Wild and Wet Weekends

Well, I've been remiss again and let two weekends pass without writing of my adventures.  However, that means that this entry is going to be twice as exciting (as if you hadn't guessed already from the title) so brace yourselves...!

Every year, on the second Saturday in March, the Wild Foods Festival takes place in Hokitika on the west coast of the South Island.  The festival was first instigated by a local woman whose cellar was overflowing with rose petal wine.  To reduce her stocks and create a general atmosphere of ...merriment... amongst her fellow townspeople she decided to share and soon other locals joined in bringing along an assortment of wild oddities.  Today the original concept has been rather distorted (for the better I'm sure) and it's now the place to go to sample a variety of very very strange 'delicacies.'

Not wanting us miss out on this west coast tradition, Louis and Christine's Kiwi Host, Aleisha, generously offered to drive us to Hokitika to participate in the ...merriment... with the rest of her flat and a group of her friends.  But before we arrived at the festival we had a fantastic drive up the east coast of New Zealand and across the mountains through Arthur's Pass.  Fortunately, because we weren't pressed for time (no one ever is in this country) we got to stop at a number of exciting places along the way.

The first of these stops was at the Moeraki Boulders, just north of Dunedin. The Moeraki Boulders are big grey concretions which have been eroded from cliffs behind them.  Geologists think that they were created when hot, calcite-rich waters permeated the cliffs and cemented the mudstones together.  The Māori believe that the boulders are the remnants of eel baskets and kumara (like a sweet-potato, except from heaven) that washed ashore after the canoe of an atua (ancestor) was wrecked.  This brings up the fact that I've been learning a lot of interesting Māori creation narratives in class which I'll introduce as relevant to my adventures.  Anyways, most tourists, myself included, just think that the boulders make for a pretty good photo op.

After Moeraki, we made a quick stop to see if we could spot any penguins in Omaru.  We only saw these three and they were quite funny looking so we didn't stop for long....

 After waiting for the car carrying Aleisha's friends to catch up with us at her parent's house in Timaru, we started off inland to cross Arthur's Pass.  The greater part of this drive was in the dark but we did get to see it in the daylight on the way back.  The views were pretty great even though it was a little misty and it made me realize how much I was dying to go tramping again!

Eventually (after a stop for the night in Gremouth at another friend's house) we finally arrived at the Wild Foods Festival.  It was pretty crazy, with lots of people dressed up in costumes and in various states of inebriation.  Once we got into the festival we stopped just inside the entrance at the Huhu grub stand because Louis entertainingly/stupidly had promised to eat the first thing he saw.  A Huhu grub is much like those morsels Timon and Pumba ate in the Lion King and apparently tastes just the same...like chicken.

From there we roamed all over the grounds sampling snails (escargot to you!), sandflies in jelly (revenge was sweet), wild green-lip mussels (my favorite), wild pork (oink oink) and the specialty of the Wild Foods Festival: Mountain Oysters aka. Sheep balls.  Greasy but not bad.... We capped the whole day off with a starry night on the beach next to a roaring bonfire.

But wait!  That's only the Wild part of the blog...!

 Last weekend I decided (based on our beautiful trip though Arthur's Pass) that it was time for some more tramping.  Fortunatley, the Otago University Tramping Club (OUTC) does a huge trip (many groups) every year to Fiordland.  So last Friday night I set off for what turned out to be the most stupid and dangerous thing I have ever done in my life.

The plan was to approach the Routeburn Track from the west, take it to it's junction with the Caples Track, follow that to the top of the Alisa Mountains (photo stolen from the internet-we never saw further than 100 m in front of us) and then follow the 1500 m contour of the Alisa Mountains (above treeline and just below snowline) until we found a suitable place to drop down below treeline and camp.  The second day we were to continue along the contour until we found a bit of a break in the brush, scramble down 40 m through dense rainforest and find ourselves  back on the Routeburn Track.  If that made very little sense, I'm not surprised, please check out the blue line on the map.

In reality this is what happened (and here I am momentarily suspending my pledge not to complain): we arrived at the trail head at 11pm Friday night and spent the night in a picnic/bus shelter while it poured.  Saturday we awoke and started off through a light rain.  We knew we were going to get wet but we didn't have a clue just how wet.

By the time we reached the saddle of the Alisa Mountains on the Caples Track at lunchtime it was pouring and the wind was blowing like mad (we found out later it reached gusts of 60 miles/hour.  But because we were still warm and we knew where we were, we started off again, this time following the contour line on our map.
 
The going was pretty rough, the top of the mountain was really a bog and our feet sank into the mud with every step we took.  It wasn't long before our 'waterproof boots' and expensive 'rain jackets' were nothing more than dead weight trapping water to our skin.  As we walked the clouds had descended and pretty soon we realized that we could no longer find our place on the map because we couldn't see from the front of our group (6 people) to the back let alone to the nearest landmark to take a bearing.  In other words we were totally lost, in a rainstorm, with gusts of winds that would knock you over if you didn't keep walking.  We contemplated turning back but didn't think we could reach the valley floor before nightfall.

Eventually it started to get dark and we decided that we needed to drop below treeline to make camp for the night.  I think it was at this point that I realized just how much trouble we were in.  Soaked to the bone we were going to camp under a flimsy tent fly with our sleeping bags on the sodden ground. 

That night we stayed warm by lying tightly packed together.  This wasn't one of those cute cuddling moments, it was a huddle or hypothermia, spoon or suffer the consequences moment. 

All though the night and the next morning the rain continued.  When we got out from underneath the fly I didn't even bother putting on my rain jacket.  After another few hours struggling against the wind and rain we realized that we weren't going to find the easy way down through the trees and just plunged down through them.  When we emerged sodden, scratched, muddy and exhausted at the bottom of the valley and finally found the Routeburn Track we were elated and much high-fiving and consumption of emergency chocolate ensued.

Just in case you think I'm exaggerating as I write this blog (4 days later) little facts like this these keep popping up.

• More than 100 trampers have been evacuated from mountain huts in Fiordland
• The Milford and Routeburn tracks have been closed until the debris-strewn Milford highway is cleared.
• 20 walkers were yesterday flown out from the Howden Hut on the Routeburn Track.
• A tree fell on the rangers' quarters at the Mackenzie Hut on the Routeburn, and a large window was blown out at the Luxmore Hut on the Kepler Track (I stayed there last month).
• "I come from Florida and I've been through hurricanes before, and I can say that some of the winds that came through here were like a category two storm"
• Flooding had "eaten away" the highway in places.

And that, my friends, was the Wet weekend!

More in two weeks after my final Field Studies field trip and Spring Break spent hiking the Wilkins-Young Circut (got to get back on that horse) and touring Fox and Franz Josef glaciers.

Glad to be alive,
Allison

Long Time No Blog

I must apologize, for it has been almost a month since my last post!  I have nothing to say for myself except that I have been busy having fun (which I feel is a valid excuse).

At the close of my last entry I mentioned that I was moving to a new flat.  I am now settled comfortably at 19 Montgomery Ave. in a much larger and brighter room, with a lovely, functional kitchen and airy common room.

My new roommates are named Julia and Katie and are both infinitely better than the girl I was previously stuck with: Ashlyn.  For comic relief here are several interesting points about Ashlyn...

• A cheerleader from Arkansas with the obligatory fake tan and bleached hair
• The proud owner of two books: the bible and a travel guide to New Zealand
• Wore hot pink, rhinestone-studded, velour Juicy Couture track sets

In favorable contrast: Julia is a graduate student from Germany who is studying chemistry and Katie is a fellow liberal-arts undergrad who goes to Bates College in Maine.

A few days after I moved it was time for 'course approval.'  This basically means going around to each of your professors and getting them to sign a piece of paper saying that you can enroll in that 'paper.'

(Picture is looking out of the Geology Department towards the Clocktower) 

This was a boring exercise, but I was fortunate to have good company.  Louis and his flatmate Christine,  joined me and together we navigated through both the rain and the campus, successfully obtaining signatures and eventually ending up with our student ID's.  Christine (picture) is from Pennsylvania but goes to the University of Vermont at Burlington where she majors in environmental science and has a concentration in geology.  As you can probably tell from the second half of that sentence: we get along really well and have been hanging out quite a bit (we also have two classes together).  In fact, this weekend we are headed to the Hokitika Wild Foods Festival (more on that later) and are hopeful that over Fall Break we can go tramping together on the North Island.

The day after course approval, Louis, Christine and I hiked to the top of Mt. Cargill (the second time for me) and the following day we did the Pineapple Track.  Since the Pineapple Track didn't look very far away on the map we decided to walk to the trail head, rather than take the bus.  Unfortunately, our map was not really designed to be used anywhere other than right on campus and the mapmakers seem to have magnified the university at the expense of accurately portraying off-campus distances.  Consequently, what looked like only a few short blocks on the map turned out to be a 5km hike just to get to the trail head (one way).  This would have been fine except for the fact that we got lost on the way and the hike itself was not exactly a flat 5k.  Fortunately, it was worth it: the view from the top gave us an excellent sense of Dunedin's geography.  15k? No worries mate!

However, classes had to start sooner or later (it's already mid semester at Mac!) and for us they began a little earlier than for everyone else.  The week before school officially started (March 1st), Christine, Louis and I took a field trip for our "Field Studies and New Zealand Geology" class.

On Tuesday we set off for Maerewhenua (near Oamaru-since you all know where that is) where we were to spend four days mapping the regional geology.  Each morning we awoke around 7am, made sandwiches for ourselves (peanut butter and jelly for Christine and myself, Marmite and margarine for Louis) and spent until 7pm in the field mapping outcrops and unit contacts.  Every evening we would have dinner (uughhh) and then spend from 8:30 until 11:30 drawing our maps.  

If that sounds like a lot of work, that's because it was!  Unlike geology trips at Macalester which typically involve copious amounts of alcohol and lots of dangerous antics with rock hammers (you didn't read that Mum) this trip was lame!  We may have been divided up into several FIELD PARTIES! but there was no FIELD PARTYING! and certainly no Maerewhenua (haha)!  Not only was the evening entertainment lacking, but because we had trouble finding Christine's bag we ended up sleepng in a Vietnam-era tent (instead of a cabin) which was very cold at night, very hot during the day and made me feel like Allen Alda was about to burst through the flap at any moment.  

The end goal of the project was to write a 3,000 word essay explaining the geology of the area, make a geologic map of the area, draw two cross sections through the region and create two stratigraphic columns showing unit thicknesses and major features.  We have no idea how it's going to be graded but you know: 

Don't even worry about it, it is what it is...

If you are having trouble falling asleep, you may be interested in reading my abstract (at the bottom).  

So classes started in earnest last week and while it's still too early to tell which ones are going to be good I'll give you a quick rundown.

1) Field studies and NZ geology-80 kids-Lacks direction

2) Maori Culture Studies-260 kids-The head lecturer is prone to tipping over mid-sentence, this is very entertaining and I like her a lot

3) Paleoceanography-This is a graduate class which is actually a course and a third (24 points instead of 18) and is comprised of one 'module' entitled Paleoceanography (me and one other kid) and one 'module' entitled Isotope Geochemistry (8 people).

Well, that should catch us up!  This weekend we're off to Hokitika to see the New Zealand Wild Foods Festival.  We're driving past the Moeraki Boulders, through Arthur's Pass, Christine is curious about trying some grubs, Louis has promised to eat sheep balls and I'm turning 21 so you know the pictures are going to be great....

Love,

A

From Christchurch, Claire and Canterbury to Sun, Surf & Sand

What a whirlwind week it has been!  As I mentioned last post, my friend Claire from Northfield came to visit me for a few days on her way to Australia and we were busy seeing the sights of Dunedin and Christchurch.

We began our week in the Botanic Gardens exploring some of the further reaches I hadn't yet seen.  The extent of the garden is pretty impressive, there are numerous individual gardens dedicated to particular species of plants and specific regions around the world.  We visited the aviary, a garden of South African plants, a valley of ferns and some truly magnificent trees.  Claire was especially impressed by the gardens, having taken plant morphology at St. Olaf she was well equipped to appreciate the genetic relationships and kept telling me about similar plants in the U.S..

The next day we took a bus to the foot of Mt. Cargill (named after one of the founders of Dunedin) and climbed it for panoramic views of the city.  It was a little overcast but it was still beautiful and allowed us to get an excellent sense of our place in the city and surrounding harbors.  My favorite part of this hike was that it took us past the Organ Pipes-an outcrop of columnar basalts formed when the peninsula was still volcanically active.

The next day we visited the Cadbury factory with Jeff, a friend from Macalester (who also accompanied us to Mt. Cargill).  This was a truly unique experience as it is the only Cadbury factory in the whole world that gives tours.  During the tour we picked up lots of chocolate but unfortunately no pictures.  Photography is not allowed in the factory (think Willy Wonka's secrecy) so we had to satisfy ourselves with photos in front of the Cadbury delivery trucks.  Afterwards, we hit up the factory shop where we made a number of delicious purchases including a bar of dark chocolate with coffee, Irish cream, orange and hazelnut fillings in each square.  Heaven!

  

Next up on the schedule was a trip to Christchurch where we stayed for three nights and two days.  The first day we spent our time checking out the city itself.  Our first stop was Cathedral Square, home of the famous Christchurch Cathedral.  The front of the cathedral itself was undergoing repairs so I'll substitute this internet photo for one of my own.  We also encountered a small flea market here but it was nothing compared to the arts fair we saw next on the grounds of the old university.  Christchurch is home to Canterbury University where chemist Ernest Rutherford used his gold foil experiment to demonstrate the existence of an atomic nucleus.  His old laboratories now are now the workshops of fine craftsmen, including a group of spinners and knitters who make beautiful hats, sweaters and scarves out of wool from New Zealand's many sheep.  

Right next to the old University are the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

 

Next, we rented kayaks and went boating on the Avon river.  This was an interesting experience because our visit coincided with the kayaking leg of the Speights Coast to Coast, a triathalon of running, biking and paddling from the East to West coast of New Zealand.

As if all that wasn't enough, we also visited the Christchurch Museum of Art.

 

 On our second day in Christchurch we rode the gondola hoping to catch views of the harbor and out towards the Southern Alps.  Unfortunatley, it was rather cloudy, but the time we spent waiting for it to clear wasn't wasted.  Many a hand of gin was played!

For Claire's last day we decided to get a group together and go to Tunnel Beach.  Claire, Peggy (another Mac student), Louis, Jeff and myself all piled onto the bus and spent a beautiful afternoon on a beach accessible only by a tunnel through the rock.  The tunnel was constructed by Mr. Cargill (the founding father) so that his daughter could have a private beach to herself, away from the riff raff of Dunedin.  Supposedly she drowned on her first visit.  Fortunately, We avoided all mishaps (the water was too damn cold) and simply enjoyed the scenery. 

Well, my last bit of news is that next time I write I will be including pictures of my NEW flat!  That's right, I'm moving one street over tomorrow for a bigger room, a quieter street and a much much nicer kitchen.  Can't wait!

Miss you all,

Allison

Abel Tasman National Park

This Sunday I returned from a week spent hiking the Abel Tasman Track at the northernmost tip of the South Island.  The map shows the route we hiked from Marahau in the South to Wainui Bay in the North. 







To get to the Abel Tasman we traversed the better part of New Zealand's East Coast by bus.  Between the two of us we had a total of 14 bus tickets and I'm pleased to report that we didn't miss a single one (although a water bottle and a book were left somewhere in there)!  While riding that many buses was rather exhausting, driving was an excellent way to see the landscape of New Zealand.  Because there aren't any interstates here (it was two-lane roads the whole way) you really experience relatively unadulterated scenery as you drive along.  From the idyllic pastures of the farms around Dunedin, to the rugged coastlines and seal colonies of Kaikoura to vineyards and orchards of the Marlborough district it was all beautiful.  The only downside was that many of the roads involve a tremendous number of switchbacks leaving me feeling rather queasy.

The first night on the road we spent an unremarkable night at a hostel in Christchurch but the following night we camped in the small seaside town of Marahau where we saw people riding horses in the surf as the sun went down.  Marahau is where most of the water taxis and kayaking outfitters who take tourists along the Abel Tasman Track are headquartered.  Both of these modes of transport are very popular allowing people of all levels of fitness (but only high affluence $$$) to access the track.  While I was very happy to walk, I think kayaking would also have been fantastic, it was so hot (around 80 F) and the water always looked tempting! 

The track itself was everything we were promised: each day we swam in turquoise waters, ate dinner on beautiful sandy beaches and saw the stars of the Southern sky at night, all in perfect weather.  Unfortunately the sandflies were also as promised.  Despite the application of 95% deet and a strange roll-on sort of bug-spray Louis picked up we both got bitten up terribly and will be reaching for the anti-itch cream for some time.

One of the more unique elements of the Abel Tasman was that it involved tidal crossings which could only be accomplished within a few hours of low tide.  This meant that on several occasions we had to get up quite early in the morning (allowing me to take this picture of a spectacular sunrise), but it also ensuring that we had plenty of time in the afternoons for swimming and reading.

I have to admit some disappointment at not meeting any more really interesting people on the trail.  There were a few groups that seemed promising (including a large group of college students from Winona State University in MN) but the most significant conversation we had was with a group of older trampers from the US (Louis heard them call us nice kids.) 

Our last few hours on the trail were spent discussing all the food we wanted to eat once we got back to civilization (the hot dogs of Chicago and the bratwurst's of Louie's Finer Meats were both explicated in detail).  A number of different options were discussed but ultimately we ended up eating Italian (with some local wine) and topping it off with ice cream.  While I went for the homemade Maple Walnut, I suggested that Louis go for the "Hokey Pokey" flavor.  Having "experienced" this uniquely New Zealand flavor on my previous visit (it was awful) I suspected that its totally artificial sponge toffee taste would appeal to him.  It did, and he is now hooked on the stuff.

Our way back we spent another night in Christchurch and I dragged us out to see the Royal Botanic Gardens at night.  We couldn't see much in the dark, but I'm hopeful that when Claire (a friend from Nfld.) and I visit again next week we will see them as I remember them.

On that note: Claire is coming to visit me tomorrow!  I have a number (read: a ton) of rather exciting activities planned including a picnic in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens, a hike up Mt. Cargill for views of Dunedin and some exciting columnar basalts, a tour of Cadbury World, a walk up the World's Steepest Street, a day touring in Christchurch, a trip to Banks Peninsula to bicycle the caldera, a trip to St. Clair Beach in Dunedin, a day trip to see Larnach Castle and the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Colony and a day hike to Tunnel Beach. Whew!!!!  The next post is going to be full of crazy excitement.

Can't wait!
Allison

The Kepler

Definitions of a tramp: 

1. A prostitute. -- No...

2. A person regarded as promiscuous. -- No...

3. One who travels aimlessly about on foot, doing odd jobs or begging for a living; a vagrant. -- Not quite...

4. To traverse on foot  -- Ahhh, yes.

In New Zealand one does not simply go hiking, one goes tramping!  While it may sound silly, in reality, New Zealand's long-distance treks are no laughing matter.  This past week I was fortunate enough to experience one of the country's more beautiful tramps: The Kepler.  As I briefly mentioned in my last post the Kepler starts in the resort town of Te Anau, which is located about four and a half hours away from Dunedin.  I traversed this distance by InterCity bus and was regaled along the way with local stories told by our charming bus driver.  As the hours passed the idyllic scenery outside the bus became gradually more mountainous but one thing stayed the same: the number of sheep!  It doesn't take a guidebook to make a tourist to realize that sheep in New Zealand outnumber citizens by a large margin (15:1).  If my experience is any indication, what that statistic actually means is that by the end of any drive through the country, you will have a strong desire for a lamb roast with maple roasted root vegetables.  Mmmmmm.

After spending the night in the Te Anau YHA I was ready to begin my tramping.  While it was raining as I took a shuttle to the beginning of the track, almost as soon as I stepped off the bus the clouds began to lift.  The rain actually made the beech forest more beautiful, the greens were vivid and the air humid and tropical.  After an hour of flat walking, the trail reached a beach and turned sharply upwards.  After three exhausting hours of steep climbing through dense forest I emerged far above Lake Te Anau and got my first views out over the neighboring fiords.
From there it was only about another hour before I reached my first overnight stop, the Luxmore Hut.  After setting up my sleeping bag in one of the hut's many bunk beds, I headed out to see a nearby cave and then settled down on the deck with my book.

That night at dinner I met the first of my tramping companions.  Maria, originally from Holland but now living in Perth, Australia.  Maria had just come from hiking the Milford Track and assured me that the Kepler was much more worthwile, being less crowded, just as beautiful and having fewer sandflies (more on that in a bit).  The next day I hiked up to the top of Mount Luxmore with some other new friends, three girls all of whom were fresh out of the Israeli army and traveling the world.  You meet people from every corner of the world and every walk of life while tramping and it was interesting to hear their stories and plans.

On the second night Maria introduced me to Mirjam (from Switzerland) and the next day at lunch we added Tijs and Pieter (Belgian hitchhikers) to our group.  I traveled the remaining two days with Maria, Mirjam, Tijs and Pieter (walking at the sandfly pace.) I couldn't have asked for a more interesting and entertaining group of people to tramp with.  From swimming in the warm waters of Lake Manapouri and watching the sun set to playing a German travel version of Settlers we had a great time together!  Mirjam may even come to visit me in Dunedin!

One final note about the Kepler: sandflies.  Sandflies are the equivilent of Minnesota's blackflies, except worse: much much worse.  Active primarily at dawn and dusk (and in the foot of my sleeping bag at night) these mosquitoes suck your blood and leave you itchy as hell.  If you're extra lucky, like me, you might find that you are allergic to their 'venom' and wind up with huge welts and swollen areas making it look as though someone has been beating the crap out of you.  To avoid these demons, one wears 95% deet and walks very quickly (the sandfly pace).

However, I refuse to be deterred by the attacks of mere bugs so just as soon as my feet are back to their normal size (otherwise known as the day after tomorrow) I am off to hike the Abel Tasman.  The AT is an easy tramp along the beaches at the north end of the South Island and boasts white sand beaches, marine wildlife and yes, more sandflies.  Fortunately, I will not be alone in my suffering, I will be joined by a fellow geologist from Macalester and together we shall travel through Christchurch, along the length of the east coast of New Zealand, through Nelson and along the 32 miles of the Abel Tasman.  In short: there and back again.

Love,
Allison

Welcome to Dunedin

Today was my third day in Dunedin.  I'm just starting to feel comfortable in the city which means that it's time for me to pack my bags and head off on my first tramp, but more on that later!

My first view of Dunedin was as I landed at its small airstrip about 30 minutes out of town.  My first thought as we touched down was, "god, I hope we can stop quickly enough not to hit the sheep."  Yes, indeed the Dunedin Aerodrome, is quite pastoral, but the city itself is far from it. As my friendly taxi driver and I chatted about the city (and cricket) on our drive into town, the scenery slowly transitioned from bright green pastures to more urban buildings with beautiful gardens. 

My first stop in the city was at the University (photo) to pick up the key to my flat.  After signing the necessary paperwork and collecting my key the cab took me to my new home (less than a block away) and I began what my mother calls the process of 'nesting.'  This involved unpacking my stuff, hanging decorations and unfortunately washing every surface and cooking implement in the house.  I'm not going to post any pictures of the flat yet because I'm still unsure of which bedroom will finally be mine and the rest of it is not much to look at.  The room I'm currently staying in is very tiny (think smaller than a Dupre single), but I have hopes of switching with one of my roomates who might be interested in cheaper rent.  This is an issue that will take some time to resolve because neither of my roommates will be arriving until mid Feburary, nearer to when classes start.

Despite the fact that no one is living with me, I have already started to meet people.  Last night I hung out with the Kiwi boys who live next door to me, some kids who go to Dartmouth and some kids from Canada.  The latter two groups are here for summer school and will be leaving soon, but it was fun to get out and meet some new people.  The Canadians (here to study eco-tourism) were particularly fun to talk with, they were very outgoing and happy to share what they have come to love about Dunedin.

In addition to my late night communing with fellow foreigners and neighborly New Zealanders I have also done a number of other interesting things in the city so far.  Including...

 

Making good on my promise to smell the roses in the Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

Visiting the Dunedin train station in all its Sottish-Gothic glory and the First Church of Dunedin

Going to the Beach: Where my pale pale Minnesota skin turned the same shade as that sunflower above

If someone were to ask what has stood out to me the most so far, my answer would be: the colors of the foliage, the smells of the flowers and the exciting topography.  Coming from a white, icy, flat landscape these have all been things to behold.  My most interesting experience thus far was riding the (expensive) city bus.  On my way out to the beach I saw a number of interesting thrift shops downtown which I thought might be useful for furnishing my flat.  So, on the way back I asked the driver if I could get a transfer (you know where you can get off and then get back on without paying twice).  He didn't understand what I was asking, so I explained, thinking that the word must just be different.  When I had finished he gave me a very stern look and said, "Young lady, the bus is not a taxi cab to be used at your leisure."  Unfortunately, EVERYONE on the bus heard this lecture and much to my chagrin though my request was hilarious.  I tried to explain that this was quite commonplace in the U.S. which didn't help my case.  Lesson learned.

Next up on my agenda is hiking the Kepler Track in Fiordland. The Kepler is one of New Zealand's Great Walks, although 'walk' is a bit of a misnomer.  The hike starts in Te Anau and goes in a loop for 38 miles over the course of 4 days,  climbing almost 3,000 feet to reach the summit of Mt. Luxmore.  Check back in a week for pictures, hopefully they'll be stunning panoramas, the Kepler was one of the filming locations for Lord of the Rings. 


More next week!
Allison

Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity!

I left MSP on Sunday, beginning a journey of two days and four flights, taking me more than 8,600 miles to a new hemisphere and the other side of the world.  As we took off I looked out over the snow covered cities and it occurred to me that the next time I see Minnesota will be in June and the scene will be an entirely different color.  I thought of the changes I will miss, the melting of the snow, the leafing out of the trees...  But then I remembered that I'm going to NEW ZEALAND, where it is currently SUMMER and I stopped feeling so sorry for myself.

But I'm getting ahead of myself...

 

My preparations for this trip began months ago, but it didn't actually begin to seem real until it was time to leave Mac.  As friends can testify this was hard, with many watery-eyed hugs.  I look forward to hearing from everyone, especially those who have promised to write me letters! (367 Leith St., Dunedin, Otago 9016, New Zealand)

I also had my family to say goodbye to and that was even harder.  The first time I flew by myself (to Texas for 10 weeks) it was a rather tearful goodbye.  I'll spare you the gory details of my waterworks this time around, let it suffice to say that I love them all very much and it's too bad there are no such things as rewards for frequent skype-ing.  I'm going to do my best to stay in touch without, you know, calling home every day or anything ridiculous like that. 

Goodbyes over it was time for my next challenge... MSP airport "security."  Fortunately, I passed through without incident (I think they go easy on tearful blondes.)  Unfortunately, as I "hopped off the plane at LAX" late (due to mechanical problems in Denver) I learned of a "passenger Allison Jackowbel" who was about to miss the last boarding call for her flight to Auckland.  Frantically, I tried to pass through international security at LAX at the speed of light.  This is an impossible task but was much speeded by my shutting down a TSA agent who wanted to swab my laptop (again) for god knows what...  "Um, excuse me that is MY laptop (taking it from her hands) and I am very late for my very expensive flight so NO, it is NOT ok with me if you put it through a secondary screening."  I don't think people talk back to them, ever, and she was shocked enough that she didn't stop me!

Flying over the Pacific I (unlike poor Kaija) had a chance to think about where I've been and where I'm going.  It dawned on me that this time last year I was in the Bahamas.  I also thought about the last time I was in NZ (14 years ago this month).  Thinking about all this led me to two conclusions: (1) I have a pretty nice life and (2) I have a tendency to live in the past and future rather than enjoying the moment.  My corresponding resolutions for New Zealand are to (A) stop worrying so much and (B) relax and smell the flowers.  If you find me deviating from these resolutions please send me a nice letter and some dark chocolate.

It is now 4 pm, 2 days, 1 sleeping pill and several thousand miles later and I am sitting in my new room in Dunedin wondering where to start.  My adventure has begun!  More soon ...

Much love,
Allison