Ambassador Māia

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Kia ora,

I'm Māia the kea. My name means bold in Māori. Like most kea I love to give things a go and am often curious and a little mischievous. I am the ambassador that travels all over the place with Shelley the LEARNZ field trip teacher. I love getting out and about on adventures.

Even though I'm more at home in the mountains, I am looking forward to heading to the Hawke's Bay to find out more about how New Zealand grows some of the tastiest apples in the world.

See you there,

Māia.

Monday 20 May

Kia ora,

I have been looking forward to my first field trip of term 2. It seems like such a long time since my last trip. It was a fantastic day to travel and I loved looking out over my favourite mountains – Kā Tiritiri o te Moana. There was even some fresh snow on the hills. We had to stop in Wellington before boarding a second plane to get to Napier.

I was surprised at how warm it was in Hawke’s Bay. I guess this makes it a good place to grow apples. There certainly seemed to be a lot of different apples at the supermarket. I’m sure we will find out more about some of these varieties tomorrow.

See you then,

Māia.

Tuesday 21 May

Kia ora,

It was a stunning day in Hawkes Bay today. I can see why apples grow so well here. We spent the day looking at how apples are picked, sorted packed and stored. I was amazed at how many apples could be sorted in the pack house. We watched as apples floated in water into the pack house where they are graded according to weight, size and colour. Any apples that are not good enough to export are turned into apple juice. We also saw how apples are stored in a cool store. I think these stores should be called cold stores because they are freezing!

Tomorrow we are going to meet some scientists to see how they create new apple varieties.

See you in the morning,

Māia.

Wednesday 22 May

Kia ora,

We had a busy day meeting lots of different experts at Plant and Food Research. I am amazed at just how much work goes into creating the best apples possible. We looked at how new apple varieties are created and how to graft apple trees onto root stocks. It’s incredible to think that a tiny bud or cutting can be grafted on to another tree. Grafting brings two trees together into one to give you the best of both.

I tried a different type of apple today called a Lemonade apple. It was yellow and a little bit fizzy, that’s how it got its name. I didn’t like it as much as the Envy apple though.

Well it has been a long day, so I’ll say bye for now.

Māia.

Thursday 23 May

Kia ora,

It was another glorious day in Havelock North today. We made the most of our final day by meeting more scientists and trying a unique apple. I found out how scientists are working to reduce pests and diseases on orchards and learned all about a nasty little stink bug. We don't want this bug getting into New Zealand because it could cause a lot of damage to crops and our apple industry.

We ended the day with a tour of the Rockit™ apple pack house. These apples are only snack size but mighty tasty.

Well it has been a busy few days. I hope you have enjoyed the field trip as much as me and can join me on another one soon.

Māia.