Sustainable Kiwis and Surprised Penguins

We started the day off by visiting a sustainable kiwi home. The residents, Graeme and Karen built their house 20 years ago on a 4.5 hectare lifestyle plot. Although they are on-grid, they have the ability to go off-grid if they lose power. On top of the garage is an array of individual solar panels with micro inverters that have been installed for 1 1/2 years. This is beneficial over string solar inverters (all connected) if the panels get some shade by allowing for maximum performance. They also use wind power and unlike the solar panels, all the energy must be used so as to not cook the turbine. With wind, Graeme has the ability to control where the energy goes and how fast the turbine spins by changing the angle. Lightening, coronal mass ejections, and high wind speeds are some concerns for the turbine. He said the turbines are not a big problem for birds. 

Partly shaded panels

Large barrels collect rainwater from the roof, which is then filtered. Known as an inventor, Graeme built his own LED lights. Their home is heated with a coal range fed by wood clippings from the property, which evenly heats the whole house. 

Graeme works at Landcare Research as a green house gas research technician, but he also runs a farm and orchard with plots of different crops including apricots, apples, plums, cherries, and feijoas. Not entirely organic, Graeme sprays fungicide, but with so many birds there is no need for insecticides. Grazing in the orchard was a flock of sheep that had recently given birth to adorable lambs. After learning about his property's sustainability, we were overjoyed to be given bread to feed to the sheep. 

Mimi feeds a lamb!

It's lunch time so we set out for Christchurch to eat at C1 Espresso —the converted bank we visited earlier in the trip. Full of delicious food we were given an hour to shop around the Re:Start Mall, an outdoor shopping area made from old shipping containers. 

We piled into the Gator Waka to drive to Sumner, a coastal suburb of Christchurch. We took a short hike in Godley Head Park on the Taylors Mistake Walkway. 

Another beautiful day in New Zealand

We stopped at the predator proof fenced that protects the wildlife below. A steep ladder descent brought us to the rocky bottom that is home to the endangered white flippered penguins.

Katherine, Mimi and Kelly

Predator proof fence on the cliff

Peering into the nesting boxes we got to see many penguins up close.

Two penguins in their nest

After we walked back we drove down the road to Sumner Beach. Again we searched for wildlife on the rocks, this time looking for starfish and other tidal pool dwellers. After enjoying the view and exploring a few caves we headed on back to Christchurch for the night.

-Maris

Rails to Tales

After a chilly night, we ate breakfast and bid farewell to the historic Waipara Sleeper Cars.  We were off to explore the Waipara valley Greening Waipara wineries.  We reviewed our native plants and learned about the wine of the region.

Then it was back to Lincoln to catch the last few minutes of the Saturday Market and get some lunch.  After a break to unpack our bags, we had a friendly game of Cricket with the Huhu Grubs taking on the Hugh Wilson Warriors. Unfortunately, we will ever know the outcome of the game as an hour-and-a-half in, the game was called on account of weather.  A southerly change came up quickly and brought too much cold, rain, and wind, but the tales might be told of the mighty Huhu dominating the Warriors 42-33, or the Warriors coming back to crush the Huhu if it were not for the weather.  hmmmm...

Rest Up!  A few more adventures to come, m&m : )                                               

Birds, Sheep and Cher

What a day.

We started the morning off waking up in the sacred room of the Marae, the sun came through the windows and showed off all the beautiful and intricate carvings that revealed so much of Maori culture. Before we had too much time to admire the morning late, breakfast was being eaten and our Maori host, Brett was leading us outside for a morning lesson. Then things got interesting, we were each given staffs similar to those used by Maori warriors and learned a few basic fighting techniques, some of us were more graceful than others.

Next was our hike, while it was quite blustery nothing gets in the way of these Kiwis and an opportunity to learn. We were allowed to go into the Hutton's Shearwater 'Man-Made' Colony and learned a lot from Brett, the man of many trades. It is believed that the Hutton's Shearwater birds (aka Titi's) were once found along the coast but that they have since moved into the Alpine regions to avoid predation from invasive pests. This colony is being established by taking about 150 chicks from the Alpine region, hand feeding and monitoring their weight for about 40 days and then allowing them to take off (with the assistance of some launch pads) into the ocean.

Last but certainly not least we were introduced to Daryl. Not only did he give us a breakdown of what it means to be a sheep farmer and explain his essential involvement in the Greening Waipara Project (a project that involves bringing in natives to vineyards), he also had us as his dinner guests. Dinner was truly delicious and could only be rivaled by the entertainment that followed.

The annual Lip Sync Competition.

From Frozen performance to a surprise appearance by Sonny and Cher, the competition was close but the win was well deserved as Tupelo accepted her place on the podium. 

Then we were off to bed in a rail car, this one goes in the books.

-Lauren H.

Kaikoura

Our first stop on our way to Kaikoura was Pegasus Town, one of the largest green developments in the Canterbury region with around 1300-1500 homes.  

The development is about six years old, but is likely 20 years from being completely finished.  The builders and homeowners are able to plant natives within individual lots at their own discretion, but all houses within the development must meet sustainable energy efficiency specifications.  Some more green features include swales for drainage and high-density housing  (small lots are placed close together with larger areas of shared open green space among houses).  

The development neighbors the Tuhaitara Coastal Park, in which the developers have made efforts to begin restoring native vegetation in some areas.

Our next stop was for teatime at Pukeko Junction.

       Several hours later, we arrived in Kaikoura!  (Kai meaning land, koura meaning crayfish- land of the crayfish!) We first stopped for lunch at a local beach and then headed to the New Zealand fur seal sanctuary and enjoyed a closer look of lounging, playing, and barking seals!  

      The fur seals were once abundant throughout the country and have been under full government protection from hunting since 1946.  The current population is roughly 100,000 seals, however, that is estimated to be only 10-20% of the original population prior to the increase in hunting in the mid 1700’s.

        After admiring the seals from the viewing platform, we took a short drive to a mystery hike.  

        We walked about 10-15 minutes before reaching the hidden jewel- the Ohau Stream Seal Pups.  

      A hidden waterfall sanctuary acts as a nursery for up to 200 seal pups every winter, giving these young, gregarious animals a chance to develop important social and motor skills.  They return down the stream every few days for their mother’s milk until they reach about a year in age and leave the safety of the waterfall for good.  Sadly, we couldn’t spend the entire day watching the little pups chase each other in their gorgeous home and made our way back down the path to the van.

     We had just enough time for a quick souvenir-shopping trip in Kaikoura before we left to attend the Powhiri, or formal greeting, at Takahanga Marae.   The house and grounds are sacred and after a brief overview of the Powhiri process outside the grounds, we entered the Marae and the welcome ceremony began.  The welcome was conducting almost entirely in Maori, and includes first a welcome to the ancestors of both the hosts and the Manuhiri (visitors), before welcoming the guests.  Each group sang a song; the Takahanga sang a traditional Maori song that was beautiful and filled the building with a rich harmony.  (we sang Stand by Me, by Ben E. King, and did our best J ).  After a few closing words, we did the Hongi, which is a Maori traditional greeting in which each person presses their nose and forehead against one another.

      Once the formal ceremony was over, we enjoyed tea and pastries before returning to the meetinghouse for a more in depth discussion and introduction to the Takahanga Marae.  This discussion including a history of the intricately carved decorative panels covering the walls and ceilings of the Marae that depict the history of the Iwi (tribe) and its connections to the region, Maori gods, and neighboring tribes.  Sadly, no photography is permitted inside the Marae and my words can’t do the ceremony or the building’s artwork justice- but it was a truly magical experience.  After the introduction and history of the Takahanga Marae, we went to dinner at Tiki Takeway, which has been voted the best fish and chips shop on the South Island, and the second best shop in all of New Zealand. We then returned to the Marae and got settled in for the night.

-Mimi

Penguins, Sea Kayaking, and Sheep – Oh My!

We tried something different this year – sea kayaking in Flea Bay or Pohatu (near Akaroa). Pohatu means the “place of stones” because the Maori had to remove so many stones from this area in order to till the ground and grow kumara – or sweet potato http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/kumara . The pakeha (or foreigner) name was Flea Bay – because when the settlers picked up the abundant penguins in the area – they were covered in fleas and these proceeded to cover their arms.

The company that took the group started a unique conservation reserve called Tutakahikura Scenic Bush Reserve and they take folks kayaking through the marine reserve. Shireen and her husband were both farmers and bought the property and when they saw the penguins disappearing around the peninsula, they decided to do something about it and started protecting the penguins (see http://www.pohatu.co.nz/About+Us.html ). We were greeted by Benoit and and Kevin, our (French) guides through the land and marine reserve.

Hopping into two vans – we headed the road over to Flea Bay. From the top, we had quite a view of Akaroa Harbour, which is actually the crater of an extinct volcano over 6 million years ago.

View of Akaroa Harbour

Ben explains the origins of Akaroa Harbour

The class near the top

Along the way, we looked at a weta hotel and saw a Bank’s Peninsula tree weta Hemideina ricta. http://ecan.govt.nz/publications/General/banks-peninsula-tree-weta-brochure.pdf   These lovely wetas became really large – in the absence of mice and other small mammals – sort of taking over their niche. 

Checking out a weta hotel

This is a giant weta form the North Island

Banks Peninsula tree weta in the hotel that we saw today

We dropped down into the bay and begun our preparations. We were instantly surrounded by some shaggy brown sheep – much to the delight of the class. We got to feed them!

Over here!

More?

After safety instructions and some instructions about the sea kayaks, we entered the water on a beautiful sunny day. The water was a nice turquoise blue and we began to look for white-flippered penguins Eudyptula albosignata http://www.penguin.org.nz/white-flippered-penquin.html and Hector’s dolphins Cephalorhynchus hectori. http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/marine-mammals/dolphins/hectors-dolphin/  Both species are rare and endangered.

First up though were New Zealand fur seals Arctocephalus forsteri basking on the rocks. As we paddled by, they were basking on the rocks. They lazily lifted up their heads as we paddled by. 

Out into the bay!

Grouping together as we head towards the penguin colonies

Tupelo giving it her all

Then, Kevin pointed out our first white-flippered peguin along the rocks. Amazing! These penguins are unique only to Banks Peninsula and at one time numbered in the tens of thousands but were reduced quite dramatically due to predators (e.g., rats, cats, dogs, and stoats).  The penguins dig/find burrows on shore and this is where they are vulnerable to introduced predators. There is an extensive predator control program in the area. Even grazing sheep help because they prevent the exotic grasses form seeding out – and this reduces the amount of food for rats and mice. Currently, it is estimated that there are about one thousand penguins nesting in the area. 

Cute penguins huddled on the rocks

As we got out towards the ocean, we saw Hector’s dolphins. These little guys (they grow 1.5 m in length) are highly endangered, affected by fishing nets and boat propellers. The Banks Peninsula marine mammal sanctuary in Canterbury was established in 1988 primarily to reduce set-net deaths of Hector’s dolphins in the area.

We returned to shore, dragged up the kayaks, and cleaned the gear. We were introduced (to our surprise) a pair of penguins nesting right by the boat shed. 

Hello there!

Ok guys - cover us back up!

We had lunch and headed back over the hill. next stop was tea time and then back to Lincoln. We leave for Kaikoura tomorrow and will have limited internet connection. So more in a few days! 

Cheers Dr. H

One last look at Flea Bay

Restoration and Smash Palace!

Today we headed back out to Birdlings Flat for a restoration project on a 550 hectare property. The property is owned by an American from Massachusetts who wants to protect the land from development. We met up with Kate, John and Rima. They explained what would be doing for the day. Planting! We worked on top of a hill overlooking the ocean. We had a beautiful view.

There were more steps to planting this time around. First, we grubbed away the grass from the patch where the plant would soon be planted. Next, we dug a hole and put the plant in. We compacted soil around the plant to make sure that there were not any air pockets. We placed foam mats around the trunks of the plants and put cages around them. These protect the plants from spray and from pests like rabbits. Finally, we surrounded the plant with the torn up grass so the plant won't freeze. (Some of us also named our plants, but that wasn't required).

We worked for two hours and then took a lunch break before working for another two hours. When we were finished, we'd planted about 140 native plants including Totara, Hebe, Flax and Cabbage Tree. It was satisfying to look back at all the work we'd done.

Dr. Hostetler then took us to a pub called Smash Palace. Every Tuesday, people from around Christchurch gather and talk about sustainable development issues related to the rebuild of Christchurch.  While we ate burgers and fries, Dr. Hostetler gave a talk about green communities and their politics. After his talk, he took questions from the crowd, mainly relating to implementation of environmental policies in government.

After the presentation, we headed to another pub in Lyttelton called Wunderbar. This pub had unique decorations and a youthful vibe, and was one of the only establishments that survived the earthquakes in Lyttelton after 2011. Dr. Dean Anderson and Dr. Meurk joined us for rousing conversations and lots of laughs. Dr. Hostetler challenged a few of the students to a cut-throat game of foosball. Tired, we returned to Lincoln for the night.

~Emma~