(morning) Today it is rain... tomorrow rain... 5 day forecast... rain. Im planning on getting most of my project done during this week.
Midday the weather isnt too bad sunny but the wind makes it cold if you stay in one spot for too long. One very strange thing I realized today was people weird fasination with dead animals on the beach. Loads of people went up to a dead seagull and checked it out, some even took pictures of it.... why? Weird. There is some "big" construction going on in the parking lot in front of the Life Guard building and Blairs. Looks like their are installing new stormwater pipes, as the previous pipe was discharging onto the beach. Very similarly to Syracuse construction is simultaneous with good weather and public holidays. Will be interesting to see how the expected amount of people interact with a construction zone in between them and food. Also got to talk to an Argentinian (still dont know his name) who is a pipe layer in Argentina and New Zealand. Was interesting talking pipe sizes and construction techniques and how they differ from NY.
October 22
Today is my dads birthday back home so plan on making a cake... if nobody hears from me in a week, then something went horribly wrong and send help
The cake was a disaster. Turns out I am not Americas Next Top Chef and I am retiring that life long dream that was a complete fabrication of my mind. I stayed in for most of the day but I watched Piha Patrol (1st season of Piha Beach Rescue) to see a little bit of what Piha looks like during the summer months when it is super crowded. It was really quite a contrast of what I have seen so far, very isolated and deserted beaches is what I am familiar with, what I saw was unbelievably packed people sprawled out everywhere! On the show was really long canoe type boats that go out and battle the surf turn around and then come flying back in at top speed trying not to crash and also race the other boats. I asked Geoff what the boats were called. He replied, "Surf Boats".. durr makes sense I guess. This event was really quite comical I thought. Men in tiny speedos all greased up with paddles in a big canoe trying not to get killed by the boat flipping over. I mean I GUESS its pretty exciting for the guys in the boat, but I think it would be like Nascar... people are just there to watch the cars and in this case the boats to crash.
Either way Geoff and I went around and checked the rubbish bins to make sure they were emptied for the long weekend coming up. Piha is expected to get quite a lot of people over the labour day weekend if the weather holds out.
The cake was a disaster. Turns out I am not Americas Next Top Chef and I am retiring that life long dream that was a complete fabrication of my mind. I stayed in for most of the day but I watched Piha Patrol (1st season of Piha Beach Rescue) to see a little bit of what Piha looks like during the summer months when it is super crowded. It was really quite a contrast of what I have seen so far, very isolated and deserted beaches is what I am familiar with, what I saw was unbelievably packed people sprawled out everywhere! On the show was really long canoe type boats that go out and battle the surf turn around and then come flying back in at top speed trying not to crash and also race the other boats. I asked Geoff what the boats were called. He replied, "Surf Boats".. durr makes sense I guess. This event was really quite comical I thought. Men in tiny speedos all greased up with paddles in a big canoe trying not to get killed by the boat flipping over. I mean I GUESS its pretty exciting for the guys in the boat, but I think it would be like Nascar... people are just there to watch the cars and in this case the boats to crash.
Either way Geoff and I went around and checked the rubbish bins to make sure they were emptied for the long weekend coming up. Piha is expected to get quite a lot of people over the labour day weekend if the weather holds out.
October 21
Went into town today for groceries and then back to Piha via Titirangi... I really need to visit this place.
Went into town and got grocerys as well as laundry. Very very strange was the fact that the laundrymat guy gave us 3 beers.... this is at 11:00am.... I dont think I look like an alcoholic but whatever I guess free beer is still free. So we headed down the road to for Geoff to get copies for a newsletter. Thomas and I walked over to Gamestop. I simply needed to see what kind of video games were available here! I just had to! All I need to say is wow I'm glad I am not a gamer in NZ, all of the new releases were $110, even with the conversion rate that is a crazy amount of money to pay. I bought the game Portal for $15 (most amazing game ever btw, highly reccomend even to non-gamers) Anyways so we continued on back to Piha but took a different way home.
Today was my first visit to the town of Titirangi, it has a upper class feel to it for some reason, very similar to driving through the village section of Caz. Seemed very walkable and friendly as well but I have not really come across any parts of NZ that have felt otherwise really. I very briefly drove through the town on my way back to Piha with Geoff and Thomas. We made a quick stop at Geoffs moms house to drop off some ratepayer newsletters and pick up a trailer. Geoffs mom invited us into the house. I had a look around outside, was neat to see Japanese Maple, some hydrangeas, a magnolia tree, and stuff that looked like sage but i wasnt sure. The back yard had a nice little pool that overlooked into a harbor. WOW what a difference between here and Piha. Tititangi is on the east side of the Waitakere Ranges faces inland, it is protected from the Tasman and the shore was unbelivably calm, and very shallow, AND made out of what looked like crushed shells a stark contrast to Pihas black sand. Wish I didnt talk to Katy about the differences in sands cuz that would be a really neat thing to put into my notebook.
Regardless, I need to come back to the town and have a look around as well as visit the Arataki Visitor Centre which should hold a wealth of information. I also have a few contacts in this area that are apart of the Waitakere Ranges Protection Society that I need to talk to.
Went into town and got grocerys as well as laundry. Very very strange was the fact that the laundrymat guy gave us 3 beers.... this is at 11:00am.... I dont think I look like an alcoholic but whatever I guess free beer is still free. So we headed down the road to for Geoff to get copies for a newsletter. Thomas and I walked over to Gamestop. I simply needed to see what kind of video games were available here! I just had to! All I need to say is wow I'm glad I am not a gamer in NZ, all of the new releases were $110, even with the conversion rate that is a crazy amount of money to pay. I bought the game Portal for $15 (most amazing game ever btw, highly reccomend even to non-gamers) Anyways so we continued on back to Piha but took a different way home.
Today was my first visit to the town of Titirangi, it has a upper class feel to it for some reason, very similar to driving through the village section of Caz. Seemed very walkable and friendly as well but I have not really come across any parts of NZ that have felt otherwise really. I very briefly drove through the town on my way back to Piha with Geoff and Thomas. We made a quick stop at Geoffs moms house to drop off some ratepayer newsletters and pick up a trailer. Geoffs mom invited us into the house. I had a look around outside, was neat to see Japanese Maple, some hydrangeas, a magnolia tree, and stuff that looked like sage but i wasnt sure. The back yard had a nice little pool that overlooked into a harbor. WOW what a difference between here and Piha. Tititangi is on the east side of the Waitakere Ranges faces inland, it is protected from the Tasman and the shore was unbelivably calm, and very shallow, AND made out of what looked like crushed shells a stark contrast to Pihas black sand. Wish I didnt talk to Katy about the differences in sands cuz that would be a really neat thing to put into my notebook.
Regardless, I need to come back to the town and have a look around as well as visit the Arataki Visitor Centre which should hold a wealth of information. I also have a few contacts in this area that are apart of the Waitakere Ranges Protection Society that I need to talk to.
October 18
Today I did my "busy" beach day observations and testing again not sure how to post this
Well I decided to come back and write all of my tests in one post as it should make a little more sense being together rather then spread out. Basically did tests on the beach on a busy day and a not so busy day. I did the same test in two spots one closer to the parking lot and rubbish bin and the other out in the middle area of the beach away from rubbish bins.
Rubbish test 1 close to the parking lot and bin:
"I tested this on a quiet day during the week. The results were interesting 16/22 people picked up and placed the bottle in the rubbish bin. 16 of those 16 were local people. The 6 who did not pick it up 2 of them were local. I found this interesting that local people would backtrack to throw it out, I even had one man who was going to bring it with him as he walked on the beach and toss it out when he was returning home. I think this is a good indicator that the community is committed to keeping the beaches clean."
"I repeated my test on a busy day, same location. 61/158 people threw the bottle out, 42 of those 61 were locals. The majority of the people who did not were visitors to Piha. This to me is alarming as it seems visitors are not as concerned about litter as the locals; it could be this lack of concern that gives people from Piha a sense of responsibility to clean up what they can. It was also noted that the rubbish bin was filling up and people would start placing their garbage along side the bin or on top of it. This resulted in trash blowing around, seagulls spreading it about, and a generally disgusting aesthetic look."
Rubbish Test 2 Out on the Beach:
I again did the same test except quite a bit further away from the rubbish bins and out in the open in plain sight of everyone on the beach. I thought this test was relavent just so I could test to see if the results of the previous test was only due to being so close to the rubbish bins or possibly if the majority of locals threw it out because they knew were rubbish bins were located.
"On the quiet day 4/16 picked it up and walked to the bin. 2/16 kicked it towards the dune so "hightide would not take it away" 3/16 picked it up and continued walking down the beach stating they were going to throw it out when they arrived at a bin. Of the 9 who ackknowledged the bottle all of them were local. The 7 who dismissed it 5 visitors and 2 locals"
"The busy day test was extremely difficult. It was exceptionally busy today and was estimated about 700 people were on the beach at peak hours. Amazingly, I figured it would be a very busy day asking people if they were local or not and testing, BUT only 28 people actually responded to the bottle in any way. I think that this test however was flawed, due to the mass amounts of people I think that the bottle could be considered "owned" by the nearest person. I also had difficulty placing the bottle into position as people would almost immediatly say "you dropped your bottle" Regardless, the results were 27/28 were locals, 1 visitor. I decided to end my test when a little girl wanted to build a sand castle around it."
Test 3 Trail rubbish test
I have to admit this test seemed a bit odd simply because I had to hide in the bushes as I did not want people to think since I was closest to the bottle that it belonged to me.
Quiet day results:
4/9 took bottle
4/4 who took bottle were local
8/9 were local
1/9 were visitors
Busy day results:
26/39 took bottle
14/26 who took bottle were local
21/39 were local
18/39 were visitors
Rubbish test 1 close to the parking lot and bin:
"I tested this on a quiet day during the week. The results were interesting 16/22 people picked up and placed the bottle in the rubbish bin. 16 of those 16 were local people. The 6 who did not pick it up 2 of them were local. I found this interesting that local people would backtrack to throw it out, I even had one man who was going to bring it with him as he walked on the beach and toss it out when he was returning home. I think this is a good indicator that the community is committed to keeping the beaches clean."
"I repeated my test on a busy day, same location. 61/158 people threw the bottle out, 42 of those 61 were locals. The majority of the people who did not were visitors to Piha. This to me is alarming as it seems visitors are not as concerned about litter as the locals; it could be this lack of concern that gives people from Piha a sense of responsibility to clean up what they can. It was also noted that the rubbish bin was filling up and people would start placing their garbage along side the bin or on top of it. This resulted in trash blowing around, seagulls spreading it about, and a generally disgusting aesthetic look."
Rubbish Test 2 Out on the Beach:
I again did the same test except quite a bit further away from the rubbish bins and out in the open in plain sight of everyone on the beach. I thought this test was relavent just so I could test to see if the results of the previous test was only due to being so close to the rubbish bins or possibly if the majority of locals threw it out because they knew were rubbish bins were located.
"On the quiet day 4/16 picked it up and walked to the bin. 2/16 kicked it towards the dune so "hightide would not take it away" 3/16 picked it up and continued walking down the beach stating they were going to throw it out when they arrived at a bin. Of the 9 who ackknowledged the bottle all of them were local. The 7 who dismissed it 5 visitors and 2 locals"
"The busy day test was extremely difficult. It was exceptionally busy today and was estimated about 700 people were on the beach at peak hours. Amazingly, I figured it would be a very busy day asking people if they were local or not and testing, BUT only 28 people actually responded to the bottle in any way. I think that this test however was flawed, due to the mass amounts of people I think that the bottle could be considered "owned" by the nearest person. I also had difficulty placing the bottle into position as people would almost immediatly say "you dropped your bottle" Regardless, the results were 27/28 were locals, 1 visitor. I decided to end my test when a little girl wanted to build a sand castle around it."
Test 3 Trail rubbish test
I have to admit this test seemed a bit odd simply because I had to hide in the bushes as I did not want people to think since I was closest to the bottle that it belonged to me.
Quiet day results:
4/9 took bottle
4/4 who took bottle were local
8/9 were local
1/9 were visitors
Busy day results:
26/39 took bottle
14/26 who took bottle were local
21/39 were local
18/39 were visitors
October 17
Today I did my trail observations in the morning and afternoon... not sure how to put this one into a blog maybe scan it.
Today is my quiet day on the trail observation day! Long name but it kind of explains what I'm doing for the day. I went out early today to walk the trails to figure out which one would be the best for observing as well as the one that would recieve a good number of people for test results. I chose to focus on the Tasman Sea Lookout as it is an easy climb and is also a highly used trail. What I did for the test was put a plastic bottle on the wooden observation area just to see what people would do. I didnt want them to think it belonged to me so I hid myself away in the bushes a bit. Fortunately with this trail people come to the Lookout first and then continue on the trail to the Gap. I tried to catch people on their return trip to ask them questions about the rubbish as well as some information from them as a hiker.
The results on the quiet day are:
----9 People total (8 locals 1 visitor)
----4/9 took bottle
----4/4 were local
I talked to the people who came to Tasman Lookout and most said they just wanted to check out the view as it is very scerene and beautiful. It was commented that it is an easy trail apart from the stairs but on the same note is good for some light exercise. This trail seems to be used primarily for the view, great for sunrise looking back at Piha and sunsets over the sea, its also a great place for watching surfers and the waves.
Today is my quiet day on the trail observation day! Long name but it kind of explains what I'm doing for the day. I went out early today to walk the trails to figure out which one would be the best for observing as well as the one that would recieve a good number of people for test results. I chose to focus on the Tasman Sea Lookout as it is an easy climb and is also a highly used trail. What I did for the test was put a plastic bottle on the wooden observation area just to see what people would do. I didnt want them to think it belonged to me so I hid myself away in the bushes a bit. Fortunately with this trail people come to the Lookout first and then continue on the trail to the Gap. I tried to catch people on their return trip to ask them questions about the rubbish as well as some information from them as a hiker.
The results on the quiet day are:
----9 People total (8 locals 1 visitor)
----4/9 took bottle
----4/4 were local
I talked to the people who came to Tasman Lookout and most said they just wanted to check out the view as it is very scerene and beautiful. It was commented that it is an easy trail apart from the stairs but on the same note is good for some light exercise. This trail seems to be used primarily for the view, great for sunrise looking back at Piha and sunsets over the sea, its also a great place for watching surfers and the waves.
October 16
Today was a little more light hearted. Carl (Ireland), Geoff (New Zealand), Thomas (Czech Republic), and me (USA) all decided to have a mini Olympics thing today. First was Bowling…. Okay so not NORMAL bowling. This is like lawn bowling which by the way is stupid and not bowling on a lawn at all! Its like bocci ball except you don’t throw the ball …and its not technically a ball it’s a sphere like object with two flat sides on it that you roll. So I guess in the aspect of rolling something its like bowling. You roll the ball with flat sides at a smaller ball and knock the other teams flat balls out of the way to be closest to the small one…. Right… so I stunk at this game because I just wanted to throw it like Bocchi. I don’t know how the scoring went but I lost… on to tennis then!
Ok so apparently Im bad at tennis as well, hitting the ball no matter if its in or out, hitting it more like a baseball… apparently hitting it out of the tennis court does not result in the crowd going wild… Onto drinking games!
This is where I excelled a little bit. We all taught each other different drinking games from our home countries. Carls game was mostly just drinking and punching and honestly don’t know how anyone won the game… seemed like you were either getting punched and drinking or getting punched and not it… huh. Geoffs game was somewhat of a mystery and involved cowboys and saying strange country terms like “Bring um on down” and “Get along little doggy” I think this game needs being drunk as a prerequistite as it didn’t make any sense whatsoever you just point at someone and say something and they drink. Thomas’s game was a little easier, you flip a box of matches into the ash tray and depending how it lands on the faces you have to drink… was more like a flip it and however it lands you drink. Was fun to watch him flip the match box though. And I taught them how to play beer pong which seemed to be the most fun for everyone and lasted the longest as well. So I was 1 for 3 not bad Americans placed third! Woo!
Ok so apparently Im bad at tennis as well, hitting the ball no matter if its in or out, hitting it more like a baseball… apparently hitting it out of the tennis court does not result in the crowd going wild… Onto drinking games!
This is where I excelled a little bit. We all taught each other different drinking games from our home countries. Carls game was mostly just drinking and punching and honestly don’t know how anyone won the game… seemed like you were either getting punched and drinking or getting punched and not it… huh. Geoffs game was somewhat of a mystery and involved cowboys and saying strange country terms like “Bring um on down” and “Get along little doggy” I think this game needs being drunk as a prerequistite as it didn’t make any sense whatsoever you just point at someone and say something and they drink. Thomas’s game was a little easier, you flip a box of matches into the ash tray and depending how it lands on the faces you have to drink… was more like a flip it and however it lands you drink. Was fun to watch him flip the match box though. And I taught them how to play beer pong which seemed to be the most fun for everyone and lasted the longest as well. So I was 1 for 3 not bad Americans placed third! Woo!
October 15
Well it was quite the downer today after yesterdays good weather and the interview. A guy drove to Piha today for solely one purpose, and that was to commit suicide off of Lion Rock. Geoff tells me that it happens every now and then people come out here and do it. He thinks its because of how relaxing it is and the scenery, people would rather go thinking of something beautiful. Very sad day for the persons family, as well as the Piha community, prayers go out to all of them.
October 14
My prayers got answered today and it was by far the best weather since ive been here. No clouds, no wind, just sun and blue skies… wonderful. I decided to make the best of the day and help Geoff out on the beach. We made new signs to be placed on the sand dunes for the upcoming summer season. Signs all pretty much say the same thing aka “Get off the dunes, use the designated pathways stupid” Now they don’t actually say that but its what they try to get across to people. We placed them in South Piha which seems to have the worst erosion problems as well as the most visitors. We will see this weekend how well these actually deter people from walking all over the dunes
On the way back home I stopped at Blairs on the Beach it was the first time it is open and Thomas is working there for extra money. I got the chance to talk to Mr. Adrian Blair himself! Apparently he is not a kiwi but from Britain, and he even lived in NY for a while too. He lives in NZ for the summer and then back to Britain for another summer, he and his wife simply get enough money working in similar places to fly themselves out back and forth living in the summers and enjoying the views. Now Blairs as its name implies is the closest place to get food on the beach and is at a prime location and definetly without a doubt gets the most visitors out of any store in Piha during the summer. It seems to be a logical place to ask about the dependence of tourism to his store. He relies on it completely for here as well as in Britain, if it wasn’t for tourism he would be out of both jobs and have no way to make a living. Before I continue I asked him about contributing to the community as it’s a big part of my study and he seems to be leaning more towards the tourism end rather then ecotourism. He tells me that he sponsors local surfers, has local events, uses only local foods for his store… (side note: Blairs was rated as having #1 best fries in NZ, so far I agree with it) he also does community projects which benefits the environment as well as getting his sponsored surfers recognition in local papers and magazines. So he does give back to the community a bit even if he does have a bit of a monopoly on the fast food type business, haha. For his own purposes he tells me that he does make a decent amount of money for selling burgers and fries, his overhead is pretty low, him & his wife, and one or two employees. He says its not really about the money to him, he does fine business and all but he enjoys the community and the surfing. He seems to truly be a person who enjoys every bit of his life which is great for him but he also likes to share it with others.
On the way back home I stopped at Blairs on the Beach it was the first time it is open and Thomas is working there for extra money. I got the chance to talk to Mr. Adrian Blair himself! Apparently he is not a kiwi but from Britain, and he even lived in NY for a while too. He lives in NZ for the summer and then back to Britain for another summer, he and his wife simply get enough money working in similar places to fly themselves out back and forth living in the summers and enjoying the views. Now Blairs as its name implies is the closest place to get food on the beach and is at a prime location and definetly without a doubt gets the most visitors out of any store in Piha during the summer. It seems to be a logical place to ask about the dependence of tourism to his store. He relies on it completely for here as well as in Britain, if it wasn’t for tourism he would be out of both jobs and have no way to make a living. Before I continue I asked him about contributing to the community as it’s a big part of my study and he seems to be leaning more towards the tourism end rather then ecotourism. He tells me that he sponsors local surfers, has local events, uses only local foods for his store… (side note: Blairs was rated as having #1 best fries in NZ, so far I agree with it) he also does community projects which benefits the environment as well as getting his sponsored surfers recognition in local papers and magazines. So he does give back to the community a bit even if he does have a bit of a monopoly on the fast food type business, haha. For his own purposes he tells me that he does make a decent amount of money for selling burgers and fries, his overhead is pretty low, him & his wife, and one or two employees. He says its not really about the money to him, he does fine business and all but he enjoys the community and the surfing. He seems to truly be a person who enjoys every bit of his life which is great for him but he also likes to share it with others.
October 13
Didn’t get a whole lot done today because the weather seems to hate me here, hopefully at some point I will have one week of nice weather, not even great weather or amazing weather just maybe a day without weather. Getting tired of how inconsistent the weather is here, the mornings are cold and rainy, so I stay inside, then in the afternoon it gets hot and clear out so I walk to the beach just in time for more clouds and wind or rain to come in so I walk back to the house and then it gets sunny again. Just one day of nothing would be awesome, no clouds, no wind, I wouldn’t even mind no sun, just some kind of constant would be perfect right now.
As for the day I went around the trail heads to check out the new signs that have been placed. Nice new wood with a brighter paint then the old ones. They stand out a bit more which is nice if your looking for a track and cant find the signs. Im wondering how often they have to be replaced or if they have problems like street signs in Syracuse of people stealing them and putting them in their rooms… may have to grab one before I leave NZ haha
As for the day I went around the trail heads to check out the new signs that have been placed. Nice new wood with a brighter paint then the old ones. They stand out a bit more which is nice if your looking for a track and cant find the signs. Im wondering how often they have to be replaced or if they have problems like street signs in Syracuse of people stealing them and putting them in their rooms… may have to grab one before I leave NZ haha
October 12
Slept very heavily last night, woke up at 11:30 to Geoff asking if I wanted to go into town for food and stuff. So I of course crawl out of bed put on a bandana to hide my messed up hair and out the door. Geoff and I talk about his upcoming rangering stuff and how I can shadow him a little bit and one of the big jobs this year is dog control on the beaches. So we head into a new town for me, Henderson, Geoff has some business to do in town for a while so I get to wander a bit. Henderson is the home of the Waitakere City Council and is one of the larger cities compared to some of the others around the Ranges. I take a little tour of the Council. The plazas and architecture of this building are really really well done. The building sits next to a rail station, so workers in the council can simply get onto an escalator and it takes them up to a sky walk over the tracks. The walk is glass and goes over to a step of stairs that goes out the other end of the building and splits down 2 hallways. One goes into the office area and the other goes into the “council hall” a big area where large scale meetings must be held. I was unable to go down these hallways but was able to look in to see a very highly ornate inside. The outside was a very modern look, with lots of steel and glass. It also seems to be a NZ thing but they seem to use a lot of reds, blacks, and whites for their color schemes not just in buildings but in many other things as well. Realized this quite early as these are the same colors as my car: black car, white rims, red calipers. All three colors contrast with one another and make the white and red really stand out.
To the north of the building is a Japanese inspired garden… found it funny that a tranquility garden was adjacent to a train station haha. Oh situational irony. Neat features and details were in the garden, including bamboo fences that not only block out views to the train but also give shade and seating areas. The water also made some noise to drown out the commotion of the busy city and trains. A neat detail was the water flows across the sidewalk in a 6” wide ¼” deep trench and then a collection area with a pump to return it to the top of the waterfall.
This theme was present in the other plazas as well, open concrete sidewalks with uncontained water, of course the water drops between cracks to recycle it but there are no physical barriers that stop people from walking right into or through the water feature. It was also incorporated into the seating area where the water flows around under or on top and down the concrete benches.
The council was definitely a highlight of my trip so far as it was just so well put together, it was very enjoyable, and it goes to show that when something is planned and designed very well people really appreciate it… at least other planners and designers do heh.
The rest of the city was nice as well, things were oriented very close to one another yet it did not seem overcrowded or busy. The plazas and sidewalks were the rule here, they seem insistant on being the focus of the town. And fortunately they were all very nicely done. One of the ones I liked was in front of the mall, it uses a boardwalk and a stone wall swirling in and out of one another with planters in between. It had nothing to do with the mall but it looked nice and it provided a nice desire line to the mall entrance.
To the north of the building is a Japanese inspired garden… found it funny that a tranquility garden was adjacent to a train station haha. Oh situational irony. Neat features and details were in the garden, including bamboo fences that not only block out views to the train but also give shade and seating areas. The water also made some noise to drown out the commotion of the busy city and trains. A neat detail was the water flows across the sidewalk in a 6” wide ¼” deep trench and then a collection area with a pump to return it to the top of the waterfall.
This theme was present in the other plazas as well, open concrete sidewalks with uncontained water, of course the water drops between cracks to recycle it but there are no physical barriers that stop people from walking right into or through the water feature. It was also incorporated into the seating area where the water flows around under or on top and down the concrete benches.
The council was definitely a highlight of my trip so far as it was just so well put together, it was very enjoyable, and it goes to show that when something is planned and designed very well people really appreciate it… at least other planners and designers do heh.
The rest of the city was nice as well, things were oriented very close to one another yet it did not seem overcrowded or busy. The plazas and sidewalks were the rule here, they seem insistant on being the focus of the town. And fortunately they were all very nicely done. One of the ones I liked was in front of the mall, it uses a boardwalk and a stone wall swirling in and out of one another with planters in between. It had nothing to do with the mall but it looked nice and it provided a nice desire line to the mall entrance.
October 11
Last night I didn’t sleep at ALL. I was either nervous or just the fact that I was trying to sleep on the worlds most uncomfortable couch. So I got changed and headed over to the hotel where Scott is staying. We drove down to Piha all the while talking about different aspects of NZ, like how the road signage stinks, and about proper ways to enter a roundabout. We talked all about invasive species plants and animals alike. It seems that Scotts experience in California and Costa Rica serves him well here as he recognizes a lot of plants that grow in both places whether they are invasive or for aesthetic purposes.
We started out by going to Kitekite Falls, checked out the house, and then to the Gap and Piha Store for lunch and review. All in all went pretty well, just have confirmation of what I wanted to know and now I can really get into my project without having to wade so deeply into the government papers. Much more about what I am observing and how things relate to one another. This insight is something I needed as I was worried about my project being filled with too much random nonsensical jargon and junk.
We started out by going to Kitekite Falls, checked out the house, and then to the Gap and Piha Store for lunch and review. All in all went pretty well, just have confirmation of what I wanted to know and now I can really get into my project without having to wade so deeply into the government papers. Much more about what I am observing and how things relate to one another. This insight is something I needed as I was worried about my project being filled with too much random nonsensical jargon and junk.
October 10
Got a ride into the city once again for the big advisor dinner! Kind of nervous and excited to see Scott. Always good to see someone you know in a place that you don’t. So into the city and over to the Sky Tower for dinner at Orbit, a revolving restaurant on the highest structure in the southern hemisphere. That fact still does not sit well with me as I don’t think its true but marketing is just as much about lies as it is about bending the truth! Regardless the dinner was quite nice, the dinners were of course quite small so I planned ahead and ate something before I arrived. The server we had was so strange, it seemed like he had some contempt for our table, rearranging silverware, taking glasses and pouring equal amounts into every glass. He was either OCD or he just took his job way to seriously, I mean you could tell just by looking at our table that we really could care less about proper dining etiquette. Ended up spending $35 for a salmon chunk and some bread… wow I wish there was a taco bell here… $35 could last me a week.
After dinner Scott decided to crash at the hotel, the rest of the group decided to have some drinks at the QF Tavern…. Wow mistake… It was karaoke night and apparently it was only for screaming tuxedo guy and Johnny Cash the hobo. So we promptly left and went to the Globe. Was very awkward for me to be here, went down the stairs and boom pole dancer… very very awkward. So I averted my eyes had a drink and dancer finally got down. Then it was time for dancing, so we all danced like idiots and made the Globe go from creepy pole dancing place to raving dance party. Now that is an American diplomatic mission for ya.
After dinner Scott decided to crash at the hotel, the rest of the group decided to have some drinks at the QF Tavern…. Wow mistake… It was karaoke night and apparently it was only for screaming tuxedo guy and Johnny Cash the hobo. So we promptly left and went to the Globe. Was very awkward for me to be here, went down the stairs and boom pole dancer… very very awkward. So I averted my eyes had a drink and dancer finally got down. Then it was time for dancing, so we all danced like idiots and made the Globe go from creepy pole dancing place to raving dance party. Now that is an American diplomatic mission for ya.
October 8
Today I just needed to get out of the house... even though it was still pouring and windy from the worlds largest storm. I decided to go on a long trail to clear my mind and Whites Trail seemed to be a good option as I havent taken it yet. Headed to North Piha got onto the trail. This one seemed a little different, wider trail then the others and very open with large palm trees. It opens up to a little grassy area (strange, who mows this?) and a stream. The stream was a little brook really with shallow enough areas to step across without really getting your feet wet. So I jumped across and headed up the trail. Wow this one was steep and I mean STEEP. To the point where a trail isnt feasible and it is all stairs... stairs that are having erosion problems mind you but still stairs nonetheless. The trail gets much much smaller after the brook as well, not possible for two people to walk side by side and would have difficulty passing. It wraps around the mountain a bit in shadey areas as well as sunny spots. Temperature is pretty variable throughtout the whole ordeal really.
So climb climb climb... wow I feel like im getting nowhere fast. I take a bit of a detour (off the trail) and find a clearing to see where I am relative to the beach..... Oh my god Im only half way!!! What the heck kind of wacky vertical inigma is this?!? Im already tired from battling the stairs and hot/cold flashes. Im not in top physical condition by any means but jeez! So after a lot of breaks I feel I am starting to make it to the top of mountain 1... it then goes down to Whites Beach which the trail is named after.
(side note: just realized how close trail and trial are... irony? i think not)
I feel the sun getting more prevalent obviously meaning the top, I walk out into the sun.... . . . . onto somebodys driveway.... what? I check my map. Im in the right place. Why is there a road and a house? I walk down the road a bit and sure enough there is Whites beach... I promptly turn around and head back down the trail. What an awful awful trick that was. Here I felt like I was accomplishing something and not thinking.. Oh I can just get a ride up there. Its like someone climbing Mount Everest and finding some children with skis taking the lift up instead... a very what the *beep* kind of moment.
So I find my little clearing again half way down look out and see fog... but its not fog its another huge storm coming through. Luckily its going to Piha Valley instead of where I was... then I realize *shhhhhhhhHHHHHH* noise getting louder... ok so Im not a meterologist and cant predict weather patterns. So now the dirt trail with stairs and erosion problems becomes a slip and slide of mud with wooden stairs as tripping hazards. fantastic. Then I find my brook has become a river.
I sit and think back to home, for some reason the show "Man vs Wild" comes into my head and I end up not only being an adventurer but I also video record my mockumentary with enough sarcasm to choke a horse with. I am muddy, wet, dissappointed, and yet I feel great and the world is okay with me once again =)
So climb climb climb... wow I feel like im getting nowhere fast. I take a bit of a detour (off the trail) and find a clearing to see where I am relative to the beach..... Oh my god Im only half way!!! What the heck kind of wacky vertical inigma is this?!? Im already tired from battling the stairs and hot/cold flashes. Im not in top physical condition by any means but jeez! So after a lot of breaks I feel I am starting to make it to the top of mountain 1... it then goes down to Whites Beach which the trail is named after.
(side note: just realized how close trail and trial are... irony? i think not)
I feel the sun getting more prevalent obviously meaning the top, I walk out into the sun.... . . . . onto somebodys driveway.... what? I check my map. Im in the right place. Why is there a road and a house? I walk down the road a bit and sure enough there is Whites beach... I promptly turn around and head back down the trail. What an awful awful trick that was. Here I felt like I was accomplishing something and not thinking.. Oh I can just get a ride up there. Its like someone climbing Mount Everest and finding some children with skis taking the lift up instead... a very what the *beep* kind of moment.
So I find my little clearing again half way down look out and see fog... but its not fog its another huge storm coming through. Luckily its going to Piha Valley instead of where I was... then I realize *shhhhhhhhHHHHHH* noise getting louder... ok so Im not a meterologist and cant predict weather patterns. So now the dirt trail with stairs and erosion problems becomes a slip and slide of mud with wooden stairs as tripping hazards. fantastic. Then I find my brook has become a river.
I sit and think back to home, for some reason the show "Man vs Wild" comes into my head and I end up not only being an adventurer but I also video record my mockumentary with enough sarcasm to choke a horse with. I am muddy, wet, dissappointed, and yet I feel great and the world is okay with me once again =)
October 6
Wow today Geoff dropped a LOT of information off to me as he is getting ready for his Park Ranger job to kick up for the coming tourist season.
Park Ranger Manual
Piha Coastal Management Plan
Piha Reserve Management Plan
Waitakere City Parks and Reserves Law Manual
and also a notebook on all sorts of topics that have been addressed on the beach including the location of lifeguard station, dune restoration signage, rubbish bin locations, and lots of other details that I could easily have missed or not thought about them not being there and the reprocussions.
All of this information is pretty useful to me I believe but just having to wade through all of it is going to be a bear. I may need to refine my methods of how to depicts everything that is going on into something more cohesive
Park Ranger Manual
Piha Coastal Management Plan
Piha Reserve Management Plan
Waitakere City Parks and Reserves Law Manual
and also a notebook on all sorts of topics that have been addressed on the beach including the location of lifeguard station, dune restoration signage, rubbish bin locations, and lots of other details that I could easily have missed or not thought about them not being there and the reprocussions.
All of this information is pretty useful to me I believe but just having to wade through all of it is going to be a bear. I may need to refine my methods of how to depicts everything that is going on into something more cohesive
October 5
Today I went surfing with Thomas and got to know him a bit better. The thing that really stuck in my mind from everything we talked about was people asking him:
"How are you doing?"
How are you doing... To me the proper response to it is... good how are you?
How are you doing for Thomas means, I havent seen you in a long time and would truely like to catch up on all of the details that I missed in my absence... the proper response to Thomas is a very very lengthy conversation about all of your doings in the past year....
Very strange. I never really thought about it before but the way I see the statement is thats just what you say in response, there is no ryhme or reason to it you just say it. Almost like when someone sneezes you say "Bless you" Your not actually blessing anyone nor do most people mean that, its just the proper response to another action. Thomas says, to him saying how are you doing is only when you really CARE how the person is doing and usually it is meant for someone you have not seen in a very long time. So when he meets people for the first time and they go "Hello thomas, how are you doing?" or when he was doing work in the US and people casually walk by going "how ya doing?" It just confused and bothered him as to others it was a waste of a sentence or a completly irrelavent question.
This way one of those things that really got me thinking about how others percieve me and what "normals" do not carry over to other cultures. Have I been doing anything embarrassing like that with people? Should I not approach people so easily or is there some kind of social boundary? What are the social barriers... am I breaking them? Man I feel like I have the ugly American mentality now....
"How are you doing?"
How are you doing... To me the proper response to it is... good how are you?
How are you doing for Thomas means, I havent seen you in a long time and would truely like to catch up on all of the details that I missed in my absence... the proper response to Thomas is a very very lengthy conversation about all of your doings in the past year....
Very strange. I never really thought about it before but the way I see the statement is thats just what you say in response, there is no ryhme or reason to it you just say it. Almost like when someone sneezes you say "Bless you" Your not actually blessing anyone nor do most people mean that, its just the proper response to another action. Thomas says, to him saying how are you doing is only when you really CARE how the person is doing and usually it is meant for someone you have not seen in a very long time. So when he meets people for the first time and they go "Hello thomas, how are you doing?" or when he was doing work in the US and people casually walk by going "how ya doing?" It just confused and bothered him as to others it was a waste of a sentence or a completly irrelavent question.
This way one of those things that really got me thinking about how others percieve me and what "normals" do not carry over to other cultures. Have I been doing anything embarrassing like that with people? Should I not approach people so easily or is there some kind of social boundary? What are the social barriers... am I breaking them? Man I feel like I have the ugly American mentality now....
October 4
Another unsuccessful day with rain, wind, and no power. At least the water collecters are full now! Me, Geoff (kiwi), Thomas (Czech), Piere (French), and Carl (Ireland) are all in the dark around the camp fire... It was just so strange to have so many different people all with different accents speaking the same language and talking about their countries and traveling and such. We all noted how dependent everyone is on electricity and lights. Just trying to operate on natural lighting was difficult as we are all used to eating dinner at 8-9 at night... we couldnt even see what we were eating at that time none the less cook something! It was pretty funny though. I usually microwave dinner so I was out of luck for food. The other guys were planning on making pasta, however without power the water was not pumped so they were done too.
So we were all depressed about no food and discussed again how fortunate we are and we take things for granted, imagining how it would be if we had to survive without modern technology.... and then the POWER CAME BACK ON!!! Geoff immediatly says "YES i was worried i was going to miss my show! Glad I dont have to talk to you guys anymore!" and he runs out the door. Thomas runs to the faucet and gets water into his pot for pasta. I remove myself since I can now nuke my dinner of canned beans.
It was so easy to forget what we were all talking about as the bright lights of electricity and television are captivating
So we were all depressed about no food and discussed again how fortunate we are and we take things for granted, imagining how it would be if we had to survive without modern technology.... and then the POWER CAME BACK ON!!! Geoff immediatly says "YES i was worried i was going to miss my show! Glad I dont have to talk to you guys anymore!" and he runs out the door. Thomas runs to the faucet and gets water into his pot for pasta. I remove myself since I can now nuke my dinner of canned beans.
It was so easy to forget what we were all talking about as the bright lights of electricity and television are captivating
October 3
Today was windy... and when I say windy I mean "hey where did the roof go?" windy. A huge huge storm came through. I never knew what people meant when they said the rain was blowing sideways until today. I would imagine this is what a hurricane feels like. Trees lost branchs things got uprooted, dunes moved, tides and waves become dangerous, and the house was shakeing in its foundation. The power got knocked out, scary to think that one of the concrete powerlines fell over.
Being next to the ocean you really are at the mercy of it, and you really see how powerful nature really is. Especially here you can see how fast weather can change and how the advice of wearing layers should be taken seriously.
But today learned how nice it is to have solar lighting and run almost entirely off the "grid"
Being next to the ocean you really are at the mercy of it, and you really see how powerful nature really is. Especially here you can see how fast weather can change and how the advice of wearing layers should be taken seriously.
But today learned how nice it is to have solar lighting and run almost entirely off the "grid"
October 2
Today was really interesting, Geoff and Thomas went on a surfing trip out to Ships Wreck Bay. I was in charge of a full house of guests at an ecolodge! Very strange guests at that... they asked me to make a list for them to do a scavenger hunt? Weird. But anyways I got to explain about some of the things I knew about the volcanic valley as well as the sustainable construction put into the beachstay.
October 1
Today was okay weather so I ventured out to the Piha Store to get the community news paper. A really interesting article in there is a debate about the Piha post office. The lease for the building is currently up. So the post office needs to be relocated but they do not know where yet. The post office wants to move across the street and move in with the Piha library. HOWEVER, the library does not want the post office to be included in with them. So the big dilemma is to figure out where else the post office can go without interrupting the daily workings of whom ever they move with. It should be an interesting debacle is neat to be right in the middle of it. It will be interesting to see what happens.
September 30
Feeling a little bit better today comparatively. Trying to rest today. On a side note ducks have become a problem at the guest house. They are landing on the deck and walking into the house. Geoff is thinking he may need to shoot some as they are getting too bold and are even tapping on the glass and begging when they see people. Who would have thought ducks as a pest species?
September 29
Trip back to Piha... taking trips, walking in the rain, not getting enough sleep, and not eating well.... ughh awful combination
September 28
Today I bought some supplies around the city for the project.... the art store was closed so I had to be a little more creative in finding places to go. Ended up going to a Borders type place called Whitcoulls. Bought wrapping paper with the colors of the Pui shell, thinking that I may use a router and cut the north and south island out of the cover on my sketchbook and then place this behind it. May be neat.... may look awful. Oh well have to do something to make it look better then just nothing. Wish I was able to scrapbook like my mom, would be really neat to have something like that for a presentation and memories as well.
Decided that since I'm in the city anyways I would go up the Skytower. It was a really nice blue sky day so it was ideal conditions at least. Had to goto the basement and then hopped into the elevator. Had flash backs to going up the World Trade Center elevators a year before Sept 11... gives me the chills. But anyways wasnt really overly excited as WTC was quite similar... other then the glass floor panels. Was funny to watch everyone walk around the panels instead of on them. Got to see the Waitakere Ranges from afar as well. Pretty neat to see how close they really are to such a major city. Anyways dropping off the Skytower... not really worth the money unfortunately. Oh well I can at least say I did it
Decided that since I'm in the city anyways I would go up the Skytower. It was a really nice blue sky day so it was ideal conditions at least. Had to goto the basement and then hopped into the elevator. Had flash backs to going up the World Trade Center elevators a year before Sept 11... gives me the chills. But anyways wasnt really overly excited as WTC was quite similar... other then the glass floor panels. Was funny to watch everyone walk around the panels instead of on them. Got to see the Waitakere Ranges from afar as well. Pretty neat to see how close they really are to such a major city. Anyways dropping off the Skytower... not really worth the money unfortunately. Oh well I can at least say I did it
September 27
So we get back on the road and head off to Rotorua once again, this time we are going to Whakawerawera. Compared to the other geothermal area this one is mostly about the Maori culture that surrounds it and still lives in it. Upon arriving the stench of sulphur comes back, boy I did not miss that. Anyways the geothermal park was not nearly as colorful or interesting as Waiti-pu but the culture was quite amazing. We started with a Maori ritual dance, it was quite intense and wish that there was a way to truely capture the experience as it is beautiful yet intense at the same time. One of the best parts was going on a guided tour with one of the villagers who lives in the geothermally active park. We learned all about how they use the heat for taking baths in mineral water, washing clothes, and even cooking. They prepared a meal for us made entirely in a boiling hot geothermal pool. Ham and chicken, with corn, carrots, potato, and kumara (sweet potato) it was a very comfort food type dinner as well as packed with minerals from the pool. It was pretty neat, however right across the geyser was a very commercial upscale park. The Maori dont have the funds to be able to compete with a multimillion dollar park so it seems they need to compete on the cultural portion of the market. This seems to be a odd connection to my project really.
A community who protect the landscape funded only by tourists who come for the cultural and natural experiences... and on the opposite end of the spectrum a very much commercialized tourist run industry taking advantage of natural attractions for profit...
Seems pretty darn close to an ecotourism vs tourism relationship.
A community who protect the landscape funded only by tourists who come for the cultural and natural experiences... and on the opposite end of the spectrum a very much commercialized tourist run industry taking advantage of natural attractions for profit...
Seems pretty darn close to an ecotourism vs tourism relationship.
September 26
So today is looking nice so we decide one more trail and then down to the beach. So we go for Kitekite Falls today. The girls really enjoyed this walk as it was much easier then the two yesterday. The falls were quite nice and the weather was very nice as well. Perfect time. We went down to the beach sun tanned, looked for shells for their apartment, and just relaxed. I elected to drive back to Auckland as I really really enjoyed driving. The one thing I really must note is that the road signs here really REALLY suck. I mean sure every now and then I can see an un-named road or a sign not being there, but here it seems to be the majority of street signage is just missing. It does make getting lost fairly easy. Plus when you add on top of this that roads simply change names or have unbelievably similar names to other roads.
Great North Road is the worst offender and I hate it. Get off the highway and its Great North Road, you can take it north or south. Going south it magically turns into NEW Great North Road, Rata Street, and then Swanson Road.... of course this is all in the town/suburb of New Lynn, Great Lynn, South and West Lynn So you could be going south on New Great North Road in West Lynn... OR you could be going north on Great North Road in New Lynn..... most confusing and stupid road... EVER. I miss the D.O.T. back home =(
Great North Road is the worst offender and I hate it. Get off the highway and its Great North Road, you can take it north or south. Going south it magically turns into NEW Great North Road, Rata Street, and then Swanson Road.... of course this is all in the town/suburb of New Lynn, Great Lynn, South and West Lynn So you could be going south on New Great North Road in West Lynn... OR you could be going north on Great North Road in New Lynn..... most confusing and stupid road... EVER. I miss the D.O.T. back home =(
September 25
So I wake up from my rage induced coma in the car driving to Piha with Amber and Karlie. We get to the windy parts of the road and offer to drive as I know the roads a little bit. So I hop into the car and not mention to them its my first time driving. what fun! Suprisingly it was extremely comfortable not to scary and was actually enjoyable. I love driving to begin with and I am just having a ball. The ultra windy roads to Piha were such fun.... However, I hear it the whole time there that both of them get motion sick in cars especially around windy roads... oh well... I enjoy myself anyways. Get into Piha finally and give them the overall tour. They both need to get black sand and shells... ugh girls. We go up Maungaroa and we check out the gap. They both loved it.
For some strange reason however there were a TON of dead things that floated out onto the beach that day... about 2 dozen dead birds, a seal, tons of crabs, and even a penguin.... maybe its a sign about American girls... dun dun dunnn
Anyways at the gap its the first time I have seen a starfish... it was washed onto the beach so we tossed it back into the water. It was still squishy so I assume it was still alive. Anything I can do to help conserve I suppose... its neat how my project is starting to have such an affect on me.
For some strange reason however there were a TON of dead things that floated out onto the beach that day... about 2 dozen dead birds, a seal, tons of crabs, and even a penguin.... maybe its a sign about American girls... dun dun dunnn
Anyways at the gap its the first time I have seen a starfish... it was washed onto the beach so we tossed it back into the water. It was still squishy so I assume it was still alive. Anything I can do to help conserve I suppose... its neat how my project is starting to have such an affect on me.
September 24
So today is the visit to Unitec and meet Rod Barnett the in country contact. So far he hasnt been that great of help but maybe I am just asking the wrong questions. So up to Glen Eden and onto the train. The train ride was a little different. And not just because I am going the opposite direction but because i sat next to a couple of hoodlum looking guys which made me pretty uncomfortable. They finally get off at their stop and I breath a sigh of relief. The train then stops in between two stations. Over the loud speaker he says we have to wait for another train......
I didnt notice it until today that the public transportation system is in fact awful. Before I didnt think much of it but when you have to plan over an hour to get from a suburb into the center city via the primary and only railway system.... wow just wow... would like to shake the hand of whoeever came up with that idea.
Regardless I am back to feeling safe and the train continues on. A new passenger hops on.. I give an awkward death stare at him to not sit near me or my bags. The ticket guy comes over and asks for this new guy to pay... I listen in as he is talking and he has the strangest accent... or lack thereof.... this guy is not from here. I creepily tell him he has no accent and is not from here so fess up where are you from. California. I knew it! ha! I could hear it from a mile away just how he talked and conducted himself on the train..... makes me wonder how easily I am to pick out in a crowd of kiwis. yeesh. Anyways got his info and stuff seems like a nice guy, always nice to meet a fellow American
So onto the rest of the long day.
I meet Karlie and Amber and went walking down to get the rental car and me to go shopping for food. I stop at the ATM to withdraw money.... the only thing that happens is my card gets sucked in and my account gets frozen... what the #*%&$@! So the week is going to be played out this way... fantastic
So with what I have go for staple foods, bread, canned beans, and the like. We also buy Katy a really nice cake for her birthday. We meet up with Katy have some cake and head off to Unitec.
Unitec seemed like an interesting campus, the setup and building style looked very odd to all of us and later we found that it was because it used to be an insane assyllum.... HA makes Marshall look like a holiday retreat... eww I said holiday instead of vacation... kiwis wearing off on me... must get clean!...... But anyways the building was weird, the faculty was weirder. The front desk had no idea who or where the landscape architects were, the younger students had no clue who Rod Barnett even was! Felt like the building was having negative effects on everyones mental wellness. We found the room, found the critique. The students had one project for the semester. I thought there would be a lot more work then what was presented, or at least a little more thourough. I felt like they havent presented much as they kind of fell over themselves while talking and when asked questions or given any other opinion they collapsed... i mean if they have the choice of what they want to do a project on have some gusto with the presentation. Have some confidence that what you designed is the best, your trying to sell your idea and show that what you designed is flawless. Even if it is not the case which it almost certainly will always be. Regardless, these students had no confidence or interest in their own designs, maybe it was how we were taught in ESF or maybe it is how I was brought up with my dad being an IBM salesmen, or maybe it was being in QPK, but if i was to lay down and give up so easily on my own product, my own design and not even put up a fight for it... WOW! I mean really, no wonder architects have such an ego and control projects like they do.
Rod gave us a tour and I even asked him... How do these kids get along with the architects and designers as they are all in the same building. He said fairly well, they learn the lingo of one another and communicate well between each other. I asked about the landscape architects taking the second chair to the architect and are there any conflicts between them in the real world market here. He said they are expected to fall behind the architect as that is whats is important in the landscape...... WHAT?!?!?!?! At this point I had a brain aneurysm and my ears started to bleed... no wonder kiwis are endangered
Sarcasm *off*
I didnt notice it until today that the public transportation system is in fact awful. Before I didnt think much of it but when you have to plan over an hour to get from a suburb into the center city via the primary and only railway system.... wow just wow... would like to shake the hand of whoeever came up with that idea.
Regardless I am back to feeling safe and the train continues on. A new passenger hops on.. I give an awkward death stare at him to not sit near me or my bags. The ticket guy comes over and asks for this new guy to pay... I listen in as he is talking and he has the strangest accent... or lack thereof.... this guy is not from here. I creepily tell him he has no accent and is not from here so fess up where are you from. California. I knew it! ha! I could hear it from a mile away just how he talked and conducted himself on the train..... makes me wonder how easily I am to pick out in a crowd of kiwis. yeesh. Anyways got his info and stuff seems like a nice guy, always nice to meet a fellow American
So onto the rest of the long day.
I meet Karlie and Amber and went walking down to get the rental car and me to go shopping for food. I stop at the ATM to withdraw money.... the only thing that happens is my card gets sucked in and my account gets frozen... what the #*%&$@! So the week is going to be played out this way... fantastic
So with what I have go for staple foods, bread, canned beans, and the like. We also buy Katy a really nice cake for her birthday. We meet up with Katy have some cake and head off to Unitec.
Unitec seemed like an interesting campus, the setup and building style looked very odd to all of us and later we found that it was because it used to be an insane assyllum.... HA makes Marshall look like a holiday retreat... eww I said holiday instead of vacation... kiwis wearing off on me... must get clean!...... But anyways the building was weird, the faculty was weirder. The front desk had no idea who or where the landscape architects were, the younger students had no clue who Rod Barnett even was! Felt like the building was having negative effects on everyones mental wellness. We found the room, found the critique. The students had one project for the semester. I thought there would be a lot more work then what was presented, or at least a little more thourough. I felt like they havent presented much as they kind of fell over themselves while talking and when asked questions or given any other opinion they collapsed... i mean if they have the choice of what they want to do a project on have some gusto with the presentation. Have some confidence that what you designed is the best, your trying to sell your idea and show that what you designed is flawless. Even if it is not the case which it almost certainly will always be. Regardless, these students had no confidence or interest in their own designs, maybe it was how we were taught in ESF or maybe it is how I was brought up with my dad being an IBM salesmen, or maybe it was being in QPK, but if i was to lay down and give up so easily on my own product, my own design and not even put up a fight for it... WOW! I mean really, no wonder architects have such an ego and control projects like they do.
Rod gave us a tour and I even asked him... How do these kids get along with the architects and designers as they are all in the same building. He said fairly well, they learn the lingo of one another and communicate well between each other. I asked about the landscape architects taking the second chair to the architect and are there any conflicts between them in the real world market here. He said they are expected to fall behind the architect as that is whats is important in the landscape...... WHAT?!?!?!?! At this point I had a brain aneurysm and my ears started to bleed... no wonder kiwis are endangered
Sarcasm *off*
September 23
Today was about getting some work done for the planned days ahead. Tomorrow is MY first meeting with Rod Barnett and also first visit to Unitec. As well as Katys birthday. I plan on getting food and driving back with Karlie and Amber to Piha
September 22
Today I felt like I needed to help out Piha in some aspect and get myself involved into the community and conservation aspect as well. So today with some community members and Thomas we helped spray an invasive plant along the roads.
Tradescantia fluminensis "Wandering jew or Wandering willy"
Its a very fast growing succulent groundcover. Extremely difficult to get rid of as it spreads by vegetative means, any fragment of it and it begins to grow again. It grows particularly well along roadsides as this is where the mowers come and shorten the growth not realizing it is spreading Wandering willy like wildfire.
There is no really good way to control its growth or its spread, however you can destroy it and give other plants a chance to grow and at least establish and compete with it. Luckily here in Piha the Council gives native plants to locals for free so the idea is, use a Roundup type chemical to kill the Wandering willy and then replant the area with native plants.
All in all I think its a better idea then doing nothing but I suppose we will see the effect it has in time. The areas that were treated the year before seem to be doing pretty well so maybe it is a viable way of invasive species control?
Tradescantia fluminensis "Wandering jew or Wandering willy"
Its a very fast growing succulent groundcover. Extremely difficult to get rid of as it spreads by vegetative means, any fragment of it and it begins to grow again. It grows particularly well along roadsides as this is where the mowers come and shorten the growth not realizing it is spreading Wandering willy like wildfire.
There is no really good way to control its growth or its spread, however you can destroy it and give other plants a chance to grow and at least establish and compete with it. Luckily here in Piha the Council gives native plants to locals for free so the idea is, use a Roundup type chemical to kill the Wandering willy and then replant the area with native plants.
All in all I think its a better idea then doing nothing but I suppose we will see the effect it has in time. The areas that were treated the year before seem to be doing pretty well so maybe it is a viable way of invasive species control?
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