Jaz: My Kiwi Dollar

Sometime after highschool (2007) I acquired one kiwi dollar which I've held onto all this time hoping that I would be able to spend it while visiting New Zealand. Any thoughts on what I should spend my dollar on when I get there?

Jaz: The How and Why of Hiking

Like all things it started out as just an idea and it then turned into something more. I was originally supposed to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) with my parents. We had been planning to do this since 2008 but because of many setbacks were not able to reach our goal of getting to be "hiker trash" for 6 months on the PCT. 2014 was finally going to be the year that we were going to all be able to hike together. But unfortunately we missed our window for hiking the PCT due to weather and other reasons that were out of our control .

At this point I had put school on hold and been working a full time job all year to save up for a long hike.  My parents weren't able to go this year so  I thought "well I can go to New Zealand and check that off my bucket list".

A new trail opened up in 2011 called Te Araroa, which is an 1800 mile trail that covers both North and South islands. It's the ultimate adventure. A new trail that hardly anyone has heard of, and that so few actually get to thru hike. The terrain widely varies from tropical beach to snow covered mountain. It makes packing for the trip somewhat of a challenge since you have to pack for all weather types. Not only will we be hiking or "tramping" as the Kiwis call it; we will also be canoeing and cycling for part of the trip.  Luckily I will not be alone, as my boyfriend Cody will be joining me. Thankfully I found someone just as crazy to share this experience with.

As to the "How" portion of hiking this trip I have my parents to thank for that. They have been invaluable in supporting me while I've been planning this trip. They contributed free lodging, gear, and a wealth of knowledge about hiking long distance. Their guidance has given me the confidence I need to be able to go out and hike a long trail for the first time.

So thank you Mom and Dad for your continued love and support I appreciate everything you've done and continue to do for me. You both know that I will be thinking of you every day on the trail. Don't worry :) you have prepared me well for my big adventure.

I will be posting updates to this blog from my phone so bear with me if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes as I'm working with a teeny tiny screen and voice to text that likes to add its own 2 cents in whenever it feels like.

Cody:Thank you to G Ma

For almost a year I've been living at my grandmother's house to save money for a long hike and also to avoid being chained to a lease/mortgage when it's time to leave. I'd sure hate to pay for an empty house or apartment while I'm gone or break a lease early. Anyway, my grandma was very kind to let me stay with her free of charge and even cooked for me from time to time! To say thank you we decided to take her to Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch so she could see some exotic animals. They have giraffes, zebras, longhorns (not so exotic here), watusi, deer, antelope, emus, ostrich, rams, goats, monkeys, and even some lemurs on a little island. She had a great time and we we're glad to do something fun with her before we leave. If you ever visit the Wildlife Ranch be sure to roll up your windows around the ostriches, they're aggressive and will steal your food!



Fun at the wildlife Ranch


Two funny animals at the Wildlife Ranch

Here's a compressed view of the tracking map

If your'e wondering how far along the trail we are, this map will show you our progress. You can get to the map quickly by using the link on the right.

Feed a Weta Mission

FeedaWeta is an international hunger relief agency that has been fulfilling its commitment to end hunger for more than 10 months. Since last year, the organization has coordinated the distribution of food and other lifesaving aid to Weta and Weta families in areas all over New Zealand.

FeedaWeta created its meal packaging and delivery program, in 2013. The program perfected the assembly process that combines cheetos, gummy bears, macaroni and a flavoring mix including 21 essential vitamins and artificial dyes into small meal packets. Each meal costs only 2 cents. The food stores easily, has a shelf-life of three hundred years and transports quickly in backpacks. FeedaWeta works with zero international partners, and must hike to deliver the meals in-country.

The packaging operation is mobile enough to go wherever Weta are located, and can be adapted to accommodate as few as 1 and as many as 3 Weta meals at a time. One FAW packing event can result in the delivery of more than 17 meals. The use of no volunteers for product packaging has resulted in an extremely cost-prohibitive operation while, at the same time, increasing awareness of Weta hunger and food insecurity.

*The information in this post is an artistic work of fiction

Where are the Weta?

What is a Weta?

Weta (plural weta) is the common name for a group of about 70 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to New Zealand. The word is from the Māori language, where singular and plural have the same form.

Many weta are large by insect standards and some species are among the largest and heaviest in the world. Their physical appearance is like a katydid, long-horned grasshopper, or cricket, but the hind legs are enlarged and usually very spiny. Many are wingless. Because they can cope with variations in temperature, weta are found in a variety of environments, including alpine, forests, grasslands, caves, shrub lands and urban gardens. They are nocturnal, and all New Zealand species are flightless. Different species have different diets. Most weta are predators or omnivores preying on other invertebrates, but the tree and giant weta eat mostly lichens, leaves, flowers, seed-heads and fruit.

Although the weta had native predators in the form of birds (especially the weka and kiwi), reptiles, and bats before the arrival of humans, introduced species such as cats, hedgehogs, rats (including kiore) and mustelids have caused a sharp increase in the rate of predation. They are also vulnerable to habitat destruction caused by humans and modification of their habitat caused by introduced browsers. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation considers 16 of the 70 species at risk. Programmes to prevent extinctions have been implemented since the 1970s.

Some examples of especially endangered species are even tracked by radio beacons.