Yesterday we took a ferry across the Hauraki Gulf to an island called Motutapu, formed by an ancient volcano. It is basically attached to a much newer island, Rangitoto, formed by a volcano that erupted only 500 years ago (you can supposedly still see the footprints solidified in ash of Maori that lived there). After the eruption, Motutapu was covered in ash. Maori, and later European settlers, learned that the ash laden soil was very good for farming, so the island was converted almost solely for that purpose. Now volunteers are putting in efforts to restore 1/3 of the island to its original native forest, in hopes of attracting birds back to the island. They are doing this by erradicating pests (flora and fauna) and planting baby native/endemic plants and trees. 
After a ferry ride in very choppy waters and 60+ mph winds, we made it safely to Motutapu. We hiked up into the hills to begin planting. Over the course of the day our group planted 400 baby trees! It was so much fun, and aside from one sudden downpour and relentless winds, we lucked out on weather (sunshine all around). On top of planting, we also did some weeding and pulled out the nasty moth plant. We devoured our lunch at the top of the grassy hill and enjoyed the view. 
(All in a days work)
Today we were given the luxury of sleeping in since class did not start til 1:00pm. I still couldn't bring myself to stay in bed past 7:30am, how sad is that? I ate some breakfast and called my little sister to talk to her for the first time since I've been here (other than the occasional facebook message) to wish her a happy birthday! She is 19 already, I can't believe it. It sounds like she had a great birthday weekend, so I was happy for that.
It sounds like this week is going to be quite academically intensive. I've already done over 40 pages of reading today, we have oral presentations on Wednesday, I wrote in my work journal about Opoutere, and I still have another paper for write for Thursday. As it turns out, we actually have Thursday night to Saturday afternoon off before we have to pack up the vans for the South Island (we are leaving Sunday morning). I'm not sure if I want to go on a little overnight hike or if I just want to stay around campus, after all, we are leaving for four weeks. I'm also considering doing a hike during the mid-semester break that climbs up to a little over 7000 feet and will probably require the use of crampons and ice picks. We're not sure about the snow conditions this spring yet, but I would be going with a few experienced guys that know what they are doing, so I'm sure we would be fine. I'm really excited to push my limits and try new things!
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