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September 16, 2019September 16, 2019

Award Winning NZ Home With Hecka View

Governors Bay, Lyttleton, Canterbury, New Zealand

Imagine waking up to this view every morning. Or coming home to this view after a long day at work. You’d never want to dine out again. Building here requires that you tackle a heck of a slope and invest in very tall pilings to bedrock. And growing a garden comes with some extra challenges. Nonetheless, the beautiful New Zealand outdoors feels a part of every room in this home. My friends Ole and Karen have been living in this three bedroom, two bath home for over a year and they love it.

They used this plastic “mail” developed for Lord of the Ring films. Karen saw it used on commercial sites and she and Ole adopted it for a screen in the bedroom. Very high cool factor.

The design and finished home have won awards including a Gold Medal in the house of the year awards for Canterbury and are under consideration for a national award. It was described as “It’s the hygge high-life harbourside for these Scandi design fans.”

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It is a super comfortable for a high-style home. They used a lot of clever devices, such as the plastic chainmail screen in the bedroom that allows the view/light in with more privacy. They also are using a humane rodent trap in their garden. The rat puts its head in to check out the bait and CO2 knocks it out permanently–and the rat never knew what hit it. I was super excited (given another winter of rodent battles after my roof replacement) until I realized that it doesn’t transfer to California as easily. In Auckland there are NO native rodents and they are all invasive and bad for birds. Whereas, I wouldn’t want to exterminate squirrels or skunks passing through my garden and if I put it under the house or in the attic I wouldn’t know I killed anything until I smelled the corpse!

I enjoyed seeing a lot of new living situations for my Kiwi friends. Ole and Karen have a fresh start after the earthquakes in Christchurch, other friends have moved into stylish, but smaller apartments for their retirement years, and other friends put in new features in their longtime home to make it even lovelier to live in. I am pleased for all of them. And once again struck by how gracious living in New Zealand is (and not just for people with means).

Karen and Ole enjoy their new home even more than the attention it is rightfully garnering.

September 11, 2019September 16, 2019

Christchurch’s Exciting Evolution

Captain Cook still presides; Christchurch is now an interesting mix of old and new.

When I first visited Christchurch in 2010 I enjoyed the Botanical Garden and walking along the Avon River; however, I thought the City felt stodgy and old-fashioned. They had already had several big earthquakes and I experienced a couple of small ones when I was there. The following February the downtown was largely destroyed by another quake and then rattled by hundreds of additional aftershocks. I didn’t visit again until 2012. The National and Canterbury governments were still grappling with the magnitude of damage. Houses were being “red-tagged” and individuals were moving to other parts of New Zealand to keep their children in schools and to find work. On this visit (my third or fourth visit), I was impressed with progress made, and by the new spirit exhibited by the art and buildings created downtown. Christchurch is cool.

Early morning at Margaret Mahy Playground includes a skate park.

The downtown has been opened up and its relationship to the Avon River has been redefined. The pathways and landscaping enhance the pedestrian experience. Plus a real investment has been made in public art. I walked from my hotel, the Crowne Plaza Christchurch to the Margaret Mahy Playground. This new complex is awesome for kids and families. Even early in the morning the number of children using the playground was exciting.

I walked along the river walkway towards the Christchurch Botanic Garden. I passed through Victoria Square and took a slight detour to the Commons–a collection of businesses in pop-up type buildings. Along the way I enjoyed the public art.

On my return I walked through the Cathedral Square. A Farmers Market was setting up and vendors were setting up and early arrivers were sipping coffee on the edges. There are signs of determination to rebuild the Cathedral in its old glory. I can understand the attachment to the old buildings at Christ College and the Cathedral. But the energy is all coming from the new forms and functions in the city and makes Christchurch an exciting place to visit.

September 7, 2019

Clever Clogs: New Zealand Eggs So Good

Eggs in New Zealand are not refrigerated because handling doesn’t wash off the protective coating, so no need for refrigeration until cracked.

I love free range eggs in New Zealand. Most accommodation have kitchen facilities and so it is possible to buy eggs and bread at the market to make breakfast or an omelette for dinner. I bought a half dozen eggs on South Island and another half dozen in St Heliers. And both times I chose Woodland free range eggs.

I noticed the egg stamp in St Heliers and logged on to see where my egg is from, so I typed in FR (free range) 112. And Trace My Egg told me it is from Hillview Farm in North Otago. It is a great idea.

September 6, 2019

Kaikoura Open for Visitors

The footpaths on the headlands are open with no quake impacts.

Three years after the Kaikoura earthquake, the community has recovered and is fully open for tourists to enjoy the natural beauty of this unique area. Unlike Christchurch, the area has not experienced much shaking since the midnight wake up quake on November 14, 2016.

It does take longer to get there from either north or south on Highway 1 due to the extensive roadworks. This is targeted for a March 2020 finish, but this is hard to believe given the extensive damage and the remaining work. Allow an extra hour to drive from Blenheim or from Christchurch. It is worth the effort as it is a absolutely stunning area of New Zealand.

Some of the rocks along the coastline shifted more than a meter, but the New Zealand Fur Seals do not seem to have noticed. When I stopped in Flaxbourne for a coffee, I asked about the wonderful trail to a waterfall and seal nursery close to Kaikoura. The young woman teared up and said it wasn’t there since the earthquake. I felt terrible. Then I stopped at Ohau Point Look Out to admire the fur seals. I saw the road works and rocks at the spot I thought was the same as the place where the seal nursery had been. When I got to the information centre in Kaikoura they reassured me that while people no longer can hike up to the waterfall, the transportation works created a tunnel so the seals can still use it. It was such a magical place and I am glad I was able to experience it.

Almost everyone I talked to in Kaikoura had a story about where they were and what they did when the quake occurred. There were a lot of people running around town naked! Because when you are thrown out of bed just after midnight and then sirens go off to move you to higher ground in case of tsunami, you don’t necessarily take time to get dressed and find your shoes. I drove by the Kaikoura Boutique Hotel and was happy to see it is open and looking great. The proprietors were Christchurch refugees, so when I heard about the Kaikoura quake I sent up a special prayer for them.

79DFB32A-F4C6-4D9A-AAAD-BA4BD50A0E48 (1) I wouldn’t hesitate to stay overnight in Kaikoura, I just needed to push on to Christchurch so I could have coffee with friends in the morning. However, I would keep my shoes and a sweatshirt or jacket handy by the bed at night, just in case.

I have visited Kaikoura before, and enjoyed the very long but wonderful walk around the headlands. There are also whales, dolphins and little blue penguins to observe. Kaikoura has one of the world’s most productive marine areas and is a few hours from Christchurch and even closer to Blenheim. It scores 4.5 out of 5!

September 4, 2019September 4, 2019

EcoWinery: Yealands in Marlborough Wine District

One of the other themes of my New Zealand Adventure 2019 is eccentricity. I have been loving meeting or learning about wonderfully eccentric Kiwis. In case you think being eccentric is a bad thing, I mean it as a compliment. Especially because most innovation and out of the box thinking comes from eccentric people who are themselves without a care for what others think (or at least not enough to let them stop them). In some places, like Oamaru, where there are more eccentrics per capita (unverified theory of mine), it seems that people taking the path less travelled congregate. (Hmm, if everyone is taking their own path, how did they all end up in Oamaru?)

I’ve often thought that Kiwi culture is more likely to allow for an autodidact to gain expertise and do something original than say, American culture. One such person is Peter Yealands who figured out that the area around Seddon (in the Marlborough wine district) could successfully grow grapes. He started by buying up sections and planting grapes that ultimately this led to this winery.

Yealands Family Wines is now largely owned by the local utility district (long story of financial troubles), but Peter’s eccentricity is still evident as the winery strives to be carbon neutral. They have an entire roof of solar panels, turn their trimmed vines into clean energy, host chickens to control grass grubs, and breed a particularly small breed of sheep to mow their grass cover crop.

IMG_9305 (1) — Merino sheep mow the cover crops until the vines begin to leaf out. Then the sheep are removed because they eat the leaves and early fruit. Yealands shorter sheep allow the sheep to mow year round, saving fuel for mowers. This idea hasn’t caught on yet.

I learned from the Davisons that the cover crops on the all the vineyards in the district are not because of some enlightened soil management but because it invariably rains just before harvest and the machinery used for harvest cannot get into the fields without the grass everywhere between vines and fence lines.

You can tour this winery and enjoy a free tasting. There is also a self-drive tour you can make in your vehicle called the “White Road Tour.” Open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Yealands Estate Wines are located at 534 Seaview Road, Seddon, Malborough.

September 4, 2019September 4, 2019

Monarch Butterflies at Risk

One of the themes of this New Zealand adventure is species at risk. It as though all of the “sky is falling” warnings of those enviro “Henny Pennys” are finally coming home to roost. As I travel I am encountering fewer birds that before, and therefore fewer penguins. I was hoping to see a Kea on my southern sojourn, but alas, friends say that their range has contracted to Arthurs Pass.

Monarch butterfly populations are crashing in North America, and it seems they are in the southern hemisphere as well. We can do more than wring our hands or just wish for a different outcome. We can plant the species of native plants we know provide food and shelter for Monarch butterflies and other pollinator insects.

Whilst I was in Blenheim I learned about the swan plant, the preferred plant of the Monarch butterfly in New Zealand. Similar to the milkweed in North America, it has a milky substance in its stem and flossy flowering pods. The plant is the preferred place to leave its eggs or form a chrysalis.

Many plants attractive to pollinators also appeal to humans.

My experience with planting milkweed seeds in my home garden has been one of frustration. They never seem to germinate. This year I was able to transplant some dormant milkweed from a native plant garden about to undergo renovation. So far they are slow growing but responding. None of mine look as magnificent as Rosa Davison’s swan plants. Also, if you want to do the Monarchs a favor–stop or greatly reduce using any chemicals including fertilizer in your garden.

In California you can visit a special grove in Pacific Grove where the Monarch’s overwinter. Their numbers have been shrinking. Similarly in New Zealand, Butterfly Bay in Northland’s Whangaroa Harbour is an overwintering site. They have also seen a dramatic decline in butterfly numbers.

You can learn more about planting a pollinator garden for butterflies, or donating to promote butterfly habitats:

North America—Xerces Society http://www.xerces.org/monarch

New Zealand–Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust http://www.monarch.org.nz

September 1, 2019September 1, 2019

Paripuma, An Extraordinary Garden

Paripuma is located in the heart of the Marlborough wine district, on the shores of Queen Charlotte Sound near Blenheim, New Zealand

Do you love gardens? You don’t have to love gardening (the sweaty, getting dirty bit) to appreciate a great garden but it helps. With dirt under your fingernails, you quickly deepen your appreciation, because you realize the role that climate, soil, and cold hard cash play in creating a garden. Time is also required for plants to mature and reveal the vision of the gardener. The garden is ultimately the result of hard work for hours and hours every week in all sorts of weather. You might be able to hire labor, but the only guarantee of success is to do a lot of it yourself. Finally, the creative spirit is revealed. Just as not every painting is a masterpiece, not every garden is world class.

Paripuma is world class.

Rosa started with clay and gravel. She said that as soon as she planted native plants she began to see the soil come alive.

A great garden relates graciously to its home and other buildings.

The gardener Rosa Davison is a classic self-effacing Kiwi. She lets her garden speak for itself. Since 1999, she has transformed a landscape that would have said “hopeless” to a normal person. She had a different vision. Over time it expanded to include a second home and transformation of home #1 into accommodation. Exploring the various rooms of the garden and walking through the buildings, I don’t see evidence of any ugly mistakes. I suspect that Rosa’s eye for beauty has resulted in a consistent and enduring quality. She also has painted her landscape with native plants and New Zealand has a lot to offer.

She is currently pursuing a passion for butterflies and pollinator plants. Her intense enthusiasm, that is less articulated in words and expressed in plants, is the mark of an extraordinary gardener, as is her evolving interests.

I forgot to ask Rosa the name of the grey shrubs that provide contrast and structure in the middle frame. She responded: The plant is Muehlenbechia astonii … It became quite rare in the wild (from stock grazing) but is now much planted in gardens and sometimes on median strips. It is interesting as it is ‘divaricating’ – which means its little branchlets turn in on themselves to become never-endingly tangled – something a lot of NZ plants do – especially when juvenile! Apparently this was to protect themselves from browsing moas ! Truly ! Often when they grow higher (out of reach of the moas) their foliage completely transforms ie lancewoods (Pseudopanax ferox).

A world class garden also inspires, and I was impacted by the garden. I noted ideas I want to include in my much smaller, very different garden, such as including plants that in winter offer contrast and structure. The biggest discovery was the side aisle to the main show that extends from the house toward the sea. I paced it out and the main garden has a 30 “foot” swath of lawn down the middle, whereas the side garden is just 10 feet. I realized I think small. I would feel audacious to create a ten-foot aisle, and yet the impact is when you go big. That takes moxie! Why am I reluctant to express my vision? I need to stop self-editing and create the garden I love.

My adventure started with a book called Gardenlust by Christopher Woods, I saw that there were three gardens in New Zealand and I began researching if I could visit whilst here. Paripuma is the only garden open in winter (recall that the Southern hemisphere is just peeping into Spring in September). I also discovered that I could actually stay in accommodation and enjoy the garden at my leisure. I quickly reorganized my plans to begin my NZ adventure in Blenheim with a two-night stay at Paripuma. You can too. Indeed, if your budget can manage (it is really good value) and you are looking to relax, then this is a unique experience and Mike and Rosa Davison are terrific hosts.

August 30, 2019

Blenheim is Beautiful Wee City

Blenheim is in the heart of the Marlborough wine district. It is a popular destination for wine tasting, weddings, or a romantic get-away. And people live here (about 26,000). Their town is practical. I enjoyed the sewing shop and the ladies at Whitcoulls bookshop and their reading suggestions. Then I was looking for the information centre and I got a little lost and so discovered the most charming part of town.

This beautiful urban space is part of a redevelopment of the rail way into a trail and park. The beautiful government building and creative use of gabion retaining walls in the landscaping inspire.

6440921_MAIN_1565019617 The lovely ladies at Whitcoulls helped me find a couple of books by New Zealand authors. I read When It All Went to Custard by Danielle Hawkins in the next 24 hours and enjoyed it. Perfect to revel in a farm-town romance n the middle of an all-star agricultural region. Now I’m reading their second recommendation, The Ice Shelf by Anne Kennedy.

My plane landed from Auckland at 9:30 a.m. It took no time to exit the plane and pick up my bag. The only snag in my plan was collecting my rental car from Europcar. There was no one at the office, and multiple attempts to contact didn’t result in a response, so after 1.5 hours I canceled my reservation and rented from Budget (and saved money!)

What worked like a charm was my visit to Blenheim’s top pie baker, The Bureleigh. I enjoyed a steak and blue cheese pie for lunch at the picnic bench outside the shop. I sat in the winter sun questioning whether I needed my winter wool coat, and so thankful I visited Blenheim.

August 24, 2019August 25, 2019

Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Bernadette

I saw the trailer a few months ago and made a mental note to see the film. Cate Blanchett is completely believable as a genius architect who has become a social menace. I was rooting for her the whole way. All of the actors were excellent. Although you have to wonder, when Billy Crudup plays another self-absorbed man, if in fact he’s playing himself.

I had not read the book, by the same name. book

My mom and I like to go to the movies together. We generally like the same kind of films: No violence! This takes out 80 percent or more of the options. We prefer lively plots involving well-developed characters. Good acting is a plus. Even with such liberal requirements we can go months without a movie worthy of our entertainment dollars. We thoroughly enjoyed this film.

I also loved the penguins! The film begins with Bernadette in a kayak in Antarctica, so I don’t need to worry about creating a spoiler. I enjoyed the details about the science focused cruises they book, the reality of seasickness on Drake’s Passage, and the new design for the South Pole research center (shown during the credits).

Screen Shot 2019-08-24 at 8.21.53 PM I got to thinking about my own goal to visit Antarctica with my grandson when he is old enough (must be over 8 for most cruises). How do we visit responsibly? The climate crisis is hitting some parts of the world more than others. And we watched this movie while the news of the Amazon rainforest fires broke. I appreciate how Afar travel magazine tackles these hard issues. Should we travel at all, and especially climate-impacted places, if our travel might hasten the crisis (excerpt of 8-23-2019 article by Michelle Baran above)?

First, you might choose to go because the areas where Amazon eco-tourism is available is not threatened by fire; however, as a Californian with experience dealing with megafire smoke, I have to warn anyone with lung issues that the smoke can be a serious health threat. The photo of Sao Paolo in darkness at 2 p.m. must be taken seriously by anyone with asthma. Smoke also creates a really depressing environment for a vacation.

Second, there is a case that Afar makes to go ahead and visit the more sustainable ecotourism providers to strengthen the case to local governments that the rainforest is worth more as a tourist and environmental resource than it is for its short-lived timber or cattle production. Other ethical suggestions include: 1) Look for carbon neutral travel providers; 2) Eat only locally produced grassfed beef; 3) Do not use tropical hardwoods in building and furniture. My initial reaction is this is insufficient.

At the same time, I am not traveling just to increase my status as a someone who goes to the hard to reach places, and I am willing to share why these places need to be managed differently on this blog and other places. If I am willing to grapple with the accompanying socio-economic issues, and educate my network of family and friends, then maybe I can justify the impact.

I will write more on ethical travel…

August 19, 2019August 19, 2019

Do you wear a watch on vacation?

Do you wear a watch when you travel? Or do you rely on your phone as a timepiece?

I am planning the last minute details of my New Zealand trip at the end of the month. I am not going to bring my watch. At first, my reason was primarily the hassle of keeping it charged with its own charger (thanks Apple). Then I began reading a book about different concepts of time and how they affect our relationships with God and others in Becoming Friends of Time by John Swinton. The first chapter is about o’clock, a concept I first explored with my friend UK Sarah. She and Roy are very o’clock and I realize that I have become very much so since I left New Zealand. When I was living there in 2011, I was redesigning my life and intentionally being instead of doing. Now as a consultant my life is defined so much by $ per hour that I’ve lost the stake of my redesign (and it is Sarah and Roy who are being more than doing).

I am so looking forward to my two weeks in New Zealand, and yet my joy is dampened by worrying about the time I won’t have to earn $/hour. I justify my trip by plans to work on my penguin viewing guide. Why is it not enough to be in beautiful places and enjoy friends and make space for meeting new friends?

BecomingFriendsofTime As Swinton writes:

The desirable state for human beings living within Standard Average European Time is to be able to handle the economics of time efficiently in a world that adores speed, loves intellectual prowess (quickness of mind), and worships comfortably at the altar of competitiveness, productivity, efficiency, and self-sufficiency (using your time well on your own behalf). The implication is that to live humanly is to live one’s life effectively according to a series of culturally constructed time tracks that are laid out according to the fixed and relentless rhythm of the two-handed clock… (p 31)

I want to glean the benefits of living in this moment, and this moment, and this moment. “Living in the present moment” is a catch phrase popular among new agers and Oprah fans. Yet few of us manage it on a regular basis. Vacations are unique opportunities to do this if we allow ourselves to move with an open schedule.

I am going to fly to Auckland and then on to Blenheim. The first two nights are reserved for experiencing an amazing garden and then I’m traveling with only a few set points on the calendar. My day on the Dunedin peninsula is scheduled so I can be sure to try a particular restaurant and see Yellow-eyed Penguins. Again, when I’m in Auckland, I have a few days set apart and the rest is very much open.

I realize that I’ve moved much farther than I ever intended from my redesign. I was right to think more would be possible in New Zealand than if I stayed in the United States. My return trip gives me an opportunity to reexamine my priorities and reset the clock (haha).

It may sound a little crazy but I believe God also gave me the gift of Grand Designs (on Netflix or BBC 4), Season 15, Episode 9. This episode follows a family in Hertfordshire who crafted their house for 10 years and they still were not finished. The first time I watched it I had so much judgement, and then I watched it again and I began to feel envy, and then I watched it again and I felt inspired.

Stay tuned and I’ll let you know how my intention to be present works out on this Kiwi Adventure. And I’m definitely not taking the watch.