Stroud McMahan, Lindisfarne College, Hawkes Bay/Napier/Hastings, New Zealand 2013
Bear Gryls demonstrated our flight safety for Air New Zealand.
The small plane was our flight from Auckland to Napier. The flight only lasted about an hour. There was no security for the small domestic flights.
After meeting with my host family, the Reisima's, we left for home where I got a full tour of the house and surrounding area. The Reisima's lived on a plot of land, surrounded by orchards and sheep pastures, out in the country of Pukitaupo.
Orchards by the Reisima's farm.
River only 400 yards from the Reisima household.
After dinner we watched the All Blacks (New Zealand's national rugby team) play France in rugby. I struggled to stay awake, and fortunately the All Blacks won.
A Warm Welcome and and Overview of the Town
On day 2, I went with Jamie and my host father to the neighbor's farm in order to see the sheep shearing process. The shearers were very skilled and could take the wool off of a full grown sheep in about 2 minuets. I also learned that they have herding dog competitions, just like in the movie Babe. These dog's worked extremely hard. The farmer would not be able to do his job if it weren't for man's best friend.
Sheep in pins, ready to be sheared.
After the Farm experience we met up with Henry Barron and Ben Shankle. We traveled up to Te Mata peak that overlooks all of Hawkes Bay. Te Mata peak had incredible views of the surrounding landscape.
Danny (Jamie's friend that stayed with us for the first week) Jamie, Henry, Me, Ben at Te Mata Peak
Views from Te Mata Peak
After our trip to the peak. We went to the New Zealand national aquarium which was located in Napier.
Since the Aquarium was located right on the bay, I decided to check out the local beaches.
Black beaches of Napier
School began the following day. I met the Rector and got my classes sorted out. The campus was beautiful. Located in the middle of Hastings, it stood out from the surrounding buildings. I found Lindisfarne to be the equivalent of MBA in New Zealand. The teachers were excellent. They were all very warm and welcoming. A few teachers in particular expressed their love for MBA and Nashville.
During my stay, I took Media Studies, Math, English, Biology, and Agriculture / Horticulture. Media Studies was an extremely fun class. We watched war movies and discussed good filming techniques. I found math to be very similar to my classes at MBA. Ben and I found this class very interesting since we watched the film Crash and discussed all the complex connections that came from a very simple plot line. Biology was straight forward, and the classes refreshed me of my 9th grade biology class. I found it interesting that all of their examples about genetics or darwinism were with animals local to New Zealand. Last, but certainly not least, Agriculture/Horticulture, or Ag/Hort as we called it, was a very cool class that discussed how to become a successful farmer. We talked about things like the price of beef, how a certain pesticide effected dairy exports to china, and how to bud and graft a plant properly.
Auckland
The following weekend, I got to join the Media Studies class for a 5 hour bus trip to Auckland. I was glued to my window as we drover through the rolling hills of lush green. Although each hill was similar, they were all beautiful.Auckland was New Zealand's largest city with population reaching over 1 million. The city of Auckland makes up a forth of New Zealand's total population.
By the harbor in Auckland
The New Zealand's national sailing boat
Auckland was a fun trip with the media studies class. We all learned about what goes into making a television production.
4th of July Festivities
On the 4th of July, Ben and I got to fly the starts and stripes over Lindisfarne College for the day. I'd like to thank Mr. Finlay for that one.
The stars and stripes flying over Lindisfarne College on the 4th
My american themed dinner on the 4th of July, apple pie and cheeseburgers - Thank Mrs. Reisima!
1st Rugby game with Zac (Jamie's younger brother) and Jamie
After my rugby match, I took a tour of the surrounding areas with Jamie, Zac and Mrs. Reisima. We saw Wimerima beach, Cape Kidnappers, and the farm land.
Surrounding Sights
Wimerima Beach - about a 30 minuet drive
Cape Kidnappers
View of Te Mata peak from the back
Views from the Neighboring Farms
Jamie, me, and Zac
All views from the neighbors farm
The first fifteen rugby match in the rain
Lindisfarne's Campus
-Thanks to Jamie for the modeling
Vacation to Taupo
After my 3 weeks of school were up, we went up to Lake Taupo for vacation. Taupo was incredible. On a clear day we could see the mountains in the distance. At Taupo, I got to go fly fishing, snow skiing, and we caught a massive trout on the lake.
View of the mountains across the lake
Skiing on Mount Ruapehu
Standing in front of the Pinnacle Peaks
Me, Zac, and Luke (Jamie's old brother)
A good friend Joseph Wellwood posing for a photo
4 pound rainbow trout out of lake Taupo
Me and Ben out on Lake Taupo
Last family photo
Last picture with our host families at the airport
Looking back at all these photos made me miss my time in New Zealand. I made some great friendships over my stay and I'll miss my good friend Jamie Reisima dearly. I had some of the best moments of my life there and I hope to return in the future. I urge anyone slightly interest to apply for these exchange programs. I would like to give a huge thanks to the Warner family for allowing me to go on this trip. I would like to thank Mr. Gioia, MBA, Lindisfarne College, the Reisima family, my parents and all those who made this trip possible.
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