Gezellig World: Glenariffe Farm, New Zealand

Looking back to my sweetest childhood I remember some of my relatives calling me mummy's boy - an appendix of my mum who would never ever leave her lap. Funny how things have turned up, twenty-something years later I couldn't be any further from her, at least not in this planet. Guys, welcome to New Zealand!

Two weeks ago a stewardess woke me up during my flight from Sydney to ask me whether I wanted Teriyaki chicken or potato salad for lunch. I chose the chicken (who trusts mayonnaise on a plane?) and turned to the window to discover the snowed caps of NZ's Southern Alps looming on the horizon. Two boring days in Christchurch later I was approaching the Southern Alps again, this time from the east and on a bus. At this point you probably wonder what I was up to after covering the 40000 kilometers that separate my home from these mountains. The answer is sheep. More precisely Merino sheep.

Believe it or not herding some Merino sheep had been in my to-do list from the very beginning of this trip. Beyond the obvious connection between these beasts and me, I've been long fascinated by the legend of the New Zealand shearers able to shear 500+ ewes in 8 hours. So the questions now is: how the hell does a lousy Spaniard get to herd some sheep in NZ? Easy, through Helpx. Helpx is a help exchange network where people who need any kind of help offer free accommodation to those willing to help them. And that's how I ended up at the Glenariffe farm.

The Glenariffe farm proves that there is some kind of universal justice when it comes to natural wonders like the Rakaia valley. The generosity of the family who run the station is comparable to the beauty of the place. Mark and Belinda share their 880 ha of farmland with 1 cat, 5 dogs, 19 ponies, 15 horses, a bunch of cows, some chicken, and 6000 Merinos, well 6001 while I was there. I forgot to mention my three housemates: goose #1, goose#2 and naughty goose.

During my stay at the farm I did my best with some ordinary farm works such as fencing, tree-pruning, pulling weeds, steering the sheep, collecting the dead lambs, scratching the dogs and other not so ordinary like Jeep-chasing the sheep, racing the quad, putting-off some bush fire, adding an exotic touch to the local rodeo and flying a light-plane! Oh yes, Mark's dad had one.

In conclusion another unforgettable experience to the list and an unbeatable start for my journey across New Zealand. More stories from the antipodes soon!

Interesting things that I've learnt:

• Most sheep are shorn twice a year during a process that can take up to 4 weeks.
• Merino wool is the best and most expensive wool in the world. Who else?
  
• How to ride a quad safely (most of the time).
• Kiwis haven't escaped the madness about disgusting bread spreads. They produce their own version of the infamous Australian Vegemite, they call it 'Marmite'.
• 15-19% of new born lambs don't make it. However and in opposition to European farmers, Kiwi farmers do not mess with (= leave alone) their sheep during the lambing period. Who cares when you've got more than 6000!
• A lot of farming stuff which might not be so interesting for you after all.

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Todavia recuerdo como de pequeño algunos de mis familiares solian llamarme nene de mama, siempre a las faldas de su mama. Quien nos iba a decir entonces que veinte años mas tarde no podria estar mas lejos de mi madre, al menos no en este planeta. Y es que hace dos semanas aterrice en Nueva Zelanda, nada mas y nada menos que el otro extremo del globo.
Muchos son los viajeros que llegan a este pais con intencion de escalar sus montañas, descender sus rios, y disfrutar de la naturaleza salvaje. Yo por mi parte llegue a las antipodas con un plan un tanto diferente, al menos en principio. Mi mision: convertirme en pastor de ovejas merinas por unos dias!
Se que os sonara inverosimil, pero pasar unos dias en una granja de las antipodas estaba en mi lista de quehaceres desde incluso antes de comenzar este viaje. Y todo esto a raiz de una historia que oi a mi amigo Lucas sobre la leyenda de los esquiladores de ovejas neozelandeses, capaces de esquilar mas de 500 ovejas en 8 horas (1000 con ayuda de otra persona).
Y asi es como fui a parar a la granja Glenariffe. Una joven pareja -Mark y Belinda- comparten 880 hectareas de este idilico lugar del planeta con 1 gato, 5 perros, 19 ponys, 15 pura-sangre, un puñado de vacas, y 6000 ovejas merinas (6001 mientras yo estuve alli). Yo por mi parte comparti mi txabola con 3 ocas.
A cambio de pension y comida, durante mi estancia en la granja ayude a Mark con sus quehaceres diarios. Para sorpresa mia (y de mis familiares supongo) manejar la pala, instalar el cercado, arrear las ovejas o podar los arboles no se me da tan mal como cabria esperar.
Y aunque algunas de las jornadas de mas de 10 horas fueron bastante duras la experiencia merecio la pena. Como sino podria haber tenido la oportunidad de explorar semejante paisaje en quad, o mejor incluso, en aeroligero. Olvidaba decirlo, el padre de Mark recompenso mi dura labor en su huerta con un inolvidable vuelo en su avioneta.
En conclusion, dos semanas que valen su peso en oro y un inmejorable comienzo para mi viaje por la tierra de los kiwis. Mas historias en proximas semanas!