Wilderland in Coromandel Peninsula

After leaving Te Whangai, I gave myself the treat of taking the long way back to Auckland - around the Coromandel Peninsula. My last trip around had been by bicycle in 2000. Lots easier by car! I was amused by this vehicle parked in Thames:

And some beautiful scenery on the peninsula:

The white dots are sheep, by the way.

On my list of things to do was to investigate some of the intentional communities in New Zealand. So when I saw the Wilderlands people at a Saturday market, I asked if I could visit. They normally only take WWOOFers (Willing Workers on Organic Farms), http://www.wwoof.org.nz/

Here are some photos from my weekend with them:

Wilderland was one of the first communes in New Zealand, and has been going continuously since the early 60's. What an amazing place! One of the things they are well known for is their manuka honey.

Here is the manuka bush in flower. Manuka oil and honey from the bushes both have strong antibacterial and antifungal properties, and have found use in medical applications around the world.

Here is one of the many houses on the property - most of which need some TLC.

And the composting toilet. I am a real fan of these smell-free toilets because the waste can be used on non-food crops. Very sustainable.

The volunteers work from 9am to 1pm, and then have a big meal and the afternoon off. Great food!

And home made bread.

There is a new website for Wilderland: http://www.wilderland.org.nz/

Te Whangai Revisited

Earlier this year I was introduced to the hard working people at the Te Whangai Trust. Te Whangai is Maori for "to nurture" or "to adopt". And that is just what Gary and Adrienne Dalton do. They 'adopt' people who have found it hard to get employment due to drugs, alcoholism, and other problems, and help them get their lives back on track. The Daltons do this through the creation of a New Zealand native plant nursery created for just this purpose. On my first visit I took photos and helped create a brochure and a Powerpoint presentation so they can sell the native plants through city councils. This time I helped with the outline and words for their website, which should be up and running soon. In their first year of operation, they have place 34 difficult to employ people into full time employment: half in the community, and half full time working in or managing the Te Whangai native plant nursery. The model is working, and the vision is to have it duplicated throughout New Zealand. As Gary says: "New Zealand has built its last prison!" Let's hope so.

Since my last visit, the native plant nursery has been greatly expanded:

And work continues on expanding it further:

I got into some potting myself for a bit while taking photos:

The Daltons have a beautiful old Victorian house, and the furnishings are all period.





















The kitchen is a combination of the old and the new.

I felt like a princess sleeping in this bedroom:

And the view from the window every morning was inspiring.

This is the view from the driveway going from the house to the nursery:

While there, I had the opportunity to visit their son, who lives not far away. I was delighted to see the hen with her very young chicks. Now you see them:

Now you don't:

All but one fit under her feathers.

One couldn't help to peek out and see what was going on:

And all this time their dog was watching:

I was surprised the hen would let the dog get so close!

While I was there, I went into Ngatea for community church, and had a look around. These rhododendrons were blooming near the church. I have been invited back in mid-January to speak to the congregation. I am planning to bicycle down to Miranda from Auckland along the coast, if I can spare the time.

And a beautifully trimmed weeping birch tree in an garden nearby.

MEND Road Trip

Rob Buchanan, founder of MEND - Mobility Equipment for the Needs of the Disabled, arrived in Auckland after spending 5 months in Kashmir, India and Nepal, working with the disabled and helping his partners there. The Light family (EasiYo) kindly lent me the family car again, so Rob and I could head to Tauranga and meet the organisation's new Secretary, Peter Baker. MEND is unique among charitable trusts, in that it operates nearly virtually. Rob stays in touch with directors, supporters, and partners primarily through e-mail and Skype (http://www.skype.com/). So a road trip like the one we did from Auckland to Tauranga and Rotorua and back was quite unusual. I was especially interested to meet Peter because of his work with using water as a fuel! I was well rewarded, as my previous blog entries show.

New Zealand is the best place in the world to buy a used car - especially right now. Here Rob takes a look at one parked near the beach in Papamoa. There were some great deals there! At current exchange rates, that car can be had for just over $1000 US.

Before heading back to Auckland, Rob and I stopped to visit a long time supporter of MEND, Fran. In her 90's, she still lives in her own home, and just recently failed her last driver's license exam, so won't be driving after November. She is a lovely lady, originally from Holland.