Here's a view of just one of the many dairy farms we've seen as we've driven through the country side. I'm just amazed by the green grass and bright blue sky...it looks too good to be true!
Our first farm visit in New Zealand was to Leo Donker's dairy farm. We were greeted by a kind welcome from Terry, who manages the 1,000+ herd with a total of six employees. They graze all of their cows on paddocks (known as pastures to those of us from the U.S.), rotating them every 21-24 days. This time frame is set based on the amount of time necessary for the grass to reach an ideal level of nutrients without losing quality.
I've never seen such green grass in pastures, but it's largely due to the irrigation systems on their farms. That's a whole new blog post I'll try to write soon!
Here's a snapshot from our view of the rotary (or carousel) style milking parlor on their farm.
With this setup, they can milk 50 cows at a time. While some New Zealand dairies only milk once a day, the cows on this farm visit the milking parlor every morning and night.
New Zealand exports about 94% of their milk to be used in processed goods, such as cheese, butter, yogurt, and more. Because they aren't selling their milk for drinking purposes, they're concerned with the amount of solids produced by their cows. That means they're more interested in high butterfat content, noting that high volume is a waste in their eyes.
To get high solids (a.k.a. butterfat) they raise medium sized breeds of cows. In contrast, most producers in the U.S. raise large framed cows to reach higher volume because the milk check is based on liquid produced rather than the percentage of solids.
Now we know why New Zealand loves their ice cream so much! And we sure aren't complaining!
G'day mate!
Whitney
I'm yet to be bored by the views in this lovely country. As a Missouri girl, it's only proper that I now take this opportunity to contrast this with the feeling any normal person gets while traveling in some places...let's say Kansas, for example!
I didn't know quite what to expect on a glacier hike, but I learned it would've taken a lot more than just words to do it justice. It's coined as the world's steepest and fastest flowing commercially guided glacier according to the guides who took us to the top. I haven't been on other glaciers to compare, but it did feel pretty steep if you ask me!
They gave us the equipment we needed to climb to the top, including metal spikes for our boots, called crampons. It was more of a physical challenge than most of us expected, but the scenery was breathtaking. Here's what we saw when we looked down from the top of the glacier. At so many of our stops, I've heard multiple people say these views look like paintings and this was no exception.
As we learned from a professor of environmental issues earlier in the week, glacier movement and melting ice plays a huge role in the history and future of these islands. As we trekked through this valley, several of us discussed how rocks are broken down to eventually forms soil, which we know plays a huge role in this country's agricultural success.
The beach was pretty busy with local residents since it was New Year's day when we were there. Here's a look at the families enjoying quality time together on the shore.
