G’day mate and matens, (Sorry, still working on the
language)
Today we left Oamaru to visit a partnership a few minutes
out of town. They labeled
themselves as “intensive croppers.” They specialized in the production of
sunflower and canary seed with a variety of other crops. We were blown away when we walked into
the office and saw birdseed sitting on the table. They mix and package the
seeds they grow and sell to 95% of the pet stores in New Zealand. We then toured the paddocks (fields)
and he told us some history of the farm.
After this tour we headed to John and Joanne Van Polanen’s
farm. They had a 680 cow irrigated
dairy farm. They got married at 21
and started farming right out of college. He had a small herd of ten cows and this grew to what
it is today. They used pipes to utilize the use of gravity for irrigation. They had really good land and a
beautiful house. John owned the
cows and the land, of this 20/80 share milking operation. So this showed us the other side of a
share milker operation.
We dropped off Sophie, Lauren, and Wyatt with a taxi to the
airport. Saying goodbye was quite
difficult being we have been spending two weeks together.
We ended our day at the Selwyn District Council in
Rolleston. This would be like our state government. They are right after the central government. These folks were a hoot!! They were hilarious;
keeping us entertained the whole evening.
They fed us, gave us drinks, and socialized with us about many
issues. They really knew how to
enjoy their work. After this, we
sat in on part of the discussions going on in the meeting room.
We are now sitting in the hotel room waiting to go to
AUSTRALIA!! We will all be on the same flight over there leaving at 15:40 New
Zealand time. Farewell New Zealand!
You have been great to us. There
was an aftershock on Friday the 17th here in Christchurch, lets hope
we don’t end up on the floor.
G’night mates!
Derek and Ashley
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