The West Coast! November 27, 2010

This past week we arrived home (The Old Convent) after spending a week and a half on the road, traveling all around the West Coast of New Zealand. The West Coast is known for it extremely rainy climate, basically spending most of the year under cover of rain clouds. However, this past week, we totally lucked out. Before I left, I chatted with my cousin Amanda and we jokingly said that there was going to be a drought when we got there, and all the money I spent on hard-core rain gear would be for nothing. Well guess what Amanda…our jokes jinxed the trip. Not only was there no rain, there were really no clouds to speak of. Everyday was super bright and sunny with warm temperatures. All in all it was perfect weather, and I wish I could have completely enjoyed, but the fact that I spent somewhere around $150 on rain gear put a slight damper on the sunshine. Other than that, our adventure on the West Coast was amazing!!
We packed out of The Old Convent on Sunday, November 14th. We drove and drove and drove (Thank goodness J.R.R. Tolkein is long winded and into detail…The Two Towers passed the hours pretty quickly). Finally we reached our motor camp for the first two nights. Not to complain about the accommodations, but it almost felt like being back in Samoa when we got out of the car and saw the little building with bunks in them. One window had a big crack in it, and there were some shady folk hanging about. It was just a little janky to say the least…totally bearable though. We ate dinner and had community night (reading aloud from The Hobbit…how cliché), and then passed out. All I can say is thank goodness for earplugs and eye-masks. Yes, you may look utterly ridiculous, but BOY do you get a good night’s sleep. We woke up bright and early the next morning and had a little class lecture on Terresital Ecology and then hit the field. Our first day we visited this park that had these awesome rock formations that they called “Pancake Rocks.” Super cool. Following lunch at Pancake Rocks, we went into the bush and had a 3 hour hike in the back woods, collecting plant specimens for our vegetation guides and looking at all different microhabitats that existed along the trail. I was dressed for rain, as were many of my comrades, and so when we started climbing up and up and up, I began to sweat like a man. It was so very attractive. Dripping….that’s all I am going to say. Despite the sweat and the subsequent infestation of sand flies, we got to see an amazing variety of both native and non-native plant species as well as a could of funny flightless birds. The most common one we saw was the Weka, which is a super curious bird that loves to get up close and personal with you. Furthermore, they make this delightful throat call that just makes you laugh.

That night, we again loaded back up into the vans and headed for this cave where glowworms could be seen on the ceiling! I have to admit, that caves tend to make me a little apprehensive. It’s not claustrophobia, but rather a highly active imagination that gravitates towards the worst possible outcome of being in a cave. Thankfully my over active imagination was corralled by the sight of these blue light emanative from crevices on the ceiling of the cave. Apparently the glowworms, which are actually fly larvae, give off bioluminescence to attract prey to these little tunnels of mucus. Once the prey is stuck, they eventually suffocate and the larvae can then move through the little tunnels and get a little snack.

“Errrr…I might need a snack”
–Men in Black

Home Sick moment: As we exited the cave system, we passed this group of tourists, of which one of them was wearing a Twins baseball cap. Oh Minnestoa…

The next morning, we loaded back up into the vans and headed towards Bruce Bay where we would be staying at the marae. Upon our arrival, we had to do all of the appropriate actions to gain permission from the Maori of that marae to enter, which included a song, a speech, a gift and participation in the hagi (touch noses and share a breath). While I might have gone on and on about the first marae that we visited in Kaikoura,, this one was really amazing. Not only did they have all of their ancestors represented in the carvings upon the wall, but also they used greenstone for a lot of their decorations. Behind some of the masks that hung upon the wall, they had placed thin slabs of greenstone behind the mask and the best part was, was that it lit up! So basically, you had this mask that gave off this intense green glow out of its eyes and mouth. It sounds scary, but it was literally the coolest night-light I have ever seen!!! We stayed at the mare for five nights during the day we took long field trips to various terrestrial sites in the area.

Top Five Things at the Marae
1. Kiwi birding until 1:30 AM
2. Standing a couple of meters away from Franz Joesf glacier, one of only four advancing glaciers IN THE WORLD!!
3. The Sunset at the beach across the street
4. Getting to play with the Kea (alpine parrots)
5. All of the different walks we went on…and getting to identify all the crazy NZ plant species

Worst Thing at the Marae: HAVING TO GET UP FOR 5:30 AM BIRDING….blech
…furthermore, we only saw MAYBE three different bird species each day

After spending three nights at the marae, we packed up again and headed back East, towards Arthur’s Pass and Cass Field Station.

“ALL WE DO IS PACK!!” -Luiza

Located in this perfectly wonderful spot, Cass Field Station is an awesome place to be. Nestled in a glacial valley surrounded by mountains, grasslands and a lake, it is just a biologist’s heaven! We got to get out in nature and WALK! We wandered around the bush for five days doing various hikes, research projects, and class lectures.

Top Ten Moments at Cass:
1. Taking a 20 minute nap on the top of Knobby Hill amongst the sheep and sunshine
2. Caving in water that was waist deep and FRIGID
3. Skinny dipping with the girls in the cave
4. Visiting Castle Hill where they filmed the Narnia battle scene!
5. Sitting in a mountain field of Scotch Broom that gave off the very familiar smell of peach rings….ahhhhhh
6. Looking for hare feces in the various habitats….yeah for research projects!
7. Kiwi birding in people’s backyards….eh…awkward
8. Finding a NZ penny…out of print since the 1960s
9. The nearby pigs that we would feed with our compost…they love kissy noises
10. Trying NOT to get eaten alive by sand flies…can you say chemical warfare??

I really cannot say how truly amazing New Zealand is. Not only is the wildlife awesome, but the scenery is just breathtaking. I may just never come home. Don’t tell my mom. ☺

P.S. Before I move here though, I would somehow need to secure a lifetime supply of Sour Patch Kids….

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