Kiwifruit Driving Range

11/12/13

    Yesterday after we got off work, Kellogg, Simon and I spent the rest of the day hanging out with our hosts' son James and his father-in-law Tony, drinking beer and driving old golf balls into the kiwi fruit orchard in their back yard.  Which was even more awesome than it sounds.  Kellogg hasn't even played golf before, but we all had an equal amount of fun whacking the crap out of balls and watching them sail over the rows of kiwi plants, sometimes even over the forty foot tall hedgerow at the boundary of the property and into the country road beyond, if the shot was good enough.  We had spent the day as usual, splitting wood and piling it up and then combing through the kiwi orchard to collect all the old and rotten out wooden support beams, which are now being replaced with steel.  We got seven and a half hours of work in yesterday, as we're trying to get our Saturday work done early so as to free up the whole day for our visit to Hobbiton.  Which, I have no doubt, will be the coolest and most unique birthday I've ever had.  Today, we split more wood and finished painting the fence around the farm, logging another 30 minutes of extra work.  I would say that everything's going splendidly for us thus far all the way over here on the other side of the world, though Augie is headed back to Canada tomorrow, which none of us are too happy about.  Except Augie, I guess, who's pumped to be able to chug maple syrup again.  REAL maple syrup, he says.  And he's excited to see his dog, which is a feeling I can certainly understand.  Life's never perfect, but if missing my pup who's back home in the States is the worst thing that happens to me during my time here in New Zealand, then I reckon it will have been a pretty successful trip.  I miss my friends and family quite often too, and it's really hard to stay in touch, especially with such a crazy time difference, but I guess that's why I write this blog.  It wasn't easy leaving everything and everyone I've ever known back in the States, but it's easy living the Kiwi life, and really easy sharing it with all of you, so I do my best to keep this experience well documented.  Anyway, it's getting late here and I feel like I'm rambling, so I'll do you all the favor of cutting myself off now.  I'll post again soon, certainly no later than Saturday, after we've gotten back from Hobbiton.  As long as I haven't had one too many pints at the Prancing Pony, that is.

Missing you all on the other side of the world,
Jack