I’ve been back in the USA for almost a month.  I finally decided to wade through the 700+ photos I captured of the South Island and post the best.  Currently though, my blog software hates me, won’t let me post image, and I refuse to troubleshoot anything that is not directly pertinent to my Ph.D…so click the links below for the galleries.

Before heading back, I spent a few days in the South Island with Dad and Henry. I won’t waste bytes blabbing about these images, as anyone visiting this site has already heard me talk non-stop about the awesomeness that is New Zealand.

Queenstown

Te Anau and Milford Sound

Southern Catalins

Overall, great trip and a great summer/winter. Why am I back in Clemson? Oh yeah, damn Ph.D.

Dad and Henry arrived in Wellington Thursday morning. They received the traditional Wellington winter greeting of wind and rain. Something amazing happened today though: the sun was visible. For almost 5 hours! We quickly rented a large car (Ford Focus…) and headed out. Our first stop was just south of Wellington on the coast: the Red Rocks Reserve. Sun, nice beach, nice red rocks, nice views of the snow capped peaks of the South Island in the distance, and fur seals. I am very happy Dad and Henry had some sun the first weekend. Pictures below…

I think lunch was the highlight for Henry: a burger…topped with a fried egg…topped with New Zealand bacon (huge). Too bad the camera was in the car.

After lunch, we drove north from Wellington to browse the countryside. I forgot to mention that today was my fist time driving in New Zealand. I spent the day concentrating on the words “stay left” and ignoring the scenery. Weeks of riding the bus prepared me, though my confidence faltered when, at the rental car headquarters, I attempted to get in the wrong side of the car. We first drove HWY 2 to Greytown. This involved going over a pass. A tight, curvy, on the side of the mountain, 1 foot to the cliff, with a fence that could not stop a scooter supplying false hope, mountain pass. Since that was not challenging enough, we decided to find a smaller, curvier pass to cut over to the West coast. They tell me the scenery was breathtaking…

Equals rugby union in Wellington in the winter. I saw the All Blacks beat South Africa tonight in the first game of the Tri Nations. Final score: 19-8.

It was rainy. It was cold. Of course, the weather this afternoon was beautiful, but the weather can, and did, get nasty quick. My ticket was great though (for $104 it better be damn fabulous): middle field and partially covered. I stayed relatively dry, and the two blokes surrounding me kept me somewhat warm: small seats. Small stadium: about 35,000 people. (No clue what that is in metric units. 10 Libraries of Congress though.)

Despite the weather, despite my ignorance of the game, it was really fun to watch. Very cool game. I don’t understand many of the rules of rugby union (rules in rugby seem as pointless as rules in war), but the game flows fast and is filled with big hits. The coolest part: it is legal to pick up a teammate to grab a ball high out of the air. Which makes sense: kiwis can’t fly. Terrible, I know.

Go see Wall-E. Pixar does no wrong.

(Nothing like free screenings in the awesome Weta Theatre.)

DO NOT WATCH “THE HAPPENING”.

Seriously, !@#*$ horrible. Stay away. I just picked it at random the other night. When I realized it was a M. Night Shyamalan flick, I cried a tear for myself. Then Mark Wahlberg appeared on screen…god, the misery.

Here is some trivia from the IMDB page: “M. Night Shyamalan wrote the screenplay with Mark Wahlberg specifically in mind for the lead role.” Who does that?!?!

I spent Saturday night in Auckland at the Aspen House.   Very cheap, considering the alternatives.  Dorm style room with shared bathroom.  It worked.

Auckland is on a volcano field (Smart? Eh. Pretty, yes), which is quite apparent as the city is dotted with smallish hills that are (mostly dormant I hope) volcanos.  I walked to the ferry station, saw a tour that advertised volcanos walks for cheap, and off I went across the harbor to Devonport on the north shore.   A cute town huddled around two volcanos, the biggest named Mt. Victoria.  Plenty of mountainous islands visible in the distance.  Quite a gaggle of impressive views.  (Yes, I used gaggle.)  A quick storm passed through, which was followed by beautiful day. I’ve been lucky with the weather…so far.  I then trekked back to downtown Auckland to take an elevator ride up to the top of the Sky Tower.  Tallest in the southern hemisphere.  Woo hoo!  Nice view though.  And you get to watch fools base jump by wire to the ground.

Oh, and Aucklanders enjoy sailing.  Thousands of sail boats in marinas.  Lots of white specks in the harbor and out to sea.

Saturday, I took the Overlander train from Wellington to Auckland. Only 12 hours! It was quite a long trip, and many of the hours were filled with nothing of interest outside my book. But, overall, it was a great way to see the countryside while traveling alone. And, now I can say with certainty, New Zealand is covered with sheep (and cattle).

It was very difficult to capture any interesting pictures from the train, but I tried…

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/rumors/post/Judge-Duke-football-stinks?urn=ncaaf,89496

This weekend was less than exciting. Today, Sunday, I had planned to attend the last game of the basketball finals, but the 3 game series ended in 2 as the Wellington Saints lost the first and second games in the series. Nick Horvath just couldn’t carry the team to victory. I then decided I would take the train north to a beach, but the weather has been windy and rainy. So I just stayed in and around town today.

The weather Saturday was quite nice. I took a few more photos. Yes, more photos of Wellington. Saturday night I had dinner with my advisor’s son. He and his family are ending their year in NZ; they are leaving Wednesday. We discussed Duke (he is a ‘96 grad) and things to do in NZ. He was easy to spot, as he is a clone of this father.

Things cost more here. I can accept that. But books…books are crazy expensive. An $8 US ($10 NZ) paperback goes for $19 US ($24 NZ)! A $25 US ($31 NZ) travel guide goes for $40 US ($50 NZ)! Thankfully, there are plenty of used stores. Crappy, miserable copies of paper backs still range from $6 NZ to $14 NZ. But, I must admit, browsing a local, small book store dominated by shelves full of used books has an appeal that is more satisfying than running into a perfectly designed Borders (there is a Borders in Wellington).

One last ramble for today: there are very few chain restaurants/cafes in Wellington. Very few chain stores in general. (People say returning something, even if broken, to a store is difficult proposition.) Of course, the great American chains are invading the island: McDonalds, Burger King, Subway (god I love Subway cookies), Starbucks. Yes, even though Wellington is covered with very cool, local espresso/coffee/tar bars with amazing atmospheres, Starbucks is trying to take over. Back to the point; drinks are somewhat expensive at most places. No soda fountains. No free refills. (Burger King/etc. do the American thing though). Most places just have cans/bottles for purchase. And, for some reason, even though they cost way to much, I love the fact that the individual cans of Coke I purchase are plastered with “not for individual sale”. Way to stick it to the man local shop owner!

Wind. So windy. After such a nice weekend, I believe the real New Zealand winter has arrived again. Constant wind that can make walking an interesting affair. It makes Jennifer and Kern’s windy house on a hill seem very dull and calm.

The buses are less than exciting. Not very surprising. But, tonight I was lucky enough to experience the latest and greatest in in-bus entertainment: a LCD displaying the bus location on Google Maps! It also flips occasionally to video feeds from cameras throughout the bus. Yes, multiple cameras on the bus. Real-time bus location and watching myself ride the bus. I am easily entertained.

I must comment on New Zealand sports. Rugby, in all its forms, dominates. It is usually on 25% of the channels (from my sample size of 12). I am slowly becoming a fan and will attend an All Blacks game before leaving if possible. Cricket is big, but I have no interest. The real reason I am commenting on NZ sports: Netball. Simple idea really. Take the best qualities of ultimate frisbee and basketball…dispose of them inhumanely and form a game from the crap that is left. Horrible game. Fifth grade gym class horrible. Contact is illegal! You can’t move once you get the ball! No one shoots more than 3 ft from the basket! Illegal contact is called on every possession! All you can do on defense is stare someone down! And there is a national women’s league! And it is on TV daily! And they wear skirts! I don’t understand.

Finally: Nick Horvath (yes, Nick Horvath from Duke, 2001 champion) is a stud in the New Zealand basketball league. Current game on TV, which is the finals in NZ: 21 pts, 8 reb at halftime. That was a season for him at Duke.