Magical Eggs

He carries them around with him everywhere. People often misunderstand him. People misunderstand the power he possesses. 

A year ago he found them deep inside a cave he'd stumbled across in Bulgaria, surrounded by a vast pile of ash from a fire that had long gone out but still slightly smoking.

To protect them, he stores them in an egg box, which is a great way of deceiving people, but it's only a matter of time before the truth comes out...

The old man placed down the egg carton gently on is study desk, and not soon after he too lay down to rest but except he was retiring on his stubborn hard bed. His eyes close as he grabs the box of his desk for safety.

The Greatest Journey Yet

I'm gliding through the crystal blue sky with the birds guiding me home. I have no home. You see, I travel around the world looking for a place to call my own, but however how hard I try I can never seem to stay in one place. 

The birds are my friends, well the closest I've ever had to friends. I'm not even sure if I know what friendship is, or what it means. They're just like me though, I mean they have to be my friends if they are just like me, right? Anyway, they sore through the blue right beside me to keep me company and share me their tales from around the world and I always return the favour. They travel around the world, just like me trying to find a place that we can settle down together and talk quietly about our most amazing journeys. 

Right about now I am in Asia observing the large airport surrounding a large piece of land flattened out for the build. But suddenly my feet get swept up off the hard gravel and my tears of sadness float away into nothing. My rusty engine is old and soar and it pains me when I fly through what seems like my home, the sky itself. Now I have realised that the greatest journey has not yet come upon me as I let go of my grip of the sky as I fall down into the deep blue sea leaving a large splash behind me.

Refugee Poster

The Shipwreck

I was peacefully flying through the blood-red atmosphere when I spotted a shadowed figure. I decided to go in to take a closer inspection and landed softly on the rickety mask of what looked like it was on a small ship. The wood creaked with fear as if I was going to destroy its perfectly good slumber. Slowly reaching out my claw I started to poke and prod at this strange site. The crimson colour of the sun blinds me as soon as I pluck one of the many strings holding up the grazed sails. My family is waiting for me back at home I thought to myself longingly, and just like that I vanish into the dark clouds leaving the shipwreck to rest. By Nina.

The Whio

Introduction:

The Whio, which is the Maori name for the Blue Duck, is an endangered species of duck to New Zealand. Sadly it is endangered because of being hunted down and killed by many different species of introduced animals.

Physical Features:

Whio have webbed feet to help them swim gracefully through the rushing water of streams or rivers. Having an upper bill makes it easy for them to scrape off small insect larve that cling to the slipper rocks underwater. The females are 800g in weight, however the male is slightly heavier and adds up to 1kg which means it is larger and more dominant that the female. Their blue waterproof feathers molt in between May and December just like a dog sheds its hair. Scarlet red feathers cover their chest to keep them warm and the males push them out to show off to the females. 

Habitat:

The Whio is one of the 159 birds in the world that can live in fast flowing water! They like to live in rivers or streams up high in the mountains where there is very high river quality. Warm waterproof feathers make sure that they don't get cold and can get on with their life. Coming out at late evening or at the crack of dawn helps them camouflage with their navy coloured feathers. 

Diet:

Whio eat a whole range of different foods, some in water, and some out. Every now and then the Whio will get out of the water and pick off small berries off thin branches to feast on. Cicadas are another Blue Duck treat that they can find crawling around on trees or bushes. Larve and fresh water invertabre cling onto rocks underwater, just like a birthday present waiting to be opened by the Whio and slip into their mouths. 

Threats & Predators:
The Whio has lots of different threats and predators because of its small size and it is completely deffenceless. Different predators have different tactics. For example stoats, ferrats and weasals steal the Whio's eggs and take them away to eat them just like they are theives! Possums, domestic dogs and feral cats are different though because they sneak out at night, while the Whio is sleeping and attack!

Summary:
It is very sad that our beautiful Whio is nearly extinct, but happily Whio population numbers are going up slowly! An awesome fact is that Orana Park are letting 12 captive Whio let go into the wild!

By Nina.

LandForms

This is myn and Lexies two mountains and a valley, did you know that a plain is a large flat area of land. For example the Canterbury Plains.

LandForms

The Matariki Celebration

Aroha gazed up at the night sky dreamily.  She was looking for Matariki, or as you might know it, the Seven Sisters. Her finger reached out and pointed at the Maori legend. Her Grandpa patted her on the back gently then coughed twice before saying in a rusty old voice, "Well done Aroha, it is a good skill to have to be able to spot Matariki with just only your two whatu, (eyes.) Aroha felt proud of herself because in all of the 9 Matariki celebrations she has had with her family since she was born she had never been able to spot the Seven Sisters on her own before! Aroha jumped up off the lucious green grass and raced over to where her Mama and Papa were weaving different sized flax flowers and hanging them up on the tall trees surrounding her parents bach on the beach. Aroha's Grandma had heard the good news and she started walking over to the dirty blue and white bach with huge excited smile spread across her wrinkly face. "Come, the barbeque is ready," Grandma had said changing directions and walking back over to the barbeque. Aroha's parents let go of her waist and dropped her politely down on the ground so they could walk over to the feast. The family's dog, which was a Border Collie, had hear already smelt the beautiful smell of freshly cooked meat. Fern was lying down on the grass with her black and white tail wrapped around her waiting for delicious meat patties to drop down into her mouth without moving a muscle. Aroha ran over to the blooming Pohotakawa and lay down watching the fireworks burst in to bright colours right before her eyes. As Aroha dozed off to sleep she really thought that this was the best Matariki celebration ever!

By Nina

The Moa

Introduction
The Moa was an endemic creature to New Zealand, which means it was unique and it could only be found in Aotearoa. The Moa went extinct within 100 years of humans first arriving in New Zealand, because humans hunted them for food.

Physical Features
The Moa is classified as a bird although it is the only bird that has ever existed without wings! The Moa had a very long neck and also had very long legs that helped them reach high up leaves and to run away from predators. They also had sharp beaks which they used to rip leaves off the branches. And they used their brown furry feathers to camouflage from predators in the native bush. The Moa could weigh up to 230 kgs! And if you think thats heavy then you should see their height! It's an unbelievable 3.6 metres tall!

Habitat
Moas lived throughout New Zealand in our beautiful native forests to shrublands, grasslands and coastal dunelands. Most of the time
3-4 Moa species lived together in the same habitat, which would make them feel safer.

Summary
Overall the Moa went extinct mainly because of us humans hunting them down for their warm feathers and food. It was wrong for us to do this to the majestic giant and we should all wish that the Moa were still alive this day, and walking with us on this very planet.

By Nina

Can You Answer These Facts About Snow Leopards?

To answer the questions go to this website to find out:

http://www.defenders.org/snow-leopard/basic-facts

1. How many Snow Leopards live in zoos around the world?

2. What coloured eyes do Snow Leopards have?

3. How many Snow Leopards are left out in the wild?

4. What do Snow Leopards use their paws like?

5. What colour is the Snow Leopard?

6. What is a Snow Leopards regular diet?

7. Is the Snow Leopards fur thin or thick?

8. What are the colours of the Snow Leopards ringed spots?

9. What is one of the countries that Snow Leopards live in?

10. What kind of mountains do Snow Leopards live on?

If you think you know the answers to these questions then please leave them down bellow in the comments.

I got this photo from: https://www.flickr.com, this photo was taken by, Nick Richards.

Meet My Avatar!

Meet my Wild Self Avatar that I made on the Build Your Wild Self website. This avatar was really fun to create and I think that it represents me perfectly. 

If you do one yourself just go completely random and have loads of fun!

Laser Strike

I had just walked into a dark and foggy world. The ancient Egypt hieroglyphics haunted me from around the corners. The gloomy castle stood tall above me glaring down at me. Then I heard what sounded like a million storm-troopers marching as one towards me.

My heart was thumping so fast I thought it would go flying out of my chest. I have to find my team fast I thought to my self. Suddenly I started to see a bright blue light flashing and coming closer towards me by the second. Looking down I saw that my laser gun was fully charged and ready for action just like me. 1...2...3... I dash round the corner and realise that my team colour is blue!

Running away from my team member like a mad man I accidentally run into the red teams home base. Then quick as a lighting flash red laser beams shoot towards me like a bullet. Ducking quickly, footsteps start hurtling towards me. It was my blue team! They ran in front of me to reflect and defend their shots. "Don't worry, were here for you Phoenix." Said one of my blue buddies.

The war has ended I thought inside my head, slowly a wide grin spreads across my face. A second thought comes across my mind, you really do have to trust your team mates.

By Nina

Shave For A Cure

Rosie steps down onto the shaving chair. Her hands are wobbly and unstable like a hanging bridge over a canyon. Bobbie-Jo turns on the sharp razor and swivels around, staring right into Rosie's nervous blue eyes. My eyelids shut close with a mixture of excitment and worry.

I hear people chanting out Rosie's name and the noise echoes right through my head. I couldn't resist anymore and I opened my eyes to see a white, cold, tennis-ball head replacing my friends short golden locks.

Everyone cheers and claps and makes Rosie go red in the face. She races over to her friends including me and gives us all big bear hugs. Inside my head I still knew she was my friend no matter what, and now she's made a difference for people with cancer. Then Lexie stands up.

By Nina

My I Reflect

                                        My I Reflect

In my learning this week I was really proud how hard I worked to get my pen licence and I earned it.

I remembered to stay neat in my handwriting and not give up.

I will use this to help me write more fluently.

                                                         By Nina.

100 Word Challenge: The Moonlight Climb

The sky was gloomy as I gazed at the cratered moon. Inside my head wonderful questions run around trying to sort themselves out. Suddenly one of the craziest ideas of all makes it first in line. Racing over to Grandpa’s old shed I’m wondering if my idea will work. There it is, Grandpa’s rusty, dark, tall ladder. Grabbing it down I start to race over to the field of sneeze barley. When I start climbing the golden grass tickles my feet and the ladder feels like bark on an old tree. Lightning strikes just above my head. By Nina.

Tree Climbing

                           Tree Climbing

My fingernails were scratching up against the stubborn hard tree. My arm was stretching so far out to the next small plank of wood, inside my head I could just imagine a crack go through my collar bone and... BOOM I would be out of action for 6 weeks.

"Come on Nina your so close to the top!" Phoebe was yelling from down bellow. "Don't look down Nina, don't look down" Emily was shouting because I was so high up stuck in the branches.

Finally I had reached the top and the wind was hitting up against my face. "Toast!" I shouted anxiously just waiting to go flying down. And suddenly I feel the rope going slack so I know its time to start climbing down.

Skiing

                                    Skiing

The long drive here had made my head a little dizzy. I opened the car door expecting it to be so cold that it would freeze my toes off. But no I was actually quite snug inside my layer upon layer clothing.

"Ha, ha, ha! you look ridiculous and fat in all those jackets Nina." It was my little brother Darcy. "Oh well you can't say much Darcy, have a look at yourself!" I say making him feel silly.

People are flying everywhere on there slim skis. How can I ever do this I think to myself, but not soon after I'm whizzing down the snowy slope and having the time of my life.

"My fingers feel frozen," I tell my parents. "Well then, why don't we get some nice hot food." My dad suggests. We all agree that it is a great idea and we all waddled off to the hot food shack.

"Mmmmm. This food is delicious" I say taking a great big crunch out of my hot crispy chips. "Well, did you kids enjoy your skiing trip?" My mum says wondering. We all looked at each other and said  "It was great!" All at the same time.

My Dog Kayla

Kayla is jumpy

Athletic

Yapping all day long

Licking your face

A great dog to have

My dog is called Kayla she yaps all day long. Her high pitched bark sounds like a lion cub trying to roar for the first time. If you've ever met Kayla then you'll know she jumps up on every body she sees or meets and maybe you might get a surprise from her tongue all over your face! She is also very athletic and needs lots of exercise every day. But overall she is such a great dog to have.

My Book Letter

                                                     My Book Letter

Dear Reader,

I've just finished reading the book 'Gorilla Adventure' by Willard Price. I got recommended this book by my dad who use to read these books when he was my age. I really like this book because it is all about adventure and I learn lots of useful facts about animals.

Hal and Roger are the most important characters because they set the story, without them there would be no book. I think the animals are interesting, and I that because I meet different animals in the story that I don't know about.

This book is not too challenging and scary at some points. I would recommend this book to people who love animals and like adventure storys.

I know Willard Price has a whole series of books like Gorilla Adventure.

I rate the book Gorilla Adventure 6/6 stars. 

Welcome To My Blog

Hi my name is Nina. Welcome to my blog, on my blog I will post lots of writing. These are the rules that I have to follow on my blog:

1. Don't share personal information.

2. Acknowledge sources.

3. Be kind, caring and constructive.

4. I must have 5+ sentences per post.

5. I will put TBC in the title. ( To be checked.)

6. I will only save not publish.

So please come and visit my blog.