Back in ChCh for a car + a Yurt and a Fire Bath

[September 3, 2008]
I'm in my second wwoof stay now - in Christchurch for a week so I can buy a car. Spent a bit of time today looking into one with the dad (RW) and 15yr old son, Robbie. trademe.co.nz has a lot of action but it can be hard to find one for under $1000. Should be able to turn out something before week's end.

[I got a car today - Sept 6!!!! Woo hoo, mission accomplished]

Yurt! Yesterday, the last day at Okuti, we put up a yurt! It was a really nice break from the monotony of digging weeds. There's a lattice structure for the walls, a heavy wheel at the top into which the roof posts attach, and then the entire structure is wrapped in canvass. Craftsmanship is key here because the strength of the structure is in the web of parts - no one piece is very strong. (I'll put up pics very soon, but the pc i'm using isn't reading the pic files on my external hd correctly, so i can't upload them) You're not that sheltered from the elements when it's done though, so it's more like a giant, very sturdy tent.

Speaking of insulation - houses here seem very thinly insulated despite the cold winters here. The windows are all single payne. At Okuti we had a fire going every night and in the mornings sometimes too. This place has central air but I'm out in the shed sans insulation, so I have about 6 blankets. Super warm!

I almost forgot... the fire bath! Janie and Jim (at Okuti) put a bathtub out in the yard and carved out a space for a fire w/ chimney beneath it. You fill up the bathtub and light a fire and about 2-3hrs later you have a hot bath. The bottom gets very hot and I put a towel down to sit on b/c it keeps heating up (I had to add cold water too). I added a bunch of herbs - eucalyptus, mint, lemon balm, rosemary, lavendar - from their garden and it smelled wonderful. I sat out there for over an hour under the big starry NZ sky enjoying my steaming hot bath all to myself. Very romantic.