Christmas, Kiwi style

Christmas in the southern hemisphere is hot, of course.  Some of the people I've talked to who grew up in the Northern hemisphere have said Christmas just doesn't feel right here.  While I'll admit that it has certainly been different, it has also been really fun.  Christmas trees are not quite the too-doo they are at home, so I found a live one a few days before Christmas at the Kiwi version of the Home Depot, which was decorated with ornaments very graciously donated by a coworker who no longer wanted silver on her tree at home.

 

We didn't have Christmas stockings here, so it was a good thing that I had already knit some felted slippers for the kids for Christmas.  I used a work sock.  Santa was good to us.  We must have been really good throughout the year.

Christmas morning we went to Ross and Elizabeth Marshall's house for breakfast, then back for desert after dinner.  Three of their four sons were there with partners (a word kiwis use for any partnership between any gender, including marriage) and Ross's sister, Jane, was there with her husband.  Breakfast was delicious.

Ross, Elizabeth, and their oldest son, Sam

On the 26th (Boxing Day), we made our way northeast to the Marshall's "bach" (pronounced "batch", vacation home).  The kids made friends with some neighbor kittens, who they have named Purr (striped one) and Cantelope (black kitty).

Yesterday, we went up the Driving Creek Railway, to the Eyefull Tower, which gives you a great view of Coromandel.  It was rainy, but fun anyways.

We're not on this one, but this is like the one we rode.

The view from the train

Rural work and fun

One of the women I work with owns a dairy farm and invited us to come by last weekend during milking time.  We jumped at this opportunity and it was both educational and very interesting.  She and her husband own 390 cows, 7 bulls and about 80 calves.  The cows are milked twice a day and the goal is for all of them to be pregnant every year.  They sell all of the bulls and most of the cows that are born in the spring (Sep-Oct), keeping about 80 per year.  The calves will start their milking career at age 2 and will do this until they're about 12.

So we each got dressed up in overalls, gumboots and hats.  Below is the view overlooking one of their paddocks.  Blake was a very good herder.

This is the group we helped to heard in to be milked.

 The cows line up with their business ends towards the middle where they are hooked up to a suction machine.  When they are empty, their udders are sprayed with an iodine mixture to keep them from getting infections.  They were very generous in allowing all of us to try each of these steps though we mostly just got in the way!  I managed to get several different cow bodily fluids on me while the kids kept relatively clean.

 After the milking, Kay took us down the road a bit to see their calves.  They are about 8 weeks old and very cute.  We hopped into the paddock and though they were all intensely curious about us, they were also too scared to come very close. 

Last night was the town Christmas Parade.  It was fun to see everyone gathered on the main street (Maniopoto Street).  It started with sprints down Maniopoto which were done barefoot by about half of the racers.  The woman in the Georgetown shirt behind Liza is the other American doctor I work with.

Santa arrives on a cart pulled by clydesdales. 

 Lots of fancy new tractors in the parade.  The guy on the side helped keep the crowds safely back with his cane.

Blake walked behind the Otorohanga South School float.  Can you spot him?