New Zealand Nature Program Volunteer Journals

Well . . . I am in COuntdown mode . . . so I figured that it was time to write a ‘lil somethin’ somethin’.
I have about 9 days left on the program . . . then I am off to LA . . . my Always Accountable City of Angels and Dreams . . . and I feel happy . . . and ready to see the impact that this Beautiful and Remarkable country has had on my spirit and Lifestyle.
One simple transformation that I have seen in the mirror so far is the impact that city living really [...]

Well . . . I am packing as little as possible . . . so . . . not too girly this trip.
Alex

Today we spent our time killing bone seed.  It’s a tree like plant with yellow flowers whose seeds are eaten by native birds… but eating bone seed is much like a pigeon eating uncooked rice… once it’s ingested the bird becomes a ticking time bomb with the certain fate of ruptured insides as its digestive track basically explodes. A final meal brought to it by human civilization… On a brighter note it was hard work but great fun.  We spent the day on a severe incline of sand doing our best to keep our footing and fight the needle like [...]

So we’ve just returned from counting fur seals  at the cape (nearly 600!) and hiking a nice incline to look out at the Putangiiu Pennacls (where a short bit of the 3rd Lord of the Rings was filmed).  They were stunning! We’re all back at the house now just waiting on Toby and watching some bad TV.  All in good fun though! We new volunteers are anxious to have a night out in wellington tomorrow… promise there will be more interesting stories to come
-Momone

After flying down from Auckland to Nelson on the 1st July, I started my adventures in the South Island! First I travelled down to Greymouth and then carried on to Franz Josef – in Franz Josef I went Kayaking on a Glacier lake and the next day on an 8 hour Glacier Hike, which was amazing! Next was on to Wanaka, where I spent a few days cycling around the Lake in snow capped hills!! Following this was a quick stop in Queenstown- full of energy from the Winter Festival, and a bus trip to Milford Sounds. Milford Sounds was so [...]

This week was the start of my adventures – since sunday I have been travelling on my own. First stop was Napier; explored the town and chilled out by the beach. Next stop, Rotura; yesterday, I visted the beautiful Wai-o-Tapu thermal wonderland with bubbling mud and colourful pools as well as lady knox geyser, and this was followed by a trip to Waimangu volcanic valley, which was a lovely walk. Today, I landed on White Island, the most active volcano in New Zealand, which was an experience to say the least! Lots of steam and even some ash -new mud [...]

Last week , I spent the first two days in the office, and the last two in Uruora (planting on sandunes followed by a BBQ!!) and working in the zoo – dfinately one of my faveourite days, we got to work in an enclosure with cute monkeys! And that day was National Enviroment day, so at 1pm we had to freeze for 5 mins in the zoo – some of us froze as animals and got some wierd looks !!:-). This week, so far we have been to Te Hapu, where we where helping two ladies who own wetlands on [...]

This week and the end of last week, a few of our activities where cancled becasue of the rain – last friday, we where going to go to East Harbour for a hike, but had a day in the office watching “an inconvenient truth”  and barinstorming for this program on climate change called “350″ (www.350.org), to organise activities. On monday, we went to the cinema as the rain was still going strong!!! Tuesday, I carried on with my Heal the Earth project in the office.  Wedsnday, out in the field again – built a cattle stop in Makra peak, and [...]

So everyone here pretty much knows that I was originally supposed to be on the Kenya program but I guess fate had another place in mind. So here I am in wonderful Wellington and it’s day 5 and already I know that there are gonna be tears in my eyes the day I that I have to say goodbye. I wish I could stay longer, and I would if I didn’t have classes starting the day after I get back.
Today we did some planting over at a beach about an hour away from the house and yesterday we hiked up [...]

Came back from Coromandel peninsula after spening 2 weeks up there doing conservation work with the Moehau Enviroment Group. The fist couple of days we went hiking in the bush, setting rat traps and rat number monitring. We also helped to clear areas of pest plants to replace with native plants, did shellfish surveys and went on Eco walks so the coordinators could show us what they have achieved since working in the area. Coromandel is beautiful – the moehou enviroment group are aiming to eliminate foreign species of plants and wildlife, like rats and possums that kill the [...]

Today we went with Ray to Eastbourne Sand Dunes to plant and weed. It was a fantastic day. We have had some rainy weather recently so we were so excited to have a little sunshine. For the first part of the morning we dug holes and planted a native beach plant. We took our morning tea at David’s house which is always fun. He coordinates the work on the Eastbourne Sand Dunes and often comes out and lends a hand with the planting. We had morning tea at David’s house which included cheese crackers, little lemon cookies and earl gray [...]

Hey y’all!!!!
It’s been so long since I’ve written in here.  I’ll give y’all a little run down of the past week.  Last Monday, we went to Pautahanui and worked with a senior volunteering group.  Almost all of us were assigned tree planted.  We planted a total of 160 trees!!!!  The smaller group was in charge of looking over a pile of burning weeds.  it was an esay, yet satisfying day.
Tuesday, we went to Rimutaka National Forest and checked the stoat line.  It was a pretty successful day-10 rats and 1 stoat.  We all had fun on the long hike.
Wednesday, our [...]

Monday, I started the Voluntary work here for GVN – Monday we went to Pauatahanui Wildlife Reserve, to help plant coloniseing plants to restore the natural shrub species. Helped to plant trees and explored the area slightly.
Tuesday was my first day was in the Office – I had a brainstorming session with Ray, the head of Learning and Leadning, before coming up with a few ideas for projects to work on. I’ve decided to concentrate on the waste managmnent system here in NZ , concentrating on Wellington and the surrounding area. This will expand on my Geography A level project, [...]

Arrived in Wellington on Thursday night, after a long long journey and many delays! Got picked up at the airport by Chirsten, our House adivisor. When we arrived at the house I was introduced to the new housemates (some of the others where out white-water rafting in Kaituna), before crashing into bed and passing out with jet lag.
The next day me, Karlan and Victor all had an iduction and welcome day at the GVN offices in Wellington. I’m going to be working on the Heal the Earth programme, so working in the field with NZNP (new zealand nature programme) a [...]

It has been a beautiful couple of first days!  Today we spent the entire day in the forest, counting fruit from trees and hiking around.  Yesterday we worked at a nature reserve and helped build a bridge path as well as help Reese give doses of meds to birds.  Slightly humorous and terrifying, we would have to duck out of the way while a giant pigeon flew towards us in a small cage.  loved it. The day before was spent at a lovely home of a sweet couple of ladies who gave us tea and muffins.  We released small trees [...]

Today the team was split into two groups, so we were in threesomes, which was a good idea, as there was more work to go around.  Our team, Jamie and Devon and myself landed the Paekakariki gig first, so off we went under the bridge and over the hill.  We were greeted with machetes and grubbers and were informed that we would be making a new track.  Little did we know how hard of work it would be.  We started up off the nice, docile hill and were soon up to our knees in bush.  We were taken aback for [...]

Well today was Nga Manu nature reserve, we arrived around 9:30 and we were greeted by Bob, Reese and the gang, which included a Tuatara and a stuffed brown spotted kiwi.  Bob gave us a nice intro to the nature park and the dinosaur aka tuatara.  We learnt that the tuatara is a very old creature and a species of its own, and was back around when the dinosaurs were alive, some odd million years ago.  They even have a third eye on the top of its head, much like a baby’s soft spot we were told.
After a nice cup [...]

So on Friday we met Jonathan, a local mountain biker and nature conservationist.  We got straight to work…weeding out non-native plant to give the young, native plants room to grow.  After working for about an hour, we had a break for morning tea.  After that, we headed over to a mountain biking trail, where we split up into two groups.  Mckenzie and Jonathan refilled possum poison containers.  The rest of us(Amy, Jamie, Liana, Toby and myself) were given loppas(giant pruners) to help clean the path.  Later, after an hour of clearing the path of superfluous plants, we had another break [...]

Hey ya’ll!!!!
Yesterday, we piled into the van and headed south east to Turakirae beach.  There we met up with DOC(Dept. of Conservation) staff, and were briefed on what we were doing for the day.  While we were there to pick up all kinds of trash, most of it was car parts or broken beer bottles.  WE worked for about two and a half hours.  After our beach cleaning, we headed over to the “driftwood auditorium” to listen to Professor Fraiser( a local professor from the university) talk about geomorphology.  We had a mini-lecture on the geography of the area.  Afterwards, [...]

Hello!
A tous ceux a qui j’ ai promis des nouvelles quotidiennes,  desolee, mais j’ai des excuses.
1. Le voyage. Je crois que je ne pourrais plus jamais reprendre un avion de ma vie. 32 heures, meme sur Qantas, c’est long.  Au dela des 20 heures, la serviette chaude ou la lingette rafraichissante au citron chimique ne font plus effet. J ai mis environ 10 jours a me remettre du decalage, et encore. Je resiste assez mal au manque de sommeil, mais il faut quand meme savoir que la Nouvelle Zelande se trouve a GMT+12 de la France
Le debut fut un peu [...]

Today we returned to Nga Manu, a Nature Reserve on the Kapiti Coast about an hour’s drive from the volunteer house.  Yesterday, two of the group helped out with some weeding on the reserve, and the rest of us worked on the Swan Pond, plastering sand bags that were getting worn down by all the swan and duck foot traffic.  We mixed cement and plastered the banks of the pond from mid-morning until about lunchtime.  We ate outside, watching the ducks, and then went for a walk around the reserve, with a group of ducks in tow (two of us [...]

Hurrah!

13-Feb-2008
So here’s the last few days:
Friday night we all went out for a fancy dinner on the waterfront to change it up a little bit. I had my first taste of famous New Zealand lamb and wine. The next day Angela, Steve, Dave and I went to a 9 hour cricket match at Wellington’s stadium – England vs. the Kiwis or “black caps”. New Zealand CRUSHED England so I got to lord that over poor Dave (the Brit). The next day was hiking and walking in the pouring rain, including a brief trip to the Petone Settler’s Museum which talked [...]

8-Feb-2008
So yesterday (Waitangi day) we ventured into Wellington, and decided we could probably find the One Love reggae festival without first consulting a map. Well, that was a mistake, and we wandered around for several hours before seeing signs of backpacks full of beer, Bob Marley t-shirts, people who hadn’t showered in a while, you get the picture. The concert itself was quite an experience, but I was tired from walking there and decided to leave after an hour of people watching (more fun than listening to the band).
That night, I went for a star-gazing hike. Almost as peaceful [...]

6-Feb-2008
Q: What’s the most hilarious thing in the world?
A: Watching the superbowl with a bunch of Kiwis who keep trying to compare it to rugby.
Pure magic. Yay Giants (only because Tom Brady needs an ego check). We spent the rest of the day at ultimate practice (I watched), and then Rob made us specialty Hell pizzas. Sunday I got the real Christchurch tour, going through the botanical gardens, Cathedral square, and the museum. Christchurch is a really pretty city, and the tourist stuff is nice, but it was also good to be there visiting people who actually live there so [...]

4-Feb-2008
Saturday morning I got up early and took a taxi to the ferry, pretty disappointed because it was cloudy and raining.
Now, when I signed up to take the ferry, I was thinking ferry as in a bigger version of the ferry between Douglas and Saugatuck. Not so much. This ferry was what I imagine a cruise ship to be like – a couple stories, crazy sections of reclining seats, bars, a movie theater, etc. It was advertised as “a destination in itself.” So yeah, pretty nice, but it kept raining so the views were not what I hoped for.
The train [...]

2-Feb-2008
Ok! After eel feeding, we went to the beach. Steve and I bought cheap body boards and it was AWESOME even though I didn’t exactly like the water temperature (surprising, no?) We were surrounded by tons of 8 year olds on surf boards, but boogie boarding was enough for me.
Yesterday after another day working at Nga Manu (trail clearing, fax cutting, weeding) we took a walk to the field in Lower Hutt (showing the new volunteers the long arduous journey down the hill) and played some frisbee and 2 on 2 football.
Last night we went into Wellington for one of [...]

1-Feb-2008
Question: I’m tramping through the bush (hiking through the woods) with a screwdriver, a carton of eggs, and surgical gloves. What am I doing?
Answer: Trying to find dead hedgehogs.
The last couple days have been long hikes, mostly checking and re-baiting possum, rat, and hedgehog traps. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) we have come across a couple dead ones, but I have so far gotten out of having to handle any corpses.
What else? More tree releasing, and even getting to see endangered eel feeding.

29-Jan-2008
Today, we looking for dead possums. Not to be confused with the North American opossum, possums were introduced to New Zealand from Australia because the colonists thought that there weren’t enough animals. Since then, scientists have realized that possums eat kiwi eggs (gasp! horror!) and so have been on a campaign to wipe them out. One idea is to introduce an STD into the population (seriously), but right now it’s up to volunteers like us setting traps. Yup.
We also set more traps for rats, and had to wear gloves because we were dealing with big blocks of rat poison. [...]

27-Jan-2008
Awesome weekend. Friday Ben, Angela, Steve and I went for a long hike through Belmont. Lots of uphill, but the views from the top were totally worth it. You could see Wellington harbor in one direction, the ocean in the other, and green hills everywhere else. It was perfect. The hike also led us to a hidden waterfall, creeks to cross, lots of sheep (of course), and beautiful flowers.
Afterwards, Steve and I walked all the way to Lower Hutt and back. Twice. Not on purpose. The first time was to buy groceries and the second we missed the last bus [...]