Day 7 - Winter Learning Journey

#Keep New Zealand Beautiful

Date: Friday 24 July

Dawn breaks on Day #7 – the final day of your Great Kiwi Road Trip. You wake up early, ready to make the long trek back to Auckland. Along the way, Curious Kiwi stops at two beautiful places, Taupo and Rotorua, for you to get out and walk around.

Activity 1: While in Taupo, you go for a walk around the lake and you notice pieces of rubbish floating in the water. You also notice that there is rubbish on the footpath. As you know, it is really important to put rubbish in the bin and keep New Zealand clean and beautiful for generations to come.

http://www.kiwidaydreaming.com/p/new-zealand-maps.html

With that in mind, it is time think about what you can do to keep New Zealand beautiful. Use your imagination and come up with three things that you could do to make your neighbourhood more beautiful. Post your list on your blog ☺

Keeping New Zealand clean - Three Things

* Trees, everywhere! I think there should be more trees, especially in my neighbourhood. I was thinking their could be a big, but not too big area where we can plant trees and flowers, maybe even a pond. There will be a concrete path that will lead you to the pond, starting from the entrance. There might even be some geese and ducks that you can feed.

Animals, everywhere! I think we can have a little petting zoo. There could be rabbits, goats, ponies and chickens! There could also be a lesson before you can pet the animals. The person will advise you to be careful and tell you some fun facts about each animal.

Gardens, everywhere! Again, I really want to have more plants and trees in my neighbourhood. We could have at least two areas where there are grass filled with bushes and flowers. There are also going to be a lot of trees and benches so you can enjoy your view. Hidden behind all that, there will be a park for everyone! It is safe for you and your children.

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Activity 2: After you have finished up in Taupo, it is time to hop back in the car and head for Rotorua – a town where will have the chance for some much needed rest and relaxation. In fact, you will visit the Tarawera Bush Pool – a geothermal hot pool that is located in the middle of a forest. The warm water in the pool comes from underneath the ground. After a few hours in the pool you feel really relaxed.

On your blog, post a picture of yourself doing something relaxing. I find reading really relaxing. Here is a picture of me reading one of my favourite books!

What do I find relaxing? - Reading

Just like Rachel, I find Reading relaxing. Reading can take you to another world! It's filled with mystery, excitement and sadness. It calms your senses and helps you forget about the outside world.

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After a long soak in the natural hot pools, it is time to get back home. Your family and friends can’t wait to see you and they can’t wait to hear all about your adventures. Take a moment to think about what you have seen and done over the past week.

Bonus Activity: On your blog, post a video or write a description about your week. What have you learned? What did you like about the trip? What didn’t you like? Was there anything that surprised you?

To earn full points for this activity, you must talk about what you learned, what you liked and what you about your great kiwi road trip.

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My Week - Description

What have I learnt? Throughout this whole week, I have learnt many amazing things. I have learnt about Maori festivals like Matariki. I also learned that it was the Maori New Year. I learnt more about our native people, plants and animals. My favourite thing to learn about has to be about the people. I got to experience what native Maoris went through, just by doing some activities.

What did I like? What I liked most about the trip was being able to surf the web and find information for activities. One great example is when we had to write about a famous kiwi. Instead of doing one, I did three. I like to find information, summarise it and write it down for my activity.

What didn't I like? What I didn't like the most was being left in Lewis Pass Science Reserve. At first I felt panic, then I began to see the beauty in the environment and calmed down. Well, other then that, I didn't actually dislike anything! Every single place this journey lead me was beautiful. So there's nothing to dislike about my journey.

Did anything surprise you? Yes! I was so surprised when I found out that our native trees and animals are being killed. I didn't know this was happening, I always thought they were kept safe and cherished. Well some, like the Tuatara are being kept in a safe place others like Hector's dolphin are being captured and killed! I really think they should consider banning fishing in Farewell Spit.

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Bonus Activity: 12 points

Well, New Zealand truly is a stunning country, isn’t it? I think that we are so lucky to call it home! Let’s make sure that we do everything we can to keep the country safe and clean for future generations…

#Keep New Zealand beautiful!

Day 6 - Winter Learning Journey

Day #6: Native Aotearoa

Date: Thursday 13 July

Welcome to Day #6 of your journey and the last day in the south island. You are going to start the day by traveling 63 km north up State Highway 1 from Dunedin to a place called ‘Shag Point.’ Shag Point is one of five places in the south island where the Maori arrived hundreds of years ago to settle in New Zealand. They arrived at Shag Point in large canoes called ‘wakas.’ For more information on Shag Point and other Maori landing places, go to the Waka landing places website.

http://www.kiwidaydreaming.com/p/new-zealand-maps.html

Activity 1: Let’s imagine that you were on the first waka to arrive at Shag Point. You had never been to New Zealand before and you had no idea what to expect. Write a poem describing how you would have felt when you arrived in New Zealand. Would you have been excited or scared? I would have felt pretty nervous, I reckon…

My Poem - Arriving to Shag Point

S Sea turtles glide across the sea, their shells reflects the sun's rays.
H Hermit crabs crawl around the beach, searching for food.
A A colony of seagulls flies over our canoes.
G Great chiefs gather together, they are deciding what to do with this new land.

P Paradise awaits us, we are rewarded when we get there.
O Ocean waves pushed our canoes as we sailed on the rough sea.
I In the night, we navigate using the stars, they are our guide.
N Nothing stands in our way, when the waves hit us, we hit them harder.
T Together we are a Team, every one of us is needed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waka_(canoe)

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Activity 2: After visiting Shag Point, you hop back in the van and drive all the way up the east coast of the south island until you reach the town of Picton. You get out of the van and onto the Interislander ferry. It travels back across the Cook Strait to Wellington. Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand and every winter the city hosts a huge Matariki festival to celebrate the Maori New Year. This year part of the festival is being held at Te Papa, a big museum in Wellington.

Read about the Matariki festival at Te Papa.  There are so many different things to see and do at the festival this year. On your blog, tell us about three of the events. You can choose any three events that you wish.

Matariki festival - Three Events

* Heaven and Earth Here you can enjoy a performance of Heaven and Earth! Trained cast members will use black lights along with puppets to bring their performance to life.

* Tātai Whetū This performance celebrates traditional Maori instruments. Two of Aotearoa's new generation of puoro players will be joined with the incredible Philip Browniee and stunning Ariana Tikao.  

* Matariki Fireworks This will mark the start of the Maori new year. This event also celebrates language, people and history. 

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Bonus Activity: As part of the Matariki festival, there is a two day Kapa Haka competition. The haka is a traditional war dance that Maori performed before going into battle. The haka is now performed by children/adults in the community and by professional sporting teams, including our national rugby team, the ‘All Blacks.’  The All Blacks have performed various haka over the years. Watch the following three haka videos (1 – 3) and, on your blog, list the haka videos in order from best (#1) to worst (#3). There are no right or wrong answers ☺

#1. World Cup 2015 – All Blacks vs Argentina #3

#2. All Blacks vs South Africa 2016 #2

#3. Rugby World Cup 2011- All Blacks vs France #1

At the end of your day at Te Papa, you head to your hotel in the centre of Wellington. You are staying on Cuba Street, one of the coolest streets in the city.

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Bonus Activity: 8 points

Day 5 - Winter Learning Journey

Day #5: One Step at a Time…

Date: Wednesday 12 July

After a long day at the beach, it is now time to move away from the water and drive inland, through the middle of the south island. You are going to start in Nelson and drive south before crossing a huge mountain range called the ‘Southern Alps.’ The scenery is going to be amazing!

Activity 1: After a few hours in the car, you, your group and Curious Kiwi arrive at your first stop – The Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve. It is a beautiful, regional park located at the base of the Southern Alps. You and your group get out of the van and follow Curious Kiwi. He is going to lead you on a short walk through the park. As you start walking, you notice a really cool looking tree on the side of the trail and you stop to take a closer look. When you turn back, the group (and Curious Kiwi) is nowhere to be found. Eek! You are all alone in the middle of a strange forest.

For this activity write a short story (8-10 sentences) about what might happen next. Please be sure to include lots of details about what you might be feeling, seeing and doing after you realise that you are all alone in the forest...

http://www.kiwidaydreaming.com/p/new-zealand-maps.html

My Writing - Lost in the Forest

I turned around, my group and curious kiwi was gone. If only my curiosity hadn't taken over me, I had only been gone for a few minutes! Well, it wasn't so bad. Birds sang as I admired the tree's beauty. Its branches stretched out as if they were wings. protecting me from harm's way. Suddenly a series of footsteps were leading my way. I looked behind me, my group and curious kiwi were there! "We have been looking everywhere for you!" Curious kiwi explained. "Don't worry" I said "I was just admiring this tree." My group look at me with confusion, then laughed.

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Activity 2: After the adventure at The Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve, you are pretty happy to get back into the shuttle van and continue with your road trip. Over the next few hours you travel up and over the Southern Alps, arriving in the city of Christchurch to eat lunch. You have a delicious meal at a café downtown and then hop back into the van to travel to Twizel, a small town at the base of Aoraki-Mt Cook. Mt Cook is the largest mountain in New Zealand. It is also the mountain where Sir Edmund Hillary trained for his climb up Mt Everest – the tallest mountain in the world. Sir Edmund Hillary is very famous because he was the first person to ever reach the top of Mt Everest!

http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1702543,00.html

Now it is your turn to learn about a famous New Zealander. Use Google to research one famous person from New Zealand and then create a DLO and post it on your blog. Be sure to include: 1. The name of the famous person, 2. Where they were born, 3. Why they are famous, and 4. Two other interesting facts about them.

If you want to see more of my work, Click Below

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Bonus Activity: You and your tour group have enjoyed your day in the mountains but you’re ready for a change of scenery. You ask Curious Kiwi to take you to Central Otago, a region of the south island with lots of rolling hills and flat, brown grasslands. While in Central Otago, you decide to join the Otago Central Rail Trail – a 150 km long cycle trail. Curious Kiwi and I (Rachel) cycled the Rail Trail in April and we loved it!

On your blog, tell us whether you would like to cycle the Otago Rail Trail one day. Does it sound like fun? Why or why not?

Otago Central Rail Trail - Would I go?

Of course! It sounds so fun, just being able to bike around and enjoy the scenery at the same time sounds mesmerising. The picture below summarises what I image it would be like a day out on Otago Central Rail Trail.

Rachel on the Otago Rail Trail, April 2017

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Bonus Activity: 10 points

Whew! It has been quite the day of sightseeing. You reach your hotel in Dunedin tired but excited. Tomorrow you are going to visit a very special and important place in the south island before you drive back to Auckland…