Blog 2

For the free day on Thursday a group of us went to the beach at Raglan. Not only was the black sand warm to lie on, but it was also magnetic which was very exciting. Raglan is known for having good surfing waves, however we were in a sheltered inlet that had calm water. When we took a walk down the beach and around the corner we saw rough waves.
On the walk we also saw tons of shells and some dead jellies and fish washed up on shore. It was very easy to see how shells and sand sediments of different sizes had been separated into areas on the beach. On Friday we went to Rotorua. In the town we saw a geothermal pool and smelled the sulfur that are both the result of the geothermal activity in the area. That night we experienced Maori culture first hand. After watching a song and dance performance we ate a hangi which is a traditional Maori meal that has been cooked in the ground. The meat was very tender and the food had a unique flavour.
The next day we had the chance to go zorbing. Only found in New Zealand, this exciting activity involves rolling down a hill in what looks like a giant hamster wheel. The result was non stop laughing the whole way down the hill.
Due to poor weather on Sunday we were unable to go to White Island (New Zealand’s most active volcano). Instead we explored the area of Mt. Maunganui. Not only was it fun to climb on the rocks and view powerful waves crashing onto shore, but it was also interesting to see the diversity of life in the rocky inter-tidal zone. There was moss growing on many of the rocks and larger plants growing in the cracks between rocks. On the beach was a large piece of kelp. The beach was covered with shells of various sizes and stages of erosion. This made it easy to imagine the process of how fine sand beaches form over time. As I walked from the edge of the beach towards the water I noticed how shells and sediments of different sizes had been deposited. I also saw different layers when I dug down into the sand a little. I also took a walk around the base of the Mt. Maunganui where I could see how the dormant old volcano has been eroded over time.