Submitted by Lydia Schlitzkus on the 2018 winter session program in New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Animal and Food Sciences…
I can’t believe that I have already spent nine days in this beautiful place! When I imagined coming to New Zealand, I pictured beautiful blue water, sprawling mountain landscapes and gorgeous views no matter where you look. After spending just over a week here, I can safely say that my expectations have been met and drastically exceeded. It doesn’t matter if I am on the bus or hiking down a mountain to a rock beach, the views are breathtaking. My camera does not do the beautiful views any justice at all, and it seems so surreal to be here in this beautiful place! This week has been really busy and I have been super tired, but I have had the best time of my life!
One of the first stops that we made this week was at Faskine Farm which is owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Kidd. Here, we learned how dogs are used on sheep and beef cattle farms here in New Zealand. We learned that the dogs are an integral part of the farming operations. Mr. Kidd showed us how he uses Heading dogs to bring the sheep down the mountains and back to him, and then he showed us how he uses Huntaway dogs to drive the sheep back up the mountain to grazing pastures. Mr. Kidd uses a variety of dog whistle and verbal commands to teach the dogs how to guide the sheep. Mr. Kidd also is the two-time New Zealand National Dog Trial Champion. This means that he has competed and won the National title for training his dog named Chief how to move the sheep into specific areas. It is amazing to see the bond that Mr. Kidd and his dogs have. While they were waiting for a command you could see them constantly looking and following every move that Mr. Kidd made. The devotion and loyalty that these dogs exhibit is absolutely amazing! It was truly amazing to see how much each dog wanted to work, and how much fulfillment each dog got from working with Mr. Kidd.
After leaving the farm, we boarded our bus and started making our way to the small town of Akaroa. While driving up the tight turns of the mountain, the bus began to move slower and slower and eventually we came to a stop. We quickly learned that the bus had broken down, so instead of worrying, we simply turned the time we had waiting for a new bus into group lunchtime (eating our packed lunches), and singing songs and playing games together! It was such a great time and I learned so much about everyone! Once we made it to Akaroa we walked around the town and visited all of the neat shops, and then we walked up to the lighthouse to capture a view of the harbor from the lighthouse platform. It was once again absolutely breathtaking! We finished off the evening by getting fish and chips from the world renowned Akaroa Fish and Chips, which were amazingly delicious!
Another amazing farm that we visited this week is the Acland Family Homestead located on Mount Peel here in New Zealand. Here we met with Mr. John Acland and learned about how his ancestors came to New Zealand and settled in the region of Mount Peel. We learned that they were the first people to settle and farm the area, making many innovations in using the mountainous land in a successful way. Additionally, we learned that the family wanted the area to spread and create a community on Mount Peel. Although this dream was never fulfilled, the family has made many advancements in the use of the land for farming in the Mount Peel region. They have used the land to farm sheep in locations where it was thought that this could not be done. Mr. Acland also described all of the hardships that the family faced in being pioneers in the area, and it was so interesting to see how they were able to take risks to create a profitable farm. We then toured the family’s church and their homestead. Both of these areas were amazingly beautiful and so well landscaped and constructed.
One of the most fulfilling things that Mr. Acland discussed was the impact that the 2011 earthquake had on the church. The earthquake was so strong that it caused the stained glass window to crack and fall, breaking it into many thousands of small glass shards. After the earthquake, Mr. Acland and his wife picked up the glass pieces by hand and had the window reconstructed in the church. It took a lot of time and money, but with their hard work the window was reconstructed to look just like the original work of art. Hearing about the dedication and importance that this window had to this family was awe-inspiring, and the church was absolutely gorgeous! This was one of my favorite stops on the program so far!
This week I got to learn so much about so many important people here in New Zealand. They are people that I definitely will not forget, and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet each one of them! Each person has shown me how the people of New Zealand have a strong sense of community and how much pride they all have for the “Kiwi way of life”. I can safely say that after meeting these people and learning about their lives I definitely have fallen in love with the “Kiwi way of life”, and I can’t wait to experience so much more over my next four weeks here in the land of the long white cloud!