We Fed Giraffes and Other Stuff at Orana Wildlife Park

This is the giraffe we got to feed. She was hungry, but also wanted to pose for the camera!
Photos by Erin Grigson

Josh and I spent our Labour Day with some unique (and not so unique) animals.

Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch is New Zealand's only open range zoo. Before we went, I didn't know what that meant, but now I can say that it's pretty clearly a zoo that gives animals more room to interact naturally while still keeping visitors safe and breeding endangered species. But since that's too long to put on a sign, "open range zoo" will do.

A springbok, a rhino, a couple zebras, and a meerkat walk into a bar...
Photos by Erin Grigson

The park houses a whopping 400 animals across 70 species. However, the way the park is run, you may not see all those animals.

For instance, I'm a big fan of kangaroos and wallabies, so we went to see them. We didn't. As we were walking away, the tour guide of a passing shuttle was saying how he drives by that area everyday and has yet to see a wallaby. This is a credit to the way the park is run, that the zookeepers let the animals interact as much or as little as the animals desire.

Since I couldn't take pictures in the Kiwi House, I decided we
had to take a selfie with the massive kiwi outside.

One of my favorite things in the park was the Kiwi House. As you might guess, there was a kiwi inside whether you could see him or not.

Kiwis are nocturnal, so the house is dark, keeping the kiwi awake while visitors are in the park. Then they turn on the sun when the park is closed, giving the bird its sleep.

This bird fascinated me. (I didn't get a picture, partly because it was too dark and partly because photography isn't allowed in the kiwi house.) I have seen photos and even videos of it before, but seeing it in real life, I was blown away.

Kiwis are flightless birds and are also why New Zealanders are called kiwis. The birds have 2 legs. That's it. No wings, no arms, just 2 legs. Oh, and a seriously long beak. Because of this, they are kinda funny looking, but super cute.

What I found pretty cool about kiwis is that, first, the females are bigger than the males by about a third of the male. Also, after the female lays the really large egg (about a fifth the size it will end up growing to be), the male is the one that sits on it until it hatches. Way to do your part, kiwi dads!

Mr. Peacock was just wandering
around the park.
Photo by Erin Grigson

Unfortunately, kiwis are endangered, partly because of predators (including but not limited to dogs) and partly because the vast majority of kiwi chicks (about 95%) don't live a week.

But don't count kiwis out. They will rush you if they feel threatened. They will not go down without a fight.

But the kiwi wasn't the only thing we saw.

We walked through a huge bird enclosure where the birds flew free around you. It was pretty cool. There were birdfeeders around the path to bring the birds closer to the visitors, but other than that, it was like a jungle. It even had a waterfall.

Like I said, Orana is an open range zoo. Part of that concept is that some animals literally roam free. Obviously, there were some ducks moving freely. That's not really shocking. What did drop my jaw was the peacock - yes, peacock - casually walking around outside the bird enclosure.

I desperately wanted the peacock to open his tail, but I left him alone... after taking plenty of photos.

The tuatara, a native species of lizard that looks similar to an iguana, was also on display. While I was excited to see the special New Zealand reptile, it honestly looked like any other iguana to me.

What didn't disappoint (okay a little, but I was still excited) were the tasmanian devils. I was expecting Bugs Bunny's devilish friend. What we saw were lazy little balls of fur laying out in the sun. Definitely not a tornado of an animal. However, if the enclosures are any indication of how they act when awake and alert, they could be like that at some point.

The lions were being lazy.
Photo by Erin Grigson

They have lions and tigers, but no bears.

From 1976 to 1995, Orana had New Zealand's only drive-through lion reserve. Yes, that's drive-through, like what you do at McDonald's or Sonic. In fact, Josh's mother told me that she had driven through it with Josh's siblings. Wow.

However, for obvious reasons, they had to stop this practice. Fortunately, since 1999, the park has offered brave souls the opportunity to be in the lion enclosure, in a cage of course, during feeding time.

We opted out of that one.

When we first arrived, we were given a map of the park. In the map, it had the designated feeding times of specific animals, which helped visitors see the animals. And for some animals, visitors got to interact at that time.

We were lucky and got to do just that.

We fed a giraffe!
Left photo by Josh

Josh and I both got to feed a giraffe!

Delicious!

There were quite a few people lined up, but everyone got a branch and we all were able to feed one of the two giraffes eagerly waiting for their afternoon snack.

Our giraffe was a bit greedy and had her mouth full when she tried to take my branch. I held firm and didn't let her take my branch until she finished the other one (she kept dropping them out of her mouth) and she seemed okay with that.

It was definitely a new experience and I'd recommend it to anyone visiting Orana. It's free to anyone once you're in the park, so why not??

Giraffes were not the only animals guests could feed. They had a farm animal area that housed sheep, alpacas, pigs, chickens and more and people could go feed them during their designated time, too.

As per usual, I had ice cream. However, just to be clear, it was Josh's idea. And he got a popsicle, too. Both were refreshing on that hot, sunny day. We slurped on our sweets while wandering by the rhinos.

1 of only 3 gorillas in New Zealand.
Photo by Erin Grigson

After the rhinos, we saw the gorillas. Orana is special in that it's the only place in New Zealand that has gorillas. There are only 3 gorillas in all of New Zealand, all at the park.

The thing I love about Orana Wildlife Park ia that it's a not-for-profit, registered charity. All the money they raise goes to making life better for the animals. More than 15 million dollars have been raised to help the animals.

While we were there, we saw new, bigger enclosures with the animals inside them after passing smaller, empty ones. I love that the park is always working on making a more natural environment while keeping endangered species alive.

I know New Zealand is not the only place with zoos and I'm sure Orana Wildlife Park is probably not the only open range zoo in the world. But if you feel any inclination to contribute to a good animal cause, feel free to follow the link here. This place is desperately trying to save endangered species and is giving the animals in it the best life possible.

The cheetahs had so much room to run. That's one of the many things I loved about Orana.
Photos by Erin Grigson

I would highly encourage anyone in New Zealand with a family, for a date, or on your own to go to Orana Wildlife Park.

It was totally worth the $34.50 per person for the interaction with animals and the unique atmosphere.

Where to next?

A Whale of a Tale: Kaikoura At a Glance

Kaikoura is the place where the mountains meet the sea.
Photo by Erin Grigson

I'd known for a while that we might take a day trip to Kaikoura. I had a list ready, of course.

Unfortunately, many of the amazing things to do in Kaikoura (about half my list) cost a lot of money. However, the 6-hour round trip drive was totally worth it if for no other reason than the view.

Kaikoura is on the east coast of the South Island about 2 hours north of Christchurch. Josh drove the whole trip, partly because he knew where he was going, and partly because I'm still getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road.

We left about 8:30 and got there a little after 11:30. There's still a ton of construction happening on the roads.

We went on a weekend that was warm, so there wasn't as
much snow on the mountains.
Photo by Erin Grigson

In 2016, when Josh was still in the U.S., there was an earthquake in Kaikoura. It caused massive amounts of destruction from rock slides and the earth splitting. The slides decimated roads into Kaikoura and cut the district off from supplies for about 5 days.

One of those roads is how we got to Kaikoura and there were at least 5 places where it was still one lane only. Driving through it, we could see why the rock slides so easily covered the roads and closed off the area.

Still, the road led us around the coast. It was beautiful. Around the last bend into the actual town, we were greeted by snow-capped mountains that seemed to rise right out of the Pacific Ocean.

When I say everything in Kaikoura is about whales, I mean everything. Restaurants named The Whaler, cruises called Whale Watch Kaikoura, helicopter rides called Wings Over Whales. And if whale isn't in the names, the shape of a whale or its tale is used outside or in the logo or just to catch your eye.

After the long drive, we were both hungry, so we grabbed lunch at the Groper Garage. I got the Carnivore Pizza, which was huge and delicious.



The seagull nesting colony in Kaikoura
Photos by Erin Grigson

Later, we headed to see the seal colony. It was a treacherous walk along the rocks, but about 25 minutes later, we found it.

Along the way, we passed a seagull nesting colony. I've never seen so many seagulls in one place.

This little guy was just laying out in the sun.
Photo by Erin Grigson

When we got to the seals, I knew it was the perfect day for this trip. It was very warm, one of the warmest days since I've been here, and the seals appreciated the sun. Most of them were laying out, sunbathing lazily. We just stood there and watched for a while. After a while, one poked its head out of the water and starting posing for the camera.

There were so many seals soaking up the sun.
Photos by Erin Grigson

There were signs posted saying to stay 15 feet away because apparently someone got too close to a mothers' pups and got attacked. I made sure to stay a safe distance away, but as cute as the seals were, it's hard to see them as dangerous.

When we came back up the "trail," we took the very short, very steep hike up to Point Kean Lookout. It gave us a pretty great view of the mountains and the ocean.

What I'm slowly finding out is that every trip I take, I find a place we just have to go to to get amazing photos. And conveniently, it happens to always take a rough, steep hike to get there. Luckily, it's always worth the hike.

From there, we went to the Fyffe House. It was built between 1844 and 1860 and has a foundation of whale bones.

Kaikoura is a whaling town. While timber was scarce, whale bones were in great supply. Vertebrae were used as the foundation stones in the Coopers Wing, which is the oldest part of the house. There were also whale bone fence posts behind the house.

The Maori legend of how New Zealand came to be says that the South Island is a canoe and the North Island is the whale that Maui, the demi-god, was trying to catch.

Top left and right: You can see the whalebone foundation still in place.
Bottom left: The Coopers Wing where barrels for whale oil were made.
Bottom right: The house is surprisingly pink and we never did learn why.
Photos by Erin Grigson

Whaling has its history in New Zealand, but Kaikoura especially.

The area where the Fyffe House is located is where Maori first arrived in Kaikoura and where the European whalers and Maori met for the first time, according to Fyffe House history.

When I first think of whalers, I think of Moby Dick. Ships going out to sea and bringing everything back months later.

In Kaikoura, whalers set up close to shore, then followed these steps:

1. Spot whale
2. Chase whale
3. Harpoon whale
4. Get dragged by whale
5. Get closer to tired whale
6. Stab whale's lungs
7. Tie boats together and drag whale back to shore

This process let the carcas be cut up on shore and turned into profit much sooner.

The Coopers Wing of the Fyffe House was used in those whaling days. The cooper would make barrels to hold the oil from the whale.

The farm was definitely beautiful, even without the lavender.
Photos by Erin Grigson

From the Fyffe House, we headed to Lavendyl Lavender Farm. In my research about Kaikoura, I read about their lavender honey ice cream. By now, you all have probably realized I love to try out the sweet stuff. The owner of the shop said that she liked the lavender and chocolate one better. But since I'd read about the honey one, I went with that.

I should have gone with the chocolate one. My mother would be so disappointed.

The ice cream tasted very floral, not so much honey. It wasn't bad, but I've definitely had better ice cream. I love the smell of lavender, not the taste.

As I "enjoyed" my ice cream, we walked through the lavender fields. Unfortunately, it seemed we got there after they had harvested, so there wasn't a whole lot of purple to be seen. But the area was pretty and I can see why people get married there, especially when the lavender is in bloom. We did find a patch of unharvested lavender and the bees were having a field day. Josh took a few pictures then let me have a go.

The bees were loving the little lavender that was left.
Photo by Erin Grigson

Seeing as we were exhausted, we decided that was enough for one day. We stopped at a park, when I saw "whale bone" archways that I wanted a photo of. We walked through the park, got a handful more photos of the amazing mountain/ocean views and I was finally done.

We drove 6 hours for a 5-hour day in Kaikoura, but it was so worth it!

Riccarton House & Bush: Tea Parties Are Not Just For Little Girls

Riccarton House
Photos by Erin Grigson

As you readers may have figured out by now, I like to really plan out our adventures. But I hadn't really thought about the adventures closer to home until recently.

My list of places to see and things to do in Christchurch is really long. Luckily, we have plenty of time to do it all since we live so close.

One of the places at the top of my list was Riccarton House and Bush. About a month ago, Josh's mom told me that we would be attending high tea there, along with 2 of her sisters, one of their daughters and Josh's sister.



Vanilla & Raspberry Cake with Yogurt and a Hot Chocolate
Photo by Erin Grigson

High tea sounds very upscale British, doesn't it? I had no idea what to expect.

The 6 of us sat down, a little after lunchtime and had our choice of hot beverage and cake. I don't like coffee or tea, but hot chocolate sounded delicious. After looking at the options, I had no problem choosing the vanilla and raspberry cake.

Something I found odd was that once I ordered the cake, they asked if I wanted cream or yogurt with it. Not knowing what to expect, I ordered yogurt.

I was confused, so I asked everyone at the table why the waiter asked that. I was informed that it's put on the side to add to the cake for some moisture or something. But it's really only a thing to fancy it up at high tea.

When my order came, I was more than impressed. My hot chocolate and cake with yogurt looked delicious. The cake was even topped off with a rose petal.

After the high tea, we had a tour of Riccarton House. I gained quite a bit of insight into the history of Christchurch in that one tour.

Riccarton House is a Victorian-Edwardian style house that's been restored to portray that time, inside and out. It's also one of the only historical structures still in (pretty much) one piece after the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.

Left: The clay bricks in between wooden planks kept the walls from crumbling in the earthquakes.
Center: The steel cross-beams were added to stabilize the structure in the restoration.
Right: Newspapers were used to insulate the walls.
Photos by Erin Grigson

The main reason it's still standing is the way the walls were built. There were layers of bricks, but wooden planks in between. The wood let the walls have some give, keeping them from crumbling when the earth started to shake.

The gloves given to Jane by John to let her
know he intended to marry her one day.
Photo by Erin Grigson

In the restoration, the walls were stabilized even more with steel beams, but for more than a century, the old framework sufficed. Before moving on to the next room, we also learned that the original builders used newspapers to insulate, which looks cool... and is cool. It didn't actually insulate it at all. It was cold.

The story of Riccarton House starts with William and John Deans, brothers who had a dream. They really wanted to farm, but in Scotland, where they were from, if you didn't have land, you weren't going to be a farmer.

So they decided to buy some land in New Zealand, sight unseen and went on their way. They named the area Riccarton and settled there in 1843.

John loved a woman named Jane, who was still back in Europe. He gave her a pair of gloves, which was supposed to signify that he loved her but wasn't ready to propose yet. Obviously it worked because Jane waited another (maybe if I remember correctly) 9 years before he finally proposed.

John married Jane and, shortly after, passed away. But before he died, they had a son, John II. In those days, Jane couldn't own the house or land, so it was put into a trust for John II that he could have on his 21st birthday. As the only heir, Jane put all her hopes on him. Fortunately for the family line, John II lived to see that birthday.

When that day finally arrived, John II wanted to make a great statement and added to the house with a grand dining room filled with ornate wood carvings. Above the dining room, he also added a master bedroom.

The master bedroom above the dining room added by John II to mark his
21st birthday. The escape hatch is in the floor of the bedroom.
Photos by Erin Grigson

That master bedroom actually had an escape hatch in the floor, installed in case of fire. Fortunately, it was never put to use.

As we moved through the house, I was struck by all the beautiful woodwork. Our guide told us that it looks so unique because oak trees are usually supposed to be allowed to grow for 120 years before being cut down. However, the trees used in the Riccarton House were only 50 years old, so they are a gorgeous, unique color.

And the woodwork was everywhere: walls, wardrobes, bannisters, even the ceiling. It really made the house fell like one-of-a-kind.

The beautiful wood everywhere
Photos by Erin Grigson

Inside the cabinet, you can see the original wallpaper and on
the right, you can see the modern version, which the
restoration team tried to match with the original.
Photo by Erin Grigson

One of the other things that really stood out to me in the house was that the restoration team tried really hard to match the original wallpaper. In some places, you could still see the original wallpaper and compare it to what the designers had put in. I thought that was really cool.

In the original kitchen, the stove is still in working order and looks pristine. It's also worth noting that the Deans family cared enough about their servants to give them their own dining room. Obviously it was not as big or as grand as the one John II added to the house, but it was still far more than what was afforded to most servants in the day.

In the attic, I learned 2 fun facts. First, when their mother was gone, the children were not allowed inside the house, which seemed odd in this day and age. But the kids would climb up the side of the house and come in through the door in the attic while she was away.

The door in the middle was used by the children to sneak back into the house
when their mother was away. The bathtub was used by the Deans
once upon a time.
Photo by Erin Grigson

Also, the phrase, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water," made so much more sense. There was a tub in the attic and our guide explained that the children were bathed oldest to youngest. As you might assumed, if it was a large family, by the time you got to the baby, the water was so dirty it was easy to see how the baby could get tossed out, too.

Out tour was very informative and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to learn about Christchurch's history.

I wish I could remember all the stories our guide told us, but I guess you'll just have to come take the tour for yourself.

And I definitely still have to go back and take a stroll through the Bush.

Happy Holidaze from Kiwi Land

We spent part of our Labour Day weekend in Kaikoura.
Photo by Erin Grigson

In New Zealand, today is Labour Day. Since this is a holiday that America shares, but on a different day (in New Zealand, on October 22 and in America on the first Monday in September), it prompted me to look into the national holidays of both countries. I'd like to compare and contrast them to help me better understand and remember them here.

Both countries have 10 national holidays (even though America also has an additional one every 4 years with inauguration day). They share some and don't share others, but many of them are comparable. Here, in calendar order, are the New Zealand national holidays.

New Zealand celebrates the New Year first, before the rest of the world. And while America celebrates it many, many hours later (18 to be exact), both countries have the day as a national holiday. However, unlike America, New Zealand also considers the day after New Year's Day a national holiday.



I discussed the Treaty of Waitangi when talking about
our trip to One Tree Hill in Auckland.
Photo by Erin Grigson

In February, kiwis celebrate Waitangi Day. This is a big deal. On February 6 of every year, the country remembers the Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty was agreed upon by British representatives and roughly 45 Maori chiefs. It was essentially the founding of New Zealand.

I would compare the significance of Waitangi Day to the importance of Independence Day in America... but they came under British rule with the signing of the treaty and America celebrates the opposite on the Fourth of July.

In a way, you could also sort of compare Waitangi Day to Columbus Day. But that's a very loose comparison.

In New Zealand, both Good Friday and Easter Monday (the Monday after Easter) are national holidays.

On April 25, New Zealand and Australia celebrate Anzac Day. Like America's Memorial and Veterans' Days, Anzac Day commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations," and "the contributions and suffering of all those who have served," according to the Australian War Memorial and the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

On the first Monday in June, kiwis celebrate the Queen's Birthday. Oddly enough, Queen Elizabeth II's birthday is on April 21. Americans have Presidents' Day, celebrating George Washington's birthday on the third Monday of February, but it's also known to commemorate the birthday of Abraham Lincoln among others.

My only questions about this holiday in New Zealand is, when she is no longer in reign and Prince Charles becomes king, do they change it to the King's Birthday? And, if so, will they change the day it is celebrated to reflect that?

Moving on...

New Zealand celebrates their struggle and success in getting an 8-hour work day with their Labour Day. The first Labour Day in the country occurred on October 28, 1890, and is celebrated on the fourth Monday of October. While Oregon first celebrated Labor Day in 1887, it wasn't until 1894 that it became an official federal holiday in America.

Obviously, kiwis don't celebrate Thanksgiving, so the next holiday up would be Christmas. And I don't think we need to go into that one.

Which leaves December 26, otherwise known as Boxing Day. New Zealand is not the only country that celebrates it. In fact, many countries in the Commonwealth, or countries once under British rule, do. Boxing Day's origins seem to vary, but they all seem to involve giving to the less fortunate.

And with that, we end our calendar of holidays.

Bonus: while they are not federal holidays, Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day are celebrated in both countries. The interesting thing, though, is that while both countries celebrate Mothers' Day on the same date, Fathers' Day is quite different. Fathers' Day in New Zealand is celebrated on the first Sunday in September. However, the sentiment is the same.

The other thing that's unique is what New Zealand calls "Mondayisation." This is the concept of letting employees celebrate a holiday on the Monday following it. With this idea, in some cases, employees could have Monday AND Tuesday off if perhaps Christmas and Boxing Day or New Year's Day and the Day After New Year's Day land on Saturday and Sunday.

Americans, on the other hand, would celebrate on Friday before if the holiday lands on Saturday and the Monday after if it's on Sunday.

This is where our holiday comparison ends.

What do you think of New Zealand's holidays?

Let me know. Meanwhile, I'll be over here celebrating Labour Day while I'm unemployed.

Tractors and Sheep All Day: The Selwyn Spring Show Has It All and More

Sheep Shearing Competition at the Selwyn Spring Show
Photos by Erin Grigson

The Band Perry sings, "Walk me down the middle of the county fair." The Selwyn Spring Show is as close as New Zealand gets to a fair.

Every October, the Selwyn District comes together to show off its best, well, everything.

This little lambie was so excited to have me pet him.
Photos by Erin Grigson

I've discussed previously that New Zealand is incredibly focused on agriculture. This show lets people from a handful of small towns that make up the district compete across multiple categories. So. many. categories.

Similar to a county fair, there was ice cream, rides, animals, and a talent show.

Unlike a fair, there were unique competitions for sheep shearing, wood chopping, highland dancing, and more.

And then there were the sheep. They. were. everywhere They were led about on leashes (leads here) like you would walk your dog.

The theme of the show this year was "Where Town Meets Country," so the artwork, baked goods, and Wearable Arts Show were all centered on that idea and many of the entries hit the nail on the head.



Highland dancing competitors
Photos by Erin Grigson

As soon as we got there, we saw the highland dancing. Actually, we heard it before we saw it. The bagpiper played the same song for every 3 dancers. But watching the girls dance and balance and turn was definitely a new experience. More on the bagpipes to come.
We got to the show early to see the sheep shearing. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Places all around where we live open their farms up to tourists and city folks so they can see what shearing is really like. I've been wanting to see this for myself, but I don't want to feel like a tourist or pay the money since we know some people here who have sheep.

The show seemed like a perfect way for me to experience the shearing without all the other stuff. And I could take as many pictures as I wanted.

We watched 2 different competitions, one team and one  shearers only. In teams, there's the shearer and a roustabout or "rousy." (The rousy can also be called a wool classer if they work more with the wool after the initial shearing.)

The shearers had to shear 2 sheep while the rousy separates the wool into different piles. Each pile can be used for different things. The rousy also helps keep the wool out of the shearer's way while shearing. The rousy is judged by the wool being in the correct pile. The shearer is judged by the lack of cuts on the sheep and the evenness of the shorn sheep. The team together is also timed.


In the Shearing team competition, the shearer cuts the wool and the rousy
clears and classes the wool.
Photos by Erin Grigson

The wood chopping went by
incredibly fast, but it was
definitely worth watching.
Photos by Erin Grigson

While I found the shearing interesting and I'm glad I saw it, once was enough.

From the shearing shed, we went to see the wood flying. And I'm glad we got there when we did. Wood chopping is so fast, if you blink you'll miss it.





But it was really impressive. For some of the axemen, it didn't even take a minute to chop through the log. I can't imagine how sharp the blades were to do that.
And surprisingly, it seemed like there was more of a science to it than I thought. The axemen chalked up the log after measuring it to get the most out of every swing. It seemed like only a few seconds before the logs were turned to wood chips.

Since the wood chopping went by quickly, we headed to the Wearable Arts Show.

In my previous post, Nothing to Do In Nelson?? Let Me Be Your Guide Part III, I talked about our trip to the WOW (World of Wearable Arts).

The Wearable Arts Show at the Selwyn Spring Show is a much smaller version of that.

Every single entry into the Wearable Arts Show was well-thought-out and matched the theme. The 3 categories that had entries were Juniors & Youth, Creative Scarecrow, and Wearable Art.

Photos by Erin Grigson

My favorite entry was something called (I think) "Country Traffic." It might have been "Country Traffic Stop," or "Country Traffic Jam." Either way, it was so fitting with traffic lights and a "Cattle Stop" sign, patchwork fields, with sheep and cars on the road.

"Country Traffic" entry in the Wearable Arts Show. It won its category.
Photos by Erin Grigson



David is the trumpet player on the left.
Photos by Erin Grigson

After the Wearable Arts Show, we grabbed lunch and enjoyed the end of the Selwyn's Got Talent Show while waiting to hear the Ellesmere Big Band.

Our friend David played trumpet in the band, so we got to see him perform. The band played various jazz songs, some with a vocalist, some without. At one point, 4-5 women from the band and the community came up and did some 4-part harmony with the ensemble.

Having finished our lunch, we walked through the flower, food and art exhibits.

There were the cakes that had high heels and gumboots. They had skyscrapers and fences. They had cars and farm animals. Needless to say, they were impressive.


Some of the cakes that were based on the
"Where Town Meets Country" theme.
Photos by Erin Grigson

My favorite cake was the 2-tiered cake with farm animals on top. So cute.

I also loved that the show gave schoolchildren an opportunity to exhibit their work. There were beehive mobiles and hot air balloon sculptures. There was 3D paper art and plate art. And more incrEDIBLE: food art.

And. more. sheep.
As we left the exhibits, I saw someone carrying a little lambie like a lapdog. It was wearing a fleece jacket and had a leash on. I desperately wanted to hold it, but didn't ask. However, the owner did let me get a photo of her holding her pet lamb.

So. adorable.

Since I didn't get to hold that lamb, we went over to the sheep pens and I got to love on one special lamb that baa'd at me over and over until I pet it.

On the left is the owner and the cute little pet lamb. Center shows just how many sheep there were. It seemed to never end.
On the right, is a sheep who was trying to escape.
Photos by Erin Grigson

I could have stayed there all day, but we wanted to get in place to watch the Grand Parade.




The Grand Parade was filled to the brim with bagpipes, people, animals, cars,
trucks, tractors, machinery and more.
Photos by Erin Grigson

On our way to the parade route, we walked by the pipe band and listened to them practicing for the parade, which they lead.While waiting for the parade to start, we saw the end of the horses' jumping competitions.

Finally, it was time to see the parade. All day, I had been hearing about the parade. But this is not your normal down-Main-Street Christmas Parade. This was the Selwyn Spring Show Grand Parade. It was... unique.

First, came the pipe band. Then, the animals. Then the cars and trucks and machinery and tractors. So many tractors. It's like what your normal parades have in fire trucks. But more. Way more. Apparently this year the parade was different because of a couple reasons.

First, there's usually quite a bit of cattle included in the animal part of the parade. However, New Zealand has been plagued this year with a disease that severely effects cattle, to the point that when they get it, they have to be killed to keep it from spreading.

So in an effort to keep the disease from spreading across more farms, there were no cattle involved at the show at all. That would have left a very large hole in the parade. However, this year is 100 years of John Deere, so they made up for the lack of cattle with loads of tractors. It worked alright, I guess.

And with the parade, the show day was over. It was definitely a new experience and I really did have fun.

On to the next adventure!

Te Reo: Learning the Native Language

Kia ora, my lovely readers!

Along with English and New Zealand Sign Language, Maori is an official language of New Zealand. This year, Maori Language Week was celebrated September 10 – 16, with the theme “Kia Kaha te Reo Maori” meaning “Let’s Make the Maori Language Strong.”

But weeks before that, I had decided that while I’m living here, I’d like to learn the language.

Yes, almost everything is in English, but the language helps immerse you in the Maori culture, so I’m working on it.

Surprisingly, I already knew some Maori before I moved here, and not just what I learned from Josh.

Disney did a pretty good job of using Maori in Moana (pronounced "Mo-on-uh"). Even the title is Maori. Moana means sea… which is funny to anyone who watches the movie because the title character gets in trouble for always dreaming of going to the sea, but her parents literally named her “sea.” (Why are you surprised that she rebelled, people?!)

Also in Moana, I learned that “heihei” (pronounced "hey-hey") means hen, just like Moana calls her stowaway pet. (It’s also Josh’s favorite character in the movie.)


This is a typical welcome mat in New Zealand.
Photo not mine

A typical greeting you’ll hear here, which I started this post with,  is “Kia ora” (pronounced "key-or-uh," but said quickly). It means hello, cheers, good luck, and best wishes. You’ll hear it at the beginning of every news program, too, regardless of if it is Maori Language Week.

Speaking of the news, I love that during Maori Language Week, all the anchors on 1News spoke in both Maori and English. And even when Dan the Weatherman stumbled and stuttered his way through some parts, he kept at it because it’s important to bring this native language to the forefront.

Shortly after I arrived in New Zealand, the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, had a baby. It was a big deal here. And the name they gave the baby reflected the emotion they felt: love. Her name was Neve Te Aroha.

Te Aroha (pronounced "Tay Uh-row-ha") is a town on the North Island. But Aroha means love. Jacinda Ardern said, "It was our way of reflecting the amount of love she received, before she arrived." Ardern went on to say, "I'm not placing any great expectations on this little baby except happiness and love." So with that baby, I learned a new word (and some geography).

One word I should have figured out earlier was the Maori name for New Zealand, "Aotearoa." (It's pronounced "Ow-tee-uh-row-uh.")

One I did learn from Josh was hongi (pronounced "hong-ee"). It's a traditional Maori greeting where you move your head toward the person, touch your noses and then foreheads. It sounds complicated, but it's simple.

Since I didn't know much more, I bought a book to help me learn: First Words in Maori. In studying this book, which is very obviously geared toward children, I've realized how similar some of these words are to the English language.

Kupu, an app sponsored by Spark, helps Kiwis and
others learn the Maori language.
Photo from Facebook

Working through my book, I saw that:

• coffee cups is "kapu"
• cows are "kau" (which sounds just like cow)
• watch is "wati"
• apple is "aporo"
• banana is "panana"
• pear is "pea"
• pipe is "paipa"
• carrots is "karoti"
• pen is "pene"
• chalk is "tioka"
• towels is "taora"
• purple is "poroporo"
• letter is "reta"

In reading those words, you might not see how similar they are, but hearing the Maori accent makes it very obvious.

Something that I just recently learned is that in Maori, "wh" makes a "f" sound. With that learned, more words sounded similar to English. An example would be calf, which is "kawhe." They sound almost the same.

Then some words are exactly the same as English:

• tomato is "tomato"
• shovel is "hoe"



Photo from Facebook

Our mobile provider Spark, in celebration of Maori Language Week, just came out with an app that helps people learn the Maori language. (Unfortunately, I can't download the app because it's not available in my American Google Play store.) Kupu is an app that uses your camera and labels the photo with the Maori word. It also offers an audio option to hear how the word is pronounced
Just think how cool it would be if this app was available all over the world. (If it does exist in America, I don't know about it.) Americans could have the ability to learn Native American tribal languages. I think that's awesome and creates a cultural appreciation that doesn't exist the way it should.

I love that this country embraces its history and culture with a celebratory week that reminds people where it all began. And I also think it's great that some phrases, like "Kia ora," are used all the time... at least, when it's appropriate.

Now I just need to learn how to say goodbye...

Phone Calls, Passports, and X-Rays, Oh My: An Immigration Update

(as of 10/10/18)

I have been asked from people on social media and through my parents how the work visa is coming along. Here's the scoop:

Since my first post about my work visa application, there have been some updates.

The window for visa replies is approximately 81 days. The good news is that it's not business days, it's 81 days, so I'll hopefully just have to wait another month or so (if it's the full amount of time).

But since I sent in my application, my immigration agent/adviser/whatever has called a few times.

Jordan, my agent/adviser/whatever, called a few weeks into my waiting game to ask some questions.

The first time I applied, while in America, I filled out the paperwork thinking I would get the visa, which was for 12 months. However, because I've now been here for 3 months, the rules have changed.

Photo by Erin Grigson

There is different paperwork (more paperwork) for people who will be in the country 12-24 months. While I supplied the original "evidence" I was told I needed by my first immigration agent/adviser/whatever, there's very specific paperwork (which costs more money) to submit.

Jordan told me I had 2 weeks to submit a chest x-ray, a general medical certificate, and a signed declaration from me.

A reminder: New Zealand has publicly funded healthcare. Because of this, the immigration office has to make sure applicants aren't going to get here and then take advantage of the healthcare system. I get that.

One of the problems with having to get this medical stuff taken care of is that you have to have your passport to even be seen by the doctor.

That was going to be an issue. I had to send my passport in with my visa application, so I didn't have it. (It was with Jordan, in Hamilton, which is on the North Island of New Zealand. I live on the South Island.)

Immediately after that first phone call, I spent hours calling doctors' offices, trying to get an appointment as soon as possible. (I was worried that I wouldn't get in soon enough to meet the 2-week deadline. My experience in America made me think that since it wasn't a medical emergency, just a paperwork one, that they wouldn't make it a priority.) However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the "panel doctors," or the doctors' offices approved by Immigration New Zealand specialize in "paperwork emergencies."

They could have even gotten me in the day I called... except that I didn't have my passport.

When I called Jordan back to ask how I was supposed to get all this medical paperwork taken care of without my passport, he apologized. He told me he had already couriered my passport back to me and that it would be there within 2-3 days. He had just forgotten to tell me when he first called.

Hallelujah!

And it did get there 3 days later.

I was able to get my x-ray done that day and the next day, I had my regular doctor appointment.

There were a few hiccups, but overall, it went well.

When filling out my medical paperwork, I found the Ethnicity question harder to answer than ever before.
I'm not sure if that's what they were looking for, but oh well.

The chest x-ray is to check for tuberculosis. The general medical certificate included all sorts of blood tests and such checking for diabetes, HIV, all the big health problems. The declaration is to say that it was me, I'm aware of who will receive my medical information, etc.

Sidebar: If something bad were to come of my tests or x-ray, it doesn't immediately disqualify me from getting a work visa. But it does throw a wrench in the mix.

The x-ray showed some interesting information, which may cause more difficulty for me down the road, whether immigration-wise or just medically. Either way, now we know.

I submitted all that information within the first week of my 2-week deadline.

Three weeks later, I received a call from Jordan. He said that the immigration medical people were just waiting on my medical declaration. He was calling to ask me to call the doctors' office I went to to check into that.

I called the office and when I told them what happened, they said tha that's been happening a lot and that they must have a computer glitch or something. They assured me that they would resubmit the paperwork (making sure to send the declaration page).

My question is if it's a computer glitch, how can you count on it sending the second time?

Hmmm...

A couple weeks went by and I hadn't heard from Jordan, so I called to just check and see if they had received that declaration. He was, as always, very helpful and checked and said they had received it and that the medical offices for Immigration New Zealand had emailed me on October 4th. I told him I had not received an email. He apologized and told me that it had been sent to the wrong email address. He forwarded it to me.

That email said I have to do some more stuff that I'm not quite sure of yet, so until I figure that out, this is the update.

Now we wait until the next call comes in.

Hospitality of New Zealand Hospitals - a First-Hand Account

Most of you probably don't know, but a few weeks ago, I was in the hospital.

If you're squeamish, you might just want to skim over this. You've been warned.

I mean, I have to cover all the bases for my readers, so no stone left unturned, gall stone or otherwise.

At the 24-Hour Surgery place...

When I went to bed that Friday night, I felt like I had a bad stomach ache and a bit of chest pain. For the next four hours, the pain grew excruciating, so much so that not only couldn't I sleep, but I was screaming. I became nauseous as well and was certain I would throw up. Josh finally convinced me to go to the 24-hour doctor and off we went at about 2:30 in the morning.

Once there, I had grown so nauseous that I vomited. Normally, my stomach aches dull after I puke. Not this time.

Once they called me back, Nurse Natalie was quick to make sure I had pain and nausea relief, which I was eternally grateful for. I will say that I've never had strong drugs like that, but man, that first round of morphine did the trick.

In the meantime, I met Dr. Michael from Ohio. Small world, right? He looked at my "I don't have an accent, y'all do" sweatshirt and guessed that I was from West Virginia. I enthusiastically said "No! Kentucky!" He said Kentucky wasn't somewhere he considered Southern. I told him it definitely is. I also called him a buckeye, which he seemed to take as a compliment.

But despite his Ohio-ness, both he and Nurse Natalie took care of me the best they could. After doing some tests, they found that the only odd result was that my white blood cell count was high, which means I had recently been fighting off an infection.

Finally, I was able to sleep for a while. I was exhausted.

I've never had an IV until this
incident. Not pleasant.

Because it was a Saturday morning around 6:30, they did not have all personnel there. They referred me to the Emergency Department at Christchurch Hospital, so there we went... with my IV needle still in my arm. (Shoutout to Nurse Natalie for not subjecting me to more needle sticks, but I found out the hard way that it is terribly painful trying to tie up my ponytail with that sticking in my vein.)

Once at the hospital, I was admitted, and had to do the whole hospital gown thing. That's never been something I wanted to experience. I was in Ward 16, known as SARA or the Surgery Assessment Review Area. As ominous as that sounds, it was just where I waited in a hospital bed while getting fluids before I could see a doctor.

And I slept, which was glorious... until the pain came back and they did not give me more morphine. I honestly can't remember when they did give me something for the pain, but I feel like it was hours after I got there.

I have to say that while the vast majority of my experience at the 24-hour place and the hospital was good, my nurse (who will remain nameless even though I definitely remembered her name) in Ward 16 seemed a bit green... The amount of beeping coming from my IV machine was scary. Every time she unhooked the machine from my arm and then reattached it, it started beeping at her (I'm assuming) because it had air in the line, which is not exactly a settling feeling when you're already in a world of pain.

Later on, I met a third-year medical student who, when I said I was from Kentucky, said she had recently been to Lexington. I proudly exclaimed that that was where I went to university. She said, "They're the ones with a really good basketball team, right?" Of course, I agreed. Again I say, small world. (She also said she went to a really good donut place, which I named North Lime Coffee and Donuts and she said, "How did you know??" I think it's pretty cool that North Lime can now say they are internationally renowned.)

After she took my history, the doctor came in (and asked me the same questions she did, which is quite annoying, but at least they want to get it right) and told me that he wanted to look at my gallbladder and see if I had gall stones or something else wrong with it... Ultrasound it was.

I've seen movies and shows portraying ultrasounds before, but I had no idea what I was in for when it came to the jelly. So. Sticky. And it got everywhere.

The good news from the ultrasound technician was that she didn't see anything wrong. In fact, she said my gallbladder looked "pristine." Score.

But what now?


I was good enough to go, even if I didn't look it.
Photo by Josh

Back to the hospital room I was rolled, where we waited for what seemed like ages. Then suddenly I was moved to Ward 15... right next door. But we didn't know why. No one had come to explain anything after the ultrasound.

Finally, my doctor, Dr. Richards, came in to give us some idea of what was going on. He said that because they didn't see anything wrong with the ultrasound, they were going to assume that my pain was caused by a stomach ulcer. Dr. Richards wanted me to stay the night and then possibly scope me the following day. I politely declined.

While New Zealand has publicly funded healthcare, it doesn't apply to me right now. Which means every cost from that day, we were paying for out of pocket. It's also why I wouldn't let Josh take me to the hospital sooner than he did.

I explained this situation to Dr. Richards, who was convinced that I was covered. But he promised to look into it. A bit later, he came back and sided with me. He said a night in the hospital costs $1,000 NZD (roughly $680 USD) and understood where I was coming from. He prescribed me some medicine to help the ulcer heal faster and told me to take some generic pain medicine (something similar to aspirin) to ease the pain that was still there. (Something he explained that I'll definitely remember is that ibuprofen, which is my go-to for pain relief, is NOT good for stomach pain and possibly could have made it worse when I took some Friday evening.) Dr. Richards told me that the ulcer would take care of itself, but to come back if the pain returned or continued.

So at about 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, we left the hospital.

Josh, being the amazingly supportive boyfriend he is, held my hand when I needed it, chauffeured me place to place, and told me to stop worrying about the cost because, "we have to get you better."

It's been a few weeks and I'm seemingly back to normal.

As much as I want to experience everything New Zealand has to offer, I feel like once was enough for me and the hospital.