June 30th – Ports and Harbours

        Today, we had a rather relaxed start as we journeyed to the Port Hills for some beautiful hiking in Omahu Bush, where we trekked to the top of a rocky outcropping from which we could view the entirety of Lyttelton Harbour, as well as Lake Ellesmere. Along the trail, known as the Crater Rim Walkaway, we passed local flora such as five finger, ma pau, lancewood, lemonwood, pepper tree, tree fuchsia, and hound's tongue, among others. We also saw Himalayan blackberry brambles with two lone berries, although we were instructed to refrain from discovering any new allergies to wild plants. Meryl reminded us of the proper harvesting methods for flax, refreshing our memories from the flax fish adventures two nights ago. This time, she was able to refer to a live plant model while she explained the parts of the plant that Maori refused to harvest so as to best ensure the plant's continued survival.
        Later, we piled into the Gator Waka and drove to Lyttelton Harbour, where we stopped at Governor's Bay to explore nearby tidal pools and shoreline. There, we saw spoonbills, kingfisher, and silver eyes, as well as a lone homing pigeon and a bell bird, which was heard but not seen.

        Then we backtracked a bit and stopped at She Restaurant & Cafe, which marketed the best chocolate in all of New Zealand. At the cafe, some enjoyed rich hot chocolates and superfood smoothies, while others sampled chocolate truffles and flavourful chai lattes.

         Finally, we drove back to Lincoln, since the stores around the harbour close early.

Meryl showing us the sections of the flax plant that should never be harvested since it would kill the entire plant.

Dr. Hostetler exposing the orange sori of the Hound's Tongue Fern.

The view from the Port Hills. Note the hogsback, the cloud formation at the top of the picture that resembles a slightly arched back and is formed when a norwester blows from the west. Also note that the land is entirely agricultural from the mountains to the coast.

Another stunning view from the rocks on the Port Hills.

At the tip of the rock, you can just barely see a slight pointed instrument sticking up from the ground. This contraption monitors and records both weather and earthquakes.

Tatiana, seen enjoying her lunch spot at the top of the rock. She later abandoned the position as the wind picked up.

Group photo at the top of our Port Hills hike.

The Crater Rim Walkaway trail along the Port Hills. 

Governor's Bay, where we stopped and explored for a bit.

Erika holding one of the many tiny crabs found under overturned rocks near Governor's Bay.

The group, seen exploring tidal pools and searching for sea stars. 

Marta and Savannah showing off the physical evidence of a successful hunt for starfish. 

In the background, the harbour opens to the Pacific and provides passage for barges and shipping containers, which introduce invasive exotic species when they lighten their loads by dumping foreign waters from the hull of the ship into the harbour waters.

The outside deck of the She Restaurant & Cafe, where we stopped for libations. 

– Anna

Thursday, June 29th - There and back again

After checking in with our meteorologist friend again, we were glad that we postponed the hike as it would have been wet and muddy with cloudy skies at night.  So we will hopefully have another go at the Croesus Track while we are here.  In the meantime, we explored Greymouth for a short time in the morning before heading down the West Coast to do something we do not normally have time to do - check out the amazing blue glacier water at Hokitika Gorge.

Rata flowering at Hokitika Gorge

Lovely blue glacier water!

Then, it was back across Arthur's Pass with a quick tea time at the top and back in Lincoln by dinner time.

A view from the east side of Arthur's Pass

Everyone get a well deserved sleep in tomorrow morning before heading out on our next adventures. Stay tuned, Meryl : )

Wednesday, June 28th - Rained out (Sort Of), but then a magical day

Generally, NZ weather forecasts are quite accurate (down to how many layers one should wear and of what type [e.g., short sleeved, long sleeved, windproof layer, etc.]).

So when we chased good weather to the West Coast so that we could have two clear, dry days we were disappointed to see that late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, the weather forecast changed (and we confirmed it with a meteorologist friend) to cloudy and rainy conditions on the hike, we were bummed.  A rainy front that was supposed to push through, stalled out.

So we took our turned-to-custard plan, made some calls, and worked out a fun filled, magical day...

First up, after a yummy brekkie at Maggie's Kitchen, meeting with Jo Halley of the Paparoa Wildlife Trust to learn about the Great Spotted Kiwi rearing and management program at their predator-proofed Kiwi Crèche. Essentially, Jo collects eggs in the wild in the area and sends them to Willowbank Preserve to hatch, and when they are about two months old the kiwis are transported to the créche where they fend for themselves until they are about a year old and then the are released into the Paparoa National Park.  This is done because kiwis chicks in the wild can not defend themselves against stoats, and thus, have a high mortality rate.  We got to follow Jo with her telemetry tracking to find and check on one of three chicks currently in the crèche.  We were in silent awe as Jo gently pulled Poutini from his burrow, and carefully transferred his tracking device from one leg (where it was getting a little tight and something she does each month) to the other, and weighed him and did a health check on him before returning him to his burrow.  Wow.

After an amazing experience with Jo and Poutini we made our way up the West Coast the Punakaiki and the Pancake Rocks at the Paparoa National Park.  Like at Castle Hill the day before, we took our time again marveling at how limestone can be shaped by the environment, and got the see the powerful surf surge at high tide in the blow holes among the rocks.  We made our way back to the Gatorwaka and Piwakawaka vans just in time for the rain.

After the rain let up, we went for a walk along a seemingly prehistoric river - The Porarari.  We did not find any dinosaurs, but could not help looking and thinking about how, in this rainforest of Tree Ferns, we felt as if we had stepped back in time.

We, again, enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the Tasman Sea, and then made our way to a Glow Worm cave.

After a yummy dinner back in Greymouth, we learned a little more about flax and how the Maori weave it.

Now, after all that, it is really time for bed!  Sweet Dreams All,  m&m

Tuesday, June 26 - From Plains to Alpine Forest to Rainforest all in one day

We left this morning bright and early at 8am with a beautiful sunrise greeting us as we made our way from the Canterbury Plains towards Arthur's Pass (which will take us across the Southern Alps and to the West Coast).  Dr. Colin Meurk is joining us for the portion of the trip through Arthur's pass to help us learn more about the landscape and it flora and fauna.  But first, we must stop for tea time in Darfield at the bakery - mmmm.

Then, we had to stop and check out the giant doughnut in Springfield (but don't detect a baked goods theme here). : )

Next up, a beautiful walk to investigate the limestone outcrop of boulders at Castle Hill.  There is a good overview movie of the at the top of this page.

Then we stoped at the Waimakariri River and looked at the type of plants that survive in the riverbed such as cushion plants and some types of daisies.

Next, it was time to eat lunch and look for alpine parrots, Kea, at Arthur's Pass. They were proving illusive; however, this did not stop us from enjoying a hike up to Devil's Punchbowl falls where we enjoyed the views and learning more from Colin about the alpine terrane and plants.  The mountain Beech forest is beautiful!

A little disappointed that we only heard a Kea call, but no visual yet, we stopped at one more overlook just past Arthur's Pass, and success!

Onward ho to the West Coast where we will stay the night in Greymouth and then rise early to hike the Croesus Track from Blackball to Barrytown.  We arrived on the West Coast just in time to catch the sunset (5:15pm ish) over the Tasman Sea and a glimpse, because of a a clear sky that allowed us to see all the way down the coast, of Mount Cook.

We settled in at our Hotel, and then went out for a yummy dinner at a local Chinese restaurant.  Then, off to make PB&J sandwiches for the hike and get our supplies and gear in order.

Sweet Dreams All, Meryl : )

Placeholder Too

Hi Folks,

All is well; however, our best laid plans for chasing good weather to the West Coast for our big two day hike turned to custard last night as the weather changed.  With a weather pattern that was supposed to pass but decided to hang out for the next two days, we decided to adjust our schedule so that we can try the hike again under better conditions.

So, we did our Friday agenda today and had a fun filled day; however, it is 11pm at night here and we are all tired, so, when we are back in Lincoln tomorrow, we will fill you in on our three day adventures to and from the West Coast.

Thanks for your patience and sweet dreams, Meryl

Tuesday, June 27th Placeholder

Hi All, Amazing and long day making our way from Lincoln to the West Coast.  Will catch you up with our adventures of today, tomorrow.  Tired now, and big hike tomorrow.  Sweet Dreams All, Meryl : )

June 26th - Exploring Banks Peninsula as a Tourist ; )

Saying goodby to Hugh at Hinewai.

The Hinewai Lodge in the morning

For those that tried it - a little Hugh humor at the composting loo

We woke to a frosty, clear morning and readied ourselves for a leisurely day along the Tourist Drive on the crater rim.  After tidying up the Visitor's Center at Hinewai and saying our well wishes to Hugh, we made the steep hike up to the Gatorwaka and got on the road.  Along the summit road, we say breathtaking views of Akaroa and the bays along the road we came in by on Saturday.  At times, we also felt ourselves up in the clouds as low cloud drifted across the high hills of the Banks Peninsula.

Tourist Drive of Banks Peninsula in red. We started from the east and worked our way back toward Little River and then on to Tai Tapu and then Lincoln.

View from Tourist Drive down to Akaroa Harbor.

View out toward the Pacific Ocean.

Our first stop was at Okains Bay, and the Maori and Colonial Museum.  Here we saw a significant collection of Maori artifacts from flax woven garments and eel nets to bone fishing hooks, carved boats, greenstone (paunamu or jade) weapons, a marae (sacred meeting house), and more, along with colonial artifacts including turn-of-the-century stove, sewing machine, guns, farming equipment, blacksmith tools, etc.  And, much to our delight, the caretaker at the museum that day, Ian, had a special treat for us to hold and ponder - an over 400-year-old Moa bone!  He also had a cute cat named Suki that endeared herself to us.

Anna with a Moa bone.

Suki getting good attention.

Next up, lunch on the beach - beautiful and sunny, albeit a little cold with the wind, but still beautiful views of the Pacific.

After lunch, we continued along the Tourist Drive, while Meryl headed back to Lincoln to start preparing for our Croesus Track trip on the West Coast which we will leave for in the morning chasing good weather (we hope!) for the hike.

On the road to Little Akalola Bay

Little Akalola Bay

We arrived back in Lincoln (of course after tea time at Little River Cafe) a little early so that we have time to do laundry and get ready for our big West Coast trip. And shout out to all the students too for being REALLY good sports - we arrived back at Lincoln Uni and the hot water was out on the showers?!?!  Thankfully they could still get hot water at the next dorm over and we are hoping any issues are resolved by the time we get back on Saturday from our big West Coast trip.

Sweet Dreams All, m&m : )

June 25th - Slip, Whack, Thump! Adventures in Hinewai

Our first overnight trip to Hinewai Reserve. We woke up to a rainy morning so had a late start from Akaroa. Hinewai Reserve is managed by renown botanist, Hugh Wilson, this 3,000 acre reserve is a wonderful example of nature regenerating itself.  What was once gorse-infested farmland is now beach forest after just 30 or so years.  Much to the dismay of early critics, Hugh’s successful philosophy is that the gorse makes a good planting bed/shelter for natives and protects them from wind and frost.  The natives grow up through the gorse and then shade it out and kill it. We wanted to explore this 30 year old reserve and went out on a 3 hour (turning into a 4 hour) hike. The slick trail made it a slower hike.

To say it was wet was an understatement. It rained (a soft rain though) the first part of the hike and most of us slipped on our rumps multiple times (yours truly included - 3 times! Camila took the cake though with 10 or more). Lots of screams and laughter but no serious injuries. Students were chipper about the ordeal and rolled with the slips (no pun intended). I was impressed with their enthusiasm despite the not-so-great climate conditions. The class learned about many plants and animals in the area. As Hugh would have said, "The natives were itching to establish themselves." We were able to see this first hand as many of the native beech, totara, kanuka, and whauwhaupaku are really taking over. We saw tomtits, brown creepers, and even heard wood pigeons overhead.

Hinewai from the top

A bit of soil came with us back to Lincoln (thanks Savannah)!

Camila brought some too!

At the bottom of the hike, we were able to explore Otanerito Bay and searched for Paua shell. The beach was beautiful!

Otanerito Bay

Otanerito Bay

The class with Paua

We loaded back into the gatorwaka (this is the nickname for the van - waka is boat in Maori), and headed to the Hinewai lodge to dry out. Starting a fire in the wood stove, we cooked dinner and had hot drinks. We draped our soggy clothes acros the lodge to dry out. Hugh joined us and told us the history of Hinewai and his restoration efforts. With 3,000 acres of forest to manage, Hugh and others trap for possums and stoats, which allows native plants and animals to thrive in Hinewai. Hugh is an amazing naturalist and has illustrated and written over 20 books!

Hugh talking about the Maori first arriving

One of his local hand written and illustrated books at the lodge

In the lodge

A map of the trails at Hinewai. We hiked about 9 km that afternoon.

It was Tatiana's birthday!

After a rip roaring (several) card games, a couple of us went out to look at the stars. It is amazing how clear the sky is and we could see the milky way. We put more wood in the stove, zipped up into our sleeping bag, and went to sleep.  Nighty Night! Dr. H