CU Abroad – Alison Keggan

This past Friday was the very well-rejoiced last day of classes for most students at Massey.  With a few days over three weeks left in New Zealand, this weekend was absolutely the perfect time to head out of Palmerston North to explore more of the country before I leave.  This weekend’s destination was Rotorua.  Sulphur City, as one guide book calls the place, features natural hot springs, bubbling mud, and a looming smell of Sulphur. 

Saturday morning, three of my friends and I caught the bus to Rotorua.  Being excited to visit Rotorua, the five hour bus ride seemed to go rather fast.  It soon became obvious when we arrived in Rotorua: we could smell the sulphur in the air.  After we got off the bus, we checked into our hostel, sorted out some room issues, and then headed out to explore the town.  We had a quick dinner at the Pig and Whistle restaurant and then relaxed for the night at the Polynesian Spa.  At the Polynesian Spa, we soaked in various hot tubs containing the mineral water of the area.  My favourite pool contained green water and reminded me of swimming in Hi-C or some type of tropical drink! Tired from the day, it was soon off to bed. 

The next morning, we awoke, excited to be going Zorbing!  What is zorbing?  Zorbing, honestly, reminds me of a human size hamster ball.  One or more people sit inside a large plastic ball and then go rolling down a hill.  Normally, there are two zorbing options: dry, in which you are in a harness inside the ball, or wet, in which you sit in several gallons of water.  After having a quick breakfast, we caught the bus out to the Zorbing location.  When it was finally our turn to go zorbing, our first trip down the hill featured three of us in the ball going straight down the hill.  I will admit, I was a bit nervous once we were in the ball together, however, it was such a fun thing to do.  I laughed so hard, my cheeks were quivering when I got to the bottom of the hill. The second time I went, I came down a zig-zag course.  If ever in New Zealand on the North Island, I would recommend almost anyone go Zorbing.  Not only were the people there great, it was one fun time! 

Sunday also included taking a gondola ride and going luging, which were also very exciting.  Having enough adveneture for the day, we were ready to head back into town and get ready for dinner.  Seven of us went to a cafe called the Fat Dog.  Together, we represented six countries: Norway, Sweden, Germany, Australia, England, and America.  Talk about a cultural experience! 

Monday was our last day in Rotorua and also the Queen’s Birthday, a holiday celebrated in New Zealand on June first every year.  We spent our morning exploring some shops and then walked out to the Rotorua Museum.  We decided not to tour the museum and instead walked around Lake Rotorua.  Time was quickly dwindling and before we knew it, it was time to board the bus back to Palmertson North.  Rotorua was truly an amazing place to visit and a great end of the semester trip.  I am now ready to begin studying for my finals! 

This weekend has been my first complete weekend back in Palmerston North since I left for mid-semester break several weeks ago.  Adjusting back to classes, I wondered where my time in New Zealand has gone.  Part of me feels like it was just yesterday that I arrived off the plane in Auckland ready to make New Zealand my home away from home.  Nonetheless, I am confident that I have largely made the most of my time here, including this weekend’s adventure to “Owlcatraz.” 

Of course, a play on words, “Owlcatraz” is a park about 30 kilometres outside of Palmerston North in the town of Shannon.  The park was started as someone’s hobby of caring for owls and soon grew into a visitor attraction.  Today, the park is home to a multitude of animals, including two ostriches, a Kune pig, two donkeys, several deer, two steer, and six owls and also includes a cave of glow worms and the “ol’ Shannon jail.” 

The tour of the park first began with a trek into the glow worm caves.  Because it is so dark in the cave, everyone had to hold onto the person in front of them in order to stay on course.  While I have seen glow worms once already, it was unique to see them again, especially because this time, there were literally thousands of them in the cave all shining their light. 

Once done in the cave, the tour included a visit to the Kune Pig.  This type of pig was brought to New Zealand by the Maori people, not for its meat, but for its bristles.  The bristles from the pig can be cut off and used for items such as tooth brushes.  Apparently, George Clooney once had a Kune pig as a pet, or at least that’s what we were told.  Our next stop was to visit the two Jerusalem donkeys and then the two ostriches.  Once we had admired the ostriches, we saw two steers, which are male cattle.   The were not your average steers, though.  One of the steers was a Dexter cattle cross, a type of cattle breed.  Compared to your average cow, he was rather tiny.  The other steer was just the opposite.  He was absolutely ENORMOUS and standing next to him, I felt quite tiny. 

The last stop along the tour was to see the owls.  The New Zealand Owl has been given several names, including Morepork and Ruru, in Maori.  The beautiful creature is considered the only bird that has never been hunted in New Zealand.  Of course, when I think of owls, I can’t help but thinking of the “wise old owl.”  Similarly, in New Zealand, the owl has been considered the “priest of the forest” and for that reason, they have never been hunted.    

As our visit to the park came to an end, we finished the night with a dinner of fish and chips- practically a New Zealand staple.  And it was back to Massey to resume studying for classes J 

To see more about the park, visit their website:  http://www.owlcatraz.co.nz/index.shtml

Throughout life, I have considered myself to be many things: friendly, hardworking, motivated, etc. I have also considered myself to be pretty physically fit. However, this weekend, I definitely had that thought tested during a hike through the Ruahine Forest Park. Having been hiking quite a few times before, I didn’t think I had much to worry about this time. I figured I could easily do the hike. The hike was six hours up the mountains of the park and with multiple river crossings and I didn’t even blink an eye when I heard that.

The hike began Saturday morning through a sheep pasture (yes, there are sheep everywhere!) and then across a small stream. Within minutes, we were already ascending the mountain. For quite a while, we continued going up and up the mountain. My legs burned, my heart was pounding, and every breath I took was as if I had just come off a sports field. As I looked around, I wondered if others on the trip were finding this as difficult as I was or if they could tell I thought the trek was hard. Of course, not wanting to show anyone my weaknesses, I pushed on as hard as I could. For a moment, I felt oddly out of place, until I realized there were others on the trip who were having just as much difficulty as I was. Fortunately, I had my friend Katy looking out for me- asking me frequently if I was doing okay and making sure that I had plenty of water.

After several hours, we had reached the mountain peak! We had accomplished our goal and it felt pretty good to see how far we had come. During our hike, we had a strong hiker in both the front and back, while those like me who were a little more fearful stuck in the middle. Kay in front guided the way and would frequently stop to let everyone catch up, while Dave in back made sure everyone was okay. It was interesting to think about how our team operated- frequent stops to let everyone catch up and we encouraged each other through difficult parts of the trek. What a great thing to apply in other situations- ensure everyone on your team is being supported and that they are okay. A few words of encouragement can go a very long way and can get a whole group of eight people up a mountain. And so, on our way down, we followed the same principles!

This weekend, I had the fortunate opportunity to visit New Zealand’s capital, Wellington.  Wellington is approximately an hour and a half from Palmerston North and my friend that I was travelling with and I left mid-morning Saturday.  Upon arriving in Wellington, our first stop was “the Beehive.”  The Beehive is the executive wing of Parliament and is where Parliament conducts much of its business.  

After visiting Parliament, we walked through Wellington to take in some of the sights of the city.  Our next stop was to the Botanical Gardens.  However, in order to get to the Botanical Gardens, we had to take the Wellington Cable Car.  From the cable cars, we could see a great portion of Wellington.  Wandering the botanical gardens, we saw many plants native to New Zealand.  Once we had seen enough of the botanical gardens, we ascended the mountain we were on via the cable car. 

As dinner time was nearing, we headed toward the wharf to look for a restaurant to eat.  We saw several Thai restaurants, but decided we eat enough curry in the dining hall and kept walking.  Quite some time later, and rather famished, we found a place called “The Fisherman’s Table.”  The restaurant was situated right on the water and had a great lookout to see Wellington.  I enjoyed a delicious meal of Blue Warehou, a type of fish that I have never tried before, let alone heard of.  As 8 o’clock neared, a waiter at the restaurant brought a candle to our table in preparation for an event taking place in Wellington that evening.  From 8:30 to 9:30, New Zealand was celebrating “Earth Hour.”  Businesses and individuals in the country were asked to turn off their lights for an hour to show that they care about the environment.  Thus, the restaurant we were at was participating. 

Leaving the restaurant, we came upon a large group of people on the wharf who were celebrating Earth Hour with live music.  We sat down to enjoy the music and the great night in Wellington. 

The next day, our main stop for the day was to Te Papa: The Museum of New Zealand.  The several story museum featured everything from a preserved giant Colossal Squid, to the replications of a bird that once lived in New Zealand called the Moa, to garments common of the Maori, to a display about flooding. 

Our weekend was coming to an end, but before we were headed back to Palmerston North, we managed to sit down for coffee with a friend in Wellington. 

Being interested in politics, the highlight of the weekend was definitely visiting Parliament.  As we toured the Parliament building, I couldn’t help but think of all the political leaders that have walked through that building and the power they have had to affect other’s lives.  Members of Parliament have the power to affect thousands of people’s lives, yet, each of us has that same power.  We can make a difference in someone else’s life by simply smiling as we pass them on the sidewalk, saying thank you to someone who has helped us, or being the listening ear that a friend needs. 

Focus on the journey, not the destination.  Joy is not found in finishing an activity but doing it” - Greg Anderson

This weekend, I had the opportunity to visit Kapiti Island Nature Reserve.  Kapiti is considered one of New Zealand’s most precious nature reserves.  The island had been settled in the 1800s and faced much destruction.  However, the island is now, for the most part, under the care of the Department of Conservation.  In the past fifteen years, it has been given a chance to regenerate itself and is now home to many species of native New Zealand birds, including the famed Kiwi. 

The Recreation Centre on campus put together the trip to Kapiti and so I had the lovely opportunity tovisit Kapiti and to meet several other Massey students!  From campus, we had about an hour and a half drive down the mainland of New Zealand to the boating club where we would meet our boat.  Once at the boating club, each of us had to have our bags checked for rodents.  Because the island is home to so many birds, it is kept rodent and predator free.  The introduction of just one rodent could potentially wreak havoc for the birds.  While still on land, we loaded onto the boat, which was then pulled out to the water by a tractor.  From the edge of the shore, we had a fifteen minute boat ride to the island. 

Takahe in the bushes

Once on the island, we were greeted by a Takahe.  The Takahe is a type of bird that was once thought to be extinct.  There are only sixteen of them on Kapiti Island and we were very lucky to see one of them.  After an introduction to the island by one of the staff naturalists, we were off on our hike.   Along the hike, we saw all sorts of birds, including several New Zealand robins, some white-faced herons, a Pukeko, some Tui, many New Zealand pigeons, a red crowned parakeet, and my favourite, the mischievous Weka.  The Weka has been described as a “cheeky” bird and is not afraid to get up close to people or to even open up zippers if a bag, for example, is left unattended. 

Our beautiful hike included a path along the coast line and then up one of the mountain peaks of the island.  At the top of the island, we sat to eat our lunches and enjoy the spectacular view that we had.  As the three other people I was with finished our lunches, two other people from our group arrived: Terry, the man who put the day together, along with his wife.  Once they had got there, Terry asked us what trail we had followed to get to the top.  Ironically, Terry and his wife had taken the same path we had and we had all left at the same time.  Terry then proceeded to tell us, “That’s a problem!  You need to enjoy the path you’re taking and not be in such a hurry.”  While I definitely saw some of the most beautiful birds while on our hike, I think Terry’s words carry much meaning behind them. 

 Sometimes we are so set on where we want to be, we forget about the things that really matter.  We set a goal for ourselves and then are so intent on reaching it, we forget about other things in life.  We all want to gain a certain level of education, to land the perfect job, or to make the top salary.  We are so intent on reaching that peak that we don’t necessarily enjoy where we are right now.  As a college student, I’m of course looking forward to graduate school and work.  I take classes that will look good on that graduate school application and work my hardest for top grades in hopes to secure my entrance.  Yet, things may change before I reach that point and what good will it have been if I haven’t taken a class that I enjoyed or done something that wasn’t to reach a larger goal?  I believe in continuous improvement, but always remember, the true joys of reaching a goal are the steps along the way.  Be happy where you are and true success will surely come your way! 

In recent years, energy dependence has become a large issue in developed countries. There are worries about how much oil is left in the world and fears about how to power homes and businesses. Throughout the world, many alternative have been introduced and with much success. Located just up from the Manawatu Gorge is the Te Apiti wind farm, providing energy to Palmerston North and the surrounding area.

Through a group entitled Operation Friendship, which coordinates social activities for international students at Massey, I had the opportunity to visit Te Apiti and see the “power of wind.” My afternoon began when nearly 50 international students gathered to meet our Kiwi “hosts.” We piled into their cars and began our journey to the outskirts of town. The wind farm is easily visible from Palmerston North and by my estimate I thought our drive would only take about five minutes. Of course, it was a bit longer than that as we made our way across winding roads through the mountains to the pinnacle where Te Apiti is located.

Te Apiti is the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere and has been characterized in tour books as a “celebration of the wind.” Te Apiti can power 900 homes creating a pretty large impact on the Manawatu area. The wind mills have thus become a sort of symbol for the Manawatu area. The motto for Manawatu is “Young Heart, Easy Living” and pictured behind this phrase, wherever you may find it, is a picture of two wind turbines.

Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates wind farms. On my way to the city library last week, there were several people gathering signatures in protest of the wind farms claiming they can create too much noise and that they ruined the skyline. Even standing right under the turbine I could not hear a thing and in reality, I think the turbines add a nice accent when looking out to the mountains. In fact, the wind farm is beautiful because of the power it provides without using petroleum.