Represent.

Saturday 3/14

We've been getting a sense of the larger community of Kaiwaka (pop. 5000), outside of the ecovillage. Some things that might give an idea of the vibe here:

The magazine rack at the local supermarket, which is really more quickie mart size by American standards, has the typical celebrity fare but is also well stocked with all manner of sustainable agriculture periodicals;

A plant nursery/permaculture education center in town, which is part of a separate ecovillage - and where we dropped off some surplus peaches - seems to be humming along quite nicely;

We sat in on a meeting of about 15 locals who are researching alternative fuels, part of a series of meetings that are following the Transition Town model (strategies for a post-cheap fossil fuel age.)

Good things all.

Sunday 3/15

Several people on the South Island told us not to bother with the North Island - both in relation to the people (not enough real Kiwis) and the landscape (tame in comparison). I guess there are regional rivalries anywhere one goes, but I found it surprising that people would be so blunt about their biases, particularly with strangers.

Being from the much-maligned (and oh-so-beloved) state of New Jersey, I've learned not to pay much attention to such generalizations. Yes, the landscape here might be more subtle than that of the South Island but it is absolutely stunning; and the people, while more international (in this area anyway) are incredibly easy-going and generous.

Curiously, the bias doesn't seem to go both ways. I've heard only good things about the South Island from people up this way.