Okay, so I know you're probably thinking that I'm a complete slacker for not putting pictures up again! But, I'm telling you, it is just not that easy! My user ID and password at school don't seem to work, so when I want to access a computer, I have to talk a teacher into letting me use their computer. I had hoped it would be fixed today, but the computer tech is on holiday, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow. For the time being, you will just have to deal with my story...enjoy!
There is a bird that lives in NZ that nests here, near Havelock North. Being the tourist that I am, I booked what I thought would be an exciting tour of the area and chance to see the birds. I roped a friend into going with me and booked a reservation. A few days before the tour, I was talking with a teacher at school who has lived in Havelock for well over 50 years. Come to find out there are two tours for the birds: one goes along the beach in tractors and then requires a short tramp to the birds and the other is done on a bus and requires absolutely no walking at all. The teacher laughed and informed me I had booked the old people's tour. And let me tell you, she was not lying.
But, good things come of being a senior citizen. For example, the driver of the bus shared the history of the area with us for the entire three hour tour. He also brought tea and cookies along for the afternoon tea break. I bet the people on the tractors didn't get that! hah!
For your education and enjoyment, here are a few things I learned on my tour:
The area I travelled through is Cape Kidnappers. Funny name, right? Well, here's how it got it. Long ago, when Cpt Cook came to NZ, he landed on the shore of Cape Kidnappers. He began trading with the Maori people and stayed for quite some time. When he completed his business, he began to load up his boats and crew.
Now there was a small boy with dark skin playing in the surf. Because of his skin color, the Maori people thought he belonged to them, and put him in their canoe. When Cook realized what had happened, he ordered his men to begin shooting their muskets above the heads of the Maori's. Having never seen a musket, the Maori people were frightened and quickly paddled to sore and scattered to the trees to hide, leaving the boy on the beach.
Captain Cook went and retrieved the boy, who was a Tahitian deck hand, and left with his men, naming the area Cape Kidnappers as he sailed away.
Another interesting fact: I live in Hawke's Bay. If I were to go out in the water of the bay, I would be in Hawke Bay. Basically, the name of the land is written as though the land is the possession of the sea. Interesting, huh?
And lastly, a little something about the Gannets (the birds I saw over the weekend). These birds nest here all year around. They choose a mate for life and produce one offspring at a time. After the bird hatches, the parents take turns going out for food. They can dive up to 300 meters in the sea to retrieve fish for their young. The young birds stay with Mum and dad for three years, during which they shed their fuzzy grey feathers and grow beautiful white and black feathers. They then fly away to Australia, where they stay for a number of years and then return to find a mate. Their lifespan is around 40 years, and it is believed that they only travel to Australia once or twice in their lives, spending the rest of their time in the colony.
One last thing...From the bird colony, if I were to jump into the Pacific Ocean and swim due East for 10,000kms, I would arrive on the shores of Chile. There is nothing between the two places besides a whole lot of water. Sometimes I forget how far I am from anything else until I hear something like that. Wow...
I hope you enjoyed your lesson on stuff about Hawke's Bay. I'm sure it would be more interesting with photos, which I will attempt to post tomorrow. I've thrown in some NZ words for your entertainment...I'm getting the slang down pretty well, I don't mind saying...
