Friday, January 31, 2014

The Craigieburn Station

Yesterday we met up with our crabbing friend that we met last year. He took us crabbing and dad fishing last year. He was taking us to his friend's hunting ranch. He also raises horses, cattle, and sheep. His shearing shed is over one hundred years old! We were supposed to fish there, but we did not catch anything. Instead we went hunting. We all drove around a hay field in a truck. Dad and I stood on the bed with two 22 rifles. Then we drove around the hay field for an hour. We both got two rabbits and went to bed around one. The next day we woke up and tried to go hog hunting, but the hogs were not around. Instead we went fishing without any luck.


Kylie - Jan 31






Thursday, January 30, 2014

Helicopter

Yesterday I went on my first helicopter ride. We did schoolwork until ten thirty, then we went to the helipad. We were going on a helicopter ride to a glacier 10,000 feet above sea level. Two other French people were flying with us. There were four seats in the back and two in the front. On the ride there Kylie and mom rode in the front. When we got to the glacier our pilot landed on the ice, and we all got out for ten minutes! Kylie, dad, and I threw a couple of snowballs. On the way back I got to ride in the front. The glacier had a stream running out from the bottom of it. Where the stream comes out of the glacier is called the snout. The water is very murky because when the glacier moves it grinds the rock into a powder, called rock flour. Right after the helicopter flight we moved on to the next town, Greymouth.






Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Kiwi

Yesterday we drove to Franz Joseph Village. This morning we were going to go on a helicopter ride to the Franz Joseph Glacier, but it was too cloudy. Instead we did schoolwork until two pm. Then we all went to the Kiwi Wildlife Center (a kiwi is New Zealand's national bird). In the wildlife center we got to see the rarest type of kiwi, the Rowi kiwi. There are only 375 Rowi kiwi in the wild, on a wildlife preserve. I learned that kiwi eggs are a little smaller than ostrich eggs. There are several different types of kiwis. One type of kiwi can lay an egg once a month. The kiwi cannot fly, and its main enemy is the stoat (a ferret). Kiwis also have nostrils at the end of their beaks. They have the second best sense of smell out of all birds. In the wildlife center we saw three Rowi kiwi. Kylie was inspired, and bought a big kiwi stuffed animal.

Kylie - Jan 29





Monday, January 27, 2014

Kylie Jan 27








Kylie Jan 25





Gold

Two days ago we drove to Arrowtown. Arrowtown is right next to the Arrow River, which is one of the most prolific gold-producing river in the world. It has been raining the last two days, so we didn't do that much outside. But today mom went on a hike and we went gold panning with the New Zealand Gold Panning Champion. He owns a jewelry store in town called The Gold Shop. We met him there, and asked him if we could hire him as a guide. He said yes, and this afternoon we walked down to the river "which is only a hundred yards from his shop". As soon as we got to the river we stopped and started digging. On my first pan I got some specks of gold! We panned for three hours and I got more gold than dad! When we finished it was time to go to dinner. After dinner we walked back to our room and all decided to jump on the trampoline that's right outside. All of us got to jump at the same time!


Sunday, January 26, 2014

Deep Down

Yesterday dad, Kylie, and I went on a tour in the Manapouri Underground Hydroelectric Power Station. It was on the other side of a lake, and the only way to get to it was by boat. After an hour in a boat, we arrived at the power station. It basically looks like a dam that someone made in the side of a mountain. Just the dam. When we got closer to it we found out that the power station itself is more than a mile underground. We got on a tour bus that literally took us all the way down on a long cave road. When we finally arrived at the end there was an observation deck. We found out that water fell from the lake all the way down, which creates a lot of pressure. The water turns the the turbine and generates the power. Then the water goes in a pipe that runs ten kilometers out to the ocean. In the 90's they added another pipe that went out to the ocean from the station so it could be more efficient. They actually started building the whole power station in the 1960's. It can power more than 300,000 homes! It took the miners nine years to make the station. About 1800 people worked on the station, and and 16 people died in the job. The road that we had to take down the the power station was crazy! It looked just like an old mine shaft! Our tour bus driver said if a siren went off she would back the bus up as fast as it would go! I would rather not do that ever again!



Doubtful Sound

Dad got us tickets for an overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound! The boat was about sixty feet and there were five guest cabins. Four cabins were downstairs, and there was one on the top deck overlooking the front of the boat. We got the top cabin. Kylie and I had top bunks, while dad and mom had bottom bunks. We also had our own bathroom and heater! There were three other families, a very friendly French family with one little three-year old girl. On the boat ride, I pointed at a tree and said "tree" in English to the little girl and she started talking a whole lot of French back to me. Her mom started laughing because in French the little girl was saying "I know it is a tree, it is called a Red Beach tree and it is four hundred years old, and ....". French three-year olds are very smart! There was also another couple and a mother and her daughter. During the cruise we spotted dolphins, penguins, and seals. We also went fishing for our dinner, and our captain went diving for Rock Lobster. In the end, I wished we could have stayed another five days on the boat!