It was great to hear from someone so knowledgeable about these subjects. We learned about New Zealand's unique "land mammal free" natural history that created a bird and lizard ecosystem in which flightless birds (like kiwis) took over the roles of land mammals. This was all disrupted with the arrival of exotic land mammals like possums and stoats that were brought by European settlers over the last two hundred years. We also got to hear about how the Landcare Research organization works with the New Zealand government, private businesses, and volunteers around the country, in order to restore and conserve New Zealand's biodiversity and overall ecosystem.
After teatime, we went to the Riccarton Bush forest, and got a very informative tour from Dr. Meurk. Walking through the forest was characterized by Dr. Meurk as traveling back in time around 60 million years. This is because New Zealand's isolated natural development allowed some plant and tree species to survive that are quite similar to the those that existed around the Jurassic period. The forest of about 7 hectares (15+ acres) is protected by a fence designed to keep out any exotic land animals.
We walked along the amazing trail through the forest with the wildlife right at our sides.
We admired the 100 ft. plus trees, such as this kahikatea tree that is around 600 years old.
After the forest tour, we walked all around the Christchurch central business district, and saw the wonderful job that the people of New Zealand are doing at rebuilding the city after a terrible earthquake in 2011. Here we are walking by the chalice of Cathedral Square.
We also enjoyed playing on the large city playground where we, and many other adults, seemed welcome to play on the equipment, such as this ropes course type section.
Later, we shopped at the Re:Start mall in downtown Christchurch, which was one of the first restored areas after the earthquake and makes use of shipping containers that have been re purposed to be parts of the shops.
We finished the day off with teatime at the C1 Espresso cafe. Hot chocolate, tea, coffee, and macaroni and cheese with bacon were some of the great snacks that we dug into there. Much of the food was given to us through an air tube system pictured below.
Our experiences in both the amazing Riccarton forest, and the vibrant city of Christchurch made this a day to remember on our adventure here in New Zealand.
- Santiago M.
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