Uni Canterbury

  What better time to talk about my job than when I'm in a new one.  To begin, I'd like to show you my favorite tree on campus, above (there is one comparable by the staff club).  It's on my daily walk to work.  Contrary to this tree, there is one behind it that wacks me in the face most days.  It hangs down into the sidewalk like a weeping willow and it's a daily game to try to dodge the swinging leaves.  It can be particularly challenging during Norwesters (strong warm winds).  I think greenery and trees are a necessity for campuses.  After the aftershock/quake, classes started to be taught from pubs, churches, and tents.  An example of the tents is shown above, placed in one of the parking lots.  Can you imagine teaching or actually learning and paying attention when getting taught from these locations? 

The building I worked in is shown on the right.  The problem with this building is that it doesn't have air conditioning or heating.  They automatically open/close the windows and shades to keep the proper temperature,. so the building is "green."  The unfortunate reality is that whoever programmed the opening and closing must hate the inhabitants of the building.  On a cold day, the shades are closed and the windows are open, maximizing the cold.  Before the earthquake/aftershock there were about 10 people working on the top floor (where I worked).  After, there were 100s.  I guess the building might actually be capable of remaining warm with that many people.

I was moved 3 times during the 4 months I worked at the Uni.  The latest location is shown on the left.  My boss sat right behind me.  Yes, there is a mammoth on the desk.  Unfortunately, I only got to use one monitor.  One necessity for work is coffee.  However, Kiwis don't do drip coffee. The closest thing is an espresso with additional hot water in it.  I started out with coffee this way.  Then, I slowly put less and less water in the espresso.  Finally, at the end, I put a double shot in and left it at that . I don't know how I will do without the machine.  I worry that my hands may stop shaking then.  Also, what will keep my heart rate up?      

The Old Neighborhood

 Before leaving Christchurch, I stopped by the old stomping ground... mostly because the best beer can be found at a store there.  The first picture here is of the mall that contains the beer store.  It's strange to see the front end missing.  I can't imagine being in this part of town during the aftershock/quake.

 Down the road was a restaurant that I always wanted to visit.  It had a nice eating area outside.  I could barely recognize the building as I drove by.

The bottom image of a house that was on the corner of our old street.  It was always a beautiful house... looked a little German or Swiss.  It was sad to see it in the state it is now.  I hope they can rebuild it.

I apologize for the somber blog. 

Onto New Adventures

Today is my last full day in Christchurch.  My time, here, has been great and I will miss the city and the people a lot.  However, I'm off to Melbourne tomorrow.  Something that perked me up is that the closest establishment to my new job is a Belgain beer cafe!  There is also a U.S. consultate right there, which should make Mom feel better. 

Goodbye Staff Club :(

Something would look forward to every week, is the staff club on Fridays.  The earthquake caused serious damage to the staff club and so it has been closed since February 22^nd.  We started a new staff club at my second favorite pub, Pomeroys.  What make a pub great to me?  Good beer!!  Good people and atmosphere help too.  So where should I hold my going away party?  Pomeroys of course.  I thought the best going away party for me would just be a standard Friday staff club experience.  It was sad to say goodbye to everybody, but at the same time it was a lot of fun.   

 

I’ve met some great people since arriving in New Zealand and they will be sorely missed.  Sarah made an extraordinary gesture, creating a generous tab for the evening.  I had some of my favorite beers from New Zealand:  Hopwired, Oyster Stout, and Sister Gina.  You can also never fail with a 3 boys IPA.  I also had the pleasure of having some crackling (I think that’s the word).  It’s the end of an era for me, no longer having the staff club experience every Friday.  I can only hope that something half as good exists at Monash, my next destination.     

Trip of Folly, but with great views day 2

I woke up around 5 or 6, and it was freezing outside, making the exit from the sleeping bag quite unpleasant.  I was sleeping in a top bunk in the hut to give the other couple in the hut some room.  So as I got dressed for the day, I had the pleasure of introducing myself to the ceiling multiple times.  As I got my stuff ready for the tramp for the day, I noticed 1 item missing, my rain jacket, which is a necessity, as weather can change on a dime.  After stomping around through the hut, trying to find it, I was about to assume I lost it.  Then I heard a voice in the darkness asking if I was looking for my green jacket.  I whispered, YES!! Thank you, as she handed me the jacket hanging next to her! 

As I began walking, a Kea began walking next to me.  Keas can be most unpleasant, as they like to steal things hanging from packs, so I kept feeling around to make things were secure.  Luckily, their attention span is short, so I was able to escape the Kea.  I made my way to the col/saddle and began up the ridge, which was all scree.  I have mixed feelings about scree.  Every 2 steps forward results in a half step back.  However, if you do slip, it’s a nice slow fall, as the scree moves with you.  It is also sometimes more comforting than trying to climb up rock that that has few hand/foot holds.  So, I made my way pretty far up on the scree, as seen in the picture with the foot at the bottom.  This is when my loose camera attachment device became an issue.  Down tumbled my camera, bouncing a good 3-4 feet in the air at times.  I stood there for a minute or two and debated on chasing it down, which may have been a little dangerous, going down slowly, or just continuing upward.  I finally caved in and decided to head down and did so for a couple hundred feet, I’d guess.  Then I had the pleasure of trying to find my camera case in a pile of rocks, which is analogous to finding a needle in a haystack.  If it slipped between some rocks, I’d never find it.  Finally, I gave up the search.  I started to head back up after wasting a good 30 minutes.  Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a funny looking rock.  Hooray!! It was the camera case, with a camera inside. 

So, I continued onward.  Once I got past the point where I dropped my camera, things leveled out quite nicely.  The sun was out, the scenery was beautiful and things were looking positive.  I got to a flat area and debated for a good 10 minutes, trying to decide if I should just turn around b/c the ridge began to look hairy again.  However, I decided to give it a try and just see if it was as bad as it looked.  It wasn’t!  It was actually fairly easy going.  I thought, wow, I may actually make it to the top.  I looked down at the glacier and noticed it was a crevasse city with surrounding suburbs, so was happy to not have tried the glacier route (which I couldn’t anyhow b/c I left the ice tools/crampons back at the car).  Then I came to a bit of a divot in the ridge.  At the bottom, there was the glacier to my right and, oh, there is a giant piece to my left.  In front was a giant rock cliff carved out by the glacier that used to be where I was standing.  So, then I played in some nearby crevasses and tried to debate on whether or not I could shimmy between the rock and the glacier.  However, there became a point where that was no longer possible.  So finally, I gave up.  The glacier was too slick to walk on without gear, which I regretfully left, and the ridge was too steep for a man who lacks good rock climbing skills, or a rope for that matter.  

So, back down I went.  This is where scree becomes pleasant.  Essentially, you can ski down scree, using boots as a pair of skis.  This is great for the knees.  The only bad part is when you suddenly run into a solid rock… which happens… and did happen.  So I fell on my bum and got a nice bruise.  Then I headed back toward the hut.  Going down a mountain always seems to take so much longer than going up for me.  The anticipation of scenery isn’t there on the way down… either that or time just changes speed for me.  In which case, I apologize to y’all for controlling time.  So anyhow, I headed down and down and down.  As I crossed a waterfall, another fellow was jumping around the rocks like a mountain goat, heading in the opposite direction.  Once I finally made ¾ of my way to the Carrington hut, the mountain goat returned, bounding up and down across the rocks.  At this point, the bottom of my feet were bruised, which may be hard to believe, but take my word, it can happen. 

So on the way back, I took the flood route, which goes through the forest that goes along the river valley.  It was great, b/c the ground was only mud and dirt, no rocks!!  I wasn’t even bothered when mud came up to my knees.  Finally, I made it to the anti-crow hut, which is the last hut before the parking lot.  My camera batteries were dead at this point, which may have been related to the tumble the camera took earlier in the day.  So, I crossed river braid after river braid.  I got to the other side of the valley where the parking lot, thinking I’d get the river crossings done in daylight.  However, the river cut right across into the mountains on that side, so again I was crossing river braids.  Finally, around 8:30, I made my way to the parking lot.  It was dark.  I dumped the water out of my boots, which act as a wonderful container.  As I started driving, I realized that the sand flys made a great meal out of my legs.  Then I went home and got back to the aftershocks.  The trip was actually a lot of fun, tedious, but fun.  The scenery was amazing.  I started to realize that making it to the peak of a mountain isn’t necessarily what it’s all about.. although it does typically provide better views.  As they say, the pleasure is in the trip itself, and not necessarily the destination.  Anyhow, until the next adventure!...     

Trip of Folly, but with great views day 1

So a friend of mine, here, in New Zealand mentioned that Mt. Murchison may be a fun mountain to visit.  Well, for those of you who don't know, my current landlord is named Don Murchison.  So, I had to at least see the mountain for namesake.  So I packed up all of my gear, including ice tools and crampons.  I was on my way to Arthur's Pass National Park.  After driving along the 4 wheel road for about 10-15 min to the trailhead, I discovered that the trailhead had no intention forms... so I headed on over to the ranger station about 30 min away.   Boosting my confidence about the trip, the ranger said that it was doubtful that I could make it to the Barker Hut (my planned destination).  The ranger also mentioned that they had doubts I could even cross the rivers to get halfway there and that rain could keep me in the huts for days due to poor river crossings.
    I got back to the trailhead and was ready to go.... well except I couldn't find my nalgenes of water... the one critical component for any mountaineering or tramping trip.  After a moment of panic, I thought about the thermos I brought that contained my coffee.  That will do.  By this time, it was later in the day (11am), so I started to have doubts about making it to the Barker hut and if I made it, I figured there would be a crevasse party on the glaciers of Murchison, so I left my ice tools and crampons at the car.

     So, I started down the riverbed.  For those reading this who haven't tramped in New Zealand, I should point out that Kiwis do not believe in bridges, or dry feet for that matter.  Actually, many just walk around barefoot.  So, 5 minutes into the trip was the first river crossing.  4+ hrs later with soaked feet and after losing count of river crossings, I arrived at the Carrington Hut, which wasn't even halfway to the Barker Hut.  Well, this is the point where the trail gets a little odd.  My guidebook mentioned that I should cross the White River as soon as possible.  After almost getting swept away in waste deep water, I was across.  As I continued along, bushwacking and fording rivers, I found this cableway, as shown here.  Well..  wouldn't that have been convenient for getting across the river... well, lets face it, it also would have been a lot more fun.

     I met some Kiwis along the way who mentioned there was no way I'd make it to the Barker Hut before dark... they must have talked to the same ranger.  Being the good listener, I continued on my way.  Luckily about 30-60 min later, I met a older Kiwi couple who said I should be able manage... giving me a little more confidence.  I should mention that some Kiwis are built like mountaineering machines... even older Kiwi couples, so it's important to take their tramping advice with a grain of salt.  After following what appeared to be a game trail, at best, I wandered around and finally made my way to the Barker Hut, which isn't in the valley, as I thought... it's much much higher.  I think I only got lost 5 times or so... which is not uncommon for these trails.  I got some warm clothes on and some hot water in me.  After watching a couple Keas fight, I had dinner and headed to bed.        

end day 1

davidbark.blogspot

I figured that I should start letting friends and family see what I'm up to.

This first blog is to point out that there is another David Bark in the world!!! Well, that is in addition to my dad.  There is an artist under the same name who took my website address:  davidbark.blogspot.com.  Who knew?