Samantha Moran, student blogger from the University of Montana’s Business Sustainability study abroad program, writes about her travels from Christchurch to Wellington, New Zealand:

Hi All!

This is Samantha Moran again, and I love world travel.

This last week has been amazing! We were able to visit Christchurch, Kaikoura, Motueka, and Wellington. I find Christchurch incredibly inspiring. Christchurch was hit with a series of earthquakes this last decade and the city is still in the process of rebuilding. The citizens of Christchurch did not let these natural disasters hinder their creative spirit. The innovation that has sprung up all over the city is amazing. There is a shopping mall built entirely out of shipping containers and there is street art all over the city to brighten up the rubble. There is even a human sized video game downtown that is free to the public. The architecture is what really inspired our group. Christchurch has retained a lot of the original styles but added a bit of a modern flair. All the buildings are also designed to withstand a level 10 earthquake if it were ever to happen again. The citizens of Christchurch are really an inspiration for the dedication and hard work they invested in the prosperity of their city.

After Christchurch, we visited Kaikoura. This town is beautiful. It was also hit with an earthquake not long ago and is still rebuilding. What was different though, was that Kaikoura was completely shut down because the roads were undrivable from all the damage. The Navy had to deliver supplies to the residents for a couple of weeks after the quake. The citizens of Kaikoura managed to survive and instead of leaving town, a majority of the population remained loyal and decided to stay and help rebuild. While we were there, we visited with the Maori Culture Tours. They drove us to a few traditional Maori sites and taught us all about their culture, much of which is still practiced today. We were even invited into the home of a Maori family, where they fed us traditional food and taught us a game. One of the best parts of this town though, was getting to swim with Dusky Dolphins in the wild. We were taken out on a boat where we tried to locate different dolphins and interact with them in their natural environment. A few of us got a little bit seasick…but all in all, it was an amazing experience.

Leaving Kaikoura, we made our way to Motueka. This is a very cute town that is home to the amazing national park, Abel Tasman. We took a very nice nature walk through the park, and came to an amazing beach. From there we kayaked back to the main Abel Tasman Kayak base. We were able to find some amazing bugs, birds, and even some fur seals. We learned about the park’s beginning and all about how they want to return the park to its natural state by getting rid of the introduced predators, such as, possums, rats, and mice. We stayed with very nice homestay couples and were able to see firsthand the lifestyle of local Kiwis. Motueka is a beautiful town with very nice people.

The last town in New Zealand that we stopped in was Wellington. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and is full of new and innovative sustainable business ideas. The museum, Te Papa, is sustainable regarding economics, environment, and all of society. They are also home to the best museum exhibit in the world, the New Zealand Gallipoli World War One exhibit. We also visited with the Wellington Chocolate Factory. The only non-compostable part of their wrapping is the sticker. They work with their farmers to give them either fair or direct trade and to make their farms more sustainable. Wellington is a great city to end our New Zealand adventure with.

We are off to Sydney to explore the differences between New Zealand and Australia. I will be sure to keep you all up to date.

Until Next Time,

Samantha Moran – World Traveler