Working and Playing in Tasman, New Zealand

We made it to our first hosts in New Zealand yesterday.  We are staying with David and Gill (pronounced "Jill") Short who have a small farm near the town of Tasman on the north tip of the south island.  They have chickens, 2 alpacas, 2 pigs, 2 cats, several fruit trees and vegetable gardens.  They also have 3 holiday cottages that are rented out for long term stays.  Below are a few pictures from our first 2 days of work and play.

View from the plane flying over the West side of New Zealand

 7:00 a.m. from our bedroom window - Right before sunrise

Living room of where we are staying

A few pictures surrounding the house

You can see the sea in the background

 A Neighbor's Apple Orchard

Pathway to the Beach

Dudley (black pig) and George (spotted pig)

Raymond (White Alpaca)
Stanley (Brown Alpaca)

Caterpillar of the Monarch Butterfly Eating the Milkweed Plant

Our first job was to harvest potatoes

       

Next, we removed netting from some trees and plants

In the afternoon, David (our host) drove us to Mapua Wharf and explained how to walk back to their house along the beach (about a 5 mile walk.)  It was a great walk, but we missed the path to their house and ended up in the next town walking over 11 miles.  We made it back for a really good dinner though!

 We came across an RV park on the beach and saw this old truck.  
They kind of made it into a covered wagon

Some scenes along the beach

A little hedgehog that ran across our path.

On Thursday morning (April 2nd) we helped Gill clean up one of their holiday cottages.  They are getting a new tenant on Friday.  David worked on the outside, trimming bushes and Gill and Linda cleaned the inside.

Left - Front of the cottage                         

Right - View from the upstairs bedroom of the cottage

After working today we walked to the nearest village of Tasman to try one of the local cafes.  We came across "The Jester House".  This is the place we will be going to next on 14 April.  

Some wild plants along the roadside

        

 Fall Colors are coming

This is the house we are staying in.  View from their driveway.  
Our bedroom window is in the front.

This is Enzo.  She likes to sunbathe in our bedroom.  We usually don't care for cats, but we are kind of fond of this one.  She loves to be held.