Land of the Fish

Arriving back to campus after being in the South Island for 3 weeks was bitter sweet. I knew it would be nice to sleep in my little, warm cabin without 12 others being in there as well. But I knew that my time in the magical land of South Island was over. When we got back, we were given the rest of the day to unpack and get situated. Every single one of us did laundry, one after the other. The poor laundry machine was overheating by the time the third person used it, let alone 26 people later. Every clothes line on campus was full of dripping wet clothes that was purposely selected for taking part in the adventure down under.

The following day, we had class. Yuck. We were told that we would have an exam in two days time, 4 presentations throughout the week, and a paper due at the end of the week. So what happened that week? Writing, studying, writing, studying, and more writing. Oh, and some more studying too.
That Saturday, the vans were packed and we were headed off on our last extended field trip, Leigh and the Poor Knights. This week's topic was marine ecology. Something different.

It took 3 hours to get into the Leigh area. But before we got to the Marine Reserve that we would be staying at for the next few nights, we stopped at a small red barn. This barn was home to the 26 wetsuit tops and bottoms, fins, masks, snorkel, head piece, and weight belt that we would be using for the rest of the week. The process of fitting every piece of equipment perfectly to the students took forever, but it happened. 2 hours later, we were headed to the Marine Reserve.

When we arrived, it was raining. Obviously, because when doesn't it rain in New Zealand? We quickly unloaded the vans and trailers and brought all the food to the kitchen and packs to our bedrooms. This reserve clearly had been updated within the past few years, for I felt like I was in a space shuttle. All of the glass doors had neatly printed numbers on the left side and opened automatically with a swipe of my hand over the reader. When we were leaving for the day, we could punch in a 4-digit code that would lock our rooms. Soon after we unpacked, our mentors came through the student corridor and told us to get suited up, we were going snorkeling. I guess it wasn't the worst thing in the world that it was raining….after all, we were going to be in wetsuits. Right? Not so much. Getting wet wasn't an issue, but the waves were so intense that the swells pulled my body in 5 different directions at once. As strong of a swimmer as I was, my strength was no match for this storm.

I entered the water through the sandy beach, walking backwards so my flippers wouldn't get caught in the sand and waves. When I was knee-deep, I simply sat back, submerged in the water, and flipped over, ready to snorkel. I looked out of the water a few times within the first few minutes to clear my mask from fogging. When I looked up, all I could see was a black-clouded sky, white-capped waves, and an island. Not a big island, but an island. As previously learned prior to leaving campus, this island was called Goat Island. Goat Island was the first marine reserve in the entire world. Years prior to becoming a marine reserve (1975), this area was heavily fished both recreationally and commercially, specifically for snapper. When the fished resources were nearly depleted, the area was declared a reserve and currently has full restrictions on fishing of any kind. In fact, you can't remove ANYTHING (dead or alive) from this area, otherwise you will be fined and face potential jail-time. Intense stuff. Needless to say, I didn't remove anything.

Our snorkel session was simply to familiarize ourselves with the equipment and area that we would be performing research on later in the week. I have never been snorkeling to this extent before, but I seemed to get the hang of things fairly quickly. Within a few minutes of entering the water, I was diving 30 ft down to check out what was on the ocean floor. Unfortunately, it was raining pretty hard so visibility was horrible. But it was still nice to be swimming (I really like to swim!!). Most of the stretch out to Goat Island (200 ft from the shoreline) was bare rock and kina (sea urchin) barrens. As I got closer and closer to the island, I started to see fish and kelp forests. There weren't many fish, mostly snappers, kelpfish, eagle rays, banded wrasse, and parore, but there were fish (no schools unfortunately). We explored for about an hour and then headed back to shore because the storm was starting to pick up, making it nearly impossible to get back to shore. That night, we had a lecture on marine ecology and were assigned presentations for the week.

The following day, we traveled to Whangatea Harbor to help with a local research project involving fish transects. We arrived to the Harbor, got suited up, and then walked to a set of stairs that directly entered the water. It was the start of high tide, so the water was just past my ankles. We swam 20 minutes to the edge of the continental shelf (water depth going from 6 ft to 45 ft) and began our transects there. We performed 2 transects per 5 people. The transacts were 90 ft long. Two people would hold the ends of the measuring tape while the other three would swim 15 ft on either side of the tape and check off any observed fish with a water pallet. There were few fish here and there, but nothing compared to Goat Island. This area was not reserved, meaning recreational and commercial fishing was legal, explaining why there were minimal fish. Heading back to shore, the tide was high enough that we were able to swim through the mangroves. This was really cool! Mangroves, seen in Opoutere earlier in the semester, are trees that can survive in salty waters. Their roots grow straight out of the ground surrounding the tree. They are also home to a great deal of marine life, including crayfish, various fish species, and crabs.

The following day, we performed fish transects and kina quadrates at Goat Island. Luckily, it was a beautifully clear day and got to see the magnificence of the marine reserve. We saw many fish, similar species to the previous day, but this time we also saw an octopus!! The next day, we packed up from Leigh and headed further north to Poor Knights. Poor Knights is a chain of islands off the coast of northland North Island. It has been a marine reserve since 1981 and is declared tapu (sacred) by the Maori. Because of its protection from fishing and the ecological upwellings of nutrient and oxygen rich waters, the Poor Knights is known as one of the best diving areas in the entire world, if not the best. So cool! We woke up early in the morning and stepped foot on the double-hauled boat that would be transporting us to the Poor Knights at 8am. We reached the islands at 9 and were in the water by 9:15. When we reached the islands, we were advised that it would be a good idea to start suiting up. The boat came to a stop, the stern facing the island. I walked outside of the boat and took in the view. The sheer white cliffs diving straight down into the water, making it physically impossible for people to enter the island, the magnitude of epiphytes merging off the cliffs from every crack and crevasse possible, and the green-blue water that held one of New Zealand's greatest treasures. I was at the front of the line with my diving buddy, Erin. We stepped over the lip, sat on the back of the boat, put on our fins and masks, positioned our snorkels, gave each other the thumbs up, and slid off the back of the boat and into the water. The cold water made it hard to breathe, taking just under a minute for the water to fill the space between the wetsuit and my bare skin and heat up. The bubbles from jumping in made it hard to see at first, but when they cleared, I realized I was in an entirely new world. Ahead of me were hundreds of fish, all in various schools. The sun shined through the water in the perfect way that made their scales glisten when in a specific position. Past them were kelp forests, tens of feet tall, and the cliff wall, absolutely covered in lichen, roe, barnacles, and marine wildlife. I turned around to see what was behind me other than the boat, and under the boat were more schools of fish, including the beautiful and vibrant blue maomao. Exploring around in both open waters and in caves, I found some 30+ species of marine wildlife, including various fish, octopus, starfish, and nudibranch (which were my favorite!). Nudi's are so colorful and unique. I'm hoping that someone with an underwater camera got a picture of the nudi's. We went to a total of 3 drop spots, where we were given at least an hour to snorkel and explore the area. At the end of the day, before heading back to the mainland, we headed towards a specific part of the island home to a famous cave, Rico Rico Cave. This cave was the shape of a giant fish bowl. Our boat was a toy in a bathtub. The acoustics in the cave are said to be better than Sydney Opera House. Of course, we sang multiple songs and made ridiculous noises. I guess there have been bands that have been brought out to the cave by boat and actually performed in the cave. It was by far the largest and coolest cave I have ever been in. Unfortunately, it was time to head back to the mainland. We thanked our captain as we left the boat and headed back to base where we would pack up and head back to EcoQuest campus for our last break of the semester before Directed Research Projects (DRPs).

It was nice to be able to relax on campus without having to go to class or worry about assignments. We laid in the sun (yes, its summer now! Which means 75-80dF and increasing by the day!) and relaxed for 4 days. But as all vacations, there comes a time that reality kicks in - time to get back into the swing of things. This upcoming week is one of the hardest in the EQ program. We have a quiz on Tuesday, presentations and lectures Wednesday-Friday, our Final Exam on Monday, and our final paper on Tuesday. After that, we are completely done with academics in New Zealand, which means its time for DRP! I have been waiting for DRPs since arriving in New Zealand. There are 6 different research projects, all based somewhere different. My topic is frogs, based in the Hunua Range near EQ campus. I will be studying frog populations and behaviors with 4 other of my colleges for a month. There is a week research and background information prep, 10 days of performing research, a week of paper writing, and a week of presentation prep. Our last day of the semester, before having to pack up and head on home to the States, includes a community-wide presentation ceremony in the communities Marae. Here, each EcoQuest group will present their findings to local community members and stakeholders. This is something that I am very excited to do and can't wait to experience.

But as each day passes I become closer and closer to packing up my 70-L pack, back pack and small duffel and become home-bound (with a 2 week "layover" in California). Hopefully, crossing my fingers, I will be joined in California before my next adventure, the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, where I will present my research from this past summer in Sweden. Recently, I have come to realize how blessed I am to have the opportunities I have committed too and the amazing support team that has encouraged me to follow my dreams and do what I love. This is what I love. This is what I dream of. I am living my dreams. So thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.