The Adventures of the Brave Little Tomato Sauce Bottle

What would life be without a bit of adventure?

Sunrise and full moon over the Southern Alps.

With some luck, and the intensive root-washing efforts of K and F, I was able to finish my experimental harvest in time to have a weekend free to explore! Together with my new favorite travel companion -- a genuine tomato-shaped NZ tomato sauce bottle, a gift from Jamie - I took off South and West to explore parts of the South Island both new and familiar.

"Well before I'm northward bound..."*

As I begin to pack up my five-and-a-half week stay in New Zealand, I thought it might be nice to document some of the fun the last week has brought my way. I was drawn to science because of its variability: It's rare that I spend more than a few days -- much less a few weeks -- doing the same thing. Which means that I'm never stuck on a dull task for very long, and that I occasionally get weeks like this one, which remind me how lucky I am that I get to play for a living and how much joy I get from my job!

Having finished up his seedling harvest, I spent Monday with J. at the Canterbury Museum, where I got to dust off my dSLR (which got hauled down here, telephoto lens and all, only to sit on the shelf while my point-and-shoot saw most of the action) to photograph some of the bones that he was measuring. Many of the photos will hopefully see some use as reference photos, since we posed them to highlight morphological differences between species. 

Bird-brained?

I absolutely love going behind-the-scenes at museums, and it was so cool to get a glimpse of the avian collection -- especially some enormous Moa bones!

And if that weren't enough, I also got treated to a couple evening trips to the seaside, once with K. to enjoy a bottle of our favourite wine, and once for a nice long run, as the shadows slowly stretched out in the lingering summer dusk. It's going to be hard to adjust to the short days of the Northern Hemisphere winter next week.

Sumner: the perfect spot for a beach run!

Waitangi Weekend: Wellington

Like many a good blogger who also pretends to be a scientist, I've fallen.. oh... three weeks behind now in posting photos from the second half of my Waitangi Day Weekend trip.

At last!  A sort-of view of the Kaikoura Range.

I left Kaikoura on the Coastal Pacific train to head up to Picton, the interisland ferry port on the South Island.  Along the way, we got through some of the fog to see glimpses of the mountains, ducked through plenty of tunnels, and passed some very scenic wine country.

One of many vineyards in New Zealand's famed wine country.

Salt-making at work.  These vast pools are turned red by
some halophilic (salt-loving) microbes.

As usual, I spent my train ride in the viewing car, looking ahead for tunnels and traffic signs before sticking my head out to take photos.

Waitangi Weekend: Kaikoura

The weekend before last (February 4-6) was a Kiwi holiday honoring the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty, signed by British emissaries and Maori leaders back in the 1840s, established British sovereignty over New Zealand, and is widely considered the founding document of the country. (Of course, its text -- whose meaning is still hotly debated, given its alternate meanings in Maori and English versions -- is still subject to negotiation and debate.)

Thus, I've heard Waitangi Day described to me as the "Kiwi version of the 4th of July."

I guess that says something about later civilities between Britain and her colonies. For us Americans, the founding document is a -- pardon my strong language -- middle finger to the Brits which started a bloody war. For the Kiwis, it's a happy agreement that, depending on who you ask, worked rather well. Certainly New Zealand's European colonizers never chucked their tea into a harbor.

How to Get Raccoon-Eyes in Two Hours

I was feeling a bit down after my tour of post-quake Christchurch last Saturday (and after spending $40 -- $40!!!! -- on a pair of hiking socks), so I hopped on a bus out to the coast.  After living for a year literally on the water in Woods Hole, I find nothing so soul-restoring as the ocean.

Perhaps the easiest beach to access by public transportation from the heart of Christchurch (read as: The only beach Holly has yet accessed by public transportation from the heart of Christchurch; any tips Liz?) is out at New Brighton.