Sunday, August 1, 2010

Free time!

July 31st Washpen Falls- Meurky Walk

The group at the top of Washpen Falls - a bit windy!

Today we took a hike at Washpen Falls in Canterbury.  Washpen Falls got its name indirectly from sheep.  European farmers thought that their wool would sell better in England if it was washed.  Therefore, before the sheep were shorn, the sheep got a bath in the creek.  Pens were built in the creek and voila – Washpen Creek!   The hike is on a farmer’s property that not only includes a working farm, but a beautiful gorge that is covered in both native and exotic vegetation.  It was a bit blustery this day with a norwester blowin’ but we donned on our gear and headed up the track.  Lots of Bellbirds were singing around us as we hiked up the trail. 

The gorge was once used by the Maori to trap and kill the giant moa.  They would herd these giant, flightless birds into the gorge and killed them with spears.  Along the trail were several large lava boulders that were blown from volcanic activity 89 million years ago.  Also along the way, we saw several white circles painted on the canyon walls by the late Tom Stone.  These targets were used by the home guard for training during World War II.

Our intrepid scientist, Dr. Colin Meurk, identified a number of different plant species along the trail.  One of these plants were beech trees (genus Sophora), which are endemic to New Zealand.  The trees we passed where covered with a black velvety fungus called Sooty Mould.  In the Sooty Mould there were hundreds of hairlike projections, each with a drop of liquid on the end.  This liquid is sweet honeydew, which is a mixture of sugars excreted by small, scale insects (Homoptera) that feed on the sap from the trees. .  All of us tried a little of this liquid – good even with the knowledge it is the excrement of a small insect! Honeydew feeds a number of different species including bellbirds, lizards, tuis, and bees.  Bees use this liquid to make a unique honey called Honeydew honey.

Washpen Falls

Irina licking some honeydew off of a beech tree.

Kristin giving here best troll face.

Temple Basin trip-July29th and 30th

Thursday morning we met up in front of the dorms, gathered in the gator waka, and headed out once again towards Arthur’s Pass National Park. Our destination this time was to Temple Basin, a ski lodge in the Southern Alps. On the way, had tea time at the ever popular café in Arthur’s pass, where curious Keas are easily spotted. Soon after we made it to the area where we began our strenuous hike straight up the mountain side and to the lodge. The hike was tough, and making it to the top was a great accomplishment. It was worth the effort though, the view of the mountains around us were breathtaking. 

Temple Basin

Once there, we settled in and signed up for our ski gear. A few of us had never skied before, some had experience and the rest were able to snowboard. It was a bit of a challenge for those who couldn’t ski but all in all everyone had an exciting day. Afterwards, we went in for dinner and hung out in the main hall playing ping pong and cards. 

Friday morning we were up and ready to hit the slopes once more. While the others went to the other side of the mountain to ski, Kristin, Dania, and I decided we would take skiing lessons. Our instructor was a really cool Kiwi named Alex. He was very patient and encouraging. He made skiing much more enjoyable for us three Floridians. We all became very confident in how to side step in the skis, how to slide down slopes, and how to direct ourselves. 

After a morning of fun skiing, we all went inside for lunch before it was time for us to leave the lodge.  We gathered up our things and headed down the mountain, trying very hard not to slip on the icy ground. In the end, we all had a great time staying a night in the Southern Alps, and once again had an amazing adventure in the land of the long white cloud. 

-Julianna

July 28, 2010- How to change the world

Dr. Will Allen was born on a small family farm on the North Island of New Zealand. Little did he know that on July 28th, year 2010, he would give a talk that would change the lives of 10 American students. He titled it "Solutions for Creating a Sustainable Culture." All joking aside, it was a very informative talk. We learned many things about the way that people make decisions and changes in their lives. It is not possible to create change in a community that is disjoint. When one side of the community wants to build a ditch to prevent flooding and save their houses, they don't understand when environmentalists say no because it will harm fragile freshwater habitats. Talking with and educating the people of a community about the environmental issues is as important as discovering researching the issues themselves. In the photo above we see our teacher acting the veritable Vanna White while Dr. Allen explains how everyone has a different idea of what a sustainable culture would look like. In one group activity, Dr. Allen told us to write down 10 words that defined conservation to us and then to share them with our group. We are in comparable studies, but no group came up with one similar word to define conservation. So if people with similar mindsets can't define this the same way, how would we expect a whole community to do so? The message sent here today was that we have a long way to go to become a sustainable culture, but that hopefully one day, it will actually be possible. So these 10 American students left with a higher knowledge and an even greater longing to change the world.

Kira

July 27, 2010 - Cricket!

This morning we learned how to play Cricket.  The Tuataras took on The Snipe Hunters in a rousing game that was played in a strong southerly wind with scattered showers.  Despite the cold and damp, we all had a good time and were thankful that the match only lasted a few hours instead of the few days that traditional play would.  That left plenty of time to have lunch near Poplar Lanes and spend the afternoon exploring Christchurch.

Looking up at art in The Lanes, Christchurch, NZ

Banks Peninsula Conservation

Today we met Pam Richardson, a landowner in Pigeon Harbour (Banks Peninsula). She is living proof that the community can make a lot of change when it does its share. She has many hectares of land on which she grows crops and raises sheep and cattle. What she also does on this land, which seems to be a rare contribution so far among landowners in that area but a very admirable one, is populate the hills with native plants. The pastures across the harbor and most that I have seen here in New Zealand are either infested with gorse or completely bare with no plant life but grass. Pam and her family have planted natives all over the hills and they are taking really nicely to the land. The shrubs and trees provide shade for the grazers and shelter from the wind as well as restoring the biodiversity back to New Zealand. Pam is part of the Conservation program and takes part in many discussions about different plans for Banks Peninsula. There are only fifty people living in that region which is why it is so important for the landowners to all share their ideas with each other and spread knowledge. The hope is that as more people hear this method of conservation and see it implemented, they will follow along. It was really cool to see the sheep ultrasound images when they were checking to see if they were pregnant with one or two. We also got to see a mussel farm there and they showed us the different kinds of wool, and the picture included is of a Keruru, or New Zealand Wood Pigeon. Later in the day we went to Birdling's Flat and saw sand dunes; the beach is so beautiful.
Katie Black

Free weekend July 23rd-25th

 Mitre Point at Milford Sound

View of Queenstown from the gondola

Woke up extra early on Friday along with Seth, Ashley, Kirstin and Dania at around 6am. It was worth it though because we had to catch an early morning flight into Queenstown from Christchurch. After a very generous ride from Meryl, we got on the plane and about 45 minutes later we were in Queenstown. We spent the day walking around the shops and checking into our hostel. Queenstown was very unique. I loved how everyone walked around either carrying a snowboard or skis, making it an ideal skiing town. While Dania set out to try her hand at rock climbing, the others and I took the Queenstown gondola up a mountain to where we had tea time in a café.  Seth, Ashley and I tried out luging which was so much fun. That night we ate at the famous burger restaurant, Fergburger, and it was the best burgers we've all ever had.

Riding in the gondola

The next day, Saturday, had to get up extra early again in order to get on the coach ride to Milford Sound. It took a good while to get to Fiordland national park from Queenstown, but the scenery on the way was amazing. On the way we made one stop at Lake Te Anau, New Zealand's second largest lake, to have tea time. Driving through the national park was breathtaking and the tour bus made a few stops so we could capture some photos of the natural landscape made up of beech forest and snow-covered mountains.

Lake Te Anu

Fiordland National Park, largest national park in New Zealand.

When we made it to Milford sound, we hopped on a cruise that took us out in-between the mountains. It was definitely one of the most spectacular things I’ve seen. At one point we were directly under a waterfall. It’s so fascinating to think that that region was once a valley covered by a glacier. Sunday was our flight back into Christchurch and we basically just spent the afternoon relaxing from a wonderful free weekend. 

  

Cheers! -Julianna