The alarm went off at 5.45am and thankfully, the past few months have got me quite accustomed to early starts so it wasn't too hard. We wrapped up warm and I put my overalls on as apparently cow s*** stains. We took our cups of tea down to the cow shed where the cows were already being milked. Jesus there was a lot of them! I had a go at putting the cups on their t*** to pump the milk out, which was a little bit weird. I felt where the milk went through the pipes which was all warm! This was also weird but good to see where the milk comes from and the process it goes through. We walked through the cows that were waiting which was both unnatural and unnerving for me and then rounded them up a bit to make sure they were in the right place to get milked.
We left the boys to milk and jumped on the quad bike to go up to some paddocks to move the calves and the heffas. This was interesting to watch and help with even if a little scary. One heffa got loose so I had to make sure all the others went the right way while Jade went and got her to bring her back. Once all this was done we headed back to the cow shed where they'd just finished milking. We filled up the milk jug with fresh milk for the kitchen and jumped on the quad with Jock to head back to the house for breakfast. We did some housework and peeled the potatoes and veg ready for our roast dinner tonight. This took till lunch time roughly and Jock came back for lunch. We ate and then put the quad on the back of the truck and headed out through the nature reserve to the seal colony. Unfortunately the tide wasn't out far enough and we couldn't get the quad over the rocks so we headed along the beach in the opposite direction. This was pretty cool, even with 3 of us on the bike! We did a bit of off roading in some grassland and then turned round. It's just awesome to cruise along the beach, sea one side and snowy mountains the other. We collected some fish boxes that had been dumped and managed to arty them back with us too. We stopped at one point so they could show me the dark sand that has tiny particles of gold in so that it really sparkles. I wanted to take some home but customs are so bloody strict I didn't wanna run the risk of being pulled over and interrogated! Just before we got back to the truck was a small memorial for crew of a ship that was washed ashore in a storm years ago so we had a little look at that before heading back. Jade had some bits to sort out when we got home so I took the opportunity to take in the view from the living room, which for short periods involved doing so through closed eyelids. They were very tired from the sea air and needed a rest!
At 4pm the cows knew they were about to be moved and were waiting at the gate. We went and moved them, which was quite scary considering they near on charged and stampeded into the next paddock, right next to us! We'd done the cows and on the way back through hooked up the jet boat to the truck. The 3 of us took this down the road to Lake Ianthe and took it for a spin. What an awesome toy! We went across the lake, through the creek and out onto Wanganui river. The views were amazing and we could look back across at Jade and Jocks farm which was cool. We took a beer with us and drank it on the way. These guys are so lucky to have this and be able to take it out in their spare time or when they're bored. They take it everywhere with them! And I don't blame them to be fair. If only there were places like that on our doorstep at home.
After a bit of pissing about we returned home and finished off the roast which was awesome. I love roast dinners. Fact. We had to wait a while and let our food go down before we went off to HariHari to see the glow worms. I was going to go on a trip in Te Anau to see these in the caves but seeing them here meant not only would I save money but I could stay a day longer. It was a done deal so off we trekked into the forest in pitch black. Obviously to see the glow worms we had to walk with the torches off so Jade and I were clinging onto each other whilst Jock trudged on ahead. They hadn't seen them since they were kids so it was pretty cool for them too. There were loads in the bushes and looked so pretty! Like the kids glow in the dark stars they have in their rooms. Ice cream and beers were on the menu when we got home, a good way to round off a great day.......