Bone Carving - Nelson and Abel Tasman Weekend

When we were trying to figure out what to do on our last day in Nelson, Brittany stumbled across this website for this guy who teaches bone carving classes where you get to make your own jewelry. We decided to go for it and on Sunday morning, that's what we did.

Working out of his home, our instructor Stephen is an immigrant from Germany who fell in love with both the medium of bone and Maori culture. He walked us through the entire process of making our necklaces, which took about 5 hours.

We began with sketches. Some of us were better at drawing our designs than others, but everyone at least had a vision for what we wanted to do. We then had to transfer our original sketch onto a piece of bone. Then the process of cutting, smoothing, sanding, and polishing all happened multiple times until you have a beautiful piece of jewelry. Our designs were simple enough so that we did at least 80% of the work ourselves, with Stephan helping us start a particular process and then having us finish it. I never thought I could make something so beautiful that I'm proud and excited to wear everyday. It was also cool to see how different everyone's designs were and how they each included a bit of Maori culture (except David's. Maori didn't really have a use for the treble clef).

Abel Tasman Kayaking - Nelson and Abel Tasman Weekend

After getting a great night's sleep at the best hostel in the history of hostels (seriously if you're ever in Nelson, check out the Prince Albert. It's wonderful), we headed out bright and early to do some kayaking over in Abel Tasman.

After initially getting extremely confused about which of the 20 buildings in the tiny little town was the one we were supposed to be in, we eventually got ourselves to our briefing where we were given a crash course in kayaking.

While the initial instruction was great, Gabe and I were easily still the slowest kayakers in our group. However, we probably also had the most fun since we sang and told bad jokes the whole time. We also almost managed to capsize our boat when we were trying to leave the beach after our hour long break for lunch.

Throughout the entire kayaking excursion, we cruised around to the north side of Adele Island in hopes of catching a glimpse of seals. We were able to see a few, but the tide was so high and the waves were just rough enough to where we couldn't stay in that area of the water for very long, let alone attempt to get on the beach. We also kayaked around Fisherman's Island, the much smaller island just to the south of Adele. We were told we might be able to see penguins there, but we weren't that lucky. We were able to see a seal feeding out in the open water though which was pretty fun to watch.

Also, at lunch I was able to pick up a Jellyfish! We think it was dead, but regardless the Jellyfish in this area don't sting. The texture kind of freaked me out (seriously it feels like I imagine a breast implant would feel like), but I'm glad that I can officially say I've held a one. 

Overall, this was a very athletic weekend so I was definitely glad to know that the next day would involve lots of sitting and not doing much exercise.

Queen Charlotte Track - Nelson and Abel Tasman Weekend

As our first South Island activity, we decided to go for a hike on the Queen Charlotte Track, which runs along the edge of the Queen Charlotte Sound. At first I was a bit disappointed since a lot of the views were hidden by lots of trees along the mountain-side. However when the trees had nice breaks and we had good viewing areas, the Sound was BEAUTIFUL. What most people will never understand unless they see it in person is that the water really is that clear and blue and gorgeous. Everything here is spectacularly green. It's really like nothing I had ever seen before.

There is a privately owned part of the track that you have to pay to go on, but we weren't able to make it up that far without having to walk back in the dark. Since David was sick with a bit of a fever, we decided to play it safe and head back without going as far as we originally intended. The entire hike was still probably around 10-12 miles and completely worth going to see. While I'm still not the most outdoorsy person, this trip is definitely turning me into someone who wants to seek out these kind of opportunities more.

This last picture just made us all laugh because it sums up New Zealand in one single picture- mountains, water, and sheep. Love it.

Journey to the South Island - Nelson and Abel Tasman Weekend

This weekend began with a lovely morning ferry ride from Wellington to Picton. Since it's a three hour ride and we had to be there an hour before the boat actually left at 8:30am, we all basically took turns napping while the a few people kept an eye on our belongings. The ride itself wasn't terribly exciting, but the views from the top deck, especially once we got closer to Picton and started seeing more land, were absolutely beautiful. If you ever have the chance to take that ferry ride, I think it's worth the $54 to see the views and have a much more relaxed means of travel than an airplane. We also were able to get things like ice cream (part of my balanced breakfast for the day).

Here are a few of our pictures from the viewing deck (can you tell we like taking pictures?). There are some cute ones, us doing the Titanic move, etc.

Once we got off the boat and picked up our rental car, we began our journey up to Queen Charlotte Sound. Since the rental car was in my name... you guessed it- I drove a minivan on the left side of the road! Now what most people don't realize, is that New Zealand roads are very rarely straight. On this particular drive, it was an hour straight of serpentining roads on the edge of mountains. Honestly, it wouldn't have been a problem if the car wasn't so much bigger than I'm used to, but since it was a minivan we just had Megan drive for the rest of the weekend. This picture is proof that I really did drive on the left- woohoo!

Exploring Lake Taupo- Taupo Weekend

While my fellow Biology 2100'ers and I didn't have much free time this weekend, we made the most of what we had. The very first night we were there, we walked into town as opposed to taking a cab- enjoying the beautiful views of the lake and getting a laugh watching Alec cringe in the cold (the Bahamas don't prepare you well for Lake Taupo on a chilly, windy day). The town itself isn't very big- only about 5 blocks by 5 blocks- and in true New Zealand fashion, all of the businesses except restaurants and bars were closed after 5pm.

Saturday was when we had the bulk of our free time here. With the idea of saving some money for our Queenstown weekend, many of us made a day out of enjoying the natural hot springs. The water is heated geothermally and flows into the Waikato River. We took a cab over to one of the more popular spots and spent a few hours just hanging out and enjoying the warm water. Until you've experienced a hot spring, you will not understand how warm that water is. I figured it would just be heated a bit- like a heated pool- but it was definitely a lot hotter than a hot tub unless you were closer to the cold river water. I've never experienced anything like that, but everyone definitely should in their lifetime. And just because it's what we were told, here is my advice to you: "Don't let the hot water into your mouth because you will either get the runs... or DIE." Needless to say, I avoided getting water in my mouth and I was just fine.

If I could go back, I think I would go bungee jumping, since many people were able to go where it's the highest water-touch bungee jump in the world which is definitely something I would like to do. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend where I got to know many more people on this trip, and that's something that I will always be able to appreciate.

The Twelve Mile Hike - Taupo Weekend

On Friday morning, we began a twelve mile hike between Mount Ngauruhoe (aka "Mount Doom" for you Lord of the Rings fans) and Mount Ruapehu, both of which are active stratovolcanos in the Taupo region. Normally, the group hikes the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, but since Mount Tongariro has had two eruptions in the past 8 months or so and our professors wanted us all to come back alive and unscathed from falling pyroclastic material, we did this one instead. Since I'm in the Biology 2100 class, I was with the group that did the hike at a slower pace so that we could take notes and make drawings in our "field journals".

The day began with us gathering outside of the Tongariro National Park welcome center, where many of us quickly realized that it was probably going to be a cold day. Some of my classmates ran inside to buy possum fur gloves and warm beanies before we headed out for a long and tiring, but definitely worthwhile, hike. 

Along the way, we passed some beautiful scenery, including a twenty meter high waterfall where we stopped for a bit to take pictures. At some point, it hailed for a few minutes. Alec, who grew up in the Bahamas, had never seen hail before so it was pretty funny to see his reaction to it. We hiked about three hours until we stopped for lunch. It was during that stop that Stephanie discovered that her spare pair of socks made great gloves, and when a few of us took an "adventure pee" in the tall grass. When else can you pee while viewing two amazing volcanoes in the middle of New Zealand, right?

The best views of the hike came when we had to climb a steep ridge that lies between the two volcanoes. On either side of the ridge, you can also see the Upper and Lower Tama Lakes. The path was very steep and the footing was very loose, so I can't even count how many times I almost slipped and slid down the path on my bottom. Once we made it to the top, there was an incredible amount of wind- so much so that I was legitimately worried about being knocked on my feet and sliding off the top of the ridge. While some of my friends jumped onto taller rocks for crazy photos, I took most of mine holding onto people to help anchor me down.

There was one rock that jutted out from the edge of the mountain that had a beautiful view of Mount Ruapehu in the background. It was quite the photo-op spot, so everyone was getting pictures there. I didn't really want to climb up there (that was a lot of wind to combine with a long fall if you stepped wrong), but Nick told me that he would go up with me and make sure I was fine. Long story short, I almost pushed Nick off of the mountain (sorry!), but we did get a great picture. I have to say though, that is something that I never need to do again. It was frightening. 

The hike back to the welcome center was much easier than the first half. We were able to snag some pictures from the top of the big waterfall this time and really sit down and enjoy the view. Overall, even though I will probably never consider myself a "hiking person", I am so glad that I had this experience. It was exhausting, but not nearly as much as I expected it to be. Being able to see the volcanoes from right in between them was something that I will never forget. This country has given me so much more of an appreciation for nature than I ever imagined it could. I really hope that one day I can come back and hike the famous Tongariro crossing, but maybe when it's not quite as active (although it would make for a great story).

Lake Taupo Bio 2100 Field Trips- Taupo Weekend

This past weekend, we took a program-wide field trip up to Lake Taupo. Since I’m taking Biology 2100, we had a lot more mandatory activities that we had to participate in. In addition to the 12 mile hike, we did lots of sketches of rock cuts, visited a Geothermal energy plant, visited “Craters of the Moon” (a Geothermal park), and Huka Falls. 

The Geothermal energy plant was so much larger than I expected it to be. This region has a lot of heat beneath the surface from volcanic activity that it can provide most of the power for the Taupo region just by being harvested the correct way. It's just not a resource you get to use in most parts of the United States.

Of the trips that just my class went on, I definitely enjoyed Craters of the Moon the most. I’ve never seen steam just float out of the ground like that. If I hadn’t known what they were and been able to see them up close, I probably would have just thought the ground was on fire. There were fumaroles, craters, and mudpools all emitting hot steam from below the surface of the Earth. The mudpool was probably the coolest part because I’ve never seen anything boil except on a stove. When we had about 5 minutes left to get back to the bus, Brittany and I decided to sprint up the path that led to the lookout over the whole park. The loop is supposed to take about 20 minutes, but we managed to do the whole trail in less than 10 and enjoy the view for about 30 seconds before power-walking back down the hill again. It was definitely worth it, but I wish I had had more time to enjoy it.

 

If I was to go back and explore the Taupo area more, I definitely would go back to Huka falls. It was just a really nice, really pretty area with a river and a waterfall. Unfortunately, since some lucky people on our trip had appoints to be picked up for skydiving, we could only stay for about 20 minutes.

Trailer Park Beach video

Hey guys!

I forgot that I took this video at the beach. It does a way better job than the pictures at showing what this place looks like.

"Trailer Park Beach" - Waitomo Travel Weekend

As we were driving up to Waitomo on Friday, we stumbled across a gorgeous black sand beach tucked away next to what looked like a trailer park. It was the most beautiful beach any of us ever seen, partly because none of us had ever been to a black sand beach before. After spending a few minutes wiggling our toes in the superfine, shimmering sand and feeling how refreshing the water was, we vowed to come back on Sunday and stay for an hour or two.

We kept our promise to ourselves and returned to “Trailer Park Beach” on our way home. A few of us went swimming in the huge Pacific Ocean waves. As an Atlantic coast swimmer, it was very much a different experience than what I normally see. There were a few people fishing on the beach as well, and we had to be careful not to get caught in their fishing line. After talking to them, we found out that they use this thing on the end of their line that propels it out 2km so that they can catch more fish. While we were there, they actually caught a baby shark and let us take pictures with it.

When it was time for us to get back on the road, we were all bummed about having to leave a place we all thought was so beautiful. I’m sure if any of us ever have the chance, we’ll come back to that beach. It was actually pretty easy to find- it’s right off of State Highway 3 before it veers towards the middle of the North Island. If you ever find yourself in that area, go looking for it. You won’t be disappointed.

The Shire - Waitomo Travel Weekend

 Sunday was reserved for visiting the famous Hobbiton movie set, aka “The Shire”. Never having read or seen The Hobbit or any part of the Lord of the Rings series, I was a little skeptical about whether or not the $75 tour would really be worth going on. Eventually, I decided to tag along with the rest of my group, many of whom were big fans.

The tour began with an explanation of how they picked the site to begin with and some of the family history. This farm was chosen because it was the only spot that Peter Jackson found that had a lake, a “party tree”, and rolling hills that looked like England. From that, they created a beautiful set complete with hobbit holes, impeccable gardens, and a pub.

Throughout the tour, our guide stopped us many times to ask trivia questions. If you got one right, you got to keep a leaf from the only fake plant on the property- a tree at the very top of the hill whose leaves were hand painted by ten University students when Jackson decided they had faded too much from the sun between film sessions. A few people in our group were able to win them.

In addition to taking an excessive amount of pictures, we were able to go inside one of the Hobbit holes, which were nothing more on the inside than a few square meters of hollowed hill with a gravel floor. When we gathered around the party tree, we learned the height requirements for casting the Hobbits and learned that Brittany could have been in the movie because she was short enough. They also took us inside the iconic "Green Dragon Pub" and let us pick from five different drink options, the best of which was a non-alcoholic ginger beer.

If you’re ever in that area of New Zealand, I would definitely recommend going to the Shire whether you’re a fan or not. It’s not your typical movie set and was definitely a sight to see. If nothing else, you can make your friends who are fans very jealous with the awesome pictures.

Waitomo Glow-worm Caves - Waitomo Travel Weekend

The Waitomo Glow-worm Caves were our adventure destination for Saturday. The tour began with our tour guides fitting us for wet suits, telling me “easy tiger, it’s a dangerous world out there” when I tripped, and then making us take ridiculous pictures before we climbed in a van much like Hertzie to head down to the caves.

The beginning of the Black Abyss tour that we did involves abseiling down 35 meters and apparently it’s one of the most vertical abseiling locations in the world. We had about ten minutes of a “how to abseil” lesson before we actual did it. As we lowered ourselves down one at a time, we each had to pass through the throat of the opening, where the walls come in to form a rather small hole (we were told “if you can fit in a wetsuit, you can fit through”).  The cave then opens up to a much wider room where we eventually landed and were unhooked by one of the guides. As we waited for the rest of the group to abseil down, we laid on the rocks and got our first few of the glow-worms that live in the cave.

The next big step was to zip line down to the next level of the cave. The guides think it’s fun to turn everyone’s headlights off and smack inner tubes against the river inside of the cave while you zip line. It makes this terribly loud sound like a gunshot, but it makes the glow-worms shine a little brighter.  They then had us all sit down and drink hot chocolate and eat these really sweet granola bars to get our body temperature up.

To start the “rafting” portion, we had to jump into the shallow cavewater with our inner tubes held against our butts. The water was SO COLD, even with a wetsuit. We floated through the cave a little bit, learned that “glow-worms” are actually “glow-maggots” who glow because instead of pooping, they burn off their waste as heat. Fun fact right?

The rest of the time, we mostly walked and waded through the cave. At one point we went down a little waterslide on our stomachs and then had a belly-flop contest. We came to another stopping point where we were given what tasted like hot tang and pieces of Hershey’s chocolate. They also told us that it would be a good time to take an “Adventure Pee” if we needed to go. The Canadian lady that was on our tour took them up on it, and looking back I kind of wish I had too. When else are you going to do that thirty-five meters underground?

For the last bit of the tour, we got to see the eel that lives in the cave (the only animal I saw besides the glow-worms) and climb two small waterfalls. The guides told us exactly where to put our feet to climb it, but I was still worried that I was going to slip or that I wouldn’t be able to reach the right foot or hand holds. Everyone in our group managed to climb them both without a problem, and that was basically the end of our caving experience. After we got back to the main site and stripped off our wet-suits, we chowed down on free bagels and tomato soup.

The whole time that I was in the cave, my headlight wasn’t really working. To get it to work, you had to wiggle the battery and flip the switch extra hard a few times. I could never get it working. The one thing I kept thinking was “what did the original explorers of this cave do if their lights went out?” I can’t imagine being stuck in cave with no way to see. I have a lot more respect for people who venture into unexplored caves after this experience. I also think they probably have a few screws loose, but if it weren’t for those loose screws I would have had a much less eventful weekend.

First Hostel Experience- Waitomo Travel Weekend

Friday night marked my very first stay in a hostel. We were lucky enough to have enough girls to fill one room and have it to ourselves. It was actually pretty nice. Our room was colorful and had a window so we weren’t too hot throughout the night (the boys weren’t so lucky). We also had swipe cards to get in and out of our rooms, making it feel much more secure than I anticipated.

Something I didn’t expect were the co-ed bathrooms. Walking in to find girls aloe-ing each other’s sunburned butts one minute and coming back to a forty year-old man shaving his mustache the next just made the whole experience that much more interesting. You see all sorts of people when you stay in hostels.

The next morning we found a really cute café called Momento in the middle of the small town right near a statue of a women breastfeeding (I saw all sorts of things this weekend). We decided we weren’t going to skimp completely on good food, and I would up having one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. It was a modern version of a traditional “Bubble and Squeak”. If I could have it everyday for the rest of my time here, I would probably do it.

Horseback Riding - Waitomo Travel Weekend

On Friday night, our group of eleven went on a nighttime horseback ride at the Karamu horse track. We arrived at about 8pm while it was still light outside, and began hopping on our horses. Mine was a grey horse named Spirit, and she wasn’t really feeling the whole trail ride thing that day. I can’t really blame her though. If I was a horse and someone was trying to make me walk up and down giant hills for two hours, I would probably try to stop and eat grass whenever possible too.

There were only a few mishaps along the way. Gabe’s horse decided to take a head swing at Spirit while we were on the edge of the trail next to a very steep hill. There was a moment there where I thought me and my new horsey friend were going to tumble down the mountain like in a cartoon. Scott’s horse, Kiki, decided to take a fast, spinning turn at one point and he fell off. We discovered this when Kiki came trotting back up the path to where us stragglers were waiting without a sign of Scott. He was fine though- just a sore hip.  

The sun began setting around 45 minutes into our tour, and we quickly discovered that the guides weren’t exaggerating when they said we wouldn’t be able to see more than a few feet in front of us. I figured the highlight of the ride would be the section of the trail that was lit by glow worms (which I have to admit was pretty sweet), but they paled in comparison to the view of the night sky.

Having spent most of my life in the suburbs, and many years riding horses pretty far away from even those suburbs, I thought I had seen some pretty great views of stars. I still can’t believe the view we had from those rolling hills in the middle of nowhere. I think the best way to describe it is that it was the first time the sky had ever really looked three-dimensional to me. The surrounding area was so dark that you could just barely see the farthest stars that give the sky a slight glow to it. The closer stars really seemed to pop out in comparison. I almost wish I had tried to get a picture, but it wouldn’t have come close to doing justice to that view. It’s just something you have to witness for yourself.