Happy Holidays!

Christmas is almost here (Santa visits New Zealand first, you know!) and I hope all of you have a WONDERFUL holiday and winter break.

Craig, Burley and I will be spending it on the dairy farm we helped out at. Craig's parents will also be there, and it is summer here, so we will be having a warm, BBQ Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS :)

E-I-E-I-Oh!

Hello!

I am sorry I have not written an update in a few months. Craig, Burley and I have been very busy!

About a month ago, we spent two weeks helping out on a dairy farm. Boy, was it an experience! We helped out with many different farm chores including feeding the calves and milking the cows (not by hand, but we had to put the machines on the cows' udders). During this time we lived with the farm family and got to know the farmer, his wife, and their two children. They really liked Burley! We were very tired by the end of the two weeks. I do not think I will become a dairy farmer!

Now we are helping out at another farm. This time it is owned by a young husband and wife who are our age. They have horses, cows, sheep, chickens, and pets (2 cats and 2 dogs). We're doing lots of different things here as well: helping weed the veggie garden, gathering eggs, moving cows from one field to another, painting fences, and the grossest job of all - shovelling horse poo! Someone has to do it, I guess!

We will be leaving this farm in a few days. Who knows what adventures we will get up to next!

Right now we are at the top of the south (bottom) island. The red lines on the map show you where we have driven:

Encounters with Penguins and Lambs!

Hello and happy back to school!

I hope the start of your school year has been great, wherever you are going to school this fall.

Here in New Zealand, it is almost spring, which means it will start to get warm. Craig, Burley and I are very much looking forward to the warm weather :)

Here are some pictures of yellow-eyed penguins that we saw on a beach here the other day. Unfortunately we couldn't get a picture of Burley with them, since they are wild penguins, and we were afraid they would think Burley was food!

Also, here are a few pictures of me bottle feeding a one-week-old lamb. It was an orphan who was adopted by people we were staying with. I really wanted to keep it, but I don't think it would like life in the van very much!

Teaching Adventures in New Zealand... and more!

Hello and happy end-of-the-summer to my friends back in Ontario! It is still winter here, but will soon be spring. The weather is getting warmer, and Craig, Burley and I have been having lots of amazing adventures.

We did an underground cave adventure at the Waitomo Caves, where we wore very thick wetsuits (the water was VERY cold). Our adventure included abseiling down into the cave (lowering ourselves from a rope attached to a harness), “black water rafting” (which is called that since it is in the dark), and hiking up underground waterfalls. It was very, very cool!

I have done a few weeks of supply teaching at schools here, since their summer break is in December/January, not July/August, like back home. Here are a few differences between schools in Ontario and schools in New Zealand:

· In Ontario, you ALWAYS have to wear your shoes. Here, you do not have to – some children do not wear shoes at all, and it is not because they cannot afford them – they just would rather go barefoot! Since there is no snow here in the winter, many children can go barefoot all year long!

· In Ontario, most elementary schools do not make you wear uniforms. Here, most primary schools do require students to wear uniforms, even making all students wear the same kind of dress shoes!

· In Ontario, most schools usually start at 9:00am, and end at 3:30pm, with a lunch and two recesses. Here, students are allowed into the classroom starting at 8:30am, and classes begin at 9:00am. At around 11:00am there is “morning tea” and the first break of the day, and lunch is not until after 1:00pm. Then school ends around 3:00pm – only two breaks during the day!

· In Ontario, students learn French as a second language. Here, many schools teach Maori or Samoan as a language, since many children here come from families who have South Pacific heritage.

Other than that, Craig and I have been doing a lot of camping and hiking. Here are a few pictures of us (and Burley) enjoying New Zealand nature!

We are now at the very bottom of the north island, and are taking a ferry to the south island on Thursday. The south island has less people living there, but has lots of hiking to do, and also has some penguin colonies – does anyone know a certain teacher who LOVES penguins???

The Adventures of Burley

Happy Summer Holidays!!!

I hope you are all enjoying yourselves now that school is out for a few months. What have you been doing so far?

Craig and I are in a town called Mount Maunganui, on the east coast of New Zealand. Here is a map to show you where we have driven so far:

The other day we did a hike in this town. It was a dormant volcanica (that means it used to be a live volcano, but it doesn't do anything now) and from the top we got to see out across the town and the ocean. Here we are at the top, after an hour of hiking:

Burley has been meeting lots of animals around New Zealand. No sheep or penguins yet, I hope these will do!

Burley with a donkey named Donkey:

Burley with a dog named Jim:

Burley with a cow named Chocolate Milk:

Burley with a goat named Brad:

Let me know what you guys are up to around Port Stanley and St. Thomas :)

Burley's Latest Movie

Craig and I hope you enjoy Burley's latest movie project, called "Burley's Great Escape". Craig filmed it here in New Zealand, on 90 Mile Beach. Watch right until the end to see who we dedicated it to!

Let us know what you think of it and give us some ideas for what Burley's next movie adventure should be!

Our New Home

Here is a picture of our new "home" and "car" all rolled into one!



The van does not have a name yet. Our van in Australia was named Betty, so who knows what this one will be called? Leave me a comment if you have any suggestions for a name for the van!

Also, here is a map of New Zealand. The red line shows where we have driven so far. We've been driving north, which on this map is "up".



Talk to everyone soon!

Payton and Alexis, it is nice to hear from you :)

Life in New Zealand

Hello boys and girls!

We made it to New Zealand, safe and sound. We arrived Sunday May 31 and landed in Auckland, a big city (like Toronto) on the north island. We spent our first week in a hostel. A hostel is like a hotel, but it costs less money because you share bathrooms and kitchen space with other travellers. We met people from all over the world who were staying there - even other Canadians!

We also bought a campervan! Next time I post I will also include a picture of the van.

Inside the campervan it is NOT like a van your parents might drive. There is a fridge, stove, microwave, toaster oven, closet, cubboards, a bed, and a table. It is taller and longer than regular vans too. It's like a mini apartment!

Two days ago we left Auckland to head north, and have been staying in a town called Whangerei. We're staying at a caravan park, which has free BBQs, internet (that costs $6 per hour!), bathrooms, and a kitchen.

Even though it has been raining for two days straight, Craig and I have been doing lots of hiking, relaxing, and reading. I have read almost two books in the past week!

Tomorrow we are driving even farther north, almost to the tip of New Zealand. There are lots of hikes to do up there. Hopefully the rain stops soon!

I hope you're all having fun back in Ontario. How many of you are counting down until summer vacation?

Hello girls and boys!

First of all, congratulations to the students in the class who moved on in track and field! Alexis and Jess, you girls told me that you did well, right? Did anyone else?

Second, good luck to the grade threes writing EQAO this week. I was talking to Mrs. Swanick and she said it was going well. Hopefully all the practice we did helped you feel prepared! Remember, just take it slow and do your best. You're a very smart group :)

Burley, Craig and I have been busy exploring the beaches around Sydney. Yesterday we took a ferry into downtown Sydney. Burley tagged along and got into some mischeif. Here are a few pictures!

Burley in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He thought it was a very cool structure! So did Craig.

Burley in front of the Sydney Opera House. This is where many plays, operas, and music shows happen. It is a very neat building. The roof is supposed to look like sails, since it is right on the harbour near many boats.

Take a look at that HUGE above-ground root! Australia has very different looking trees here. Most of them do not lose their leaves in the fall and winter. Trees that do not lose all their leaves are called evergreen trees. Trees that do lose all their leaves, like many of our trees back home, are called deciduous trees.

In the botanical gardens, Burley wanted to hang out under some mini-palm trees. They were a perfect size for him!

Burley! Don't get too close to the cactus!

I think Burley told this guy that beavers are cooler than lions. Luckily, the two of them made up and are best of friends! They even exchanged email adresses!

Burley did not want to leave! Luckily, I am VERY good at hide and go seek!

Last one! What a HUGE tree! Can you find Burley in this picture?

Talk to you soon :)