A lovely trip to Riverton, Colac Bay (thanks for correction Dave!) and Cosy Nook with INVSOC members Amber and Steve, along with Matt and Cathy :-)
To get anywhere in rural New Zealand however, you have to pass massive slaughterhouses, "stock trucks" taking sheep (mainly) to their deaths (horrible to watch the trucks turn into the slaughterhouses....), rural "home kill abattoir" butcheries.....
And constant Fonterra "dairy" trucks.
Arriving in Riverton, and the South Coast Environment Centre. Seed savers, organic food, environmental information.....second home to the Guyton family :-)
Riverton bridge, GORGEOUS water! Teal green!
Cathy jumps off the Riverton bridge into the beautiful teal water below :-)
Harbour jetties :-)
While at the Riverton bridge, I noticed this big "yellow submarine" :-)
Its actually a modern life boat from a Greek cargo ship, which washed ashore here in New Zealand, wow!
Look where its from! This huge boat!
A common road in rural New Zealand, as we head to Colac Bay. The metal band halfway up the power lines on the right are to stop Possums climbing up and shorting out the power! The classic New Zealand story of an introduced species becoming a massive "pest", and the whole nation suffering forever on. Possums were introduced to be killed for their hair, their fur. And of course, they bred faster than we could kill them, and destroy our native forest, and supposedly spread diseases to our precious "dairy" cows, yet another introduced species.
Think about it, EVERY power pole in rural areas has to have a metal collar around it, to stop the animals climbing up to the top and messing around, bringing down the wires. What sort of cost is involved in making.....tens of thousands.....of metal bands and installing them up there?
Think about it, EVERY power pole in rural areas has to have a metal collar around it, to stop the animals climbing up to the top and messing around, bringing down the wires. What sort of cost is involved in making.....tens of thousands.....of metal bands and installing them up there?
Colac Bay, a great place to surf.
Cosy Nook, where the movie Two Little Boys was filmed. A few tiny little shacks out by the rocky point :-)
I visited the Two Little Boys premier, and had star Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords, Lord of the Rings/Hobbit) pose with a fan made sign, "Figwit Lives" :-)
Part of the movie involves the three main characters breaking into one of these small houses, and living there :-)
On our way back to Riverton, we stopped by the home of the legendary Guyton family. Environmental royalty to New Zealand, NO, the entire world, it was great to finally turn up unannounced at Robert and Robyn's door :-) The duo host a radio show "Down to Earth" which was kind enough to let me appear to talk about World Vegan Day on behalf of INVSOC. Robert also has a popular blog which he updates most days.
Their massive garden has an actual map drawn by a guest. The Guytons house WWOOF-ers, Willing Workers On Organic Farms :-)
What a fantastic day :-)
I think you might have meant Colac Bay, Jordan :-)
ReplyDeleteIt does look as if it was great day though.
ACK! Silly me :-)
DeleteYou didn't jump the bridge yourself, Jordan?
ReplyDeleteI have been off three times. I dived though, rather than jumped.
I once watched a young man jump from the tall 'light-pole' that towers metres above where Cathy and I took off from - now that was spectacular!
Cathy looked better in her two-piece than I did, I have to say!