Day 7: Keep New Zealand Beautiful Bonus Activity

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Bonus Activity: On your blog, post a video or write a description of your week. What have you learned? What did you like about the trip? What didn’t you like? Was there anything that surprised you?

To earn full points for this activity, you must talk about what you learned, what you liked and what you liked about your great kiwi road trip.

My Description about this week of Learning:

Q1. What did I learn?

Through the past days, I have learnt a lot about New Zealand's History and about the things that make New Zealand our home. I also learnt about Shag point by using a poem to express how I felt and what I saw using my 5 senses. I was quite surprised when I found out that a 16-year-old sailed through the Pacific sea all by herself.

Q2. What I liked about the trip?

The thing I loved the most about the trip was when I went to Rangitoto. The reason why was because I have never been to Rangitoto, it was my first experience there, it was a place where I could be active. I also loved the Karekare beach. I loved it because I could feel soft smooth sand squish between my toes and because of the feeling of the warm sunny breeze.

Q3. What I disliked about the Trip?

The thing I disliked about the trip was when I was lost in the forest. I had no phone, no speaker's or anything to help me. I was very scared when I was being chased, realising it was the group and Curious Kiwi who was looking for me.

New Zealand is Beautiful ain't it. Let's keep it clean to keep it Beautiful. Love the Land.

Day 7: Keep New Zealand Beautiful Activity 2

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Activity 2: After you have finished up in Taupo, it is time to hop back in the car and head for Rotorua – a town where will have the chance for some much-needed rest and relaxation. In fact, you will visit the Tarawera Bush Pool – a geothermal hot pool that is located in the middle of a forest. The warm water in the pool comes from underneath the ground. After a few hours in the pool, you feel really relaxed.

On your blog, post a picture of yourself doing something relaxing. I find reading really relaxing.

Day 7: Keep New Zealand Beautiful Activity 1

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Activity 1: While in Taupo, you go for a walk around the lake and you notice pieces of rubbish floating in the water. You also notice that there is rubbish on the footpath. As you know, it is really important to put rubbish in the bin and keep New Zealand clean and beautiful for generations to come.

Instructions:

With that in mind, it is time you think about what you can do to keep New Zealand beautiful. Use your imagination and come up with three things that you could do to make your neighbourhood more beautiful. Post your list on your blog ☺

Day 6: Native Aotearoa Bonus Activity

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Bonus Activity: As part of the Matariki festival, there is a two-day Kapa Haka competition. The Haka is a traditional war dance that Maori performed before going into battle. The haka is now performed by children/adults in the community and by professional sporting teams, including our national rugby team, the ‘All Blacks.’  The All Blacks have performed various haka over the years. Watch the following three haka videos (1 – 3) and, on your blog, list the haka videos in order from best (#1) to worst (#3). There are no right or wrong answers ☺

#1. World Cup 2015 – All Blacks vs Argentina

#2. All Blacks vs South Africa 2016

#3. Rugby World Cup 2011- All Blacks vs France

Day 6: Aotearoa Activity 2

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Activity 2: After visiting Shag Point, you hop back in the van and drive all the way up the east coast of the south island until you reach the town of Picton. You get out of the van and onto the Interislander ferry. It travels back across the Cook Strait to Wellington. Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand and every winter the city hosts a huge Matariki festival to celebrate the Maori New Year. This year part of the festival is being held at Te Papa, a big museum in Wellington.

Instructions:

Read about the Matariki Festival at Te Papa.  There are so many different things to see and do at the festival this year. On your blog, tell us about three of the events. You can choose any three events that you wish.

Day 6: Native Aotearoa Activity 1

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

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…

Day 5: One step at a time Bonus Activity

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Bonus Activity: You and your tour group have enjoyed your day in the mountains but you’re ready for a change of scenery. You ask Curious Kiwi to take you to Central Otago, a region of the south island with lots of rolling hills and flat, brown grasslands. While in Central Otago, you decide to join the Otago Central Rail Trail – a 150 km long cycle trail. Curious Kiwi and I (Rachel) cycled the Rail Trail in April and we loved it!

On your blog, tell us whether you would like to cycle the Otago Rail Trail one day. Does it sound like fun? Why or why not?

What I think.....
I think I would like to cycle the Otago trail one day.
Reason why:
I just think that cycling in Otago trail sounds like fun, and also, I would want to explore the beautiful environment. I would want to race some people and just have a fun time outdoors.

Fun Facts:

• The Otago trail is 150,000m
• The construction of the Otago trail began in 1879 and reached Middlemarch in 1891. 16 years later the Otago trail was finished in 1907.
• The trail is used by 10,000-12,000 users per year as a conservative estimate (14,000 in other estimates) and up to 80,000 further (mostly local) users of part sections

Day 5: One step at a time Activity 2

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

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!

Instructions:

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 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: One step at a time Activity 1

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

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.

Instructions:

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...

Where the story left off....

To my surprise, I turned around to realise that the group and curious Kiwi is nowhere to be found. Feelings of anxiety began to fill my head as I walked through the unfamiliar forest. The only thing I could see was thousands of trees and mountains and a river nearby. Luckily it was sunny though so I can see. I soon started to scream out to them but the only reply I got was the eery sound of the wind. Chills soon started crawling up my spine as I heard a horrific scream. I suddenly started to run, on the corner of my eye, I saw a black figure which seemed to be following me. I then sprinted but it seemed like it was trying to catch me. I then bolted across the forest, I just looked at where I was going because I was too afraid to look back to see. I came to a halt, tired and exhausted, I ran behind a tree to take a rest. Now it was quiet. It was so silent that the only thing I could hear was the sounds of a cricket. In a distance, I could hear footsteps. It sounded like a whole army. Suddenly they stopped. I closed my eyes hoping they wouldn't find me. The person who was following me started walking towards my direction. I tucked into a ball closing my eyes thinking this was a dream. Then someone touched my shoulder. I slowly looked up, it was Curious Kiwi and the group. I sighed with relief. Finally I was safe again.

Day 4: Swimming with the Sharks Bonus Activity

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Bonus Activity: Hector’s dolphins are a very special native animal found only in New Zealand. They are the smallest dolphin in the world measuring 1.5 metres long and they are quite rare. Sadly, many Hector’s dolphins are killed every year when they get caught in large fishing nets and can’t escape. Some people have argued that fishermen shouldn’t be allowed to fish in Farewell Spit in order to protect the dolphins living there. What do you think? On your blog, tell us whether you think that fishing in Farewell Spit should be banned (stopped).

My Opinion:

I think that fishing at Farewell Spit should be banned because there aren't that many dolphins in the world left. I think we should just leave them alone because they could become extinct soon and also, what about the things that dolphins prey on?

Day 4: Swimming with the Sharks Activity 2

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

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].

Summary:

This movie was about a young girl who was born and raised in New Zealand. She comes from a long generation of great chiefs. Only males are allowed to go to chiefdom which is in a Maori tribe This ancient way it upset when the next chief dies at birth (stillborn). His twin sister Pai survives. At the age of 12, she joined with the help of her grandmother and the training with her uncle represent her rights.

My Rating from 1 to 5:

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

To be honest I would give this movie a 4 out of 5 because the story itself is really interesting. I would recommend this movie for anyone who is interested in whales, leadership, and Maori culture.

Day 4: Swimming with the Sharks Activity 1

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Activity 1: 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.

People surrounded the whales, splashing bucket-fulls of water. Everyone murmuring in the crowd and was taking photos of the poor whales. People tried to roll the whales back in the water but it felt like the whales weighed a tonne. The shore started going out which made it more risky for the whales. People even thought so crazy that they came up with getting a pool to put the whales in it. Other people started to dig a hole in the sand to make a mini pool, filling it up with water.

Day 3: Wild eyes Activity 2

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

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.

1. I think that it is right to kill all of the predators (Possums)

Reasons:

1. They are a threat to our forest's and to our native wildlife.

2. Possums eat about 21,000 tonnes of leaves and flowers in just one night. That’s a lot of forest disappearing while you sleep. 

3. Possums carry a disease called Bovine TB which they spread to cattle.

Day 3: Wild eyes Activity 1

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Activity 1: Curious Kiwi, a native New Zealand bird, is your tour guide for today. He is going to take you to visit the Otorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park where many of his aunties and uncles currently live. The bird park is a five-hour drive from Dargaville so you hit the road right after breakfast and arrive in Otorohanga at lunch time. As you walk through the birdhouse you learn about the work being done to conserve and protect the native birds of New Zealand. You decide to help out by ‘adopting’ a native animal. Visit the ‘Adopt a Critter page’ on the Otorohanga bird house website to choose one animal to adopt. On your blog, tell us the name of the animal that you chose and a little bit about them. What kind of animal are they? What do they eat? Where do they normally live? You can use Google to help you with your research.

What kind of animal I chose: The animal I chose was the red-crowned Kakariki or the red-crowned parakeet

My Reason: The reason I chose this animal was that it reminded me about a parrot. The shape of the bird and also the colours made me remind me about parrots. This bird has a plumage green around it's body and has a red pattern on its head.

             
Where do they live?
Red-crowned parakeets can live in a wide variety of habitats including dense temperate rainforests, coastal forests, scrubland, forest edges and open areas.

Day 2: New Zealand by land and sea Bonus Activity

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Bonus Activity: When you finish your interview with Laura, you decide to keep on interviewing people. For this activity, your task is to conduct a real interview with an actual member of your family. Please ask them to think about their five (5) favourite things to do in the out-of-doors. They can be things that they enjoy doing on land or in the water. Post the list of outdoor activities on your blog.

Answer's from the Interview:

1. Going to the beach

2. Playing rugby with my friends

3. Talking with my friends

4. Swimming at the pools

                                                             5. Family barbecues

Day 2: New Zealand by land and sea Activity 2

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Activity 2: As an island nation, New Zealand is completely surrounded by water. It is the perfect place for people who like to swim or to sail! While in Dargaville, recovering from your busy day of sightseeing, you notice a number sailboats going by. One of the boats is manned by a young German girl named Laura Dekker. At the age of fourteen she sailed around the world the entire world by herself. You can watch a short video clip about her adventures here: Laura Dekker sailing trip.   

Let’s imagine that you had the chance to interview Laura while in Dargaville. On your blog post five questions that you would ask her.

My 5 Questions I would ask Laura Dekker.

1. What inspired you to do solo sailing?

2. When was your first time you sailed?

3. How many places have you sailed to?

4. Where are you going to sail next?

5. Would you give up sailing?

Day 2: New Zealand by land and sea Activity 1

Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure New Zealand)

Activity 1: After a very busy day of sightseeing you and your group drive from Tane Mahuta to your hotel in Dargaville. When you arrive you decide to sit down and record your thoughts in your travel diary. Before you start writing, take a minute to read more about Rangitoto Island, Karekare beach and Tane Mahuta.  On your blog, tell us which of the three places you most enjoyed visiting and why.  

The three places I enjoyed visiting the most:

1. The first place I enjoyed visiting was the Rangitoto Island.

Reason: Rangitoto is by far, (well I think) the most beautiful island in Auckland. It has lots of incredible plants and bushes there and it is also the environment is very clean. I also love the feeling of the amazing, fresh clean breeze that comes gusting through my nostrils. The facts that when the crispy leaves that have fallen off of their home come whirling around my feet because of the air.

2. The second place I enjoyed visiting was the Karekare beach.

Reason: I just love the soft, squishing feeling that the sand gives me when it goes in between my skinny, small but long toes. feeling the cold but pleasant tenderness blow of the salty breeze on my face and hair. Hearing the ocean speak to me in the form of an angry beast splashing and crashing against the rocks. Just the way the sun comes shining down on my warm but fragile body was enough to make me want time to stop.

3. The last place I enjoyed visiting was the Tane Mahuta walk

Reason: I just enjoyed the feeling of the cold breeze touch my face and go into my nostrils, it was amazing and smelled amazing and fresh. I also loved looking and learning new things about the trees there. I learnt that Tane Mahuta means the 'Lord of the Forest'. The Kauri trees were HUGE, but the Tane Mahuta tree was the biggest and tallest. I felt like an ant standing beneath it. I felt really good when I sprayed beneath my shoes so that I don't take any types of diseases out of the forest or into the forest.