We've all made it to New Zealand and survived our first day! Most of us arrived yesterday or the day before, and got a chance to explore various parts of Auckland, including the SkyTower, One Tree Hill, and the islands of Rangitoto and Devonport. We all met to go out for our first dinner as a group, and then returned to our hotel to sleep after our long travels.
We woke up this morning, had a quick breakfast, and piled into the van and Subaru. Our first stop was a quick ten-minute drive away to Mt. Eden. When we arrived, Guil and Lydia passed out some trip essentials: rainproof field notebooks, maps, pencils, and, most importantly, containers for snacks. Before our quick hike to the summit, we learned a few ground rules, our favorite being GABE (Geologists Always Bring Everything). At the top of Mt. Eden, we oriented ourselves on our maps, looked at the volcanic crater, and took our first group picture!
Our second stop of the day was just down the hill at the base of Mt. Eden to look at our first outcrop (a rock formation that is exposed at the Earth’s surface). We learned how to take notes and make sketches of what we saw. We learned the zoom method, which means looking at the overall outcrop, including its shape, size, and features, as well as looking very closely at various parts of the rock. Guil and Lydia passed out hand lenses for each of us to use throughout the trip when we want to take a very close look at something. From our observations, we concluded that the outcrop was an igneous rock emplaced as a lava flow from Mt. Eden. We also got our first look at minerals, which we had a lesson on later in the day.
From here we drove several hours to Ohope Beach, on the eastern coast of the North Island. We will be staying at a Holiday Park here for the next few days. When we arrived, Lydia taught us about minerals. We examined 18 minerals using our new knowledge of shape, optical properties, and mechanical properties. After this lesson, we walked to dinner at the Ohope General Store and Café. Business seemed a little slow, because it’s winter here, and not the prime time for beach vacationers. Our new addiction is Kumara fries (or chips, as the locals call them).
Overall, we’ve had heaps and heaps of fun today, and have already learned a lot. We’re looking forward to spending the next month exploring this beautiful country!
High of today: driving across the countryside and seeing sheep, cows, goats and the general beauty of New Zealand (Jagger taught us the difference between sheep and goats; sheep tails point down and goat tails point up. If you can’t tell, it’s a shoat!)
Low: the jet lag is real
Signing off to get some sleep,
Melanie and Nora
We woke up this morning, had a quick breakfast, and piled into the van and Subaru. Our first stop was a quick ten-minute drive away to Mt. Eden. When we arrived, Guil and Lydia passed out some trip essentials: rainproof field notebooks, maps, pencils, and, most importantly, containers for snacks. Before our quick hike to the summit, we learned a few ground rules, our favorite being GABE (Geologists Always Bring Everything). At the top of Mt. Eden, we oriented ourselves on our maps, looked at the volcanic crater, and took our first group picture!
Our second stop of the day was just down the hill at the base of Mt. Eden to look at our first outcrop (a rock formation that is exposed at the Earth’s surface). We learned how to take notes and make sketches of what we saw. We learned the zoom method, which means looking at the overall outcrop, including its shape, size, and features, as well as looking very closely at various parts of the rock. Guil and Lydia passed out hand lenses for each of us to use throughout the trip when we want to take a very close look at something. From our observations, we concluded that the outcrop was an igneous rock emplaced as a lava flow from Mt. Eden. We also got our first look at minerals, which we had a lesson on later in the day.
From here we drove several hours to Ohope Beach, on the eastern coast of the North Island. We will be staying at a Holiday Park here for the next few days. When we arrived, Lydia taught us about minerals. We examined 18 minerals using our new knowledge of shape, optical properties, and mechanical properties. After this lesson, we walked to dinner at the Ohope General Store and Café. Business seemed a little slow, because it’s winter here, and not the prime time for beach vacationers. Our new addiction is Kumara fries (or chips, as the locals call them).
Overall, we’ve had heaps and heaps of fun today, and have already learned a lot. We’re looking forward to spending the next month exploring this beautiful country!
High of today: driving across the countryside and seeing sheep, cows, goats and the general beauty of New Zealand (Jagger taught us the difference between sheep and goats; sheep tails point down and goat tails point up. If you can’t tell, it’s a shoat!)
Low: the jet lag is real
Signing off to get some sleep,
Melanie and Nora
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