紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(09.08.2011)

       We went hunting again today; we have a new member, Frank. This time we hunt at night, and possum is our prey today.

Possum is a kind of nocturnal animals, they lived in the trees. If you want to find possum, use a torch, their eyes will reflect the light.

Mountain at night was really dark; I couldn’t see even my finger without a torch. We couldn’t see any possum at first, after a while, Trez saw the light reflected from a possum’s eyes, but I just couldn’t see it. This possum ran away, so we search for another one.

After a long time of searching and we were going to give up, Trez saw another one, he soon loaded, aim, and shoot. It only took Trez 4 seconds. The possum fell down from the tree, and that was the meal for George tomorrow. The truth that Trez lived in the mountain for a period of time is more trustworthy now. 

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智

     Trez took Tony and me to Waihi Beach this afternoon. We were going fishing! The boat was pulled behind the car. After arriving at Waihi Beach, we had to release the boat into the water. The water is so cold that I couldn’t help trembling.

(Trez released the boat)

    Then we depart. Sailing is really exciting, the boat up and down, just like sitting on a roller coaster, but much more fun, especially when you hit a wave.

    Sailing for a while we then stop at somewhere in the bay. First we throw the anchor deep in the sea, and then we put the bait into the water. Today was fish’s lucky day because we came here late, we didn’t catch a fish, what was worse, I had seasick. It was no funs for me to seat on the boat while it’s swaying in the sea. We headed to an island which I can’t recall its name and pick some shell on the beach.

    At 6:00 tonight, Jack’s father picked us up; we were going to watch rugby match in Jack’s home. Their farm is located at suburb, just like Joe and Siet’s home.

    The match hadn’t begun when we arrived, so we had some pools first, and the winners were Tony and I. the match today was held in Auckland, Aus vs. NZ, I guess it’s was the Tri Nations (the rugby game between New Zealand, Australia and South Africa). Before the match played, All Blacks would dance Haka. It’s really the best beginning of a match. NZ won the match and we really had a good time in Jack’s home.

(Haka was going to begin)

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(06.08.2011)

      Elle used to drive us home after school, but we told them we want to go home on foot so we could enjoy the beautiful scene along the way home.

    

    We are going to hunt in the later afternoon; we drove to the mountain, Trez first pluck some plants beside the creek, that’s for the supper tomorrow night, during this period of time, Trez told us that he had lived in the mountain by himself for a few years, he slept in a tent, hunt for meal and drink the river water, what he had were tent, gun, bullet and salt. Trez are really good at living skills.

    We then headed to the hill top; Trez stopped talking, became very quiet, and walked silently. Tony and I had no idea about why Trez became so quiet. Trez then told us because rabbit had really good hearing, and they were our prey today.

    Unfortunately, rabbits seemed to jump away, we had no rabbit to eat tonight. But still, Trez set some targets with rocks, and we have our first shooting experience. The recoil is really strong!!

Tre

    After we back home, we cleaned the barrels of the shouting gun and shine it.Trez gave us cartridge of the shooting gun and show us the rifle, there was a silencer in the front and a sight on the top. We will use it when we go hunting for possum on Sunday night.

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(03.08.2011)

   Jack, Tony’s buddy, asked us if we would like to watch the rugby match in his home on Saturday night. I was so glad that I could have some interaction with the local students.

    School is over at 2:00 today, Jamie told me that that was because teachers had meeting on Wednesday afternoon. But everyday in school is good day in NZ; their school time is from 9:00 to 3:00, 6 hours in school a day, no wonder that students in NZ seldom wear glasses; you can see students relax during the recess, and the teacher won’t give them any test paper during the recess. Students are healthy and yearning to learn. They really study “Happily”. I do think there are a lot of things need to improve in the education system of Taiwan.

    This afternoon Trez and Elle took us to Waihi to enjoy the hot spring. The hot spring was not luxury, though; it really can wash my fatigue away (though I have only little fatigue).

    We bought some fish and chips and had supper beside the beach. It’s really pleasing to have meals in the nature.

    At night I asked something about rugby, and Trez are willing to teach me. We had a nice rugby lesson on the paper tonight.

    What a lovely day!

(Metal class)

(biology)

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(02.08.2011)

   After arriving in Paeroa College, I found that I had a new buddy. His name is Jamie, I was impressed at the first look by his curly hair, and I thought it takes time to deal with his hair.

    After the school there was a basketball game in the gym of Paeroa College, Paeroa vs. Thames, I stayed for a while and cheered for them, and finally they win the game.

    There was a table lamp on the desk in our bedroom, we didn’t notice it at first, but Trez told that there was a story behind it. Trez had joined Vietnam War when he was young. He was a member of Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) then. One time during the war, a bomb from a rocket launcher exploded beside him. It was so blessed that Trez didn’t hurt. Trez then sent it back to his father and his father made it into a table lamp and then gave it to Trez. After knowing the story behind this lamp, I really used it with admiration.

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(01.08.2011)

     Time really flies; we were going to another host family today. I wondered if I will go to the same family, and answer is, the different family.

     There are three members in my new host family.Trez, my new home father this time, is a retired fisherman and the soldier in ANZAC. Elle, my new home mother, is a tailor, and George, the fat cat. We lived in a lovely house in the town, the house is painted blue. We also had a boat.

    Although I have to adapt myself to the new environment, I still looking forward to it, especially when Trez said that we would go hunting and shooting.

(McDonald Place)

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(31.07.2011)

   We went to Cathedral Cove today. This cove has it name because the shape of a cove here looks like the roof of a cathedral. We have to walk for about 25 minutes to get to the beach. Not like beaches in Taiwan, there was not any building here, all original, white sand, clear water and blue sky, why should we build a lot of buildings around the beautiful scenes?

    Walking on the sand feels so good, but I soon turned to the embrace of the sea. The water was cold, though, but with the sunshine I felt very well.

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(30.07.2011)

    We had a touch rugby match in Golden Valley today. Though we were not good at it at all, we still had a lot of fun under the blue sky.

With lots of sweat on our back, we back to the classroom, teacher Paul were going to teach us a Maori song and an English song, “Tutira mai”and “I Believe I Can Fly”. Following are the lyrics of Tutira mai:

Tutira mai nga iwi             See the people                          

Tatou tatou e                    together

Tutira mai nga iwi            

Tatou tatou e

Whai a te marama tanga        by the light of moon, knowledge

Me te aroha, e nga iwi          and love

Kia ko tapa tahi                    thinking in one way

Kia ko tahi ra                       doing in one way

Tatou tatou e

Tatou tatou

Tahi rua toru wha

E aue hi 

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(28-29.07.2011)

    Taupo, a crater lake, located at the centre of North Island, the Maori said that it’s the heart of the fish (NZ is a big fish). Being biggest lake in NZ, it discharges to the longest river-- Waikato River, it flows over a spectacular waterfall—Huka falls.

    Because having geothermal activity, you could found some mud boiling and the scent of the sulfur permeates the region. The geothermal activity also brings up hot springs.

    

    The second day we headed to the snow mountain, 40 minutes after departing from the hotel, we still drove around the lake, because it’s too big. From a distance,  we could see the Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu, the Mount Doom in film” The Lord of The Ring ”.

    Driving for another while, we stopped, changing over to a smaller bus and driving up to the mountain. As the attitude increased, more and more ice covered the ground, and the vegetation disappeared gradually. Finally, we reached the top of the mountain, the snow was everywhere, ground, floor, rocks, and roof, and they reflected the sunshine, so you had better were your sunshine. Due to the ice on the ground, it was very slippery, watching your step while you are walking was the most important thing you have to concern about.

    I supposed Mt. Ruapehu a desolate place, but to my surprised, it was full of tourists here, most of them came here for skiing, you could see that they were all well prepared.

(all white, but also all people)

    We had a “snowman building” first. It looks easy to make a snow man in the comics, but not in the real life, the snow was not willing to gather, not to mention that rolling the snow into a big ball. The snowmen we made all became castles eventually.

    Sleigh, used to be a means of transportations in the snowy region, but now most of people ride it just for fun. We are no exception; there is a small hill with a long slope, on the top of it. You sit or lie on it, singly or doubly. The friction of the snow is so small that the gravity will pull you down easily. Steer the sleigh with your feet, you will find yourself excited while riding on the uneven slope.

    Riding a sleigh is fun, but after a short period of excitement, what you have to do is to walk unto the long slope with a board, that was not fun at all!

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(24.25.26.07.2011)

These three days we toured around Auckland, City of Sails, the biggest city in NZ, (but the capital of NZ is Wellington).Being surrounded by skyscrapers, Auckland is totally a city, just like Taipei.

Walking along the streets in Auckland, you would find that there are not only white people but also Chinese, Korean, and people from every country in the world.

It didn’t occur to me that there are not so many traffic lights in Paeroa until I went window shopping here, you will find yourself cozy while walking along the rural roads, fresh air, beauty scene, polite drivers, how cheerful it is!

Evening, we were in the highest building of NZ and southern hemisphere. Overlooking from the top of the building, we could see the whole city and harbor. While we were enjoying the view, a man fell from the building, he didn’t commit a suicide; actually, he was having bungee jumping then. Because it was getting darker and darker then, we have no chance to do that.

…………………………………………………………………………………

The next day, we hiked out to a hill, on it, whole city and bay came to our eyes, you can only see such kinds of view in the calendar, sun shining, people sailing, and seagulls soaring above the bay, we were in the beauty painting! 

 Below the hill, there was a mine; it was built during the world war two, in order to save the ammunition and substances from being bombed.

If you want to experience how strong the gravity is, try to slide down the hill, doing so, you will find yourself pulling by an unseen arm. It’s a lot of fun, just make sure you didn’t wear a white shirt, or the grass is willing to paint on your clothes.

We saw a flock of sheep today; you may think it is a usual thing in NZ, in fact, there are more cows then sheep in NZ now (because cows sell more money). At winter, many sheep conceived babies, so do not run after them.

Do you know that there are no letters on the screen while watching a movie in an English theatre? It’s true, I knew it because I went to a movie tonight (Harry Potter 7), and it was a fantastic experience, the only bad thing is that you may not be able to figure out why the audiences are laughing.

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(20.07.2011)

     We had a visit to Rotorua today, there is a famous lake here, called Lake Rotorua, means the second lake, but it doesn’t mean that it’s the second biggest lake in NZ, it has the name because it was the second lake that were discovered.

     We first went to Agrodome, the famous farm in NZ; there are 19 breeds of sheep here, and the sheep shearing here is also famous. When the sheep shearing began, different breeds of sheep walked onto the stage, a man introduced them to the audiences. Later, the shearing started, a sheep came out from the back of the stage, a man seized its feet, the sheep couldn’t move anymore, the man then sheared the wool from the sheep, so many wool dropped to the ground, then man soon finished shearing, the sheep looked like a bare child at that time, a woman gave the wool to the audiences, the wool was not as white as I supposed.

(He was waiting for the show )

      After the shearing show is cow milking, a Friesian was led onto the stage; the man said’ which flavor do you want, chocolate or strawberry?’ He asked some kids to milk the cow, after milking, they even got milking certificate after milking.

      When all the show finished, in order to make the sheep leave the stage, the man had three dogs come out, he blew the whistle to control the dogs, the dogs ran around the stage, even jump onto the sheep’s back, the dogs are so smart that they can understand what their master want they to do.

      At the lunch time, we took a cable car up to the hill, there is a buffet, the view there was fantastic, we could see the whole Lake Rotorua, and the meal was also nice.

(a beautiful place but I can’t remember where it was) 

紐西蘭遊學日記-施凱智(19.07.2011)

     Today, Mr. Price took us to Waihi gold mine, it’s an open-cast mine, the gold mine is really big, how big? It’s so big that it takes 20 years or more to be filled with rain by nature. The truck that delivers the ore is also big, the truck without any ore weighs 85 tons, and it weighs 160 tons with ore in. Every parts of the truck are expensive, e.g. one tire of it cost about 200 thousand NT dollars. Gold mine is amazing, isn’t it?

(amazing!!)

(What are you thinking about, man?) 

(Pump house) 

(Huge!)

紐西蘭留學日記-施凱智(18.07.2011)

This morning, because it was too cold, the grass is covered with frost, just like wet grass, it was very slippery.

     We played touch rugby this afternoon, not like normal rugby, it’s not too dangerous, even girls are not afraid of it, players don’t have to tackle opponent to get the ball, the main idea of it is to touch the opponent with the ball, and he or she has to pass the ball to their teammates, it’s quiet fun, and much safer.

紐西蘭留學日記-施凱智(16.07.2011)

     Joe and Siet had to fly to South island today, so I would have a short stay at another host family. They took us to Hamilton, one of the big cities in NZ, we went shopping at the department stores there, NZ holds Rugby World Cup this year, so there are many souvenirs about RWC, except that, there isn’t any different between the department stores in NZ and Taiwan.

(can you find Hamilton?)

紐西蘭留學日記-施凱智(15.07.2011)

15.07.2011

     My roommate was sick today, because he is not good at English, I have to go to the clinic with him, Joe drove us there, after it, and we had to go to a pharmacy to buy the medicine.

     Because being the translator of my roommate, I missed the school time, so I just relax in home.

 I was a little sad for missing the metal class, and was bored, I took a nap, it was raining that day, just before I fell asleep, the sound of rain became louder, I didn’t notice it was quiet different from the normal rain. After I woke up Joe told me that it was hailstone, I really regretted that I didn’t take a look at it, but fortunately, there was some ice left on the ground.

紐西蘭留學日記-施凱智(13.07.2011)

We had PE class today, it’s unlike the PE in Taiwan, they had the class in the gym, and changing clothes before they have the class. Although it was cold, both girls and boys are fond of doing some sports. I think it’s better to have the PE class in the gym than outside, in Taiwan, the sunshine is so strong that we almost run out of energy before we have the class.

Tonight, Joe took me to a concert; the name of the band is HPC Records, it is made up of the students from Hauraki Plains College, they even have published the album before, Joe bought one for me. Students in NZ don’t have much homework after class, so they have free time to develop the hobbies; it’s really a big difference between Taiwan and NZ, why can’t we do it?

(Hockey field near the concert-you can rent it if you want to play)

紐西蘭留學日記-施凱智(12.07.2011)

     After we arrived at Paeroa College, the principal soon drove us to the local primary school—Paeroa central school, to teach the kids Chinese, they seemed like interested in it, it was the first time that we were so popular with kiwis.

(local newspaper)

紐西蘭留學日記-施凱智(11.07.2011)

It was my first time to school today, after breakfast, Joe drove us to Paeroa College, I saw many students near the school, but what made me surprised is that many of them only wore T-shirts, and people in our group wore coats, maybe they are used to the weather there.

After arriving, we went into to the hall, the students there welcomed us with Haka and Maori songs, and we sang 茉莉花 to thank them. At the end of the welcome party, we do the Hongi—the traditional Maori greeting, holding other’s shoulder and touching his or her noses with your nose.

Some of us met their buddies in the hall, but I hadn’t met mine until the first period finished.

Our first period is learning Maori language, it’s really hard to learn a new language, and I always forgot the word after I learn a new one.

In NZ, rugby is popular with many people, and we could see students passing it during the break, I think it’s not as violent as what I thought before, it’s the sport that full of wisdom and cooperation.

 At the lunch time, students have many choices, they can eat everything they want to eat, and any time, some students even have lunch at the break before the lunch time.

After school, we went home by school bus, I think it was one kinds of experience, the bus also picked up the primary school students, and they were all interested in us.

(Paeroa College)