell. (Check out the video) It grossed me out. They’re worried about keeping the sheep clean…well, what about where I sleep? WTF is all I thought…

This farm is very different from the previous farm. The group here is VERY laid back. There’s a kiwi, 2 British gals and a 19 yr old German boy. What’s up with the 19 year old German boys? The last farm I was at there was a 19 year old German named Emmanuel. He was so skinny and tall but he had a huge appetite. He was always eating. One night I was curious to see how much he weighed so I threw him over my shoulder, lifted him up (I had one too many Tui’s – we all did) and plopped him on a large scale. He came in at around a buck fifty. I haven’t seen a large scale here yet so I think this new guy is safe.

Each morning we take the truck out to do various jobs around the farm. There are 3 farm dogs that hang with us throughout the day. They love it. I love it. Taco wouldn’t last here. These dogs run around all day. They would run circles around my dog. My poor Taco would ride with us on the back bed of the truck if he were here. He’s too sophisticated for this kind of stuff. Everyday there’s a different job. I’ve mulched feijoa trees, went foraging for food in the garden, harvested peaches and made jam, picked basil to make pesto, grubbed hazelnut & walnut trees and we make fresh bread everyday. I got out of collecting horse manure one day because I offered to make lunch for everyone…this trick worked well; They have beautiful native trees here called manuka – bees make hives in them to produce manuka honey. There’s a nice sweet smell when you walk by the manuka tree and you can here the busy bees working away making liquid gold. Tomorrow morning I will milk my first cow and use the milk to make ice cream with an old school ice cream maker. I’m very excited…hummm, what flavor should I make it? Perhaps hazelnut since we are surrounded by these beautiful big trees.

On the "not so sweet" side...Noel (the kiwi) will be making possum for dinner tonight. YUM - sounds good? I'll try it but not really sure I want to be eating possum. They're ugly critters. Nick, the farmer, caught it a few days ago. We have been aging it in the fridge for 3 days. Farm life, gotta love it.

Big wheel keep on turning...

Learn how to drive a tractor. Check. I was super pumped when I asked my friend Dan to teach me how to drive a tractor and he was just as excited to show me. It's sort of like driving a car, however, the brake system is different. Each big wheel in the back has it’s own brake. This allows you make very sharp turns. Although I didn’t drive the tractor to do farm work, I did take it out for a spin around the farm. Loads of fun!

First Week Pictures in Hawkes Bay NZ

http://gallery.me.com/monicahutchinson#100085&view=grid&bgcolor=black&sel=2

Yoga on Ocean Beach

On our day off we headed to Ocean Beach. Your probably wondering where the sun is...we were too but that didn't stop us from doing a yoga session with our instructor Tara.

Farm Pose

Tara and I posing on beds of courgettes.

Meet the Epicurean Bunch

I saw the tractor and thought this would make a great photo with the group. I set up my tripod and used my remote to take this shot. I realized my Nikon remote was the best thing I packed for this trip. I'm actually in some pictures.