Greetings from Queenstown, New Zealand!
After an arduous journey from Christchurch that included a snowstorm, several closed mountain passes, snow chains, and two nights in a tiny place that sounded like “Obama-rama” (or Omarama if you are looking for it on a map), we were thrilled to get here this afternoon.
The trip thus far has been a wonderful one - blizzard conditions and all. Christchurch was a terrific place to hang out with lots of cool eateries and bars, arts centers and museums. We were able to catch the Tranzalpine Railway from the city to Greymouth via the Southern Alps. The views were jaw-dropping the entire way. Aside from an all too short stop for lunch that required Mom, Dad, and myself to practically run down the street, shovel as much as we could down our throats, and haul it back to the train, it was a leisurely way to spend the day. Back in Christchurch we also checked out the International Antarctic Centre. It was awesome. While we were at the Centre, Dad, Jeremy and I put on some boots and jackets and spent time in the Antarctic conditions tank. It was full of snow and an ice slide and the temps actually dipped to -24 C. The Centre also had a great penguin exhibit! Visiting the Centre also helped us realize how close we really are to Antarctica. What a welcome change from Texas in the summer.
Our hotel here in Queenstown is really nice. It’s a pretty new ski lodge about 1 minute from the middle of the city. We walked to a bird conservation park today and got to see real Kiwis and a tuatara or two. Very cool.
A few things we’ve noticed about New Zealand are that they have very well stocked tea and coffee supplies in every hotel room, and everyone who lives here is incredibly fit. Since leaving Texas we’ve not seen a single out-of-shape person. When in San Francisco we noticed the hills trimmed the love handles off of everyone, and all the Kiwis seem to jog up mountains with regularity. Apparently, folks here can tell Jeremy and I are Americans as they keep giving us hotel rooms for the disabled. Also, all of the toilets give the option of choosing a full or half flush.
We are hoping to check out some Lord of the Rings scenery in the next day or so, although we are certain we’ve seen a few places already. This place is indescribably beautiful.
I'll post pics as soon as I can. For some reason blogger won't let me right now. Grr..
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Learning to Speak Kiwish
Hello reader!
For those of you who are unaware, we are in New Zealand. Despite the fact that it is winter, and quite chilly, we are having a wonderful time. Jeremy and I are both attending the Evolution 2007 meetings. Only one of us understands (and attends) any of the presentations but the other member of this duo understands how to procure a free lunch and wireless internet. :) Jeremy's talk took place this morning and was outstanding. He is a natural speaker and presented some data that is fairly significant to folks in his field. I had never seen him deliver an academic talk before and was most impressed.
It was great to celebrate Father's Day with my dad yesterday since Mom and Dad are with us. We send our love across the Pacific to Jeremy's dad and look forward to celebrating with a phone call at an appropriate time. We also celebrated Jeremy's birthday - but only for a moment - on the flight over here. His birthday got lost when we crossed the International Date Line. Before returning to the U.S. we will also celebrate our anniversary and my birthday. Basically, we are one nonstop party.
Prior to arriving in NZ we got to hang out in San Francisco for a few days. It was great! We actually stayed in the rectory of an old cathedral with our friend. He used to be the Associate Pastor at our home parish but has since moved out to CA. We had a great visit and only spent a grand total of $186 for lodging, food, transportation, and toursity stuff for all three days in the city. How awesome is that??
A few quick highlights of our NZ adventure include the plethora of women walking the street adjacent to our accomodations (that "feature" was not included in the rental property's online description), the beautiful scenery, and the copious amounts of high quality tea served WITH MILK. Whoo!!!!!! I love these people. For the milk in the tea, that is.
For those of you expecting souvenirs, be forewarned: possum fur is all the rage down here. Who wants a possum toothbrush?? what about a beach towel? pillowcase, anyone???
For those of you who are unaware, we are in New Zealand. Despite the fact that it is winter, and quite chilly, we are having a wonderful time. Jeremy and I are both attending the Evolution 2007 meetings. Only one of us understands (and attends) any of the presentations but the other member of this duo understands how to procure a free lunch and wireless internet. :) Jeremy's talk took place this morning and was outstanding. He is a natural speaker and presented some data that is fairly significant to folks in his field. I had never seen him deliver an academic talk before and was most impressed.
It was great to celebrate Father's Day with my dad yesterday since Mom and Dad are with us. We send our love across the Pacific to Jeremy's dad and look forward to celebrating with a phone call at an appropriate time. We also celebrated Jeremy's birthday - but only for a moment - on the flight over here. His birthday got lost when we crossed the International Date Line. Before returning to the U.S. we will also celebrate our anniversary and my birthday. Basically, we are one nonstop party.
Prior to arriving in NZ we got to hang out in San Francisco for a few days. It was great! We actually stayed in the rectory of an old cathedral with our friend. He used to be the Associate Pastor at our home parish but has since moved out to CA. We had a great visit and only spent a grand total of $186 for lodging, food, transportation, and toursity stuff for all three days in the city. How awesome is that??
A few quick highlights of our NZ adventure include the plethora of women walking the street adjacent to our accomodations (that "feature" was not included in the rental property's online description), the beautiful scenery, and the copious amounts of high quality tea served WITH MILK. Whoo!!!!!! I love these people. For the milk in the tea, that is.
For those of you expecting souvenirs, be forewarned: possum fur is all the rage down here. Who wants a possum toothbrush?? what about a beach towel? pillowcase, anyone???
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