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