New Zealand

Passion Fruit Flower

Sand Dunes Rolling down to Crashing Waves.

Looking Out to Auckland from Whaiheke Island at sunset.

New Zealand

THE YEAR OF SUMMER-

5 months, 10,000 kilometer, 40 liters of Charles orange juice and countless smiles... priceless :)

The year of summer has been an endless time of learning. New Zealand has brought forth a vast amount of information on gardening, organics, permaculture, alternative energy and kiwi culture. We have established the fact that one must be completely aware of the consequences when bringing new plant and wildlife into a new country or environment... Many an hour was spent cutting out gorse, grubbing out thistles, shooting rabbits. However there is nothing oh nothing that can describe the irratation of sleepless nights in a tent due to possums. If you have never heard a possum it will be hard for you to comprehend the nerve racking sound at 12am. The sound that can only really be described of a sputtering chainsaw and a cackling witch. It stops for a spell so that your muscles will relax and you begin to drift back off to sleep, before it jerks you back up to a sitting position.

A normally calm non aggressive person suddenly has thoughts and images shooting through there mind uncontrollably of going out and beating the animal to death with a cricket bat. I have been able to grasp that God made all things great and small, that each thing he created was for a reason...But I am having a difficult time understanding the use of a possum.