Summer 08

Now it is January and the animals at Bergli are all well. Little Beebo, the sick calf has done well and now runs and gambols with the other 5 calves and Mums on the hill. And we have had additions...2 new alpacas! They were given to us by friends raising alpacas and they are of course adorable. 9 months old when we got them, Chocolate and Cinnamon are their names.

The winter months are usually used for maintenance etc, but this year our sailing trip of 3 months to Vanuatu took over.

However one thing which did happen was thanks to Max's Christmas present to Rowena....a sign for Evie's Grove which is coming along well. A wonderful tribute to Evie, Rowena's foster mother , who loved the native bush.

And then Rowena's birthday!

This was a day we will remember for a long time, as Max had organised with a pilot friend to fly from Christchurch to Omarama, near Mt Cook. He flew from Christchurch, over Banks Peninsula and Bergli, then down the coast and along the Southern Alps. He knew how special Mt Cook was to Max, so we circled over it, and Lake Tekapo, which is just incredible from the air.

We had lunch at Omarama and headed back, and rushed to be back for our arriving guests. What a glorious day it was......

January is also the time for plaiting the garlic which is harvested on the summer solstice. A wonderful crop, it will keep us healthy ( and smelly!) for the year.

The woolcrafts are going well and are very enjoyable . Carmen and Jimmy and their 3 daughters visited in December 07 from Hong Kong and were fascinated with making the little sheep.

They made quite a flock! Their comment in the visitor's book: We have the most lovely stay here of New Zealand with wonderful views, best breakfast and most importantly the warmth and hospitality bestowed upon us by Max and Rowena- Best wishes to both of them! And a big thank you.

Winter 08

Then winter...Max's retro fit double glazing business www.amazingglazing.co.nz was overflowing with work so we cancelled  our holidays and both worked hard to keep up.....but the orders kept on coming in. Many happy customers were cozy for the winter.

This year we had a lot of new arrivals....7 lambs and 6 calves, so we were kept on our toes. The last twin lambs from Princess kept us in suspense for over 2 weeks....she was huge, seemed perfectly happy but they simply took their time in coming. Gotland lambs are usually black twins, but an uninvited boyfriend from the neighbours visited, who wasn't a Gotland! So we had 7 unplanned white lambs. One with a black patch around one eye we called Captain Hook.

In November Rowena was part of the Christchurch Puppet Festival, performing her shadow puppets of "The Old Lady who swallowed a Fly". 5 workshops for local children of New Brighton worked on 2 puppet shows with Rowena and Juliet Neil, another puppeteer. These shows were also performed at the festival.

Christmas 08-09

A slow season meant a bit more time for improvements and the odd day or two sailing. The steps to the front door have been extended, making it safer, and some fencing with a small holding pen near the house is very handy for catching the alpacas and doing small jobs such as ear tagging, drenching or docking lamb tails.