South Island

For the past 3 weeks, I have been traveling up and down South Island studying various ecosystems and their services. Oh, and I guess I did some pretty cool stuff too…

September 21st was the day. The day that all 26 EcoQuest students and mentors (Ric, Maree, John, and Rebekah) packed 3 weeks worth of clothes, equipment, and food in big, white vans and started the decent to South Island. Our estimated departure time was 7:30am, but before we could leave, Hermione (an extremely sweet and kind EcoQuest staff member) gave each of us a hug and kiss goodbye. On the road by 7:30, we headed to Wellington. Only stopping for gas and bathroom breaks, we arrived in a little town right outside of Wellington around 6pm, where we stayed the night at a campground. We slept in small cabins, fitting a range of 3-8 people. Everyone decided to go to bed not long after we arrived, knowing that we had an early start. 

My alarm sounded at 6am, readying me for the big ferry day. All vans and trailers were packed by 6:30 and we were on the road by 6:45, headed towards Wellington. We arrived at the ferry gate around 8, an hour before our departure on the Interislander (the ship that transports people,  animals, cars, vans, trucks, boats...practically anything that can fit on it to and from North and South Islands). When we arrived at the gate, we were told that the ferry was cancelled due to bad weather. We all looked towards the sky, noticing it was mostly blue and sunny, and looked back to the man confused. He told us that there was a large front coming in and that it would be extremely dangerous to cross Cook's Straight (channel that connects the islands) today. Puzzled, our mentors turned around and headed back towards the campground to stay another night. About half way to the campground, the sky went from bright blue to black as night. Within 5 minutes, it was pouring hail sideways. And it didn't quit. 

Getting back to the campground, the mentors gave us time to unpack into the cabins and to put on rain/hail resistant clothing. Then, we drove into Wellington to go to Te Papa, New Zealand's National Museum. There were so many cool things about the museum, such as the large wharenui ("big house"), which is a main/centered building within the Marae. Thinking back to when we participated in the Marae ceremony in Kaiaua, we did not go into the wharenui because it was not complete and therefore 'not ready for the human eye.' The wharenui in the museum was a replicate and therefore was open to the public without requiring a ceremony. There was also a large exhibit on sea mammals, which would be one of the main educational topics while in the South Island. Walking around, there were many skeletons and ceramic figures of various marine mammals. 

Deeper into the marine exhibit was the Colossal Squid, the only one in the entire world that is on display for the public. This thing was massive! At least twice my height and my length in width. There was a video next to Bob, the name I gave the giant squid, that told the story of how Bob got to Te Papa. He was found barely alive at the surface in Alaska and was transported all the way to New Zealand in order to be examined. Once researchers realized that he could be preserved and put on display, they injected his tissues with preservatives….and wah-lah! Bob is on display for the world!

After walking around the museum, we were given a few hours to explore the streets of Wellington. Which we did, stopping at various cafes and stores. Such a beautiful city! Even in a hail storm. When we got back to the campground, we had a brief introductory lecture on ecotourism, this weeks topic. After dinner, most of us girls crammed into the room I was in and watched an American classic on Mary's iPad, Mean Girls. 

The following morning was the same routine as the last. Except it wasn't hailing and on the news in the kitchen was a reporter explaining two earthquakes that occurred in Wellington earlier that morning. Apparently, we experienced a 4.8 (3:00 am) and 5.4 (3:45 am). Luckily no one got hurt and there was little damage to areas of high elevation - mudslides and avalanches are a huge thing over here! Continuing on our way, we made it past the ferry's gate and drove onto the ship. This ship was huge! The biggest boat that I have ever been on by far. We parked on the third level and took the stairs to the tenth level, which was the open deck. I stayed up on the deck for most of the 3 hour journey from North Island to South Island. The first and last hours of the trip were fairly smooth with little rockiness, but the middle hour was through open water and was extremely bumpy. To my surprise, I didn't feel sick once, which I'm guessing has to do with the fact that I was outside with the cool ocean breeze on my face.

On the way into South Island, we were greeted by wild dolphins, Little Blue penguins, jellyfish, and fur seals. As I looked up over the small hills near the water's edge, all I could see for miles were mountains. Right then, I had a feeling I would fall in love with the South Island. Little did I know how true that statement would become.

 When we were close to shore, we were asked to return to our vehicles. When I got to mine, I almost choked on the smell. I hadn't realized that we parked right next to a cow car (a huge car that held 20-30 cows…very sad but very smelly). Our entire van smelled like cow crap. Awesome. We drove right off the boat and into the mountains….there was no time to waste. We still had to get to Kaikoura before dinner, which was at least a 4-5 hour drive. About 10 minutes into the drive, Maree pointed out a giant river - the plate boundary divide between the Australian and Pacific plates. We crossed over to the Pacific plate and continued on our way. 

4 hours later, we finally arrived at the U-shaped, waterfront valley that is Kaikoura. This was one of few places in the world where the mountains touch the sea. Such a beautiful thing to see after such a long journey. But the journey was over, and we made it. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by Brett and instantly took part in a welcoming ceremony Marae-style. After we were formally introduced to Brett, we unpacked, had dinner, and jumped right into a tourism lecture (trying to make up for our missed day). At the end of the lecture, Maree mentioned that IF we wanted too, we could take part in a tourism activity for class tomorrow and swim with wild dolphins. IF? Are you crazy? Who wouldn't want to swim with dolphins? Especially for class. So knowing it would be a big day, we all went to bed dreaming of what tomorrow would bring. 

The next morning was an early one, but completely worth it. The sun was shinning, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the water was perfectly calm. We met at 7 to walk downtown to where the "Experience Kaikoura" base was. We were instantly suited up in wetsuits, booties, flippers, gloves, a really tight head thingy, goggles, and a snorkel. We look ridiculous but were ready to go. We hopped on the bus, drove over the mountains to the west side of the Kaikoura Peninsula and split into two boats. We headed off, both boats in the same direction but just a few miles apart. 20 minutes into the ride, I saw something. It wasn't much. But it was enough to make the whole boat stop and run to one side. There it was again. What it is? 

It was too big to be a dolphin, but too small to be a whale. Definitely not a shark. The dorsal fin was fairly small but slightly bent. An orca! There was a small female orca that came up for a breath that would last her about 20 minutes - just long enough to settle back into the deep Kaikoura trench and reappear miles from us. Moving on, we drove for another 40 minutes, not seeing a single dolphin. Finally, over the radio was the other boat. They found a pod that was heading straight towards us! Our captain turned our boat in the direction of the other boat and we drove and drove and drove until we came to a halt. We didn't see anything. There was no movement whatsoever. The only thing we could see was the other boat. So where were the dolphins? A few seconds later, the crew came running over telling us to get to the back of the boat. We all huddled at the back of the boat and then the next thing I know it, I was in the water. I looked up at the boat, and the only people standing there was the crew. We were all in the water. What? I was so confused. Many people tried to climb back on the boat because the water was freezing, but I decided to try and find some dolphins. We must be in this freezing cold water for a reason. So I took a deep breath, cleared out my snorkel, and stuck my face in the water. And there they were, 200 dusky dolphins zipping by me left and right. Diving into the depths of the trench and then shooting up towards the surface like there was no tomorrow. For a half hour, we played with these adorable dusky's, twirling in circles and diving with them. I never realized how playful dusky's were. For a split moment, the science nerd in me remember why I was here…to experience ecotourism at its finest. So yes, I was being a tourist….going to another country, experiencing what they have to offer, but how was this ECOtourism? As learned the night before, ecotourism is all about giving back to the resource that one is observing and experiencing. Then it hit me, the dolphins weren't entertaining me. I was entertaining the dolphins. The more I thought about this idea, the more it made sense. Why else would these dolphins stick around? They were playing with us! This experience was one in a million. Luckily, one of the EcoQuesters was smart enough to attach his GoPro to his head and was able to capture a small part of this experience. He was kind enough to share this video with the rest of us so that we could remember this incredible day with new friends, lucky us. 

After we got back to shore, we had a lecture with the co-founder of Experience Kaikoura. He talked to us about what ecotourism means for him and his company. He also answered all of our nitty, gritty questions, which I was quite impressed with. That night, we had shark for dinner. I have never had shark before, but it was pretty good! After dinner, we learned that we would be putting on a talent show with Brett for not only locals of Kaikoura but for ourselves as a family. Oh boy. This sounded like a great opportunity to embarrass myself…

The next day was fairly dull in comparison to my last. Instead of swimming with dolphins, we walked around the Kaikoura Peninsula, which I have to admit was extremely breathtaking and beautiful. That night….the taken show took place. Together as a group, we performed a haka for the locals. We also performed skits in individual groups. There was a large variety of skits: saying the alphabet backwards, singing, playing a musical instrument, teaching a game or song, or mine, embarrassing yourself with your closest EcoQuest friends. Mary, Kyle, Emily, and I performed a childhood classic, Cecelia (with dancing legs). I would try to explain it but I will just have to post the video when I get it. Better done than said in this case.  

The next mooring was our last in Kaikoura. Many of use decided to wake up early and see the sunrise. The flowing watercolors of pinks and blues is too beautiful to describe….so I posted a picture instead. After watching the sun rise, we packed our bags, said our goodbyes to Brett, and were on our way to Hanmer, where we had a weekend break. When we got to Hanmer, we were dropped off by our mentors at a campground. I, along with 12 others, stayed in tents. The campground was a 2 mile walk into town. Long, yes. But also very beautiful. After we unpacked, Mary, Emily, and I went into town to meet up with our friend Lauren (who was staying in a hostel with her boyfriend) for her birthday dinner.

The next morning, we looked at the weather forecast for the day and saw that it was suppose to be fairly stormy later in the afternoon. Hannah, Emily, Miranda, and I decided that we were going to stay in a cabin so that all of our things wouldn't be wet for the rest of the week. After we moved everything from the tents to the cabin, a bunch of us decided to go for a hike before the weather got bad. We ended up hiking a waterfall trail near Hanmer Springs. It was a fairly short hike with a beautiful waterfall to look at. After the hike, the wind started to pick up. And then came the rain. Instead of walking downtown, we decided to hang out at the campground and play cards in hope to stay dry. The following morning, was our last in Hanmer. We woke up, packed, and met the mentors in town at 9. We immediately got into the vans and began our journey towards Craigieburn. In order to get to Craigieburn, we needed to drive through the Southern Alps, specifically Arthur's Pass. One second we were cruising along the flat terrain, and the next we were headed straight into the clouds. While driving, our mentors pointed out various spots that would be of worth to return to during our free time. One of these spots was Castle Hill. Castle Hill is conserved private property in the high country of South Island. It's name comes from the imposing display of limestone boulders that pierce the ground and lean to the sky. This area is well known for being the battle scene in Narnia as well as many subtle scenes in the Lord of the Rings series.

Continuing on our journey higher and higher into the clouds, we finally arrived in Craigieburn. For the next 5 days, we stayed at the Craigieburn Forest Station in the Southern Alps. When we arrived, I immediately unpacked, put more clothing on (it was only 40dF), and ran outside to explore. After dinner, we had our first lecture of this weeks topic, the alpine environment. That night, every single one of us hiked a small mountain close to the forest station to watch the stars. I have never seen stars like these before. Laying down on the grass, my entire view was of the night's sky. There was no moon, making it easier to see each star. The first thing I saw was the milky way, bold and beautiful. It filled almost a quarter of the sky with its dense purple, pink, and blue lights. Others were pointing out additional constellations left and right. But for some reason, other than seeing the occasional shooting star, I couldn't look away from the milky way. 

The next day, we were given our presentation groups for the week. This week, it was my turn to present to all EcoQuest students and faculty. My topic was light as an environmental gradient in the alpine zone. Fortunately, my presentation would be simply based on observations from field work - no readings required. Unfortunately, this meant that I would have to be extremely observant in order to create a 10 minute presentation on light. That afternoon, we split into presentation groups and hiked into Otira Valley. For 4 hours, my group observed the relationships between vegetation, erosion, and light availability in the alpine environment. The rest of the day consisted of putting together my presentation. 

The following day, we traveled to the Wilderness Lodge to talk with the co-owner, Michael, on tourism in the alpine area. His lodge is unique in comparison to all other housing accommodations in New Zealand. When you stay at the Wilderness Lodge, you are paying for a room, of course. But you are also paying to take part is various environmental activities, such as kayaking and hiking. Every day, Michael lays out an itinerary, for any guest who decided to participate, of 2-3 environmentally-based activities. This is a brilliant idea. Not only does it get people outside and into the wild, but it also becomes an educational program, learning what is happening in that area and how to stop it. After the talk, Michael brought us to help him with a pine-removal project. We crossed a bay with kayaks and removed wild pine trees that were growing. Pine trees are invasive to New Zealand. BUT kiwis did it to themselves. Instead of harvesting native trees, kiwis decided to import pine trees to create pine forest farms. A major problem with this is that pine seeds disperse miles and miles away and outcompetes native species. In order to save the native species from becoming outcompeted, pine trees need to be removed. Which is what we ended up doing. 

When it came time to cross the bay at the end of the day, I decided to do something that many people found strange. It was sunny. I was hot. There was a perfectly cool (really cold) body of water in front of me. So I stripped down to my underarmour and jumped in. Everyone thought I was crazy. The water was just above freezing and it was a fairly far swim to the other side. My friend, Emily, decided to kayak along side of me in case anything were to happen. The initial shock was the worst part. My body went from boiling hot to numb within seconds. I was short of breath and I had a constant brain freeze feeling. As I kept swimming, the I'm-going-to-get-hypothermia feeling went away and the swim became surprisingly enjoyable. About half way, Emily told me to turn around. I flipped on my back and saw that many other EcoQuesters were following my lead and jumping into the freezing water. I was so happy! I swam in this cold of water while in Sweden, but this was the first time for everyone else. As we arrived on the beach, we were cheered on by the rest of the students. Something that felt so normal for me ended up being an amazing experience for everyone else, myself included. Such an incredible feeling! 

Waking up the following morning was much chillier than the rest. And it was presentation day. I decided to go outside for some time to practice my presentation. There was an incredible amount of frost that covered most of the landscape. I walked around the station for about an hour, rehearsing what I was going to say. Before I knew it, it was time for me to present. It went fairly well! But I was glad for it to be over. The rest of the day consisted of a alpine wrap up lecture, restoration project, and braiding my entire head. The following day was our last in the mountains. We packed up and headed to Charleston - the west coast of South Island. It took about 4 hours to get to Charleston. We arrived at a small campground and unpacked our belongings into cabins. We immediately jumped back in the vans to meet up with a restoration ecologist, Kerry, at a gold mine on the beach. This mine was incredible to see. Because it is on the beach, it has a low carbon footprint and minimal damage to the environment. There is machine that creates a pool of water and sand. The sand is sucked up through pipes and flows down these fleece-covered panels. The gold sticks to the panels, because it is heavier than the sand, and a vacuum sucks up all of the gold. At the end of each day, the high tide comes in and washes the entire pool away. It's like the mine was never there. We headed back to the campground where we had a lecture before bed. The following day, we hiked along the Pororari River through the rainforest. This was the first time I had ever been in a rainforest….and it was hailing. Kerry made it quite clear that hail doesn't occur often in the rainforest so it was a special day! On the way back to the campground, we stopped at the Punakaiki blowholes. It was a geologically incredible place with pancake rock blowholes. But we didn't last too long because it was still hailing and we were all drenched and freezing. The next day, we headed out of Charleston en route to Nelson for spring break! Before we got on the road, we made a few final stops in Charleston with Kerry. The first two were beautiful beaches with incredible current patterns. The third involved a bit of a hike. We hiked over various hills until we arrived on a rainforest-covered bay. Kerry brought us around a box and cave, both of which had Little Blue penguins living inside. Inside the box was a mother penguin with her estimated 2 day old chick. The chick was just a ball of puff. So adorable! 

Finally! We arrived in Nelson for spring break! Mary, Kyle, Lauren, Tommy, Emily, Hannah, and I headed towards our hostel. That night, we went out for dinner for Kyle's birthday. The following day, we woke up early, grabbed our rental cars and headed to Motueka for a farmers market. After the farmers market, we got back into our rental cars and drove to Abel Tasman. Abel Tasman is known for its golden beaches, granite cliffs, and its coast track. To do the entire coastal track would take 5 days minimum, but completely worth it. We parked the cars and the car park (creatively named) and headed into Abel Tasman. We hiked 4 hours to our campsite (Anchorage) with our large packs stuffed with sleeping gear and groceries. Arriving at Anchorage, our campsite was on the most gorgeous beach in all of New Zealand. What was so special about this beach? Not only was the sand white as snow and the water as green-blue as water could be, the rock formations around the edge of the beach formed high tide caves that you can climb through at low tide. The rest of the day focused on getting camp set up and making dinner on the beach. Exhausted from the past 2 weeks, the seven of us fell asleep around 8 and didn't wake up until 9 the following morning. This was by far the best sleep that I have gotten while in New Zealand, despite the fact that I was sleeping on the ground. When we woke up, we made a plan to walk around trails in the area, seeing gorgeous views and swimming in beautifully clear water. Unfortunately, the weather turned on us later in the day and we all camped inside one of the tents and played cards for the duration of the night. We did attempt to make a campfire but the wood was too wet.  

The next morning, we were up and out by 8:30am. We reached the cars around noon and headed back into Motueka. When we arrived, Hannah, Lauren and I ran straight for the iSite to see if there was any chance that we could squeeze in a skydiving trip. Lucky for us, we could dive at 2pm that day. So we booked it. We got lunch in Motueka and then the three of us headed to the Motueka Airport where the Skydive Abel Tasman base was located. The rest of our friends arrived a half hour later so they could watch us! When we arrived, we were nervous. We walked through the door and heard the thumping techno beat in the background. Natasha, an employee of Skydive Abel Tasman, welcomed us and signed us in. We watched a short video showing us what we would be doing - an are-you-sure-you-really-want-to-do-this kind of thing. Becoming even more excited, I couldn't wait to get on the plane. Hannah and Lauren were a little less excited. Who am I kidding, they were freaking out. I convinced them that it would be such a rewarding experience if they ended up doing it. So of course, they sucked it up and did it. We went around towards the back of the building and met our tandems, mine was Mike. Mike has been a skydive instructor for 5 years. So sure, I trust him. Right? 

He gave me all of my gear, including a suit, goggles, head thingy (wasn't a helmet by any means), and a harness. Mike walked me through the entire process from getting on the plane to getting off the plane. Soon after, I met Rebeka, my photographer. Rebeka would be diving with me, filming my entire experience. I loved her right off the bat! She was friendly and reassuring. She filmed me right before we went on the plane to see how I was feeling. I was nervous, but more excited than anything. Our little blue plane arrived and we all jumped in. The plane was at maximum capacity with just 11 people including the pilot, me, Mike, Rebeka, Lauren and her tandem and photographer, Hannah and her tandem, and another women and her tandem. Mike, Rebeka, and I were the last ones in the plane, which meant that we would be the first to leave the plane. Let's just say that the plane was TIGHT. I was sitting in between Mike's legs so that he could easily hook my harness to his and Rebeka was kneeling between my legs facing me, taking pictures and asking me questions the entire time. Every now and then I would look at the elevation watch that Rebeka was wearing. Finally, we were at 13,000ft and the door opened. I couldn't hear a thing, but I still wasn't nervous, which I was surprised about. Rebeka climbed out first and hung on the side of the plane. Mike slid us over to the huge gap and sat on the edge. At this point, I was completely hanging off the edge of the plane. I remembered what Mike told me to do: hands on my harness, feet tucked under the foot bar on the side of the plane, head back, and smile on. I did just that. Mike rocked back and forth a few times and then cued Rebeka. 

The next thing I knew it, I was in the air. The first two seconds felt like I was falling but as soon as my body caught the wind, it felt like a giant hairdryer was in my face. The air was cold and refreshing. Rebeka was right next to me filming the entire thing. I couldn't help but to look around at the view. I could see Mt. Taranaki on the North Island from where I was. I could also see all of Abel Tasman, the Kaikoura mountain range, and Farewell Spit. I could feel the adrenaline rushing through me. My body gave me no time to feel scared, which I was happy about. After 45 seconds of free falling, Mike pulled a tab and our chute opened, sitting me up right. I could hear again! For the next 6 minutes, I soared left and right taking in everything that was the South Island. It was quiet, serene, and peaceful. I was skydiving and I was relaxed. I didn't see that coming. When we landed, Rebekah was waiting. She asked me how I was doing. I couldn't control my excitement. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my friend, Hannah. She ran towards me and hugged me! She loved sky diving just as much as I did. We waited for Lauren and then headed back to base. We were greeted by our friends. I'm pretty sure they were more nervous that we were. For the next several hours, all anyone could talk about was how crazy we were for jumping out of a plane 13,000ft in the air. Holy. Cow. 

 We returned the cars in Nelson and walked to the hostel that we stayed at two nights ago. The man that owned the hostel was very friendly and was happy to listen to our adventures. That night, we all hung in the hostel, cooked a big dinner, and played a bunch of card games.

The next morning was a dark one. The clouds were black and it was raining golfballs. Not fun. We walked around, stopping at various shops *wink wink christmas presents wink wink *. This was our last full day in Nelson. The past few days have been such an incredible experience! The next morning, all 26 of us met up with our mentors, packed up the vans, and headed home to Kaiaua. We stopped at Huka Falls on the way home, which had the most intense water color of baby blue I have ever seen. We took the Interislander back through Cook's Straight to the North Island, stayed the night in Levin, and was home the following day by dinner. For months, I have heard the saying, "South Island is an entirely new world." I can now attest for how true this statement is. Over the course of three weeks, I took over 500 pictures, none of which do justice. Being here in person is a lesson and experience in itself. For the first time since I have been to New Zealand, I didn't feel the pressure of education. I finally was able to open my eyes and heart to everything around me, the mountains, the ocean, the sky, and the ground. In doing this, I was able to learn about who I am and who I want to be. I've learned more about myself in these past three weeks than I have in the past three years of being at the University of New Hampshire. Don't get me wrong, UNH is a great place to be. But being able to go to a country that is not my own, learn to open my heart and mind entirely, and allow the country to teach me rather than a professor…..this is more than I could have ever asked for.