Elizabeth Dourlain- New Zealand
New Zealand has been lots of fun and very educational so far. We have visited many places that are affected daily by the impacts of the introduced species and people. When we visited Rangitoto, the ferry made sure we had no bugs or animals with us. They did this to ensure the native species on the island would not be killed by rats or insects that they had no defenses for. We also learned at Rainbow Springs that the kiwi population is declining by half every year. If something isn’t done to save the kiwis from introduced predators, they will be extinct by 2015. So they are trying to help increase the kiwi population by breeding and saving eggs. They bring the eggs to their resort, hatch the kiwis, and take care of them until they are old and strong enough to fend for themselves. After that age is reached, they release them back into the wild. This ensures that the kiwis are not killed at birth and still allows them to leave in their natural habitat.
We are also learning about the geography of New Zealand. We went to White Island, a volcanic marine island. There we learned about the sulfur deposits and steam being emitted from the volcano. Due to its activity many holes or pools are formed on the island. These are really hot and can usually be accompanied by boiling mud or water. The steam being emitted from the vents are very acidic. They smell really bad and can make your eyes water if you are not careful! Also, back in the day, companies went to the island to mine for sulfur. The first few experiences turned out catastrophic and the volcano “erupted” and killed everyone except for the cat.
Right now we are in Rotorua. It has many hot thermal springs. The springs are caused due to magma being only 5 to 10 km below the surface. Some hot pools are good for the skin because they have mineral deposits in them. Some are good for sore muscles because they are acidic. These pools may only be 5 or 20 feet away from each other and still have such different characteristics due to the limestone around them.
So far this trip has been amazing. We have gone to so many places that are full crazy things that I’m glad I’m getting to see. I am learning a lot about the environment and how everything here is so connected. All the geography is connected to the biology of the environment. Many of the native animals here wouldn’t have been able to exist if it wasn’t for the volcanic activity and seclusion of New Zealand from other continents. Flightless birds are some of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen and the Tuatara lizard is fascinating as well. I can’t believe it has been around for 200 million years.
Madeleine Rickert
So far this trip has been fantastic! Even though it is labeled as a Biology trip, I have had so many days where my inner geography nerd comes out! Last Thursday we went to White Island, an active volcano! My image of what this would be was a big crater with magma and lava visibly seen. It wasn’t anything like that. It almost felt like I was on another planet! There is no vegetation on White Island due to the acidic environment. The smell of the sulfur was intense…much like rotten eggs and we were given gas masks in case it was too hard to breathe. Vents or fumaroles hissed and bubbled with sulfuric steam…they roared as the steam filled the sky. The volcano is considered an alert level 1, because it is always active and steaming.
The night before we visited White Island, we were staying in a Holiday Park…much like U.S.’s camping areas…in Ohope right on the Pacific beach. The rooms weren’t bad; however, my room had 8 girls including myself. Around 2:48 a.m. May 20th, I woke up because my top bunk was shaking side to side and I could hear drinking glasses rattling in the kitchen cabinet! I was feeling an earthquake for the first time! Around 4 a.m. I felt another, more subtle quake. From what seismologists say, the first quake was a 4.2 magnitude, with the following being a 3.2 magnitude. There were 7 earthquakes that morning that were considered bigger than ‘normal’ for this normally active area. On the White Island Tour our guide told us that there is a seismograph monitoring seismic activity on the island. Usually there are 5-10 seismic episodes per day. May 19 - May 20 had 40-50 episodes!! And I felt 2 of them!
New Zealand’s beautiful landscape is all due to movement between the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plate. This activity has pushed land up to create the mountains and rolling hills as well as create thermal areas. Thermal areas have warm water pushing to the surface creating hot pools or boiling mud pools. Today, May 23rd, we went to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. The water was colored differently due to different minerals. There were also many collapsed craters, geysers, and fumaroles.
New Zealand is proof that there is so much activity occurring beneath us in the depths of the earth! As a Geography major, I have had several haydays!
On a random note, the people in New Zealand are very polite and friendly. New Zealand is a lot like the U.S. with a few more quirks. For instance, there are 2 buttons on toilets, Coca-Cola is made with cane sugar, instead of saying ‘cool’ people say ‘sweet as’, and instead of ‘thank you’ some merchants say ‘cheers’. The land reminds me of Arkansas…only bigger! If you take Arkansas’ mountains and make them hills, then switch out some trees to look more ‘tropical’, you’d have New Zealand! So far, so great!
