NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURES

 12/02/24 Dunedin-ite, Am I Right? It's crazy to think that I have been living in this beautiful country for a little over five months now. From Christchurch, to Rakiura, to Wellington, to the Northlands (and many more!), I feel like I am finally starting to get used to being in this unique space. I even automatically move to the left side of the sidewalk now! From the moments of awe to the moments of homesickness, it has been a real joy to share all these new places, activities and people. Have I reached annoying travel blogger level yet? If so, TOO BAD! I'M GONNA KEEP BLOGGING HAHAHAHAHA! So here's the latest with TaylorTravelz!  The Ballad of a Jobless Traveler (Who Desperately Needs A Job) After my failed sheep shed experience, arriving in Dunedin was a bit of a whirlwind. I was lucky to snatch one of the last bus tickets out of the tiny town of Lawrence, and find a reasonable hostel to house me for up to four days in Dunedin. My current plan was to find a job and a pla

BIRDING CAMP! 17/01/24 Well well well! Let me just tell you about the coolest thing I got to be a part of in New Zealand: Makarora Field Camp! With fourteen kids ages 14-18, I got to help execute the coolest camp for kids ever. With a focus on biodiversity, we covered topics ranging from research techniques, shorebirds, migrants, eBird, moths, bats, conservation dogs, and geophysiography!  Let's get into it!  Day 1 Rachel and I started bright and early in Wanaka prepping the last few supplies for camp. We arrived in Makarora around ten for setup. With bird posters, maps and camp pamphlets, the classroom looked like a bird wonderland. I was so excited to get started. Kids started arriving around three and we got to give them a brief run down of all of the activities we had planned for the week. Mist netting and point counts were up first! We stayed in the beautiful Wonderland Makarora Lodge which provided adorable a-frames for everyone to stay in. I even got my very own room, lucky