Tramping

Sundays for Americans usually means sleeping in, football, big meals, hangover recovery. Sundays for Kiwis? Well, how about a 7 hour "tramp" through the "bush" (hike through the fucking rainforest). And that's what me and Sophie did- we woke up bright and early with a pounding headahce, and literally walked through the forest for 7 hours with ten Kiwis, most of which were over 55 years old. The one's who weren't that age were under the age of 9, and they trekked the entire way completely barefoot.

Tramping was...well...what you think it would be. Walking through the trees through mud and creeks and fields and shrubs, getting muddy, slipping on rocks, but I could not believe that these 50+ year old women were kicking my ass through this trek and not even stopping to look back. It was like Sunday afternoon tea; the conversation was the same, but the activity was a bit more strenuous. But I will admit, it was very, very beautful. New Zealand has sub tropical rain forest in the North of the North Island, so the forest was a mixture of huge fern trees, mosses, and tall beech trees. But I think what struck me most about the forest was how quiet it was. Every now and again you would hear a bird chirp, but other than that, complete and total silence. And now that I know a little more about the history of new Zealand's wildlife, I realize how incredibly sad that is.

Brief summary:
New Zealand is an isolated island, and no mammals are natve to the country. The things that made it there were birds, and many have evolved into slow moving, terrestrial birds that can't fly but don't need to because they don't have any natural predators. Until humans came and brought oppossums, dogs, and cats. Our animals killed all of the flightless birds and now the forests, that used to be filled with these birds, are quiet. It's really sad.

I was muddy as hell and pretty happy that the trek was over, and also starving, so we all went down to opo harbor to eat fish and chips on the water. Pretty nice Sunday afternoon, I'd say.