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. 

Day 1: 100% Pure New Zealand Bonus Activity

Day 1: Activity 3 - Winter Learning Journey (100% Pure Learning Journey)

Bonus Activity: Now it’s time to start your tour! Curious Kiwi decides to start by taking you on a short tour through downtown Auckland. You stop at the Sky Tower, the tallest building in all of New Zealand. When you look up, you see a huge New Zealand flag on the top of the tower. This flag was created back in 1902. That makes the New Zealand flag 115 years old!

Last year, the Prime Minister of New Zealand suggested that we should replace the flag with a new, updated design. He invited everyone in New Zealand to come up with their own flag design and submit it.

For this activity, it is your turn to design a new flag. Use any drawing programme that you wish. I would recommend the Flag Designer website. It allows you to create a flag in three easy steps. When you are done, take a screenshot of your flag and post it on your blog.

To earn full points you must describe the flag, in words, below the picture. Please tell us what is on the flag and what inspired your design.   

The flag looked really ragged with a green cross as it's background and red and yellow square colours with one Giant red bird. On the flag, there is a pattern of red and yellow on it and a green cross and one giant eagle covering the centre. The thing that inspired me to create this flag was the American bald eagle on the Great Seal which is why the eagle is there. The bird represents freedom like when birds soar across the sky they are free.