Saturday, July 30th - Baby sheep with solar technology to gardens in the not-so-warm sun

This morning we visited a non-so typical NZ farm.  Graham's farm of fruit trees sports all the latest high-tech, energy-wise gadgets from the U.S.A. - solar panels that power his home, led lighting, a windmill in the works, Stirling Engine fan on the wood stove in the kitchen, etc. He even collects rainwater for all his home water use (i.e., drinking, flushing toilet, and showering).  We enjoyed our lesson that there is much we can all be doing in our own country to be oil independent and low impact on our environment.  We also really enjoyed seeing a little lamb born just two days earlier, and having tea with Graham and his wife, Karen.  Special thanks to both for their warm hospitality and for Karen's amazing and delicious spread of baked goods.

In the afternoon we braved a sunny, but cold day in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens with Colin Meurk as our expert guide of the Gardening with Indigenous Vegetation section.  It was fun to see that these native plants with so much texture can be used in not so formal as well as formal gardening with spectacular results.

Tomorrow we have a day of rest before setting off to Kaikoura for a day trip on Monday.


Cheers, Mark