My last few weeks here have been insanely busy and so I haven't had time to blog, so here goes..
QUEENSTOWN
After getting home from Sydney, I had a couple not-so-quiet days of work before my mom came to New Zealand. She had a nice few days in Christchurch and then the two of us went on a vacation to Queenstown. I was told by everyone who had ever been to New Zealand, that Queenstown was a must, so I thought a trip that consisted of more than stopping by for a burger (as good as fergberger was) on the way back from the Routeburn Track was in order.
We landed Friday night to some sunshine and warm weather and enjoyed the feeling of being on vacation. Work at TTNZ is really busy and between adjusting to daily life in a new country and squeezing in trips every weekend, I was really ready to just relax.We had an amazing dinner on the water as the sun was setting behind the mountains, and just sat back to take it all in.
The view in the opposite direction of the setting sun
Did I mention dinner was awesome?
On Saturday we drove to Arrowtown, a small historic town about 20 minutes from Queenstown, and then on to Wanaka, a more quiet version of Queenstown, but equally as beautiful. It was a bit cloudy but the drive was nice to show my mom some of the classic view of New Zealand.
Mama loving the view on the way to Wanaka
Back in Queenstown after our day trip
Evening at the base of the Remarkables (covered in clouds), the mountain range in Queenstown
The real excitement came on Sunday, though. I convinced my mom (or maybe convinced her that she didn't have a choice) to climb Queenstown Hill. One of the main attractions in Queenstown is a gondola up to the top of a hill where you can then paraglide, zip line, bungee jump, or ride a luge to get down. My mom took the gondola on her last trip in 2009 so she knew how high it was. The hill we climbed was next to the one with the gondola, and the summit was much higher. Starting out, my mom had some doubts, but with a little coercing she made it to the top! We had so much fun - may have turned my mom in to a hiker!
The Gondola is at about the height of her hand (and we're not even at the top!)
Queenstown!
Love those colors!
Next up was the bungey jump. New Zealand is the home of the bungey and the bridge I jumped from was the location of the first commercial bungey! Before coming to New Zealand, one of my coworkers, who had studied abroad in NZ, told me I HAD to do it... But I wasn't convinced. My middle sister told me to do one thing out of my comfort zone while I was here... And I definitely didn't think this would be it. But when I went to Sydney and talked to Charlie, he said he would be disappointed if I didn't do it and if he came to NZ (which I'm still hoping you do!!) he would do it. So after all the encouraging words, I decided that I too would be disappointed in myself if I went home without doing it and had to tell everyone I wasn't brave enough. I put off signing up until the night before, but once I hit confirm, I knew there was no turning back... Until I was on the ledge.
Not. Letting. Go.
I went to the bridge, super confident that I could bungee jump and not freak out. I was all harnessed up and standing on the edge when I made the biggest mistake you could make, I looked straight down. Instantly I started shaking and rethinking my decision. The guy working told me to wave and smile for the camera... and to take my hand off the handle. I was so scared I would fall or that he would push me (which if course they won't do) that I couldn't let go.
I'll wave but I won't let go. #grassrootsgear #thetribebungeyjumps
A few deep breaths later, we had our final dialogue:
"See that bridge out there. Just look at that. Don't look down"
"I already looked down."
"Do whatever you need to do to get yourself off this platform. Scream. Jump. Anything."
"Oh my god I'm so scared"
"I'm going to count down from 3"
"Can you start at 5?"
"3"
"Oh my god oh my god"
"2.......1..BUNGEY"
"AHHHHHHHHHHH"
And without thinking, I did it.
Yep, that's me screaming.
And it was awesome.
There was a life boat at the bottom, so they came out and got me and I walked back up to find my mom who had watched the whole thing.
After the jump I had a celebratory drink and enjoyed a quiet evening before going back to Christchurch. The legendary Queenstown, also known as adventure town, definitely lived up to is reputation. I loved it so much and can't wait to go back.. But maybe not to bungee jump.
NELSON
The next week at work FLEW by and before I knew it I was on a plane up to Nelson to find my mom again.
Jen and I at our Christmas Party - Part of what made the week go by so fast
It was a funny to see my mom waiting for me at the airport and have a dinner place all picked out, as I had been the host the week before. We had a really nice dinner (again) on the water in Nelson. The water there is just the most gorgeous shade of blue. We spent all day Sunday traveling around the area which is known for both their craft beer and their wineries!
Neudorf Vineyard
We stopped by three wineries for a tasting, an A&P show (kind of like a state fair) to see what it was like, and finished with lunch and a glass of wine at a vineyard close to the airport, before flying back to Christchurch.
Waimea Vineyard
The following day my mom hopped on a plane to Sydney and began her trip back home. It was so nice to have her here! <3
2015
I was sad to lose my visitor and even more sad when I started to realize it was my last week in New Zealand. I have really gotten to enjoy my life in here, though it is a true 180 from my life in New York, which I also love and miss. But my time here just didn't feel complete. There's so much more I want to do and I wasn't ready to say goodbye to my friends. So Wednesday morning, when the head of my office said "Doesn't it just make sense for you to come back?" I had to agree. I did have my objections and reasons why I should stay home, but by the end of the conversation it was decided - I'm going to spend a week in Southern California with my manager and some of the team who have been helping us from the TT Irvine office, and then my manager and I will be flying back to NZ. I'll stay for three weeks until I have to go home to move apartments! Then, I promise, I'm home for good.
Why stop when you're having this much fun??
So the adventures in NZ continue. I will likely get one more trip in. I'm hoping to go to Milford Sound or Franz Joseph Glacier or Mount Cook on my last weekend here. I'll keep you posted :)
Thanks for reading and supporting me for my time abroad. I really needed it in the beginning and I still love it in the end. Now, let's all get home safely for the holidays!
Ah, Sydney. I love this city - the feel of the city, the unique suburbs, and, of course the beaches. It's easy to get around, plus the people are happy, the sun is nearly always shining, and you never seem to get over the view of the bridge and the opera house. If it weren't so damn far away from the United States, I would move here tomorrow.. In fact, after this weekend, if TT had a Sydney office I'd move here tomorrow. (Can someone please start working on this??)
My love affair with Sydney started three years ago when I studied abroad here. I mentioned this briefly in my first post, but to review, I came to Australia for 4 months in early 2011 to study at Sydney Uni. I made great friends with a few American girls, my Australian civil engineering friends, and a few of my sister's friends who hadn't gotten enough of Sydney on their study abroad, two years prior, and were back for a little more. I was so happy with my little group of friends, but near the end of my stay, while Skye, Steph, and I were skipping our program's farewell dinner and hanging out at the Uni bar, we met Charlie, a horse riding Aussie in an Elmo shirt. Of all my Aussie friends, Charlie ended up being the one I kept in touch with the most.
I saw Charlie last year when he came to NYC, but wasn't sure if I would see him again for a long time. When I first got to New Zealand I sent him a message to see if he wanted to come visit. He didn't have any free weekends for the entire time that I would be in Christchurch, but said he could probably free up some time if I wanted to come to Sydney. Come to Sydney?! I hadn't thought I would do that in my time in NZ, but now that the offer was on the table, I couldn't possibly turn it down. So I decided to do it. Picked a weekend when Charlie could miss a horse show, and booked a ticket to Australia. I was a little nervous that maybe I had built the idea of Sydney up in my head over the last few years, but sitting in the airport, on my way back to Christchurch, I can honestly say I had not. This weekend was amazing, everything I remembered and more. Charlie and I were crazy busy - I think (know) we could both go for a nap right now, but when you only have three days in the best city in the world there's no time to rest.
Friday morning, I woke up SUPER early and flew to Sydney, landing at 8 am. Charlie had to work until mid day so I spent the morning on the beach in Manly (not a bad way to spend a morning). I got hooked on that Serial podcast (anyone else addicted!?) on the plane over, so I know that I was only laying down for 23 minutes and 55 seconds, finishing an episode, before I realized I was probably getting sunburnt. I was right- I looked in the mirror and found that I had already gotten a pretty bad sunburn on my face, my chest, my legs... basically all over. I informed Charlie of my lobster status, and hopped on a train to meet my long lost Aussie friend.
Manly Beach
Just South of Manly Beach
We spent the rest of the afternoon adventuring around Sydney and ended the day with some Jamaican food in Surry Hills. I was so excited to go back to Surry Hills, where two of my friends had lived during study abroad. I used to love that neighborhood so much. We got Charlie's favorite gelato after dinner, and then drove about an hour west of Sydney to Charlie's farm.
Little Collins Street!
I hadn't been out to the farm during study abroad, so I was so excited to see it. After showing me the house, Charlie told me he doesn't actually live there. He moved to his own shed behind the house when his little brother was born, so he has his own little unheated area. After the unheated hut on the route burn track, I was skeptical, but, hey, when in Australia...
Charlie's Room
It wasn't nearly as cold as the Routeburn Track, so I survived just fine. In the morning, Charlie made us some eggs on toast with eggs fresh from the chickens running around outside and a mango smoothie with fresh mangoes. Delicious! He drove me around the farm - definitely necessary since it's a few hundred acres - and introduced me to his 3 week old foal. I think I got the full service farm experience :).
Morning on Charlie's Balcony
Spike!
Feeling full, we drove down to a student of Charlie's, who lives on the south coast. She asked us if we were up for a hike, to which we said yes, and we all headed on much more of a hike than any of us expected, along a trail that was barely visible at some points.
Burning Palms from the Top of the Hill
After spending five weeks in a country without a single animal that can kill you, I had my guard up about the deadly animals in Australia. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about snakes and drop bears (just for you, Charlie). Just as I was thinking that the difference between Australia and New Zealand is that the kiwis prepare for hikes with hiking boots and packs and well maintained tracks, and the Aussies just grab their surf board and flip flops and go in search of a good wave, Charlie asked me "So Erin, is this what you thought you'd be doing in Sydney this weekend?" Nope, but I loved it. When we made it to the beach there were almost no other people around, so we stayed there for a bit and tried to surf, before making the difficult trek back up the hill.
Made it to the Beach
Afterwards we went to see a couple more hidden gems of the south coast. Jared, Charlie's student's friend, had grown up in the area and knew of an old train tunnel where, when it was pitch black, the tunnel was lit up by glow worms, giving the allusion of the Milky Way in the night sky. We took our torches (Aussie/kiwi for flashlight) and walked in to the tunnel far enough that the glow worms seemed to go on forever in each direction. It was absolutely amazing, and one of the best parts was that we were the only people there.
To get my engineering fix of the day, and to kill some time until it was dark enough to see the glow worms, we went to see Sea Cliff Bridge. Despite all the cliffs in Australia, this is the only bridge that runs along them and spans over the open ocean. It curves along with the shape of the cliffs and looks really cool. During the day you can even see the sting rays below it. Charlie said he had seen the bridge in photos but never knew where it was, so I'm glad we went to it.
It's hard to see but the bridge runs along the cliffs out there...
Sunday morning, we drove back in to the city, to Rose Bay, where they do kayak rentals. We were able to get a couple and kayak through the harbor with views of the CBD, the bridge, and the Opera House. The view really doesn't get old.
Stopped for a rest on the beach
After returning to Rose Bay, we drove in to the city to see Ruthie, a Hopkins friend here on study abroad, and MY MOM, who had just flown in to Sydney on her way to see me in New Zealand. It was the perfect way to end my weekend in Sydney, surrounded by family and friends, kangaroo pizza, and some wedges. After lunch, I made my way back to the airport, and finally back to Christchurch.
Im so sad that my weekend in Sydney is over and that I really don't know when I'll be able to come back, or when I'll see my Aussie friend again. But I can assure you, I hadn't overhyped Sydney in my mind, and sincerely hope I will be seeing both Charlie and Sydney again soon. Thanks for such a great weekend, Charlie. You were seriously the best host!
Between the weekends spent traveling and hiking, it's good to remember why I'm here and that it's not, as is may appear, an all-expense paid vacation to New Zealand. I took this weekend to rest and see what I needed to see in Christchurch. What I realized, as I took a step back and let myself enjoy this place, is that I love it. Not in a can't-live-without-it-never-want-to-leave kind of way, but in a protective I-can't-believe-I'm-leaving-before-it's-all-better kind of way. I love it in the way that I want to give the city and hug and tell it that everything is going to be OK.
But let's be real, the view for my afternoon coffee wasn't half bad.
The city was first hit by the Canterbury Earthquakes in September of 2010 and it really jolted the city, damaging many buildings and surprising everyone with it's location and magnitude. After many smaller aftershocks, the second severe quake came in February 2011. Because many of the buildings had been shaken previously, and thus weakened, the second quake did a lot of damage. They closed the entire central business district for a period of time, evacuating all the residents. I was working on a building today and someone near me asked if there were any signs of forced entry. I looked at him confused, and he said not like criminal forced entry, but that many buildings were broken in to by first responders to make sure no one was passed out inside. I hadn't even thought of this, and imagining it really makes me feel for the residents of this city, and how they must have felt when the quakes first happened.
The CBD has since reopened and life is coming back to the city, but now is the hard part: The Rebuild. Another colleague explained to me that most of the buildings that are standing today are most likely fine. Simply put, the ones that were going to fall down already did, and the ones that did not are strong enough to survive the next quake, if there is one. Still, there is a massive paranoia among building owners, and in my experience, most building owners would like to collect the insurance money, tear the building down, and start anew with really solid foundations and a perfectly flat slab ;).
The other day at I was working on a building located right in the center of the city. I had to use a Google Earth view for one of my reports, and although Google Earth is a little outdated, and in the time since the photo was taken even more buildings have been demolished, the amount of empty lots in the heart of the city center really made me think, this city lost a lot of its heart and soul, along with its buildings, in the earthquakes.
So many empty lots..
Stepping away from Google maps, and actually going to the buildings strikes even harder. One of my buildings used to be a beautiful residential tower. In one direction, the residents could see over the tree tops, all the way out to the Southern Alps. And in the other direction - nothing but the port hills. Before the quakes, this building must have been luxurious. The penthouse, now a unit I all but refuse to go in, had a gorgeous chandelier, still hanging, but missing a few pieces. It breaks my heart to see the contrast between what used to be and what is now. And if that doesn't get you, try walking in to a few of the bedrooms and looking at the calendars on the walls, opened to February 2011. The earthquake was on February 22nd, 2011, meaning that they evacuated immediately -- before they could even turn the page to March. Talk about traumatic.
Seen on my site visit
But this city isn't giving up and it's residents aren't (for the most part) going anywhere. This is the new Christchurch. And the people here are embracing it, because, what else are you going to do.
This weekend the sun was shining in Christchurch, so I decided to do what very few people do in this city, walk around. I intended just to walk to the mall for some Christmas shopping and some lunch, but my walk ended up taking a few more turns and giving me a lot more insight in to the city, as well as a good tour of the destruction.
The first stop on my walk was, as intended, the Re:Start Mall. Probably the best mall in Christchurch, but all the shops are housed in shipping containers. Even the bathroom is in a shipping container! These containers are one of my favorite parts of Christchurch.
The outside of the Re:START Mall. Check out those shipping containers!
They were originally brought in to stabilize facades and hillsides, and though many have been removed, as the hillsides are otherwise stabilized, many still remain and the shipping containers have become their own architectural style. Aside from the container mall, I've seen architecture offices set in the containers, and even a bar made of shipping containers. The ones that are still being used to stabilize the hillsides, are being covered by murals to make them more attractive to the community.
Shipping containers stabilizing the hillside in Sumner
Today on my run, I even saw some that were recently placed in Hagley Park -- I really don't understand these but they will probably be there through the "Christmas in the Park" festival next weekend, and I mean, what's a festival without shipping containers?
Christmas came early.. and Santa brought more shipping containers.
After shopping at the container mall, I walked over the Cathedral Square.
The site has been left largely the way it was on February 22nd, 2011. The rubble is still there. Semi-permanent steel framing has been built to hold up what is left of the roof, as some of it cantilevers over the piles of rubble that used to hold it up. There is fencing around it and a giraffe (one of many installed around the city to show "Christchurch standing tall") standing proudly in front.The first time I saw the Cathedral in its current state, I thought, why don't they take it down? Of all the other, less iconic buildings that I'm here to assess, why has no one touched this one? As far as I can tell they're not really sure what to do with it, and in its current state its not hurting anyone. It's shocking to see, but provides a clear vision to any passerby of what happened to this city. So for now it stays.
In new-Christchurch fashion, why I so love this city, a few blocks away, past several more empty lots, is the new Cardboard Cathedral.
I remembered seeing a photo of this in the NYT 52 Places to Go in 2014 (Christchurch is #2!), so I went to see it on my walk. It's small and quiet, but serves as an inspiring symbol of the rebuild. It was meant to be temporary, but since it's so symbolic, and they haven't figured out what to do with the original cathedral, they've kept it open. It was even visited by Prince William and Kate this spring! It costs $600/day to maintain so I did my duty, buying a few souvenirs, and then continued on my walk.
I wandered in to a bookstore, looking for books about Christchurch and the quakes. Many of the books on the earthquake are hundreds of pages long, providing far more detail than I want, but I found a small book called "You Know You're from ChCh When...." I sat down to flip through it, and even though I've only been here for six weeks, I could relate so much to this book, Here are a few of the excerpts:
You know you're from ChCh when,
1. Where high vis and hard hats are high fashion.
Not in Christchurch, but here's a picture of me in my high fashion gear :)
2. Where building demolition has become a spectator sport
Even more so than building demolition, new buildings going up and others getting releveled are getting so much attention. The slab being poured next to my office gets an unreasonable amount of attention from everyone I work with. We also went to a special open house of a company who is releveling a large building in the CBD. It was very well attended, and rightfully so as they were handing out free coffee and muffins. They even asked me if I wanted to have one of their pens.
3. Where all of your photos have gray wire fencing them.
If this doesn't scream Christchurch... wire fence, shipping containes, a crane, and a traffic cone
4. Where locals can't even give directions anymore. So. Much. Road. Works. and no detours, by the way. Just make a few more turns and hope it works out -- but it probably won't because the next road will be a one way the wrong way, or be closed just for a day, or just not allow you to make a left turn.
Having appaently qualified as "from ChCh", I walked home feeling a sense of pride in the city I had just walked. It takes a lot for a town to go through a tough time, open a cardboard cathedral, leave their city icon as a partially collapsed structure and constant reminder , and then to write a book joking about all of those things. What good character Christchurch has developed.
They even put these things in the middle of the road to "Green the Rubble"
To close I'll leave you with the answer to a question that I'm asked almost daily from friends and family back home:"How's NZ?!" I know that they're asking how I'm doing over here, but I'm going to answer that question literally. New Zealand's doing pretty well. The sheep seem happy and the latest scandal to hit this country, aside from a chocolate milk shortage, is that someone decided to make mannequins that show their ribs. This morning on the radio news they reported that Hagel stepped down from the Pentagon, and without skipping a beat, followed with "We are being asked to not drink and play sports this summer, due to the large quantity of people who suffered head injuries from cricket bats last summer." Seriously?! Oh, also there is an internationally noted male drought (except in Christchurch). So on a whole, the country is doing well. And my beloved Christchurch seems to be right there with them. I love you Christchurch, and even though I'm leaving in three and a half weeks (but who's counting?), I will definitely be back, and I can't wait to see this city with more people than sheep ;) .
"How was my weekend?", many of you have asked me this week. Pretty. Damn. Epic. Here's a preview (It's better with sound...):
This weekend I went tramping for the very first time along the Routeburn Track with three coworkers - Jen, Mike, Nick- and one of my colleague's husbands- Keith.
During the hike, Nick asked me, "So, this is your first hike? What have you been doing all your life?" He definitely had a point, and I am hoping this hike won't be my last, but the idea of sleeping outside had just never been an idea that I pursued. My time on the Routeburn Track really began as soon as I boarded the Air New Zealand flight in LA. The safety video features Bear Grylls as he runs along the track and gives safety instructions for your flight. It's a pretty good video - take a look:
Two days after landing in New Zealand, Sarah told me about the office trip to the Routeburn Track. Desperate as I was to make friends, I signed up immediately without realizing what I was getting myself in to. As the trip grew closer, I realized I didn't have any supplies. I confided this in a colleague, who ultimately lent me most of the supplies I needed. Jen had all the planning and food prep under control, I bought the remaining items I needed, and before I knew it the day of the trip had arrived. At the base of the track, I put on my borrowed pack for the first time, and when Mike asked me how it felt, I replied, "Well it feels strange.. but I've also never worn a pack like this before." And with that, we locked the car and started walking, knowing (well, hoping) that our car would be waiting for us at the other end of the track. (Routeburn is a 3-day hike in one direction, so we left the key in a lockbox and an envelope of cash in the glove box, for a relocation service to drive our car to the other end -- only in New Zealand)
Here We Go!
The first day was great. We walked for about 3.5 hours at, apparently, a very quick speed, as the estimated time for our hike was 5-6 hours.
Summit Key
The track is one of the "Great Walks" in New Zealand so the there are huts on it, serviced by a warden. I was not expecting much more than a roof with some bunks under it, but the hut had walls as well, so I thought I had hit the jackpot!
That's the Guided Walks Hut ($1500 per person for a three course meal and warm shower) ... Ours it right behind it
The first level had benches surrounding tables, a small fire in the center, and lots of gas stove top areas for food prep. Above the common area, was the bunk room. On one side of the room, there were typical camp style bunk beds, but on the other side of the room, where the five of us chose to sleep, were about 15 twin size beds pressed next to each other, making a giant bed for 15 people. The five of us put our stuff down, set out for a little more hiking, and then finally settled in around the fire for the weather report from the warden. The warden's weather report was an absolute riot, but the bottom line was, "Tonight there will be rain and gale force winds and tomorrow, when the wind stops, it's going to snow." Plain and simple, flurries tomorrow. We woke up the next day, excited for some snow flurries on our way up to the saddle. As we walked up the mountain, we all commented on how strange it was to be in "fairy land", while it's snowing AND we're feeling a bit warm in all of our gear.
Fairy Land
That feeling didn't last too long, and as soon as we rounded the corner of the mountain, we were most certainly not warm, and it was most certainly NOT a rainforest. The weather got progressively worse and worse, and about 2/3 of the way up the mountain all of our cameras went away. The snow was no longer fun to document, it was just miserable, and we needed to get through it.
At the top of the saddle was a shelter, which we used to warm up and have some tuna sandwiches. The way up was pretty tough, but with the weather getting worse, and cold wet gloves that had to put back on, the way down was guaranteed to be 100x worse. And it was. I walked out of the shelter with my wet gloves on, and about 100 m in, I turned around and told Mike and Jen, that I didn't think I was going to make it. Unfortunately, when you're on a one-way track, and you've already made it to the top of the mountain, more than 50% of the way there, saying you aren't going to make it really isn't an option. So we truged on, Mike kindly staying with me the whole way. About an hour and a half later, as I was feeling stuck, carefully selecting the next place for my foot to go, I look up, and who do I see but Nick and Keith. Nick, Keith, and Jen had gone ahead as fast as they could to get out of the weather, but when they all met at the hut, Nick and Keith decided to come back to make sure I was OK. Seeing them brought a really big smile to my face. Keith told me it would be easier to get down without my pack, and took it from me, and in less than five minutes the four of us completed the hike together. I'd like to say that that's where this ends, that we got to the hut, the fire was blazing, we dried all of our clothes, and lived happily ever after. But that wouldn't be the truth. We got to the hut to discover that unlike the last hut, the bunk room was not on top of the common space with the fire, but NEXT to it, meaning it was entirely unheated. And too few people had gotten to the hut before us to have bothered with a fire. Even more so than at Harris Saddle, I did not think I was going to make it. From that point we were only three hours from the end of the track, and I really just wanted to go for it and get out. But we didn't know if our car would be there, and we had already changed to dry clothes and unpacked our sleeping bag -- we were definitely staying the night. Keith and Nick set to tending the fire, and after a solid effort, a few other participants, and five hours time, we had a fire. Around 7 pm, we got our safety talk from the hut warden. He told us that if anyone had predicted the amount of snow that we had seen that day, the track would've been closed. Knowing that the conditions were actually as bad as I thought they were, I felt a little tougher for having made it through. Around that time the fire started working. Though I still didn't know if I would freeze at night, things were starting to look a little brighter.
The next morning we woke up early and... THE SUN WAS OUT. It was absolutely incredible. The view was stunning and we could see mountains we didn't even know were there the day before.
View upon walking out of the bunk room. Couldn't see as far as the first line of trees the day before.
Knowing the end was near, and that we would probably never be back, we decided to backtrack and see what we missed. This was honestly the best part of the trip and made it all worth it. The day after the blizzard was beautiful! We took in the view, threw a few snowballs, and headed down the mountain.
A stop in Queenstown, and a six hour drive later, Keith asked me, "Would you do it again?" Absolutely.
