Exploration: Scientific Photography

This post focuses on the scientific work we did in Mahu Whenua. During the second two days of our mountainous excursion, my smaller group focused on collecting beech seeds (Fuscospora solandri, the black beech trees). We set roughly 34 traps, made from upside down tents with the bottoms cut out. The tents were secured to tree branches or pounded into the ground using Warepahs (steel stakes). Milk cartons were cut and slid onto the strings to keep the mice from climbing into the traps and eating all the seeds. The first picture represents typical placement of the seed traps, as well as some of the participants working on hanging a new one in the background. The second picture offers a close up of the tent, its bag of rocks as a weight, and a worker (Allie G.) pausing in her process of cutting milk cartons. The final picture demonstrates our use of Warepahs to secure the traps when tree branches were not conveniently located.

Exploration: New Zealand Culture

By nature, every country embraces a different culture. Part of the wonderment of traveling is experience a way of life different than your home, and perhaps learning from these changes. This is a collection of photographs that to me, represents the essence of NZ culture.

This is a photo of the city streets of Wellington. This is the capital city of a country, and the streets are this clean and clear of people. If I had to pick out one aspect of New Zealand's culture to bring back to America, it would be the constant respect of one's surroundings. From city streets to wildlife, New Zealanders constantly put in effort to maintain their environments.

The shell pictured here is called a paua. It is featured prominently in Maori culture, frequently used to decorate the walls of a Marae, or necklaces and earrings. The paua is also a protected animal, so its shell can only be taken sustainably, meaning when the creature dies and the shell naturally washes up to shore. This creature is only found in NZ, and therefore acts as an appropriate symbol for this remote island nation.

Unlike the US, New Zealand makes a lot of effort to incorporate Maori culture into its national identity. The Maori, or the indigenous people, celebrate Nature and express gratitude for being able to use natural resources. These photos were taken in the Takahanga Marae and in Orokonui, respectively. From a Maori home to a national ecosanctuary, these deified forces of nature strongly represent the indigenous culture.

These plants line the wall of the Christchurch Council building. After the earthquake in 2011, the city was rebuilt with the principle of sustainability in mind. There are plants incorporated in the most important building in the city, which makes the surroundings feel less like an urban area and more part of New Zealand's beautiful landscape. I also just loved how this photo came out.

My last cultural photo does not seem like it belongs in a cultural assignment, but I think it strongly fits New Zealand's natural identity. This is the night sky as seen from Mahu Whenua, the mountainous backcountry. The Southern Cross is near the middle of the photo. There is no light pollution or human interference, which made the night sky absolutely luminous. New Zealand culture focuses on preserving nature, but it also places emphasis on appreciating nature. Being out under this sky with a camera and the silent landscape is the best way to respect the environment and understand why every conservation effort is important. I am also just proud that I managed to play with the aperture and shutter speed enough to get a decently clear picture of the stars!

Exploration: Wildlife Photography

Since my trip is coming to an end, I've amassed quite the collection of animal photos. These are a few of my favorites:

This first photo is of a Tui. It was taken at Zealandia, one of the first places that I really felt immersed in New Zealand wildlife. The bird just hopped on a branch right next to the path, providing this excellent photo opportunity!

This bird is a Kakapo. It is similar to a parrot, and it also resides in Zealandia. This bird is so intelligent, it understands how to operated a weighted feeder system to get the food out. I included this bird in my highlights because it popped up in multiple ecosanctuaries, making it seem like a very central bird to New Zealand.

This animal is the only non-bird on the list, and I feel that the tuatara definitely deserves its share of the spotlight. It seems to sit in one spot all day long and never move. Tuataras have existed since the time of the dinosaurs, but little is still known about them. They exist on both the North and the South Islands, but they act differently because they have adjusted to different climates. To me, tuataras are a symbol of successful preservation. They were thought to be extinct, but after extensive human efforts, there are multiple populations thriving in protected sanctuaries. This one was photographed in Zealandia.

This bird species is known as the Takahe. It is chicken-sized, flightless, and exists in the protected area of Orokonui. I think the biggest meaning of this bird is its many connections to Maori culture. I remember the overlook of Christchurch being named after this bird, the Sign of the Takahe. I encountered this bird after visiting Christchurch, but seeing one in person seemed to set off a lightbulb of recognition.

Of course, this list would not be complete without penguins! I have the best photographs of yellow-eyed penguins, so I included them here. Visiting the Penguins on the Otago Peninsula was my favorite day of the entire trip. I have always seen penguins as arctic, exotic creatures. Seeing ones in their natural habitat, and on a beach, was something I will never forget. They are adorable, endangered, and worth every effort to save these little guys. I also noticed the greatest improvement in my photography skills when I was trying to get shots of the penguins; the nighttime shoot was a challenge, but the camera settings made so much more sense to me.

Days 16-18: The Adventure Continues

Update:

Once we left Mahu Whenua, we returned to Wanaka to work with Martin Hill. He is a world-renowned sculptor who uses pieces of plants and rocks and such to create his works. His focus is extremely environmentally-friendly, and he designs his creations to harmlessly return to the natural place they came from. Most of his designs are circular and play on the reflective property of water.

Martin Hill and his partner, Phillipa Jones, were kind enough to invite us into their studio and home. They try to use their land as sustainably as possible; this idea created their very impressive vegetable garden and fruit orchard. 

The next day, we met them at Butterfield Wetlands to attempt some sculpting of our own. Martin and Phillipa were lashing together dried sticks into the shape of a circle, then cutting it to make a donut and an arch. We helped them for a little bit, weaving the sticks together using bits of flax, then split off to make our own projects. He called our creative process "sketching," where we just took an hour to scavenge some materials and create whatever popped into our heads. Mine definitely started with no direction, but once it floated around in the rain for a bit, it took on the appearance of a half-sunk canoe; I was really pleased by it!

The morning after our day in the swamp, we returned to see how our sculptures had fared overnight. Mine had floated away or sunk, and I could not find it. I know it will decompose and maybe someday fertilize a new flax plant, which makes me very happy and excited about environmental art.

We left Wanaka and drove all day to the small town of Franz Josef. It is named after the large glacier that lurks in the nearby mountains. This glacier is special because it is the third of its kind; it exists in a temperate rain forest, building itself up from the constant rainfall and alpine landscape. However, it is only 2,000 ish meters above sea level. The glacial spread ebbed and flowed like the tide, constantly cycling through advancing and receding. People used to ice skate on it or climb it, but now the only route to the top is via helicopter for fear of rock slides. However, in the past few years, the glacier has undergone extreme shrinkage. It lost roughly 800 m since 2008. As we hiked up the path to reach its face, we passed several markers that pointed out how far the glacier extended at different times. Walking through the area formerly occupied by ice and snow but now dominated by rivers and trenches, it was really a sobering moment.

Climate Change:

In my opinion, the change in the glacier is proof of human-caused climate change. In the past century or so, humans have ramped up their pollution and production of greenhouse gases. This change in the chemical composition of our atmosphere has correlated with the largest net change in the glacial spread recorded since we first began measuring this glacier. It has advanced and receded, but its net change has been overwhelmingly negative. I think the fact that this has happened in the same timeframe as mass industrialization is no coincidence, and that the changes in Franz Josef are further evidence of anthropogenic climate change. 

Days 11-15: Roughing It (Barely)

Update:

I have successfully re-entered modern civilization! Our group spend four days in Mahu Whenua, a mountainous terrain much separated from the nearby cities of Wanaka and Arrowtown. We spent four nights in a field smack in the middle of multiple peaks.

The land of Mahu Whenua has not always been considered one parcel. It was originally four different sheep farms, purchased at different times by music mogul Mutt Lange and his then-wife, Shania Twain. After they divorced, Lange put a covenant on his property called a Queen Elizabeth II Trust. Each QE2 trust is a private agreement not involving the government, but it protects the land until the end of time and cannot be undone if ownership changes hands. While Lange and Twain owned the land privately, they built a few different cabins and huts on the property. It was in these huts that we spent four nights.

The first hut was not actually built for human habitation but was an active wool shed. Most of the farms had been destocked, since sheep have a very harmful effect on natural alpine grass. The few sheep flocks that remained are shorn in a large barn with an open upper level. The first two nights, most of our group slept on mattresses on the shearing floor with windows permanently open to the cold mountain nights. A lucky few, including me, slept in a solar-powered cabin, a ten-minute hike away from the wool shed. We cooked all our meals in the wool kitchen and spent most of our time climbing, exploring, and stargazing. 

Not all of our time was spent in goofing off. We stayed on Mahu Whenua to assist the University of Otago in their conservation projects. Otago is located in Dunedin, and we met the two faculty who would be accompanying us during that time. Christoph is a doctor of biology who was sampling streams to determine how healthy they were. By measuring the number of invertebrates (ie, bug larvae and worms) that live in the stream bed, scientists can determine if the invasive algae species of Didymo was harming stream ecosystems. His colleague, Janice, is a doctor of botany who is collecting beech seeds. The beech forests have been receding in the mountains, but simply planting the seeds does not result in viable seedlings. The trees require the spores of a fungi called Mycorrhizae to grow and mature. 

The first two days, the entire group went to multiple different stream sites. We used kick nets and wading boots to collect samples for Christoph's team. On the third morning, nine students and Ian left for the North Ridge cabin, which was roughly five miles from the wool shed but a very long uphill hike with heavy backpacks. They continued sampling streams at higher altitudes. Myself and four other students stayed behind with Kim to set up seed traps with Janice, exploring beech forests and running through streams with our friendly sheep terrier Gus. The seed traps were actually tents with the bottoms cut out, hung upside down from tree branches. 

Lessons from Mahu Whenua

I think the most striking thing about Mahu Whenua is the way it completely makes you change your own perception of your place in the world. In society, we remove ourselves so completely from Nature. We get rid of animals and bugs that are "pests," clean and remove all wild plants from our living spaces, and picture ourselves as separate from the natural world. In the mountains, you are forced to live in the landscape. We slept in structures, but the structures were well integrated into the alpine fields. Every single day was spent outside working with the restoration projects, and every single day we learned that we were there to serve nature, not the other way around. We were not there to tame the wildlife; the wildlife was there to teach us how to appreciate its life and the space we share with it. We must treat all landscapes and ecosystems with respect; to do this, we must first learn to respect that we are as much a part of the natural world as any other animal or plant species. This lesson is difficult to learn exploring cities or spending a few hours at different ecosanctuaries. I am therefore very grateful for the complete emersion into ecology and Mahu Whenua.

Days 9-10: Penguins!!!

Update:

Another full day in the beautiful city of Dunedin! Day 9 has been my favorite of the entire trip thus far. We slept in late and woke to a sunny, breezy day. We decided to head to the octagon for some gourmet waffles. Mine had strawberry sauce drizzled over top some fresh raspberries, boysenberries, and kiwi fruit. 

We walked around the city for a while and headed back to the bus. It took us down the Otago Peninsula, where we had three of the most exciting tours scheduled. First we walked through a yellow-eyed penguin hospital, where many of the patients were underweight for their molt or had too many feathers missing to swim successfully. The chicks were clumsy little fluff balls, and their little hops to get up on a rock was the most adorable thing to watch! The adults were happily splashing around their little pool and honking at us. After looking into the enclosures, our guides, Lou and Ra, headed down the brush the area overlooking a beach. The beach is protected and potentially the only one in the area without human footprints. This is to help protect the habitat of the endangered birds. Wild yellow-eyed penguins are nocturnal and therefore unpredictable in the daytime. Our guides could not promise we would spot one, and unfortunately we did not. We did still spot some wildlife: a tiny two-day old blue penguin chick! The camera shutter was too loud and its nesting box too dark for me to take a picture without disturbing the chick, so I sadly do not have a picture of it. I do, however, have many pictures of seals! They were everywhere, sunning themselves on the rocks and loving life. They were adorable!

After our penguin tour, we headed to the Royal Albatross Center to look at another species of bird. Unlike the penguins, albatross can fly and have wingspans of up to 3 meters! They lay eggs every two years, spend a year hatching and nurturing the fledgling, then on their very first flight they spend five years flying towards South America. They sleep by floating on the ocean, and spend up to 36 hours just sailing on the ocean winds. We saw many of these majestic birds on top of a little hill, then quickly went through a military fort. It is one of four British-built strongholds on New Zealand, but there were never any threats requiring use of the forts.

We stopped at a pub for some really good seafood chowder and fancy mochas for dinner. Since our third and final tour was not until sunset, we killed time by tossing a frisbee on a beach. Then came the highlight of my day: watching the little blue penguins return to shore! Blue penguins leave one parent at home on the shore to watch the egg, or leave an older chick by its own, and spend all day fishing. They return with food and have sunset family reunions! They are only 25 centimeters tall and have blue backs with white fronts. Seeing this wild animals in their natural habitat, instead of in a zoo, is a memorable experience I'm so glad this trip provided me with!

The next day was spend driving to Wanaka. We drove through the land used for filming Rohan from Lord of the Rings, and also stopped at the Pillars of the Kings and the Anduin River fords (outside of Rivendell). Another fantastic stop was a fresh fruit stand! They make fresh fruit ice cream and have some amazing cherries, white peaches, and mandarins. After this one night in Wanaka, we will be staying in the backcountry for four nights without internet. This is Mahu Whenua, our wildlife conservation project! I am so excited for it!

The Best and Worst of New Zealand (So Far):

Like I said above, my favorite place so far was the penguin colony. I already adored these funky little creatures, but seeing them in their natural habitat was really eye-opening for me. Their funny little hops and waddles are really their only way to move, and as comic as they are, it can really put them in danger from predators. They are smart in using the cover of darkness and camouflage to survive, and I have a new appreciation for these smartly-dressed birds. I really hope the protected colonies are successful in revitalizing the penguin population. The beaches and Otago peninsula surrounding the colony only help my raving review of the place; with gentle ocean waves on one side and lofty mountains on the other, you can't go wrong no matter which window you look out of!

My least favorite place was Auckland. We only experienced the airport, to be fair, and spent most of the time in customs only to miss our flight. As far as places we've actually spent time in, however, my least favorite place thus far was Wellington. I enjoyed the city, but compared to all the other beautiful landscapes we've seen, it's not as breathtaking as I initially thought. It is a good way to ease into the nature of New Zealand, and probably kept my dulled American senses from being overwhelmed by picture-perfect scenery. We also spent the least amount of time in the actual city itself. Since it was the most commercial and least nature-focused (not counting our Zealandia excursion, since I consider that the cable car took us outside of Wellington), it was the lowest ranking place on my list. However, I still love all of New Zealand and this trip and would happily take another chance to come here, even only to Wellington!

Days 7-8: Dunedin

Update:

On a grey, cold morning, we left Christchurch and drove on the bus for hours. The first stopping point of interest for this day was the Moeraki Boulders, which were formed into natural spheres by the constant wave motion. After half an hour of climbing the rocks, we got back on the bus and continued to Dunedin.

The city of Dunedin is precariously spread out over and among a series of hills. It was planned by the Scots, who in a burst of foresight, decided not look at a map of the landscape before deciding where to place their streets. The result was Baldwin Street, a residential drive that is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the steepest street in the world. It certainly was a difficult hike up! After reaching the summit and befriending a stray chicken up there, we carefully descended and headed to our hostel. We will be staying at the Kiwi's Nest, an adorable little abode that will house us for three nights. It is conveniently located right across the street from an ice cream shop, and a short 7 minute walk to downtown. Their central downtown "square" is actually an octagon. It contains an excellent authentic Mexican restaurant, and many other places I look forward to eating at later!

Our first full day in Dunedin started later than our previous days, luckily for me. After a leisurely breakfast at 9 am, we left for the University of Otago. This college focuses primarily on sciences (convenient for me if I wanted to transfer! Hypothetically, of course). We met with two representatives from the zoology department, Christoph and Janice. They are both professors and are both involved with Mahu Whenua.

Mahu Whenua (pronouned MA-hoo FEN-oo-wa) is a QE2 (Queen Elizabeth II) trust, which means it is a private conservation effort that is protected forever. Numerous people have been a part of surveying this land and using it for ecological research, including the University of Otago. Originally, the land was split up into four different farms; each farm was purchased at a different time by music industry giant Mutt Lange and his then-wife, Shania Twain. They then converted the land to QE2 and handed it over to scientists who wanted to explore and survey it. We will be spending multiple days in the backcountry of Mahu Whenua, helping their conservation efforts along and contributing to this enormous project. We are investigating the effects of invasive species and cataloging the different types of flora we find. The representatives from the University of Otago will be accompanying us, and they were kind enough to give us very informative presentations about the work we will be doing.

We left this beautiful campus and headed to even more beautiful landscape: the ecosanctuary of Orokonui. Being in the South Island, this ecosanctuary is a bit colder than Zealandia or Kaipupu. It has similar bird species, but they sing in different dialects. It houses very few kiwi; however, my goal on this trip is to someday spot this elusive bird! We had a wonderful guide, Sue, who was knowledgable about every type of bird, skink, and plant that we came across. We saw a very round takahe, multiple bellbirds, and kakas. The birds were incredibly loud! The forest smelled like lemonwood, like a cross between citrus and eucalyptus. We tasted pepper tree leaves, which were spicy like chili peppers. There were also fuchsia berries, reminiscent of watered down blueberries. The denser part of the forest we went into just felt ancient. The damp ferns and lancewoods came right out of a Jurassic Park movie, but the diversity of life packed into this place created a powerful feeling.

Ethics of Orokonui

Orokonui serves as a safe haven for many endangered species. This includes flightless birds and reptiles that do not have the evolutionary ability to defend themselves from predators. New Zealand's only non-aquatic mammal is the bat, and all others have been introduced by people. In order to protect these endangered prey, there are fences and traps all around Oronokui to keep all predators out. However, when stoats, possums, and even cats become trapped, they are killed by the people running the traps. The predators are only killed if they enter the sanctuary.

Orokonui is a magical place, and it is saving many endangered species. However, I am extremely torn on this stance. They value the lives of some animals over others with severe consequences. The predators are only acting on their instincts to feed themselves. While these animals are not endangered, the ecosanctuary trapped and killed 500 cats last year. Killing predators at such massive numbers is comparable to massacres. The protected birds are only protected for human enjoyment, since their role in the ecosystem as food is negated by their preserved status.

I acknowledge the fact that without these protective measures in place, these birds may be endangered or even become extinct, which is a tragedy within itself. Humans introduced the problem of invasive, predatory mammals, and it is up to humans to fix this ecological imbalance. But since the predators have been living in New Zealand for so many years, they have established a rightful place in the ecosystem. I too come from a biased place of valuing the lives of some animals over others, as I am more upset about the killing of cats than the weasels or possums, but I still think there is a better option for all trapped animals. Spaying or neutering the trapped predators prevents their uncontrollable breeding, which should help protect the prey. Deporting or removing them to a different part of the country is a more humane way of keeping predators out.