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

Friday,, July 26 - On the road to Kaikoura

We awoke from the Waipara Sleepers to gather our things, eat breakfast, and clean up before heading out in the Gator Waka for Kaikoura.

The group huddles together for warmth while waiting to enter the Waka

We made a stop along the way to Kaikoura at Cheviot for morning tea time. After tea time, we continued along, passing many farmlands and hills with sadly very little native vegetation (although the hills looked like they were draped in green velvet in the sun - editors m&m).

  

We saw the Kaikoura mountain range on our way to Kaikoura

We were able to see the Kaikoura mountain range from far away, which was neat, but we didn't actually see it while we were there because of all the fog that rolled in and stayed strong day. Some background context for the Kaikoura mountain range: the Kaikoura mountain range is the northeastern most part of the Alps mountain range on the South Island, with the city of Kaikoura, which lies near a fault zone, about a 3-hour drive from our Lincoln Dormitory rooms.

Knowing that the city of Kaikoura is close to a fault zone is key information for understanding that a major earthquake (7 on the Richter scale) hit Kaikoura four years ago, which has had lasting impacts that could be seen as we drove in and around Kaikoura. Once we got to Kaikoura, we stopped for a restroom break before heading north through the Hikurangi Marine Reserve, a road very close to the rocky coast that is undergoing some serious construction because of the damage that falling rocks from the earthquake did to the road.

We saw lots of construction in and around roads to Kaikoura

Although it took extra time to get through the construction, we did make it to Ohau point where we saw a large colony of New Zealand fur seals before eating some lunch in a newly reconstructed car park.

We saw many fur seals at Ohau point

This fur seal in particular was the biggest we saw at Ohau point

After lunch at Ohau point we then headed back south to Point Kean in Kaikoura where we saw more fur seals, native vegetation, and a rocky zone that had previously been sea floor but was uplifted by 4 meters to what you see in the pictures below. Also shown in the pictures below is a fur seal taking a nap amongst the vegetation with the group in the background.

Uplifted rock that was previously sea floor at Point Kean

Fur seal napping in front of group at Point Kean

In previous years sea stars and sea anemones have been found, but this year that wasn’t the case. Instead, we saw some brown algae and a few different birds, including black-backed gulls, oystercatchers, and shags.

Oystercatchers searching for food at Point Kean

 

Right as we were about to leave, we ended up meeting Brett, a department of conservation person as well as a Maori member of the Takahanga Marae (Maori meeting house) that we would be staying in later on. He told us that unfortunately he couldn’t be with us at the Marae tonight as he had a public event to partake in but he did tell us about the process at the Marae and did a hongi (Maori greeting: a “sharing of breath”) with us before we departed for the Marae.

Brett talking to the group at Point Kean

When we got to the Marae, they didn’t have the formal (powwhiri) welcoming ceremony like we were expecting (usually there is a male and a female speaker of the Maori, and the female will call out to the female “chief” of our group who responds back, and the Maori decide if we are friend or foe and act accordingly) because many Maori of the Marae were either sick or obligated with tasks elsewhere (like Brett and some others that were in different parts of the country), but there was a male speaker to welcome us with the informal welcome who welcomed us with a traditional speech in Maori (letting us know of his homeplace, mountain, etc), and the Maori sang a song for us, to which we sang one back ( “Sweet Caroline”) after our Chief, Mark, let the welcomers know if our mountain and place from which we come. After that, we shared kai (food) with them (a tradition that shows we are now all equals and share the space as friends), and then one of the Maori told us the stories behind the wood-carved panels in the special room we would be staying in (even more special because the Maori told us that at night the knowledge of the Maori ancestors will flow into our minds while we sleep). No photos were allowed to be taken in the Marae since it is the Maori sacred ground, but here is a picture of the outside of the Marae.

The outside of the Marae that we stayed at for the night

After the Marae, we went to get dinner at an Indian restaurant in Kaikoura (which was quite tasty) before heading back to the Marae to rest up for the night. Tomorrow some of the group will go whale watching in Kaikoura while others go for a short hike, before all of us head back together to Lincoln.

-Chris