Lost World

Recycle

2 weeks traveling En Zed, my how time flies.

It's an interesting part of life when someone decides to pack a few essentials in a bag and go away for an extended period of time to travel the world. Well, falling into that category I am guilty. It defnitely did not start off the best way (my break that is) as I booked a bus ticket to Taupo via Auckland with a company called naked bus (har har yeah funny name). I was at the airport pick up site but never saw any sign of the bus, unfortunately their lack of customer service did not help my mood as the driver claimed he was there at the site waiting for 10 minutes. Maybe I was at the wrong airport? Oh wait there's only one Auckland Airport, oh well, needless to say I won't be booking with them again anytime soon, or ever again.

Fuel Burger and Fries and BurgerFuel in Taupo

After catching an Intercity bus to Taupo and arriving at 2am I figure the trip would get better from there. 3 days later I hadn't accomplished much. I wanted to do the Tongariro Crossing but it never worked out; it's rated one of the best (if not the best) day hikes in NZ but unfortunately the weather did not permit people from doing the crossing. I also tried to go Snowboarding but that did not work out b/c of harsh winds so the mountain was closed to all skiiers/snowboarders. After doing an ok hike and catching up on emails I booked a ticket to Wanganui. The night before leaving I had 3 new roommates. One a Belgian guy named Yannick was 3 months into his 8 month around the world tour. He'd already been to Thailand, Cambodia and Oz; his next stops are the US and Mexico. We chatted about life and how we were young so we had to take advantage of this time to travel and see the world, things are never guaranteed. It was great talking to a like-minded person who was into traveling, the outdoors and meeting new people.
Mini Geothermal Vent I found on the side of the road in Taupo on a hike

Remember these?

The other two people in the room were from Hong Kong; they'd both done a stint in Oz on a working-holiday visa and were visiting NZ before heading back to HK to go back to work. It was nice to test my Cantonese out as I hadn't really had the chance on the last project to talk to the one student who did speak fluently. The next morning they were nice enough to offer me some Chinese porridge (which I hadn't had in a long time and I was craving some Chinese food). After getting everyone's emails and wishing them safe journey's I took off to Wanganui.

Why Wanganui? Well I signed up for Wwoofing (www.wwoof.org) and had gotten in contact with someone there who had some work to do and it especially interested me b/c he mentioned a bike program. I walked to the Environment/Sustainability Center in the city and ended up talking to a bike mechanic working on a Green Bikes Program (sound familiar?) His name was Jonah and the program took donated bikes and fixed them up so the public can purchase them for $25! This was similar to the bike-sharing program I'd been working on at UC San Diego (Triton Bikes) . Small world? Everything happens for a reason so I'm sure this was why I was supposed to stop in that city while I made my way to Wellington.

Green Bikes at the Sustainability Center in Wanganui

Working on the second bike (Shimano)

First Bike I ever Fixed completely, BMX!

First susnet in Wanganui from Drurie Hill

I ended up helping Jonah fix some bikes, he taught me a lot about bicycles and what to do when inspecting/repairing them. I fixed my first bike that day, a orange bmx bike haha. It was great though to be able to work on bikes and learn from an experience bike mechanic. Also got to have a really good veggie stew (both days I was there) that Jonah cooked up (he's a vegetarian). Later in the day I met with Hadi, the guy who I was staying with and we eventually agreed that I would just work in the bike shop as my form of wwoofing (so it's not a real wwoof but it was still awesome). Hadi was from the UK and he was really into growing organically (he even has two bee hives that he gets honey from, which btw is really good fresh). We chatted about environmental issues and different ways we can improve sustainability in cities over dinner; I stayed at his house b/c his kids were away for the week so I was lucky enough to get a bed.

Second Sunset of Wanganui from Drurie Hill

Jonah and his trailer he let me borrow to carry my stuff to a hitchhike point

Getting ready for a fun journey down to Wellington

After two days there I was off to make my way to Wellington. Instead of going on a bus though I got some really helpful tips from Jonah and friends. He even let me borrow a bike to ride out to the best spot to catch rides, he rode alongside me and then took the bike back in the trailer he built for his bike. At first I didn't think I'd get a ride after having cars passby for about 20-30 minutes. But all of a sudden I heard honking and a guy stopped, backing up to where I was standing. He asked where I was going and I said Wellington, he was going there too so he said to hop on in. I know what you're thinking, yeah it might have sketchy, and yes I had some doubts at first but after checking the situation I said I'd go along with it and see how it went for a bit.

Hitchhikers Guide

Turns out we just kept talking all the way to Wellington. His name was Ismael and he was originally from Turkey and now had a few restaurants in NZ. He was on his way to a meeting luckily. We chatted about life, politics, and a lot of other things. He said he's refused to pick people up before after stopping to talk to them b/c of the way they handled themselves or looked up close. He also did say he likes to help people and if giving them a ride helps them then that's all good. It was interesting how similar our mindsets were at times; he and I agreed on the way we live our lives and that having a good heart is key. It's a small world he said so I'm sure I'll be going to one of his restaurants one day. After dropping me off near Parliament in Wellington (he said Thank you in Mandarin after I told him thank you, not bad) I wished him the best of luck in everything and walked to Parliament to meet a friend.

The Beehive aka Parliament

Who would have thought I would be hanging out with the Green Party that day, I got to meet one fo their MPs and a lot of the staff that worked in the party. I also took a tour of Parliament and got to learn about the history of the place. After eating at Burger Wisconsin (an ode to the supposed founder of the first burger), which was pretty good, I bumped into some of the participants in my last group and caught up on things. They took over some bars that night but I called it in pretty early as there was a long day ahead of preparing for my first All Blacks Rugby match.

Supporting the All Blacks with Ferns in Welly

Had to make sure the ticket was real

Fast foward through a day of walking around Wellington, seeing a lot of French Supports to counter the All Blacks fans and bam we were at Westpac Stadium for the match. It was a great atmosphere, even though the temperature had dropped very low people showed up in force. It's interesting to compare stadiums in the US to ones here, Westpac Stadium, one of their largest holds 45,000 people. College Stadiums in the US can hold 100,000+, crazy huh? After hearing the national anthems and seeing the pride and spirit in both the teams fans we got to see the HAKA!!!! That was intensE! with a capital E! Some fans through some roosters painted in French Colors onto the field, not sure how they snuck that in but pretty funny. Security chased them down; also one fan who ran onto the field got tackled by a security officer (full on tackle, probably the best hit of the game haha).

The All Blacks Warming Up

French Supporter?

National Anthems

the HAKA!

All Blacks won that night 14-10 but they lost the series cup to France who won the previous game by 6 points so the All Blacks needed more points to fully win. Either way though people were in good moods and a win got everyone hitting the bars that night.

Fighting for Position
Scrumming it up

All Blacks 14, France 10

Chilling in Welly the next day I visited the national Museum Te Papa and saw the colossal squid they had caught in Antartica and studied. It was decaying slowly but still pretty insane to think that was a relatively small one (though they've never caught a bigger one alive before). I also enjoyed their Blood, Earth, Fire exhibit that demonstrated the impact of humans on the land of NZ; one video documented 7 people and the special places they love and cherish in NZ, illustrating their connection with the Environment and passion to preserve it.

Colossal Squid in Te Papa Museam

After Welly I was off to New Plymouth, unfortunately I couldn't hike Mt. Taranaki or any of the coastal walks as I was only staying a night.
Mt. Taranaki

Road Side Stop

From there I went to Waitomo and signed up for an intense Caving Adventure called the Lost World. The Rambo Rating was 10/10. The first thing I did was abseil (repel) 100 meters into a giant cave entrance.

Now I'm back to work and need to update you again but finding time to get to an internet cafe is kind of hard. Hope to chat with you all soon,

Cheers

P.S.

Always on my mind

Kiwis thrown all over the road?

Tiki Taane - Always on my mind


Song stuck in head, need something different


Anways, lets get you all an update of my last project. Rewind to the last post, we were staying at the YHA and Beach Backpackers in Tauranga for two days. It's different because this means that free time means participants can go out to town. It's also difficult for Project Leaders, even with three (I was working with two others, one Kiwi, the other from the UK). They were both great people to work with, more on them later.

The first day we had to go through orientation and it was the usual logistics...except the fact that the YHA was in the heart of the city of Tauranga, which meant bars and alcohol were a plenty. Policy states though that no one is allowed to be intoxicated on project premises, during project or have any alcohol while working on a project. Unfortunately that is very hard to "regulate" while at a hostel so we made our suggestions not to do anything crazy. The first night though was pretty good, not too much rowdiness; it's tough when you are underage in the States and Canada but then you show up in a country where the legal drinking age is 18. The novelty of it and the experience is very new and fun for the participants and it's understandable.

The second day saw a little more to do. We took the participants on a tour of I'anson Reserve, a man made reserve (the original plot of land was grazed farmland that was donated for the project by the I'anson family). It was a great example of what people can do in just a few years time. The reserve is blooming with native flora and fauna. The students learned about various plants including kawa kawa, which is a medicinal plant you can look for in the bush and make tea out of to help battle a cold and also to numb pain. After about an hour we took the groups to the local Marae to participate in a powhiri. If you remember a previous post, this is a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony. The participants chose a "chief" amongst themselves to represent them and to say a few words about who we were and why we were there. It was a really nice ceremony, though I did expect a lot more people (unfortunately it was the Queen's Birthday Weekend so a lot of people were out on small vacations).

We participated in a hongi, in which we touched nose and forehead (which joins two people and welcomes us into their family). After the ceremony we had tea and then got to hang out a bit. It was really nice because this was the Marae I had gone to 3 years before and had participated in a powhiri. I was already part of the extended family and it was really special to be able to participate again. I got to speak to 'Auntie' and Harold, the gaurdians of the Marae, it was really nice to catch up with them.

We actually went to get some work done after that, we went to plant about 600 trees in less than 2 hours at TECT Park, the first ever Global Green Park (you can google it and see updates from the Project Director). From there we went to our accomodation: Aongatete Lodge, which we would stay at the rest of the project. It's a lodge that's located in the bush with lots of trails to hike in the area, a decent sized sport field, dorms for girls and boys, bathrooms, boiler room, common room/dining hall and kitchen. I actually got to have my own room, so did the other PL's so it was nice to have some privacy after the work was done.

Interesting things about the lodge include that it has a boiler room that includes a large boiler which we needed to start a fire in to heat the water used to shower. This was a very new concept to a lot of the participants since coming from the states we take a lot for granted. It was a great learning experience, especially for those who haven't had the chance to start a wood fire. This was also an important skill to learn b/c there was a small fire place in the common room that we needed to get going every night we came back so people could stay warm and read around it before/after dinner. Also there is a compost system, or procedure rather where we take all the uneaten food and scraps and dump them in a compost ditch that is in the bush near the sporting field. This does unfortunately attract possums if we let some scraps fall outside the covered ditch but nonetheless it is a good way to reuse the organic food waste we generate.

Our second day at TECT Park consisted of more planting but it included planting along a creek bed and pond. The entire group helped out with this; Some students also worked on sawing tree branches (which I helped out with) that were in the way of the new trail that was leading to the pond. My group went to work again (after lunch) on planting carew around the pond edge. This was done for teh same purpose as we planted carex around the road edge the day before, it was to catch and filter the water/contaminants/run off and asbestose that run off from tires/brakes.) It was a delicate process b/c the area around the pond was sprayed with a papermesh/grass seed mixture that wasn't supposed to be there until after we had planted; we tried not to disturb it and the soil much while digging the holes. My group worked really well together and we got a good system going of some people digging the holes along the edge of the creek/pond while the others would hand us the plants that they had taken out of the bags.

TECT Park Before (above)

TECT Park After (above)

All in all we planted about 900 plants that day, a really good day given how fast they worked. My group worked so well we went back and finished off the plants we didn't get in the day before (flax plants). On the way back to the accomodation I got to drive the other vehicle (in case of emergencies it's policy to have an extra vehicle on hand). It was weird driving on the side of the road opposite to the US, took me a bit, got really close to the curb at times, had to get used to round abouts but got the hang of it more as we drove back.

The Pond at TECT Park we planted

More of TECT Park Planting of Carex and Flax plants

That night the PLS decided to take interested students on a night hike on a nature trail with posts describing native species in the area. The group I took was fun, we tried to scare them a bit when we saw a candle lying in the middle of the trail and told them this was a bad sign so we should turn back, they definitely fell for it but eventually we took them through the entire loop trail and back to the lodge.

The next day was a free day so all the students went into the town. I went with the PLs to check our emails for our next groups. We then hiked up Mt. Muanganui, surprisingly fast, we were hauling up it and even got to take a side trail with better views a lady showed us; it was steeper and rockier but well worth it. It was good to know the other PLs shared similar interests into adventure/outdoors things like myself. We saw some of the students at the top; Rob and I tried to get some pics of fan tails flying about, they were everywhere. The views were great, the weather was nice so you could see a lot of the outlying islands, the beach and Tauranga harbor. On the way down the other PLs and I ended up racing all of a sudden; it was really fun b/c we all became kids and just had fun the entire way down. At the bottom we saw some sheep then went to grab some ice cream at a local store before heading off toward the lodge. We stopped to get some dried kiwi fruit and South African Biltong (jerkey), it was really good, from a local farm.

The next day we worked at Lynden Park, a real estate development that had an area donated for conservation/restoration work. The owner had given this land to be used for that purpose, which was nice of him, but it definitely raises eye brows given that the property hasn't been selling well. My group started off the day by doing a cochel survey (small clams in the estuary). We split an area into a grid and worked in sections in groups of 3-4. We were to dig a square plot, count the number of live cochels and measure their sizes and record that data. All this data will be used to help measure the health of the estuary as these species are used as a bioindicator to measure health. The estuary has had a lot of sediment run off so it's vital to gather this data.

Kuaka Group B after finishing our Cochel Surveys (in the mud)

From lunch on we went to help "release" native plants, which consists of clearing the area around them of weeds that have grown over them (these plants were planted the year before by the last ISV groups). These weeds are opportunistic and will use other plants to get to the native ones, cover them and use up their resources. Myself and another participant went with loppers to cut our way through an area of Japanese Honey Suckle and Black Berry Vines; they have encroached on a decent area and have strangled the other plants, it was very thick and hard to see where we were stepping. Our goal was to cut some paths into the area so the next ISV group could really get in there and do some work finding the roots of the vines.

It was really fun the rest of the day b/c we played a decent game of Ultimate Frisbee; I haven't run in a while so it was a great work out. We also got to hold a possum that was caught that night; it was actually pretty ugly up close (cuter than American ones but still not cute enough). They have really sharp claws, teeth, carry TB, eat native plants/shrubs/birds/eggs, so it's no wonder why they are a high priority of pest management in NZ.

Possum Time

The next two days were free days and all the students took the opportunity to go on an optional trip to Coromandel/Whitianga. I went with another PL, Morgan since it was our free days too. On the way we got to see some very large (though small in comparison to ones logged by European settlers) Kauri trees and learned about their legend and also the legend of the Tui bird. After that stop we went to Bowentown and learned the history of the Pa (fortified/settled hill site) we stood on. I had heard the story 3 years earlier and remember why they call the town near by Katikati, a very very gruesome history. We got to explore some of teh caves near the beach too and climb some rocks. On the way back to the highway I saw some of the trees I planted 3 years earlier, it was great to see them growing and still alive; it was nice to see the impact we had made and to show some of the participants they too could come back and see the fruits of their volunteer efforts. The rest of the day consisted of taking a lot of jumping pictures on Whitianga's beach, dinner and then the participants taking over a bar/night club. I called it an early night however and actually got to sleep in for once :)

Rainbow over Whitianga

The next day I walked around town while the participants did some optional activities (e.g. horse back riding, glass bottom boat tours, bone carving); I wrote some post cards near the beach ;) and also later got to do my own bone carvings (making pendants). It was fun and also a reminder of how I lack artisitic ability; still though in the end the finished product, with a little help from the owner of the shop, looked great. I made a fish hook and a Koro Shell (meanings to come later>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>)
After that we went to Cathedral Cove, a site I stood at too when I came as a participant. If you watch Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian, be sure to pay attention to the beach the kids land in after the subway becomes a portal, that is Cathedral Cove...a beautiful place. More jumping pictures and many a silhouette picture in the sunset came about after that. I could have laid on that beach or in the cove all day. Unfortunately we had to go as we were late so we could get back at a some what reasonable hour.

Cathedral Cove...just one side of it, beautiful

The following day was huge; we worked with the local community of Tauranga and helped to plant over 6000 trees in less than an hour combined. We finished ~4200 plants in 20 minutes, and another ~2800 in 15 minutes. We hlepd unload the trees from trucks and crates and carried them to the area where the holes were pre-dug (which saves a lot of time). This was the largest wetland restoration project in NZ, the Southern Hemisphere and possibly the world!!!!!! It was great to see how many people showed up to help plant; there were families with their children, Sea Scouts (their Boy Scouts), volunteers and even people passing by. This was a great example of Community Development at work. I hope we can see more of this atmosphere and mind set happening at home and across the globe. Some of us participated in a gum boot throwing competition afterwards, good times even though we had two ISV teams and didn't win. There were some pretty hilarious moments, especially when one of our participants threw his backwards :)

Holes dug before we planted 6000+ trees!!!

After less than an hour we'd finished planting!!!

The next day consisted of what many considered the toughest day of work yet. We went into the Kai Mai ranges and worked on building/maintaining a track. My group started at the front and helped to level some dirt from a tiny slope to throw onto the track and also to make sure people stayed away from the barbed wire fence on the left side while walking. I split the group up into people with loppers, who'd cut away the vegetation then stack it against the fence to create a small buffer and then we had people with spades taking dirt off the slope and making it a 45 degree angle to make sure it did not erode quickly, the last part was probably the most important and that was raking the dirt to level the track. We finished fairly quickly so some of the participants followed pieces of paper laid out by our host organization guide and cut their way through the bush to find a trail that was being build to take the place of the old one. It was crazy to think there was nothing there at first and then out of no where we created a new trail.

Kai Mai Track before we got to work

We also worked with DOC that day and one of the DOC workers used the chain saw and cut away large branches and dead trees (trail dangers b/c they can fall on people when it rains); we helped clear the trail of all this debris after he was done. It started to rain pretty hard but we got our work done and then it was back to the lodge.

Kai Mai Track after Group B finished, booyah

The next day was really fun for the participants b/c they got to go to a school (Orapai Primary School) and work with primary school students. They got to teach them about where they were from, why they were in NZ, and the importance of helping protect and preserve the environment. The primary school students got to choose the ISV participants they wanted to pair up with, it was really a funny thing to watch; one small boy walked into the crowd of North Americans and looked up all of a sudden and said "Oye!"He just poked our tallest guy, Chris and effectively had chosen him haha. They ended up talking for a bit introducing each other and then we went back to TECT Park to plant ~220 trees in about 30 minutes. Even though it was raining the kids loved it.

ISV Participants and Primary School Students chatting away

On our return for lunch at the school their parents had brought us finger foods and little appetizers, it was a mini buffet (the one item per person rule didn't work out). After that we split up into our groups and did rotations. My group first taught the students about what we were doing, why it was important to plant trees and also introduced where in the world they came from. One kid asked a really funny question, "Do you have balloons to farm the pop corn you grow in Indiana?" Two of the participants were really clever and came up with a fun/interactive game to teach the kids about planting trees and how they help prevent erosion, the kids loved it and it was a easy way to show them what we were doing. After that we played an extreme game of 4 square called 16 square (4 square x 4, yeah that's pretty much what it is); then we played some board games before departing the school for the lodge.

That night I ended up in a kiwi eating competition with Rob and a few participants, it was pretty funny. I tied Rob with 16 then we had a sudden death competition where we couldn't use our hands to eat a kiwi, he got a head start on me actually so he won but we'll have a rematch ;). That was also the night I reluctantly gave in and had my hair curled hahahaha

Following that entertaining night we departed for the Marae the next day. We all ended up sleepign in the same place, the "sleeping house," yes all 46 of us in one room but don't you get that wrong idea. The participants took a quiz to see how much they had learned in the last 2 weeks, it was pretty surprising in many ways, they had no idea what the prizes were for top 3 scores. My group got the top two scores, Chris got first (and a Tiki Taane CD everyone wanted and also tim tams and chocolate), 2nd place got a beanie with tim tams/chocolate, third got chocolate/tim tams. We also got to have a traditional Maori feast that night called a hangi, deeeelicious, enough said.
Hangi Plate # 1

Hangi Plate # 2

After dinner we got to see the people of the Marae perform their traditional songs and dances for us while also teaching the guys in the group a version of the haka, pretty funny. In return we had some performances of our own, including a juggling act, one participant even brought his devil sticks with him and did a sweet routine, some songs, I helped with a jack-in-the-box skit, and finally two of our participants, one of them Chris (he's everywhere isn't he?) did a performance of 'I can show you the world' from Aladdin, it was really really good (yes I sang along).
Traditional Poi Performance

That last day we said our thanks to Harold and Auntie at the Marae, Harold even took the time to bless their bone carved pendants they made in Coromandel, then we took off for Avalon. I had the pleasure of working here as a participant and it was a great experience. It sa place where people with disabilities can come and work on projects without any hassle. I think it was a very rewarding experience for the participants and eye opening at the same time. It was great to see what people can do if given the opportunity no matter their disability or hinderances. If society did not look down or away then they'd see they can do all the same things physically/mentally fit and healthy people can do too.I had the opportunity to see and catch up with two people I met here 3 years ago, Mitch and Dave, it was great to see they were doing well and we just talked about what had happened in the last few years. We potted over 1000 plants that day which will be used the following year, when they grow, for the next ISV group to plant.

Dave and I at Avalon after the Haka

When we left Avalon they performed a haka for usand it was great to see. I got a few of their mailing addresses so I could send it to people I came on the trip with who wanted to get in touch with them. After having our last discussion on Eco-tourism, responsibile tourism and recapping all we did the last two weeks I thanked my group for their time and good attitudes. I reiterated that they could do a lot in their home countries and universities as far as volunteering and doing things like we did here in NZ and told them to look for those things that they are passionate about. After cleaning the lodge some of us tried to get some sleep (4am wake ups are never fun).

Some of the awesome participants in Group B

We got to Auckland Airport at 8am and we had the participants check in for their flight to Queenstown for the beginning of their adventure tour before saying our farewells (even though I'd see a few of them in a week). After waving to them in that last movie scene type atmosphere I ran into my other group who was finishing their Adventure Tour (some were off to Fiji for a few days); they looked tired but said it was a blast. They took my advice on activities to do and places to go and said thank you for the recommendations. After seeing them off and wishing them well in their futures I was off to explore NZ on my own for two weeks.

Peace out Plate # 2

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!

Checking out some Rapids and Falls in the Kai Mais

Apologies for the lack of updates, you'll just have to get use to that ;)

So from the last update, I think I left off on the Kiwi experience, something my group and I will never forget.

Keeping Track of the Waterfalls?

After our first part of the first project we had 2 days off in Auckland

That weekend I got to enjoy a little of the city of Auckland by exploring their botanical gardens, parks and also visiting the Auckland Museum with two of the participants. There was an art class out at the gardens and we got to see many beautiful plants within the green houses. Some included the carniverous plants species such as the pitcher plant (check them out, there must be videos on you tube or somewhere else online. So long as it's David Atenbrough then you know you got a quality nature video). We got to see many exhibits on the Pacific/Polynesian Islands, their different cultures and also we got see something I did not expect to see...the ice axe that Sir Edmund Hillary used to climb a top the peak of Mt. Everest. Just a quick recap, he was the first man to scale Mt. Everest and is known for the Hillary Step at the top of the mountain. He is also famously known for climbing most of the highest peaks in the World and also becoming the first man to drive across the South Pole! There was a 9 minute video about Sir Edmund Hillary and it was truly inspiring. The late Sir Edmund Hillary (left); his legendary Ice Axe! (Center)

The musuem is top notch and we were lucky enough to get through all of it. It was very emotional going through the World War I-II, Maori Land Wars and Holocaust exhibits. A memorial is set up in the museum for those who gave their lives in WWI-II and the other wars NZ sent soldiers to. We were so caught up with everything we did not realize the time and we ended up being one of the last 3 people in the museum so we ran down the stairs and got our stuff rom the locker room.

MOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big Bird, where you at?

On the next day of our weekend I decided to take a trip to Rangitoto Island with the group. This is a volcanic island that was created around 500 years ago after a large eruption off the coast of Auckland Harbor. We took a ferry over and got to see just how big the island was, quite fascinating to think one eruption created the island; even more fascinating was the plant life that had grown on it. All around was lava rock, hard, sharp and seemingly inpenetratable from plant roots, but surprisingly it is rich with nutrients so plants have adapated to it quite well. We decided to hike to the summit, quite a nice hike given the scenery got better and better as we ascended. The lava rocks were all beautiful in their own way as well, it was unreal to me, thinking we were standing on a volcano that created such a unique environment.

Rangitoto Crater from look out

When we got to the top we saw a large crater that had formed after the eruption. It was beautiful in a very unique way; vegetation had covered it entirely so it was an unusual site. I half expected a dinosaur to run out of it. After a few pictures there we went to the top and got an amazing view of Auckland, the surrounding Islands and also the Pacific. Pictures do not do it justice. We had lunch up top and got to walk around some old WWII look outs and bunkers; we then headed around the crater walk and back down to the junction to the lava caves.

View of Davenport and surrounding area of Auckland

LAVA CAVES, who would have thought?! This was the most fun we had the entire day. At first it was only Peter (a participant) and I who went exploring in one because I was the only one with a head lamp. We had no idea at first we were standing on top of a cave but there was a small crevice we saw that we could squeeze through that headed underground so of course we both said let's go! When we got down the crevice we noticed that the cave kept going so we started crawling and walking through it. It was really an amazing experience because we were walking through old lava flows, that's what made the caves. We got through the first one after squeezing out of a tiny gap and then went back to tell the others to do the same, though I had to give them my head lamp.

Soon after the first one we entered 3 more, one was wide enough for us to all walk through while the last one we went through had two routes, one too dangerous to go through while the other I explored myself first (which you shouldn't do when you go caving, but I couldn't help it). About 4-5 participants decided to go through with me on my second time through after I made sure it was safe. Everyone had fun, even though it got tight at points, I definitely got some bumps from the jagged rocks, big props to the ladies on the trip who did it in sandals!

After a long day I called it a night after arriving home, we had a project the very next day!


Monday Morning we headed off to Tawharnui Bird Sanctuary. This is a closed off peninsula that is dedicated to revitalizing the native and endemic bird life in the region. There are kiwi's there, kokako's, brown teal ducks, and many more birds. They have a predator proof fence (I'll try to get a pic up next time I have access to internet), which prevents possums, ferrets and stotes from getting in. But there is a small stretch on the beach that isn't protected so it's not fully enclosed.

We worked on making possum and rat traps the first day because the rain was really pouring down. This was actually an interesting job as it taught us another side of conservation, the pest management side. It's not a fun job to do but when you take a big picture approach it is one of the necessary ones. New Zealand is a world leader in pest management and conservation; although many people may disagree with the way they do control their pests they are goal oriented and have a passion to preserve what is left of their amazing flora and fauna.

Unfortunately that is all we did that first day due to inclement weather. We got to stay at the Vol-Hut or Volunteer House, it was actually pretty comfortable and had a nice little fire place. The weather cleared up a bit the next day and we helped the volunteers at the reserve shuttle plants from their nursery to the side of a hill for a planting day that was expected to have up to 100 volunteers! We moved about 3000 plants that day with the help of a tractor and also a quad bike with a trailer.

Relaxing on a hill side after some Plant Moving

After that we got to go explore a little and I, the CVNZ guide and one of the participants went to the Ecology Trail. On the way we walked across the beautiful North Shore of the Peninsula and got to explore some sea caves and walk across tide pools. Most of the participant stayed at the beach while the rest of us went to the Ecology Trail. Unfortunately along the way we saw a blue penguin that had washed up on the shore, it seems many of them do that but researchers are still trying to figure out why that is. When we got to the trail, the "bush" looked something similar to Lost World and other movies, I was thinking to myself the whole time that a dinosaur was going to rush past us through the vegetation.

On the hike we learned about a disease that the Kauri Trees were contracting via foreign soil left on people's boots who tramp through the area, it was quite a picture seeing such a large tree that had fallen over and was deteriorating before our eyes. On a lighter note it was good to learn more about the other native and endemic plants along the way and to see that Charlie, the participant who came with us, had learned a lot through the last week and could name many of the plants we saw. When we got toward the coast we saw a few fan tails (tiny birds with large tails that look like a traditional hand fan). Our guide told us the Maori Legend of the Fan Tail (it was quite interesting, and will be told some other time ;). These little birds are very friendly and will get really close to you as you walk through the bush because you rustle up the leaves and ground, which disturbs the insects and equates to food for the fan tails.

Once we got back the beach we discovered the other participants had left. On our drive back to the Vol-House we learned they had gone swimming in the ocean with most of their water proofs on, quite interesting. The rest of the night involved a discussion on Biodiversity of New Zealand and also of North America. It was a great discussion and I posed the question, "can you think of native species in your area in North America, what about endemic and what about invasives?" It really got everyone thinking and I hope they all return to their home countries and try to find out what is native, endemic and invasive in their area.

The next day we got to do some various activities. I took two participants and went into a gulley with pest traps. We had to carry them into very thick bush with some very slippery tracks. The volunteer with us was setting the traps with a hen egg to attract rats (which love bird eggs and are a large reason the bird population has been devestated in NZ) and then recording where he put them. It was quite fun actually learning about the birds and also how many pests they do catch. We also got to see the sheep dog "Bull" in action, "Patches" however was a little too old for it so he was at the back of the trailer.

Bungy (left), Bull (Center), Patches (Right)

As for the rest of the day we regrouped and as a group helped plant over 300 trees in 2 hours. The next day involved moving more plants and then we were off back to Auckland for the weekend. It was a great experience working with the bird sanctuary because we were on the front lines of the fight to preserve native species.

Checking out the Northern part of Tawharanui

I started getting a cold the last day so I took it really easy; After dropping the participants off (a sad experience in itself but also a proud one because they had learned and experienced so much) I headed off to my hotel for the night. Orange Juice, Tea, Water and Soup, take that cold. I met one of my fellow Project Leaders for the Next Project, he's a local Kiwi. We had a chat the night before we had to go to the airport and I got some of my paperwork done before falling asleep. The next morning we picked up the ISV Participants from the flight from LA, it was fun picking them out from the arrivals, they all fit the description of student traveler. From there we were off to the YHA in Tauranga for the first two nights because it was the Queens Birthday Weekend so it was the last holiday for a while. The lodge we were supposed to stay at in the bush had been booked out so we had to go to the YHA. Unfortunately I had to take a majority of my group to another backpackers in the heart of the city because we completely took over the YHA so there was no more room for some of the student participants. I'm going to stop here because I have 2 weeks of stuff to update you all on and this seems like a decent entry since it's been a while since my last one.

Hope you are all well, thanks for reading and following along,

Cheers,
Tyler

P.S. no one's ever on skype when I'm on haha, need more sn's.

T'da