iFriendly goes on a cruise and meets the Yellow eyed Penguins!

iFriendly tour of New Zealand continues...

We are two weeks into our iFriendly tour of New Zealand... only 5 more days to go! 

We are quite tired from all the driving... on average we drive for at least 3 to 5 hours a day. However, the scenery is  amazing...  I especially enjoy talking to the Kiwis a long the way (not the fruit, the money or the animal).  They are a friendly bunch...

Here are some photos from our Cruise on the Milford Sound... It should really be called Milford Fjord but by the time the English realised it was a Fjord, the name 'Sound' had already stuck!  

F.Y.O Fjords were formed by the melting glaciers and Sounds were formed as a result of earthquakes...

Here we have some Sea Lions chilling out on the rock... catching some rays (Sun rays).

Photo of the mountains surrounding the Sound.... No, its not a postcard!

A stunning waterfall pouring its water into the Sound

Now for the Yellow Eyed Penguin, which is the rarest and most anti-social Penguin in the world!

Here is some information about their breeding cycle... 

This is a tunnel leading to the Penguins... we had to keep quiet and stay hidden, so as not to disturb this rare Penguin chick...

Baby Penguin! They wait all day for their parents to come back with their Fish Chowder (a mixture of fish, squid and vomit!)

Homework:

B1 Describe one of the photos in detail... What do you see? 70 words

B2 Compare two photos in detail... How do they differ?  What are the similarities... Were they taken in the same place? 150 - 200 words

C1 The Yellow-eyed Penguin organisation is funded by tours... Write about an endangered animal. Is there a privately funded organisation helping them?  How do they fund this organisation? 200-25 words

iFriendly tour Kayaking and bird watching

Ratanui, Kayaking and bird watching...

Ratanui, Kayaking, bird watching and home grown mussels! (That's right, mussells grown on an underwater farm...)

Ratanui Lodge...  (A.k.a Ratatui lodge, which is what I kept calling it!)
http://ratanuilodge.com/

So far the most luxurious place iFriendly has stayed in so far...

A short walk across the road to the nearest beach and a short drive to Golden Bay Kayak, where you are greeted in the Kiwi way (super friendly way) and given instructions on how to manoeuver the kayak, given a spray skirt (this is the coolest most useful invention I have seen in the world of Kayaking) which is essentially a skirt. it grips on to kayak preventing you from getting wet or burnt by the sun.. GENIUS!

We steered around the coves, between the rocks and got some superb shots of the birds and seals in the area. Shag birds and sea gulls were the predominant and we saw two seals enjoying the sun.  They do smell a bit, but that is because they are in the sea a long time and because they eat octopus, which they tear apart... leaving the leftovers to rot in the sun... Nice!

In the evening we checked out a place just outside of Takaka, called the Mussel inn... Delicious big fat juicy mussels.. Yummy!

http://www.musselinn.co.nz/









Homework: 

B1/ B2/ C1 Write a letter to a friend describing a place you have been recently ...
Include an interesting fact about the place.
Advise your friend to visit the place, suggest what they should do whist they are there.

B1 - 70 words

B2/ C1 200 -250 words. For extra reading, click on the links in the texts.

iFriendly visit to Hobbiton - B1 B2 C1

The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit movie trilogies

iFriendly visit to Hobbiton

Our visit to The Shire was much better than we had ever imagined... It was awesome... Far out! (as they like to say in New Zealand).

(Far out: Sounds American if you ask me, but pronounced with a New Zealand accent!)

Apparently, when film scouts found the Alexanders' sheep and beef farm just outside of Matamata, they knew it would be the perfect setting for Sir Peter Jackson's adaptation of the classic works of J.R.R Tolkien.  The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit movie trilogies.

For those of you who are fans of the book or the movie, it is an amazing experience...

The coach picks you up and drives you straight to the film set, then it drops you off so that you can walk around.  A guide walks around with you and tells you the best place to take a photo.

Walking around was a very cool experience... You could probably imagine how I felt when we went to see the third part of the Hobbit Trilogy in Wellington.... a mere two days later! Very exciting, and seeing the movie set on the big screen was thrilling! To think I had actually walked around there and sat outside Bilbo Baggin's house...

Here are some shots from our visit...

Hobbit house... Did you know that this is just a facade??  There is actually nothing behind the door but earth.

 Knock knock!  Who's there? iFriendly.  iFriendly who?  iFriendly teacher!

 Peter Jackson employed staff to walk around the village everyday... to wash clothes, do some gardening etc... To make it look like people actually lived there.

 The Honey Maker's house...

Bilbo Baggin's house... Bag End!

Homework:

B1:  Underline all the vocabulary that you do not understand and look up the words in a dictionary.

B2 / C1:  Have you had the opportunity to visit a movie set?  Why don't you tell me about it?
or; find out about a movie set near you and write about it.

ifriendly tour of New Zealand & Australia - (in Spanglish)

Plan definitivo

The plan is to visit all these places, make a note of all our the amazing experiences and blog, blog, blog away!! 

Some rest and recuperation is needed after a tough 12 weeks as a freelance teacher... but I feel that 2015 is going to be even better... well, it looks like it's gonna start off well! 

Dia 2: Llegada a Auckland. Salida el mismo día y alojamiento en Hahei. Playa.

Día 3: Cathedral Cove. Hot water beach. Salimos para Cambrigde y nos quedamos allí.

Día 4: Waitomo Caves. Hobbiton. Rotorua 

Día 5: Waimangu. Wai-o-tapu thermal wonderland. Lago Taupo de camino.

Día 6: Tongariro Alpine Crossing y dormimos en el mismo sitio.

Dia 7: Ruta en coche hacia Wellington. Podemos ver el lago Taupo si no lo hemos visto antes y luego salir, o llegar a Wellington temprano y pasar el día allí. Podríamos comer en Martinborough, the “gourmet capital of the north island

Día 8: Ferry por la mañana y llegada a Abel Tasman National Park.

Día 9: En Abel Tasman National Park y dormimos en Ratanui Lodge 

Dia 10: Salir de Abel Tasman. Dormir en Hokitika pasando por Punakaiki y Greymouth 

Dia 11: Hokitika hasta el Franz Josef glacier 

Dia 12: Desde el glaciar hasta Queenstown pasando por Wanaka 

Día 13: Queenstown excursiones por allí y segunda noche

Dia 14: Salir hasta Te Anau, podemos comer allí y seguir hasta Milford Sound que son 2 horas. Crucero nocturno en Milford Sound

Día 15: Desde Milford Sound. Intentar llegar lo más cerca posible de Catlins. Pendiente de que me confirmen en Curio Bay, si no reservar otro sitio.

Día 16: Catlins- Dunedin- Península de Otago 

Dia 17: Dunedín-Monte Cook- Tekapo 

Día 18: Glentanner - Monte Cook- Lake Tecapo- Christchurch 

Dia 19: Vuelo de Christchurch a Auckland.

Dia 20: Según nos apetezca entre quedarnos por Auckland y Paihia-Cabo Reinga 

Dia 21: Volver a Auckland y vuelo hacia Melbourne.

Día 22: Great Ocean Road y dormir por el camino 

Dia 23: Volver a Melbourne 

Día 24: Vuelo a Hamilton Island y 3 noches allí 

Día 25: Playa

Día 26: Playa 

Día 27: Vuelo a Sydney 

Dia 28: Sydney (pensar si ir a las Blue Mountains).

Día 29: Sydney Opera house

Dia 30: Vuelo de vuelta.