Monday, October 6th

We wake this morning to dark clouds, plenty of rain, and high winds.  As we eat breakfast, we all wonder if today's program, including sheep shearing and a dairy farm visit will have to be cancelled.  Whatever the day brings, we do have a meeting with the mayor of the Manawatu District in Fielding.  So that goes.  On our way to the council office, the rain pours in torrential fashion and the wind howls.  Doesn't look good.

We arrive at the council office.  Whaddaya know?  The rain has stopped.  The wind still tries to push us over.  Must be 40mph or even more.  As it turns out, by the time the meeting is over, the sun has broken through and all we have is the wind.  Fierce wind.  All day long.  But NO rain.  In the council chambers there's the now-traditional coffee, tea, and cookies.  Then we meet the mayor.  She's an unassuming lady who gives us a presentation on the area, it's people and economic efforts.  Very different from the usual mayoral meet-and-greet.

Out into sunshine and, of course, wind, and now to Kichener Forest Park.  This is a stand of old growth forest like that which the first European settlers encountered.  It is thickly wooded

Flooding Reforestation

with a combination of trees and bushes, and would have been difficult to travel through.  Along the edge of this preserved forest we can look out on the open fields of today.  So this park exists to remind us of what have been much of New Zealand's north island.  It is maintained mostly by volunteers, and, interestingly enough, by a group of at-risk teens run by one man.  Here they are away from old "friends" and their pressures and the drugs and alcohol that afflicted them.  One of the teens greeted us.  She is now back in school and is studying nursing, expecting to graduate in 2016.  The high winds whistle through the park causing many of the taller trees to moan and groan and to dance in the wind.  Now we feel just a bit nervous to be next to these 200-300 year old trees.







Our next stop is a demonstration of sheep shearing.  We arrive at the Campbell sheep farm and go into the main shearing building.  The owner tells us of the history of his family's farm, going back to the mid-1800's, and then the farm manager gives us a skilled demonstration of shearing.  It's funny that the sheep are very docile while being sheared.  Otherwise they mill about bleating and acting very nervous.  The owner then releases the sheep into a large pen and demonstrates how they gather the sheep using dogs.  Two are trained not to bark, and control the sheep with their eyes, and a nip or two on the sheep's legs.  The other is allowed to bark, which he does well, and is sort of a "pusher".

 We can see just how stupid sheep are.  Because we are along the fence of the pens and they can see us, the dogs, AND the men find it very difficult to get the sheep to move into a sorting runway.  We move back from the fence, but with little effect.  Frankly, I found it to be pretty funny to find that critters that brainless can thwart intelligent dogs and the men.  Ultimately, they get them into the runway where a machine weighs them and sorts them into receiving pens by weight.  Now THAT is pretty awesome.

Who ARE these People?

Still the wind blows a gale.  We push on to the last tour stop - milking at a nearby dairy.  The milking barn is large building with a circular milking parlor arrangement.  It only takes a couple of people to manage this.

Business End

 

Social End

The cows seem to know their job.  One after another they step forward and into a stanchion, where a worker attaches the milking tubes.  The parlor turns slowly, and when the cow is milked, with the milk going by tubing to the collection tanks.  No human intervention is required past connection.  When a cow has been finished, the tubes automatically disconnect and clean water rinses them.  Once the cow is back to the opening area, the cow backs out of the stanchion and returns to the pasture while another steps up to repeat the operation.  Our view is lots of cow butts.  They milk about 550 cows an afternoon this way.  This is a beautiful example of farming technology and we are most impressed.



















Finally we gather at one of the Manawatu member's home  for fish and chips, and of course lots of gab.  Then it's time to head home.  We are all getting weary by now, so the evening is not all that late.  Funny how you can get tired just riding around and watching people work.  Oh, and by the way, the wind has now been joined by rain.  Pretty nice timing, eh?