THE GREAT OUTDOORS!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, we are currently in Lyttleton, which is right outside of Christchurch. We have a nice kitchen and comfortable beds, which is awesome after two insane weeks of intense outdoor activity!

To kick off our adventures, we went to the OPC, as was mentioned in the previous blog. The objective of OPC is to give students a chance to explore their leadership abilities and to push themselves outside of their comfort zones. The center also maintains a policy called "Leave No Trace" ethics, which basically entails a conscious effort to preserve the beautiful landscapes of New Zealand.

Our leader, Matt, wasted no time testing our group's ability to work together. We were presented with various scenarios, such as being stranded on the titanic (i.e. a wooden platform) and using a rope to swing safely to a "life raft," or getting all of us through a tire suspended ten feet in the air with no props besides our bodies. Basically, these activities forced us to cooperate with one another and explore each other's strengths and weaknesses.

After that we climbed a mountain in the Tangirero National Park area, neighboring the famous Mt. Doom (from Lord of the Rings, if you don't know already.) We appointed leaders throughout the day for each leg of the hike... we, as leaders, were in charge of leading the group up and down the mountain with a map and compass (and a little guidance from Matt). To get up the mountain, rather than hiking, we actually had to "scramble", or climb, up a rocky gully. When we got to the top there was an incredibly rewarding view and SNOW! The trip down was a lot of fun... we basically slid down the entire first half and the second half involved forcing our way through dense foliage and jumping down muddy chutes. Needless to say, we all emerged covered in dirt and plants.

The next day we had an interesting experience kayaking... the water was freezing and some of us couldn't figure out how to control our kayaks. Eventually we got the hang of it and Matt decided that we were ready to try surfing our kayaks down rapids using our paddle as a rudder... hilarity ensued. The second half of day two, many of us faced our fears as we entered a dark and mildly claustrophobia-inducing cave. We had to face many obstacles, such as the Panini Press, the Toaster, the Birth Canal, and Pooh Bear's Crack, with obvious implications. When we thought it was time to emerge, our leaders decided it was prime time to leave us in the cave with some basic knowledge and have us work our way out ourselves, with a half an hour time limit. We followed the underwater river against the current, knowing that it flowed into the cave and after a few trials and errors, emerged into the daylight after only twenty minutes.

Many of us have a fear of heights, so the third day was the most psychologically difficult. At the high ropes courses we walked across swinging bridges, the tight ropes, and a particularly frightening ordeal called the "Monkey Tails," all fifty feet above the ground. The finale was the Big Swing. To get there you have to climb a rock wall sixty feet high, and then hook ourselves to some wires, and... jump! The reactions were priceless. The day ended with a little fun on the zip line. We had some good laughs when we left Tracy hanging over the gorge unaware of her fate as a plastic bag of water sped down the line towards her. She sadly had no escape, and was pulled back to the platform soaking wet.

Day four was the overnight. We all brought group supplies in our backpacks. This was the most taxing day by far. Starting at 9 am we walked in the rain through rapids, slippery rocks, and dense New Zealand bush. At about three we finally reached dry land... but no sign of a trail. At this point, the leader had to use a map and a compass to guide us through the forest to find the path that would lead us to our campsite. Without much incident, we arrived tired and hungry for a delicious macaroni dinner... alas, none of us had the foresight to bring utensils nor dishes. We ended up drinking macaroni out of water bottles or simply eating it with our hands. The next morning we woke up bright and early to head back to OPC. Before we could shower and eat though, we had one last challenge to conquer: the Seesaw. Basically you need to get all of the group members across a 10' x 5' giant seesaw without letting the platform touch the ground, not even once. Earlier in the week we tried the same challenge, which resulted in much confusion and frustration for everyone, and with no luck. But after a week of working with each other, we devised a method that encompassed every person's best abilities and we triumphed!

When we flew to Queenstown, we had a few hours of rest and relaxation before preparing for our next excursion. We didn't get our fill of outdoor exploration at OPC so we packed our bags again and set off on the Greenstone/Upper Caples trails for four days of tramping. Basically we walked eight miles a day on average, utilizing similar leadership tactics from the previous week. The scenery was absolutely indescribable... Whether on top of a snowy mountain or walking through the sunlit valleys, we experienced something truly unforgettable. We really came together as a group, which has now allowed for Drew and Karen to take a step back and allow us to make the remainder of this trip our own.

This week we're looking forward to working with the conservation department and also getting to know a little bit more about the Maori culture. You'll be hearing from us soon! :)

PS- Alana had an awesome birthday, she wanted you to know.

Hello again from the OZ trip.

Well, the WOOF Farm is absolutely amazing, tough work, but very very fun. We have already been here for a week and in that week we have mostly been planting trees. In three days, we planted a total of 1200 trees. To plant the trees, we had to first use a grubber (pick axe) to dig a small hole maybe 5 inches deep and then the planters place the plant in and cover it up with dirt. After that comes the hard part. There was a huge mulch pile at the bottom of the hill which we were planting on. We had to fill up a trailer full with maybe 2-3 shovelers and then tow it up the hill where 2-3 more people would scoop out all of the mulch with buckets and hand it over the fence where the mulchers would make a ring around the plants. That was mostly what we did for the week of work.

New Zealand is absolutely beautiful. Every single picture that any of us have taken does not look real. The Sky's are picture perfect, but not always blue. It has been fairly rainy here for a couple days, but the last two were great. perfect weather, but still kind of cold.

One day after work we all went to the hot springs and marinated in the pools for a good 2 hours and loved it. It was the perfect temperature and also at the park there was a water slide which was too much fun. We always had little battles and races in the slide to see who would come out first and most of the time drew would win. The hot springs were a great way to relax after a hard days work.

Now we are leaving for our next destination which is the OPC (Outdoor Pursuit Center) in Tongariro National Park which by the sounds of it will be challenging, but looks like a good time ahead.

We arrived in Aukland a few days ago, and it was a great recharge to be in a big city after Nananu. We had some relaxing time, did a little bit of shopping, ate a lot of food. We all bought clean clothes, which felt good after wearing the same dirty outfits for the first few weeks. Aukland is such a beautiful city. It was great just to walk around and get a feel for the city. It's very different from the USA in that it was rare to see a person walking alone or on a cell phone; this city is much more social than home. We visited an art gallery, where we got to see some interesting photographs, and we got to learn a lot about the Maori culture, which was really cool. We took a ferry one day to Devonport, where we walked up a volcano, which had a beatiful view of the surrounding islands and the city of Aukland. We walked around Devonport to another volcano, and we slid down the hill on a piece of cardboard, which massacred most of the people who went down. But it was a very good time. On our last night, we went up to the top of the sky tower, which, for people who are afraid of heights, was mortifying. We got a witness a spectacular view of Aukland and of the sunset. Then after dinner, we all went to see a movie, Wall-E, which was very light-hearted and funny. These few days in Aukland have been great; we did go back to our old habits for some time, but after talking together, we were able to step back and see how the change from Nananu to a bigger city affected us. Now that we realized this, we will be able to avoid reverting back to our habits from home. We are now headed for the Woofing farm, where we will spend a week on an organic farm; we are all looking forward to working hard.