Brookvale House, Kumeu

This post will be another long one. And to date the place with the most rainbows I have ever witnessed in such a short amount of time. I stayed with Neil and John for a month. This was not part of my original plan (as unplanned as it is). I was hoping to stay a week or two with each host in New Zealand; in an effort to see as much of the two Islands as possible. Of course the third week I stayed was just my inability to make a decision and the forever lingering issue of me procrastinating. The final week was due to the advice of a dentist.

Damn I hate Dentists!

When I first arrived at Brookvale House I was introduce to John, Neil's partner, Edward and Iris, John's son and daughter in-law, and Claudio, another HelpXer. Claudio had been traveling the North Island on holiday from Australia. What turned out to be a couple of weeks, turned into a few months for him. He had just happened upon www.helpX.net, via word of mouth. Brookvale House was his first Help X host site; and Claudio was the first HelpXer I have had the pleasure of working with. He arrived just a few days prior to my arrival. John and Neil already had him building a new bridge over a small creek that would allow them to walk directly to the stables. I, on the other hand, was helping in the gardening department. Claudio the Builder and Allen the Gardener!

While Claudio worked on the bridge I worked on the front garden. My first job...Eradicate the Agapanthus!!! Luckily for me I already had some experience in this area at Munmurra Park. "Hack them out!" Then make sure all the roots came out too. Once both sides of the drive were completed, it was obvious, the earth would need to be leveled. If not, the run off from the road could cause some erosion along the front of the property. John decide the best place to get some fill dirt would be... The Horse Stables. Now every morning I worked with John feeding the horses and picking up their pooh. Not as terrible of a job as one would think. John had two horses in the stables. A foal named Kiri and a two year old named Looby Loo. Each morning after they had their breakfast I walked them up to their paddock, so they could spend the day grazing and playing. Each evening they would be walked back to their pooh free stables for dinner and a nice sheltered sleep. All to be repeated the next day. Even though I know I was only the "food guy" to them, I would like to think we built a special bond. Especially Looby Loo. Anyway the day came that all the saw dust from the stables needed to be shoveled out and taken up to the garden to help level it. After that John and I went to the local nursery to buy hebes. They are a native species of shrub that comes in many varieties. We chose the ones that will flower a lilac color. Once in the ground we laid newspaper to help keep the "Aggies" from returning and then placed four inches of bark on top of that. It turned out beautifully. Claudio had finished the Bridge, which at the ribbon cutting ceremony, we named it "Ponte Claudio." Complete with ribbon and champagne. Once completing the bridge, we became more like partners in crime until leaving. Claudio was very helpful with the whole leveling/planting/papering/barking part of the garden. We worked together on another garden project by the bird aviary. John wanted a rock feature put in as a retaining wall between the gate leading to the stables and the aviary. There were some dirt piles in one of the paddocks that had lava rock mixed in with them. Some pretty good size ones at that. The first few attempts to get the rocks up to the garden Claudio and I made using wheel barrows. This was challenging in the mud but we managed. As the job became bigger we started to drag them out of the paddock with Leonard the Land Rover. There is more to the Leonard story; but I will tell you about that in a bit. Then the question came up,"Where do we get the fill dirt to fill in behind this retaining wall?" John's answer, "The chicken house." Yep, More pooh! This was the nasty stuff. It did the trick though. Then it was some regular dirt , some paper, some hebes, and some bark. Well the wall looked so good we needed to balance it by creating another one on the opposite side of the Gate. More rocks...More pooh...More dirt...More plants(a rose this time)...More paper...More bark. Well by the time Claudio and I left, we had built a rock wall from the gate leading to the stables all the way down the garden path almost to the bridge! And it looks GOOOOD! Now keep in mind there were days that one project was on hold for one reason or another. When this occurred, Claudio and I both would be helping Neil cut down some pretty big trees along the roadside that had mostly died or had become diseased. This of course opened up the opportunity to plant a new hedge. I don't remember exactly which plant it was that we went to pick up. What I do remember was that it was over a hundred of them. So you guessed it...More holes...More plants...More paper...More bark. No pooh this time though, just a handful of granulated fertilizer. Sorry no pictures of the hedge, although Claudio and I have plans to "Google Earth" it in five years to see exactly how well it has grown. That is, of course, if we don't just stop by on the next holiday to New Zealand. Claudio is now a full fledge gardener. You can add that to you CV, Buddy
It wasn't all work and what was work was fun. One afternoon off, Neil let Claudio and I use the car to go down to Muriwai Beach. We had taken a group outing earlier that week to watch the sunset over the Tasman Sea at Muriwai. But on this trip we had taken off earlier in the day and with a car at our disposal we went exploring the coast. It was magnificent. The sand is black from ancient volcanic activity, the cliffs are tall, and we really had a great time of it. It was low tide which allowed the opportunity to find our way into a cave caused by the crashing surf at high tide. Just above the cave is a huge Gannet nesting site. There were a few Gannets hanging about; but I believe during nesting season there are thousands between this cliff and the island just of shore. We explored all up and down the coast until sunset. The day couldn't have been more perfect especially when we were able to bring home dinner. A towel full of fresh New Zealand Green Lipped Mussels! They were yummy. Of course I should mention Dinner...John is an incredible cook! Every night, with-out fail, he made something tasty. We would all sit down at the table for dinner and the conversation was always as good as the food and the company. The only time I didn't return for seconds was when Neil beat me to them. (Just Kidding, Neil) I never went hungry with the guys. Even though I may have eluded to possible starvation, it was just an attempt to have more of John's cooking.
Earlier I had mentioned "Leonard the Land Rover." Leonard it would seem is a bit of a Kiwi Celebrity. Neil is a member of the Auckland Land Rover Club. So he and his club mates gather at various locations every few weeks to go off roading for a day. Well, Land Rover New Zealand approached the club president about placing an older style Land Rover in an advertisement for one of the new Land Rover Models. Well "Leonard" was the chosen vehicle. His picture was on billboards, magazines, and TV commercials.
He is quite the star. So much so, that one day Claudio and I were hauling tree parts to the fire to be burned. We had parked Leonard next to the road near the fire. Some guy pulls up on the roadside. He gets out of his newer model Land Rover. Walks up to the fence and asks, "Is that Leonard?" I thought he was going to ask if he could take some of the wood bits as fire wood. It was if I was watching myself in a "something" of a Land Rover advertisment. I smiled, a bit dumb founded. Then I answered, "Yes." The man just stood there for a moment, staring. I stood there Smiling. Then he said,"I thought so." He then turned around got back in his Land Rover and drove away. Hmmm?
Well anyway,
I had the opportunity to go off roading twice during my stay with John and Neil. The first time was definitely a muddy mess and much fun. There was a huge turn out of about 20 some odd vehicles. It was so big, we ended up having to separate into two groups. I tell you it took me back to my childhood. Being a kid in Florida, going to the Mud Races every few weekends. Of course, I guess, the difference here is everyone works together to get through the mud instead of trying to get through the mud first. Oh, and there are no trophies. Just a Good Ol' Day in the Mud! Claudio and I both got cameo in that issue of the Land Rover Club Magazine. Neil is the publisher.
The second trip off road was the last Sunday of my stay at Brookvale House. The weather was extremely windy and the turn out for this event was only three rovers. Still great fun! Safe to say, more fun then the first. Mainly because we were not waiting on people to get through tough spots or have their go at a good mud hole or slippery hill. This time was different . We went to the beach. No mud really, just big sand dunes. We could all try each obstacle as it came up and if one of us got in trouble the other one could lend a hand. There were a few areas of water that we played in too. Claudio even tried his hand at a bit of Sand Surfing while we breaked for a bite to eat. I think he should stick to the water personally. I am confident he agrees. During our trek, Neil let me drive "Leonard" a few times through the dunes. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Actually, I am sure I enjoyed it more then Neil. Sorry Neil, I didn't mean to grind those gears. I had the opportunity to drive Leonard a lot back at Brookvale House. Hauling downed trees and big Lava rocks. But this was my first attempt at really giving him a go for fun and not as a work horse. All in all, a successful day "Off The Road!"
Before I close this post I would like to take you back to "Ponte Claudio." Remember that small creek that runs beneath it? Yeah, well for those of you that know...I just was itching to dam it up and build a pond. I approached John about it and he was keen on the idea. He said, "Yeah, it would be nice to hear the trickle of water as it passed underneath the bridge." Now Claudio and I were kept pretty busy during our stay. So I didn't take the dam project on until the last couple of days there. But of course you know I couldn't pass the opportunity up. Claudio helped me in the construction and was willing to listen to my advice. I told him I could see the water and how it would travel, without even building any of the structure. I have always been able to do that. From the springs and creeks, to the ditches on the side of the road that I grew up around; and most recently, the forever growing pond in my old yard back in Phoenix. Complete with its multiple waterfalls and log creek. If John wanted to hear the water under the bridge, well, I could make it sing. I could make it last too, I hoped. If there was any doubt, the storm that followed its construction, definitely put it through the test. It passed. With no time for champagne, we gave it the title,"Allen's Damn Dam under Ponte Claudio!"
The following day I boarded a bus and headed North. My plans are to stay in a Maori Community, at Mangamuka Bridge, as my host site. Jude has invited me to come up and help out. That will be my next post.

Until then, there are rainbows all around you. They can disappear as quickly as they appear. So keep your eye to the sky as will I!