Summer is here in Fiordland

Wednesday 30th November

Summer has finally arrived, the sun was out and it was warm. The birds were chirping and we discovered that the trees had new, soft leaves. We had fun rolling down Bunny Hole Hill, playing leap frog over sticks that we had found on the ground. We walked through the Spooky Trail and then to the Bouncy Trees, bouncing on the branches and writing our names with pine cones.

Kaylee's Story:

"The new leaves were light green but they weren't dark green because they were new leaves. Dark green leaves were old leaves.

We went through the Spooky Trail, we saw the ferns were rolled up. Some were brown, they weren't open and weren't very good."

Nature writing in Fiordland

How can we write our name at Nature Discovery without pen, pencil and paper? We came up with some very creative answers to this question, one of our mums even got into the spirit of things and wrote mum with pine cones. Nate and Harry had fun nailing bark and leaves onto an old fence post they found. Reyce enjoyed testing out the new binoculars and even spotted a bird!

Spring in Fiordland

Today at Nature Discovery Spring was certainly in the air. Isabella and Georgia found a very small egg on the ground " and actually it was very nice it was a nice green colour - I know what came out of it - there was a yolk and a baby bird - I think it might be a thrush egg." said Georgia
"A baby bird was inside it and hatched out of it - and the baby bird eats yolk inside the egg "They have to peck on the egg all night because the egg is so strong, and when they start to get bigger in the egg and then it hatches and then comes out the baby bird". said Georgia
T"hen they have to learn to fly." said Isabella

Whisper Jet lands in Te Anau

Today the Nature Discovery children went to the Te Anau airport to see the first whisper jet land. They got to see the Fire Brigade hose it in water for a warm Southland welcome. The two highlights of the trip were the ride in the Trip and Tramps van and the helicopter pilot letting them go on his big helicopter.
Ben said, "The fire engines sprayed water on the jet plane to welcome it back. They put the ladder down and the door opened. The helicopter was big but I couldn't hear a thing with the ear muffs on my ears."
Callum said, "I liked watching the door open and the people come out. It was fun on the helicopter."

Snow in Fiordland

We were lucky at Nature Discovery today there was still a lot of snow lying around to have lots of sledging fun. Arthur was very speedy and we all got a little laugh at Mia trying to pull Hunter up the slope.

Sledging in Fiordland

Reuse your old Real Estate signs! They make great sledges on frosty mornings.

Snow, mud and water

More photos

Snow, mud and water

What fun we had at Nature Discovery today. We had a little bit of snow, just enough to make snow angels! We also had fun throwing ice and snow into Lake Henry and timing how long it took to melt. The boys had fun playing rugby in the mud, they discovered a pine cone made a great ball. Lastly there was lots of fun to be had in and around the mud puddles. Mia went fishing and even caught something! We love winter!

The Gnuffs Fort

15th June 2011

Lucy's Story:

"We are making a fort for the Nature Discovery people.   We made it with leaves and stuff.  My Dad helped by getting the leaves and he made a door. We were eating morning tea in it. We decorated it with flowers and pine needles."

This will be another magical place to visit at Nature Discovery.

Another great day

What fun we had at Nature Discovery today. The jumping rocks became a speed boat and then a pirate ship to sail the seven sea's. Using a big stick and a tree branch with leaves on it we managed to design and build a sail for our boat. The surprise discovery was a little skink that was found under one of the rocks. After looking at it we returned it to it's home so that it would be safe. Once we had finished sailing the seven sea's it was time to go bush bashing though the long grass. We found another wee spot that was great to play in. Back to the shed for lunch and to toast marshmallows, Chris made sure that his was extra crunchy, nice and black on the outside and runny in the middle, just the way Tracey likes it.

Lovely Mud at Nature Discovery in Fiordland

Today we had special visitors, Kim, Christine and Zair from Mairtown Kindergarten in Whangarei. We had fun showing all around the park where we have Nature Discovery. We walked a long way today, we showed them the pines, the singing log, the climbing trees, the jumping rocks, the Gnuff house and the beautiful views of the mountains at the top of the track. There was just so much to show them.

After lunch we found some big mud puddles and as you can see Jack, Charlie and Chris had so much fun in them -thank goodness for our special Nature Discovery clothing that kept us dry!

Exploring and Swinging

We were very lucky today at Nature Discovery. Martha's Dad made us a swing and rope bridge down in the pines. Lucy was one of the first to try the swing out she said "I really liked it."

It was also a day for searching, exploring and making discoveries. Martha and Georgia went on a spider hunt and ended up finding nests as well.

Martha said "We found them in a big dirt pile on a piece of wood." Georgia said "It was a good find and a good day."

It was Arthur's last day with us before he heads on holiday so as a wee surprise Dad called in for a visit with Arthur's dog Patch. Patch really enjoyed his time with us and the all children loved patting him.

Fiordland style treasure hunt

Today we were on the scavenge for natural resources for our insect house. The children are building this at Kindergarten. We went down in to the wilding pines to see what we could find and what a treasure trove this turned out to be. We found lots of rotting branches, pine cones and moss covered bark. While we were collecting we found many different bugs, the weta, huhu grub and black beetle were the favourites.

Nature's trampoline in Fiordland

The area where the children explore beside the Gnuff house, the trees have been thinned and there are many logs lying on the ground. James found that if you sat on one of them it bounced like a trampoline. It was even better when there were more children on it and even better still when an adult helped bounce it. But they got very tired legs especially when there were many children to bounce! It was fun.

Flower Toadstools

Wednesday 23rd March

It is that time of the year that the toadstools start appearing  in all sorts of magical places.

Today, we found many toadstools, the children said that some looked like flowers.

They have become very aware of how beautiful they are and they are very careful not to stand on them. Whenever they find one that has been stood on, they cry out "Oh no!!" and are quite saddened that somebody could destroy such beautiful things.  We have many budding conservationists in the making. 

Elephants at Nature Discovery

Today at Nature Discovery we decided to build a new shelter, Tony's Dad, Roberto and Riyanna's Dad, Jeremy were on hand to help. Hamish used the pruners to make sure the cuttings were the right size for the wall and Lucy was beside him checking the measurements with the measuring tape. After this we went down to Lake Henry where we discovered lots of blue gum bark. What could we make with the bark? "An Elephant" said Tony. Once again team work was required. Working together the children created an Elephant, it was magical. Georgia found a perfect place inside the Elephants tummy to have a rest, it was a very busy day, we still haven't found the earth star fungi. Maybe next time...