Sailing

On a sunny Sunday morning, I was invited to go sailing with Laurie and Sue. I was happy and excited to have the opportunity, because I have never sailed before.

This wasn't just any sailing. As it turned out, it was actually a sailboat race. The race was organized by the Whangarei Cruising Club. The participants were sailboat owners from around Whangarei. It wasn't a professional race, but more of a recreational hobbyist race. The first prize was only a bottle of wine. This was fortunate, because I didn't know anything about sailing, and was a liability to the team.

Whangarei Cruising Club

Sailboats at the club's dock

Our team consisted of five people, excluding myself: Laurie, Sue, Frank (the neighbour who helped with the pig), and two other friends. I was the odd one out, in 2 ways. First, I was the only one who didn't know how to sail. Second, I was the only one who was younger than sixty years old.

Our team: Frank (front of boat), Sue (door to cabin), Bret and Mid (looking at the camera) and Laurie (looking away from the camera)

Me on the boat

Laurie was the captain, or skipper. He shouted instructions such as, "Genoa to the left!" and, "Spinnaker up!". Everyone else followed his instructions to adjust the sails. (Genoa and Spinnaker are the technical names for the different sails on a sailboat) My role was the backup. I just sat in the back, trying not to get in the way.

During the race, all sailing must be with wind power only. We were not allowed to use our engines. . The goal is to maneuver the boat and adjust the sails, so that they are receiving the maximum push from the wind. I realized that sailing is a very technical sport, and the experience of the captain and the crew is crucial to victory.

Unfortunately, on the day of the race, the wind was very calm. This was bad news, because no wind = no sail. We sat for 2 hours, waiting for the wind to pick up. The boat was hardly moving. The wind affected all the other ships too, so they were just as slow. It was pretty boring, kind of like watching tortoise racing.

Other participants

Boats moving slow due to calm winds

I was almost bored to death. After 2 hours, we were only at 1/4 of the course. Then, suddenly a strong wind came in. The sails filled up, and the boat started to move. We picked up speed. That burst of wind allowed us to complete the remaining 3/4 of the course in only 30 minutes.

Unfortunately, due to a technical difficulties, the result was not announced on that day. So I never knew our position, though I'm sure we didn't win. Anyway, the race is more for fun than competition, so it doesn't really matter.

I had always thought of sailing as a rich man's sport. I asked Laurie how much does his boat cost. He said about NZD30,000 dollars. (I think it's a used boat). That's cheaper than some new cars. On top of that, it costs around a thousand dollars a year for maintenance and parking. That's probably within reach of a middle class family in New Zealand.

Laurie also mentioned that he used to have a bigger boat when he lived in Auckland. That boat cost NZD80,000, which would have been less affordable to middle class. Laurie and Sue have always enjoyed sailing. They own a boat because they love sailing, not because of status symbol.

Pig slaughter

The day has arrived to slaughter one of the pigs. The chosen pig was about 10 weeks old. The pig might have seemed rather young for slaughter. Indeed, pigs sold for commercial pork will be older, usually 16 weeks or more. However, our customer was a Filipino man and this was the size of pig he wanted. Perhaps he wanted to cook something like Lechon, I don't know. According to Laurie, Maori people also like smaller pigs. Perhaps they have a dish like Chinese delicacy, roasted suckling pig.

Slaughtering the pig was also a co-operative effort, like raising them. Laurie, Brian, and another neighbour, Frank, teamed up for this.

First, the pig was killed with a single shot to the head. Brian had a hunting rifle, which is common in rural areas. Then, a stab to the neck and heart to drain the blood.

Next, we removed the hair from the pig. This was done by immersing the pig in hot water at about 60-65C. Brian explained that the water temperature has to be just right. Too cold, and the hair won't come out. Too hot, and the pig may get cooked.

Finally, the pig is suspended on a rope. Brian sliced the pig's gut and removed all the internal organs: heart, liver, kidneys, intestine. I mentioned that many of these organs are eaten by Chinese, and are even considered delicacy. Laurie agreed that in old times, Europeans also ate them. But young people don't eat them today. For this customer, he wanted the head of the pig. Perhaps pig head is also a delicacy in Filipino dish.

I don't consider eating the head or internal organs of an animal to be disgusting. After all, Malaysians eat fish head, pig liver, cow tail, chicken feet and much more. I consider it to be a form of "recycling". Not throwing food away. Perhaps it can even be considered a sign of respect for the animal, as we are using every part of its body to nourish us.

I wondered how much would a pig like this would sell for. Laurie said it's about NZD130, which comes to about $6/kg (the pig is around 20kg). That's about the same money I make in one day picking kiwifruit. It's very little money. After factoring in the cost of raising the pig, and the fact that profit is shared, it's no surprise that the farm makes very little money.

Brian shooting the pig

Brian and Laurie stabbing the pig to drain the blood

Brian, Laurie and Frank skinning the pig

After the pig is gutted and cleaned

Pig transport

On Laurie and Sue's farm, my duties consisted of gardening, weeding and pruning. Being a lifestyle block, there aren't any major commercial activity, like fruit harvest.

However, there are 2 minor activity that generates income for the farm. These are pigs, and cows. On this farm, there are about 10-20 pigs, and about the same number of cows. Compared to commercial farms with hundreds, even thousands of animals, this is very small scale. I got a chance to participate in pig farming.

There were only 3 pigs when I arrived at the farm. About a week later, we added about 14 weaner (teenage) pigs. These new pigs were brought over from Laurie's neighbour, Brian. I was curious about how this arrangement works. Who do these pigs really belong to? Are they Laurie's, or Brian's?

What I learned from Laurie is, he and his neighbours work as a co-op. They share the work and the profit. Brian is responsible for the pigs from birth until about 8 weeks. Then, they are transferred over to our farm. Laurie will keep them until they are slaughtered. He is responsible for contacting the buyers and selling the pigs. Finally, they share the profit. I am impressed by this "neighbours help each other" spirit. I imagine it is hard to run a pig farm at 60 years old without any help (whether neighbour, or WWOOF volunteer).

On that day, we drove over to Brian's farm on a pickup truck (also called an "ute" in New Zealand and Australia). Brian had already rounded up the pigs and put them in cages. We put them onto the truck. Then we drove back to Laurie's farm. There, we put them in a pig pen.

Picking up a pig by its legs. Brian stands on the right.

Me on the ute

Pigs on the ute

Pigs in their new home on Laurie's farm

Wait, didn't I say in my previous entry that animals on this farm are free range? Why did we put the pigs in a pen? Laurie explained that this is to make them feel familiar with their new surroudings. He will put new pigs in the pen for 2 days before letting them out. This way, they feel safe in their new environment, and won't try to run away. Pigs that are frightened will escape, even dashing through the electric fence. They are very fast and intelligent, like dogs, and are very difficult to catch.

Piglets following the sow

Feeding time

While the pigs look cute, I reminded myself that they will soon be slaughtered and sold. I tried not to feel sorry for them, else I will not be able to eat pigs in the future.

Laurie & Suzanne

The farm that I stayed at is at a small village called Parua Bay, located about 20km from Whangarei. For ease of keeping track of all the places I've been to, I shall refer to this area as Whangarei, instead of Parua Bay.

The farm is owned by Laurie and Suzanne (Sue), a retired couple in their 60s. Before coming to Whangarei, they lived in Auckland. Laurie used to work in sales, and Sue in accounts. I suppose they made enough money from their old jobs, and their property investment, to be able to retire here in their 50s (they moved to Whangarei 10 years ago).

The farm is on 26 acres of land, although not all of it is being farmed. A section that's too steep for farming is simply left to grow wild as native forest. On the sections that are being used, about 6 acres is used for cow grazing. About one acre is used for pigs' area. There's also an orchard with orange, lime, macadamia and other trees. It's a very diverse farm, with a little bit of everything.

Lemon tree

Native forest

This kind of farm is commonly known as a "lifestyle block". The owners are not making money from the farm, but produce just enough for their own consumption. They are doing it because they love the rural lifestyle, and not for money. Having fresh home-grown food is also a benefit. The numbers of cows, pigs and chicken on this farm are not sufficient to provide a meaningful income, if the owners don't already have another source of income.

In the pig area, there were adult pigs and weaner (teenage) pigs. The number varies, due to new piglets being born, and older pigs being slaughtered. The pigs are very cheeky and intelligent. They are always trying to run away. To prevent this, the pig areas are surrounded by electric fences.

Weaner pigs

Electric fences was something new to me. Up to this point, I had only worked on farms without animals. So I didn't realize the fences on this farm was electrified up to 4000V. I touched one of them and had a real nasty shock! Fortunately I was wearing gloves, so it wasn't too bad. If you're ever on a cattle, sheep or pig farm in New Zealand, remember not to touch the fences...

Don't touch the fence!

There are beehives on the farm. These are put there by a local company that produces honey. Laurie and Sue have an arrangement, where this company puts beehives on their farm. This company collects the honey from their land, and in return they get a portion of the honey produced. It's a win-win scenario. There are some manuka trees on the farm, so the honey produced might even be manuka honey.

Beehives

Manuka trees

There are some chickens, and one peacock, on the farm. How it came to be a peacock on the farm is an interesting story. One day, Laurie found a peacock egg. He put the egg under a chicken, which incubated it. The egg hatched, and the peacock was born. Presumably the mother hen raised it as her own, not realizing it was a peacock. Being raised by chickens, the peacock now behaves like one.

Can you spot the odd one?

Chicken coop

All the cows, pigs and chickens on this farm are free range. They have plenty of space to roam and feed. The pigs are not kept in pens (although they are fenced by electric wires), and the chickens are not kept in cages. So the animals live a happy life, at least until they are killed.

Whangarei

I spent the last 2 weeks at a farm near Whangarei. Whangarei (pronounced "fa-nga-ray", because "Wh" is pronounced like "F" in Maori) is the capital of Northland region, the most northern region in New Zealand. Whangarei is located about 160km north of Auckland.

Whangarei, population 52,000.

Being the northern region of New Zealand, the winter is fairly warm. The coldest night I encountered was 4C, but it was about 7-11C at night, on average. That's warmer than Melbourne. When I was in Melbourne, it was as cold as 1C on some nights.

Earlier this year, Northland was hit by a severe drought, the worst in 60 years. Fortunately, the drought has passed, and it rained a lot while I was there. As I found out, winter in Northland can be quite wet.

Like many coastal New Zealand cities, sailboats can be seen. Many sailboats are docked at Whangarei harbour. Thanks to my WWOOF hosts, I had the opportunity to ride on a sailboat. More on that exciting experience later.

Marina near Whangarei city center