Day 7

Plane we rode from the Wellington airport on the North Island to the Christchurch airport in the South Island.

Harbor view from the Te Papa Museum.

We were brought back from our farm stays at 10 in the morning. Each of us were excited to hear about our experiences, and what we got to learn about with our farm stay families. We then started our trip to Wellington which was a two and a half hour drive. We stopped for half an hour for a coffee and bathroom break, and then continued onto Wellington. Along the way, we saw a major road that was under construction and was being turned into a four lane highway. The road work had started in 2014 and is projected to be done in 2020. We also passed Kapiti Island, which is a nature reserve and bird sanctuary of New Zealand that is home to many diverse wildlife. To visit this island, you must have a special permit to access the island by plane or ferry. As we entered Wellington, which is the capital, we were able to see a glimpse of the South Island.  Wellington is home to 212,700 people and is the second most populous city in New Zealand. Next, we went to the Te Papa Museum. At the museum, we were able to grab a bite to eat and explore the museum. Some of the highlights included an exhibit on the Anzacs, which was the New Zealand and Australian military combined. It told the story of them fighting in World War I against the Turks in Turkey. We also got to go into the earthquake simulator that showed us what an earthquake was like, and educated us on what safety precautions to take in the event of an earthquake. We also looked at an example of how buildings were constructed to withstand earthquakes. Buildings in Wellington are constructed with materials that allow the buildings to slide and fluctuate with the quake to prevent them from collapsing.

Listening to the Beef and Lamb presentation in Wellington.

We then went to the Beef and Lamb organization, which charges a levy that is generated by beef, sheep, and dairy slaughter. We met with Rob Davidson to learn about the organization. The money is used to help improve the beef and lamb industries. The farmers get to vote every five years on how they are doing with their funding. If the farmers feel they are not doing a good job, then the organization would cease to exist. They talked to us about the production of sheep, dairy, and beef industries within New Zealand and the trends over the years. They also talked about their exports around the world and how they compare to other countries. Another big focus that they are pushing toward is improving the environment. There are four main focus areas, including cleaner water, carbon neutral, thriving biodiversity, and healthy productive soils. Their main focus within these four areas is reducing the carbon footprint. New Zealand has the goal to reduce methane emissions by 24-47% by 2050. This has a great impact on their industry so they have made this as a main priority.

View of the South Island on our way to Wellington.

After we were done with our talk, we drove to the Wellington airport. We got to fly on a small airplane that held about 100 people. We got to walk outside on the tarmac to get loaded onto the plane and we entered through the back. The flight lasted for 30 to 40 minutes and we landed in Christchurch. We then met our new bus driver Dave who transported us to Ashburton where we will be spending the night.