Mifi loves to investigate boxes and cupboards.
Mifi hiding from Safi on the bookshelf
Possessed Safi
Cuddling on the couch
Monday, January 25, 2010
Crazy cats
Not much exciting happening lately so here are a few pictures of the cats being silly.
Mifi loves to investigate boxes and cupboards.
Mifi hiding from Safi on the bookshelf
Possessed Safi
Cuddling on the couch
Mifi loves to investigate boxes and cupboards.
Mifi hiding from Safi on the bookshelf
Possessed Safi
Cuddling on the couch
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Post Christmas Holiday
After a week of working hard catching up on chores at home we headed down to the south island for some adventure and relaxation. We flew down to Christchurch and hired a car and drove up towards Arthur's Pass. On the way we stopped off and walked around Castle Hill. Some crazy limestone boulders which are a well known climbing area. Unfortunately we didn't have climbing gear with us ... another time.
Castle Hill
We got to Arthur's Pass and decided due to the bad weather forecast for the next day that we would make a dash up Avalanche Peak in the afternoon. This is supposed to be one of the best day walks in New Zealand. Half way up we bumped in to a colleague of mine from NIWA Christchurch.
There were a lot of wild flowers on the way up, although I can't imagine how these flimsy looking flowers survive in the winds?
Wild alpine flowers
Unfortunately we got to the top just as the clouds came in. We didn't even get enough time to pull out the camera to get a photo of Crow Glacier on the side of Mt Rolleston.
Looking west from the top of Avalanche Peak
Instead we were greated at the top of the peak by two rather friendly (or hungry) Kea. Kea are the New Zealand mountain parrot and appear to have little fear of humans and will start ripping in to your rucksack as soon as you have your back turned - looking for food!
Kea at the top of Avalanche Peak
The next day the winds were very strong up at the top of the mountains, so we stayed down low and headed up the Bealey Valley. This was beautiful, sheltered from the wind, with lots of flowers and a small glacier at the top of the valley.
Helen walking up Bealey Valley
In the afternoon we wandered up to the Devils Punchbowl Falls, a 131 m waterfall opposite Arthur's Pass.
Devils Punchbowl Falls (131 metres)
After two days at Arthur's Pass the weather came in and it rained a lot. So we headed over to the west coast on our way to Lewis Pass. So we got a true west coast experience with pouring rain. We did some shopping in Greymouth and then we did a detour up to Punakaki (pancake rocks) to the north. These limestone stacks appear to have lots of layers in them, but it is caused by dissolution. They were getting hammered by the pounding waves and the blowholes were active.
Punakaiki - West Coast
Pancake Rocks
We headed up to Lewis Pass. We were pretty sore from our rather energetic/rapid tramp up Avalanche Peak a few days earlier. So we felt like we needed some hot water therapy to relax our achey muscles. We spent a hour or so in the outdoor hot springs at Maruia.
Aaron relaxing in Maruia hot springs
The next morning we woke up to pouring rain again. So we drove down to Hanmer Springs to escape the rain on the other side of the mountain range where it was dry. We spent the day hanging out and drying out our camping gear.
The next day we thought it might be better up at Lewis Pass, so we drove back up. It was a bit cloudy, but the forecast was for it to clear. We set off on the St James Walkway. Unfortunately the rain started and it just got harder and harder throughout the morning. We had to do a lot of stream crossings, more than were shown on the map. We got very wet on our way to Cannibal Gorge Hut.
Crossing the Maruia River on the swing bridge at the beginning of the St James Walkway
Lots of stream/river crossings
We spent the rest of the afternoon reading our books and relaxing in the hut as various groups came and went, some on their way to the next hut, 1 hour up the valley at Ada Pass. We had an entertaining evening talking environmental issues, farming, geology and all kinds of other crazy stuff with a group of older trampers from the Christchurch area. It was nice to know that other people care and are interested about the stuff we work on.
The next day we woke up to clear skies and walked up to Ada Pass to get some great views of the mountains.
Faerie Queene (2235m)
Cannibal Gorge Hut and the Spenser Range
We then walked back out to Lewis Pass. We camped the night at Marble Hill campsite on the "Alpine Fault". Oh yes we are geeky geologists! Unfortunately the next day the weather came back in and we headed back down to Hanmer Springs and hired some mountain bikes to check our the local tracks. The tracks were quite good, but it interesting trying to ride a heavy hire bike without shoes and pedals. I felt like my feet flew off the pedals every bump I went over and had no control! It made for an entertaining ride.
Mountain biking the tracks at Hanmer Springs
As the weather continued to be bad up in the mountains we kept heading east where it is warm, sunny and dry for the last few days of our holiday. We stopped in at several wineries in the Waipara area. Then headed out to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsular. We had tried to go out there during winter of 2008, but snow closed the road.
The Banks Peninsular is 2 large volcanoes where the craters have become large sheltered harbours. It is a popular tourist spot, but we eventually found some accommodation and had a look around the town. The area is historically important as it was a french settlement. So most of the roads have french names and some of the houses are in a french style. The nice thing for the tourists is that there are still several french bolangeries and restaurants - so lot of yummy french food.
The villiage of Akaroa and Akaroa Harbour
After fish and chips on the beachfront we headed up the hill to the ridge above Akaroa. Unfortunately all of the area has been cleared for farmland. So compared to Arthur's Pass and Lewis Pass it seemed rather spoilt.
Purple Peak above Akaroa Harbour
We were supposed to go out kayaking with the dolpins before we headed back to the airport. However the weather was not ideal and there were a few waves and a southerly change expected, so Aaron decided that he would rather not go out without sea sick drugs. So we took the scenic route back around the peninsular and into Christchurch.
View of the harbour entrance
So although the weather didn't really cooperate with our original plan to do lots of tramps in the mountains, we lounged in hot springs, went mountain biking, wine tasting, visited volcanoes, mountains and saw a lot of great scenery and did a lot of relaxing and read several novels each. Now we have to face reality again!
Castle Hill
We got to Arthur's Pass and decided due to the bad weather forecast for the next day that we would make a dash up Avalanche Peak in the afternoon. This is supposed to be one of the best day walks in New Zealand. Half way up we bumped in to a colleague of mine from NIWA Christchurch.
There were a lot of wild flowers on the way up, although I can't imagine how these flimsy looking flowers survive in the winds?
Wild alpine flowers
Unfortunately we got to the top just as the clouds came in. We didn't even get enough time to pull out the camera to get a photo of Crow Glacier on the side of Mt Rolleston.
Looking west from the top of Avalanche Peak
Instead we were greated at the top of the peak by two rather friendly (or hungry) Kea. Kea are the New Zealand mountain parrot and appear to have little fear of humans and will start ripping in to your rucksack as soon as you have your back turned - looking for food!
Kea at the top of Avalanche Peak
The next day the winds were very strong up at the top of the mountains, so we stayed down low and headed up the Bealey Valley. This was beautiful, sheltered from the wind, with lots of flowers and a small glacier at the top of the valley.
Helen walking up Bealey Valley
In the afternoon we wandered up to the Devils Punchbowl Falls, a 131 m waterfall opposite Arthur's Pass.
Devils Punchbowl Falls (131 metres)
After two days at Arthur's Pass the weather came in and it rained a lot. So we headed over to the west coast on our way to Lewis Pass. So we got a true west coast experience with pouring rain. We did some shopping in Greymouth and then we did a detour up to Punakaki (pancake rocks) to the north. These limestone stacks appear to have lots of layers in them, but it is caused by dissolution. They were getting hammered by the pounding waves and the blowholes were active.
Punakaiki - West Coast
Pancake Rocks
We headed up to Lewis Pass. We were pretty sore from our rather energetic/rapid tramp up Avalanche Peak a few days earlier. So we felt like we needed some hot water therapy to relax our achey muscles. We spent a hour or so in the outdoor hot springs at Maruia.
Aaron relaxing in Maruia hot springs
The next morning we woke up to pouring rain again. So we drove down to Hanmer Springs to escape the rain on the other side of the mountain range where it was dry. We spent the day hanging out and drying out our camping gear.
The next day we thought it might be better up at Lewis Pass, so we drove back up. It was a bit cloudy, but the forecast was for it to clear. We set off on the St James Walkway. Unfortunately the rain started and it just got harder and harder throughout the morning. We had to do a lot of stream crossings, more than were shown on the map. We got very wet on our way to Cannibal Gorge Hut.
Crossing the Maruia River on the swing bridge at the beginning of the St James Walkway
Lots of stream/river crossings
We spent the rest of the afternoon reading our books and relaxing in the hut as various groups came and went, some on their way to the next hut, 1 hour up the valley at Ada Pass. We had an entertaining evening talking environmental issues, farming, geology and all kinds of other crazy stuff with a group of older trampers from the Christchurch area. It was nice to know that other people care and are interested about the stuff we work on.
The next day we woke up to clear skies and walked up to Ada Pass to get some great views of the mountains.
Faerie Queene (2235m)
Cannibal Gorge Hut and the Spenser Range
We then walked back out to Lewis Pass. We camped the night at Marble Hill campsite on the "Alpine Fault". Oh yes we are geeky geologists! Unfortunately the next day the weather came back in and we headed back down to Hanmer Springs and hired some mountain bikes to check our the local tracks. The tracks were quite good, but it interesting trying to ride a heavy hire bike without shoes and pedals. I felt like my feet flew off the pedals every bump I went over and had no control! It made for an entertaining ride.
Mountain biking the tracks at Hanmer Springs
As the weather continued to be bad up in the mountains we kept heading east where it is warm, sunny and dry for the last few days of our holiday. We stopped in at several wineries in the Waipara area. Then headed out to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsular. We had tried to go out there during winter of 2008, but snow closed the road.
The Banks Peninsular is 2 large volcanoes where the craters have become large sheltered harbours. It is a popular tourist spot, but we eventually found some accommodation and had a look around the town. The area is historically important as it was a french settlement. So most of the roads have french names and some of the houses are in a french style. The nice thing for the tourists is that there are still several french bolangeries and restaurants - so lot of yummy french food.
The villiage of Akaroa and Akaroa Harbour
After fish and chips on the beachfront we headed up the hill to the ridge above Akaroa. Unfortunately all of the area has been cleared for farmland. So compared to Arthur's Pass and Lewis Pass it seemed rather spoilt.
Purple Peak above Akaroa Harbour
We were supposed to go out kayaking with the dolpins before we headed back to the airport. However the weather was not ideal and there were a few waves and a southerly change expected, so Aaron decided that he would rather not go out without sea sick drugs. So we took the scenic route back around the peninsular and into Christchurch.
View of the harbour entrance
So although the weather didn't really cooperate with our original plan to do lots of tramps in the mountains, we lounged in hot springs, went mountain biking, wine tasting, visited volcanoes, mountains and saw a lot of great scenery and did a lot of relaxing and read several novels each. Now we have to face reality again!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Quiet Christmas week
The New Zealand Christmas Tree - Pohutakawa in bloom in our front yard
It never really feels like Christmas in the southern hemisphere.As a result we never really do very much in the way of celebration. This year was no exception to this rule. We were invited over for a bbq with some friends on Christmas Day, and the one traditional thing we did was eat too much of the yummy food.
The rest of the Christmas week we have been trying to catch up on lots of chores and finish projects at home. We have made some progress in the garden by pulling out the weeds that were taking over one side of our house. We also finished off several wood working projects with the final sanding, staining and waxing of the wood.
Helen's cook book stand (pictures to follow)
It wasn't all work - we did get out mountain biking and we did a lot of relaxing around the house - recovering from our exertions.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Biking with Dan and Bec at Rotorua and Taupo
Dan came to visit from Canberra and was keen to do some mountain biking at some of the well known biking mecca's on the north island. So we picked him up from the airport and headed straight up to Taupo. We warmed up on the W2K track around the edge of Lake Taupo, with awesome views across the lake. Although the volcanoes were hiding in the clouds.
On Sunday we headed up to Rotorua. The weather was warm and it threatened to rain, but we only got a few spots. We did a big loop around the forest, riding all of Aaron's favourite tracks. This took about 4 and a half hours! After which Helen was stuffed. However, Dan was keen to get some photos in the forest, so Aaron, Dan and Bec headed back in for a couple of photo shoots with Dan's new SLR camera. There are no decent photos of Dan as he rode to fast and was the only one who could really work the camera correctly!
Drop in on Rollercoaster
Playing on a jump on the Challenge Track
On Monday we did a short loop around the Wairakei bike park at Taupo and then headed back to Wellington, through some rather fierce rain storms. The weather had been very kind to us while we were riding, we had timed it all perfectly!
Helen in Wairakei Forest Park
On Sunday we headed up to Rotorua. The weather was warm and it threatened to rain, but we only got a few spots. We did a big loop around the forest, riding all of Aaron's favourite tracks. This took about 4 and a half hours! After which Helen was stuffed. However, Dan was keen to get some photos in the forest, so Aaron, Dan and Bec headed back in for a couple of photo shoots with Dan's new SLR camera. There are no decent photos of Dan as he rode to fast and was the only one who could really work the camera correctly!
Drop in on Rollercoaster
Playing on a jump on the Challenge Track
On Monday we did a short loop around the Wairakei bike park at Taupo and then headed back to Wellington, through some rather fierce rain storms. The weather had been very kind to us while we were riding, we had timed it all perfectly!
Helen in Wairakei Forest Park
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thanksgiving
Aaron had a craving to have turkey and a proper Thanksgiving this year (he hasn't had Thanksgiving for >5years). Unfortunately we don't get thanksgiving off as a public holiday and when it takes a couple of hours to cook a turkey we would have been eating at midnight. So we cheated slightly and had a little celebration on Saturday instead. The weather was even appropriate - grey, cool and rainy! Excellent weather for spending half the day cooking and then eating lots!
We bought a small turkey (7lbs), then we invited a few people over to help Aaron eat it. I was a little worried that it wasn't going to be defrosted in time and then it wasn't going to be cooked. I did some research on the web before hand and had about 5 different sets of instructions and then modified them to suit. It turned out just fine and fortunately we invited our friend Carolyn who wasn't scared to carve/attack it! I even made stuffing and gravy to go with it. We then finished the meal off with pumpkin pie and brownies. An almost perfect thanksgiving feast - apart from the fact that it was on Saturday.
However, our friends didn't do a very good job of eating the turkey - so Aaron will have a lot of turkey sandwiches to eat in the next week!
We bought a small turkey (7lbs), then we invited a few people over to help Aaron eat it. I was a little worried that it wasn't going to be defrosted in time and then it wasn't going to be cooked. I did some research on the web before hand and had about 5 different sets of instructions and then modified them to suit. It turned out just fine and fortunately we invited our friend Carolyn who wasn't scared to carve/attack it! I even made stuffing and gravy to go with it. We then finished the meal off with pumpkin pie and brownies. An almost perfect thanksgiving feast - apart from the fact that it was on Saturday.
However, our friends didn't do a very good job of eating the turkey - so Aaron will have a lot of turkey sandwiches to eat in the next week!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Woods Hole, MA, again!
After only just visiting Laura in September I found out that I got funding to go to a workshop in Woods Hole. I arrived on the weekend, which also coincided with Gill visiting from Canada. So we had a fun weekend catching up and hanging out - the first time the three of us have spent together (without partners) for the last 10 years. Laura, Gill and a couple of Laura's friends did a fun run from Woods Hole to Falmouth. They did a 7.1 mile run in an hour - very respectable.
Kate Hendry (Laura's postdoc), Laura and Gill
The workshop was great. Two weeks of lectures, lab-work and computer stuff about Ocean Acidification. It was rather intense - but we learnt a lot and I met lots of people. We were very lucky with the weather during the two weeks and we regularly went for walks around the village and up to the Woods Hole campus on the bike path. Laura also kindly lent me a bike - so I could ride back and forth to Falmouth and her house. It was really nice to catch up with her several times during the weeks and have a home away from home!
Unfortunately my visits to Cape Cod/New England missed the best of the autumn/fall colours. There were a few leaves still left on the trees and they ranged in colour from yellow, orange to bright red. There were plenty of leaves on the ground that made a great satisfying crunching noise as you walked through them.
The beautiful autumn/fall leaves
Most of the leaves on the ground
Woods Hole village was quiet when we were there. I am told it is very busy in summer. It is a very pretty place with lots of boats in the harbour. Although I think I left at the right time - the weather turned just on the last day with a cold wintery storm.... It was good to get back to summer in New Zealand.
Boats on the Eel Pond
Sunset over the harbour
Kate Hendry (Laura's postdoc), Laura and Gill
The workshop was great. Two weeks of lectures, lab-work and computer stuff about Ocean Acidification. It was rather intense - but we learnt a lot and I met lots of people. We were very lucky with the weather during the two weeks and we regularly went for walks around the village and up to the Woods Hole campus on the bike path. Laura also kindly lent me a bike - so I could ride back and forth to Falmouth and her house. It was really nice to catch up with her several times during the weeks and have a home away from home!
Unfortunately my visits to Cape Cod/New England missed the best of the autumn/fall colours. There were a few leaves still left on the trees and they ranged in colour from yellow, orange to bright red. There were plenty of leaves on the ground that made a great satisfying crunching noise as you walked through them.
The beautiful autumn/fall leaves
Most of the leaves on the ground
Woods Hole village was quiet when we were there. I am told it is very busy in summer. It is a very pretty place with lots of boats in the harbour. Although I think I left at the right time - the weather turned just on the last day with a cold wintery storm.... It was good to get back to summer in New Zealand.
Boats on the Eel Pond
Sunset over the harbour
Friday, November 6, 2009
Guy Fawkes Night
Last night was Guy Fawkes night. For those of you without an English (or Australian or Kiwi) background, Guy Fawkes became famous when he was caught in an attempt assassinate King James I by blowing up the English Houses of Parliament during the state opening on the 5th of November 1605.
Details of the plot were leaked due to concerns over the safety off others who would be present at the opening of parliament. Fawkes and several other conspirators were captured before they were able to detonate the gunpowder they had stockpiled in a ground-floor flat beneath the House of Lords.
Each year the people of England celebrate the foiling of the plot by lighting bonfires or setting off fireworks. In Wellington, last night, we had a 20 minute fireworks display set off from three boats in the harbour. I find it pretty odd that the Australians don't celebrate Guy Fawkes really at all, but the Kiwis really seem to get into it. I guess any excuse to light fireworks...
Fireworks in Wellington Harbour
I think this a fascinating bit of history. A really good movie to rent if you haven't seen it is V for Vendetta. It borrows many ideas from Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.
Details of the plot were leaked due to concerns over the safety off others who would be present at the opening of parliament. Fawkes and several other conspirators were captured before they were able to detonate the gunpowder they had stockpiled in a ground-floor flat beneath the House of Lords.
Each year the people of England celebrate the foiling of the plot by lighting bonfires or setting off fireworks. In Wellington, last night, we had a 20 minute fireworks display set off from three boats in the harbour. I find it pretty odd that the Australians don't celebrate Guy Fawkes really at all, but the Kiwis really seem to get into it. I guess any excuse to light fireworks...
Fireworks in Wellington Harbour
I think this a fascinating bit of history. A really good movie to rent if you haven't seen it is V for Vendetta. It borrows many ideas from Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.
- Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
- The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
- I know of no reason
- Why the Gunpowder Treason
- Should ever be forgot.
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