New Zealand Program - From Queenstown

So we are now in Queenstown at the final station of our journey together before the group starts making their own way to their respective homes. It has been oh too easy to be swept up on this trip with each place offering new experiences and thus a severe neglect of blogging duties...sorry. Here's an attempt to capture the last 2 and a half weeks into a read worthy blog and before the money runs out on the internet! A challenge indeed. From our island of Urupukapuka we headed back to Auckland for a couple of nights to reaquaint with city life 'NZ' style. This included a trip to the Otara markets, the biggest Polynesian markets in the world, where we managed to bump into none other than the leader of New Zealand, the Prime Minister, Helen Clark. Jeremy even managed to squeeze into a photo with her, not hard when there were no bodyguards to ward off onlookers. Then we got into our week of outdoor adventuring. First stop was at the Waitomo caves. The guided trip through the cave including rappels, waterways, stalactites, and the climb up an arduous 6 waterfalls to finish will probably never be forgotten by the group. It was amazing to be in the caves and after a hard climb out, there was a huge amount of pride and well deserved sense of achievement that followed. Congratulations team! It's true shared experiences build relationships. We then travelled on to somewhere that offered a little more luxury and a little less effort - Castle Rock close to Wharepapa South. We took over the accommodation and the hot tub and very quickly it felt like our home. And just across the road were rocks waiting to be climbed. Two days of climbing, mountain biking, movie watching and general unwinding, not to forget a very memorable game of Cranium with a STARE PERFORMER! Once more it was time to drive on. En route to Taupo we stopped at a mainland island, Maungatautari. Set up mostly by the local community it is an area surrounded by a predator-proof fence in the aims of restoring the area to it's native, pest free environment. We spent a couple of hours experiencing the area before we ended up at the Kaituna River. This was where the group decided it was a good day to raft the highest graded waterfall, that is commercially rafted, in the world! A huge 7m (20 foot) drop was waiting around the corner as we dropped over rapids in quick sucession. You should ask the other participants how they enjoyed it and the surfing in the waves. And to end this big day we drove on to Taupo, stopping at Kerosine Creek to soak in the natural, free, springs. From Taupo we drove south to Wellington where we once again sampled NZ's city scene. Wellington is NZ's capital and houses the parliament buildings known as the beehive and Te Papa our incredible national museum. We meet political Pat and rambling Richard who took us through each place and shared their depth of knowledge and passion about their places of work. In cities in NZ there is also a fair amount of night life so some danced, some sang, some watched movies and the two tour guides combined all of the above and went to Mama Mia! The next day it was time to get up, check out of our great hostel and head on to the Kaitaki ferry. It took us over the Cook Strait to the Marlborough Sounds, beautiful even when it's raining. From there it was a couple of hours to drive to Nelson where we to spend the next week of conservation work. Roger the ranger and his colleague Ross spent the week taking us to different sites in the Nelson region where we greatly contributed to their efforts in restoring natural habitats by continually getting our hands really dirty! Every day we ended up in a reasonably different environment and planted trees. On the first day we were out by the coast and estuary of Motueka. We added to the efforts of previous groups and planted lots of natives. Then after lunch a bunch of us disappeared to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane. And really the plane was fine but I think the flight up was the most nerve racking part of the who sky dive expereince. Up we flew to 13000 feet before our tandem jump masters shuffled us to the doors, asked us to smile and then launched us out into thin air. Fifty seconds of free fall later the parachute pulls and we glide down swirling and turning safely back to earth. Amazing! We also worked at a very special place called Kokorua on the coast. Only accessible with permission this was the place we planted a rare type of grass on the dunes, hoping to restore it in it's natural habitat and help prevent dune erosion. It was a beautiful clear day and as we ate our lunch off the bbq fire and watched surfers playing the waves in the background the snow covered mountains finally showed through. The week in Nelson whipped past and included some great mountain / stream biking, squash games, card games, a fair bit of rain, meeting some of the friendly locals, movies in the hostel and a wonderful dinner at the home of Pacific Discovery with Rachel, Scott and Kahu. Kahu certainly warmed to the group and they to him. Finally it was time to head back into the van for the last road trip south to Queenstown. Along the way we stayed at Punakaiki, home to the pancake rocks, Franz Josef, home to a glacier and not far from the home of the NZ's rare and beautiful white herons and we stopped in at Wanaka, a small town by a lake surrounded by mountains. Queenstown too is a small town by a lake surrounded by mountains but is the most international of towns in NZ. It's hard to find any kiwis that live here but lots of people drawn to the place from all over the world by it's snow and adventure activities. And it has been participating in those things that has occupied the group for their remaining days in NZ. A beautiful day on the Remarkables and a chilly jump off the legendary Kawarau bridge birthplace of the bungee jump. Tomorrow most of the group will fly home taking themselves a few added extras in their luggage and their memories of a FABULOUS four weeks in NZ seeing almost all of what we have to offer and getting many inside glimpses of life in NZ that most tourists would never get a chance to take part in. Thanks for a great trip guys we hope to see you back here and maybe you'll convince me that jumping off a bridge with a rubber band velcroed around my feet is something I actually really do want to try! Or maybe I'll just have a Speights with you and muster some sheep. Jenny Jordan Program Leader

Peru Program - The Horn

Before arriving to Peru I took the road laws for granted. Actually, I never had to consider why anyone would be in any lane but the right. But surprises are the beauty of traveling, and the first taxi experience in Lima will totally change your perspective on driving. On every street the taxi drivers appear to be jockeying for space, coming within inches of eachother every other second. And how do these drivers magically move around without too big of a pile up? Well, instead of adhering to the principle of staying in one´s lane, the drivers of Peru have the principle of The Horn. The Horn is of course the car horn, and when driving in Peru the horn is the right-of-way for drivers.

Here is an example...
After hailing a taxi for a meager three soles you and your group of friends all pile into the car. Without much thought one or two of you will buckle the seatbelt upon entering, and the taxi driver takes off with a beep of his horn as he enters the flowing street. As you cruise through Lima the taxi begins to weave his way through the condensing traffic with the magical beep of his horn. After a few blocks the driver takes a right turn at the exact time another car, opposite the street, takes a left turn, but with the magical beep of his horn he is able to execute the right turn first. After that maneuver you are asking yourself, "how did that work?", and at the same time you are clicking your seatbelt into place. Now with everyone buckled up the taxi ride feels a bit more comfortable, and you understand the idea of the horn. However, the taxi driver is now headed straight into the what I call The Circle, which is a packed road going around in a circle with cars entering and exiting all at once. As your eyes widen at the spectacle and your hands grasp for the rosary dangling from the rearview mirror, the taxi driver dives head on into The Circle honking his horn and fitting perfectly into a space between two cars (perhaps magic is involved?). With only one full rotation the taxi spits out onto the exact street, and after two blocks you find yourself staring at your destination, the sunny coast line. So for just three soles you end up with a taxi ride and adrenaline rush...

Chad Danklef

Vietnam Program highlights

We are in Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City, and all is good. I am writing this while the rest of the group are off at the water park - the curse of my job. We have been here for one night and it has been quite an experience after arriving from Hoi An. We went from a small town, with World Heritage status to a city of 8 million and probably twice as many motorbikes and neon lights. It is crazy but pretty amazing. It feels like we have done so much already in Saigon - cyclo rides, museums, eating out. This morning we were at the Cu Chi tunnels, 250km of tunnel networks used by the Viet Cong during the war. All a bit one sided on the information given but none the less impressive. Guess its always good to see other sides of the story. I asked the crew for some of the moments that stick in their mind from the past few days - I know when they get back they will say the water park but for now, enjoy... - Entering Marble Mountain caves into a massive cavern with a huge buddha carved from rock and a small hole above casting light down upon us - Finding a tailor in the old town of Hoi An to make some very good and cheap dresses/ jackets/ shirts - Danielle kicking butt in a rapping battle with a Vietnamese kid - Jumping on the back of motos to get back to the hotel in Saigon - it's an experience to weave in and out amongst a 1000 others doing all the same thing and having no idea where we are - Stepping into the War Remnants Museum and being confronted with some very real images - powerful - Taking the chance to do things you might never have the chance to do again - like playing tennis in the middle of the night in Hue - Getting up early to see the sunrise at the beach in Hoi An and then later on in the day returning and drinking from coconuts as we explore and swim - Walking in a thunderstorm in Saigon at night - as the lightening and neon lights are lighting up the sky it starts to absolutely bucket down and we get soaked - Beach swimming and also our pool at the hotel in Hoi An, an absolute saviour on those hot hot days Just a small taste of our adventures. I am sure words don't do justice - they never do - but our experiences have been very real and it feels like we are coming to an end all too quickly. Only a week to go - where has the time gone? We are looking forward to heading to the Con Dao Islands tomorrow - they are home to sea turtles, rarely visited by most travellers to Vietnam and a first for a Pacific Discovery group. A real adventure which we are all looking forward to hugely. Aaron

Peru Program - Inca jungle trek and my coca leaf habit

The time in the trip had arrived that most of us had been waiting for - the inca jungle trek! The trek we´d be taking was an alternative to the one that hourdes of tourists come to trek day after day. As apposed to dealing with 500 people, we only had to contend with a dozen or so. The first part started out with a cool descent of nearly 8,000 feet by bicycle. At the top of the mountain it was cold and cloudy, but our rapid descent brought us into the thick of the jungle. Where the jungle began, so did the dirt road. The group flew down the mountain at top speeds all listening to their music selections. Speed, bumps, chickens, trucks and mosquitos were all to be contended with here. A couple of the girls ended up with some arm scrapage, but more or less we all enjoyed the ride.

The next day began at 4 am with breakfast, then a trek to the jungle. No day in the Peruvian jungle is complete without some coca tea. I joke with the group that I´m trying to become addicted to the coca leaves, as they are as harmless as any english breakfast tea. Some say the British empire was built over cups of tea, well the same could be said about the inca empire with coca leaves. No one could demonstrate this more than our guides Alex and Aurelio. Alex could consume 1,000 leaves in the matter of a days walk, as he demonstrated to us on our first day.

The first days walk was tough, but our reward came at the end when we arrived to the hot springs near the end of the trail. Huge pools had been carved out for us to enjoy the hot waters, once used by inca kings to relax after a long day. And like kings we felt after arriving after a tough walk.

The next day we set out for another long walk that brought us to the Machu Pichu base camp. We arrived early, and were able to scale the mountain next to Machu Pichu for a preview of the next day. The hike was 1,000 meters straight up, and left us exhausted and resting early that night.

4:30 arrives, and the group wakes for the ascent of Machu Pichu before sunrise. We arrive to clouds, but as the sun rose they quickly burnt off to reveal what all of us had seen many times before on television or friends photos. It´s just as you would imagine, a quiet, magical place that words don´t do justice to. Montezumas revenge, or should I say Tupac Amaru´s revenge had taken a hold of me that morning, so I wasn´t able to scale the neighboring mountains for views. But I was contented with exploring the ancient city, and after I found the panoramic button on my camera I had no regrets about not climbing the famous Waynu Pichu.

Our guides had left, but had taught us a lot about the incas and their customs. They had also left me with a 200 leaf a day habit that i´ve been trying to keep up. I gotta run, need more coca leaves...

Adam Beecham
Program Leader

New Zealand conservation program - Urupukapuka Island

The New Zealand Program kicked off with a sunrise swim in the Pacific Ocean before breakfast, a briefing then a scavenger hunt across downtown Auckland. The next morning we drove North in pouring rain to the Bay of Islands and a quaint town, Russell, which was once dubbed the 'hell-hole of the Pacific' for its licentious ways! Charles Darwin, on his 'voyage of the Beagle' was so disgusted that he donated money towards the construction of a church, which we visited. In contrast to the early 1800's, Russell is now marketed as 'Romantic Russell'. We enjoyed the hospitality of Janet, a local Maori woman, at her homely accommodation and we introduced the group to Rugby, by going to a local inn to watch the New Zealand 'All Blacks' take on the South African 'Springboks' in a tense match.   The following morning dawned clear and we loaded our bags and a week's food onto a Department of Conservation boat for the short trip across to Urupukapuka Island. Home for the week was a tumble-down house and attached building. The island is spectacularly beautiful and we had it to ourselves for the week. The island is managed by the Department of Conservation to preserve it's rich archeological sites and as a recreation site. Next year, after a pest eradication program, the island will also be home to some endangered species like kiwi.   We spent our days planting trees, painting and re-roofing a historic barn, and cleaning up the site of a historic whaling station. The group loved the Department of Conservation staff we worked with - their obvious passion for the jobs and the depth of their knowledge of the local environment and the area's rich history. Evenings were spent preparing meals and hanging out getting to know each other. The group were very sad to leave the island on Friday and the transformation from a group of people who hardly knew one another to the tight group we are now was amazing!   I'll upload a few photo's to this blog in the next couple of days, so check back soon.   Scott

Vietnam Summer Program: Cat Ba National Park & Halong Bay

Owen belatedly joined the group and has fitted in easily - like he has always been here. Our small group is great, relaxed, easy going, inquisitive and always up for a challenge. After picking up Owen in Hanoi we made our way to Cat Ba Island, northeast of Hanoi and situated within Halong Bay. We were met by Mr Hack, a good guy working with the National Park Service on Cat Ba Island, who was our main liaison during our 5 days on the island volunteering to help the environment and the national park. Sometimes it is strange the things you find yourself doing in life...and so it was for us the next day when we were inside a cave in Vietnam - scrubbing. A surreal experience at times far removed from everyday life in our own homes or even from the tourist trail in vietnam. When we first entered the cave the amount of graffiti etched into the walls was overwhelming. While not a huge cave, we never thought we would be able to clean it all. But by 4pm we wandered out covered in limestone dust, sweat and a great sense of pride - the cave was totally clean of graffiti. The next day we swapped the cool of the cave for sweltering sun as we hiked up a steep trail, with mud and rubbish everywhere. The sense of wanting a clean environment is slowly changing in Vietnam, but still there are generations not used to picking up rubbish, as well as the influx of pre-packaged, bite size, easily accessible plastic wrapped items whose rubbish is dropped everywhere. Talking to some of the more educated and people in the younger generation there does seem to be a growing awareness of the importance of looking after the environment. As we climbed up, bags and bags were filled with rubbish, and we finally made it to the top and onto the observation tower. We were gifted with views across this spectacular landscape. Karst towers poking straight up out of the vegetation. Small holes opening up into cave systems. We followed a similar pattern for the next couple of days, exploring, picking up rubbish by boat and sea kayak. On our last day we hit the trail again trekking over to a Viet Hai village on the other side of the island. It was a demanding walk, made all the more challenging at times due to the heat and and sometimes slippery conditions. We completed the trek with plenty of sweat and exhaustion but also a few bags of rubbish from along the way and a sense of accomplishment. We stayed at the Viet Hai village for our last night on Cat Ba Island which wrapped up our time volunteering. The group felt pride in their achievments, thru a sense of helping and doing things that may not have been done otherwise. But there was also a sense of frustration - a wilingness from the group to do more, but not the effort or understanding from the National Park Service to really make use of what we had to offer. Giving your time to volunteer and help the environment seems to be a foreign concept to many Vietnamese. We were the first group ever to undertake this kind of effort in Cat Ba National Park and I am sure the path has been laid for a more fullfilling and effective outcome for future groups. One highlight was being stoppped and asked a by a Vitnamese woman what we were doing, and then her praising and thanking us for what we were doing on behalf of her country. In between all the volunteer work on Cat Ba we also visited other caves used during the war as hospitals and headquarters (complete with pool and movie screen), and hired bikes to explore and see a great deal of the island. The next leg of our journey was by boat cruising amongst karst towers rising up from the ocean. Halong bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Area, is an amazing place to spend a couple of days. We kayaked, swam, jumped from the roof of our junk boat and soaked up the views as we lay on the loungers and relaxed. Our boat was amazing - offering us comfortable berths, amazing food and the opportunity to jump into warm water from the roof. What a place for Danielle to spend her 19th birthday! We were spoiled at times, not just by our accommodation but by our location. Words won't do Halong Bay justice - you will have to wait for the photos. Like all good things it was over too quickly. We are now back in Hanoi, and past the halfway point of our trip. Tonight we catch the overnight train to Hue as we leave the stunning north and begin to head south. If Vietnam continues to unveil her beauty, if she continues to challenge our thinking and our senses we will have an amazing time. I am sure we will. More soon, Aaron Vietnam Program Leader

Peru Program - Ceviche, Coca, and Cusco

These are just three of the many new things that I have discovered
during my first week in Peru. Ceviche is a delicious national food
composed of a type of fish served mixed in with vegetables and plenty
of lime juice to create an overwhelming flavor. The coca plant, which
may carry a bad connotation in the US given that it can be turned into
cocaine (which we have been told is an arduous and expensive process
out of the capabilities of most Peruvians), is an everyday normality
for most Cusqueñians. While the taste is undoubtedly an acquired one,
mate de coca (coca tea) is served with every meal at my homestay and
is an effective remedy for altitude sickness, which has struck all of
us in one form or another. Cusco is a fascinating, colorful, and
diverse city with a rich cultural history and breathtaking sights. On
Wednesday, a few of us hiked up to the top of a hill where one can see
panoramic views of the area for miles. The faded brown of the many
roofs that are clustered together in a dense urban blob fade into the
mountains that dent the horizon.

Speaking of Wednesday, there was a national "paro", or strike, as Sara
mentioned before. Although the strike had significant meaning to many
Peruvians I'm sure, I found a lot of humor in the whole ordeal.
First, some of the streets were blocked off by signs put up by the
"policia de transito" sponsored by Cusqueño, the local beer of choice.
Think Budweiser and the NYPD as business partners... Second, it
seemed to be a holiday rather than a protest, even for the police who
were laughing over the tabloids in their riot gear. Perhaps it had to
do with the apparent fact that it was the fifth such strike in two
months. Finally, as I was pursuing some kind of action on the
streets, I heard a bullhorn from a few blocks away. Yes! I found an
enthusiastic protest, right? Wrong. As I approached, I learned the
bullhorn actually belonged to a chocolate vendor, whose incessant
cries of "Chocolate! Rico chocolate! Dos soles!" was an ingenious
business plan instead. I'm sure thousands of people heard the vendor
on this day, as opposed to being drowned out on a normal day with the
loud and busy streets of Cusco.

We now begin the real adventure part of the trip, starting with a
seven hour bike ride tomorrow (thankfully, mostly downhill) on the
road to the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. Although Cusco is a
marvelous city, we are excited to depart and trek through the Sacred
Valley of the Incas! Buenas noches!

-Brendan

Peru Summer Program - Dos

My twenty-minute walk to school this morning from my homestay in Santiago, an area of Cusco to the south of the main plaza, was eerily calm. Due to the country-wide transporation strike, "Paro," a protest of rising gas prices, among other complaints, I didn´t have to constantly guard my toes from speeding taxis, which swarm the city´s narrow, cobblestone streets with what seems like no sense of caution or pedestrians. Still, though, the city retains its constant buzz of merchants offering us cheap massages, paintings, yarn finger puppets, a rainbow of beautiful hats and sweaters..., and the many foreign languages that can be heard in this fairly tourist-centered place.

For the past two afternoons, our group has gone to three different locations around the expansive city for volunteer work: Caity, Devery, and Bre go to a home for young children and a few mothers, Brendan and Kenya to an afterschool program, and Chad, Julie and I to an orphange (Adam floats among all three). We all have had fun playing soccer, helping with homework, and seeing their joy at our cameras. Today, however, we can´t make the trek to our sites because of the strike, so plan to go on a hike in the hills above the city, a sort of warm up for our journey up the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu, which begins Saturday.

Yesterday, I made the trip up to "Cristo Blanco," a tall white statue of a Jesus figure, during some free time, and I was greeted by locals offering me trips on horses to different ruins, many llamas, and a spectacular view of the city. I´m sure we all will experience such things this afternoon, but before then, I´m off to the main plaza, "Plaza de Armas," to observe the protests.

Paz y Amor de Peru,

Sara

Peru Summer Program - Una

After arriving late Saturday, little did the group know their day would start by exploring catacombs, and end with paragliding and eating octopus ceviche. But such are the adventures when you´re traveling in Peru.

The group is getting along well, and have been learning as much from each other as they have from Peru. Through out the trip we´ll be composing a group guidebook for future Peru adventures. Each participant has been assigned a section of the book, and will be also be blogging about their section throughout the journey. So stay tuned for some of their insights.

Peru thus far has been packed with numerous adventures for each of us. For me on the last night in Lima I had a mini adventure of my own. While trying to find the @ sign on the keyboard at the internet cafe, I heard what sounded like gunshots, but no one flinched at the internet cafe. Later I learned it was just some fireworks, and what seemed to be an impromptu fiesta had begun on the streets. A large crowd had gathered around a group wearing white masks, with dead alpacas strapped to their backs. The mysterious group were dancing to their music and whipping each other literally, into a frenzy. Later I learned the celebration was for the virgin of Cusco. It seems most major cities in South America have a virgin they celebrate.

I later followed the group to another fiesta where I began speaking with some police as to the origins of this party. The officer wanting to make me happy decided to grab a woman and instructed her to dance with me. My protests weren´t heard, and after a dance and trying to excuse myself another women aged 70 grabbed me and we proceeded to Cumbia also. After a few twists and turns I was permitted to leave and given a medallion with the virgin's photo.

Plenty more of these adventures are to be had by our fun-loving and adventurous group here in Peru. So stay tuned for some more of Pacific Discovery´s inaugural Peruvian adventures.

Adam
Peru Program Leader

Vietnam Summer Program - Part I

Well this is a hectic country full of lush beauty and contrasts, it challenges your mind, beliefs and your nerve, while all at once being relaxed, friendly and safe. We are only at the very beginning of out trip but already have experienced so much.   At present there are 5 of us,including the leaders, while we pick up Owen, our 6th tomorrow. We started off in Hanoi, straight into the old quarter and the hustle and bustle. Small narrow streets, choked with vans and what seems like millions of mopeds, all on their horns, all on their own journey with not much care for road rules. Crossing the street is an exercise in holding your nerve. While being what seems to us quite erratic in their driving they are amazingly mobile and skillful at not hitting each other and us as we cross the street - walk slowly, confidently and consistently without any stop, starting  or indecision on our part and they will weave to pass us.   Our first full day included a bit of a wander around the old quarter before moving off to check out some of the pagodas and sites of Hanoi, including Ho Chi Minh lying in state, which we later found out is a wax work and his real body is preserved  at a military base outside Hanoi. These visits opened our eyes to more of what it means to be Vietnamese, their buddhist past, the wars that have been fought, and the reverence in which Ho Chi Minh is held. Later that afternoon we left the city to take to the the rice fields on the outskirts of Hanoi. A pleasant break from the hustle. Riding bikes through the streets in to the fields themselves and back into small villages, while the whole time sweating up a storm in the heat.   That was about to change though, with an overnight train to Lao Cai on the Chinese border, then up into the cool hills of the northwest to Sapa. This is breathtaking scenery, a real Asian postcard. High mountains with mist floating in the valleys and terraced rice fields that creep up the steep slopes. The places being farmed is just incredible, every space is used, no matter how high or how steep it seems. We found this out on a blistering hot day as we trekked to the village of Thanh Phu down in the valley from Sapa. Our guide, Thunh, a local hmong girl from one of the small ethnic minorities of the north west led us thru rice fields, across rivers and in to villages of other ethnic minorities. This corner is home to many groups that are separate from Vietnamese, they have separate languages from Vietnamese and from each other and are come from different backgrounds. They are very traditional in some respects but in these times of increased tourism and technology it is beginning to be change. Our guide, while being dressed quite traditionally, was on her last trek before being married. When asked where she met her husband she replied "on internet dating". A shock for a few of us. The trek was very rewarding, staying a night at a homestay and seeing a bit more of how life is away from the hotels and restaurants of the towns, but also in just achieving the trek. Trekking in demanding terrain in temps of 37'C is no mean feat and something to feel proud of. While hopefully opening eyes to other cultures is part of goal of this trip, it is great to see that people are also discovering more of what they are personally capable of. We now sit in Sapa amidst the rain and cooler temps waiting to catch the train to Hanoi where we pick up Owen and head out to Cat Ba island and Halong Bay. A new set of experiences and adventures to look forward to. All is well with John, Sarah and Dannielle a bit of sunburn. A few blisters but plenty of smiles, discussion and opportunities to explore. More from us later, Aaron Vietnam Program Leader