Good day mate! We went in a car ride bordering the coast of Australia from Sydney to Melbourne. We stopped many times to see wonderful views. The beaches are beautiful. With my aunt Wendy we saw a ray in the wild! The roads were full of loops so sometimes we got dizzy. We reached Phillip Island, the southern point of Australia, where we saw a penguin parade (we couldn't take pictures because it hurt the penguins), a worldwide festival where you can see the Little Blue Penguin’s, the smallest penguins in the world wobble out of the water after catching some fish. It was funny because they were really scared to get out of the water and some fell and had to go faster to catch up with the group and it was also amazing how they could climb the rocks by jumping. After they climbed the rocks, they went to the top of a little hill “singing” so they could capture the female’s attention. After doing so they went in their borrows and started preparing the nest for their babies. The guide said that it wasn't time for them to do the nests yet but because they still thought it was winter the penguins kept on doing the nests. This festival happens all the nights.

                On our way back to Peru, we had to take four planes. One from Melbourne to Sydney that lasted one hour, another from Sydney to Auckland that lasted three hours then another one from Auckland to LA crossing all the Pacific Ocean and finally To Peru. We recovered 15 hours so this Saturday lasted 15 hours more. This trip was AWESOME! I had a lot of fun in it. It was a one in a life time experience where I learned a lot about different cultures and all the things I can do to improve my lifestyle. Now that I have learned how to be greener I can actually use the schools theme “Think green, act green.” Since I was a kid I always wanted to go to Australia and I had the opportunity to go to Australian AND New Zealand! Thanks to my grand parents and my aunts and uncles. :)

Before leaving New Zealand I want to talk about some things that I noticed were different from Peru. In some cities of NZ you can find electric powered transportation's  The bus is connected to a cable which goes through the main streets. This saves a lot of fossil fuels and pollutes less; remember that a lot of the electricity in NZ is produced by wind and hydroelectric power. On the other hand kiwis save electricity by using electric outlets that have a switch control the electric power consumed by appliances when they are switched off. This is called phantom load. I think this is a really good idea but if you are not used to this and you plug in something (like your camera battery) and you don’t turn the switch on when you go back to get them you’ll get a big surprise.

 Another thing that is really different is that they drive on the left side of the street.

The driver is on the right side of the car and we always mess up when we want to seat in the copilot seat because you go to the driver’s side. At first you feel that the cars are going to crash into you because you are “in the wrong side” but after a couple of week I feel normal. One more thing…You know how in Lima you see a police officer really often? Here in the last 10 days I have only seen two police officers. And when I asked about these they told me that police in NZ don’t even carry guns. Even though there are not so many policemen I feel really secure. Finally, one thing that is also different from Peru is the trash in the streets. Here you don’t find any trash on the ground and there are recycling bins all over the country. Unlike in the USA here there are no signs telling you that you will get a fine is you litter on the streets. It seems that people just know that it is the wrong thing to do.

                We have had an awesome 10 day adventure traveling through NZ. Now we are heading farther north to Australia. The flight to get there was only three hours and I had a great time watching a movie. When we arrived to Sydney we visited the Opera House, and the botanical garden. That day we went to the vivid light festival which was in downtown Sydney. In this festival they celebrate artists that use light to create art. It’s hard to explain but for example they projected a movie on a house and it seems like it was falling down, changing shapes or moving (special light effects). I really liked that festival. After the festival we took a bus back to the hotel and when we were walking to take the bus we saw a flying fox which is the biggest bat in the world. They only eat fruits so they are harmless.

                 The next day we went to a national park called Morton National Park in search for platypuses and lyre birds. Even though we searched quite a bit we were not successful. Even though we didn’t find them I learned about them. The platypuses are mammals that lay eggs. Something that really caught my attention was that they fed their babies milk even though they don’t have nipples. The babies lick the milk from the mother’s hair. The males are the only ones that have poison which is located on their back legs. This animal seems to be a mix of ducks, beaver and an otter. The lyre bird is a bird bigger than a chicken that feeds on the ground and imitates all kinds of sounds such as chainsaws, other birds and even the alarm of a car. In this park we were able to see a huge waterfall called Fitzroy Falls.

                At dusk we went to Booderee National Park to try to find some kangaroos and wombats.

We drove through many of the roads in the park until my grandma spotted a kangaroo. I got really surprised because I thought they were going to be huge. After taking some pictures, we experimented and opened the cars door to see if it would jump away and we succeeded. It is amazing how fast they can jump, how long their jumps are and how much they use their tail. Like my grandmother said “If you see one, you’ll see all.” After that we saw many more and one of them was about my height. That’s the kangaroo I was expecting to see.

In this side of the world the sun sets at 4:53. It is really early. At 6 you are already sleepy because it’s so dark and quiet. To try to avoid sleeping so early my family has organized game nights. We play many card games such as: “Cucu la lora”, “Mano sucia”, “Ocho Locos”, Spot It, “pobres y ricos” and many more. We also played a board game called Settlers Of Cattan; this game is extremely addicting and people get a little too obsessed with winning (in a good way). 

Since I came to New Zealand I noticed many signs that were written in two languages and that really intrigued us so we all started investigating. My aunt and uncle were already in New Zealand for some months so they have already learned about this.  They told us that those signs were written in the Maori language. This language was spoken by all the Maori tribes that were spread out through New Zealand (just like the Incas and Quechua). The Maori were conquered by the English and they were forbidden to talk in Maori. This law was removed many years later when the Maori language was almost lost. What Kiwis or New Zealanders are doing is that they want to gain that language again. Now they are teaching them in some schools and there are many signs in both English and Maori to make the language richer and well known.

 Here in New Zealand they are really environmental friendly. We went to a Youth Hotel and they recycled almost everything. When you went to the kitchen, you could see compost containers, plastic bottle containers, paper containers etc. and they recycled all that. The bottles had numbers so they only recycled certain plastics. As we moved on around New Zealand, I was impressed to see no trash on the streets.

                We reached Kaikura which is a beautiful place (one of my favorites in NZ). In Kaikura you could interact a lot with nature, you could go see whales, dolphins albatross and….seals! When I saw the baby seals I had no words. They are the cutest things on earth! The seals were “hidden” in an environment that was safe (like a nursery) from many mammals that could attack them such as killer whales or sharks. This place had a waterfall and many rocks that the baby seals used to move around and rest. You couldn’t touch the seals or get too close to them but it was still really fun to see them play around in the water. The seals are here for protection while their parents hunt for food. When the seals get hungry they have to go down to the beach and wait for their parents to bring them the food. When they are old enough they will do the same thing for their children. Here are some pictures of the cutest baby seals ever.

                The toilets here in NZ are new to me. In one hotel we stayed at, there was a toilet that didn’t flush. It was like the ones in the jungle) you had the seat that was placed in the middle of a metallic rectangle. That rectangle was covering a huge hole that was meters underground so you did your things and then you had a pot with some dirt and you had to put one or two full shovels in the hole to cover the smell.

I think it was a great experience to have that toilet for a few days but to have it as a daily bathroom no. Then in all the places we went except for this one, the toilets have two buttons. One to flush half of the water and the other to flush the whole tank. My bathroom in Peru has that but it was amazing how ALL the bathrooms here have it. Both of this bathroom systems save a lot of water. I think NZ is doing the correct thing and I think that we should do the same thing in Peru.

                 As I said before NZ is really conscious about the earth and this is why they use wind energy to produce a sustainable energy source. NZ has/had the biggest wind farm in the world.

  New Zealand is a really good place to have windmills because there is a lot of wind and space to place the turbines. Talking about air, the other day we decided to go to a place called golden bay which is really beautiful and we all wanted to go to a beach but to go to that beach we had to cross a mountain then a little forest and then some dunes (just like coast, mountains and jungle). When we were in the first part which are the mountains, we got hit by a storm. There was a lot of rain and wind and it was really hard to walk so we had to go back. After the storm calmed down, Wendy (aunt), Jose Ignacio (uncle) and me went back to the path and got to the beach while my grandparents waited in the cozy car. It all went ok. The wind was not so strong and it was easier to walk…until we got to the beach. In the beach there were dunes and the wind was really strong over there…just watch the video. 

 

Today I went to a beach called Castle Cliff Beach. Something that really called my attention about this beach was the black sand. This sand has this color because it has a lot of iron and it is volcanic.

Even though this sand is black it didn’t get as hot as the sand in Peru and we think this is because the sun rays in Peru hit the ground in a more direct way (close to 90 degrees) and the ones in New Zealand  hit the ground at a more oblique angle. There is a lot of drifted wood accumulated in the beach. These drifted woods are delivered to the Tasman Sea by the Wanganui River. Behind the beach there was a really big playground that had games for people of all ages. One of them was called the flying fox. I LOVED IT. This is a game where you jump from a platform and sit or stand on a small circle that is hanging from a rope until you get to the other side where there is a wheel and you bounce off.

It is hard to get off the seat because its high but it is so fun.

After leaving the Quakers Settlement we had a four hour trip to Wellington, but we stopped at Pukaha Mount Bruce, a predator proof national wildlife center.  Here, they have built a predator proof fence (2 meters high and one meter underground)

and have ongoing predator control programs (traps) to protect the native flora and fauna from invasive mammals.

Before human arrived to New Zealand, the only kind of terrestrial mammal that was there was the bat.  The Maori and the English brought mammals with them such as rats, ferrets, cats, possums, rabbits, mice, and hedgehogs.  Many of these mammals have had a negative impact on animal and plant populations on the islands, because they act as predators, they brought diseases, and competed with the native species.  The native species did not know how to defend themselves because they evolved in the absence of mammal predators.  For example, many birds in New Zealand are flightless (Kiwi, Takahe, Weka) or weak fliers (Kokako), so they cannot escape predators as easily.  Due to this many of them are today threatened and many have gone extinct (especially birds). This is why New Zealanders have to create this predator fenced reserves.   When I was in the wildlife center, I had the opportunity to see a lot of interesting animals.  I saw how they fed a species of parrot, called Kaka (they were not stinky), I also saw a white Kiwi (not an albino but with two white recessive alleles), a Kokako (who knew how to whistle and call its name) and a Takahe (flightless bird that looks like a dinosaur).

My uncle Jose Ignacio taught me about a type of defense that some plants have against herbivores.  This type of plants are called divaricating. They have really small leaves that grow from stems that are positioned at wide angles, so that the herbivores have a hard time eating the plant so they don’t choose to eat that plant.

 The last thing I saw in Mt. Bruce were Long-fin eels.  They are black, long (a meter or more) and have big heads.  Something really cool about them is that they live all their life in rivers (they can live up to 100 years!!!!!!) and when they are ready to reproduce, they swim kilometers down to the ocean to breed.  After they reproduce they die, so they only reproduce once in their life time.  The young eels swim a really long distance back to the river where their parents lived before.  How do they know where to go?  Nobody really knows, but they think the ocean currents might play a role. This is the complete opposite life cycle of the salmon.

My trip to New Zealand was exciting, long but tiring. It started with a taxi ride to Lima’s International Airport. Our plane was leaving at 1am so we had to be at the airport three hours before that. My dad was in Colombia because of work, my mom thought it was too dangerous to come back from the airport alone (and we agree) so we took a taxi. We got our tickets and then passed through security and made it to the gates about an hour and a half hours earlier than anticipated. We sat down and I started falling asleep. However, my grandma decided that it would be a good idea to stay awake so we started to walk around the airport and look at shops until it was 1:00 am when we had to get in the airplane. I was a little hyper by then so I wasn’t as tired. First we went from Peru to Los Angeles and the flight lasted about eight hours. I sat in between my grandparents (the airplane had two seats then three and then two).  It was a little uncomfortable and I couldn’t sleep much because: 1) my grandparent’s heads kept falling on me and waking me up, 2) there was a computer in front of me and that was a big distraction and, 3) my neck hurt because my headrest was too flat. The service in the airplane was really good so I was fine with that.

When we reached LA we had my uncle Paco already there to pick us up. It was really nice to see him. We went to eat breakfast at IHOP. It was so yummy! After that we drove to his house that was half an hour away from the airport. It was incredible how close everything was to his house; he had banks, many stores and restaurants. At his house we took the suitcases out of the car and put them in the garage. When he opened the door, this little dog came running at us and started smelling us. It was the first Chihuahua I have actually liked. Her name is Joy. After playing around with her we all sat down in the living room and started talking. Then my aunt Claudia joined us. She’s a medical interpreter. We went to pick up my cousins from school and went to Hollywood and saw the Chinese Theatre (where there are the stars on the floor with the signature, hands and footprints of many amazing artists such as; Michael Jackson and the Harry Potter Cast.

) The Chinese Theatre is famous because it was the place where the first Oscars were given.  After this we were ravenous so we stopped in a McDonalds to get some food. After that it was a long way to the house and it was already 4:00 and we had to be at the airport at 7:00 pm. The rush hour in LA is terrible, even worse than Lima so we needed to head to the airport right away.

                

Our next flight was LA to Auckland (New Zealand), a 12 hour flight non-stop. This time I got the window so I slept a lot and the seat was really comfortable. The food was really good. Tips to fall asleep in a plane: Bring a boring book, read half a page close your eyes and fall asleep. Surprisingly the flight was the best flight I was in. You didn’t even feel the airplane, it was really comfortable. Now I am in Aotearoa which means “the land of the long white cloud.” I learned that that’s the name that the Maori, the indigenous people from NZ gave to this country. We are living in a small area which has really sweet residents. They are called Quakers.

The Quakers I met are people who respect a lot the nature, they grow their own food, and most of them are vegetarians. They are also peaceful and have a strong sustainability culture. One rule they have is that before you eat everyone stands in a circle holding hands and we all stay for some time in silence until one person that is holding your hand squeezes it and you squeeze the next hand and so on until the squeeze gets to the last person. Then we all let go and go eat. Doing this really brings peace into the room and lets you focus in that moment. You forget about what happened that day and just think about what you are doing right now “I am going to eat, talk and socialize with people that are really different for me.

What an honor.” In the Quaker settlement I had the opportunity to learn how to weave using flex or harakeke (Maori name) to make an ornamental flower.

Hi, my name is Mari Gi Otero. I am making this blog so you can see everything I do in my trip to Australia and New Zealand. I will post pictures and even videos! I really hope you enjoy this blog. 

 Here are some insane facts taken from: http://neomam.com/infographics/50-insane-facts-about-australia-infographic/

 
17/26 of the world most venomous snakes are found in Australia
 
3.3x more sheep than people live in Australia
 
In 2005 security guards at the Canberra parliament were banned from calling people mate. Than ban lasted 24 hours.
 
The Australian Alps receiver more snow than Switzerland.
 
Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world.
 
The "dingo fence" in Australia is the longest fence in the world, and is about twice as long as the Great Wall of China.
 
Australia has 2.76% of the world’s gaming machines.
 
The name 'Kyle' comes from the aborigine word for boomerang.

These are other facts taken from: http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/interestingly-weird-facts-about-australia/

Australia only has 20 million people

Kangaroo is Aborigine for "I don't understand what you're saying"

There are an estimated 40 million kangaroos in Australia

***LATER ON I WILL ADD SOME FACTS ABOUT NEW ZEALAND***