July 1st-Local Goods and Little Blue Penguins

Before starting our ventures for the day, Meryl stopped to show us an illustrious flower on the grounds of Lincoln University. The Kakabeak, an endangered endemic New Zealand plant, is known for its bright red flowers that resemble the beak of the Kaka, a New Zealand parrot. Uncommon in the wild, it prefers highly disturbed areas and doesn't bloom in the winter except for in urban areas which we were lucky enough to see!

A single flower on the Kakabeak plant

After our stop, we headed to Riccarton Bush for the second time to check out Christchurch's largest farmer's market with over 50 stalls ranging from the best produce Canterbury has to offer, hummingbird coffee, spices, and chai tea (a class favorite). We had about 45 minutes to sample, buy, and listen to the live music happening on the steps of the Riccarton House. 

Locals check out a produce stall at the Riccarton Bush Farmer's Market 

Allison checking out Manuka honey, which is produced from the nectar of the native manuka tree.

Camila found egg-free edible cookie dough! One salted caramel scoop with m&ms on top.

After stocking up on local goods, we traveled to the coastal suburb of Sumner to hike the Godley Head Track. We were in search of Little Blue Penguins (Korora in Maori), also known as White-Flippered Penguins. They are the smallest and rarest penguins in the world, measuring at about 1 kg and as tall as 25 cm and breed primarily on rocky coasts and islands throughout New Zealand. Once we hiked 30 minutes around Godley Head, we passed through a predator-proof fence, constructed in 2010, that keeps out top predators, like the stoat, in order to stabilize their populations. Past the fence, we climbed down a steep ladder and maneuvered our way through the rocky sea edge to inspect nesting boxes.

The beginning of our hike! (Before the majority of us stripped down our layers as the weather warmed up)

 Allison attracted an unlikely hitchhiker

 (Photo Courtesy of Isabella Plummer) 

The tip of Godley Head. The predator proof fence can be seen far out along the edge. 

Our steep descent.

One of the nesting boxes; sadly it was empty. 

 Tatiana checking in one nesting box for penguins; empty again.

 Lucky number box 87! A shy Little Blue Penguin peers out at us. Others saw another one squeezed in there along with it. 

(Photo Courtesy of Isabella Plummer)

Through all our excitement in our penguin hunt and 30 min hike back to the car park at Taylor's Mistake (after a quick stop at the beach to play with dogs), we worked up an appetite and had our first lunch out at an Indian restaurant called Indian Sumner. 

Everyone cleared their plates; Camila determined to finish 

After lunch, the weather was still clear enough for us to explore Sumner Beach and Cave Rock, which had been closed for a number of years beforehand due to earthquake hazards. We walked around the rocks and tidal pools determined to find starfish but instead found an abundance of sea anemone and ocean millipedes. 

Anna and Marta checking for starfish in the tidal pools at Cave Rock

For the night, we planned to watch the Rugby match at a local Pub in Lincoln called the Famous Grouse. Clearly our visitation was bad luck as they lost to the Lions and got their first red card penalty since 1967!!

~Erika