March 27

University of Auckland Business School + Energy Center

- Emílson Silva, Director of the Energy Center 
- Aluminum smelter consumes 13% of electricity in NZ 
- 72% of energy in NZ is residential, then commercial and agriculture 
- 80% renewable energy 
- 60% hydroelectricity 
- Heat vs. eat issue – suggested conducting surveys

Today I checked out of the Pullman Hotel and Ubered to the Grand Chancellor to drop my bags off. From there, a group of us at the hotel walked over to the President Hotel for orientation with our tour guide, Terry Thomson. After we did orientation, we all checked back into our hotels before heading to lunch at Portofino, which was right in the harbor. I ordered cassicce alfredo!

After lunch, we had free time before getting ready to meet research students and staff at the University of Auckland Business School + Energy Center. Once we arrived at the Uni, we attended a lecture on NZ's economic initiatives and research programs implemented through the school. Very interesting.

After the presentations were done, we enjoyed a cocktail hour with the faculty and students. It was a nice informal way to get to know them more and ask questions. They served wine and charcuterie. After the cocktail hour, we were bussed to our restaurant for dinner. We went to Monsoon Poon. It was an Asian fusion joint. From there, a group of us walked back to the hotel to call it for the night. Tomorrow we check out and head to Rotorua!!

March 28

Today we left Auckland to head to Rotorua to visit the Maungatautari Sanctuary. We also made an unexpected side guest to the Redwood Forest in Whakarewarewa.

When we got to the sanctuary, we were greeted by Phil, our tour guide. He explained to us the purpose of the sanctuary. The sanctuary’s purpose is to preserve the native species in the "maunga" (mountain). The sanctuary is home to the largest fenced area to control pests and restore native animals.

We got to see the tuatara, takahe, along with other native birds in the area. After this, we left and drove to the Redwood Forest as a little side journey. The forest is not nearly as big as the redwood forest in California since it is not an old growth forest. Still stunning nonetheless.

After we hugged a few trees, we checked into our hotel in Rotorua. This area of NZ is much more quaint and calm compared to Auckland. You can really see “fall” true here with the leaves changing.

After we checked into the hotel, we quickly got ready for dinner at The Pig & Whistle, which was nice. After dinner, we all gathered in for the night to prepare for the Living Māori Village, hot springs, and kiwi orchard tours.

Reflections: 
My overall reflections for the past two days so far include how excited I am for a future in the field of sustainability and conservation. Seeing how this country approaches certain issues is eye-opening and amazing to see in real life.

I love how integrated the Māori are in this country. It makes me realize we have a long way to go in America. Though the culture was more recently respected, it shows it's not impossible.

March 29

We started the day by going to the Living Māori Village – Whakarewarewa – where we met our tour guide Kylie. Her father is the chief of the people there.

It was interesting to learn that though not every Māori lives in the village, they have the right to use the resources, especially the thermal springs that run through the land in the village. The older generation of people that live there do not rely on pharmaceuticals like western culture does.

Our tour guide said that her 90+ year old aunt still goes up the mountain every day to forage for her herbs for medicinal purposes. She explained the bathing is done communally, which means there are set times in the morning/evening to wash. No one is paid to get the baths “ready.” It’s just what they are all expected to do.

Kylie explained that the younger generation – even her children – leave home in search of better opportunities (mainly work). She emphasized that though her children live away from home (in NZ), they must return to “reground” themselves. For example, all of her kids have skin issues and rely on steroids to treat their conditions in Australia. But when they return home, they bathe in the thermal baths a few times, and their skin clears up.

She also said if you are congested, it helps. But to be careful, because if you take too long of a bath you can pass out. It was interesting to also learn that they have separate pool areas when women are on their periods/giving birth.

The Māori also have specific tools to cook their food. They actually have special steam boxes they use to cook food too. They place a rock on it to indicate there is food in there, and two rocks to show it's full. The food will steam until it's ready.

We continued to walk through the village when we stopped at the very obvious Catholic Church. Kylie explained to us that western religion and Māori spirituality do not mix. She doesn’t understand how it could ever, and that the Bible confuses her.

Their form of religion is not so unlike pagan culture/religion. When it comes to death, the passed are buried in a fetal position. That’s the way we were created, that’s the way we go out.

They also do not believe in organ donation. You must remain whole when you return to Earth.

Kylie was very passionate about sharing the culture of her people – which made this easily one of my favorite experiences so far. I wish we had programs like this back home in the States with our tribal citizens.

Though there are still struggles the Māori go through that aren’t easily seen from outsiders (even when we were on the tour, a truck wagged by and mocked the tour while we were walking), she shared her experience when it comes to integration and inclusion with the Māori. She basically said for example how non-Māori downplay things. She said her husband went to the hospital for a “chest cold.” They told him it was a “little upper resp. inf.” when it was really pneumonia.

Discrimination still happens, but it seems more progressive here comparatively. Though the integration we see now is still rather new to the people here.

We continued to walk around the village to explore the thermal hot springs. They are rich in silica and release a somewhat strong sulfur smell. The springs are extremely hot – some pools can reach 210°F!

After we finished up at the village, we drove about 1.5 hours north to Te Puke to visit the Zespri Kiwi growers. Getting to meet the growers and understand the system behind production was interesting. I really loved getting to see the orchards up close and personal as well. We saw green, gold, and a new variety called red kiwi – a combination of green kiwi and raspberry. It was shockingly very sweet!

The growers showed us and explained their hard work and dedication to this business pays off – especially more difficult nowadays! I also really enjoyed them explaining how their kiwis are “organic.” It was particularly interesting to learn they only hire a handful of permanent staff that work the orchards, while the rest are backpackers! Reminds me almost of WorldPackers.

Reflection: 
Overall, this day was starkly different when comparing our morning activity to our afternoon one. My biggest “theme” I saw in this day were how micro-cosmic the systems were in each visit – yet soooo different!

Signing off as #18 (Te Kau ma waru)!

March 30 

Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Boat Ride, and Travel to Christchurch

Today we checked out of our hotel in Rotorua and headed straight to Waimangu Volcanic Valley for our boat ride on the lake. The coach ride was only about 30 minutes. This area is also full of geothermal activity and calderas. Also geysers (like the Māori village).

Our tour guide/skipper was very knowledgeable (Martin). He led us through the trail to see massive pools and streams running through this area. We had tons of great photo ops!

We learned that the land is owned by the local Iwi, but partnered with them to offer tours. All proceeds go directly back to the Iwi. It was really interesting to see how there was so much geothermal activity here while also being on the edge of a fresh water lake. We saw several small geysers along the edge of the shores of the lake as well.

In this area we learned that there were formerly white and pink terraces that people from all over the world would flock to bathe in the water. Unfortunately, the terraces were devastatingly destroyed in a volcanic eruption which also took a lot of Māori lives.

It is believed though that some of the terraces may be concealed beneath the water. This area also holds the record for the world’s tallest geyser eruption – which was around 1,000 ft!

After we did our hike, we boarded the boat to take a 45-minute cruise on the lake. After the lake, the bus took us back to the visitor center where we had lunch.

Seeing Lake Rotomahana to end our day in Rotorua was amazing.

Once we were done at Waimangu, Jam picked us up and drove us back to Rotorua to catch our small in-country flight to Christchurch. The flight is about 1.5 hrs. In this area we will be able to see “Mount Doom” from Lord of the Rings!

The flight was super easy and went by really quickly. Once we landed, we took the coach to our hotel – about 30 minutes into Christchurch.

We had about an hour before meeting for dinner at Pegasus Arms. Dinner was super nice after a long day of doing site visits and flying.

At dinner we went over the cards we wrote on the first day. The cards were something people didn’t know about others or something we were reflecting on. Then once the cards were read, we all had to guess whose card belonged to who!

This was such an enticing way to get to know each other more since we have been together for 7 days at this point! After dinner was done, a group of us sat at the restaurant for a while before walking back to the hotel for the night.

March 31 

Christchurch – Water Management, Cultural Walk, and Banks Peninsula Tour

Today was a jam-packed day full of learning!

We started off by meeting with Liam Foster, a water and land management planner. He explained to us how Christchurch is one of three places in the world that has braided rivers (along with parts of Alaska and the Himalayas).

He said water management is crucial here, especially with agriculture and drinking water. A lot of irrigation in this country is done by pivot systems or trench systems – which you can see when flying over.

Christchurch also has an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) system. They manage the impacts of agriculture, pollution, and runoff on the river systems – along with coastal erosion. Most planning and future building strategies consider future generations, which is not something we often see in the U.S.

Liam showed us a great example of how they are trying to restore land for the next generation of native species and people – which made me think about how we can do the same back home.

He also explained that developer compliance is not really enforced here. He said, “We know you’re not going to follow the rules, so we don’t really punish you.” Which was WILD to hear. Especially coming from the U.S. where environmental violations are still dealt with on some levels.

After we finished our time with Liam, we moved on to Amiki Tours, which was a culture walk around Ōtautahi (Christchurch) hosted by Riwai Grace – a local Māori man who works in advocacy, education, and hospitality.

He began by smudging us with mānuka smoke to ground us spiritually. He gave us some background into Christchurch’s troubled past with colonization and how the Māori were mistreated (and in many ways still are).

He shared his own journey of reconnecting with his culture and his passion for teaching others. We were all given Māori names (mine was Rongo, which is the god of peace). This was extremely powerful for me.

Riwai then led us on a walk through the city to showcase various public art and meaningful sites that told stories of the Māori. He was extremely animated and passionate – I really appreciated how open and honest he was about his experiences and how he didn’t sugarcoat things for us.

We stopped at a few locations to hear about the stories behind each mural, sculpture, and even earthquake memorials. One mural in particular was a collaborative effort that featured traditional and contemporary Māori symbolism side-by-side.

We also got the chance to learn some Te Reo Māori – which was such a cool and humbling experience. Riwai ended the tour by encouraging us to support local food and businesses during our time here.

After the walking tour, we had lunch and then drove out to the Banks Peninsula where we met our guide for the day – Annette. This area is stunning, with rolling hills, vast pastures, and dramatic cliffs along the water.

Annette talked to us about environmental planning and how the region is trying to become predator-free by 2050. This includes efforts to trap and remove pests like rats, stoats, and possums that harm native birds and biodiversity.

She also explained that residents are allowed to subdivide their land only if it contributes to environmental outcomes (i.e. land restoration, planting native trees, fencing off rivers, etc.).

We ended the tour with an overlook of Akaroa Harbour. It was breathtaking. So peaceful and quiet – a stark contrast to the bustle of the city.

Reflections: Riwai was one of the most passionate speakers I’ve ever heard. I’m so thankful for this opportunity to hear his story and walk beside him. I feel so much more connected to Aotearoa (New Zealand) and its people. The way they approach environmentalism and integration of indigenous people is honestly so inspiring. I wish we had more of that back home.

April 1

Today we started the day by checking out of Christchurch to head down to Lake Tekapo and Aoraki / Mt. Cook. It was around a 3.5-hour coach ride to the village in Mt. Cook. We did stop in Rakaia to see part of the braided rivers.

After this, we made our way to Lake Tekapo, where we saw the Church of the Good Shepherd. Absolutely beautiful! This is where we stopped to have lunch, take some photos, and stretch before doing our final stretch to Mt. Cook.

Further down the road we made it to Lake Pukaki, where we actually got to see Mt. Cook in the distance – which was so significant because you can only typically see the mountain 1/3 days of the week or once every 3 days! From Lake Pukaki, we made it to the village – where other parts of The Hobbit were filmed too!

Since we made it to the village a little later in the afternoon, we weren’t able to immediately check in. So instead, we headed straight to our scheduled boat ride on Tasman Lake. It was a half-mile hike to the lake where we were split into 2 groups to board the boats.

It was truly fascinating yet disheartening that the only reason we were able to even do the boat ride was due to the Tasman Glacier slowly receding and melting. Even Terry said “Back in the 90s, the lake was all ice!” We got to see several chunks of smaller glaciers in the water of the lake, which was amazing.

The floating glaciers in the water are constantly changing. Since the water the ice is sitting in is practically a glacier – even though the water itself is cold! We saw the face of the Tasman Glacier which, on the lake, goes back about 4 miles!

The boat ride was just a true testament to the effects of climate change / global warming. No better way to experience it other than hands-on experiences.

The water in the lake was a brilliant turquoise color due to “glacial flour,” which is sediment left behind from the moving glacier. The water in the lake is drinkable.

They cannot do any sonar monitoring because it is pitch black in the water. We even got close enough to some of the glaciers to touch. They were extremely smooth!

After the boat ride, we were able to check into our hotel rooms and get settled. From there we all met up for dinner at the Hermitage Hotel.

Tomorrow we prepare for the Hooker Valley hike and a presentation with an Aoraki NPS educator!

April 2 

We started our day by meeting with our DoC (Department of Conservation) speaker, Matt, to listen to his presentation on Aoraki and the activities they do for park management along with history and geology info.

Some notable information that stood out to me was:

  1. The local Iwi are not as involved in the management of the park as the DoC would like them to be.

  2. The park encompasses 4 types of habitats: forest, grassland, braided rivers, and alpine.

  3. Aoraki is considered a God to the Māori. They ask that you don't summit the mountain out of respect.

  4. The park is more focused on recreation than conservation.

  5. Due to the National Parks Act of 1980, the park is not allowed to charge entry fees nor are they allowed to limit the amount of people in the park.

But this act lends issues over the years with there being an influx of international tourists. This also causes morale issues with staffing. Maybe there is some talk in the future to amend or make a new act to meet the demands of more tourists and maintain employee morale as well as patron satisfaction.

  1. Concession holders are subject to review. If out of compliance, they are subject to losing their license.

  2. No internship opportunities, but they have volunteer opportunities that are similar to summer internships. 
    (Issue of housing? Kiwi Corps?)

  3. Waste management is one of their biggest expenses.

  4. Emmeline Freda Du Faur was the first female to summit Mt. Cook in an outstanding 20 hours in a dress! We learned that she was originally going to go only with one other gentleman (Graham) to hike the mountain, but during this time it was frowned upon for an unmarried woman and man to travel alone, so they hired a chaperone. This was hilarious considering she was gay. This was amazing to learn since she literally paved a path for future mountaineers to follow.

Mt. Cook is the tallest peak in NZ – ~13k ft.

After the presentation, we had time to look around the DoC visitor center, which had amazing interpretive info. From there, we got ready to prepare for our 3 hr hike to Hooker Valley.

We were split into 2 groups (were DoC regulations – no more than 15 people per group). I went with the second group led by Terry. This was nice to be able to take our time and stop for breaks along the way to talk about the flora and fauna.

Along our hike we came across spectacular views of Mueller Lake, moraines, rivers, and the swing bridges. There were 3 in total to be crossed. The 2nd bridge was the longest and scariest!

The hike was easy, with some areas with more stairs or gradual grade in gradient, but wasn’t bad at all. The trail was nicely made but very rocky. The weather was misty and moody – but great for the hike because that meant not as many people on the trail.

The last portion of the hike we were actually on top of some moraine overlooking Hooker Lake. This was the end of the trail. We rested for a minute before switching guides to hike back down so it would go faster.

All together it took us about 3 hours of walking, but with periodic stops it was more like 4 hours. We hiked ~6 miles!

Before heading all the way back to the coach, we all stopped at Freda’s Rock to take a picture with it. From there, we waited on the coach and waited for the second group to catch up.

It was safe to say everyone was excitedly hungry and exhausted haha!

After the hike we went back to the hotel to freshen up before heading to dinner. After dinner, a group of us played card games for a bit. This was nice getting to connect and have fun with one another.

After card games, we all went to bed to prepare for tomorrow’s adventure to Queenstown.

My reflection on this day is mainly how physical the system is in this region’s environment. 

April 3 

Today we left Aoraki / Mt. Cook to make our journey to Queenstown with a few planned stops along the way.

The first of our stops was Lake Hawea Station, near Wanaka. We were a little late getting to the sheep farm, so we really didn’t get to engage as much as I hoped we could’ve. The farm was very posh and beautiful though.

We learned a lot about their goals and regenerative farming methods. The guide was extremely knowledgeable about farming and the science behind it all. I really liked how they approach non-stressful shearing practices for the sheep.

When he was going over the presentation with us and explaining how they were a B Corps company, we were able to pass around bits of wool from one of their sheep.

I thought it was really interesting how the structure of the wool allows it to remain breathable, warm, and cooling when needed! And how the wool also has anti-bacterial / microbial properties.

I also love that it’s completely biodegradable.

An interesting topic he went over during his presentation was the concept of bio-mimicry and farming. They also employ rotational grazing to ensure the grass has time to regenerate.

After we left the farm, we made the trek to Queenstown. This drive was certainly nerve-wracking considering trying to get the older coach up the mountains!

We stopped at a really beautiful scenic overlook before descending down the mountain.

Once we got to Queenstown, we checked into our hotel and had the rest of the evening to enjoy free time and do dinner on our own!

Shape

Reflection: 
Like I said earlier, I wish we had more time with Lake Hawea Station and had more hands-on experience. I would've liked to know more about how they think their practices could be translated to other regions or countries.

April 4

On today’s agenda we had plans to meet with John Cushen for a city tour of Queenstown and then lunch at Gibbston Valley Winery.

We met with John at the hotel adjacent to our own. He gave a great presentation on tourism in Queenstown/NZ. I like how he highlighted environmental issues in the Southern Lakes District through the lens of NZ’s Resource Management Act.

The key focuses were:

  1. Human interactions in NZ with the environment and those challenges

  2. Then meeting those challenges

  3. Resource Management Act

  4. Other systems (i.e., concessions)

  5. Queenstown case study

  6. Butler’s model of tourism destination development

  7. Regenerative tourism

After the presentation, John directed us to visit Shotover Jet company and AJ Hackett Bungy.
Shotover was cool to learn about – how they recognize as leaders in recreation tourism. Their boats are exactly climate-friendly.

I appreciated the depth of knowledge when answering our questions regarding alternative jet boats for their business. The issue they are facing with an electric jet is its overall weight. The electric is as heavy as their petroleum boats with people in it, while the electric doesn’t even leave people aboard.

After this, we “jetted” over to AJ Hackett Bungy. For the most part, this company is rather sustainable with little to no impact on the surrounding environment. They truly capitalize on the use of gravity for their business (haha).

After the Bungy tour, we popped over to Gibbston Valley Winery, right down the road from the Bungy.

Alex, our French guide, was great about sharing the story of the winery and how they achieve being organic winemakers. I think it could’ve been really impressive to meet Alan Brady himself on this trip.

I really loved going into the wine cave where they kept all of their pinot noirs. The cool temps are optimal for aging in the cave.

Organic result: They don’t use herbicides or pesticides when growing the grapes.

After all of the delicious food and tour of the winery, we had the rest of the day as free time!

April 5 

This was such a bittersweet day since this was my last full day in NZ with everyone. But today was a lot of fun.

We started the day by heading to the Southern Lakes Sanctuary along Wakatipu Ward. We met with Chrissy, who was our guide and conservation steward.

We hiked down to the “beach” to take some photos and talk before moving along to the hike up the mountain. I was not expecting this kind of hike on our last day due to its steep gradient, but the view at the overlook was well worth it!

Though I thought this sanctuary was stunning, I thought this stop was a little redundant to visit since we already were exposed to trapping methods and “Predator Free 2050” from Maungatautari and Aoraki NP. But it was really neat to see their traps along the hike to.

After we finished up at the sanctuary, Leigh dropped a bunch of us off at the Kiwi Park. This is where we said our goodbyes. A group of us got tickets to the Kiwi Park, which was really awesome.

We first started by grabbing food at Bespoke Café that Terry recommended, which was a great selection. After we ate, we went to the Kiwi Park to first see the conservation show.

We were able to see Rainbow Lorikeets, a Weka (which gets mistaken for a kiwi a lot), and a possum. From there we headed to the back of the park to see the KIWI exhibit!!!

The kiwi exhibit was so amazing. It was really dark in the enclosure to mimic night since they are nocturnal animals. I thought it was funny how even the employee said they are honorary mammal show staff. They don’t fly.

As our eyes adjusted to the exhibit, we encountered 3 kiwi – 2 females and one young male.

The kiwis are super fast and have immensely strong legs. The staff even shared (I won’t name names) how one of the kiwi actually kicked a zookeeper so hard in the stomach that it damaged his spleen! Ouch!

While we observed the kiwis, they were mainly just looking for food with their powerful nose/beaks in the dirt. They all used a very systematic path they would follow as they made their laps around their enclosures.

I really can’t get over that we got to see real kiwis while we were here!

After the kiwi exhibit, Kirsten and I did the gondola ride to view Queenstown. Such a breathtaking view and glad I actually had the guts to do it!

By that time, we needed to head back and get ready for our 2-hour debrief of the program and final dinner.

We all met up at the same conference room where we met with John for the 2 hr debrief. I thought this was such a nice opportunity to reflect as everyone shared about the trip – our “peaks and valleys” – and recommendations for future adult learners wanting to go to NZ in the future.

I really applaud Spencer for keeping track of who wants to do specific systems. Very organized approach.

We had an opportunity to figure out what systems from the week we wanted to explore in the meeting. I chose to team up with Sarah, Heather, and Jenn for Māori involvement and tourism of National Parks in NZ.

After that, it seemed like everyone had a more solid idea of what they wanted to work with.

After we finished our last thoughts, we all headed down to the restaurant. We ate at Blue Kanu.

It was so lovely getting to end our trip the same way we started it. We started with a presentation/introduction then lunch. And we ended it with a debrief and dinner.

The dinner was fabulous! Still such a bittersweet moment with everyone since the next day some of us were catching our flights back home.

Once dinner concluded, we said our goodbyes and thank-yous to Dan, Kiersten, and Terry!!!

From there, a majority of us ended the night by getting ice cream together. Quite literally ending things in a sweet way.

After ice cream, the students said our goodbyes and prepared for flights the next morning.

Sarah, Heather, Justin, and I got up super early and Ubered together to the airport.

This was sad since I had to leave so early…