New Zealand: Day 20, 21, & 22

DAY 20
   It was an early morning getting up at 6:00 a.m. so we could "potentially" board our cruise boat at 7:15 for wale watching. Overnight the winds picked up and there was a good chance that "potentially" would turn into a cancelation. At 6:45 we were broke the news that the ships would NOT go out as the swells were too large that our safety and pleasure would be at risk.
   We were pretty bummed as many of us have never really seen a whale, but we quickly got over it. We were allowed some free time to visit the beach and shop. A group of us headed to the beach as most of the shops would not open till 8:30-9:00.
   The sun was at a perfect level offering a perfect backdrop for silhouette photos. Advantage taken! We were able to kill a good hour exploring the beach and capturing memories.

   Once the stores opened I was able to basically finish up my shopping for family and friends and found some good deals and perfect gifts.
   Arrived back to LU early afternoon and again were let loose to do as we pleased. Busker Festival still going on, but by this time no one wanted to pay for something we were unsure about and ride the long bus into town. So instead, most of us soaked up the sun in the rose garden, reconnected in the computer lab, and later headed to the Famous Grouse. We only had tow more evenings to enjoy it!

DAY 21
   Our finally adventure...Akaroa! Since our whale watching trip was cancelled the day before, Heather got on the phone and reserved us spots for cruising in Akaroa to hopefully see the world's smallest, rarest, and friendliest dolphins; the Hector dolphin. The wind was still strong that the water was still a little rough, but the sun was shining and we enjoyed the sights. We got to see several different types of birds including the blue penguin, saw sheep being herding along the mountain side (really looked like "range maggots" as is a common nickname given to them back home), and just as we were about to head back to port we saw two Hector dolphins!!!

   We made the short drive back to LU and prepared for our farewell dinner and Maori experience at the Willowbank wild life reserve. The Maori are the native inhabitants of New Zealand that still practice their culture. This evening we got to experience some of that as we said our farewells to New Zealand and all of its life changing experiences.

   As we headed back to LU for our last night in New Zealand, Ted our bus driver dropped us off at the Famous Grouse to say our farewells that way! It was truly an enjoyable night as we all sat around laughing and telling stories off the past 21 days. We drank to yesterday's memories, today's stories, and tomorrow's desires.

DAY 22
   We slept in and got ourselves all packed and ready to make the long trek home. Remember how on the way over we never experienced December 28th? Well this time as we headed back east, we get to relive January 19th, which will forever be the LONGEST day of our lives.
   Loaded the bus around 10 a.m. to head to the airport. We said our goodbyes to Heather and Mike and boarded the plane to Fiji. During our 4 hour layover in Fiji, I realized I was going to miss my flight from LAX to SLC. So I got on my email and asked my aunt to come to the rescue. She was able to get me on a direct flight from LAX to MSP.
   After a very long day of traveling, I was greeted by my parents at MSP around 8:30 p.m. We made the two and half hour drive back home to Comfrey, where I got to sleep in my own bed and be with my family and animals for half a day before heading back to Lincoln.

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A Trip of a Lifetime is what I was expecting from this adventure and that is exactly what it was. I still think about it daily and can't wait for the opportunity to go back in the future! Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible and to those who shared the adventure with me, whether in person or via this blog, THANK YOU!

New Zealand: Day 19

DAY 19
   Today was our last day of lectures at LU. We heard from Dr. James Ross about some historic environmental issues. It was interesting that a lot of the environmental issues were derived from introduction of animals. Remember how New Zealand is an island, therefore, making its ecosystem very volatile. As explorers and immigrants began to arrive, they brought with some of their native animals and plants. A lot of these have now naturalized themselves here and some are now self-sustaining.
   Next up, we got to enjoy some more New Zealand wine. Dr. Roland Harrison provided us with some history of the wine industry and then offered a structured wine tasting. Wine is NZ second largest agriculture export that is consistently growing. The wine industry has been around since 1895 with Romeo Bragato introducing a variety of grape that was an American and European combination variety. The different types of wine are grown in different areas because of soil types and regional climate.

For example,
Sauvignon Blanc = Marlborough region
Riesling = Canterbury
Pinot Noir = Central Otago
Merlot = Aukland
North = Reds
South = Whites

   We got to go through a crash course of structured wine tasting. There are five categories to help us understand the wine we are tasting. Its a personal experience when we see, smell, and taste the wine. As we taste though it is important to respect what others are saying and be brave enough to describe our sensations.

   The five categories include:
(1) Color and clarity
(2) Aroma - aroma wheel: fruity, veggie, nutty, woody, pungent, earthy, spicy, chemical, etc. (broad) leads to specific of say fruity- citrus, berry, tree fruit, tropical
(3) Taste and Flavor - sweet, sour, bitter; balance of flavors go back to aroma descriptions
(4) Mouth feel - hot, cold, wet, warm, smooth
(5) Liking - scale 1-10, would you drink it again?

   I really enjoyed this opportunity. I enjoy wine and this will help me understand the different kinds of wine and what flavors I am really tasting. After we were done with this lecture, we had to have our overnight bag packed for Kaikoura and eat lunch.
   After lunch we headed to the International Antarctic Center in town. This was a pretty cool experience. I think it would be awesome to visit Antarctica for like a week. The conditions there are quite extreme that your body adapts quickly, but I believe that it is a part of this world that not many people get to experience that through photography I'd love to share it with them. So I've added it to the bucket list! While at the center we learned about its history as a collaboration between U.S.A., New Zealand, and Russia as well as got to see some rescued blue penguins! It was a quick trip but quite intriguing.

   Next, it was back on the bus to Kaikoura. Once we got to town and were all checked in, everyone was on their own for supper. A group of us headed to Whalers and enjoyed a delicious steak meal before calling it a night.
  

New Zealand: Day 17 & 18

DAY 17
   Started the day off with another farm tour. Remember from Day 10 where I talked about Landcorp, New Zealand's largest agribusiness? Well, we visited another one of their farms, Stuart Farms, located in the Southland.
   Stuart Farms has sheep, cattle, and deer, but our main focus today was learning about their deer farming operation. The agenda for our visit was to learn about their pasture to plate value chain, covering data capture on farm and the technologies employed to do this. Demonstrating the forage and genetics component that complement the date capture; look at Meat EQ and how through extra measurement they are creating measures to determine meat quality. This is all capable through Farm IQ, a management program in which Stuart Farms was the latest addition to the program.
   While at the farm we got to experience an up close encounter with the deer. We watched them move through their working pen where they discussed their use of EID tags to collect data as explained above.

   None of us have really seen deer domesticated and farmed. It was interesting hearing its history and their marketing strategies to keep it growing in a competitive red meat industry. For lunch, Silver Fern farms came with their mobile cooking lab and prepared us some delicious beef, venison, and lamb. The meat has been questionable throughout the trip until this meal. It was prepared correctly allowing the flavors to truly come out.
   As we finished lunch they gave us Silver Fern caps and we boarded the bus. Are we done with bus rides yet?!? another 3 hours to Lake Tekapo for another exceptional experience.
   We stopped in town for dinner before heading to our backpackers. I still had some of my cheese, meat, and crackers from Gibbston Valley that I needed to finish which also allowed me to cheapen up the trip by a meal. It was a gorgeous evening, so I sat on a bench overlooking Lake Tekapo and enjoyed the peacefulness.
   Later, we checked into our backpackers around 9:30 and began to prepare to head to Mt. John Observatory at 12:10 a.m. I showered, wrote in my journal, and took a little nap. Now, it was going to be pretty awesome seeing the sky in the southern hemisphere, let alone a nearly full moon lit up the sky which this did cause some light pollution, but we still saw some amazing things. The Southern Cross: can't be seen in northern hemisphere. It is on the NZ and AUS flag and was used by early explorers for direction purposes. Another unique characteristic about looking at the sky in the southern hemisphere is that constellations we can see in the northern hemisphere are upside down! Like Orion and the man on the moon, pretty cool!
   There was an astro photographer on site that offered to take pictures for anyone with a DSLR. Obviously I allowed her to and asked her some questions as well. In order to shoot at night I need to use long exposure taking about 15 seconds to capture the shot, therefore, the camera needs to be mounted to avoid any shake. Who knew I was going to pick-up some photography tips on this adventure. Together, we captured the Southern Cross, moon, and overlooking the town of Lake Tekapo. This adventure was another highlight! Even though we didn't get to bed till about 3:00 a.m., it was worth it.

DAY 18
   Guess what? Back on the bus , but this time it was finally back to LU. We were all ready to be back "home" for awhile. I was burnout but still smiling and reminiscing about everything we had seen and experienced over the last nine days.
   We arrived back around 1:30 and had lunch. The afternoon was ours to do as we pleased. The Busker Festival, which is kind of like a live version of America's Got Talent with multiple performers from dancing to singing to comedians and so on, had started in Christchurch and we had the option to attend. I was just ready to stay put and catch up on life. I already had reading and quizzes to take for Genetics clas and was several days behind on my blog (still am, sorry but there is so much happening with little free time and limited WiFi). So I spent the evening catching up with the world and enjoyed a good nights rest.

New Zealand: Day 15 & 16

DAY 15
   We left Queenstown to make a quick stop at the nearby town of Arrowtown for some morning coffee and pastries. I went to Patagonia Chocolates because they had the best ice cream yet! I had some the other night with Katie and Kinsey! I knew they had really good chocolates so I figured I'd start my morning with coffee and chocolate, why not!?
   Next up was a stop at Gibbston Valley Winery. Remember how I mentioned that the valley is prime area for vineyards and orchards, well we got to have a taste of the fruit in its alcohol form before noon! It was raining this morning so we did not get to look at the vines, but instead entered the Wine Cave where the wine is aged in barrels. We had a very nice tour and tasting of Pinot Gris, Riesling, and their famour Pinot Noir blend. They were all really good but I liked the Pinot Noir the best. It was a red blend from seven of their orchards with a drier taste. I like drier reds versus sweet whites and reds. I've really been wanting to do some winery tours in Nebraska because we actually have some pretty decent wineriers around the Lincoln and Grand Island area. So there is another thing to add to my bucket list!
   On site they also have a cheesery where we got to taste several different cheeses. I enjoyed the Balfour cheese the best. It is made from sheeps milk versus cows milk. Sheeps milk has less lactase which means less bloating and less issues for lactose intolerant individuals. Since I am a huge cheese and cracker fan I bought some Balfour, multigrain crackers, and a variety pack of sausage slices to enjoy the next few days.
   After the morning tour we had a small lunch of pizza and stuffed bread and then it was back on the bus for yet another 4 hour drive south to Te Anau.
   That evening we arrived at Glenkylie Farm which is owned by Rex and Audrey Stevenson whom are our host Heather's in-laws. They have a dry stock and cropping farm in the Southland region of New Zealand. It was a gorgeous evening, a wee bit on the chilly side. They were so kind and knowledgable of their operation. They really have quite a story from where they were as farm workers to moving about four times, sending their two young boys to boarding school in order to make their dream of owning and running their own farm come true! From wintering crops to dairy heifers and dry cows to Stabilzer beef used to cross with their dairy cows for easier calving, it was a unique operation that they were so proud of and more than willing to share with us.
   Since I obviously enjoy taking pictures I asked Audrey if it would be ok for me to hop into the paddocks and get some photos of the cattle. She joined me and I was able to snap a few good ones. They do a lot of hands on labor like my family so their cattle were fairly calm and curious. Made me miss home and my cattle a little bit.
   That evening they prepared a delicious BBQ with several meats and salads and of course the traditional New Zealand dessert of Pavola! We all went back to the backpackers in Te Anau with a full stomach and true appreciation for hard work and a strong marriage!

DAY 16
   Another chance to sleep in! Met a group of people at the reception office of the backpackers at 9:30 and heading into town at 10 to look around and find an early lunch before loading the bus at noon for our Milford Sound cruise.
   It was about a two and a half hour drive which we stopped at a few place along the way for pictures and toilet breaks. We had entered Fjordland National Park, the largest in New Zealand basically stretching from the central west coast all the way to the south border. We got to Milford Sound at about 2:45 and loaded the cruise boat at 3:10. It was so picturesce with the mist falling, sun shining, waterfalls everywhere, and we even got to see some fur seals. It is considered the eighth world wonder.



   On our way back from the Tasman Sea we stopped at the Underwater Observatory. It is not an aquariam because everything is naturally exisiting and can come and go as they please. In the sound they experience what is called deep water emergence. The way the land lays allows the sea water to sit beneath the fresh water creating a climate like the deep sea but is actually only about 4-10 meters from the surface. So we were able to see some deep sea creatures and the prominant one was black coral. Black coral is actually white when it is alive and turns black when it dies.
   Yet, another interesting adventure in the books. We headed back to Te Anau where I went to chinese with Grant, Haley, Steven, Lauren, Will, and Kinsey. It kind of hit the spot before hitting the hay for the evening.

New Zealand: Day 12, 13, 14

DAY 12
The day of NO straight roads!
   We left Franz Josef at 8 a.m. to continue our trek down the West Coast to the adventure town of Queenstown. I have been sitting in the back of the bus with Grant and Jared because its the best place to sleep. But today on our 6 hour drive, I slightly regretted the decision. With Robbie's driving, up and over mountains, winding along the mountain side following the Tasman Sea and rain coming and going, plus the typical back seat sways; I got a little car sick. I was very thankful for every opportunity to get off at a lookout and be on some solid ground along the way.
   Today, we kind of had to push it as well to get to Queenstown because Heather had to be to the airport by 3:30 p.m. to get back to Christchurch for a wedding. She made it on time and then we got settled into our backpackers for a three night stay with two full days of excitement in the tourist town of Queenstown.
   At 4:30 in the afternoon, we headed to "The Station" to book all of our desired excursions from bungy jumping, sky diving, parasailing, jet boating, nevis swing, paddle boarding, etc. They have basically every activity available. We got a pretty decent discount by working with a local hookup named Squid, born and raised Queenstown local. He was very helpful when it came to questions and deciding which outfitter to use. Not really sure what his job is but he works with all of the outfitter companies and EVERYONE knows who Squid is.
   I signed up for the Skippers Canyon Scenic Tour and Jet Boating for tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.. This gave me the morning to sleep in and do some blogging, etc.
   That evening LaNae, Grant, Jared, Logan, and I tried Fergburger which were supposedly the best and biggest burgers in town. I definitely agreed! It was absolutely delcious and ginormous! I was soooo full after that burger though that I was almost uncomfortable for the rest of the evening, but it was worth it!
   Later, we played a wee bit of Pitch and then headed to bed around midnight.

DAY 13
   Like I mentioned, I got to sleep in a little and enjoyed some breakfast before heading to The Hub to get a little bit caught up on my blog.
   At 11:45, Grant and I took the 10 minute walk into town to find some lunch before going on the Skippers Canyon Scenic Tour and Jet Boating excursion which departed at 1:00 p.m. We ate a PJ's Fish and Chips and the cashier was originally from Bloomington, Minnesota! It's a small world!
   Boarded the bus and began probably the most gorgeous scenic tour yet! It is hard to describe the beauty of the route to and through the canyon and not to mention the fact that we had absolutley beautiful weather. We have been very fortunate in the aspect on this trip.
   The path we followed was an old mining road winding up and down, around, and through the mountain. Very steep edges and what we would consider a one lane, minimum maintenance road  they called two lanes and we met several vehicles that seemed a wee bit to close for our comfort.
   The owners of this tour is a family owned business that has been operating for nearly 100 years and is in its 5th generation. They have lived in the canyon panning for gold and living a very isolated life without running water, plumbing, electricity, etc. My boat drivier is the 5th generation and is considered the youngest, most experienced jet boater in New Zealand at the age of 30 with more than 40,000 hours behind the wheel. He was currently lives on the homestead and was home schooled via walkie talkie. He was very trusting behind the wheel bringing us just centimeters from the canyon walls and spinning us in thrilling 360s on rather shallow water.
   Along the bus ride, our guide pointed out areas where certain scenes from Lord of the Rings were filmed. Some of these included the rock formations that created the Gates of Mordor. The river we were on, Shotover River, is where the Black Riders on their horses get swept away by the giant wave that comes around the corner. Also, I have a picture of the exact spot on the cliff where Aragorn falls of the cliff during the Warg Battle. It was pretty intersting! Also, all fo the guides got o play some of the different warrior roles in the movies since they were filming on their land.
   This afternoon was seriously the most enjoyable part of the trip so far!!!!



   That evening we all ate pizze at The Hub before heading into Queenstown for the Big Night Out, which is an organized pub crawl with free shots, drink deals, and pizza. It was quite a bit of fun, especially the Ice Bar getting to wear parkas and drinking from ice glasses. It was a late night to say the least since bars don't close till 4 a.m. and everyone was feeling pretty good before bed. I was so glad that Grant and I stopped at McDonalds for some burgers. Pretty sure that's what saved me from a terrible hangover considering I was drinking beer and  vodka sprites! This has really been the only night I have really drank on the trip because it is so expensive that I thought I'd save my money and spend it on something worthwhile.

DAY 14
   Should have slept in but got up at 8:30 to head to town to do some shopping. Walked around with LaNae, Courtney, and Morgan and we were able to find some good stuff to bring home for our families.
   For lunch LaNae and I ordered a Hawaiian pizze from Hell's Pizza for take away, yes take away is equivalent to our to go. We went and sat along the wharf in the sun and had fun feeding our crust to a duck, but stopped when all the seagulls arrived.
   I had some time to kill before meeting at The Station at 2:10 to go up to the Nevis Swing. I had an impulse buy yesterday before leaving for Skippers Canyon. I got Anastasia convinced to do it with me! YONZO right?! (You Only New Zealand Once instead of You Only Live Once). Since I had some time I went back to Pinewood Lodge grabbed my towel and laid out in the sun for 45 minutes. I got a wee bit burnt but got to soak it up while I can because it won't be long and I'll be back in 30 degree weather. :(
   The Nevis Swing is a 300 meter arc in a canyon that starts with a 70 meter free fall drop. I was a bit scared to do it but became more excited after hearing how exhilarating it was from everyone else who had already gone. So at 2:10, Anastasia, Grant, Jared, and I got checked in and hopped on the bus at 2:45 to head to the Nevis Playground. The last road up and over into the canyon was by far the steepest climb we've had yet! As we arrived at the top, they stopped the bus for us to watch the swing. Ironically it was Sidney and Kathleen from our group.
   Got into the office, hit the toilets one last time, and walked across the cable suspended bridge to the floating Nevis Swing. We waited for three groups to go before us an then it was Grant and Jared's turn. We borrowed Dr. Jones' Go Pro for the event to get video of our "choice words" and it was pretty entertaining to listen to/watch that evening.
   The boys went and were being brought back in but they couldn't get it lined up right to catch them so they had to be let out and brought back in four times before they caught on the fifth time! Anastasia and I thought they were just trying to pysche us out until they had to do it to us once. But before that happened we were in our harnesses and clamped onto the swing. Phil was the operator and he was a funny entertaining fella. He asks each group if you want a countdown or to be surprsied. We ahd a better plan, after we yelled "Go Big Red" he could release us. The video proves that we didn't get the chant completely finished but it ahs been a hit with the group as I think it was played like 30+ times that night at our spaghetti supper.
   I was so exhausted by this time that I took a shower and was in bed by 10 p.m.




   Queenstown was a lot of fun and is definitely a tourist trap, but I sure would not mind living there. It is down in a valley beside water and mountains with so much to do and not to mention vineyards and orchards everywhere! It reminds me a lot of Whitefish, Montana.

New Zealand: Day 10 & 11

DAY 10
   I was feeling quite under the weather today so I was thankful for the long bus ride to the West Coast region. I literally slept every opportunity I had and it was probably the best thing for me. The ride took us from Christchurch crossing the Canterbury Plains, from the Pacific Ocean, over the Southern Alps and through to Westland and the Tasman Sea. The weather was gloomy with rain in and out most of the day so most of us just wanted to lay back on the bus and take naps with a movie playing.
   We made a stop at Arthur's Pass through the alps for some pictures, toilets, and snacks. We saw several NZ Kea parrots at this stop. They aren't colorful parrots, they are an olive-grayish color and highly social and inquisitive. This mischievous behavior can cause problems with the humans. For instance, one landed on the road and several cars had to slow down and swerve around it because it wouldn't move; it seemed not to care.
   Back on the bus to ride down the other side of the mountains to the Tasman Sea. We begin and it is raining and we see a grade sign for 16% grade!!! YIKES!!! Robbie our driver is a bit crazy too, telling crazy, dry humor jokes and always giving us bloody Americans a hard time. But it gets a bit scary going down 16% grade with switchback after switchback and he is peeking up at the TV screen to watch the movie with us and holding the microphone with one hand telling a story and driving a giant coach bus through the mountains with one hand! :S I mean he has traveled the beautiful nation probably a million times so he does know what he is doing and where he is going.
   We got to the West coast and made a stop at a large stock property near Bell Hill. Landcorp Farming Limited is NZ leading agribusiness. It is an enterprise, but owned by the government. They have 137 farms, 400,000 hectares, 1.6 million stock unites and over 700 staff across NZ. We were at the Weka complex which is a very hard place to farm and ranch with the shingle soil and the ever changing weather dumping 2.8 meters of rain annually! Did I mention that the West coast is a coastal rainforest? On this complex they have deer, beef, dairy, and sheep. That day they were harvesting antlers which we were bummed we could not go see since deer farming is not a common occurrence where we are from. We stopped at the dairy unit where they utilize a rotary milking system. These seem to be on nearly every major dairy unit over here.

   As we were taking a bus tour of the property we got stuck with the bus yet again! Second time on this trip so far! Their marshy, shingle soil sure does allow a giant coach bus to sink once off the road. Another John Deere tractor came to the rescue to pull her out. So we got to stand out in the rain for about 35 minutes while they got her pulled out.
   Next, we continued to venture towards our final destination of Greysmouth. We stopped at the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blow Holes national park. these were pretty neat rock formations that literally look like pancakes stacked atop each other due to erosion and settlement over the years. The blow holes were cool too with neat surge pools too. It kind of reminded me of the movie The Goonies when they find the ship! What do you think looking at this picture?



   Hokitika was another stop we made specifically for the New Zealand Greenstone store. The greenstone is a jade stone found in New Zealand. Very pretty and different shades of the green were given different meanings by the Maori. They also have different shapes for necklaces:
Fish hook = wealth
Twist = relationships
Another creature looking for protection/guardian
   I bought a ring with a heart greenstone on it! Pretty excited about it!

Lastly, we finally made it to our final destination for the evening; Top 10 Backpacker Lodge in Greysmouth. We were about 100 meters from the Tasman Sea. The tide was pretty strong and we were highly discouraged from going into the water but we took pictures and enjoyed the view.

 


DAY 11
   Time to hike Fox Glacier!!! I was excited for this as I have done similar hikes through Logan's Pass in Montana. It was forecast to be a fairly nice sunny day for the hike. A lot had shorts, t-shirt, and small raincoat on. We got our instructions, guides, equipment and headed up the valley to the glacier. It was nice and sunny until we got to the glacier itself and turned around and our guide said, "It looks like we have a SHORT shower coming up the valley."Remember we are in coastal rainforest where the weather is ever changing. The SHORT shower turned into about 30+ minutes worth where we all were soaked through our raincoats. Our hiking boots that were not going to get wet today as our guides said were now full of puddles. It sounds terrible but it was a pretty sweet adventure. With the rain coming down, that meant rocks started sliding down the hill side and the river and creeks were raging with water. At one of our easy water crossings from our way up was now full of guides grabbing hands of hikers to safely cross the creek that now seemed like a small river.
   We get back and we are all soaked and cold but still had smiles on our faces. We just walked across a glacier.... in a rainforest! So we jumped on the bus and headed to Franz Josef for the evening where the Glacier Hot Pools were calling our names! Best $25 I have spent thus far! It felt so good after that chilly glacier hike!
   That evening back at the Montrose Backpacker lodge we sat around visiting. Anders and I bought a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and some cheese and crackers! Yup, kept it classy for the evening! The next morning we were heading out at 8:00 am to make the 6 hour trek down the West coast to Queenstown where the real adventures were to begin!

New Zealand: Day 8 & 9

DAY 8
   FREE DAY!!! Today we had the entire day to do whatever we wanted to do in the Christchurch area. Since the forecast was 77 and sunny basically everyone decided to go to the beach; Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean. A bunch of us caught the 9:17 metro bus into the City Centre and then transfered to go to Sumner. As we got into town it had begun to rain a littl but we could tell that it was just going to rain for about 30 minutes and then blow over so our day was not ruined.
   Got to Sumner at about 10:30 and it was still drizzling a little bit so we went to Joe's Garage and got some coffee and something to nibble on. After that we headed to the beach, laid our towels out and soak up the sun for awhile before attempting to learn how to surf at 1:00 pm. It was literally the perfect day to be at the beach. Sun shinning, a light breeze blowing, perfect temperatures, and good company.



   At 1:00 pm Katie, Kinsey, LaNae, Kathleen, Sidney, Dustin, and I walked down the beach a little ways to learn how to surf; or attempt to at least. It was quite fun getting into the salty ocean and crashing through the waves. My eyes were burning soooo bad from all of the salt and I could feel my face frying even though I had put on quite a bit of sunscreen. We were given full body wetsuits thankfully because the water was chilly and it saved us from a nasty sunburn. As I mentioned, I "attempted" to learn to surf. It is not an easy task jumping to a standing position and keeping your balance on an ever changing surface. I was able to get up a few times even though I wouldn't say I actually rode a wave in but it sure was fun at least laying on the board and being brought in that way!



   I did that for about 3 hours and let Reece and Nate use my board to attempt to surf. They both got up of course! But they have done a lot more water sports than I have so understand the water balance. After that the three of us headed to find the rest of the group so the boys could get some more cash for food. As we walked down the beach, we could not find the group. Poor Reece, walked onto the boardwalk and smoked his foot on a nail sticking about a half inch up and gave himself a nasty wound on the bottom of his foot that was bleeding everywhere! Some nurses came to the rescue and Reece and Nate headed to the hospital in just their swim trunks since we had not found their bags yet! About 4 hours later they finally arrived back at LU and he was all bandaged up and was walking on it!
   That evening I joined a bunch of people just hanging in the hallway of our dorm joking around and later visited Grant and we were going through all of his iTunes listening to music, including some old country and 80's music since we had been missing music because it isn't really played while we are out and about.

DAY 9
   8:00 am, 30 of us were on the bus heading to Silver Fern Farms sheep processing plant. I have been to several beef slaughter and processing facilities but have never seen a sheep butchered except for in my ASCI 210 Animal Products class online where I watched it done in a 1970's video. It was a really interesting tour! They basically do every aspect; slaughter, processing, wool, pelts for leather, everything! It is a rather large plant and pretty sure we walked about every foot of the place but I love how they allow us to get right up there and see how it is done. Only about 5% of the meat produced in the plant stays in the domestic market, the rest is sent to Europe and Asia.



   That afternoon, Grant Pearson, the Technical Innovation Manager of Silver Fern Farms, joined us back at LU to expand on what he and the Innovation Team have been doing. Silver Fern Farms focuses more on the food industry (retail/restaurant and importers) giving the mottp "Inspirational food created by passionate people." They help working with consumers on cooking techniques for their sheep, deer, and beef products. The company has 23 farms in NZ and is made up of 16,000 partners.
   As for the Innovation Team, their main areas of work have been in:
(1) Traceability
(2) Meat Yield Measurement - an x-ray system that is the only operation utilizing such a system
(3) Meat Yield Improvement
(4) Meat Quality Measurement
(5) Automation and Control - showed videos of robots doing the process, crazy to think of that being the future!
(6) Value Chain from pasture to plate
(7) Farm IQ - farm management system

Their strategy is surrounded in value chain development, focus on quality, and application of technology.

    Next, we heard from Chris Hutchison about beekeeping. It is a rather large industry in NZ both for leisure and commerically. Honey bees play a crucial role in the production of more than a 1/3 of the world's food. He pulled up a quote by Albert Einstein that "If bees disappear, mankind will only have 4 more years to live." The honey bee has been faced with many threats including disease, mites (especially the Varroa), pesticides, Colony Collapse Disorder, and another he added is the "dirty" bee keeper. Bee keepers can act quite unethically, switching out bee frames and spreading a disease or mite, stealing boxes of bees, etc. The behavior and attitude of the keeper has interested him and is where he has started doing some research on. He wants to know how the bee keeper may be contributing to the threat  and how the attitude can be changed. The Queen of the Sun is a movie about honey bees and the issues that they are facing. It'd be interesting to watch this and learn more about it.
   The biology of bees is interesting. There is the worker bee. Unmated, infertile female that hatches in 16 days and maintains the essential functions of the hive (cleaning, comb building, feeding, foraging, storing, producing wax  and honey, etc). There can be 60,000+ in one hive!
   The queen bee is a highly developed, mated, fertile female. There is only 1 per colony and their lifespan is determined by their fertility. Once their time is up, the workers kill her off or exile her out.
   Drones are the males that are produced from unfertile eggs so they do not have a father. They are the bums of the hive because they can't do anything themselves. They have to be fed, cleaned, warmed, etc. by the workers and only mate with the queen. In the end, bees are really fascinating creatures! The honey they produce tastes different depending on the pollen they eat. In NZ, the most popular are white clover and manuka.
   To end the afternoon, Warwick Scott visited with us about arable farming. 2/3 of NZ cash crops (wheat, barely, maize, and oats) is grown in the central plains of Canterbury. They also produce herbage seeds (ryegrass, white clover, cocksfoot, tall fescue, and lucerne) which after combined provide grazing for livestock. Ryegrass is probably one of the best feedstuffs for dairy. The processed crops, so vegetables are combined and then processed for frozen, freeze dried, or canned food. These crops are always irrigated.
   Forage crops are used to supplement their pastures, especially during the winter months. Green feeds (oats, ryecorn, barley, short rotation ryegrass) are high-quality source fed during late pregnancy to early lactation. Then, winter feeds called brassicas (suedes, turnips, and kale) are the field the dairy spend their winter months on. They are never harvested by the farmers just the cows. The farmer moves the fence a few feet further every day for the cattle to graze. Very different type of crop farming over here.

   After supper, the group played a friendly game of touch Rugby. A complicated game for us football loving Americans. I came down with my lovely annual beginning of the year cold yesterday so decided I'd just take pictures instead.
   I got to do a little Skyping with family and friends before we head out for our 9 day tiki tour across New Zealand. The map below shows the route in white and the major stops circled in red. We will be seeing some ancient ruins, hiking Fox Glacier, going for a cruise in the Milford Sound, bungy jumping and skydiving (not me) in Queenstown, visitng deer, sheep and dairy farms in the Southland near Te Anau, stopping at Lake Tekapo and back to Christchurch! I will have very limited access to internet on this adventure so you may just have to wait till I get back to LU to hear all about it!!!

New Zealand: Day 7

DAY 7
   Started the morning off with three lectures; tourism, deer farming, and NZ Dairy Farms.
L1   Dr. David Fisher shared his insight on the tourism industry. A tourist has to stay for at least one day but no more than a year and that margin is used to assist in counting the number of tourists. Many times domestic tourism is more important than international. A few findings he shared with us is that (1) Most touristic activity is domestic, (2) Most tourists use surface transportation and not air, and (3) Tourism is not just for pleasure. France has the most international visitors with the U.S. ranking second and New Zealand about 50th, but the most international money is spent in the U.S. because most visitors have to fly to the U.S. For NZ, the number of international visitors has continued to increase with the average lenght of stay being 19 nights.

Principles of Tourism
(1) Consumers move to the product - management of tourism behavior and tourist settings
(2) Product is "external to" the tourism industry
(3) Tourism system is an inter-related whole - change in any component necessitates change in all other components
(4) Tourism planning must integrate all components of the tourist system - planning is much more than simply marketing

Leiper's System
People, Business, and Geography which then is put into a model with such factors as economy, socio-cultural, technological, political, legal, etc. that affect the transit between the tourist's generating region (home) and the tourist's destination region. Along with this heritage and culture can both hurt and help tourism and is viewed differently by different people especially between the visitor and locals.

L2   Russell Cameron came back to expand on deer farming since that is his area of focus. NZ is leading the world in deer farming. Deer were the first domesticated species for 6000 years. It was founded on captured feral (noxious) animals from helicopter by weighted nets. The first licensed deer farm was issued in 1969 and the number of farms skyrocketed during the 1970's. NZ then went on to pioneer most aspects of the industry from fencing to handling, husbandry, and harvesting.
   Red Deer are raised for breeding, finishing, and harvesting of velvet. They are bred for the meat, antler growth, and fertility. The finishing process starts with weaners being purchased in autumn and finshed from 12-20 months of age. The best price available is seen in early November for 11-12 month olds.
   It is the only industry that involves the harvest of live, growing tissue called velveting. Spikers (yearlings) and mature sires are harvested annually to avoid hard antlers which are a potential hazard to men and other deer because the antler becomes hard and pointed. The amount of velvet increases with age and holds greater value.
   The products produced include venison, velvet and co-products such as dried tails, pizzles, sinews, teeth, offals, and pharmacuetical extracts. Most is traded through oriental markets such as Hong Kong.
    As and industry, they have their own issues surrounding quality assurance, traceability, animal welfare which heavely effects the velveting aspect.

L3   Dr. Marvin Pangborn, an Oregon native, discussed the dairying industry. There are 11,891 herds making a total of 4.8 million cows in NZ. They produce only 4% of the world's milk, but control 23% of the dairy products traded internationally because 95% of their production is exported.
   Some of the difference compared to our dairy industry include:
- Seasonal - calve in July/Aug and dry off in May instead of year round
- Large herds
- Low production per cow (3,826 kg milk/cow vs. 8,256 in U.S.)
- Emphasis on rotational grazing - rotation ranges from 18-45 days meaning a paddock/day basically
- cows walk down the road to the milk shed and return to paddock after being milked which totals approximately 15 minutes
- bred by bull and/or AI in October/November
- daily requirement = 18 kg/DM
- lactations are short - 250-280 days compared to over 300 days in U.S.
- "wintered" off area milked on which means moving to kale fields

   Some of its strengths:
- Integreated and co-ordinated structure
- Low costs for feeding, housing, and machinery
- High output of MS (milk solids) per labor unit is how they are paid versus our volume per unit
- Seasonal system
- Long distance from other cows = limited disease risk
- share milking options allow young farmers to get in and multiple people to assist with labor and costs
- "attitude" of the industry - people want to be a part of it

   Some weaknesses are due to their dependance on:
- world market
- foreign exchange rate
- weather and pasture growth
- heavy workload for labor units during certain times of the year
- inefficienceies in use of processing factories
- short lactation, low yields
- high land prices
- distance from marketets, higher freight costs

   Some statistics:
27% of the herds are over 500 cows
A 200 hectare dairy farm in Canterbury with 600 cows producing 225,000 kg MS/year has a value of approximately $12.4 million
The dairying industry is predominately on the North Island but dairying has begun to move to the South Island especially near Canterbury because of the development of such water resources as irrigation.
   Fronterra is the largest processing company in NZ controlling 89% fo the industry.

   In the afternoon, we visited Lincoln University's Sheep and Dairy units. Ashley Dene is the sheep unit where we got to see the sheep dogs do their magic herding the sheep. I posted a video of both the dog herding the sheep and a demonstration of sheep shearing. At the Dairy Unit, SIDDC, it is a research based unit which is made up of six different companies. It was so nice to finally see some livestock and take more picutres. I can't wait to upload all of my photos from the trip because I am pretty proud and they really explain the sights we have been seeing!
   Tomorrow is a free day so I am going to Sumner Beach and going to learn how to surf! Yay!! And soak up some lovely sun where it will be sunny and 75+!

New Zealand: Day 5 & 6

DAY 5
   Thursday, January 2nd started with a bus ride to Mt. Peel Station. Along the way we made a stop along the Rakaia Gorge to view the Rangitata River which is a braided river similiar to the North Platte but much, much bigger. It was yet another gorgeous view with the mountains in the background and water that is typically a turquoise color, but at this time was kind of a cloudy gray from the glacier melt and rain. The wind along the river was strong. All day it felt like a tornado the winds were so strong.
   Next, we headed onto a sheep farm back in the high, hill country along the river. The Redcliffs family was very accomodating and Willy gave a nice tour converting everything into American language (km to miles, hectares to acres, etc.). It was sprinkling on and off most of the day. As we were winding around the mountain we went from asphalt to gravel and I noticed a "road closed" sign and began to question were we were going. All of a sudden we approach a creek that was running through the road making it impassable at the time being. So we all got out and ventured around. Tasted the pure glacier water and waited for Willy to show up with the tractor to make a temporary bridge. I guess that this is a typically occurance at the beginning of the summer when the glaciers are melting, they carve their own creeks on down the side of the mountain making it difficult for farmers to pass over.



   Once we finally got to Redcliffs they showed us their shearing shed which is where 40% of their income is produced through the shearing of wool from ther Merion sheep. It was abnormally clean because one of their 4 daughters is getting married and having the reception in the shearing shed on January 10th!
   As much as I enjoy taking photos of the landscape and flowers, I have been getting quite antsy to photography the livestock. I finally was on the ground and able to be in a short walking distance of some sheep to snap some photos instead of through the window while the bus is moving. Katie has been taking picutres of me taking pictures because I supposedly look odd trying to get good angles.
   Moving onto our next stop in Methven to eat our sack lunches and grab any supplies we were going to need for the overnight stay at the lodge on Mt. Peel. At the store I found Tim Tams which are a delicious cookie that Kelsey introduced me to back in Nebraska. She experienced these while traveling to Australia in high school. They are so good when you bit off opposite corners, stick it in some milk and suck through one corner like a straw and it soaks the inside and makes it just melt in your mouth. I shared with several people and they were quite amazed at how good they tasted so thank you Kelsey for introducing me to Tim Tams!
   We continued up and around the mountains to finally arrive at Mt. Peel station for a visit with John Acland at the Holy Innocents church. His family was one of the first settlers to arrive in New Zealand during the 1850's from Europe. Now, the 6th generation is running the land and continues to operate the church as more of a historical venue but do host weddings, baptisms, and one service the Sunday following Christmas. It was quite interesting hearing about the history of the Mt. Peel area and how the Acland family made its riches by selling Ritchie Ear Tags in New Zealand. The same family operates the Rangitata River Raft were we stayed the evening and went rafting the following morning.
   The lodge was up the mountain a little further and dorm style again. I stayed in a room that was 3x3; 3 bunkbeds, 3 beds high. I slept on the very top. Reminded me of MN State Fair dorms! That evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner of brats, fried potatoes, salad (they don't believe in dressing), and later had some pavlova for dessert. Everyone kind of broke up and did their own things between hiking up the giant hill, playing Nerts, drinking and telling stories it was a fun evening.

DAY 6
   Woke up at 6:20 a.m. and ate some corn flakes with some hot tea. It was the morning to white water raft! We were already broken the news the evening before that we would not be rafting the gorge because the water was too high, too fast that there would be a high chance of someone drowning. Instead we got to raft their backup creek. Since it is glacier water, it was going to be a bit chilly so that meant wet suits! As we all squirmed and jumped our way into our skin tight wet suits with a windbreaker jacket, life jacket, and helmet, we were ready to hit the water.



   We get on the bus with the rafts and attempt to cross the small creek, but got stuck. It was quite the process to get unstuck but after about 15 minutes the rafters finally called for all of the strong, corn fed Nebraska boys to help push the bus out and away we went!
   I love rafting, this was my fourth time rafting. The raft guides are always such a good time and have fun stories to tell. The creek was only going to be about at 2 compared to a 5 on the gorge so it was more of a relaxing float than actual white waters. It was still a lot of fun jumping in to swim, splashing other rafts, and on this trip we all actually stopped at a little beachy area and played some games on shore. First, was the paddle game which was similar to musical chairs. Next, was the human knot in our raft teams which mine included Katie, Kinsey, LaNae, Grant, Jared, and Logan. Lastly, was a little game of cat and mouse. Then, it was time to hit the water again.
   One of the rafts did end up flipping because it had two currents from both sides coming in that sucked them down as they were all leaning one direction and over they went! No one got hurt, they actually kind of enjoyed it. A few paddles were lost to the river though!
   We got back to the lodge to shower, have lunch, and then head back to LU. We stopped for ice cream on the way back. I had butterscotch peacan and gumdrop! Delicious.
    Once back at LU I got on Skype, ate dinner, took a short nap, and will probably be going to the Famous Grouse with the crew tonight!