Do you ever wonder why New Zealand has so many sheep? Well it all started in 1882 when the economy was in an economical slump and people needed to find a way to preserve their culture. Then some farmers had a plan to send sheep meat on a ship called the Dunedin to England. You might ask how they would do this because in those days it would take a little over three months to get the meat to England! So they made this refrigerator that they would pack the meat in ice. There for keeping it frozen but fresh! This process enabled the frozen meet industry to become an economical staple. Now sheep out number people 1:13! There are more than 70 million sheep and the government is able to give farmers a state payment to boost their stock numbers!
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Why are there so many sheep?
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
About Jessica Carmichael
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
Jessica joins us for her senior year out of Fillmore, IN. Jessica formerly paddled with the Whitewater Warehouse, enjoys river running, and is preparing for her first year of college.
Meaning of Maori Body and Face Painting
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
Students take a cultural field trip to learn about the Maori culture. Photo by Belle Burch
Ta Moko is the permanent body and face marking by indigenous Maori people of New Zealand. Unlike the tattoo or tatau, where the skin is punctured, the skin was carved by chisels, known as uhi. The skin was left with shallow grooves, rather than a smooth surface. This was an incredibly painful tradition and is no longer in practice today.
The Maori, who came to New Zealand from eastern Polynesia, used the moko to define social class. The higher your rank within a tribe, the more markings you would have. Means of gaining rank include being a brave or skilled warrior, and looking after the family. The one exception is that the son or sons of the chief of any tribe will receive his fathers Moko as birthright.
Apart from the clear display of social status and rank, the traditional markings were used to make a person more attractive. Women typically receive moko on their lips, called kauae, and their chins aswell. Men traditionally wear moko on their face, bottom, thighs, and stomachs.
The moko was largely abandoned in the late 1800’s because of the european influence. However, in the modern age, moko has made a comeback and can be seen on the descendants of native Maori tribes in New Zealand. The moko is used by both men and women as a sign of cultural identity, and is common place on most parts of the body including foreheads, backs, necks ankles and calves.
With all the benefits of the modern age and the resurgence in ta Moko. There are also some increasing concerns. One of these is the use of moko by non-Maori people. Ta Moko is an important reflection of the impressive revival of Maori language and culture.
By Keegan Grady
Emboided Energy New Zealand
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008by Michael Jorgensen
At Solscape the New River Academy learned about the idea of embodied energy from Phil. It is the idea that every thing produced has some energy taken out of the earth to create it and at some point some or all of that energy will return to the earth. Some things made of oils can never return to the earth, and will never decompose, such as plastic, while others that are purely organic will return entirely to the earth, such as an apple.
To start off with something familiar lets talk about a Bliss-Stick kayak. The energy that goes into a kayak can be seen in its price. One can pro-deal a kayak for around 300 dollars implying that all the production cost (excluding design and mold making) can be covered by 300 dollars. Now to convert to some measurement of energy, that is depending on the current market, about 3 barrels of oil, or 100 gallons of gasoline. Now how much of that energy will ever return to the earth?
All of the plastic will, by all practicable purposes, never return to the earth. Plastic is a huge polymer synthesized from oil and can only be recycled not decomposed. As to the out fitting of the boat, some of that is plastic, but the rest is metal, cord, foam, and cloth. The cord cloth and foam are all just as bad as plastic, they are (unless it is cotton, silk, wool or another organic material) just as impossible to be returned to earth. The metal over time will eventually rust and return to the earth as oxidized ore, but that is a fairly slow process.
So until a natural plastic is discovered (which will never happen because otherwise plastic would not have been made in the first place) what can we do to reduce our impact, as kayakers, or as people.?
We can buy fewer kayaks (reduce), buy used kayaks (reuse) and try to buy kayaks made from older kayak plastic (recycle). As people we can try to buy only things that we know will return to the earth. so don’t buy plastic bottles, polypropylene shirts, or any thing made from plastic and oil. We must also try to use for as long as possible the things we have already bought, and then try to recycle them. Also as smart consumers we need to know the what it means for the earth if we buy a fleece made of 50% recycled materials or a wool sweater. (which would you choose?) Through buying the fleece you are creating 50% of it that will never return to the earth and taking half the responsibility of the rest of it, depending on how many previous uses the recycled materials had. If you bought the wool sweater then you are responsible for nothing. If it was finished with the environment in mind it should biodegrade entirely on its own.
The current problem we face today is a complete lack of motivation for companies to be “green”. Without a effective carbon tax or cap and trade system companies only goal is to make money. But some people are attracted to a supposedidly environmentally friendly company, the new goal is to be economically efficient (usually not “green”) but to appear to be green.
So for now we just have to do what think is right, (which is usually more expensive) and hope that Barack Obama sticks to his promise of installing a carbon tax, or cap and trade system, which if done properly could be a huge step in the right direction.
Some green and cheaper ideas
-drive less, bike more
-only buy one water bottle, and reuse after you have bought 10 plastic ones that is the cost of one reusable water bottle
-buy a fuel efficient car
-turn down your water heater at home from 140 to 120 degree
Kaituna River Area
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008The Kaituna river area is one of the most unique and beautiful places on the planet. Our video class has spent the time documenting it to give you a look into this gorgeous place. I hope you enjoy it!
beat to your own rhythm
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008BEAT to your own rhythm
Beat by beat, and symbol by
symbol,
smashing through your head,
bleeding through your bones,
rambling through your voice, and jumping out your toes,
let it slide across floor of wood slate and brick,
it runs out runs out and out, further out then ever before,
breathe it in, let it bloom,
colors vibrant as the veins that course under your skin of
heavenly descent,
pouring out through cracks
holes and splinters,
bursting through skin,
sliding amongst teeth, lips, and you, and me,
smiles and handshakes,
greetings and goodbyes,
kisses of charity, those of
lust, beauty, love and all in between,
manners of shimmers upon
hands,
grazes, grips, and grasps,
gasps of life and the love we lead,
opposites run amidst those
that fly,
those that crawl, and the
others that swim
among waves of crashing,
flowing, and dripping,
watch the ocean float by in
a bath tub
and a hurricane hit you in
a shower
watch mist gleam on silk
skin, and silvery mirrors,
watch it breath against
your own breath,
watch it burn away the
chill, watch it rip through cold and sad,
let it wash amongst your
tears, let soap bubbles float along,
let them pop and fizzle,
falling out as you will one day do,
only wish for it to not
come to soon, wish as i do,
for it shall not come as
soon as you will think,
grays and blacks will fight
there way into you,
see in color, block them
out, rage through life in a beautiful grace
step your step in the way
you wish to step,
dance your dance to your
own music,
sing your song to your own
tune,
let the words flow between
your teeth,
let them gleam in the light
of day, let that moment be yours,
one and only, never again
shall it come as they wish,
it will be yours, as mine
will be mine,
one day, you and i, shall
write a song to our own tune,
and dance a dance with our
own steps,
our own beats and measures,
one day you and i will have
a moment that is simply ours,
until that day, dance your
dance, and sing your song, live your life,
scream out against all those
that would speak against you.
Emery Kate Tillman
Week Three Surfing New Zealand’s Raglan Beach
Monday, November 17th, 2008The New Zealand Quarter with New River Academy has been amazing so far. Some of the highlights include the day and a half in transit over the pond, driving on the left side of the highways, most of the time (a couple of close calls ), the breathtaking mountains and rolling hills, but most importantly the rivers and ocean. We are based on the Kaituna River near Rotorua for the first two weeks, with the exception of a couple of days where we took off to the ocean on the west coast of the north island.
Keegan Grady mastering technique at the famous Kaituna Hole.
The surf was amazing, I finally got a chance to use my Mountain Surf Drydeck. Brilliant, I love coming off the water after a great session with dry shorts and boat, Thanks to John Mason. We arrived in the small surf town of Raglan late afternoon on Thursday the 13th, we pulled up to our self-sustaining accommodations, set up camp, and tore up the local surf as a group. On Friday we paddled at the beach, and were given a lesson from the owners of our Solscape accommodations in Raglan. Phil and Paul demonstrated their self-sustaining accommodations which included surprisingly strong bricks made of clay and fiber, solar panels, solar water heaters, and composting toilets. It was a real eye-opener and I will be sharing a lot of these ideas with my family and friends, check out their website for information and inspiration.
Rocks to avoid at Raglan Beach.
Day Three began at quarter to five in the morning. Four Blue Squad members including Jason Craig, Stephen Forster, Jorgo, and I, led by our fearless coach Tino Specht ventured into the dark in hopes of finding the perfect surf. We arrived at the longest left point break in the world around sunrise after the hilly hike out of our campsite and a short drive. We were not disappointed as we joined a handful of surfers to ride some pretty big waves, topping out around thirteen feet. All of us quickly learned that ocean waves break onto the steep bouldered shores, we boofed our fair share of rapidly approaching boulders that morning. The surfers were really nice and helpful and informed us on how the rising tide would soften up the shore that we were constantly running into. We got back to camp after two hours of big surf, huge aerials, and numerous chunderings. After packing up camp we headed to a festival called GlobalFest which demonstrated the cultures of a dozen countries from around the world including China, Cook Islands, and my favorite, the Netherlands.
I am looking forward to another week on the Kaituna, and the prestigious Triple Crown Event at the end of the week brought to you by Predator Helmets, MountainSurf, and New River Academy. The Triple Crown consists of boater-cross, time-trials, and a frreestyle competition. Stay tuned to this blog for updates as we get closer to the event date. The practice boater-cross today went fast and smooth, third was Stephen Forster, second Ross Mcilwain, and in first, Ottawa River Local Keegan Grady.
By Keegan Grady
Student Academic Report: Maori Culture and Perspective Learned
Monday, November 17th, 2008On Friday of last week New River Academy went to a museum in Rotorua. This gave students the chance to discover the culture and history of New Zealand and it’s native people. Our tour guide, Brian McEntee was impressively enthusiastic (being an older man) and kept every student and teacher interested and inquisitive throughout the entire tour. He gracefully led us from one room to the other as we learned about everything from the native, Maori people to the museum itself. The MAOri people are mysterious in the sense that historians and scientists are unsure of exactly where they derive from. Just like the Natives of other Polynesian islands, the MAori came to their homeland on unique crafts of the ocean composed of two wooden canoes lashed together with a mast and sail similar to that of the European explorers on the other side of the world.
The museum itself was originally built in 1908 to serve as a spa. The building is situated directly above one of the largest geothermic areas in the entire world. Hot mineral water was directly harvested and used to help people relax or recover from an illness. After this business diminished the building only survived to become a dance hall throughout most of the twentieth century. And now, as it existed once on MAori land, it is a well rounded replica of New Zealand’s history.
This is just one of many unique things we will do outside of the “classroom” to serve as school for this quarter. Through plenty of good paddling and a bearable amount of schoolwork, the spirits of the group have been lively and optimistic since our arrival in this beautiful country.
by David Gorski, student leader
Heading For the Surf
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 After a good week and a half on the Kaituna, we are packing up base camp and travelling to the beach in Raglan to catch some surf. They are in expecting 8 foot swells on the west coast which will end up great, especially for spectators! It will be good to get some wave surfing in after playing in the amazing Kaituna hole every day.
I have a feeling I am about to learn to appreciate and respect the power of the ocean a lot more. Check out the home of Media 1 and 2 for our latest on New Zealand!
I have been having a great time with New River Whitewater, food, and am looking forward to hitting the beach in the upcoming days!
Kiwis and Ginger Beer, and Great Whitewater
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008by Keegan Grady
New Zealand is a long way from the Ottawa River. I arrived with the New River Academy Sunday morning after 20 hours in flight, 10 hours sitting in airports, and a 5 hour van ride from the Auckland Airport to Lake Rotoiti, near Rotorua. We hit up the Kaituna River first thing, it is a short paddle across the lake to the head of the river, and just a short walk from the takeout back up to the put in, so there is no need for shuttle. 
Keegan Grady styles one of a dozen waterfalls on the Kaituna River, Okere Falls.
The run starts off slow with some a fun slalom course and then narrows into a full on gorge surrounded by vines and greenery that crawl up the steep faces of the gorge walls The whole river is amazing, with continuous current down the whole run. The first significant rapid is Double Drop, with a late boof drop at the top, followed by a must boof poor over. The second drop is a hard 15-footer, the water funnels in at the top of the drop and falls into a huge boil at the bottom.
The next stop after a few more smaller drops is Kaituna Hole where I have stayed completely dry thanks to my Mountain Surf Drydeck. It is a fast, deep, technical hole that gives up any trick in the book, and also some huge air. New River Academy has been throwing down with Phonix Monkeys, Mcnasty’s, and huge airloops.
The Kaituna River is known as one of the world’s best clean waterfall and freestyle training grounds on the planet.
This weekend we are heading to the Wyroa river, a class 4 gorge run. Tight and Technical with a couple significant rapids. New Zealand has been great so far, with great rivers, great food, great friends, and ginger beer.
Photos taken by kayak school public relations coordinator Claire Dibble.
New River Academy
Rt. 2 Box 245
Fayetteville, WV 25484
(304)- 574-0403
Fax: (304) 513-2247
New River
Academy
