Tuesday, July 5th: Hinewai

Hello again! I had to post this blog a day late due to lack of cell service or wifi. 

Our morning started off with an early drive to Hinewi Reserve. We took the half mile hike to where we were sleeping, and were greeted with 10 comfy bunks. 

                             A cool sign in Hinewai

                          Our bathroom accommodations

        Our awesome sleeping accommodations, thanks Hugh!

After dropping off our things, we began our hike. Dr. Hostetler said this would be a three hour hike, but it ended up taking five hours to complete. Granted, since he had last been in Hinewi, there was a really bad flooding incident last December (firsthand account by Hugh D. Wilson, Botanist and Caretaker of Hinewai) that created many dangerous slips. 

Posing at Hinewai before our hike

During our hike, we were greeted by waterfalls that were perfect places to fill up our water bottles. We also saw a giant totara tree that we made sure to hug. Shaking the trees to mimic the ancient Moa, we even attracted tomtit birds. The views of the ocean were amazing when we could see through breaks between the trees. 

                   Nico filling up his water at the waterfall 

                     Ryan shaking the tree to act like a Moa 

                

                      The view of the beach from our hike. 

At the end of our hike, after munching down on snacks from the Gatorwaka, we took another little walk to see the coast. Unfortunately, to get there we had to walk through a sheep farm, and with a sheep farm came plenty of sheep poop. Yet the destination was worth it. We collected rainbow New Zealand abalone, paua, shells and sat on the rocks. On the way back, we got to visit a Hinewai caretaker helper, Tricia, and her Kākāriki (“small green parrot”), which were extirpated from the area.  

  Sheep farm!! They were afraid of us which means no petting them :(

                     The beach view, so gorgeous. 

      

              

                                The kākāriki!!

Finally back at our lodging, while our lasagna was cooking, we were told many stories about Hinewai by Hugh, the caretaker of the 900+ Hectares of land. He told us of the history of the area and of his “hands-off” management practices. Afterwards, we ate, played some games, and looked at the stars. We could see the milky way and thousands of stars, it was incredible. 

                   Hugh telling us all his stories by the fire. 

                       The milky way late at night. 

See you tomorrow,

Maya 

The Most Exciting Drive

We are on our first away trip- off to the Banks Peninsula/Akaroa/Hinewai! This morning started out with a beautiful hour-long drive to Birdling Flat, full of vista views we made sure to stop at. 

Class at Hilltop view overlooking Akaroa Harbour

The vista views from the drive between Birdlings Flat and Akaroa!

 I was extremely cold from all the wind!! 

 

 Upon arriving at Birdling Flat, we were met by a beautiful rocky beach and rough crashing waves. Dr. Hostetler told us that we could possibly find agate on the beach, and the class took that as a challenge. We were all entertained for a long time searching for agate and collecting other beautiful rocks, until the wind picked up and we had to head out. 

Searching for agate!

Our rock collections!

The next leg of the drive took us to a tea time at Little River cafe, a quaint coffee shop-art gallery combination. We warmed up a bit with our hot drinks and explored the nearby local shops. Our next stop was a cute cheese store at Barry's Bay where we picked up a few varieties to try. I thought the smoked cheese tasted like BBQ!

Cheese shop!

Cheese factory

Tea time at Little River

Our next big stop was at Ōnawe Pā, a coastal reserve that served as a great spot for lunch and tide pool hunting. We quickly ate our sandwiches and ran around looking for creatures, finding crabs, starfish, chiton, and sea anemones. Everyone was super excited with these stops! 

Ōnawe Pā

Our last piece of our journey was searching for tūī in an Akaroa neighborhood. Tūī are native birds that were once extirpated from the area, until thankfully, recent restoration brought them back. We examined the feeders and spotted many tūī!

Tūī

Finally, after a most exciting drive, we arrived at our lodge, Holiday Park. We feasted on a gourmet meal from the university and headed to sleep early to prepare for our long day tomorrow. We even donated our leftovers to families in need! 

See you tomorrow!!

Maya 

A day of restoration projects

 Today the class participated in two ecological restoration projects. Our first stop was the Red Zone area in east Christchurch which was damaged from the earthquakes ten years ago. Many in the community turned out to plant native species and contribute to this ecological restoration project, Greening the Red Zone. We helped plant many trees and had lots of fun getting to know the locals. 

It’s a group effort to plant so many natives

We also found bricks and rubble from the previous neighborhood 

Next the class took a tour of the  Landcare Research facility in Lincoln with Colin. We toured the newly renovated building and learned all about the work and research that Landcare does for the Country in environment, biodiversity, and sustainability. 

Our wonderful tour of Landcare Research in Lincoln

After lunch we headed to Mahoe Reserve, located just south of Christchurch in the town of Lincoln, for another restoration project. The class met with the founders of the reserve and learned about the high school that made the reserve (once a borrow pit for rocks and then a landfill) what it is today. We helped local volunteers with planting, mulching, and weeding. 

Grow big, little plant! 

Our new friend Moana 

After the full day of work, the class is tired but happy. We went to a fish and chips shop for dinner then back to the dorms to pack for our first away trip tomorrow and get a well deserved rest. 

-Charisse 

Riccarton Farmers Market, Travis Wetland, and All Blacks Rugby

 The class started the day off right with a trip to the Riccarton farmers market. We walked around the many local stalls at the Market, sampling the delicious foods and enjoying the friendly Kiwi culture. We loved the many bakeries and artisan foods. 

Loving the farmers market

Enjoying a vegan Baguette 

Dumplings! 

One of the many adorable dogs we got to meet 

After the farmers market, we traveled to Travis wetland. At the wetland Colin guided the class in bird watching. We also participated in point counts and along line transects to count and record species diversity. We learned about many native plants and their Māori names and uses. The class spotted many birds including grey teal, shoveler ducks, black swan, purple swamp hen, and even two brown teal (which are rare to the area.) 

Taking a walk through Travis Wetland

We made our way to lunch at the Naked Baker, a bakery specializing in savory pies. We enjoyed a nice break and lunch then continued on to Sumner Beach. The class loved the beach and played around in the sand and driftwood. 

At the beach

The class names in the sand

After a quick stop at the warehouse to get some essentials, we made our way back to the university to catch a rugby game (the All Blacks against Ireland) We enjoyed watching the traditional Haka by the All Blacks at the start of the game and learning all about the rules and intricacies of rugby. 

Go All Blacks! 

Tomorrow is first restoration project for the class and we are all excited to get started with ecological restoration. Hope everyone gets some rest tonight and is ready to get dirty planting trees tomorrow! 

-Charisse 

A day in Riccarton Bush and Downtown Christchurch

 We started off the day with a presentation from Dr. Colin Meurk (local Kiwi and expert botanist) about the natural and cultural patterns of Canterbury. The class learned about the various habitats of New Zealand and the broad bioclimatic zones which make it so unique. We also learned about the astonishing biodiversity of the area and the surprising adaptations to an ecosystem without mammals (including giant insects that can take on the role of small mammals!) The class discussed the many ways to connect people and nature, one of the most important parts of restoration projects and learned about the three thresholds of ecological restoration. 

Learning all about the ecology of Aotearoa

After the lecture, the class traveled to Riccarton Bush where we explored a predator-free forest with a guided tour by Colin. The class learned about the importance of predator-free fences to keep out introduced mammalian predators like possums, stoats, hedgehogs, and rats. Delving into the forest, we discovered ancient podocarps and saw many new plants like Rohutu, Poataniwha, Khikatea, and Mikimiki. The class got to touch, smell, and even taste several plant species that are endemic to New Zealand. 

Taking a walk in Riccarton Bush 

Learning about Podocarps and other native trees

Several invasive mammal predators that threaten native ecosystems

We found orange mushrooms!

A picnic lunch at Riccarton Bush

After a picnic lunch, the class traveled to downtown Christchurch. In downtown, we admired the street art,  and architecture at the public library, wandered around the library, and played at the fabulous Margaret Mahy Family Playground (where we met some very friendly black swans.) The class also visited the famous Christchurch cathedral and had tea time at a local coffee shop. Everyone loved the visit to downtown and is looking forward to coming back. 

Group photo in front of street art in downtown

Reading about Christchurch cathedral 

new library architecture 

At the playground

Our new friend 

Nico and Ryan with some city sheep

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Tea and busses at local coffeeshop



In the evening we got to go to a Matariki celebration. The celebration honors the start of the Mauri new year and celebrates the appearance of the Matariki star cluster which consists of nine stars. The class got to see a song performance retelling the story of the Matariki as well as a fire dance performance which we were all impressed by. 

                                         Watching the fire performance at the Matariki celebration

Its been a busy day full of learning and fun. We can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring. 

- Charisse