At Rotorua!! - Day 2

This was the second day of the trip. On the second day, we had to drive for a long time, about a 6-hour drive. It was quite boring on the way. But if you want to read more, read this...

We woke up at 6:00 am. At 6:30 am we left Palmerston North and drove to Rotorua.

On the way to Rotorua...

Mt Ruapehu

We passed heaps of towns on the way and the most I remembered was Ruapehu.

At State Highway 5 or the Dessert Road, we saw Mt Ruapehu covered with snow. As we get closer we get more view of Mt Ruapehu. In Google Maps it said that it would reach about 2 hours to reach Taupo. I was excited.

When we reached near Taupo, there was the smell coming out from outside. It was the smell from Rotorua.

At Taupo...

When we arrived at Taupo we first went to the visitor centre. We walked two streets and we reached at the visitor centre. I saw heaps of brochures of places to go. There were contents of the places in the North Island (Auckland, Waikato, Hamilton, Rotorua, Taupo, Wellington, and the South Island). I first got the brochures that we planned to go. We saw things to do at Taupo. There was the Huka Falls River cruise. There wasn't anything else because of the wet rain. That time it was raining. At the counter, they said that Huka Falls was at the end of Taupo. The cruise was booked at half past 12. It takes 15 minutes to reach there. There were 25 minutes left until the cruise departs. We left straight away.

At Huka Falls River Cruise...
Well, the bridge was far away from where we were going to depart. There was the Aratiatia Dam.

This photo of Huka Falls River Cruise is courtesy of TripAdvisor

50 Billion Dollars

At 12:30 pm the cruise departed. On the ceiling, there were currencies from all over the world. There were from New Zealand, Australia, United States, Canada, Fiji, Samoa, Iran, India, England (some countries from Europe), Zimbabwe, Singapore, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, China, Phillippines, Ghana, Cambodia, South Africa, and more. There were heaps of Currencies that I remembered some of them! I saw a 50 billion Zimbabwean dollar. I was in shock! "How would there be a note of 50 billion Zimbabwean Dollars." I thought. This was because its currency was corrupted, by a famous Zimbabwean person. Now they use US dollars. I think that the passengers had donated money to the driver.

After the driver departed the cruise we were far away because of its speed. The driver was telling us what was in that spot. There was a part where the driver said that there is a sensor branch that tells the temperature to the council and they can change it anytime. That time the water near the branch was steamy. When we were near Huka Falls the driver opened the outdoor view. There were some metal bars to help us stay steady. My Dad and I went up on the steps and took the fresh air and saw Huka Falls. The light blue and white colour of the water made it stand out. The view was outstanding! Far away there were people on the bridge and on the viewing area looking at the cruise and us. The driver made the cruise go near the falls. The cruise was going up and down because of the waterfall. After the driver u-turned back and went back to the fall again. He had done it a few times. After watching the falls we turned back at full speed and went back where we came from. The driver said that when we arrive back we would see the Aratiatia Dam open its gate. It took around 5 minutes to reach back. When we reached at the dam we heard a siren ring. We thought that the dam gate is going to open. But every few minutes the siren rings, but the gates don't open. I thought every time the siren rings that the gate is going to open. Then after, there was a siren that rang for more than before. But it didn't open.

One minute later...

The gate opened. There was a force of water coming to the Waikato River. The water level was increasing really fast. We crossed the road and saw the water go past the rocks and go really far away. But after a few minutes later we left the dam and went to the Lava Glass cafe to eat some food. We went to the cafe and ordered nachos and guacamole. The nachos were yum and tasty. After an hour later we went straight to Rotorua.

Middle of Taupo and Rotorua...

We saw a sign called '1.6 km to Wai-O-Tapu'. After 1.6 km we turned to Waiotapu Loop Road. A minute later we saw the visitor centre. We wanted to see the mud pools, so we went further. There were arrows going straight, then the arrow said to turn right, but we didn't turn right we went straight. We wanted to find out what was over there, so we u-turned back. There were cars parked over there and the gate was closed. We asked where is the mud pools, he said to go straight all the way and turn right when there is a sign named 'Mud Pools'. There was a 1-minute drive after turning to the mud pools. When we parked at the parking there was the smell of the mud pools. We went to the viewpoint and saw the mud pools, bubble. The bubbles were going on and on. We went around to see more. On the right side was all bubbly and on the other side was mostly dry. After watching the mud pools we decided to come back and see the other parts, so we continued to drive to Rotorua.

At Rotorua...

After we parked, I smelt the smell of Rotorua, yuck! (not trying to be mean) We arrived at Baden Lodge, in the City Centre. At that time it was 5:45 pm. We got our luggage and went to our rooms. It was a 2 story house. I said, "Wow", I just wanted to sleep. I went to see upstairs to see what's up there. Downstairs was a spa beside the bathroom, but the spa was outdoor. Before going to sleep we ate dinner. After dinner, I went to sleep. Tomorrow let's see what's going to happen.  Hope you like my post. Comment down if you like my post. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

Summer Leaning Journey 2017-18 | Week 4 | Day 2

Activity 1: Chasing Great

Over the past 17 years New Zealand has experienced a number of sporting highlights, perhaps none larger than the back-to-back Rugby World Cup victories in 2011 and 2015. In both competitions our national rugby team, the All Blacks, was captained by a man named Richie McCaw. He is arguably one of the best rugby players of all time. A movie called Chasing Great was recently created to document his incredible rugby career.

Please watch the trailer for Chasing Great and read about Richie McCaw online. On your blog tell us three things that you learned about Richie that you did not know beforehand. What else would you like to know about Richie?

• Richie McCaw was named as All Blacks captain for the first time for the Test against Wales in 2004 aged just 23.
• Richie McCaw lead the All Blacks the All Blacks to 13 victories in 14 Tests, with the team winning the Tri Nations and again achieving the Grand Slam.
• Richie McCaw was captained the All Blacks to 51 victories and 58 Tests

What is the highest points that he has scored in a game?

Activity 2: Sporting Heroes

In 2015, a kiwi golfer named Lydia Ko became the youngest woman in the world to reach the #1 ranking.  She was only 17 years old. Many people from here in New Zealand and overseas really admire her and think of her as a modern-day sporting hero. Who is your sporting hero? They can be a famous athlete, or even a member of your family or community. It’s completely up to you.

On your blog tell us about your sporting hero. Who are they? Why are they a hero? Include a photo of them in your blog post.

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is my sporting hero because he is the best cricketer in the world. He has made 49 century's - 100s. He is also a really good bowler, he bowls leg spin, off spin, and medium-fast.

My sporting hero is Lisa Carrington. She is an incredible rower, and last year she was awarded the prestigious  Lonsdale Cup for her amazing results in 2016! She spends hours training, and I think her commitment to her sport is inspiring.

Bonus Activity | Shake it Off

In recent years, many New Zealanders have embraced a new form of exercise called Zumba©. It was developed by a man named Alberto Perez who lives in the country of Columbia. He created Zumba by bringing together many different dance styles including cumbia, mambo, hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, tango, merengue, and mambo.

Choose one of the dance styles mentioned above and click on the name to read more about it. Once you are done, post three interesting facts about the dance style on your blog. In which country did it originate? Who originally created it?  

|| Salsa ||

This type of dance was originally from Cuba, which then spread to the USA which became really popular.

> American soldiers were the first to notice the Salsa dance during the Cuban war of 1898.

> Cuba's Salsa is only the modern style of the dance, but its origin can be brought back to many other lands and parts of our history.

> Many Jazz musicians started visiting Cuba to incorporate their Latin styles into their performances.

Summer Leaning Journey 2017-18 | Week 3 | Day 2

The Post War(s) Era (1951 - 1999)

Day 2 - Peace Out! (The 1960's)

Activity 1 | The Dawn of Television 

In the 1960s there was a great deal of change in New Zealand. Technology was evolving and the television was introduced for the first time into New Zealand homes in the 1960s. Popular programmes included Town and Around and C’mon.  Television remains popular to this day.

What is your favourite television show at the moment? On your blog tell us about your favourite television show. What is it about? Who are the main characters? What channel is it on?

I don't have a favourite television show.

Activity 2: Rock ‘n’ Roll

Famous bands also started travelling across the world and in 1964, New Zealand hosted, arguably the most popular band of the time, The Beatles.

People were very excited to see The Beatles, and the hype around the band was known as Beatle-Mania (similar to the modern-day Bieber-Fever)!

Read about their tour of New Zealand below, and then post three interesting facts about The Beatles Tour on your blog.

.> The Beatles were obviously well known in New Zealand because in paragraph 5 it says "The Beatles waved to fans who lined up from the airport to town."

> During the Beatles' time in their hotel, outside they were surround by young ladies and teenagers, some who stayed up all night just to get a glimpse of the Beatles.

> Two Band members from the Beatles actually got to spend some spare time with family that lived in New Zealand.

The Beatles' first stop in New Zealand was Wellington. Seven thousand screaming fans – nearly all young women – waited as the band touched down on 21 June 1964. One girl badly hurt her leg trying to climb a wire fence, and two others were forced through the fence because of pushing from behind.

A team of 30 police officers, some in plain clothes, was on hand. Bill Brien, in charge of the operation, later said that:

“We underestimated the whole thing badly. The crowd was so big we had to … keep all the people behind a wire fence. At one stage it looked like the fence would collapse, which would have been a disaster.”

As the band stepped off the plane, the shrieks of fans drowned out the noise of the engines. Te Pataka concert party performed a haka, before doing a hongi (pressing noses) and presenting the band members with tiki.

From the back of a Holden utility, The Beatles waved to fans who lined the roads from the airport to town. The crowds outside their hotel, the St George, were so large that The Beatles had to be taken in secretly through the bottle shop entrance of the hotel. Management rushed the band up to the third floor balcony so fans could see them and not crash the hotel.

It was mayhem. 'Girls were screaming uncontrollably, quite out of their tree,' people remembered. Police used dogs to clear crowds from verandahs and other vantage points. Teenagers pushed over and damaged two police motorbikes; there was so much pushing that one of The Beatles’ cars was shunted backwards, even with the handbrake on.

Fans trekked back to The Beatles' hotel after the concert. The band was stuck inside as crowds gathered outside. Some kept up a late-night vigil on the hill behind the hotel. Others tried to get round the strict security; four girls strolled onto the sixth floor into the arms of Ringo Starr. His response was, ‘Now girls, no nonsense or else I’ll leave.’

Away from all the fuss, two of the band members took the chance to catch up with family. Police whisked John Lennon away to Levin to meet his second cousins, while Ringo Starr (formerly Starkey) met a group of Starkeys from the Wellington suburb of Karori.

Retrieved from https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/beatles

Bonus Activity: The Three Rs - Rugby, Racing and Running

In the 1960s, sport in New Zealand was dominated by the three R’s – rugby, racing and running. The national rugby team, the All Blacks, had a great decade, winning 36 of the 40 games that they played. Many kiwis also spent their week-ends at the local racetrack and, in 1960, Peter Snell won a gold medal in the 800m race at the Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. He followed this up with two more gold medals in the 800m and 1500m races at the 1964 Olympic Games.

Watch this documentary about Peter Snell and then create a one-page poster on Canva* about this famous kiwi runner. Be sure to include a picture  of Peter along with information about his interests and other sporting accomplishments.

*You will need to register on the Canva website in order to use it. To register, first you will need to choose your poster template from the homepage. This will bring up the sign-in page. Click on the ‘Register with Email’ button and enter your details.

Summer Leaning Journey 2017 | Week 2 | Day 2

A Period of Change (1870 - 1950)

Day 2 - The Roaring 20's (The 1920's)

Activity 1 | Popular Culture - The Silent Movie

The 1920s saw a massive surge in the number of people going to the movies. Huge new cinemas were built in both Auckland (The Civic Theatre) and Dunedin (Empire De Luxe).  The most popular type of movies showing at local NZ cinemas were ‘silent’ films. Gold Rush is an example of an iconic silent film. It features a famous actor named Charlie Chaplin.

Watch the trailer for Gold Rush. On your blog, tell us what you think the movie is about. There are no words spoken movie so you will need to pay careful attention to what the actors are doing! Do you think you would enjoy watching a silent film? Why/Why not?

The Gold Rush | Charlie Chaplin

Activity 2 | Art Deco

In the 1920s a new artistic movement emerged in New Zealand (and around the world). It was called ‘Art Deco.’ The picture to the right is a classic example of an ‘Art Deco’ piece. Take a close look at the painting. Do you like it?

On your blog, give the painting a rating out of 5 stars (1 star = terrible painting, 2 stars = pretty bad painting, 3 stars = okay painting, 4 stars = good painting and 5 stars = amazing painting). After you’ve rated the painting out of 5, tell us why you gave it that rating.

Right: Self Portrait By Tamara de Lempicka

Bonus Activity | Crossing the Tasman

In 1928, a crew of four men flew, for the first time, across the Tasman from Australia to New Zealand. One of the men on board the Southern Cross airplane was a New Zealander named T.H. McWilliams. His job was to operate the radio in the airplane. Unfortunately, the radio stopped working shortly after take-off and the rain and ice were so heavy that the pilot, Kingsford Smith, couldn’t see out of his front windscreen. Yikes! Fortunately, the plane made it all the way across the Tasman landing in Christchurch after a 14 hour trip.

Imagine that you were a member of the flight crew. Write a poem that describes how you would have felt when you landed safely in Christchurch after such a long trip. Remember, there are lots of different types of poems, and they don’t all have to rhyme. You can read more about different types of poems by clicking here.

Summer Learning Journey 2017 | Week 1 - Day 2

Today is the second day of the Summer Leaning Journey. Yesterday I posted about the time when the Maori came to New Zealand. If you haven't seen the post click here. I hope you like my post. Hope you comment down below. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

In the beginning (1800 - 1870)

Day 2 - It's all in a day's work

Activity 1: A House or a Home?

In the 1800s, most Māori lived in villages called pa. Each village had many buildings – kauta where people cooked, pataka where they stored goods and wharepuni where the Māori slept. A traditional wharepuni had a thatched roof and walls made of timber, fern, rushes and bark. Look at the picture below of a traditional wharepuni. Does it look like your house?

On your blog, compare the wharepuni to your own home. What are two similarities and two differences between a wharepuni and your house?

Differences

- In the wharepuni the doors are smaller than the modern houses.

- The roof of the wharepuni is made out of hay and flax with a bunch of sticks. But the modern houses roof are made out of tiles and brick. 

Similar

-  Both of the houses are suitable to live in.

- Both of them use materials like: Cob, Adobe and Wood.

Activity 2: The Rules of Engagement

During the early years in New Zealand, men and women would often marry at a young age. Women were expected to have babies and remain in the home caring for their children. Few, if any, left home in search of work. Men, on the other hand, were expected to work outside of the home.

These days, we don’t have the same strict expectations about work. Girls and boys can choose their own path in life. In fact, I was lucky enough to go to university and to follow my dream of becoming a teacher!

What is your dream job? Draw a picture of yourself doing your dream job and post it on your blog. You could be a doctor, an actor or even a zookeeper! I have drawn myself taking a picture of a beautiful castle in Poland because I would love to become a travel blogger and photographer one day.

Dream Job

I have a few decisions but my main dream job that I work at NASA. I really like to know about our solar system and beyond. It is really fun researching about space. I would really be an astronaut.

Bonus Activity: Special Meals

Back in the 1800s, most Māori ate a simple diet. They ate foods that they could catch in the water (eg. fish) or grow on the land (eg. kumara). They did not have access to a supermarket to buy food for their meals! Speaking of meals, what is your favourite meal? Mine is wood-fired pizza. Yum!

On your blog, post a picture of your favourite meal. Be sure to tell us what it is and why it is your favourite. You could also include the recipe if you have it so that we can all try it!

I have heaps of favourite meals, I couldn't choose one so my favourite meal is Pizza.

Melbourne - Australia - Day 2

This is my second day in Melbourne. I will tell you my report what happened today! Today was a cool 😎 day!! As I told you yesterday!! Have a read at my report of what I have done.

I woke up at 7:00 A.M. I had Weet-Bix for breakfast. Then I had a shower.

At 9:55 A.M we went to Phillip Island. We went past the countryside, it looked like our countryside in New Zealand. But the only 2 things that are different is that the grass is dry and the second, there are less animals at the farm than our New Zealand farms. On the way we stopped to fill patrol. I was excited to go to Phillip Island. When I went out of the car I felt the cool breeze. Then my dad and my dad's friend came to the car with a coffee and hot chocolate. At Anderson Link Road there was thick fog 🌁 in the sky and we couldn't see what is ahead of us.

At 11:15 A.M we arrive at Phillip Island. We went to the information centre. They said some tourist attractions like, the Chocolate Factory, A Maze 'N Things, Koala Conservation Centre, the Nobbies Centre, and Penguin Parade.

The Sea

At 11:52 A.M we arrived Nobbies Centre. We first went to the walkway. I saw a mountain with an awesome view. We took heaps of pictures. It was a long walk. There are only one specie of Snake in Phillip Island called Copperhead Snake. Copperhead Snake's are shy so we can't see them. After looking at the view we went to the visitor centre. Also we were hungry so we eat some chips and spinach feta cheese rolls. It was yum! At 1:24 P.M we leave Nobbies Centre. Now the next destination is Phillip Island Wildlife Park. We canceled the plan for the Koala Conservation Centre because the Wildlife Park was more near than Koala Conservation Centre.

A Koala Sleeping

A Kangaroo mother with its child

At 1:30 P.M we arrive at at Phillip Island Wildlife Park. When we arrived we saw some baby kangaroos. At the reception we got some food for the Kangaroos, Wallabies, Emus and Swans. Before looking at these animals, Kangaroos, Wallabies, Emus and Swans. We looked at Red Necked Pademelon, Echidna, Koalas (we saw 2 koalas 🐨 sleeping up in a tree), Pelican, Wombats, Cockatoo, Dingo, Emu, Cassowary, Goshawk, Little Eagle, King Parrot, Satin Bower-Bird, Black-winged Stilt, Bronzewing Pigeon, Barking Owl, Torres Straits Pigeon, Buff Banded Rail, Australian White Ibis, Tiger Quoll, Tawny Frog mouth, Little Corella, Red-tailed Black cockatoo, Pink cockatoo, Black-breasted buzzard, Masked Owl, Kookaburra, Red Kangaroos (Original Kangaroos from the Australian Desert). The next place that was to fed the Kangaroos! I was super excited. When the Kangaroos came to me and ate, my palm was tiggly. I had feed heaps of Kangaroos. At last I had a chance to feed a baby Kangaroo! He or she was so cute. I also fed a swan. Then we went where we can feed Red Kangaroos and Emus (Emus could be cheeky so we have to be careful). I saw 2 Emus chasing each other like they are playing tag. I fed only one Red Kangaroo because there wasn't much time left. Then we looked at Bats hanging down. There was heaps of Bats hanging down, mostly near the light. The last and final animal, Snakes and Lizards. We went back to the reception centre to wash our hands (because the Kangaroos ate and a bit licked our palms) and go out. After we brought some Ice-Cream.

The last and final destination is the Chocolate Factory! At 3:15 P.M we left Phillip Island Wildlife Park. It is estimated that at 3:22 P.M we will reach at Chocolate Factory. When we went inside the Factory and saw the prize, it was expensive so we couldn't go inside. So we looked at the cafe and some other places. We went to the cafe and bought some food. I eat some Salad Sandwich.

At 4:00 P.M we left the Chocolate Factory and went back home. It was estimated that it will take 54 minutes to reach home that means at 4:54 P.M we will reach home.

Exactly at 4:54 P.M we arrived back home. We had a coooool 😎 day!!!!!!! Bye!!