Day 6, Activity 1

Let’s imagine that you were on the first waka to arrive at Shag Point. You had never been to New Zealand before and you had no idea what to expect. Write a poem describing how you would have felt when you arrived in New Zealand. Would you have been excited or scared? I would have felt pretty nervous, I reckon…

We came from afar

All I see are ngā kapua ma (white clouds)

What if the people are freaky

In this whenua kakariki (green earth)

Hey wait we are the only ones here

There really is no need to fear

A beautiful home we will make

Aotearoa is ours to take

*Thanks for the help Mum and Dad

Day 5, Activity 2

After the adventure at The Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve, you are pretty happy to get back into the shuttle van and continue with your road trip. Over the next few hours you travel up and over the Southern Alps, arriving in the city of Christchurch to eat lunch. You have a delicious meal at a café downtown and then hop back into the van to travel to Twizel, a small town at the base of Aoraki-Mt Cook. Mt Cook is the largest mountain in New Zealand. It is also the mountain where Sir Edmund Hillary trained for his climb up Mt Everest – the tallest mountain in the world. Sir Edmund Hillary is very famous because he was the first person to ever reach the top of Mt Everest!

Now it is your turn to learn about a famous New Zealander. Use Google to research one famous person from New Zealand and then create a DLO (Digital Learning Object) and post it on your blog. Be sure to include: 1. The name of the famous person, 2. Where they were born, 3. Why they are famous, and 4. Two other interesting facts about them.

Day 5, Activity 1

After a few hours in the car, you, your group and Curious Kiwi arrive at your first stop – The Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve. It is a beautiful, regional park located at the base of the Southern Alps. You and your group get out of the van and follow Curious Kiwi. He is going to lead you on a short walk through the park. As you start walking, you notice a really cool looking tree on the side of the trail and you stop to take a closer look. When you turn back, the group (and Curious Kiwi) is nowhere to be found. Eek! You are all alone in the middle of a strange forest.

For this activity write a short story (8-10 sentences) about what might happen next. Please be sure to include lots of details about what you might be feeling, seeing and doing after you realise that you are all alone in the forest...

No way!  It can’t be…

Hey guys, look at that tree over there, it looks just like Bruno Mars...only greener, and more wood-like.  Guys?  Hey guys?  

I turn back to see that no-one is behind me.  I can’t even hear any other voices, no footsteps.  Surely, I can’t have moved that far from the group.  I was just excited about this tree.  Actually, the more I look at it close up, it looks just like every other tree here.

My heart starts to beat a little faster, my eyes flit this way and that, hoping to catch a glimpse of Curious Kiwi’s hi-vis vest.  I am surrounded by the sounds of the bush.  I am starting to panic.  I hate being alone in the dark.  It feels cold here in the forest, I don’t like the idea of staying here in the dark forest, alone.  I begin to cry.  I don’t know what else to do, if I try to walk back the way I think I came, I could get more lost.

I say a little prayer hoping that someone will find me soon, I don’t want to be stuck here.  As soon as I finish my prayer, I begin to feel better.  I know that I am going to be fine.

Day 4, Activity 2

After a morning of learning about beached whales in Golden Bay, you and your group are driven to a nearby town, Nelson, to watch a special movie called ‘Whale rider.’ It is a famous movie about a young girl who was born and raised in New Zealand. Watch the following movie trailers for Whale Rider: Whale Rider trailer #1 and Whale Rider Trailer #2 and then write a summary of the movie on your blog. What is it about? Be sure to also give the movie a rating out of 5 based on the trailer [1 = bad movie, 2 = okay movie, 3 = pretty good, 4 = good movie, 5 = excellent movie].

http://www.incrementa.ca/leadership-succession-whale-rider/

Name of the Film: Whale Rider

Based on a book “The Whale Rider”, written by a famous New Zealand author, Witi Ihimaera.

Where is it set?

The movie is set in beautiful New Zealand, in Auckland and a place on the East Coast of New Zealand called Whangara.  Interesting fact: My grandfather lived here when he was a little boy, before moving to Gisborne.

What is the movie about?

This movie is about a girl named Paikea.  The name of an old Maori tupuna of hers, that arrived in Aotearoa on the back of a whale.  The name was handed down to firstborn boys only.  

Paikea’s naming causes disagreements in her family.  Her koro (grandfather) claims that because of Paikea, their family has experienced hardships and trials.  

In an attempt to make things right, Paikea’s koro tries to train up the other firstborn boys in the area.  Paikea is left out and is then taught the skills that all the boys are learning by another man, her uncle perhaps..

I think this movie teaches about the traditions of Maori, love and courage.

Who are the stars?

Keisha Castle Hughes, Cliff Curtis.  Witi Ihimaera was an Associate Producer

Rating:

[1 = bad movie, 2 = okay movie, 3 = pretty good, 4 = good movie, 5 = excellent movie].

I would rate this movie a 4=good movie.  

I think my family and I will try and watch this before the holidays finish.  Will keep you posted.

Day 4, Activity 1 Whale Rider

By the end of Day #3, you have seen a lot of the north island of New Zealand.  Hopefully you have enjoyed it and you’re excited for the next phase of your journey – the ferry trip across the Cook Strait from the bottom of the north island to the top of the south island. You will spend the next two days exploring the south island before you head back up to Auckland, via Wellington (the capital city of New Zealand).

When you arrive in the south island, Curious Kiwi rents a shuttle van and drives your group from Picton (the town where the ferry dropped you off) to a beautiful beach on the opposite side of the island. The beach area is called Golden Bay and, at one end of the bay, is a stunning area called Farewell Spit.

Farewell Spit has been in the news recently as a number of whales accidentally swam into the spit and became stuck on the beach. They were unable to swim back to the ocean because the water was too shallow. Many local people tried to save the ‘beached’ whales. Please follow this Farewell Spit link to learn more about what happened. On your blog, describe what the local people did to try and save the beached whales.

Photo: RNZ / Michael Crop

What did the locals do to save the beached whales

• The locals tried to keep the whales wet
• Cover them if they could with wet cloths/materials
• Keep the whale’s blowholes clear
• Freedom campers offered their towels, t-shirts and sarongs to drape over the whales.
• People used bins, water bottles, cooking pots, mixing bowls, almost anything they could find to fill with water to keep the whales wet.
• Locals/volunteers work until nightfall.

For a lot of the locals and those that volunteered, I imagine it would have been an emotional experience.  I would have liked to have been there to help as well.

Day 3, Bonus Activity

A really cool new website called Wild Eyes has recently been launched in New Zealand. It is a programme for students who want to complete fun activities (called ‘missions’), take pictures and post them on the Wild Eyes site. For this bonus activity, go to the Wild Eyes site and complete the ‘Giant Moa Discovery’ mission. To earn full points you must post a picture of your Moa on the Wild Eyes website and on your personal blog site. The Wild Eyes team and I can’t wait to see what you create!

You are not going to believe this...but I believe that the photo below is absolute proof that Moa are in fact alive and living in the Hawkes Bay area.  Napier to be exact.  I took this photo yesterday while staying in Napier.  

Believe it or not?!?

Day 3, Activity 2

After your great visit to the Otorohanga bird house it is time to hop back onto the bus and head towards the Hawke’s Bay – your resting place for the evening. Hawke’s Bay is a beautiful region of New Zealand. It is known for its wineries and gorgeous scenery. When you arrive in Napier, the largest city in the region, you go for a walk through Waitangi Regional Park and notice that many of the leaves on the native trees have been damaged. Curious Kiwi tells you that they were damaged by possums, non-native predators, from Australia. People in New Zealand are working hard to trap and kill these predators. Their goal is to remove all of the possums (and other predators) by 2050. Go to the ‘Predator Free 2050 website’ to read more about their work.

On your blog, tell us whether you agree that New Zealand should be predator free. In your opinion, is it right to kill all of the predators (eg. possums) or should we just leave them alone? On your blog tell us what you think and give us, at least, three reasons why you think this way.

In my opinion, I agree that New Zealand should be predator free.  Is it right to kill all of the predators or should we just leave them alone?

I feel that we do have a right to kill the predators because if they are left to continue to kill our native wildlife, they will be killing wildlife that are unique to Aotearoa.  Those creatures that make New Zealand, New Zealand.

Possum are only one of the many predators that are threatening our native creatures.  Possum should be killed for the following reasons

• Possum are able to breed much faster than those creatures that are native to NZ.  I read that a possum gives birth to 16-20 (often more) babies, only 12-13 days after mating. (The Opossum - Wildlife Rescue League www.wildliferescueleague.org/pdf/opossum6.pdf)
• Possum are eating the native creatures babies/eggs/food
• Possums carry a disease called bovine Tb (tuberculosis) which they spread to cattle.  We export meat, and other byproducts of cattle that help keep our country economy healthy
• We can use their fur for clothing, use the meat for our domestic pets food

In an ideal world, New Zealand would be predator free and our native wildlife would continue to live in peace.

Once you have finished your blog post, it is time to relax for the evening. You and your friends have a nice dinner and then head to bed. You are just about to fall asleep when you hear something moving around outside your hotel. It sounds like a large bird. Maybe it’s a Moa…

To learn more about the Moa bird go to the bonus activity for today!