Update 18 Jun

Time flies, winter has started to set in and the weather’s turning cold. I have adapted myself well here and no longer miss home as much. I love the peace, the beautiful scenery, the warmth of the people and the leisure pace of life in this small town.

This term is a short term and it’s coming to an end soon. We started off with the immersion of the Maori culture and continues with the environmental awareness week. As far as conservation is concerned, NZders has done well in keeping and protecting their habitat. Possum, goats, stoats are considered pests and were introduced from Australia. They multiplied so rapidly that their population is out of control now. They thrive on bushes and destroy millions of bushes daily. Ironically, possum was considered a treasure in Australia. I definitely want to be an Australian possum than NZ possum. Though I don’t share the sentiments of NZders, it’s interesting to see how a common animal can arouse different feelings in different countries.
NZders did a great job in protecting the rivers of NZ, at least for the outdoor and fishing industries. OPC instructors would practice disinfecting all the gears and boats before shifting to the next river.

There’s harmful algae called Didymo in the south island which was not welcome in the north island.

Every household will have 4 different bins : the burnable, non-burnable, food scrap and the recycled. There will be a collection point where the household will pay for the different rubbish to be picked up by the town council every Friday.

We had sessions on RAM, outdoor first aid, equity issues, learning how to use mountain radios as well. One of the modules worth mentioning is the river crossing module. We had 2 days of river crossing during winter.

Day 1 : I have 3 layers of mid-fleece, a wet suit, but my teeth still chatter after my 7^th swim in the river. It’s cold… urghh..

Day 2 : I have 5 layers of thermals and fleece, 1 wet suit and 1 dry top [paddle jacket], 3 layers of thermal pants. This time, I was nice and warm. Totally “insulated”.

Going up the mountain to do navigation in poor visibility was another experience. There was a time when we have to go against the strong gale and the hail stones beating against us during our navigation. We just have to be very prepared and adequately covered when we are in the mountain.

I came to know a few philipino friends at my church and was glad to have them around. They ease my longing for Asian food and we practically feast every weekend.. So far, we have managed to discover how to cook chicken curry, chicken rice, dumplings, agar agar and red bean soup. I must try clay pot rice here. But I still can’t find a clay pot and the chinese sausages. Import of sausages is a no - no..

Still waiting for my mountain season pass to be delivered to me. I want to go up the mountain to ski. Need to get myself a ski instructor and learn how to ski before I go home. Exciting !