Time is approaching for my (brief) return to Stateside. I have completed what I sincerely hope are the last two finals of my lifetime, have reached peace with the minimal amount of actual PhD work I have accomplished, and am in the midst of moving out of Abbey.

Oh dear Abbey, you painted whore of a residence hall. Having never lived in dorms previously, I suppose it was good that my first experience of one was all grad students. They partied, but didn't get bodily fluids all over the place. They were gratuitously sexual at times, but generally only with confused undergrads. The food sucked, but the Jacuzzi and sauna nearly covered that base. More than anything else there was never a need to choke someone into turning off their Linkin Park. As a whole, it was kind of like High School in Utah. More of a dress rehearsal than real life.

Good friends though, and new forms of poker.

But it is most definitely time for departure. Moving from Nome to the residence halls was a soul jarring experience whose impacts have bubbled up in all sorts of odd ways. Plus I spilled my drink on the pool table the other night. Clearly time to go.

So off to AK and CA for a couple of weeks to recharge, then into the house sit situation and some serious work on my PhD topic.

Actually though, I'm in pretty good shape. Karen's visit was a real recharge for me, I do love that girl. The whole trope about distance and fonder hearts and all that...yep. Good times.

We actually got out and about as well, took a week on the road and saw a bit of South Island:

First stop: Moeraki. These goodly marbles were thrown up by the local volcanic gods and litter just a small area of a single beach. Apparently there used to be more, but every museum in the country grabbed one before anyone thought of preserving the site. Still very cool.


The weather was great from our end, but the locals found it a bit daunting. My friends here are sick to death of my comments about how they have no idea what cold is (aside from the Canadians), but hey, two cm of snow is not an obstacle, it is merely a suggestion. They do get great hail storms...this one is seen at the Cathedral formation overlooking Gore Bay.

Hapuku lodge. Incredibly pretty and luxurious place. Bloody expensive as well, but very worth it. This shot is from our treehouse.

I think the next experience actually gave me diabetes, it was so sweet. Just outside of Hapuku there is a waterfall where the local seal pups climb to swim. There are nearly 100 in the area most years, scattered in pools leading up to the falls itself.

This is the actual falls. It is hard to see here but there are likely 30 seal pups in that pool, playing as hard as they can. Jumping, spinning, grunting; it is like rugby but with attractive people.

The video will give you a better idea, though this is not of the pool itself. This is just downstream in a quieter locale.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating. New Zealand's side road situation is absolutely top notch. On a whim we turned off the main road into the Clarence River valley. I can't adequately describe it.

Maruia Springs, a Japanese style bathhouse/hot springs resort up in Lewis Pass. The accommodations are nothing grand (unlike Hapuku) but the actual springs are a joy. Traditional bathhouses, foot pools, hot waterfalls, and private tubs. With a little snow on the ground it was as close to Circle Hot Springs as I feel likely to find. Just beware, one of the pools is a cold plunge, but is not marked as such. Beware indeed.

The West Coast sports some nice glaciers, including some which are actually growing rather than receding. After watching Alaska's glaciers shrink it is comforting to know that they might survive somewhere. This is Franz Josef.

Pit stop at Lake Paringa. Note the black van of death. I have been told it looks angry. I just want it to look poor so I don't have to worry about locking it.

Finally, Lake Wanaka on the way home. Who knew these colors actually existed?

Life is good, my friends. Life is good.

Three weeks....


Finals coming up and pleasant visitors are my excuse. Karen flew in for a ten day visit and we got out of Dodge for a bit of a wander. Many pics coming once I have a chance to process them. In the meantime, know that the time was good. 13 years on, and a three month absence made us both into teenagers again. I do love that girl.

Meantime has the cycle of departures firing up as this semester's crew of Abbey denizens starts to splinter. Last night it was time to toast off our own Gallic prodigy, Raphaelle. Long gathering at Robot Face with a 2:30 AM quest for a cab....things don't change much, the backdrop just keeps switching out.

So while I work through the photos for our travel blog, here are some significantly less scenic shots. I have mentioned a bit about the local culture, religious presence, politics, ETOH consumption, and sheep fetish. Have I mentioned that Kiwis are pretty clever due to, or perhaps in spite of, all the above? Forgive the lack of insight here, but three hours sleep and a day of Zotero research leaves me with little to share. Rather than pontificate may I offer a few nuggets of Kiwi wisdom?

The Heat Pump.

Basically a refrigerator in reverse, or so it has been explained to me. Super-efficient heater, relatively low energy use per BTU. Developed in NZ, though mostly made in Japan these days. Quite fancy, in truth. Though I don't give them full props on this one because NONE OF THE BLOODY HOUSES HERE ARE INSULATED. Really. At least none older than ten years. Double paned windows? Nope. Attics full of blown pink? Nope. Dunedin is staying relatively close to freezing these days, and the locals in many homes actually put food in the fridge to keep it from freezing overnight on the counter. The homes are colder inside than out.

New housing rules include insulation and double panes, but the stock is only being replaced slowly. So the heat pump was developed because the houses were uninhabitable, away from the fireplace. Still a neat tool, but having clever ideas forced by your own strange choices is a toss-up in my book.

Outlets:

Every outlet in the country (near as I can tell) looks something like this. Little switch at the top that you can turn off to cut the flow. Eliminates the draw of things like many TV sets which pull 80% as much power off but plugged in as they do on. Damn clever idea, and should be legally required in the States. Yesterday.

Toilets:

Yeah, I'm blogging about toilets rather than working on my PhD. My parents will be so proud.

Kiwi toilets have two buttons. One for a full flush, one for half, I think. No one ever explained them to me, and it didn't seem like the thing to ask. Like where you are supposed to stand when using the local urinals, which are a steel wall covering a corner with a grating over a drained area in the floor. No pics, sorry. How the hell are you supposed to know where to stand? On the step, on the grating? You can't really stand in the bathroom and ask random guys. At least not twice, and not outside of the Minneapolis Airport.

But back to the point. Saves a lot of water. Clever, and good for the soul.

Other innovations? A traffic rule regarding right vs. left turns that ruthlessly weeds out the tourist crowd. A country run off of Hydro power. Pavlova, the local dessert (which would make a hell of an insulator. Six inches of pavlova in the walls, floor, and ceiling of all new Kiwi homes would be a godsend. You read it here first). Lever-action 12 gauges. The elimination of all coins smaller than 10c. The beat goes on.

This place is growing on me.