Whānau (pronounced ‘Fano’ and means Family in Maori), friends, and others,
I made it to New Zealand! During our first field trip (a total of 13 days), our team (25 students + additional staff + kiddos) bonded tremendously while exploring the wonders of the North Island. We visited Warkworth, Paihia, Waitomo, Taupo, and Ohakune. In three words, I would describe our first field trip as enriching, challenging, and fun. I have lost count of the number of first time experiences that I’ve had so far.
Our days mostly consisted of traveling across the North Island, on our coach bus, with Michelle- an olympian, geologist, bus driver, our kiwi mum, and an amazing human being. Since this field trip was mostly travel-based, we learned many key concepts along the way. Although we stayed in various hostels, I’d say our bus was our stable home during our first field trip. But overall- WE DID SO MUCH ON THIS FIRST FIELD TRIP
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In a quick recap: we stayed on a boat called The Rock, went kayaking, visited some marine and land reserves, went snorkeling, admired mud pools and hot springs, hiked to the base of Mount Doom (featured in Lord of the Rings), saw some emerald lakes and lava tubes, went on a botany bicycling experience, went on a river jet where the driver did some sick 360’s, went canoeing- came in first (olympian status- jk), and of course collected arthropods!
To further elaborate, I learned how to collect arthropods using a pooter, a beat sheet, and a swifter. We looked under logs, collected leaf litter, shook some bushes, and inspected aerial spider webs. After collecting, we sorted through dirt piles and either pooted or used forceps to capture the arthropods as they ran off. I’m not a big fan of spiders but this experience has definitely been like spider therapy for me.
One of the most exciting things we did was sleep on a ship called “The Rock” where I’d wake up to a beautiful ocean view and vibrant sunrise. While on this boat I fished for the first time and caught a cute little fish! I also got to shoot a paintball gun- we all did. It was an introduction game where we’d introduce ourselves and aim at a toy duck for fun. But most importantly, during my stay on The Rock, I got the chance to go kayaking at night to see phosphorescent algae- definitely one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. They’re these algae that absorb light during the day and once interacted with at night, they glow. I simply touch the water and they shimmer until there is no more movement generated.
While exploring the wonderful ocean life, we also got the chance to go snorkeling! On the first day of snorkeling I struggled to get the hang of it- but got it all worked out. The second day of snorkeling was much more successful. Combining both days, I saw sea urchins, some schools of fish, snappers, leather jacket fish, and sting rays! I even tasted a sea urchin’s raw egg sac for the first time. It was bitter, slimy, and only a one time thing.
Talking about one time only adventures, I did the Tongariro Crossing and hiked a tremendous amount. While some went up to Mount Doom after the crossing, I journeyed through so many phases of nature trails. It was about 19.4km (12 miles) long and took about 9 hrs to complete (with breaks in between). But it was so worth it- I had an amazing view of New Zealands landscape, burned some calories, saw the gorgeous emerald lakes and volcano craters, saw some beautiful New Zealand native birds like the silver eye, and felt so accomplished.
After partaking in a ton of physical activity, we finally travelled to Wellington, New Zealand. Here, we are staying in our own personal singles, attending seminars, preparing projects, visiting museums and exploring the city life. Check out my next blog about things I’ve done in Wellington. Lastly, I will not be blogging weekly, but rather just monthly. Thanks for reading! Feel free to contact me by email at grodrigu94@gmail.com. xoxoxo