New Zealand Bound!

Here we are in a New Year of fiber! We are starting this year off with our member Kathy Martin taking a trip to New Zealand! below you will find a  short version follows with a longer slide show in the works after others on the tour add their photos.

A trip of a lifetime to an amazing country with friendly people!

​20 hours of travel seems extreme and the cancellations/delays tried to put a damper on this surreal coastal odyssey arranged by Wild Fibers Magazine and Heritage Adventurer small ship cruises. The excursions during this 11 day expedition weren't all fiber related. New Zealanders are serious about their ecosanctuaries and preserving their flora and fauna. A birder's delight for sure. We explored the North, South and Stewart Islands.

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​The Maori people treated us to musical welcomes and opened up their village that utilizes the geothermal geysers for all their heating and cooking. Flax, wood and corrugated metal were some of their craft media.

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Sheep abounded:  Perendale, Romney and Blackface Valais crosses. One farm was a 4 wheel drive access across a rocky stream. It was a Penguin nesting refuge along with the Valais sheep. ​

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The one yarn shop/mill we visited was Skeinz which claimed fame from the Penguin Rescue effort of several years ago after a nasty oil spill. Penguin sweaters flooded the store from all over the world. Further down the switchback road was a weaver's studio which opened up for us on the South Island. Her view of the bay with crashing waves was amazing.

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Many of the excursions were via Zodiacs taking us to inaccessible areas and cruising the shore lines up close. My biggest thrill was on the last day when my Zodiac was visited by a pod of Dolphins for 10-15 minutes.

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Have I come down off my cloud yet after visiting the Land of the Long White Cloud? Might never happen!

Kathy Martin, Wynham Farms
http://gotmygoat.com