Day 4 - Activity 2

Activity 2:After a morning of learning about beached whales in Golden Bay, you and your group are driven to a nearby town, Nelson, to watch a special movie called ‘Whale rider.’ It is a famous movie about a young girl who was born and raised in New Zealand. Watch the following movie trailers for Whale Rider: Whale Rider trailer #1 and Whale Rider Trailer #2 and then write a summary of the movie on your blog. What is it about? Be sure to also give the movie a rating out of 5 based on the trailer [1 = bad movie, 2 = okay movie, 3 = pretty good, 4 = good movie, 5 = excellent movie].

When ‘Whale Rider’ finishes, you and your tour group enjoy a delicious meal in downtown Nelson before heading back to your hotel. You need to go to bed early because you have to get up at 4:30 a.m. the next morning to travel back to Farewell Spit to see a group (pod) of Hector’s Dolphins. It is going to be an early morning!

I rate this movie a 4 because it was interesting and it was also about a girl named Paikea that is 12 years old of age. In every generation every first born is a new chief of the tribe, she was the first born but she wasn't treated like one because she was a girl and it was only for males. 

Day 4 - Activity 1

Activity 1: When you arrive in the south island, Curious Kiwi rents a shuttle van and drives your group from Picton (the town where the ferry dropped you off) to a beautiful beach on the opposite side of the island. The beach area is called Golden Bay and, at one end of the bay, is a stunning area called Farewell Spit.

Farewell Spit has been in the news recently as a number of whales accidentally swam into the spit and became stuck on the beach. They were unable to swim back to the ocean because the water was too shallow. Many local people tried to save the ‘beached’ whales. Please follow this Farewell Spit link to learn more about what happened. On your blog, describe what the local people did to try and save the beached whales.


What did the Local people do to try and save the whales


They dug holes around the whale and pored some of the sea water in the hole next to the wale to keep them alive. Some whales survived and some did not eventually. The people had to keep on filling the buckets with the water to keep them hydrated so that they won't die. 

Day 3 - Activity 2

Activity 2:On your blog, tell us whether you agree that New Zealand should be predator free. In your opinion, is it right to kill all of the predators (eg. possums) or should we just leave them alone? On your blog tell us what you think and give us, at least, three reasons why you think this way.

Once you have finished your blog post, it is time to relax for the evening. You and your friends have a nice dinner and then head to bed. You are just about to fall asleep when you hear something moving around outside your hotel. It sounds like a large bird. Maybe it’s a Moa…

To learn more about the Moa bird go to the bonus activity for today!

I am very certain that we should kill these predators because....

1. They are a very big threat to the forests and the native wildlife.

2. At night the total of leaves and flowers that possums eat is 21,000 tones.

3. Every time possums damage things it cost's NZ Farmers about 35 million every year.

4. The New Zealand Government has to spend about $110 million per year on possum control.

5. Possums eat Leaves, flower, leaf bugs, fruit, eggs, birds, insects & snails.

Day 3 - Activity 1

Activity 1:Curious Kiwi, a native New Zealand bird, is your tour guide for today. He is going to take you to visit the Otorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park where many of his aunties and uncles currently live. The bird park is a five hour drive from Dargaville so you hit the road right after breakfast and arrive in Otorohanga at lunch time. As you walk through the birdhouse you learn about the work being done to conserve and protect the native birds of New Zealand. You decide to help out by ‘adopting’ a native animal. Visit the ‘Adopt a Critter page’ on the Otorohanga bird house website to choose one animal to adopt. On your blog, tell us the name of the animal that you chose and a little bit about them. What kind of animal are they? What do they eat? Where do they normally live? You can use Google to help you with your research.

Morepork

1. A Morepork is a Carnivorous bird, which means it only eats small insects & small mammals.

2. The Scientific name for the Morepork bird is Ninox novaeseelandiae.

3. The Morepork hearing is acute and there large eye's are very sensitive to the light.

4. It's European name is (MorePork) Maori name (Ruru) and the Australian name (Boobook.)

5. Morporks have soft fringes on the edge of there wings so that when they fly there flyng silently and that they don't make noise when there gonna approach there predator. 

Day 2 - Activity 2

Activity 2: As an island nation, New Zealand is completely surrounded by water. It is the perfect place for people who like to swim or to sail! While in Dargaville, recovering from your busy day of sightseeing, you notice a number sailboats going by. One of the boats is manned by a young German girl named Laura Dekker. At the age of fourteen she sailed around the world the entire world by herself. You can watch a short video clip about her adventures here: Laura Dekker sailing trip.   

Let’s imagine that you had the chance to interview Laura while in Dargaville. On your blog post five questions that you would ask her.

Laura Dekker

1. Who inspired you?

2. Was there anytime that you felt that you just wanted to give up?

3. Was there any struggles with the boat your were on?

4. Have you seen anything suspicious in the sea on you travels?

5. What advice would you give to someone who wanted to become just like you and sail the world?

Day 2 - Activity 1

Activity 1:After a very busy day of sightseeing you and your group drive from Tane Mahuta to your hotel in Dargaville. When you arrive you decide to sit down and record your thoughts in your travel diary. Before you start writing, take a minute to read more about Rangitoto island, Karekare beach and Tane Mahuta.  On your blog, tell us which of the three places you most enjoyed visiting and why.  

Tane Manhuta Walk

The reason I chose Tane Manhuta Walk was because it sounded very interesting. According to the Maori tradition Tane is the son of Ranginui the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother. I really enjoyed that trip because I have never seen a massive tree like that before so it was a new experience for me and I also enjoyed it.

Day 1 - Bonus Activity

Bonus: Now it’s time to start your tour! Curious Kiwi decides to start by taking you on a short tour through downtown Auckland. You stop at the Sky Tower, the tallest building in all of New Zealand. When you look up, you see a huge New Zealand flag on the top of the tower. This flag was created back in 1902. That makes the New Zealand flag 115 years old!

My Flag

This is my Flag. The Light & Dark Blue represents the beautiful ocean around the world and the Red shows the blood for those brave hearted soldiers who went to war. Last of all the Flower is a meaning for all Pacific Islanders that live in New Zealand.