Journals, week of 05/13/96
Colin Vogler aboard Concordia, April 23, 1996An Outdoor Adventure
Having a free day in Auckland, New Zealand, I left Concordia and introduced myself to a couple of locals. After talking to these people for a little while I mentioned that I was a fan of rock climbing and mountaineering and asked if any of them were familiar and/or interested.. One person named James said that he did had a little experience and would be happy to show a place. This conversation started my day of adventure in Auckland.James said he knew of a couple places to climb and I told him that I had all the necessary equipment to climb. James arranged for transportation and we were soon headed for the climbing area called the quarry.
We had a little trouble finding the quarry. When we finally found it I set up all the equipment for the climb and taught James how to work the rope while I climbed (a responsibility called belaying). The climbing went well and the quality of rock was excellent. James was great. We got along well and he told me about the most interesting places in Auckland. We had many of the same interests and we talked to each other at length about them.
Though the climbing was hard, I enjoyed it immensely. I was very lucky to meet James. Going rock climbing in New Zealand is something I will remember forever.
Charles Godbout aboard Concordia, April 23, 1996
Tiritire Matangi
New Zealand, like Australia, has many problems with its indigenous wildlife. In fact, it has the exact same story as Australia. Colonists from Europe arrived on the island with dogs, cats and rats. These species were new to New Zealand and consequently did considerable damage to many of the native species, especially the bird species. The indigenous wildlife could not handle these newcomers and many died out as a result. In an attempt to prevent further damage, Tiritire Matangi Island, an island off the coast of New Zealand, was established as a bird sanctuary. Obviously, Tiritire Matangi Island is surrounded by water which is essential for maintaining the sanctuary because it provides control over what animals are introduced to the island. Predators of the endangered birds have been removed from the island to allow birds like the Takahe and the Saddleback a safe place to breed.
The moment we set foot on the island, we knew we just entered a really special place. We could hear the chirping of at least 20 different birds and after being at sea and in cities for so long it was just like being in heaven. We walked on a path specially designed for viewing of beautiful species of birds and plants. After an hour, we got to the top of the path where the gorgeous view of the water and the city was waiting for us.
Simon Brosseau aboard Concordia, April 27, 1996Surfing New Zealand!!
Surfing is very popular in New Zealand. It has some nice beaches for surfing but they are often over shadowed by the famous surfing beaches of Australia. On our last day in Auckland, some friends and I decided to go surfing at Piha Beach. Unfortunately, the trip did not turn out exactly as we planned.
The ride to this beach was about 45 minutes long. We called a taxi-van because we didn’t know exactly how to get there. In this vehicle we could fit the seven of us comfortably, even with all our equipment. The driver was a man from Ontario, which was helpful. Our first stop was a bank so we could exchange some money. After this stop the surroundings changed very rapidly from an urban landscape to a tropical forest. The tropical forest was beautiful, lush and green. Then we saw the beach.
The Piha Beach was pretty nice with dark sand and the huge waves.There were about twenty other people there, so we had lots of space. Jen was the first to jump in the water with her board. Then I decided to go for the big plunge.
About 5 seconds later, I realized how cold the water was. I couldn’t stay in the water for more than 10 minutes without turning blue. Since we all didn’t have wet suits we had to find something else to do. Our day of surfing turned into a day of fishing which was just as much fun.
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