A Great Quote

Here's a great quote I stumbled across while on my recent reading binge (3 books in 4 days! wow...never done that before...that's what happens when you're driving for 10 hrs/day!). I feel as though I can somehow deeply relate to this one:

"I grew up exhuberant in body but with a nervy, craving mind. It was wanting something more, something tangible. It sought for reality intensely, always as if it were not thre... But you see at once what I do. I climb. " ~John Menlove Edwards, "Letter from a Man"

WEST (wet) COAST!!!

(Photo Above: view from Lake Matheson...a picturesque, mirror lake that reflects the big boys: Mt. Tasman on the left, and Mt. Cook on the right...what a gorgeous spot to study forests!)

Here's a brief rundown of what we did for the past five days of forest ecology roadtrip:

Long drive from Kaikoura thru Lewis Pass...but SNOW! big, classic snowball fight...it was perfect

Spent two days exploring and being creeped out by Waiuta...the gold mining ghost town we stayed in....creepy, 800m deep mine shafts, still-standing but abandoned and run down barber shop with hair still on the floor!, glowworms on the side of the trail at night, etc...way cool but really scary!...and of course the forests surrounding Waiuta were perfect for forest ecology

On our way south down the west coast, stopped at Franz Joseph Glacier, a GIGANTIC slab of ice coming down from the southern alps...lots of great exploration and photos from here...i'll show you soon!

Spent a day going ultralight on the Copeland Valley Track...which links the East and West Coasts over the ridiculously dangerous Copeland Pass...we didn't quite make it that far because of daylight restrictions, but the rivercrossings and swingbridges were CLASSIC!

Walked for HOURS along the gorgeous Maori Beach of Bruce Bay, reading Dove, the story of a 16 yr old who sailed solo around the world...pretty nice spot to read a sailing biography!

Drove back through pouring rain, but took Arthur's Pass home...which meant stopping at CASTLE HILL one last time...saw a man an his wife cross a slackline rigged 60 ft off the ground between two free standing boulders! yikes!

Back in class now...finishing Forest Eco today, then two days of final project presentation prep...then weekend of presentations, a few days of debrief, then exploring the top of the south island with kate for five days...yay!

Last Class!

Well, we're winding to a close here in Kaikoura...super sad. After my first day of Forest Ecology, though, I'm thrilled about what lies in store for the next two weeks. Lots of field research and time in the forest, observing the interdependence of species, not to mention seeing all kinds of critters that only exist here...nowhere else on earth!

Here's a brief low-down of upcoming hightlights:

Wed: AM forest walk, then afternoon whale watch off kaikoura!!! yes please!

Thrus to Wed: travel to and from West Coast of S. Island, through Reefton, past the glaciers (day trip!), eventually Bruce Bay (Hicktown NZ...hehe), then hopefully a long daytrip up to the famous welcome flat hot springs on the copeland valley track, under Mt. Cook!

Thurs on: final presentation prep for Integrated Student Presentations, presented in a community-wide symposium that saturday

following week: debrief week: recap of all we've covered, deep cleaning the convent, final small group activities and trips, etc

that's all for CCSP, folks!

Brief Overview of Spring Break...photos soon!

Greetings once again!
Here's a quick low down of the 9-day spring break I just had...buckets of fun!:

Rental (small!) car pickup in Christchurch. Drove to Mt. Cook for MOUNTAINEERING adventure.
In Mt. Cook, climbed Mueller Hut route through scree and snow to a snow bivy sight. Woke up Easter morning for a gorgeous sunrise over Oceania's highest peak...what an Easter start! spent the day going over mtneering skills as we traversed toward the Annette Plateau and Mt. Sealy...gorgeous views of Cook and the Mueller Glacier far below...great photos soon!

Left Mt. Cook, traveled through Twizel on the way down to touristville, i mean Queenstown area. We hated the hecktic insanity of Queenstown, so we didn't even stop! Camped in Twelve Mile Delta, right on the beautiful lake...spent a half day in Glenorchy, then Arrowtown, going on random river crossings and long explorations into the moutains and forests...fantastic scenery.

Spent just over a day in Wanaka: caught another outrageously pink sunrise, I climbed at Hospital Flat...a great, classic spot we had to ourselves that day! Met up accidently with another CCSP group in the town of Wanaka, and eventually traveled north toward the West Coast.

Most epic night of my life...0 minutes of sleep and a very miserable, cold, wet night in the sleeping bag...enquire later...it's a long story. Drove through the west coast...miserable stormy weather with many landslides, road closures, and floods. Crazy...

Sucked it up and went to a hostel in Hokitika to dry out and sleep well for once. Toured a jade/Greenstone carving factory the next day...amazingly unique.

Drove back through Arthur's pass and nearly ran out of gas...spent an afternoon doing solo time in the foreign landscape of Castle Hill again, I was bummed not to climb.

Camped near Oxford by this cool river gorge that night...a quick morning drive to Christchurch to attend a church service at the astounding Christchurch Cathedral...and return the rental car...

so many little side trips and funny stories mixed in there that words can't justify...i hope the photos do a little better job later!

Mt. Cook!

We arrived in Mt. Cook National Park after the sleepness night. As we entered the Southern Alps, we drove right into a beast of a storm...howling wind and bitter cold, stinging rain. That's the condition we set up our tents in...and we crawled in later that night, cold and wet. The day itself was exciting just because we were in Mt. Cook Village, close to the tallest peak in Oceania. We couldn't see a thing the first day, though, but made the best of it by going to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre, a tribute to his first ascent of Everest and his tremendous influence in mountaineering and antarctic exploration worldwide. We also went to the world's most southern planetarium and 3D show. Way cool...

the following morning, we woke up to a GORGEOUS day...the sun was glistening on the peaks that we didn't even know were there. Pictures won't do it justice...did a fantastic day hike up the Hooker Valley to the Hooker Glacier at the bottom of Mt. Cook. OUTSTANDING!!! Such a contrast from yesterday too! Spent the entire day researching the mountains and planning a mountaineering trip down there next month! Yeah!

EDORAS!

After a crazy day on Avalanche Peak, we took the rental station wagon off road the following day on Audra's pilgrimage to Edoras, where the LOTR set was constructed. This beautiful craggy hill, Mt. Sunday, is set in the middle of an enormous valley surrounded by the snowcapped peaks of the Southern Alps. We took the liberty to cross some private land, cattle ranges, and sheep grazing hills. We had to ford quite a few braided streams, thigh deep, and go through ankle deep manure, but finally we arrived on the summit of Edoras for a nice, well earned lunch! We left after a ton of photos and a few hours to head to gorgeous Lake Tekapo, where the sunset over the southern alps lit up this tiny stone church, the Church of the Good Shepherd. AMAZING. car camped and didn't sleep at all that night, but nothing could dampen the day!

Arthur's Pass!

This was one of the most action packed days of my life! Woke up at 5am to drive/hike/climb up a boulder and watch the sunrise with Kate. We then picked up Kat and Audra and headed for the Pass, only a 35 minute drive from Castle Hill. We got some maps and info at the iSite, then bundled up and took the Avalanche Peak trail...it was INTENSE...crazy waterfalls, steep sections, and no level or semi-level ground to the summit, at nearly 2000 meters. Insane views...awesome exposure. We had perfect weather, too. Took Scott's Track down the peak and ended up in the tiny town of Arthur's Pass Village...we got some great pub food, our first eating out experience all week. I took the night shift, driving all the way down to Mt. Somers that night. LONG, but epic day...pictures don't do it justice!