Tag: New Zealand

travelogue

New Zealand en Español

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Owen made this presentation for his Spanish class at school. He had a list of questions he was supposed to answer about a trip he had taken. He thought it would be too hard to answer about our entire trip, so here he discusses the New Zealand portion.

poetry

underland

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underland

I’m not ready to be
underground
unprepared to enter
the underworld
my brief visits so far
have been uncomfortable
shot through with wonders, yes,
but also the oppressive feel
of too little air
and too much rock
too much thick impenetrable dark

in Ireland we descended below dolmans
in the white-grey lime of the Burren
walked a muddy path
to an echoing room
with frozen rock icicles
amazing – yes
magical – no
it had the cold feel
of forbidden

back in the day
when bat noses were black
we found our way into
each of Boulder’s caves:
Harmon, Mallory, Boy Scout, Davy Crockett, Cavernous Sinus
(some now gated with metal grilles –
one more pleasure our sons will never know,
but a worthy concession to the bats)
(also somewhere up Clear Creek Canyon)
small rooms with graffiti
and the soot of illicit fires
spaces more likely to hide transients than the wild
they still gave cool shade, otherworldly echo,
the sense of adventurous exploring

then Caribou Mine
Tom Hendricks’s baby
open to the public now and then
the real deal, silver and gold still pulled out
of veins that once fed
the ghost town by the same name
we used to see him in Nederland
pale blue overalls and no shirt
hair cut by his own hand
he dominated the hand drilling contest
at Miners’ Days
a place industry and fantasy merged
jackhammers slowly turned the mountain to dust
it was all business

later Lenin’s tomb
red letters on black background
silent young men with Kalashnikovs
at each crowded landing
I gulped in fear
whenever it was
my turn to sink lower

at Carlsbad Caverns, finally overwhelming awe
we walked through wonders all day
even came back for more
I kept saying It’s just like Journey to the Center of the Earth!
(later I learned why –
some scenes were filmed there)
still the smell of the entrance swallows
made us hold our breath
and question our choices

next the Bat Cave (Gua Kampret)
black cool in the Sumatran swelter
sometimes green jewels broke open
across its uneven roof
reminding us where we were right then
unseen poisonous creatures
around every dark bend

lastly, most spectacularly,
the glowworm grotto
blue dangling orbs
laying fanciful traps
wherever our barque drifted
Te Anau fairy tales sparkled
we can always come home here

still, I’m not ready
to lie quiet
in some shallow rectangle now
with no view of sky sun stars
I need more time
more air
more earth
more days

photography

New Zealand

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One of our favorite places that we have been to, New Zealand was our next stop after Australia. Also known as “the land of birds” (because there are only two native land mammals, and the rest are birds) I couldn’t wait to get there because of the high proportion of endemics.

We started our trip in Christchurch, and while walking through the botanic gardens we found that the entire area is frequented by flocks of Black-billed Gulls, an endemic which is endandgered.
Black-fronted Terns are another endandgered endemic, and again easy to see when driving through centrel Canterbury.
In Dunedin we went to the famous Taiaroa Head Royal Albatross colony, and although we didn’t go on the tour, we still saw some albatrosses and the huge colony of Silver Gulls, which pooped and threw up on anything that dared to walk below.
One of the few albatrosses we saw fly over the hill.
Also near Dunedin we went to Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a “mainland island” where there are no invasive mammals. The New Zealand Robins there are very obvious, and are quite inquisitive.
Tuis are very common across the country, and are easily identified by their bronzy-blue color and characteristic dual white tufts.
This is a Pipipi, one of only three in its family and another endemic. We only saw them once, again in Orokonui.
New Zealand Bellbirds are also common, and are small honeyeaters that enjoy the nectar from flowers anywhere.
Orokonui’s star bird is the South Island takahē, a type of rail. It was once thought extinct but was famously rediscovered on an expedition to the Murchison Mountains in 1948. There are numerous populations on islands off of the North Island now, but few still live on the South Island, so it was nice to see one there.
Stewart Island, New Zealand’s “third island” was high on my list, and we went on a birding trip to try to see the famous Southern Brown Kiwi. The trip began with some birding on a boat, and we spotted this Yellow-eyed Penguin, the rarest in the world.
The trip did pay off, and we got excellent views of a young kiwi feeding on the beach.
Kiwi are very sensitive to white light, so our guides had red light flashlights so we could still get a good view and get some pictures without bothering the kiwi.
Kiwi only generally come to the beach on Stewart Island, not anywhere else. They are foraging for the sandhoppers (a type of insect) that feed on the washed-up seaweed.
During our stay on Stewart Island we also took a trip to Ulva Island, a pest-free sanctuary. This Weka followed us down the trail for a while, and then turned into the forest.
On the beach there were other Wekas, this one with a chick that had been hiding in a pile of branches.
Flocks of Red-crowned Parakeets are a common sight on the island, and some let us get close.
Little Pied Cormorants are also common along the coast and inland lakes.
The town of Oban on Stewart Island is mobbed by flocks of Kakas, large parrots that destroy any wood they find, including the tables of restaurants.
The town of Te Anau on the mainland was one of our favorite spots, and we saw a family of Great Crested Grebes on the lake.
We took a day trip to Milford Sound in Fiordland, and on the way got to meet the famous “cheeky” Kea, the world’s only alpine parrot and endemic to the South Island.
We also got to see the Kea in action, as it twisted off the antenna of somebody else’s car.
Tomtits are one of the less common passerines, although you’re still likely to encounter them at some point.
On our way up the west coast we visited Fox Glacier, at the end of a hike to a viewpoint.
I had been hoping to take a pelagic birding trip from the town of Kaikoura for a long time, and we did. This Westland Petrel was one of the first species we saw.
Northern Giant-petrels, the “vultures of the sea” generally hogged the chum that we were using to attract birds.
Kaikoura is famous for the albatrosses, and this Salvin’s Albatross was one of four species we saw that day.
We loved the tiny Cape Petrels, who would dart in to snatch a bite of fish and then retreat before the giant-petrels saw them.
The number one bird for Kaikoura was the Wandering Albatross, the largest flying bird in the world, with a record wingspan of 12 feet. We were lucky enough to see a completely grown adult, as indicated by the almost pure white plumage.
The wandering was the only bird that could really take food away from the giant-petrels, and when the rest of the chum was thrown out it dominated the other birds.
Due to the small size of the boat, we were only feet away from this huge bird.
On the way back we stopped at a seal colony with several babies, like this one.
We also came across this lone Hector’s Dolphin, the smallest and rarest marine dolphin in the world.
After we had finished on the South Island we went to Auckland and took a trip to Tiritiri Matangi island, another pest-free sanctuary. This baby Whitehead is begging for food, not an uncommon sight.
This Variable Oystercatcher apparently has at least one chick, as you can see the balls of fuzz poking out from underneath.
North Island Saddlebacks were also abundant on the island, and quickly became normal.
We also saw several Stitchbirds, especially around the nectar feeders. Stitchbirds are in their own family, and are endemic to the North Island.
New Zealand Pigeons are very common in the forests, although rarer in the cities, where you are not likely to see them.
Tuis are also common on the North Island, and this one had just finished taking a bath when I got this photo.
Tiritiri Matangi is also famous for its population of South Island Takahes, and we saw an adult and a chick.
poetry

coronavirus: prejudice gone viral

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coronavirus: prejudice gone viral

the man sits next to me
and I can’t help but notice
his Asian features
and the surgical mask
concealing his smile

I grimace hello
and he manages nice to meet you
I hear him talking to his friend across the aisle
in what might be Mandarin or Cantonese
although Korean or Japanese are equally possible
all I know is
they are words without resonance for me
with no cognates I can catch
and wring some meaning from
we settle in for ten hours
and his hacking cough makes an entrance

this is the worst-case scenario I think
(except for the mask, I suppose)
and I pass around the hand sanitizer feverishly
fear spreads like phages multiplying
and I inch my right arm away from his left –
it didn’t even start with the sickness, though,
this unbidden Chinese antipathy

at home, planning the trip,
we heard on and on
about their hunger for any creature
ground into powder
resources drained from around the globe
to fuel an empire
when I see the big tour groups
all the women sporting nondescript bobs
their leader invariably clutching a metal stick
with a grubby stuffy on the end
I give them a wide berth

at the Māori cultural program they shuffled along
ignoring the performers’ questions and directions –
because they didn’t understand!
I must actively remind myself now
feeling the slip toward stereotypes and judgement

I’m horrified by my own wave of aversion
how my lens warps
just how easy I am to fool
how quickly I can see
someone else as other

poetry

missing out

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missing out

he tells me to embrace
the joy of missing out
and I can’t even say
why those words
bring such a wave of pain

sometimes the body knows
what the mind censors

poetry

red white and blue flags

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red white blue flags

estranged from a country
I’m supposed to call mine
a place meant to stand for something:
freedom opportunity refuge equality
all of those abandoned
subsumed by oligarchy’s will
I see in this new little land
a model that seems unreplicable
a country where the words are going wild
back to the rich Māori meaning-laden names
without the people really noticing
they’ve dropped the English that doesn’t serve
a country built on second chances
filled with nature souls
who want to be out in the bush
in their little kiwi baches
windows fronting the sea
they revel in feeling small
here is a place with an island stripped bare
the people say, together we’ll plant it
and they do
now it’s bush so thick
you wouldn’t believe it’d been farmed

I think of all the reasons it wouldn’t possibly work
at home
look at me – I can barely say Hinóno’éí
let alone speak one living word of it
look at our restoration attempts
riddled with weeds

here in Godzone country
everything seems easier
(except the quakes)

but the locals squint back and shake their heads –
No, it’s not.
New Zealand only found its Māoriness around 1996.
Before that, the Māori language was banned.
We’ve got a noxious weed problem, too,
she says, but we volunteers pull them.

maybe it’s not too late to change
to bring back some substantial bit of
what was lost
maybe our big godforsaken country
could grow a little less corrupt
a little more wild
a little more native
and whole

poetry

on finding your audience

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on finding your audience

I am writing out a hole in my chest
writing down a neverending list of daily found treasures
writing up my kaupapa as I discover it
writing what little I know of our whakapapa
for our children to hold onto
when we’re gone
writing what I fear to say
and what I want to scream
writing as medicine – the pencil
evens my breath and soothes my heart
writing mostly because
it’s the closest thing to a calling I’ve known
and that makes me trust
I’ve got some words in me somewhere
someone else needs

poetry

Australia vs. New Zealand

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Australia vs. New Zealand

we lumped them before we left:
Australia-and-New-Zealand
countries with the Union Jack,
Southern Cross, English speakers
tea, cricket, rugby, and the queen

later I mention this to a Kiwi
and she’s surprised we would equate them
(which further surprises me)
although now we understand

Australia: hot as blazes
and on fire
blue oily eucalyptus haze everywhere
a massive, unending country
with an almost empty middle of wild desert
mostly flat, with death lurking everywhere:
crocs sharks snakes stingers –
you have to keep the children close –
a tough landscape breeds stout-hearted people
with a ready wit
to take you down a peg
they’ve also got mammals falling out their ears
and the brassiness of a country
built on convict labor –
g’day

New Zealand: pack your puffy even in summer
the Long White Cloud’ll get you
the forest is mostly gone
and the toothy animals were never here
nothing can eat you,
almost not one thing can harm you,
and children roam about the bush on their own
folks ask with genuine self-effacing humor
oh, my, you’re a long way from home –
how’d you come to hear about us?
we’re just a little place
(they’ve no swagger to speak of)
underlying everything is volcano and earthquake
to further humble you –
you’re just a blip in this tiny unstable ocean,
so far away only a bat could make it
Kia ora! they say
pressing the bridge of their nose against yours
this is a place where everyone thinks
about their kaupapa and whakapapa
where people identify with fern fronds and forest birds
where everyone speaks in two tongues
and lives in two worlds

poetry

Auckland

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Auckland

you and I are South Island people
Alex says

10 minutes on the street in Auckland
and I realize I am blinking fast
while impeccably dressed people hurtle past us
toward their ferries

a man on a bike rings his bell three times
then mutters curses
before Alex gets out of his way

at the Countdown grocery
I see the first person panhandling in months
and then we gawk as a Rolls-Royce glides by

here people are just too polished for us
and I already miss the rough grey-green
of West Coast jade