The Moa.  Have you ever heard of a moa?  I never heard of a moa until I came to New Zealand.  A moa is a very large ostrich like bird. It was flightless and only lived in New Zealand. When Maori arrived in NZ, they hunted the bird.  They used the meat to eat and the feathers for clothes.  The birds were easy to hunt and the numbers decreased.  Unfortunately, the moa became extinct about 500 years ago.

No one knows exactly what a moa looks like.  Scientists believe if the moa stood straight up it was 9 feet tall!

 

 

The Haast’s eagle is another extinct bird from New Zealand.  It became extinct about the same time as the moa.  The Haast eagle would use the moa for food!

The Haast eagle was huge!  It’s wing span was over 9 feet!  Near-complete skeleton finds show that it had the body and wings of a giant eagle, legs and bill larger and stronger than the largest living vulture species, and feet and claws as big as a modern day tiger’s. (http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/haasts-eagle)

Once people arrived in NZ, many native species, which were mostly birds, became extinct.  Watch the video below to see how the continents split and NZ developed and to see changes in the NZ environment over time due to humans.

While I was visiting Christchurch, I noticed there was an exhibit about Ernest Rutherford!  Now – I hope my chemistry students know who he is!  Rutherford was a New Zealand scientist who discovered the nucleus inside the atom.  He went to university in Christchurch.  I was able to visit the basement room where he often did experiments during his time in university.  It was pretty cool from a science teacher’s perspective!

I spent a week at the van Asch Deaf Education Center.  This center serves deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the lower 2/3 of New Zealand.  In the town of Sumner, they have a campus that has dorms and classrooms.  But only the TLP students stay on campus.  The other students take a van every day to schools in Christchurch.  There are about 13 students that live in the dorms.

The dorm students have chores.  One of them is to cook dinner for the entire dorm.  Would you want that responsibility?

Here are some pictures of the dorm and campus.

There are 2 high school programs.  The high school programs are classrooms in a hearing school.  They have mainstreamed classes and some classes with a teacher of the deaf.  At one high school I taught a lesson about atoms.  It was fun!

I also visited the elementary program.  There are two classes.  Elementary students are day students.  You have to be 13 to live in the dorm.  I had fun teaching a lesson about stars.  And I used New Zealand sign language to teach the lesson!!

 

 

Wow!  Can you believe I’ve been in NZ for 100 days!  That doesn’t seem possible.  I’ve definitely been busy visiting schools, taking sign language class, and traveling!  Here are some pictures and video of my past 100 days!

Wellington Zoo

Zealandia:  Zealandia is a protected area in Wellington.  It is an area without predators so the birds can be safe.  It is a beautiful rainforest with lots of birds!

Boat rides:  I love to ride on a boat!  So every chance I get, I sign up for a boat tour.  Most of them allow people to see dolphins and seals.

 

 

Train ride

Airplane rides

 

Birds/Animals

 

Misc

My second day in Rotorua was spent at Hells Gate, the cat cafe (again!) and Tamaki Maori Culture Center.

Hells Gate is a geothermal area that is made of unique geothermal muds and sulphur pools. It produces more than 2 tons of geothermal mud every day. The Maori have lived in the area for over 700 years and still own the land. The area is treasured by Maori as a place of healing.

The geothermal mud combined with the sulphur waters provides a unique gentle exfoliation of the skin leaving it smooth and soft to touch. A result that can last up to 6 weeks after the experience.. The geothermal mud and sulphur water at Hellsgate have also been known for their curative properties in respect to a number of skin disorders. (www.hellsgate.co.nz)

I took advantage of the mud spa and sulphur pool.  And I have to say my skin became very soft and smooth!

There is a 60 minute walk around the park.  You can see different features in the area.  Take a look at the pictures and video!

 

In the evening I went to the Tamaki Maori grounds.  There I saw a powhiri and then rotated between stations to learn about Maori culture.  I played a fun game that I’ll teach you in the fall.  After learning about the culture, we ate dinner.  Because the ground is heated, in the past Maori used the ground to cook their food. They put the food into a pit and then put hot rocks on top.  They cover it with a cloth and leave it for about 5 hours. That is how our dinner was cooked.  In the ground they put vegetables, mussels, chicken, and lamb.  The meal was good (I ate chicken and vegetables) and had a slight smoky flavor.

Check out the video below to see my experience.  I think the boys should do the haka before each football game next year to scare the other team!!  What do you think?  The video doesn’t show it very well but you can look up haka on youtube.

 

 

I just got back from a couple of days visiting a town called Rotorua.  Rotorua is located on the north island in an area called the Bay of Plenty. I went to Rotorua because I wanted to visit the Fancy Meow Cat Cafe.  This is a cafe that has a room with a lot of cats.  You can go into the room for an hour and play with the cats.  Mostly the cats slept.  But that was ok.  I still petted them and put one of the cats on my lap.

Rotorua is known for its geothermal activity.  Geo means earth and thermal meaning heat.  This means that heat rises up through cracks in the earth.  It is an amazing site!

The first place I went to visit was called the Waimangu volcanic valley.  In 1886 a volcano called Mt. Tarawera exploded and changed the landscape. It is the youngest geothermal system in the world. Lake Rotomahana swelled to twenty times its size and the seven craters that make up the geothermal utopia that is Waimangu, were created.  (http://www.rotorua.nz.com)

A two hour walk will take you to see a variety of geothermal sites.  You will see terraces made of silica, boiling lakes, and some amazing colors.

Frying Pan Lake:  This lake is one of the world’s largest hot water springs.  The lake is very acidic and has a pH level of 3.5.  Carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide gas bubbles up from the lake.

Cathedral Rocks: The rocks are made of rhyolitic lava and are at least 60,000 years old.

Hot Springs of Mother Earth:  These hot springs boil and leave colored silica formations.

Warbrick Terrace: This is a set of multi-colored silica platforms.  The platforms are made over an old stream.  Algae is also growing on the silica.

Here are some other pictures and videos from the area.