Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 - The Journey Home and Beyond

Kia Ora.  Having been emersed in Kiwi and Maori culture for the past five weeks will 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 loved 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 special Hongi and hug to each of you, m&m

July 19 - Kaikoura Day 1

Today we traveled three hours north along the east coast to Kaikoura. After lunch we watched seals at the Ohau seal colony and their babies in a secluded waterfall just 10 minutes inland.  The New Zealand Fur Seals are a protected species.  Seeing them so close was magical.

In the mid-afternoon, Kira lead our party onto the Takahanga Marae for a Maori Welcoming Ceremony.  We listened to the beautiful spoken word of the Maori language as our host acknowledged the natural and human world and welcomed us in this sacred ceremony to their marae.  We sang "Boys of Old Florida" as part of our required response in song of the ceremony...not in four part harmony, but not too bad.  Once inside, we learned the history and story of the iwi of this particular marae through the ornately decorated walls, prepared our sleeping area, and partook in a delicious meal.

July 13 to 15 - Banks Peninsula/Akaroa/Hinewa

Overview map of the Banks Peninsula with Hinewai Reserve circled.

Just 20 years ago, this area was farmland with only 4% old-growth native trees.  Today, Tui have been reintroduced into this 1,250 hectare reserve and native vegetation is thriving.

Looking down on into Akaroa Harbor from atop the Banks Peninsula.

Loaded down with tons of food from the Lincoln Uni lunch ladies, we headed out to the Banks Peninsula for our three day field trip to Hinewai Reserve.  Again, we were thankful for beautiful weather. Stops along the way on day one included Lake Ellesmere to see black swans; 

Little River to take in some local NZ artists and have morning tea; 

lunch at the  Onawe Flat atop lava rocks and exploration of the sea life there; 

and snooping around in a few of the shops in the French settlement of Akaroa. In the mid-afternoon, we headed over to Hinewai Reserve to get settled in - set up our bunks, learn about the pee and poo loos, start the wood stove to keep us warm, and prepare dinner.  That night, we had bed time stories from botanist and author, Hugh Wilson, and hunted snipe.

Wednesday was spent hiking the reserve. Everyone completed the 4.5 hour top to bottom trek past the old totara, and through upland beech forest, riparian habitat with tree ferns along creeks, and kanuka/podicarp forest to the beach where we had lunch, looked for paua shells and watched reintroduced tuis in awe.  Five of us braved the two hour trek back up the bank while the rest of us drove back to the lodge at Hinewai.

Thursday started cold, wet and windy with low clouds hugging the mountain and limiting visibility.  

The best laid plans to take the scenic drive around the crater rim of the extinct volcano which formed the banks peninsula were not a total loss as there was some clearing as the day wore on.  We did go down to Okains Bay to explore the Maori and Colonial Museum, then the beach where an old cheese making factory used to be until a tidal wave flooded the valley in 1863.  

We stopped again in Litter River for afternoon tea before ending the day with a beautiful sunset at Birdlings Flat where we looked through beautiful sea-polished rocks along the shore.

Friday, July 9th - West Coast Adventures, Part 2

We headed north from Greymouth along the West Coast scenic drive toward Punakaiki and Paparoa National Park. Adventures during the day included looking for jade and mudstone on the beach in Barrytown; 

saying hi to a Weka and exploring the "Pancake Rocks" in Punakaiki; 

and a long afternoon hike along the seemingly prehistoric Pororari River.  

At night we learned to weave a few Maori flax items like fish and flowers before heading out to a local cave to see glow worms.  The view of the milky way and shooting stars before bed was equally spectacular (the stars felt so close we thought we could touch them).

July 7th 2010

Once again, we were blessed enough to wake up to a beautiful scenery in NEW ZEALAND! It was significantly colder and ovecast today but it didnt matter because WE LOVE IT HERE! We assembeled around 8:15 am to listen Craig Pauling, a Maori, give a presentation on Ngai Tahu ( NZ south island Maori tribal culture) involvement with biodiversity conservation. He was amazing! He started off by speaking to us in Maori, describing himself and from where he originated. The presentation was awesome. In it he explained the histoy of the Maori culture and their beliefs. The Maori pesonify the Earth and its features and create characters ( people) that they identify and create a relationship with. These relationships ultimately form a bond with the land, as well as an essence of respect. They are currently working very hard to restore the land. Afterwards, he accompanied us to a nearby wetland where he explained the malignant effects of the dairy industry and its contribution to water pollution. Soon following, we ventured to Travis wetland to perform various bird transects ( a walk or drive across an area during which an observer records the numbers of birds found without deviating from a straight path). During our observations we saw black backed gulls, canadian geese, pukeko, spurwinged plover, and song thrushes, just to name a few. My favorite was the pukeko! Stay tuned!!!

Fun fact: Did you know that insects are cold-blooded, which means that they can't control their body temperature. This means that insects are not very good at surviving the cold. In the winter, most insects go into something called diapause, which is insects' version of hibernation.

Rina :)

Poi-E, A Kiwi Classic

In New Zealand, the Maori culture is deeply integrated within the Kiwi culture.  Throughout New Zealand, you will find both English and Maori signs, and even the government run television here has a dedicated station just for Maori programming.  While there have been struggles between the Pakeha (non-Maori) and Maori (just as in the United States between whites and both Native Americans and African Americans), and the Maori struggle to help their youth retain their culture, the Kiwis seem to have done a decent job of trying to be inclusive and promote the Maori culture throughout the country.


Poi-E is a classic Kiwi song that became a hit in the early 1980s. What is significant about this song, is that it is viewed as part of what helped kick start renewed interest for the Maori youth in their roots.


Poi balls were originally used by men and women alike to strengthen wrist muscles for battle.  Today they are used by girls and women in traditional Maori performance dances.