Ruapehu

Today (5/20/09) was absolutely incredible!!! We went on a hike that took around 5 hours total, and it brought us up to the “lower limit” of the mountain.  Here, we were only to a foothill at the base of the mountain, but the scenery was gorgeous.  Let’s start at the beginning… the hike started with the entire group taking a 2 hour walk to some waterfalls.  The water here was flowing in place of old lava flows from when the volcano had erupted years ago.  This portion of the walk took us quite a bit longer than expected since so many of us wanted to stop and photograph the plants, ferns, mushrooms, lichen, and other various organisms along the way. It had snowed the night before, so much of the vegetation had a thin layer of frozen moisture covering it, but there was a point along the way that was dense with tall trees and thick shrubs covering the ground.  Here, there were tons of moss covered trees, and plants that displayed all the different shades of green.  The water from the fall flowed all through the forest, so the sounds of the rushing stream carried with us all along the hiking path.  Once we reached the waterfalls, the trail split.  Part of our group took the 45 minute walk back to the cabins we were staying at, while the other part took the estimated 2 hour hike (4 hour round trip) up to the “lower limit” where we would be able to see a lake at the base of the mountain.  I hiked along with the group to see the lake, which actually only took us 1.5 hours there, and about 1 hour back to the falls.  The trail turned into a muddy mess, with puddles, shrubs, and mud holes nearly every step of the way.  For me, this made it all the more interesting, and I was very grateful to have waterproof hiking boots on this trip.  The further we hiked, more snow and ice covered our path became, and the sun hid behind a layer of clouds.  A few people slipped and fell along the way, but thankfully no one was hurt.  Finally, we reached our destination, and the view was spectacular.  The water in the lake was a bluish green, and was surrounded by foothills with snow and ice which had trails of water running through it.  Here, we took a short break to eat the lunches we packed for ourselves earlier in the day, and of course to take some pictures.  We had to make it short, because once we stopped we all got really cold, really fast.  The walk back went much quicker, probably because it was mostly downhill.  It started snowing midway, which made me pick up my pace even more.  The last half hour of the walk felt like the longest part, but once we reached the cabins we all warmed up with hot showers and/or hot milo (pretty much like hot chocolate).  A perfect end to a perfect hike!

Parliament

Today the group toured Parliament and met with a wonderful Maori woman name Rahui Katene.  She discussed the organization of Parliament and the impact that the Maori has in Parliament.  It was extremely interesting that the Maori people were the first settlers on New Zealand land and have basically had everything taken from them.  We were able to parallel this with the Native Americans in the Us.  She informed us that until the late 1900's did the Maori people were allowed 4 seats in Parliament.  There is a constant struggle with this because the Maori people feel that they are equal to the Pakeh (non-Maori) and should have equal seating in Parliament. 

We also found it interesting that the Treaty of Waytungi involving the land settlement of the Maori was in two languages and the translation from English to Maori was completely different that the original Maori version.  This creates controversy because each party follows their understanding of the treaty.  We found it ironic that the international law acknowledges the treaty as favoring the Maori version but New Zealand does not follow this law.  

Speaking with one of the representative of the house, a native Maori, described to us that the Maori people feel that they are one with the earth and sky and do not put claim and ownership on their land and are even unfamiliar with this concept.  We found it interesting that in the US we have to put monetary value on everything we own.  They cherish the land and respect the land as if it is part of their person where as we treat it like it is our playground and continue to diminish the land.  Makes one reconsider the value of our surroundings....

More to come!

Stef, Shelly, and Laura

Augsburg College to New Zealand

Going to New Zealand was such a miracle for me. First, thanks to Andrea and Leah at the Center for Global Education- Augsburg College for their great support in helping to get my visitors' visa to New Zealand. Our amazing trip started from the MSP to LA airport for 3 hours and we stayed another 3 hours in LA. Finally, at 9pm we boarded the giant Boeing 747 - a two level aircraft - to Aukland, NZ. It is by far the biggest aircraft I have ever flown on. The trip lasted total of 19 hours with some the America’s and New Zealand’s finest movies and food along with world class flight attendants with their beautiful New Zealand Kiwi accent. It was dark outside so we didn't see anything except the huge sound of the aircraft picking up from the ground. There were some rattles alone the way but given the size of the plane it was not a concern. Overall, it was a smooth flight. When we landed in Aukland, I could smell New Zealand’s greenness from the fresh air blown in from across the mighty ocean. Also, I could see greenness from the hybrid taxi cap driving on the left hand side of the street at the airport. But not only that, I could see the greenness at the immigration check point where everyone is required to go through bio-security laboratory and where shoes are checked for any dry soil that has potential of transporting invasive species. Lastly, the greenness of the city of Aukland could be seen from the clear blue sky at 5:00 a.m. in the morning. In Wellington, we got the feel of New Zealand when we visited the Matiu/Somes island, the oldest in Wellington. It is home to some of the native species here in New Zealand.
People are quite friendly and welcoming to visitors. One could sense that they care a whole lot about the sustainability of their country with the necessary protective actions being taken.

photo from Richmond

Taken downtown Wellington.

Different place and a different feel

It feels completely different and I could tell that i'm in a different place. One of the biggest difference is the time zone. We usually joke that May 13th never existed, since we left Los Angeles on May 12th and next day was the 14th in New Zealand....hehehe...

(posted by Brian on behalf of Richmond)

Friday, May 15th, we visited with a lovely lady named Cath Wallace for our first formal lecture setting. Cath has been an advocate for environmental issues for most of her time on this Earth now, and her stories and lecture was quite humbling. I realized how ignorant and nieve I truly was in the struggles that New Zealand faces currently, as well as in the near future. I do not believe that any books that I could have read would have prepared me for the intricate details of New Zealands issues as elloquently as Cath reiterated them.

Our second meeting was with Herb Christopher, a senior advisor for the New Zealand DoC or Department of Conservation. Obvioiusly a very motivated and inspired gentleman, Herb again addressed some of the issues that Cath spoke of, but seemed to be sticking more to solutions rather than problems. I respected that. I can tell from both of their lectures that a task of this sorts is quite daunting, but every little step in the right direction is a reward that can not be measured in Eearthly terms.

Most of the topics covered pushed the spectrum of Environmental Politics, a subject that I truley have no interest in. I become quite frustrated when this topic arrises because of the apparent issues and the seeming lack of will to confront theses by political bodies. It really puts in perspective what one who chooses this life is up against. I have the upmost repsect for any folk that have the determination to dedicate their life to this.

All my thoughts on that for now, cheers!

Matiu/Somes Island

Laura and Stef here from the Windy city of Wellington.

Yesterday we decided to travel to the Matiu/Somes Island.  An island located about 15 minutes off the Wellington harbor.  When we first got to the island we were briefed about the history and natural ecosystem of the island.  Placed in to a small shed where we had to remain and were informed of the invasive species and the threat they pose to the natural habitat we were instructed to check our belongings and selves for seeds, dirts, ants, and another foreign objects on our person. 

The history of the island was incredible to learn about.  We discovered that the island was first inhabited by Maori people but was eventually taken over and used as a place of Quarantine from the 1870's-1920.  We had the opportunity to visit a cemetery containing the bodies of some of the people who had lost their lives on the island, mainly due to illness.  A beautiful monument stands in their name.

  In the beginning of the 1880's and for a hundred years, Somes Island served as an animal quarantine station.  One of the most high-tech quarantines of it's time the island inhabited dogs, cattle, sheep, red deer, llama, and other livestock from all over the world.  

The island also had a part during the world wars playing a large role in defense and security.  It was a camp for enemy alien internees who posed a threat.  We were able to sta innd to the five concrete structures that remained.  In 1942 they created gun emplacements but were never actually used. 

Walking around the trails of the island we came across many unique animals and plants native to the island.  Some of these included the red-crowned parakeet, the korora (the world's smallest penguin), the weta (which is similar to a cricket the size of your hand), and 8 species of reptiles found only in New Zealand. One of these reptiles was named the tuatara whose closest relative is a dinosaur. 

Our first day in the Southern Hemisphere was a success!  Dinner at Fisherman's Table and then most were off to bed to get rid of the jet lag. More to come, stay tuned!

**Pics of Somes Island to come but if you want to check out where we were you can go to their website www. doc.govt.nz