Westwood Country House Greytown

... loaves of bread, set up an irrigation system for the newly planted seedlings, shovelled far too much horse manure, and finished two books, with a third almost done. This was all between play time with Brendan and Daniel. What a week!

Tomorrow I head off to Wellington do sort out my visa for Thailand and then head to the south island to meet up with my friend, Daniel. On Friday, I am going to come back this ...

... pumpkin and the other using a store-bought organic pumpkin. The heritage variety was far superior, which was Colin's point. He wanted to show that older varieties of plants held more nutrition and better glavor hence his work to preserve them.

This really interested me and I think I might try to pursue this idea for my senior project next year. I would like to grow a few different vegetables, heirloom and ...

... it is because I am finally getting used to my journey, I think it is something different.

I'll give an example. Yesterday I went to the greenhouse again and finished what we had started the day before. It was terribly hot in there and I was dirty, sweaty, and sore. But I was just putzing around barefoot, cutting, digging, and laying compost. I sang to myself and enjoyed the beautiful rays of sun filtering through. I returned to the farm, whcih is nestled between ...

... and seems to be a good father. I was given the task of filling trenches with compost to prepare for planting and then I helped unload a truck of produce that Colin had picked up from producers. It was a beautiful, sunny day full of pleasant work.

Today I went to the greenhouse that Colin maintains and cut out some salad greens while a guy named David dug those areas out to plant tomatoes and cucumbers. It is arranged in a way I have never ...

... blue station wagon which had ocean views in its spectacular 4-star parking space. I spent last evening in a very pleasant way (after returning to Napier). After a day of phone calls, connecting with loved ones back home, I went for an extended barefoot run along the beach at twilight. I then bathed in the cold, salty Pacific. Feeling energized after such an awakening plunge, I strolled the streets of Napier, grabbed a vege burger and chips at a takeaway and called ...

... my shoulders talking non-stop) The birds have no fear of humans and are very inquisitive. At the summit a Weka nicked Millie's sandwich, at an earlier stop a Kaka came and plonked itself on Ed's shoulders. At all points along the way there were rare birds and great views back to the mainland. Once at the top we had our heads in the cloud so missed out on the real summit view, but never mind, a brilliant spot to eat some sarnies.

... searching and beach admiring on the way. Paekakariki is at the southern end of the Kapiti Coast, and is a small, pleasant, slightly-ramshackle little town. We grabbed a coffee and a tea at a pleasant café on the one-block main drag before forging our way up Paekakariki Hill Road, which, suitably enough, begins in town. The immediate motivation for driving that road was the fact that it traces a climbing traverse of the steep hills which rear up ...

21st/22nd February 2008 We couldn't get a hostel in Wellington because it was the weekend and there was a festival going on there (and we left it til the last minute). So instead we booked a hostel in Paekakariki, half an hour away from Wellington which sounded quite nice in the guidebook. Its a really small coastal village enclosed by mountains on one side and sea ...

... the machine here uses Win98, I don't have a driver for my freaking DataTraveler, so I can't post it. Raining really hard outside! We are staying at a BBH backpacker that's rated 92% now. The beach is right at the corner, and the place overlooks the ocean, so it's pretty cool. Plus, the hosts from this place are much nicer than the Nazi Lady from PepperTree in P ...

... heard of such a thing? I'm jealous. I think we're getting ripped off in Canada. anyway. this area is really nice, the hostel itself is no such much a hostel as it is a guesthouse. love that. there's 3 kitties around here, too. all of whom actually enjoy me! so I've been cuddling as much as I can (don't tell Spunky). still sticking with the same schedule as I'd figured: stay here till Wednesday morning, then take the ferry over to ...