The Journey Home And Beyond

Our kiwisforthesummer2019 Iwi

Kia Ora.  Having been immersed in Kiwi and Maori culture for the past five weeks will now make the journey back to American culture (another adventure).  Our students will take with them lasting memories of the challenges and opportunities of what not only New Zealand faces, but what the rest of the world faces as well. Preserving biological diversity, conserving resources, and maintaining a balance between natural and human built environments are key to a sustainable future.  And, it will take all of us with our diverse backgrounds to come together in many different ways to help make lasting change for a bright future. 

Dear students, we hope that what you have experienced with us in New Zealand will help shape the decisions you make for our future in exciting and positive ways.  We thank you for giving of yourselves openly with your hearts and minds so that our time together could be such a special learning opportunity for us all.  We have really enjoyed being with all of you, touring the wop-wops, and sharing a daily cuppa. Sweet As!

From the land of the long white cloud, safe and happy travels!  See you in the land of the flowers (La Florida).  With a Hongi and hug to each of you, Mark, Meryl, Jámm, and Tupelo

They Are On Their Way

There is fresh snow on the Southern Alps.  Lambing season continues. And after a last pie at Hillyers, we were off to the airport. Most of our students are on their way back to the States.  One is staying on in NZ to do a bit more exploring and two are off to Australia!
We miss you all already and wish you safe travels home. m&m 

Winding Down

Watching Fools and Dreamers whilst waiting for our dinner.

Later, watching our class slideshow with many of the wonderful people we have met and helped along our travels.

Student Journals from the past five weeks recounting both scientific information and personal responses to our experiences were due today, and we celebrated the course end tonight with dinner out and watching Fools and Dreamers (about Hinewai and Hugh Wilson!), and then time with the folks who have helped us along the way and a slideshow (cramming as many photos as we could of over 4,000 photos into just about 200 slides).  We have done so much – worked hard and had a lot of fun! Thank you for the good memories All.

Sweet Dreams, Meryl

Freetime Fun And Willowbank

 

Sadly, we have only a few days left. Our five-week journey seems to have gone by so quickly. We started our day with student’s choice - a morning out in Christchurch climbing at the rock climbing gym, and then tucked into some Hillyers pies for lunch.

We spent the afternoon and evening at Willowbank. Willowbank is a wildlife reserve where we had a chance to see up close both exotic animals that settlers brought and cause problems here in New Zealand (everything from deer to rabbits to wallaby, etc), as well as native animals which the reserve is trying to rehab, educate the public about, or help with repopulation efforts (kiwi, kaka, etc). In addition, we had a Ko Tane or Maori experience where the “gals” got to try Poi Balls and the “guys” got to try a haka. Ka Pai! Afterwards, we gathered in the restaurant to have a hangi which is food smoked in the ground. Very tasty!

Cheers, Dr. H and Meryl

Sheep Shearing, Strolls, and Scale Insects

Today, we went to Toby Hill Farm, where we were greeted by the landowner, Trevor, and his sheep dog, Ned. Trevor spoke to us about the different conservation efforts that have taken place on his sixty-one hectares of land since 2011. With help from the city council, they were able to set aside four blocks of land, totaling two hectares, for conservation. This all began with an ecological survey, which revealed the presence fifty-two different native species, the most prominent of which was Black Beech. Since 2011, over six thousand trees have been planted in the blocks, and they are currently flourishing. Each of these blocks is now surrounded by an electric fence to keep cattle out, which the city council also pays for.

This is what the landscape looked like back in 2011

This is what that same area looks like now; it's astonishing to see the progress!

While we were there, we also helped Trevor with some of the upkeep of the restored areas. He explained to us that the hardest part of these projects is the upkeep, so today, we were clearing our different paths through the land with an electric hedge cutter, loppers, and clippers.  

Lexie, hard at work

Chris, using the hedge cutter

After stopping for lunch, we watched Ned, the sheep dog, do a demonstration of herding sheep, and then Trevor gave us a demonstration of how to shear a sheep. He explained that there are four different types of wool: wool from the head, belly, body, and under the legs. He also told us that the world record for shearing sheep is five hundred and sixty adults in one day, and seven hundred and thirty lambs in one day; Trevor’s personal record is three hundred and eighty-one adults in one day, which is still very impressive!  

Believe it or not, this big guy was actually still a lamb, and this was his first time being sheared!

"He looks so naked now"

After the demonstration, we went out to one of his fields to have a cricket rematch between the Wacky Wekas and the Killer Kiwis, only today, the Wekas came out on top with a score of 126-96.  

Not a bad backdrop for a cricket game!

On our way home, we made one final stop at Lord’s Bush Scenic Reserve for a quick walk to lick some trees! Some of the beech trees had scale insects on them which secrete honeydew droplets. We found the trees, and each enjoyed some honeydew before heading home for the afternoon.  

The honeydew drops look so pretty alone the dark trees!

Grace enjoying some honeydew

To end the day, we went to the Little High Eatery, where we met again with Dr. Meurk’s students for dinner.  There were many options, from ramen to burgers, so everyone was able to find something that they liked. 

We only have two more full days here, so we are trying to soak up as much of New Zealand as possible! 

Cheers! 

Maryanna  

Cliffsides, Cave Rock, and Cricket

After brunch, we all hopped in the GatorWaka to begin our day. We had planned on visiting a Kiwi sustainable home but the owners had to cancel because of a family matter; instead, we went to a shopping complex in a restored historic tannery. We had a morning tea time, and looked through the shops in the Tannery including an upscale thrift store, an apothecary, and a bookstore. 

Group photo at teatime

On our way to our Godley Head hike, we passed through Sumner (where there were many surfers out enjoying the day), a subdivision of Christchurch; Godley was the founder of Christchurch. Before hiking, we utilized the playground equipment in the Taylor’s Mistake parking lot. 

Messing around in the park before the hike

We had a pleasant hike with stunning views of the ocean and cliffs, but we saw lots of 
unpleasant flowering Pig’s Ear along the trails (we spent a day of restoration pulling 
Pig’s Ear from a conservation site). We were able to spot the predator proof fence that 
marked our destination from the beginning of the hike. Once at the fence we passed 
through it and descended down a ladder to the coastline. We were on the search for 
white flippered penguins in the artificial burrows that had been placed there for them as 
part of a restoration project. We were rewarded by a few containing penguins, including 
burrows number 86 and 92. 

Penguin burrow that is currently inhabited 

Little penguin inside the burrow. Photo courtesy of Grace

Cave Rock 

After our hike concluded, we headed over to Cave Rock (Tuawera). The rock provided many adventuring opportunities, including climbing to the top, running from incoming waves surging through the hollow rock, and a log prime for a king of the hill style game. We then journeyed back to the Tannery for a lunch of sushi.

Playing a nice game of cricket

We began our journey back to Lincoln, but the university dorms were not our destination; instead we went to the cricket fields at the local domain, where we were schooled in the terms and rules of the game. We played a half-court version of cricket that reduced the field size and incorporated foul balls so our baseball-oriented minds could understand. The Killer Kiwis beat the Wacky Wekas by a score of 70 to 67 (go kiwis!). 

Ice cream Sunday courtesy of Colin

After dinner, Dr. Colin Meurk and some of his grad students stopped by the dorms for an ice cream Sunday (pun courtesy of Colin). Irish Creme, Triple Chocolate, and Forest Fruit Yogurt all tied for the best ice cream flavor, but Colin's yogurt was most definitely the favorite of everyone. We had a good chat with Colin and finally got to ask him about the much anticipated sea lion story; the grad students discussed the different ecological issues facing our respective countries with us. Overall a fantastic day and a great way to end our last weekend in New Zealand. - Lexie

Saturday, July 27 - Here Comes the Sun

On the last day of our overnight trip, we woke up to the sound of “Here Comes the Sun” in the Marae meeting house, or Wharenui, to see that the fog had lifted. We had slept under the sacred and spiritual carvings of ancient Maori stories and gods that lined the inside of the Wharenui, through which Maori ancestors had filled our heads with many colorful dreams, and even some prophetic ones. After a short breakfast at the Maori Wharekai (dining room), we put everything back the way it was and headed out.

A fierce tribe performing a haka outside of the Wharenui

At this point in the day, seven of the group split off to go whale-watching while the rest went on the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway to have a fun walk up to the Huttons Shearwater predator proof area. The whale-watchers took a bus to South Bay on the west side of the Kaikoura Peninsula, where we got on a boat that took us Southwest along the Eastern coast. Whales are a very important part of Maori culture, particularly the southern right whale or Tohora, the whale that Paikea rode in the Maori Whale Rider legend that was later made into a movie. Where we were, there were mainly sperm whales, however, we were lucky enough to see a sei whale shortly after our journey started. Sei whales are the third largest whale species, after the blue whale and the fin whale. After this sighting, the crew was on the hunt for sperm whales for the rest of the day, while our host educated us. Sperm whales are the largest predatory animal in existence, reaching lengths of up to 20.5 meters and weighing up to 65 tons. They prey on large squid (such as the giant squid), octopus, sharks and other large fish, but their diet consists mainly of arrow squid. They will dive as deep as 3000 meters, and when hunting they will let out a call at 238 decibels, 34 decibels louder than a NASA space launch, that will stun and sometimes even kill their prey. Today we saw three sperm whales, all males, each with names the crew had given them. We also saw two New Zealand fur seals and several albatrosses and giant petrels. The most notable of the sperm whales was Tiaki (Maori for “protector”), a very large male that seems to have taken up protecting the other whales in the area, and our host’s favorite of the lot.

On the top deck looking out at the East coast

Watching Tiaki surface

Tiaki surfacing with an albatross overhead

A diving sperm whale

The peninsula-walkers left from Point Kean and took the Peninsula Walkway along the hillsides facing the ocean and the rocky sea floor that had risen 4 meters out of the water. There they got to experience the twisted limestone on the rocky coastline and spectacular panoramic views of the Pacific.

The Huttons Shearwater predator proof area on the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway

Everyone regrouped for lunch at the world-famous Kaikoura Seafood BBQ, where we ate a variety of seafood delicacies, such as crayfish and whitebait fritters, prawns, and salmon steak.

Reunited at the Kaikoura Seafood BBQ

Finally, after a long three days at Waipara and Kaikoura, we headed back to Christchurch, with the uneasy feeling that the end of our trip was approaching more rapidly than we would like.

-Dylan