Discover Aotea activity sheets

Introduction

Encourage your kids to discover Aotea with these fun activity sheets. Print them out and bring them along on your next visit to Great Barrier Island Aotea.

Download the activity sheets

Answers

Whangaparapara

Industry overload

Trees were transported via tramways and pulled by either bullocks or steam engine and deposited into Whangaparapara harbour, then rafted together and towed by ship to Auckland.

Eels and falls

A kauri ‘ricker’ is a young tall and slim tree that has begun to shed its lower branches, but has not yet increased the size of the trunk. For more info see the Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand website. 

At the Lodge

The anchor is from the ship the S.S.Wiltshire which shipwrecked near Rosalie Bay, Great Barrier in 1922. For more information see the Aotea website.

The whale bones are from the former whaling station and are a jaw bone (inside the lodge) and a vertebrate and scapula (shoulder blade).

Port Fitzroy

Treasure Hunting

The ‘cooking’ object is a whaling pot (used for boiling down fat/blubber) from Whangaparapara and the item to hold a boat in one place is the anchor; a stern anchor found at Awana from an unknown vessel. The item used for defence is the torpedo-like object painted to look like a shark, which is actually a naval paravane or minesweeper. Paravanes were towed on cables behind a naval vessel to collect and detonate mines. For more info see this article on the National Library website.

Treasure Hunting

Horoeka – the juvenile leaf is long and narrow and very tough – possibly to deter moa from eating it. As the plant grows the older leaves (out of reach of moa) became broader and shorter. The English name, lancewood refers to the juvenile leaf shape. For more info see the Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand website. 

Kaitoke

Primitive plants and woody weeds

Hakea is a successful invader as it is very hardy and can grow quickly in a disturbed area. It produces seeds at a very young age and grows into a prickly scrubby tree that produces lots and lots of seed.

Fire! Fire!

If you want to make a campfire CHECK the regulations and weather conditions. GBI usually has a total fire ban and all outside fires are prohibited. Which is the hottest pool? The temperature of the pools is constantly changing depending on rainfall and runoff , the size of the pool and the amount of hot water seeping from the geothermally heated groundwater within each pool.

Green mail?

Rangiora is very helpful if you need toilet paper urgently! Outside the art gallery is an enormous eel.

Whangapoua

The ship was wrecked in 1894, and graves are located at Whangapoua and near Kawa. For more info on the SS Wairarapa see the Christchurch City Libraries website. 

Hirakimata

Compass panorama Sky tower (SW), Coromandel Peninsula (S), Claris airport (SE), Tryphena (S), Whangapoua (NE).

Medlands

Crossword

Across 1. Pohutakawa 2. Kauri 3. Pingao

Down 4. Ricker 5. Hakea 6. Horoeka 7. Rangiora

Tryphena

Matching words

Eel=tuna, fantail=piwakawaka, waxeye=pihipihi, North island robin=pitoitoi, black petrel=taiko, Australian harrier=kahu, kingfisher=kotare, little blue penguin=korora, gannet=takapu, morepork=ruru, banded rail=moho pereru, brown teal=Pateke

Biosecurity

Animals that do not occur on GBI include deer, possums, ferrets (and stoats and weasels), goats.

Two pests brought here by Maori are the Polynesian rat (kiore) and dogs (kuri).

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