Greetings from Team Shift on Great Barrier Island! We just barely made it up here after our careful planning for a nice leisurely trip was thrown off course by Cyclone Pam, which delayed the morning ferry from Picton for ten hours so we had to drive to Auckland in one day to catch our early morning ferry to Great Barrier. We arrived nine days ago sleep-, water- and food-deprived, and in a daze from trying to find our way in Auckland late on the evening of our epic drive and then early the next morning, but we've made up for it all by now!
No smart meters to oppose here but what an irony – how we opposed that new cell tower and here you can hardly escape them! Everyone relies on them. That’s a big issue for us that we didn’t know enough about from the minimal info we had. Also it’s not exactly a food growing paradise. There are many problems with trying to grow food, from difficult soil to rabbits, pukeko, kaka and wild pigs! Even so, we joined a fantastic organic box scheme and there’s a good-sized community garden where you can help yourself and leave a koha, plus a small vege stall down the road. There’s a wonderful shop that has organic items and produce in one of the settlements, and we also joined a coop that orders in bulk from Ceres. GBI is beautiful, just as everyone who’s been here told us it is. The coasts all around are spectacular. The beaches on the west side are sheltered bays, on a much grander scale than GB, and the ones on the west are open ocean coming all the way from Chile, with real sand dunes, and all in the most wild and awesome settings. The centre is mostly hilly with the odd wetland or paddock, and the north central part is larger mountains with strangely shaped peaks and crags. Overall, at least to the two of us with our various physical woes, it’s rough and rugged. If we thought people put houses in difficult locations in GB, they’re nothing compared to here! Flat, easy access isn’t that common. With only 800+ people, it’s certainly peaceful and quiet, especially with everyone trying to conserve power. As you know it’s all off grid so everyone uses a combination of solar and gas (mostly those two), also some have wind and generator, plus wood stoves (or sometimes awful gas heaters, though there are ones that vent outside) for heating. Very friendly and helpful people too. You need some flexibility, resilience and self-reliance to stay here long term. You have to be willing to deal with inconveniences and not having everything (including power) the way you’re used to or know it could be, the reality of travel to the mainland if you need to, and a climate that can be mild and easy but also harsh. Those who stay find that the rewards outweigh the difficulties. I’m looking forward to observing how we feel as we get more of a grasp of living here, though the cell tower question is a tough one, as well as the uncertainty of good fresh food and the reliance on the mainland for most things. Whatever happens, it’s been a fantastic experience that we’re glad we’re having.
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