Weekend Trip to the Bay of Islands

I just got back to Auckland from a wonderful 3 day trip to the Bay of Islands, which is in the northern tip of the North Island. It was an organized trip for the whole group that is part of our New Zealand group class. The trip was planned by an organization called GOOT, that stands for Get Out Of Town. It's a web-based company that gives ideas and advice for traveling around New Zealand. Anyway, we left Auckland on Friday morning and began the drive north. Our first stop was the Waipoua Kauri Forest to see Tane Mahuta, the largest and possibly oldest Kauri tree in New Zealand. This particular Kauri tree is about 2,000 years old and rivals the California Sequoia trees in size. Kauri trees are known for their gigantic size and strength, as they were used for building boats and houses throughout the centuries.


From there we drove to Opononi, a very small town on the west coast that has excellent sand dunes. We all boarded a small boat and were driven to the other side of the bay to go boogie boarding down the sand dunes! The sand dune was really tall and led out onto the ocean, so you could boogie board down the sand dune and glide into the water. It was a beautiful day and everyone had so much fun! Here's a photo of the beach where we sandboarded.




Our Sandboarding Video Made by Patrick, a friend on the program. You can find me at 1:09.

After sandboarding we drove the rest of the pay to Paihia, a town in the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands is an area that has tons of bays and islands everywhere. It was also one of the main ports and whaling areas in the 1800s, so it was one of the first developed areas in New Zealand. The picture was taken when I was on the ferry in the Bay of Islands. On Friday night we had a huge barbecue at our hostel!


On Saturday we spent the morning in a town called Russell, which was across the bay. Afterwards, we had the whole rest of the day to do any activities we wanted, and there were so many options! Some people went skydiving, deep sea fishing, or dolphin watching, but I went parasailing with some of the girls in the group. I had never been before and it was so great! The company is known for having New Zealand's highest parasail at nearly 1,200 feet! It was absolutely gorgeous to see the Bay of Islands from that high in the air. I've never seen anything like it! We were in the air for about 20 minutes and I loved every second.



The rest of the day was spent relaxing and bike riding along the coast. On Saturday night everyone watched the New Zealand All Blacks rugby game against Australia. The All Blacks are like heroes in New Zealand, everyone loves them! Before the game starts, the All Blacks do the traditional Maori haka, or traditional war dance. After learning so much about the Maori it was so cool to see them do the haka on TV. Here's a a youtube video of the haka. On Sunday we went to the Waitangi Treaty grounds to learn about the Treaty of Waitangi that was signed in 1840 between the Maori and Europeans. It was an interesting tour. After all that, we headed back to Auckland for another week of classes and internships. I hope everyone is doing well!

Love, Dafna

Waitomo, Waitakere Ranges, Bethells Beach

This weekend was so great! It was the first weekend that everyone in the group left Auckland to explore other parts of New Zealand. I was so surprised at how beautiful the countryside is and the surrounding areas. Everywhere we went was more beautiful than the place before. I can tell this semester is going to be so amazing! We started our adventures on Saturday morning when a group of 10 of us ventured to Waitomo, a small town 3 hours south of Auckland. Waitomo is famous for its Glow worm caves. At Waitomo we went Black water rafting! Black water rafting is basically rafting in inner tubes along a river that is within a cave. It was pitch black inside the cave so we wore helmets equipped with headlamps to see our way around. We also wore full wetsuits to protect ourselves against the freezing temperatures. We got to float down the river and look up at all the glow worms on the cave's ceiling. At times, there were small waterfalls so we had to jump with our inner tubes down the waterfalls. It was so much fun! On the way back to Auckland, we stopped at Marakopa Falls, a giant beautiful waterfall.




On Sunday the entire group had an orientation bus trip around Auckland. Our first stop was Mission Bay Beach, the best beach near Auckland. It is only a short bus ride away so it would be nice to go there for an afternoon. Afterwards we drove to the top of Mt. Eden, which is the tallest volcano in Auckland. We had a panoramic 360 of Auckland and the surrounding suburbs. It was a beautiful view.


Our next stop was the Waitakere Ranges, a regional park west of the city. It is very mountainous and full of lush rainforest. We did a short hike through the forest and the guide taught us about common trees and plants. It was so green, even though its the middle of winter! Then we drove to Lake Wainamo, which is surrounded by giant black sand dunes. Everyone had a chance to jump down the massive sand dunes, then we walked back to the bus through a stream in the valley.



After that, we drove to Bethells Beach, which is on the west coast of the North Island. When we arrived it was raining pretty heavily, but once we got down to the beach the rain cleared and the it became the most beautiful beach I have ever been to. We stayed and walked around the beach for about an hour, but I could have stayed all day. The pictures basically speak for themselves. So overall, it was a wonderful weekend and I am ready for many more.


On Monday, I had the first day of my internship at the Oranga School. It was so much fun! There are 6 kids in my class, ages 8-11, with 1 main teacher and 3 other teacher aides. Already on the first day I was given things to do and I think my presence is greatly appreciated. They always need an extra hand. Everyone was really nice and the kids are great, so I think this will be a great experience. So I hope everyone is doing well and I hope to hear from you soon!

Love, Dafna

So the internship begins...

Yesterday I had my interview with my internship placement, the Carlson School for Cerebral Palsy, which is located in the southern part of Auckland. I met with the deputy principal of the school, and we talked about what I wanted to get out of the internship and what the school could offer me. I was offered a position at their satellite location, Oranga Primary School, as an additional teacher aide in one of their classes. I will be helping the teacher and other teacher aides, as well as the occupational and physical therapists on site. I am very excited about the internship and I think it will be a great experience. I start working on Monday and will work about 18 hours per week throughout the semester. I am able to create my own schedule based on my classes and other commitments. But overall, I think it will be a fun internship and I'm sure I will learn a lot.

Also yesterday my roommate Tara and I walked throughout Albert Park, which is near the university. It was a beautiful day (no rain!) so we took advantage and walked around a good part of the city. The pictures here are all of various parts of Albert Park and the city.



We stopped by the Civic Theater on Queen Street and bought tickets for a movie called "Last Paradise" that is part of the New Zealand International Film Festival. The film is an eco-adventure film about the evolution of extreme sports in New Zealand. I think it will be a good one!



The other night some of the guys in the group organized a big potluck dinner for everyone. It took place in the communal kitchen on the first floor of UniLodge and it was such a success! We had such a great time eating and drinking and getting to know each other better.



I have a bunch of fun things planned for the weekend that I will tell everyone about on Monday. Have a good weekend!

Love, Dafna

My First Week in New Zealand

This week has been a whirlwind of meeting and getting to know the people in my program, getting over the jet lag, and finding our way around the university. But it's been a wonderful week! The girls in my apartment, Chelsea, Ali and Tara, are really great. As an apartment we went shopping for kitchen supplies as well as groceries, so we have already started cooking this past week. The grocery store, called Countdown, has almost everything we would ever need, and some unique items only from NZ. We also live nearby an Asian supermarket where we buy cheaper produce and other random ingredients.

Besides that, we started our classes this past week. The group class, which is History, Society and Politics of New Zealand, is a class specially designed for the program with various lecturers from the nearby universities that specialize in various topics. So far, the class is incredibly informative and I've learned so much in only 2 days about New Zealand. We have this class 4 nights a week for a month, as sort of an introductory class to the country. We also have 2 field trips throughout the semester. As for my other classes, I had my first lecture of Gastronomy yesterday. It seems like it will be a great class! My professor, Ray Mcvinnie, is a well-known New Zealand chef, as well as a culinary writer and judge for the NZ Master Chef TV show. So I'm sure I will learn a lot from him. Topics for the class include evolution of cuisine, foods that changed the world, the role of restaurants, gastronomic tourism, gastronomy in the media and globalization of cuisine. I can't wait! Also, this afternoon I had my first class of Intro to Maori Society. The class is not held in a classroom, but instead in a marae, or a traditional Maori meetinghouse. The class is mostly Maori students who are earning their degrees in Maori Development so it was really cool to meet and talk with some of them. Today we learned about the Maori story of creation and the basis of their religion. It was so interesting!

Yesterday I had a chance to walk around campus and learn my way around the buildings. AUT is a fairly small campus compared to BU, but now I finally know where I'm going. I also spent some time exploring the city. Auckland is a strangely hilly city. I was definitely not expecting that. All of the sudden, streets will rise almost vertically, and walking around can be pretty strenuous. So I've been getting used to that, as Boston is pretty flat. Here's a photo of a small park I ran into.




The second two photos are from Queen Street, a main area of the city. You can see the IMAX theater in both as well as the Sky Tower. Another thing, this week is free gym week at the AUT fitness center, so I went this morning (at 7am!) to a kickboxing class with Laura, one of the girls from the program also studying at AUT. It was a great class and a good way to meet some local Kiwi's! I'll update more very soon and I hope to hear from everyone!

Love, Dafna

Welcome to Auckland!

I finally have a chance to update the blog, with the little internet that I currently have! It's Sunday morning right now and I have been in Auckland since I arrived on Thursday. It has been quite a whirlwind since I got here since I have been busy trying to get to know my new city, as well as trying to organize my room and outfit the apartment, while dealing with the jet lag. The flights over here were extremely long. I took two 12 hour flights with a layover in Bangkok. Luckily, I was able to squeeze in a pad thai dinner in the Bangkok airport! Once I arrived in Auckland and passed through the very strict customs, I made it to the UniLodge, where I am staying.

I spent most of my first and second days buying certain necessities like bedding and toiletries, along with getting a NZ cell phone. My cell phone number is 022-670-2158. I also had time to walk around the main streets of the city, including Queen Street, to get a feel for the city. I really like the city so far. There is a lot of Asian influence, with many ethnic restaurants on every corner. It also took some getting used to seeing the cars drive on the over side of the road! Auckland is so beautiful because it is mostly surrounded by water, as it is a big port city, and there are volcanic islands all around, that I can even see from my bedroom window. I can't wait to begin exploring!

The group finally arrived yesterday and it was so great to finally meet everyone that I'll be with for the next 4 months. The people seem really nice! We are a group of about 27 people. Most of the kids are from BU, with a few others from random colleges like UNC, UT, or Vassar. I have 3 other roommates, and I think we'll get along great! Yesterday was mostly orientation sessions about various aspects of the program. We also visited our universities to get our student ID's and our class schedules. I am officially registered for Introduction to Maori Society, Gastronomy, and History, Society, and Politics of New Zealand. I think they will be great classes! In addition to these 3 classes, I have an internship, but that doesn't start until August, so I will update more about that later.

We were treated to lunch at a tapas restaurant called Mezze that was just wonderful! It was a good chance to get to know some of the other kids in the program and eat some great Spanish food. We also went grocery shopping for the first time, so now I will be able to cook all kinds of creations for myself! Although it's winter here, it's nothing like the winter in Boston. It's usually around 50 degrees during the day, and 40 degrees at night, with plenty of sunshine during the day. And it's only going to get warmer from here on out.

Anyway, classes start tomorrow! So things are definitely moving around here. I am getting internet installed on Monday, so hopefully I will be able to skype with everyone after that. My mailing address is:

Dafna Goldwasser
UniLodge Auckland
Room 503
138 Anzac Avenue
Auckland 1010, New Zealand


The first picture is the sunrise over the port, that I could see from my window on my first morning in Auckland.




These three pictures are of the UniLodge. One is of the building from the outside, one is my bedroom, and one is of the living room in our apartment.

Love, Dafna

Pre-Trip Preparations

Welcome to my study abroad blog for my semester in New Zealand. I am so excited to begin this exciting journey, and very anxious for what's to come. So far, I've bought a New Zealand travel book, picked my classes to study at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), and received a student visa to enter New Zealand. Now, as I spend my last few days at home, I am busy packing and getting organized for the trip. It's pretty hard to pack lightly! Once I arrive in New Zealand I'll be staying at the Auckland UniLodge, an apartment building for college students that is conveniently located in the center of the city. Here's a map to see exactly where it is:


The UniLodge is located a few blocks away from the Auckland Harbor, the main areas of the city, and both Auckland University and AUT. I am very excited to meet my group and begin exploring Auckland, my new home for the next 4 months. Keep checking the blog for the next few months, I'll be updating often. My Skype screen name is dafna.goldwasser so look me up! And I'll see everyone soon!