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Kia Ora.  You might consider us like oldies, but we are going to kick off our jandals, throw on our jumpers, grab our anklebiter, and show you a really great time (as we would our cuz) through the wop-wops of Aotearoa.  We’ll even let you use our loo and serve you up some pav and a cuppa when you arrive.  Sweet As!

Study up on a wee bit of Kiwi slang, safe travels, and see ya soon mates.

Anklebiter - toddler, small child


Aotearoa - Maori name for New Zealand meaning land of the long white cloud


Chips - deep fried slices of potato but much thicker than a French fry


Cuppa - cup of tea, as in cuppa tea


Cuz - cousin, family


G'day - universal kiwi greeting, also spelled gidday


Good on ya, mate! - congratulations, well done, proud of someone


Good as gold - feeling good, not a problem, yes
 


Jandal - thongs, sandals,flip-flops

Jumper - sweater, jersey


Kia Ora – Maori general informal greeting of hello

L&P - Fizzy soda water


Lift - elevator


Lolly - candy


Loo - bathroom, toilet


Mate - friend

Oldies - parents


Pav - pavlova, dessert usually topped with kiwifruit and cream


Rattle your dags - hurry up, get moving

Ring - to telephone somebody, as in "I'll give you a ring"


Rubbish - garbage, trash


Serviette - paper napkin


Ta - thanks


Take-aways - food to be taken away and eaten, fast food outlet
 

Togs - swimsuit, bathing costume 


Wop-wops - situated off the beaten track, out of the way location


Riccarton Market and Riccarton Bush

From Top Above: Riccarton Market; Riccarton Bush predator fence; inside Riccarton Bush

There are many farmer's markets in the Christchurch area.  One of our favorites (outside of the one in Lincoln) is the one at Riccarton House in Christchurch.  It has grown even in the three years we have frequented it.  The best part is that it is located at one of the few remnant bush areas left in the Canterbury region.  Riccarton Bush occupies about 1.4 hectares just west of Hagley Park and is protected by a predator fence.  Old native trees, native plants, and native birds are found here.

Lyttlelton Light Festival

Above: Fireworks from the bridge by Lyttelton Harbor

Most of the communities outside of Christchurch in the Canterbury region are very small.  We live in Lincoln which has a population of about 3,000 people.  There is a strong sense of community in most of the small towns in the area.  Friday night we went over the Port Hills to the small harbor town of Lyttelton for their Light Festival.  After a short procession of most of the school-aged children in town and their parents and some music at a central stage set up in the middle of the town, there were fireworks at the harbor.  Mark would say the best part of the evening was the little fried doughnuts from one of the street vendors.

You Know You Are In Kiwi Land 3

From left to right: REALLY yellow (almost orange) egg yolks, silverbeet, and carrots.  

In the Canterbury Plains the soil is considered "A1".  This means it is very rich and nutritive.  It was formed from rivers bringing soils from the mountains to the plains over long periods of time.  Seems like a seed just touches the soil here and grows.  Because the soil is so good, the vegetables grown in this region taste amazing (Watties [Campbells] even has farms and a packing plant here).  

We especially love the silverbeet and carrots.  You have not really tasted a carrot until you have tasted a New Zealand carrot.  Trust us on this one. We tried growing silverbeet back in Florida.  In our sandy loam it grows, but the flavor is awful.  Not sure if this is true, but we have been told that the farmers here feed silverbeet to their chickens and this is what makes the yolks so vibrantly yellow.

On A Fine Day Here...

... it is really fine.*

Looking out to the Pacific from Governor's Bay.  South Island, New Zealand.

* Most NZ winter days are cold, grey and raining though.

Poi-E, A Kiwi Classic

In New Zealand, the Maori culture is deeply integrated within the Kiwi culture.  Throughout New Zealand, you will find both English and Maori signs, and even the government run television here has a dedicated station just for Maori programming.  While there have been struggles between the Pakeha (non-Maori) and Maori (just as in the United States between whites and both Native Americans and African Americans), and the Maori struggle to help their youth retain their culture, the Kiwis seem to have done a decent job of trying to be inclusive and promote the Maori culture throughout the country.


Poi-E is a classic Kiwi song that became a hit in the early 1980s. What is significant about this song, is that it is viewed as part of what helped kick start renewed interest for the Maori youth in their roots.


Poi balls were originally used by men and women alike to strengthen wrist muscles for battle.  Today they are used by girls and women in traditional Maori performance dances.

All Whites Draw With Italy

Not sure how anyone could miss the historic draw between the All Whites and Italy (1-1) at the World Cup early this morning, but it has taken the country by storm.  Go All Whites!

You Know You Are In Kiwi Land 2

Tea Time at 10am and 3pm daily.  Flat White (coffee) on left, hot chocolates center and right. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Mahoe Reserve Planting

We starting helping with plantings at the Mahoe when we lived in Lincoln in 2007.  It was fun to help with a planting on Sunday (despite the rain), and to see how far along seedlings from three, two, and one year ago were coming along!  This site used to be an illegal dump and is well on its way to being restored to its natural state and providing habitat for native New Zealand birds.

You Know You Are In Kiwi Land 1

Clockwise from top left: on/off switches on electrical outlets; separate hot/cold taps (hot on right some of the time, but it is not consistent); farmer's hedgerows; flax, sheep, and tussock; dual flush toilets.

Twenty-plus hours of actual in-air time might be worth sunrise over the Southern Alps

Look forward to seeing our students soon, and hope they remember to not watch movies all night == get just a wee bit of sleep on the plane. 
: )
Arrived Friday to sunshine (which the Kiwis say has been elusive for weeks) and negative two degrees C.  Not too bad coming from a heat index of 100 degrees F.  You can do the conversions here, http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm