Mid-Semester Break and the Southern Island Tour (LOTS of pictures!)

Setting: Anne, her flatmate Natalie and their neighbor Erin embark on a journey of epic proportions (less than 12 hrs after Anne returned from Uni Games, no sleep that night)

Day 1: Bus ride from Dunedin to Picton, 12hrs up eastern coast. I was way too tired at that point to really care that much. We slept in a backpackers (hostel) large dorm called the “Mussel room.”

Day 2: Bus ride from Picton to Nelson in a sketchy “economy” bus through narrow, winding roads. We spent the afternoon in Nelson exploring the town and walking along the beach. The backpackers that night was phenomenal- called Tasman Backpackers. Free ice cream every night! The facilities were very clean, and welcoming. Big patio, kitchen, herb garden and of course, free ice cream. They allowed us to store our extra stuff while we went on our tramping trip.

Day 3: (Abel Tasman 1) We set out early to begin our 3 day tramping trip along the Abel Tasman’s Coastal Track. Abel Tasman is known as the “beach” national park, and the track is not overly difficult so it is relatively popular. We were lucky that with winter approaching, there were fewer people in the park. We took a bus from Nelson to the start of the track, with one of the best bus drivers I have ever had. His name was Renee and he gave this amazing commentary during the drive. He knew so much about the area, including agricultural practices, social events and important people. There was plenty of scathing sarcasm and resentment for the urbanization of the area and the lack of sustainable living. He said that he had a lady write the bus company a letter describing how she had been offended by his commentary. The three of us vowed to write the company a much more praise filled letter soon. The first part of the track was smooth and almost flat, it is a common area for day hikers. We camped just passed the large campground so as to be away from all the people. It was really cold at night, but stayed sunny and warm throughout the day.

Day 4: (Abel Tasman 2) We set of somewhat late, not finishing our oatmeal or wanting to leave the campsite-on-the-beach till about 9:30am. There were two 400m climbs throughout the day, but through the hills and mostly avoiding the beaches. We passed through several little…villages?...with lodges and beach homes. Nothing terribly fancy, but maybe holiday homes. One lodge in particular, was set up with a café serving $30 meals, a huge organic garden, and resort-like hotel. Kind of a strange thing to see walking out of the bush, all dirty and carrying our big packs. There were also two major estuary crossings that could only be completed 2 hours before/after low tides. We timed them well enough, and had lunch by the first one while we waited for the water to recede below our waists. The second we waited on the beach of the major camp for about 30 min, and then walked across open clam shells across the estuary. It was a 20min walk and it hurt, but we were almost to our little campsite. Most people make the crossing in the early morning instead. We arrived to a site tucked away in the trees with a private beach! Well, private until after dark, when a few random hikers wandered in. At least we got to cook dinner and watch the sunset without anyone else around- it was amazing. Dinner was spaghetti with broccoli…. Lots of broccoli. I didn’t plan well enough to have an eating utensil and so I had been eating with a plastic fork- very difficult to eat spaghetti with. That night we made an awesome camp fire and heated water to put in bottles for warming our sleeping bags.

Day 5: (Abel Tasman 3) We got up very early (6ish) to watch the sunrise and get a good start on the remaining 1.5 hours of the trail. After a breakfast of ½ cooked oats and pears (our fuel ran out the night before trying to boil the water with a stiff breeze) we did some yoga on the beach in front of the sunrise and headed off to our final destination where we caught the water taxi back to the start of the trail. The water taxi was a blast and it was interesting to recap all we had traveled as we passed it on the water, even though it took only 2hrs to travel what had taken us 2 days to walk! There was even a dolphin playing around one of the boats. Back in town, after another bus ride with Renee and a well deserved ice cream, we rented a car at the airport, managed not to crash while driving on the left side of the road, picked up our stuff from the backpackers, showered, and headed NW to a place called Golden Bay. The intention was to stay with Natalie’s friend’s flat mate’s aunt and uncle’s house in a township called Tanaka. The reasons for the trip, which was slightly out of the way, were that Golden Bay has some of the most beautiful beaches in the country, and that Albie and Felicity have an almost completely sustainable house. Expecting just to set up our tent in their backyard, they surprised us (being complete strangers) to dinner, beds, breakfast, a tour of their systems and hours of wonderful conversation! They have detailed explanations of their sustainable projects on their website (click on Albie's Projects link). PLEASE PLEASE check it out! GET INSPIRED! Maybe there is something you can do at home to live more sustainably? It’s the little things that count. I’m excited to start an organic vegetable garden and look into ways to incorporate solar energy when I get home.

Day 6: We left Albie and Fil’s with hugs and well wishes. We headed on a quick tour of Golden Bay by stopping by for a walk along Farewell Spit and Wharariki Beach, which was covered in dunes and sculpted cliff faces. Just magnificent- we had lunch in the sand, fighting off sandflies (NZ’s version of mosquitos), wind, sandy bread, and nosey gulls. Then came the 4 hour drive to Murchison to spend the night with the Kayak club, who had been paddling there all week. It was their “court night” where all the stupid things people did on paddling trips were brought forth embarrassingly in front of everyone. Lucky for me, I was only a spectator.

Day 7: Early the next morning, we drove down the West Coast surrounded on one side by the ocean and mountains on the other. On the way we saw the Pancake Rock formations and "PuPu Springs," said to have the clearest water in the world. We arrived at the Fox glacier in time to check into the backpackers, eat dinner of vegetarian chili and corn-on-the-cob, watch Mrs. Doubtfire (since Erin had never seen it) and get a good night’s sleep.

Day 8: Easily my favorite day of the entire trip! 9:20am marked the beginning of our full-day guided tour of the Fox glacier. We were fitted with crampons, boots, warm clothing, rain jacket and pants, and an alpenstock. Since we had been blessed with fantastic weather for the previous week, the clouds were done with their holiday and proceeded to rain down all day. Although it was wet, I was so amping the whole time I didn’t even notice! Besides, it was way more epic that way. There was a 1.5hr hike to the glacier itself from the carpark, and along the way our guide, Grazer (short for Graham..weird…I know. Apparently in Australia, names are always shortened to one syllable. However, names that are already one syllable get another tacked on. Mark, for example, becomes Marco. Graham gets shortened to Gray…which becomes Grazer.) and Jared stopped to give us mini-geology lessons and glacier facts. It was a great group, being only 7 people and 2 guides, and we were all fit enough to tramp all over the glacier, through tunnels, up and down features. Grazer and Jared would cut ice-steps where needed, but walking in crampons became more comfortable as the day went on. We ate lunch under a parachute (like those you play in elementary school, where everyone sits on the inside edge so it forms a bubble) to keep out the rain and stay warm. It was just breathtaking. The colors of the ice- white, brilliant blues- crevasses, moulins, water flows, and rocks…were just amazing. It was unfortunately difficult to take pictures with the rain, but there are a few. Went to sleep that night (after watching LoR, since Erin had not seen that either) with sore calves from 1.5km of glacier awesomeness.

Day 9: Very early start, 7am departure to make it back to Dunedin by 3pm to return the car and attend 4pm lectures. We had incredible conversation on the drive home covering everything from religion, politics, sustainable energy and food.

Lovely trip, girls, one I will never forget!

University Games 2008

Uni games were held this year in Rotorua hosted by Waiariki (Why-reek-ee), on the North Island and about 16hrs away from Dunedin. I opted to join up with a carpool in order to see as much of the country as possible- and to save a bit of cash; domestic flights are not exactly cheap. The drivers were Dee and David of the Karate club, and joining us were Toby and (for part of the trip) Nick from debating. The drive went well enough, Dee and David have some sort of awkward history together, so they argued like a bitter married couple for most of it- usually entertaining. We spent the night each way in Wellington at a cute backpackers right near the ferry terminal, no complaints there. The ferry itself was a lot of fun- a three hour trip we made around midnight on the way up and mid-morning on the return. We (read: David) got somewhat lost on the way home and ended up adding 3 hours on the way to Wellington for a “scenic” roadway. All and all, it was….interesting.

(Coming into Picton on the South Island, the Interislander Ferry)

There is a local beer called Tui with the slogan “Yeah, right.” So all of their ads are quite witty. One in particular states: “Uni Games are about the sports. Yeah, right.” How true! It really was just an excuse for university students from all over the country (and some Aussies) coming together and, excuse me, having a shit-show. It was amazing that people competed and did athletic activities (let alone walk) after some of the nights they had.

One night, the competitors were able to able to do the street luge (http://www.skylineskyrides.co.nz/index.cfm/ssr_luge) for a reduced price. It was such a blast! It was dark, and pissing rain so we were completely soaked before we even started. The track we did was the intermediate I think, but it was fun to race other people down and splash through the puddles (read: flood) of water on the track.

There were 4 girls water polo teams present: Otago, Auckland, Victoria and AUT (Aussies). The only other time I played such aggressive polo was in Puerto Rico against their Jr. National team. Aggressive is not the right term- try vicious. First of all, there were no nail checks, which was painfully apparent when I would get out of the pool with my neck and chest covered in bloody scratches. Secondly, several players from Victoria and Auckland compete for NZ on an international level- which didn’t stop them from scratching and clawing anyway, but they did it while scoring.

We played well enough, considering we had never played as a team prior. The first game unfortunately reflected that and we got stomped, while looking like we were lost in the pool. Originally, we had a 13 person team, which turned into 7 for various reasons. I had been diligent with swimming regularly before the Games, but many did not and playing Ironman took its toll on several of the girls. The second and third games went really well, we played more like a team, pulled out some good plays, and won. During the semis and finals, both our lack of subs and some seriously atrocious referees resulted in the glamorous position of 4^th of 4. May I add that I am not just being a sore loser by blaming the refs- all teams (including the men’s) were loudly complaining about inconsistent and blatantly bad calls being made on the deck. I only added that because one of our players was rolled for throwing up her hands when a turnover was called where there shouldn’t have been (the girl on the other team commented on the bad call as well), which resulted in a 6 on 5 situation against us for the remainder of the game.

(Some of the Otago polo team in between games)

It wasn’t all as bad as it sounds, although we all were really gutted about that game. Overall, though, the polo was fun. I learned some new tricks and drills which will be fun to try out at UR.

Luckily, we only competed 2 of the 3 days, and I got to spend the third watching the Downhill MTB competition. The weather did not cooperate and rain was pissing down all day. The race was originally scheduled to be on the National Downhill track, but they moved it to prevent trail damage. The course was again shortened after a warm-up run to “Exit Track” which was a sad 1:40min long through torrential downpour and without any big jumps, drops or obstacles. As it turned out, a XC rider on a XC bike won the DH race- which was disappointing I’m sure for guys on their long-travel rigs who had to pedal on the shortened track. But, I ended up running along the trail in between riders with two other observers and got to see some really cool bikes/riders- not to mention completely soaked. I can’t complain too much.

(Some of the DH bikes, and Chris' Superlight (white) before the race and the rain)

(after the race, during the rain)

There were opening and closing ceremonies with bands and lots of shouting uni students, and one night I even won an oversized T-Shirt at a bar. Oh, and Rotorua smells like sulfur.

(The roadtrip gang! Toby, David, Dee and me)

(At the closing ceremonies, wearing our Otago team vests: Matt, Chris, Dee and me)

Since I'm actually here to study...

I realize that it has been a month since my last post, and for that I am sorry. Not only do I have to try and remember everything, but I have to write a lot all at once…ugh!

Made it half way through midterms (for some reason, my midterm stuff is lasting almost a month), busted up the curve on my BioAnthro test and walked out of a testing room with 500+ people first during my Cell/Molec test- which was super easy. Thank you Dr. April Hill, since much of the test was genetics.

Now for the interesting stuff, or rather, now for all the ridiculous catching up and sleepless nights. I just had a 2 week break from school- the week of April 14 I spent in Rotorua for the University Games (see next blog) but had to miss lectures/lab, the second week was mid-semester break (see next next blog). Needless to say, I have a paper due Friday, a project due next Friday, plus 14 lectures to make up in notes. I’ll be fairly busy for a while, unfortunately not doing anything fun.

The project is in BioAnthro, but it is a forensic analysis and I am really excited. We will receive a human skeleton and have 2 days to put together a report covering everything from sex/age determination to possible cause of death. I know, you’re jealous.

My economics midterm was held the week I was in Rotorua, and could not be written at any other time. It was on a plussage system (25% of my final grade if the mark is higher than that of the final, otherwise it counts for 0%) and now my entire grade is based 100% on the final. Scary.

I have been doing “I Yengar” (spelling?) yoga sessions twice a week with several friends at Clubs and Socs for $3. I’ve really been enjoying it, and the instructor is phenomenal! We call him “Mr. Tenacity” because while we are holding postures he often encourages us with the word “tenacity!” He is an older guy who always wears super short and tight black shorts and a dress shirt. We recently found out his name was Wayne, and were sorely disappointed. Just not as epic. The class is, unfortunately, usually very large and so postures are often held for a very long period of time while he walks around the room. I’ve noticed big improvements in flexibility over the last few months.

Regardless of how much schoolwork and playtime I’ve had, there has been a lot of reading going on. It’s so great to be able to read novels again, since I feel like I haven’t done enough since starting university. I’m on book #14 of my trip! I got a Dunedin Public Library card so I’m cruising through them pretty fast; the most recent is called The Geography of Hope by Chris Turner- a global look at sustainability and current projects that are offering a light at the end of the doomsday-environmentalist tunnel. Very highly recommended for anyone interested in sustainable living (which should be everyone).

I am fully prepared to begin an organic vegetable garden, and look into some solar power when I get back to the states- anyone who wants to help/chat/brainstorm please let me know (more on sustainability in the semester break blog)

Mountain biking and other such nonsense

Last weekend, I went on a mountain biking trip with the MTBclub to Wanaka and Queenstown. Before I go into any detail, it was one of the most fun trips I have ever been on! To begin with, we left at 8am Saturday morning (which really meant around 10 when everyone was drug out of bed) and drove 3 hours to Wanaka. The road was a 'main road' but was only 2 lanes that wound through the central Otago countryside. The whole area is very dry, with odd rock features and large, rolling hills. The alps could be seen in the distance as we got closer to Wanaka, which is nestled in a little valley next to Laka Wanaka- a huge lake surrounded by mountains. Absolutely gorgeous.

We jumped right on our bikes, there were about 10 people from Uni and one we met there, and rode for a good 4 hours. The trails were relatively short but there were so many, we just went up and down. There were huge jumps that had been built, but were being demolished in an attempt to keep people safer. Several of the tracks were for "racing," and were built with 2 single tracks running side-by-side with inside and outside berms. What a blast! There was even a section called the "toilet bowl" which is a super steep hairpin turn into a rolling drop- it's actually safer at that point not to hit the brakes and just ride it out. That night, we grabbed some dinner and then reeked havoc around town- playing on the playgrounds by the lake and throwing soccer balls at each other at the skatepark.

The next morning we drove another hour to Qweenstown, which is also a town in a valley with a huge lake surrounded by mountains. Queenstown really reminded me of Jackson Hole- kind of touristy with lots of expensive shops and outdoor places. The most common attractions are bungy jumping, water sports, biking and sky diving. We drove to a place called "7 mile" which has many man-made obstacles along the tracks there. After a brutal climb up, we picked one of 3 tracks (we would do all that day) and headed down. Most of the tracks were aimed at downhill/freeriders so there wasn't much climbing besides that first uphill. There were lots of super steep rock-drops, and even a few skinnies (narrow bridges made with logs, about 6-12in wide)! I was having a really great day, bombing hills, taking jumps and riding the skinnies- no major crashes :) After a good 3 hours, we all lay out on the beach for a while.

On the way home, we stopped in Alexandra (about 2 hours from Dunedin) to have tea at one of the kid's houses. His mom made us scones and hot cross buns, what a treat. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend! I can't wait to get back out there for another ride, although I'm definitely still feeling my legs.

This weekend, I'm taking a Phundamentals MTB skills clinic, so I hope to learn a little bit more about the steep terrain down here, which I'm not too comfortable with yet. Only 4 days of classes this week, 3 next week. Another week of class, then Uni Games April14-17 and spring break the following week. Natalie, and a couple other girls are planning on hiring a car to roadtrip all over the south island for break, hitting up the glaciers and the west coast. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. Hope all is well in the states!

People and Classes

So, the first week of classes is over and life is still a whirlwind right now! I am very intrigued by my biological anthropology class- in lab we each had a 1/2 skeleton (actual bones) and a worksheet packet. The professor just turned us loose to explore the bones and joints, what an opprotunity! it's still strange to have such large classes, but I'm sure I'll get used to it in due time- and be all the more thankful for the small classes and professor interaction at UR. There are about 4 people that have to be emailed first, before you can even contact the professor personally. The environmental history class is a lot of fun, although the reading is quite intensive. Each week not only are there articles and a textbook to read, but there are 5 or more library books to read small sections of. So far we have had an environmental historian and a Maori studies professor teach lectures, and the material is fascinating. The Maori professor asked the class why north was "up" on maps? If explorers had reached NZ first, do you think north would be "down"? Interesting to think about.

The flat is finally complete, Becky is here now after spending most of the pre-lecture time away on geology fieldtrips. We have a great system of dinners worked out and there is a farmers market on weekends where we load up on fruits and veges (as they are spelled here).

I am meeting some wonderful Kiwis as well! The other students in the mountain biking club are such a blast to hang out with! I went on my first ride here with the club, and after just an intro to many of the local trails, we met up on a soccer field and played mtb soccer- exactly as you are probably imagining it! about 15-20 bikes riding around and people kicking or slidding into the ball to (sort of) move it around the field. There was no "out" so the game went all over. Hilarious.

That night, I went to my first major rugby game. I think it was a semi-pro team, kind of like the Richmond Kickers or the Idaho Falls Padres. The Highlanders were, as you can expect, huge. There is a 200lb minimum to play on the team! It rained all night but everyone was dressed up in blue, gold and maroon and having a blast. There were thousands of people there! What a fascinating game, and I still have no idea what the rules or strategies are.

I also tried out for the Otago water polo team. There were 37 girls there for a team of 13, and many many very good players. I made the team (yay!) and I now get the chance to represent University of Otago at the University Games in April. I'm stoked and I'm sure I will learn a ton from these girls, all of whom have some incredible polo abilities.

In addition to climbing at the little boulder gym, Room14, several of the girls here in Willowbank flats have joined a Yoga class a couple nights a week. It's an interesting style, one in which the poses are held for several minutes (up to 10) and the class runs about 2 hours. Needless to say, I am very "stiff" as the instructor calls it. I am also very very "sore," as I call it.

Anyway, another week of classes coming up and I have a lot of studying to do! There are no real assignments and only 1 or 2 tests for each class all year. But, it seems like there is just so much information- I really have to make sure I stay on top of it. I have included several "people" pictures, just to give you some perspective.

(the 4 of us at the Cadbury Factory)

(Martin and I on the Taieri Gorge Train)
(Natalie and I at Tunnel Beach)
(The 4 of us at Tunnel Beach)
(the flat + 2 neighbors + Victoria the Royal Albatross)

Pre-Semester Adventures (Lots of Photos)

The four of us (Martin, Ollie, Natalie and me) are becoming quite the explorers! Before lectures started, we went on 3 major expeditions to see the Otago area. To begin with, we went on the International Student Tairei Gorge Train trip, where we spent a day on an old train and meandered our way through Otago. It was gorgeous, and really reminded me a lot of the west- like the Black Hills, SD and mid-Idaho areas. It took all day and they had a bbq set up for us on the way back (vegetarian included- although there were so many that the veg line took longer than the carnivore lines!).
A few days later, we headed to Tunnel Beach, rumored to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the area- and where some other students had seen some penguin nests! We took a $2 bus most of the way, then a 1.5km walk along some unpaved country roads lead us to a steep steep walking trail down to the beach. The coastline was just stunning- large cliff faces and blue-green water. We walked out on top of the rock features and had lunch, the whole time looking out over the whole area. Next we headed down a man-made tunnel (hense the name) to the beach below. Unfortunately it was high tide so there was little beach to walk around. We jumped around on the rocks, and saw some really strange seaweed. They look like huge octupus or squid, about 10 feet or so long and all rubbery. The inside is goo, and there are 20 some odd "tentacles." So strange. However, just as we were about to leave, a little (and very rare) Fiordland penguin came ashore and started hopping around on the rocks! it was incredible to actually see a penguin in the wild.

Our third major adventure was a guided tour to the Otago Peninsula to see Royal Albatross, Seals, Sea Lions, and of course, more penguins! The day started with a trip the the Albatross Colony- the only mainland nesting colony in the world. These birds are so majestic- it's almost difficult to believe that they're real! They have up to a 3meter wingspan and once they are old enough to fly off on their own, they may not touch land again for 3-5 years. Albatross from this colony have been tracked all over the southern hemisphere, like Chili and South Africa. Following that, we hiked inland to the Fur Seal mating colony, which was covered in little pups and lounging adults. They were so cute and the pups were all about the play time, wrestling in pools and chasing eachother across the rocks. It was such a sureal experience, to be looking down at hundreds of seals all over the rocks. Such a reality check to realize how small we are in the grand scheme of things. Finally, we hiked over to a yellow-eyed penguin colony (which happens to share it's area with a sheep farm). Along the way we ran into some Sea Lions coming in from the water - they are absolutely massive! but so graceful in their movements.

(flying adult Royal Albatross)

(fur seal colony)(fur seal coming in from the water)
(rare female sea lion on the beach)
(yellow-eyed penguin)(Otago in a picture!)

Classes start next week and we probably won't have much time for traveling. I'll let you know how the first week of classes and I'll post another blog with pictures of people! Hope all is well in the states :)

Day 6

We went on a hike to the top of Mt. Cargill, which was an hour walk through the streets and then a 3 hour roundtrip trail. The terrain was steep, but well kept and the scenery was breathtaking. Near the bottom of the trail head, there was a map of the single-track mountain biking in the area - which was significant. When I finally get my bike finished, I'll have to ride around that area. They have held several mountain biking national races there, so it's bound to be technical and tough. I'm pretty excited about it.

At the top of the hike, you could see the entire city, the bay, the peninsula, and several miles inland.




Orientation for University is starting this week, and it is HUGE! There are several bands playing each day, tents set up all across campus, and multiple events going on throughout the week. Most are pretty expensive (like $25), so I'll stick to the free stuff. Tomorrow is Clubs and Societies day, where I can sign up for the sports clubs. In addition to mountain biking, I'm going to sign up for the water polo tryouts. They select a team to participate in the National University Games later in the semester, and it would be a blast. Wish me luck!

Yesterday, we went on a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate factory, which was yummy. The whole place smelled so good, but I'm sure the workers get sick of it pretty quickly. At least we got lots of free samples. Thursday, we will be going to the beaches, as long as the weather holds out. The ozone layer is really thin here, so it's easy to burn. They even have 70spf here! Hopefully my 30 will hold out. Friday is when we attend "primary lectures", which will tell us where our classes will be held and who our professors are. Saturday, we will be taking a guided tour of the peninsula, where we should get to see albatross and penguins!

That's all I got right now, miss you all!