#kiwi360

[jesuisbetejesuispatissiere]

I'm still looking for things to do in New Zealand and I found this place called Kiwi 360. There is a fucking giant kiwi!!!

And you visit the place in kiwi shaped cars.

I'm ready to travel 10000km to go there.

[riderbymyside]

New Zealand: Of Volcanoes and Kiwis, the Healthiest Fruit on Earth

There are wonderful things in New Zealand. We come upon them unexpectedly, and experience moments that we shall not forget. Sometimes they are free. Sometimes there is a cost for them.

We walked up a mountain this morning. It was not a particularly large mountain, but it made for a bit of exercise for all of us. It was fairly steep in places. It looked out over Tauranga, rising above it, looking out over the sea and nearby islands.

The mountain was the remains of a lava pile deposited by a volcano more than 3 million years ago. Since that time, the oceans have risen and fallen, earthquakes have shaken the land, and somehow, as a result of this, the mountain is covered in seashells. It is also covered in sheep, but I believe that the geological changes have little to do with that.

There were two tractors that we saw on our walk. Ricky was not nearly so excited about them as he would have been a few years ago. Ricky was a tractor enthusiast from his own earliest days. One of his first words was “tato.” We had no idea what it meant. He said it for days, weeks, and we didn’t understand. Then, one day we were passing through Thousand Oaks, California, and there were tractors plowing the fields. With great excitement he banged on the glass in the car and shouted “Tato! Tato!” And so, for years, we referred to tractors as tatos. Today, when we reminded him of that, he did not seem to remember it at all. Alas.

In the afternoon, we went to Kiwi 360. This is a place that is difficult to imagine in the United States. It’s a kiwi farm, and the marketing and packaging collective for the New Zealand kiwi farmers. I can’t really imagine going to Orange Land or Apple Forest or anything like that in the USA. This, though, was really remarkable.

First we went to the cafeteria, and had some kiwi ice cream. That was very good. Then we began our tour. The tour seemed a bit pricey - $20 NZ for each adult - but it wasn’t like there were other kiwi facilities to choose from. We got into the little open van, and took off.

Our guide on the tour told us that the soil in this area is volcanic and rich, and the kiwi vines are able to descend to amazing depths in search of water. Other plants grow well here, too. He took us to see the apples, oranges, ugli fruit, avocados, crabapples, lemons, limes, grapefruits… all of it growing without any irrigation, all of it thriving. It was a small tour we were on, just the three of us and three young women from the UK. Ricky did not take long to attach himself to them, sitting with them, talking with them, walking with them, pointedly telling us that he did not need our attentions.

The tour guide spoke with great knowledge about the fruit trees, and about the kiwis. There are three kinds of kiwis commercially grown. There are green ones, golden ones, and little tiny ones called Annas, I think. There are over 120 different types of kiwis. Kiwis are not actually from New Zealand. They came here from China at the beginning of the 20th century. They used to be called Chinese Gooseberries. Some of the kiwi vines on the farm we visited are 65 years old, and still are producing. They might continue forever, if properly cared for.

The kiwis are grown like oversized grape vines. They rise up from a trunk and spread out along wires they are tied to, and from which the fruit hang down. The fruit is picked by hand, and then sorted by machines, for quality and sizing. We watched as a huge machine carried the kiwis down a belt, dumping them into chutes, which led to workers who put the kiwis into boxes. The boxes are then carted off into cold storage, where they can be kept from 6 to 8 months, allowing the relatively short season of the kiwi to supply the world for most of the year.

Kiwis, we were told, are the healthiest fruit on earth, a super-food. A Rutgers University study was cited for this.

There were giant slides as well, which drew Ricky in.

It was a wonderful place. We had a wonderful time. Kiwi 360, I’m quite surprised to say, should not be missed.

Bryan