From Middle Earth to Mount Doom

Growing up I had an impression that volcanoes were dangerous locations containing enormously deep craters at the top in which a person could disappear whole. They were unpredictable and could swallow a person on a whim. Volcanoes were NOT something that you purposefully sought out.

Ski lifts to the top of Mount Ruapehu (Mount Doom!)

Toss all of that out the window! The entire Georgia Tech students and faculty of the Pacific program headed to the Taupo Volcanic Zone, which (technically) lists 22 volcanoes in the region!!! 50+ persons later and we had all taken a few ski lifts to the top of an active volcano, Mount Ruapehu, which erupted as recently as last year. Who in their right mind does this?

An impromptu classroom!

  Well it turns out that volcanoes are not such menacing creatures that I had invented. The next day I even purposefully hiked a few including – the Tongariro Alpine Crossing – billed as the best one-day hike in all of New Zealand, and listed as one of the Top 10 one-day hikes in the world. Simply amazing, a 19km hike that with 2 million years of volcanism below foot, passing by some of the most spectacular sights and glowing cones all around. This hike, friends, explains why Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand. Some of the formations, colors and scenery looks like it came straight out of a movie. Or some other alien planet! I saw Emerald Lakes that possessed the color of brilliant (manmade bright!) emeralds! And craters so deep and colored by red that only a 64 box of crayons could have made the hue so rich.

Hiking down the scree with Mount Tongariro and the Blue Lake in the background

Marine Lover’s Paradise

Wellington --> Picton --> Queen Charlotte Sounds --> Kaikoura --> Blenheim --> Wellington

Second weekend in New Zealand gave me a chance to reach exploration adventures of mammoth proportions! By mammoth I mean a heart the size of a VW Beetle, and hiking tracks that go on for days and days. However with the term “weekend”, only sampling size proportions were possible. Oh well.

Queen Charlotte Sounds

First stop: Queen Charlotte Track in the northern sounds of the South Island. The entire track is 70 kms or so, usually done in 4 days. I tackled 15 kilometers (around 9 miles. Uphill. Both ways.) , and threw in the proverbial towel. I’d have to say that this was really my first big “hike”, so there were lots of new experiences… Packing all my food on back. Packing weather-change clothes. Eating for necessity every hour, drinking more frequently (all in, no out!). But long-haul hiking virgin, I am no longer!! Man it was awesome. Step one, Queen Charlotte Track. Step two, the entire Appalachian Trail! Yeah right.

15 kms down, and one beautiful coastal drive to go! Destination: Kaikoura, New Zealand

Dusky dolphins (smaller than the common or bottlenose)

This drive was one of the most scenic and gorgeous drives I have ever observed, and I hope you might someday have the opportunity to see this as well. I literally had difficulty not pulling the car off the road every 15 minutes. This town’s tourism is really the only reason I planned this trip though – the drive was simply a bonus. The tourism industry? Marine, marine, marine! Whale watching (yes, I paid the exorbitantly overpriced tourist rates), dolphin swimming (skipped this one, but was on the verge), hiking (another fur seal colony!), coastal relaxation, cold brews (definitely), just bliss.

A Three Lighthouse Weekend

Who knew New Zealand and Australia would be so busy? As the sole TA for 45 study abroad students, plus designing and teaching two 3.5 hour biology labs every week, I have been busy trying to cram in personal time. Have no fear, I have made plans for weekends on the North and South Island galore!

After the beauty of the gannets, then the soothing Art Deco town of Napier, I wandered to a NZ brewery! TUI is kind of like the Miller of the US, complete with lots of funny advertisements in the form of “yeah right” slogans on everything from billboards to buses:

Summer is more than just beers, BBQ’s and bikinis. Yeah right.

I was reading her t-shirt. Yeah right.

I want to hear all about your day. Yeah right.

I’m really keen to see your mother again. Yeah right.

Beer doesn’t really go with that. Yeah right.

It’s getting too cold for beer. Yeah right.

This is just the beginning!

My first weekend in New Zealand I found myself with a rental car cruising the North Island. You have already had the pleasure of reading the many farces and many first (unnatural) moments of left-side driving (PS- The steering wheel is on the right side too...) with curbs hopped and windshield wipers turned on every 5 minutes. Silly, exhausting, and SO well worth it.

View from on the trailor

Friday morning I drove like lightning from Wellington to Cape Kidnappers (rental car company “forgot” to pick me up Friday morning!) to see the world’s largest gannet colony (it is a bird, by the way). I arrived just in the nick of time to catch my tractor trailor coastal tour along the South Pacific. An hour and a half tractor and trailor pull down the Cape Kidnappers coastline yielded a several “get out and walk” moments to lighten the load as we got massively stuck between rocks and sand (and birdshit). I'd like to think this was the fault of the drivers, and not the overindulgence of any passengers...

Stay Left, Look Right

Here is the summary of my first 3-day driving adventure on the opposite side of the road:

(Number of times…)

2: Honked at and/or flipped off for driving slow in the fast lane. They are switched.
3: Turned into the wrong lane. Obviously switched.
3: Curbs hopped. Oops!
4: Attempts to get in on the passenger side of the car to drive.
25 or more: Turned on the windshield wipers instead of the blinker. Switched too.
Every single time: Reached with left hand to put on seat belt. Came up empty every time.

I don’t know how many of you have had this joyous experience, but it is one that leaves you very uncertain at all turns. And there is always the extremely menacing feeling of a car traveling directly at you in your lane, but it is actually in the correct “right” lane. Oh man.

Now I just look left and right at least 5 times before turning or even crossing...

Picture below was written on the blackboard by the program director to the students (and staff!) for their first weekend away. By the end of the day it had been partially erased, resulting in my (mock) motto for the Pacific!

The Book of Kiwi

And so I have begun my trip to the other side of the world in the wonderful South Pacific!

There is a saying amongst New Zealanders of their country: “God’s own.” It only took me about one week before I was sure of my thoughts on that reference: Yep, I agree. My first thoughts upon stepping off the plane in Wellington were (after thinking I would need about 5 more coffees to make it through the time difference…), “Oh man, pinch me again!” I have stopped pinching myself and have fully settled in to the luscious surroundings and relaxed culture. I am getting used to this in a hurry.

New Zealand is a small country made up of 2 islands, which they have skillfully named the North Island and South Island. I am living in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, located at the southern tip of the North Island. Wellington has a very special climate in the world; it is pretty much the first city that interferes with the winds blowing off from the Antarctic. Yes. Special indeed. And chilly, particularly by the summer season!

No worries, I have managed a weekend trip or two in shorts and tank tops, reappearing with pink cheeks!  Summertime in the southern hemisphere – this is awesome.

All of my previous moves overseas have involved foreign languages, so this English-speaking land is a delight. One small snag though… I have this association of “foreign country = foreign language,” which in the past has predominantly been French. To my delight I find I am transcribing my thoughts and phrases into French. Every time someone answers a phone, I expect to hear, “Bonjour!,” and I read and french pronounce random words to myself. HA! Not so much… However, there is a strong presence of the founding tribes of New Zealand, the Maori, and the culture is strong and present here, not stifled as in so many lands, including the US. I am learning much more than just the European-based Kiwi society.

Lake Hawea

My work here is much busier than I had predicted, but I do have 3-day weekends. every. single. weekend. hot damn! Basically I put in ~45 hours per week in 4 days, then take off for 3 days and leave it all behind, exploring all the nooks and crannies of NZ by foot, boat, car, ferry… Right now it is a busy and lovely way to live!

Lake Matheson and Mount Cook

I have more pictures for you all than I can organize currently, but expect wildlife and beautiful scenery soon!
A short “PS” to thank all of those that helped me move out of Atlanta, which was a huge feat: Mom, Rob S, Mike R, Bruno F, Michael McD. I could not have done it without you guys, mentally or physically.

Free Hugs Day

One year ago I wrote a short blog post on hugging people and the need to hug more (click here to read).  At that time I had never heard of Juan Mann or read articles on him.  Maybe you haven’t either…  Basically he’s just a guy that noticed a bunch of unhappiness in his world, and he’s been making a conscious effort towards change.  He started in his hometown, Sydney, Australia, where he made a big cardboard sign that had two words:

“FREE HUGS”

He held it up high, and waited for someone, anyone, to approach him.  He literally just hugged people.  He’s been hugging people since at least 2004, and has made his campaign and view know to the world.  Oprah even had him on the show – you know that’s big!

He did the offering, and he found out quickly how receptive and in need so many people were/are.  He just wanted to put a smile on a stranger’s face.  Here is one of his stories:

“So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words "Free Hugs" on both sides.

And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.”