Earthquakes in Christchurch

While I was in Christchurch (a few days after the current timeline in the travel stories), there was one morning where there were about 6 earthquakes from 6 am to noon, varying in magnitude from ~3 to 5.  The first one woke me as I was sleeping on the floor at a friend's house.  Since the internet was still working, I surmised that it couldn't have been that strong and found a website that verified the earthquake and listed the magnitude.  Throughout the morning, every time I would feel a tremor, I would wonder how much longer it would last and if I should run to a doorway.  Having grown up in California, I was taught at an early age to find shelter under a desk or in a doorway, away from windows or things that could fall on top of you.  Unfortunately, my friend's house was of the older variety, and as I watched the cracks in the plaster grow, I began to wonder if maybe I should be running out of the house.  Luckily, that burst of activity subsided and really only provided fodder for the Busker's fair which started the next day.

These earthquakes in the Christchurch area started with the 7.1 quake in early September.  Located on a previously unknown fault line, the effects of the earthquake were obvious when I came through in November on my way south.  The town has a heavy use of brick construction, and most chimneys fell victim, as did several historic buildings.  The Boxing Day aftershock was even more damaging to some buildings due to the shallow depth of the quake (only 5 km below the surface) and the types of waves produced.  It was "only" a 4.9, less in magnitude than some of the ones I felt sitting on my friends couch on January 20th, but seriously added to the damage still lingering from the September quake.

Which brings us to this Tuesday, February 22nd.  If you've been avoiding the news, there was a magnitude 6.3, centered very close to the city center.  People are still trapped in fallen buildings and the death count keeps rising.  A friend from the ice left New Zealand only 24 hours beforehand.  The Windsor B&B just announced they are closing.  And my friend Biz is now homeless.  Not terribly surprising, most of her neighbors mentioned they thought the place would be condemned after the first two big earthquakes this year.  Most people were very lucky, but the town just can't seem to catch a break.  All the more disturbing because Christchurch had such a great atmosphere filled with wonderful people.  Having lived through the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (6.9, but at the time everyone said 7.0), I'm very familiar with the damage an earthquake can cause.  I'm still ridiculously nervous about driving across the Bay Bridge.  But the big ones in Christchurch just keep coming and the damage doesn't seem to end.

To recap the geology of it all, the first quake came from a unknown, dormant fault.  The damage caused by the quakes varied based on depth and distance of the epicenters.  The aftershocks are still occurring.

Milford Sound and Queenstown

We left Te Anau early Saturday morning so that we would have plenty of time to make the drive to Milford Sound.  Although there are lots of places to stop and hike from the scenic route, we only had a brief stop at Mirror Lake so that we could make it to our cruise in time.  I'm not sure if we missed it, but the only reflections we saw at the stop was from what was effectively a duck pond.  The mountains did shine beautifully off of the water, but I kept expecting to come up to a larger body of water.  The 90 km trip takes two and a half hours, partly due to a long, steep, one lane tunnel.  I think that Zion National Park could learn from this set up, they have a timed traffic light controlling traffic.  Down and down we went, following the RVs and cars before us.  Eventually we popped out on the other side of the mountains, but unfortunately with no change in the clouds and mist.  

Mirror lake

Soon after the tunnel, we arrived at the end of the road on the western shore, and left the car to go catch our cruise on Real Journeys.  There are only a few companies running tours of the sound, and Real Journeys seemed to be a good compromise of price and length of trip, although our boat was much larger than I usually prefer.  I've noticed that I'll take almost any opportunity to hop onto a boat, but in Milford Sound, it's really the only way to see the area.  We took the nature tour, which was slightly longer than the other options, and landed us on a very big boat with huge sails.  I believe it was one of the boats they use for the overnight cruises, and the berths looked rather nice as we peeked in on our way out (most likely how they intended it). 

Milford Sound

It rains 200 days out of the year at Milford, and around 7 m of rainfall, depending on who was giving the estimate.  So the fog and light rain weren't unusual, but still disappointing as I had fantasies of taking some of the same, grand panorama photos as I had seen.  In fact, it turns out that one of the preloaded backgrounds on my cell phone looks an awful lot like Milford Sound, a picture I've been seeing nearly every day for the past year.  The views were still amazing, and the photos took on an ethereal quality to them, even if they weren't quite as spectacular as the postcards.  The cruise itself was entertaining in several ways.  Not only amazing vistas, but strong winds added an element of adventure on the top deck, and we were able to see porpoises jumping, and a congratulate a man on a fishing vacation who had caught a rather large tuna.  Waterfalls and tree slides, as well as a variety of birds were also on the menu.  By the time we got back in the early afternoon, the weather showed no signs of improving and the lingering mist had pretty much turned to rain.  

Kea

Unfortunately we didn’t have a place in Queenstown lined up yet, so we wasted a bit of time after the cruise looking up places in books and making phone calls.  With that darned limited check in time, we weren’t able to stop and enjoy some of the hikes on the way back out of Milford Sound like I had planned.  But, it was raining quite hard by then and the likelihood of getting soaked lost the appeal.  Our last bit of Milford Sound adventure was thanks to a kea who joined us while we were waiting for the tunnel.  At first, I was delighted to see the parrot-type bird, but soon the stare of it's beady little eyes reminded me of the eerie ravens of Toolik, and I became nervous that the bird was going to join us in the car.  Clearly it was used to hand-outs.  

Lake Wakatipu

The drive to Queenstown was marked by quickly changing biomes.  The air dried out and soon sheep dotted open pastures along the road.  We had our first view of Lake Wakatipu from a picnic area near Kingston.  Ema was amazed at the turquoise color of the water the rest of the drive into Queenstown.  It was strikingly beautiful, and reminiscent of the lakes near Glacier and Banff.  We actually made better time than we had predicted (translation:  I drove less like an old lady than my co-pilot had thought I would) and we arrive at the Reaver's Lodge with time to spare.  It's a strange old motel which has been converted into a backpacker's, with towels, private bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, lots of Brazilians, and lots of rules which you can be fined for breaking.  After several long days of driving, we enjoyed a relaxing night in with dinner at the hostel and showed our age by falling asleep early and missing out on a Queensland Saturday night.

Queenstown Gardens

Sundays are fabulous days for sleeping in, and this one was no exception.  I think there was still lingering exhaustion from McMurdo.  With the full day to explain Queenstown, the pace was a bit more moderate.  Having decided to nix visiting captive kiwis, the first stop was a beer at the wharf with plenty of people watching.  A walk in the Queenstown gardens followed, as did some of the best fish and chips I've had since I fell in love with malt vinegar in York.  Roadside stands are usually a good thing, and this tiny little one was only lacking in a liquor license.  Souvenir shopping and dinner at a Speight's brewery followed, as did a gondola ride up to the Skyline Chalet.  There were gorgeous views of the city and the lake, although we did pass on the "luge" course at the top.  Lastly, a stop at the grocery store and back to the Lodge finished our adventures in Queenstown, with preparations to make the long drive back to Christchurch the next day.

View of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu from the Skyline Chalet

Otago Peninsula and the Catlins

Fully satiated and pleased with the accommodations, I was happy to be spending another day near Dunedin.  Fun fact, Dunedin is based on the Gaelic name for Edinburgh (Dùn Èideann) and there are signs of Scottish influence everywhere in New Zealand.  This resulted in my determination that the country was like Hawaii meets Scotland, a bit simpler than my friend Nick's description of Greece and Ireland and lots of other places having babies, which I can't fully recall at the moment.  Dunedin is also home to the University of Otago which has a rivalry with the University of Canterbury in Christchurch akin to U of M and Ohio State.  Somewhat relevant since Biz is a U of M alumna attending U of Canterbury and there's an Ohio State professor on sabbatical at the U of Otago (who also happens to hang a U of M flag in his office last I heard).  Although I can't quite picture the friendly and laid back Kiwis rioting in the streets.      

Plankton net at the Marine Center

Thursday morning (January 13th), was similar to the morning before except that I was actually able to sleep in and was not stressed about covering long distances (360 km in 5 hours on Wednesday).   First stop was the grocery store across the street from the Cadbury chocolate factory and I discovered the deliciousness of strawberry jam and New Zealand cheese on a croissant.  Just thinking about it makes me hungry again despite the late hour here and the more than adequate Peruvian dinner I ate earlier.  In any case, it was a far cry from my standby of Laughing Cow cheese, baquette, and chocolate bar which has sustained me on several ventures abroad.  And all the fresh food!  I walked around the produce section for quite a long time, marveling at all of the choices.

Baby fur seals!

Out for the day, we headed to the Otago peninsula, which juts out east of Dunedin.  It's a narrow, two lane road, which hugs the coastline and often a cliff.  First real stop was down a dirt road with several cattle guards to the Marine Center in Portobello.  It was small but two aquatic scientists don't have much of a problem being entertained when there are water and education involved.  Further down the road, we skipped the albatross colony due to a combination of overpriced tickets and really a lack of interest (sorry my birder friends).  Instead, we opted for the Penguin Place tour.  The land there is mostly private nature reserves, so we had to pile in a 6 wheeled ATV to head out to blinds to watch baby fur seals, blue penguins, and yellow eyed penguins.  Being so close to baby fur seals was worth the price of admission on its own and was definitely a highlight of the trip.  A quick detour to the gardens of Larnach Castle finished up the day on the peninsula.  On the way back to town, we were briefly detained by a family moving their flock of sheep across the road.  It's said that there are more sheep than people in New Zealand, and it's quite possible!  With plenty of time left to enjoy the evening, we cooked dinner at the hostel and then wandered around town, listening to music from bars that seemed to be competing with one another.

Nugget Point

Dunedin easily deserved at least another day, but we had a limited amount of time to spend on our trip.  Friday saw us back on the road, for a drive through the Catlins on our way to Te Anau.  The drive from Dunedin to Te Anau can go in several different routes.  Of course, I insisted on the southern scenic route, touted by rental car guide as # something or other on the top 100 things every Kiwi should do.  It was definitely worth it.  A bit over 500 km, the driving time was about 5 hours, but lots of fun stops along the way made for a travel time closer to 9 hours.  The scenic route diverges from the main highway at Balclutha and then hugs the coastline.  Luckily, we had borrowed a driving map from the Windsor which had all the scenic stops printed in magenta.  First stop was the lighthouse at Nugget Point located at the end of a short scenic walk.  There were breathtaking views of blue green water and rough waves crashing sublimely against large rocks and even short Maori poems on plaques to add to the awe inspiring views.

Curio Bay

Purakatnui falls was not much farther down the road and offered another short walk, this time through shaded rain forest to a pretty little tiered water fall.  Back out by the car we took advantage of the sunshine and had lunch outside while guarding our food from an unknown bird with a chest the color and pattern of cork.  We then headed to Waikawi to look for dolphins in Porpoise Bay, and checked out the petrified wood and huge kelp at Curio Bay, just around the corner.  No dolphins, but both the sandy beach at Porpoise Bay and the rocky intertidal at Curio Bay had plenty of scenery and other biology to admire.  The petrified tree stumps there were literally a world away from the petrified forest in Arizona.

Waipapa Point Lighthouse

The last stop of the Catlins was the lighthouse at Waipapa Point.  The area was much flatter and seemingly in contrast to the one that started the day at Nugget Point, but was the site of a rather morbid shipwreck where onlookers could do little to help the passengers drowning not far offshore.  All the shipwreck stories reminded me a bit of Michigan, albeit without the lyrical stylings of Gordon Lightfoot.  After driving on through Invercargill (including a street named Somerville), we turned northward to Te Anau.  Once again we had a "late" check in deadline of 8 pm and we made it in plenty of time, in part because Ema was having way too much fun driving.  There we stayed in a “standard cabin” at the holiday park which has facilities more like camping.  Unfortunately, that also meant that the kitchen consisted of hot plates and not much else besides a microwave.  Lesson learned.  When I next called for reservations, I was sure to ask about a "fully equipped" kitchen.  I also discovered that free internet outside of Christchurch and Dunedin was a rarity.  Just because a place advertises wifi does not mean that it will be free.  Oh how spoiled we've become in the States.

Evening at Lake Te Anau

Next stop:  Milford Sound!

Christchurch to Dunedin

Our first day back in Christchurch was rather disorienting, as I mentioned.  We didn't get back to the Windsor B&B until afternoon, whereupon most people quickly disappeared into their rooms to sleep until dinner.  However, I was too hungry, as was Ema, my traveling companion for the next week.  After organizing our bags for the upcoming road trip, we headed out with the vague aim of food and seeing the exhibit at the museum.  Food came first and the closest place to the museum was a little cafe on the river, adjacent to the botanical gardens.  It was attached to the place where you can rent kayaks or go "punting on the Avon", a popular activity in town.  I had been there previously, when Rachael and I stopped on our day in town heading south.  Once again, I missed the open kitchen hours, but the cafe had plenty of sandwiches and muffins to feed us.  

After food, we headed over to see the exhibit on Antarctic photographs "The Heart of the Great Alone" comparing the work of Frank Hurley and Herbert Pointing.  The art historian in me was giddy to see the juxtapositions of the two photographers, one who aimed to document and one who aimed to recreate emotion.  Having just returned from the ice, I must admit that Hurley's work was more successful in recreating the emotions of the place while Pointing's work had eerie aspects of documenting the doomed Terra Nova expedition although both had opposite intentions.  

Flowers at the Botanical Gardens

The artwork was beginning to blur and I nodded off a bit during one of the videos in the exhibit, clearly a nap was inevitable.  We managed to take a quick stroll around the botanical gardens, marveling at the colors on our way back to the room.  Luckily, we were able to wake up for dinner with Ema's advisor and my friend Biz over at the Dux de Lux.  Another repeat restaurant, but the beer and food are tasty and reasonably priced.  Eating outside during summertime was another bonus.

Driving on the left side of the road

Wednesday morning came way to quickly and I rethought the plan to get on the road and to have lunch at a brewery in Timaru.  Tracking down a rental car and a place to stay in Dunedin took up most of the morning anyway, so it was noon by the time we really got on the road.  Leftovers from the night before had served as a sort of lunch, and the people at the hotel had been nice enough to let us use the microwave in the kitchen.  Accordingly, it was sometime in the mid-afternoon before we had to stop for food.  Since leaving the ice, all Ema could talk about was McDonald's and pizza, two "delicacies" we had gone without, in her case for 3 months.  I'm a bit ashamed to admit that we did indeed stop at McDonald's, but hell, I've got to a McDonald's in practically every country I've visited.  At least in New Zealand the lids have happy messages about utilizing local food sources.  Again revived, we headed back on the road towards our first sightseeing stops of the trip.

Moeraki boulders

First stop was in Oamaru, to see the little blue penguins.  Apparently I missed the reason why the guide books tell you to stay overnight in Oamaru- the little blue penguins return from fishing in the ocean to their nests onshore at sunset in a impressive display of large numbers.  Not quite possible when you are trying to reach Dunedin before 8 pm.  The next stop was a bit more satisfying, with the Moeraki boulders.  The boulders were fascinating, like giant, round geodes scattered in the sand.  Almost like the gods had forgotten their marbles on the beach.  

Fresh food in Dunedin

Somehow we managed to not get lost on the way into Dunedin, and arrived at Central Backpackers with half an hour to spare.  I was pleasantly surprised at how clean and nicely decorated it was.  Free wifi and a very nice (fully equipped) kitchen raised my expectations for the trip.  Dinner at a Japanese restaurant with all my favorites (inari, avocado rolls, miso soup, green tea, and veggie tempura) also set the bar and resulted in a very full stomach.

Next stop, Otago Peninsula.

Kiwi adventure: 2000 km in one week

It's funny how pliable time is.  They say that time flies when you are having fun, but when you travel, frequently you squeeze so much in, that it's hard to believe how little time it took.  Similar to my time in Antarctica, my R&R in New Zealand seemed to both stretch out infinitely and be over in an instant.  Through a combination of semester schedules and the advice of several friends who have either lived in or visited New Zealand, I found myself on a road trip of the south part of the South Island, followed by several days visiting my friend in Christchurch.

Road trip route

To give you a brief overview of our adventure, here is our itinerary:

Day 1:  Christchurch to Dunedin 

Day 2:  Otago peninsula 

Day 3:  Catlins to Te Anau 

Day 4:  Milford Sound to Queenstown

Day 5:  Queenstown 

Day 6:  To Christchurch

Day 7:  Akaroa

Day 8 onwards:  Christchurch

Traveling with another person definitely saved on costs, with expenses split about equally between rental car, fuel, food, lodging, and entertainment.  Of course, picking up food at a grocery store and finding places to stay with fully equipped kitchens is another good way to save money.  Buses may have been slightly cheaper, but the flexibility and challenges of driving a rental car on the wrong side of the road certainly add to the adventure.  

First sight back from Antarctica, the colors of the Botanic Gardens in full summer bloom.

I'll take a couple of posts to share the highlights of the trip, including what I'd recommend and what I'd skip if I did it again.  Of course, the next time I'm in New Zealand, I'm sure I'll be chomping at the bit to see other parts I didn't have enough time for, including Nelson and Abel Tasman, plus some of the North Island.  I must say that New Zealand has felt the most welcoming and familiar out of all the countries I've visited, and it is definitely at the top of the list for places to visit again.  

P.S.  If anyone knows of a way to convince your camera to remove date stamps from photos after the fact, I'm all ears!

Off the ice

Yes, I'm terribly behind.  The last week or so in McMurdo was very busy, with very little downtime.  When I last wrote, we were getting ready for the new year.  We were also wrapping up the last of our field and lab work, with weather delays on helicopter flights that kept cropping up.  New Year's in McMurdo is marked by an annual "Ice Stock" festival, which is set outside with a line up of local acts.  The firehouse barbecued pork and burgers for everyone, and the carpenters set up the stage and surrounded it with fishing huts that acted as shelters for the food, crafts, and coffee shack.  Not quite as many people were there as I would have thought, but there was still a critical mass to have great time.  Unfortunately, it just got colder and colder as the evening wore on that I ended up going to get big red (and looking like a freshly arrived beaker in the process).  I think a bit of the cold was due to the increased humidity in the air, which seems to amplify temperatures.  The highlight of the performances was the last band of the night, who donned costumes like the Electric Mayhem.  Nothing like ringing in 2011 with the Muppet band in Antarctica.  This year's got to be good.

The weekend did not bring quite the relaxation of Christmas, with long days in the lab preparing the last of my experiments on temperature responses by bacterial communities.  Part plumber, I spent quite a bit of time getting the right temperatures in water baths for incubating the little buggers.  After the last of the incubations, it was time to process samples and clean up the lab.  Luckily, I had company as the other two groups working in the shared space were also working around the clock to finish everything in time, so we were able to lend each other a hand where needed and provide each other with music and entertainment to make the less exciting jobs go a bit faster.

One nice surprise in the middle of the madness was the arrival of another Christmas package and a card!  With all the flight delays and continued boomerangs from New Zealand, the mail was a little late coming, and hopefully I received everything that was sent.  There's nothing like a pair of purple zebra print socks and a sparkly new white hat to brighten up the day.

Before I knew it, it was time to send off the last few postcards and say goodbye.  Like most field seasons, my time on the ice had its ups and downs, and it took both forever and no time at all.  Looking back from New Zealand, it really does seem like another world, but when you're there, it's everything.  Even leaving was surreal, as our ride out to the sea ice runway was elongated by Ivan the Terra Bus breaking down, and the cold temperatures were a shock after the comparative warmth of town.  When we finally boarded the plane around 5:30 in the morning, I promptly fell asleep, despite being freezing cold.  Most of the flight back was similar, punctuated by periods of being awake and realizing how cold it still was in the back of the plane.  At one point I looked around and realized that everyone was still wearing their big red jackets and most of us were using our neighbors for pillows.

We finally arrived in Christchurch, around 11 in the morning.  I had heard tales of people being taken aback by the smells of the world up north, but the first thing I smelled was fuel at the airport.  Instead, the colors were what were so striking to me- green was everywhere past the tarmac.  After we dropped off our issued gear in piles far less tidy than when we picked them up, we headed into town, fighting sleep and ready for some rest and recuperation.

Between then and now.

Here are a couple of posts I wrote on my computer without internet access. Lots of pictures to share and will try to post about "town" more before I head into the field early next week.

~1 pm, 9 November 2010

Despite promising to become more succinct, this is going to be a long one, so hang on to your britches. I'll try to add in some pretty pictures to keep you entertained. All downtime in Christchurch seemed to be taken up with important matters of recovering after the journey, and I already could feel a shift in priorities. I wonder if it will continue. Three hours into a 5.5 hour flight on a C-17 from New Zealand to Antarctica, here is what I can recall from the past few days, assisted by a couple of notes typed on my ipod. Gone are the days where I diligently hand wrote the day's adventures in a notebook dedicated to whichever country I was traveling through.

The last minute preparations were a whirlwind, only made possible by borrowing a couple of people's cars and begging rides. It took the generosity of more than a few people to enable me to make the insane turnaround time between poles. By my count, only the mailing of some samples was postponed because I chose to wait to mail them until Friday, the very day that the building of the rest of our department was shut down without warning due to the discovery of asbestos. For all the havoc they caused, I do hope it had been knocked into the air supply late the night before and was not simply present in some undisturbed ceiling tile. Although I strongly suspect the latter. At least it was not the building where our lab was located or I might have panicked slightly.

The first couple of flights were relatively standard, and every time I fly over the Utah Rockies, they seem to become more striking. This time, they were topped in a bit of snow and the sunset shown on the smaller hills as if they were painted by Georgia (O'Keefe) herself. Immediately, I regretted bringing pencils instead of paints with me, but the fact was that it had been months since I even picked up a paint brush and my cameras would likely be put into more use than pencils (not to mention the likelihood of paints freezing and the mess they would generate which would then have to be removed from the continent). Fodder for the winter when I return, I suppose.

Arrival into LAX soon turned into weaving through a labyrinth of trying to get from the domestic terminal to the international. Strangely, (or perhaps not) LAX felt like a foreign county, complete with initial disorientation and visitors from all over the globe. Once I finally found where I was supposed to be, with a boarding pass for a middle seat in hand, I discovered that at least that portion of the airport had neither free wi-fi nor easily accessible power plugs. How passé!

The 12.5 hour flight from LAX to Auckland was surprisingly pleasant. Food service took a bit longer than I would have liked as it was about 12:30 am for the last time zone I was in by the time we took off. Just as I was contemplating the sleeping pills my boss had recommended, the plane hit turbulence and with the recent Qantas Airbus incidences, I decided quite irrationally that if something were to happen, I wanted to be conscious. So, the pills stayed in the bag and out came the complimentary eye cover and my trusty ipod.

With a solid 5 hours sleep and many shorter naps, the 6534 miles ticked away on the flight tracker screen. I was either wedged or nestled (depending on my mood) in between two guys on the flight. I knew that there were several of us heading south and I imagined that the one to the right looked to be a contractor while the one on my left I figured was a Kiwi. Turns out I had them backwards. The thin, younger man with longish hair to my left was headed to the South Pole (second trip, as I recall) while the larger, rough looking fellow who slept a solid 11 hours on my right was likely an Aussie, judging from the roughness of his accent.

As we proceeded off of the plane, through baggage claim and customs, and out to look for shuttles, the folks headed to the ice managed to sort out and find each other. People I had figured were on holiday are in fact on the plane with me right this minute, with jobs ranging from kitchen staff to drillers to geophysicists. Funny thing is, we all looking strikingly alike. The majority of the diversity on the plane right now comes from the Air Force crew flying us, cargo, and a kiwi helicopter. Yes, directly in front of me on the plane is a helicopter, bigger than the ones we used to ride in back at Toolik out to field sites. My guess is that once we land in McMurdo, the pilots sitting next to me will fly the bird over to the Scott base, just a few miles away.

Across from me on the flight from Christchurch to McMurdo.

Back to Christchurch. Everything had been quite the production up until that point, but now it was morphing into the machinations of a well-oiled machine. Slowly, the scale of logistics required to move around this herd of sheep became obvious. With a day and half in between flights to ensure that delays stateside did not make anyone miss their "ice flight", we had time to shower, sleep, and roam about town, with only about two hours required the next day for the clothing pull.

Christchurch, New Zealand.

The clothing distribution / computer check / last minute flu shot (yes, they know who you are and will come get you mid-changing of thermals to poke you with a needle) was nothing short of amazing. Two orange bags waited for us on arrival, labeled by name. Apparently, if you have a Ph.D., everything is named "Dr. So and so" and was slightly embarrassing, but still exciting. People's gear was already sorted to be appropriate to your job, so I had an assortment based on working at a field camp. I was a little surprised that nothing other than the infamous big red parka was anything out of the ordinary. In fact, I was a little envious of some of the crew that were issued the lined Carhartts I wear in the Arctic. But, the lighter wind pants are certainly more comfortable (and more adjustable). Unfortunately, the Carhartts vs wind pants also makes it all the more easy to identify the beakers (scientists) if the "Dr" on the name tag wasn't enough. Oh well.

After exchanging sizes, getting poked, and rescuing my computers, we finally headed back to town. The shuttle we hopped on was full of folks from the airport, and it took about an hour to get back to the hotel. The highlight of the trip was the kiwi sitting next to me mumbling about how climate change was due to cycles in the sun and had nothing to do with CO2. So far, that has been one of the only negative interactions I've had with the kiwis, who seem to be amazingly laid back, mellow, and friendly. He and his wife were dropped off at some fancy hotel, so I can pretend I misinterpreted his accent and that he is from some other Commonwealth country.

Children's librarians in New Zealand wear pirate earrings.

New Zealand feels like Scotland. Maybe with a touch of California or Hawaii thrown in. I can't help but wonder if such a first impression will be held up after travels I am planning after the field season in January. But with that, it feels so much like home, possibly the most familiar country I've visited so far. (For my own notation, the list now includes England, Japan, The Netherlands, Tanzania/ Zanzibar, "Kenya", Germany, "Belgium", France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Costa Rica, Panama, Scotland, New Zealand plus Canada (Newfoundland, British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta) and Mexico.) Christchurch even has possibly the best bed and breakfast I've stayed in. The Windsor is actually a bit like a hotel in terms of rooms, but the carpet is spotless, the mattresses comfortable, and the place has charm. Shared water closets of showers, basins, and toilets ensue more privacy than if they had been attached to rooms. Breakfast was delicious, and they are so used to dealing with folks headed to the ice, that they delivered snacks in lieu of breakfast they knew we would be missing today. Town is very walkable and we were very close to the botanic gardens, museums, and art centre.

Springtime at the Botanical gardens.

Last night, while my travel companion opted for a nap, I headed out to dinner with a friend from my Toolik days. It was great to catch up with her and hear not only about grad school and life in New Zealand, but also to see how her time with the Peace Corps in Senegal has changed her. It's funny, but the bravest people you meet, you would often never expect. I have much respect for such people who lack bragging egos and instead quietly lead amazing lives. Even if Biz can still get us lost walking to a restaurant five minutes away from the hotel.

Mt. Erebus is in sight! Time to get ready to land.

View from the flight deck, shortly before arrival.

9 pm, 9 November 2010

I think I have a new candidate for the longest day ever. After a disorienting landing, we all bundled up and headed out onto the ice runway and were greeted by spectacular sunshine and blue skies. Soon, gloves and hats were disappearing as people tried to take the obligatory arrival pictures while being hollered at to get on the bus, “Ivan the terra bus”. Considerably less agile with our big red parkas, we awkwardly squished into seats for the painfully slow and dreadfully hot ride into “town”. After a series of orientations, some of which I remember bits of, we were released to the great gravel expanse. Town is odd, it’s a bit like Prudhoe Bay, a bit like Barrow, a bit like Toolik, but inside the industrial looking buildings, everything is much cleaner and more updated. Still haven’t finished wrapping my head around it, but my British roommate just pointed out that “it’s a bit like being on a school trip”, having just attended a class on where you can and can not hike, along with sleeping in dorms, and set meal times. Of course, without such things there would be mass chaos and people falling into crevasses. Not really a fan of falling down, and I seem to be making it a habit, so I’ll stick to following the green and red flags.

Me on arrival at McMurdo.

There’s far too much to write about tonight, I think things need to marinate and the sharing of it will be a bit more coherent after a good night’s rest. Just as long as I don’t wake up at 4 in the morning again!