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Hello All, Well I finished my job in the vineyard. Most of the work was o.k. until we worked contract work, which meant we got paid 6 cents per plant (vine) so you had to work very hard. Most people had been wire lifting and net clipping for years so they had their techiques down. I think this job isn't for perfectionists! Some American girls that I got to be good friends with and I went for our own wine tasting tour around the region. Many of the companies ship to Canada, so if you are looking for a NZ bottle of wine, my favourites were: Villa Maria, Mount Riley and Grove Mill (a very environmentally conscious company). It is interesting to learn how much care actually goes into the process of producing good grapes, starting at the seeds. It was also eye opening to see how many environmental issues can be associated with producing grapes. First, places that the climate may be good for growing certain grapes, but the land is uneven, the topography of the land is changed by a bulldozer. Next, the amount of pesticide use is quite scary! Only small vineyards can even think about going organic (so they say), and because different vineyards are located next to one another, chemical sprays will still reach many vineyards. Another issue that was upsetting to me occurred in the last week I was working. Men would be hired to drive around in 4 wheelers to shoot birds that were feeding on the grapes, until we got all of the nets up. It seems so counter productive especially when you see the size of the vineyards, they might as well be helping us put up the nets so it gets done quicker. I arrived in Christchurch on Sunday March 4th. It is known as the 'garden city' and many say it is similar to cities in Britain. I went to the Cathedral, to the art gallery, the Caterbury Museum (Caterbury is the district Christchurch is in). I also got a chance to go to a surf beach on a day that the temperature reached 30'C (your jelous now, right?!) and to the Port hills, just outside of the city. A friend from university is taking teacher's college here so he showed me around and I got a free place to stay. Today I leave for Australia...I'll blog along my trip in OZ. Take care love em
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