Day #4: Swimming with the Sharks

Day #4: Swimming with the Sharks

By the end of Day #3, you have seen a lot of the north island of New Zealand.  Hopefully you have enjoyed it and you’re excited for the next phase of your journey – the ferry trip across the Cook Strait from the bottom of the north island to the top of the south island. You will spend the next two days exploring the south island before you head back up to Auckland, via Wellington (the capital city of New Zealand).

http://www.fourcorners.co.nz/new-zealand/interisland-ferry/

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.

http://www.kiwidaydreaming.com/p/new-zealand-maps.html

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.

Answers: Some people wet them until they find a way to get them off the beach and into the water. Some people even dig holes where the whale is and then put water in the hole so the whale can breath.

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].

http://www.incrementa.ca/leadership-succession-whale-rider/

When ‘Whale Rider’ finishes, you and your tour group enjoy a delicious meal in downtown Nelson before heading back to your hotel. You need to go to bed early because you have to get up at 4:30 a.m. the next morning to travel back to Farewell Spit to see a group (pod) of Hector’s Dolphins. It is going to be an early morning!

Answers: I think that this movie is about a young girl. Her twin brother dies at birth and she has to carry out the name Paikea. The name Paikea has been carried out for generations. It is a tradition for the first born boy in each generation to carry the name Paikea. But this generation Paikea is the name of a girl. Her koro dislikes her because she is not a boy. She trains in secret to be a leader/warrior.

Day #3: Wild Eyes

Day #3: Wild Eyes

You have now woken up after a long, comfortable sleep at your hotel in Dargaville. You’re ready for another day of adventuring! Today, you will drive around the North island and be introduced to amazing animals that live here in New Zealand. Some are native and some are non-native. Native animals are animals that normally live in New Zealand. Non-native animals are animals that were brought into New Zealand from another country. Examples of native New Zealand animals are the kakapo, the kiwi, the kea parrot, the yellow eyed penguin and the pekapeka bat.

http://www.kiwidaydreaming.com/p/new-zealand-maps.html

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.

http://www.newzealand.com/int/plan/business/otorohanga-kiwi-house-and-native-bird-park/

Answer: The New Zealand pigeon or kereru.  Māori call it kererū in most of the country but kūkupa and kūkū in some parts of the North Island. The New Zealand pigeon belongs to the family Columbidae and the subfamily Treroninae. They feed largely on fruits, mainly drupes.

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.

http://www.outlawyarn.com/possum.html

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.

Answers:

1. I think we should kill possums because they are pests. Pests attack crops, food, livestock etc. They also eat nectar and berries which mean less food for birds.
2. The adult possums eat New Zealand's native birds.
3. The damage a possum causes costs New Zealand farmers about $35 million each year.

Day #2: New Zealand by Land and Sea

Day #2: New Zealand by Land and Sea

After a short ride through Auckland it is time to start exploring the rest of the country. Today you are going to venture around the north island of New Zealand to look at active volcanoes, gorgeous beaches, windswept coastline and lush, green bush. As a group, you will start at Rangitoto, the largest volcano in New Zealand before driving west to Karekare, a stunning beach on the outskirts of Auckland. You will finish the day by driving north to visit Tane Mahuta, the oldest living kauri tree in New Zealand.

(1)Rangitoto: http://www.doc.govt.nz/rangitoto; (2) Karekare:  http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/themes/beaches/88348522/nz-has-one-of-the-best-beaches-in-the-world-according-to-passport-magazine; (3) Tane Mahuta: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/328117/track-to-tane-mahuta-to-be-closed-for-tree%27s-protection

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.

http://www.kiwidaydreaming.com/p/new-zealand-maps.html

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.  

I loved visiting Rangitoto Island because of the wonderful landscape. I also liked the mountains you can walk through and see all of the beautiful views. I would also like to walk through the underground tunnels. I want to see the inside of New Zealand's youngest volcano. Another reason why I want to visit Rangitoto Island is because of its name. In Maori Rangitoto means bloody sky. Rangitoto comes from the phrase “Ngā Rangi-i-totongia-a Tama-te-kapua” which means “The days of the bleeding of Tama-te-kapua”. Tama-te-kapua was the captain of Arawa Waka and was bady wounded on the Island because of a lost war Tainui Iwi.

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.

Questions:

1. Did you feel scared sailing on the water by youself?
2. How did you feel when it was stormy weather?
3. How did you feel sailing on the water by yourself?
4. What was your reaction when you saw land in the first 18 days?
5. How did you manage all by yourself at sea?

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.

I have interviewed my cousin.

1. She likes to play rugby.
2. She likes to have picnics with her family.
3. She likes to play netball.
4. She likes to go to the beach with her friends.
5. She likes to play volleyball at the beach.

Day 1: 100% PURE New Zealand

Day 1: 100% PURE New Zealand  

                               

Well, the time has now come! School’s out for the holidays and your tour of New Zealand is about to begin. I hope that you are ready and excited! Curious Kiwi certainly is – he can’t wait to start the Great Kiwi Road Trip! Before you all hit the road, let’s take a minute to review some key facts about New Zealand.

Activity 1:  Go to the Tourism New Zealand website and click on the ‘Facts - New Zealand People’ tab. Read about the people of New Zealand and then choose three interesting facts to post on your blog. The facts must be written in your own words. Do not simply copy and paste the facts from the website☺.

1. Maori people voyaged thousands of miles across the vast unknown Pacific Ocean

2. There are approximately 4.4 million New Zealanders/Kiwis.

3.Rugby football is the most popular sport in New Zealand.

Activity 2: Your tour of New Zealand is going to start right here in Auckland. Watch the Tourist video for Auckland to learn about the awesome things that you can see and do in the city. Once you’ve finished, choose your favourite five activities from the video and list them on your blog.  

1. Auckland is in the far south west of the pacific ocean.
2. In Auckland the North island is nicknamed The City of sails.
3. The biggest landmark in Auckland is Rangitoto Island.
4. Auckland is the country's biggest city.
5. Auckland is home to 1.5 million people.

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!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_New_Zealand#/media/File:Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg

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. Here is an example:

Source: http://flag-designer.appspot.com

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.   

Bonus Activity = 8 points

The two sides represent both my cultures. I choose yellow for my Cook Island side because the sun always shines bright. I have chosen blue for my Samoan side because the waters is beautiful and blue. I have put a circle in the middle of my flag because it means bringing both cultures together. I have put an eagle in the center of my circle because it means high cheif.

The Easter Story. John 19-31

John chapter 20, verse 19-31

On the evening of the first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle of the eleven and said to them, "Peace be with you." Thomas called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands and bring your hand and put it into my side and do not be unbelieving, but believe."Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Nature Walk

I can see God through the trees because they are strong, healthy, and beautiful like God.

Why is polyfest a good thing??

Learn: To write an explanation text using  the correct structure.

Learn: To elaborate your ideas by adding details and giving example.

Polyfest is a cultural competition with colleges all around Auckland. It is held each year at Western Springs. But why should we have polyfest?. Why should we spend our money on costumes and food??.

My first acceptable reason on why polyfest should be a common competition is because it teaches different people about different cultures. It brings other cultures closer. We look at the different foods other cultures make and the different cultural dances and costumes.

Another fair reason on why polyfest is pleasant thing because you can sell food for money. Some people let people who have cars and that can find any parking use their own drive way for parking and get money from that too.

I think we should keep on having polyfest and let some of the intermediate schools have it to. So when they go to college they can say that they participated in another cultural dance group and learned more about that culture.