The Test and Exams

I write today as we had our first "blizzard" in Dunedin. We awoke to the sounds of cars revving their engines trying to climb the icy hills and not going anywhere. There was around an inch of snow in town and more at higher elevations. When snow is forecasted for Dunedin they report snow to certain elevations. Last night it was snow to sea level, which means us. It actually felt like winter as the air was cold enough to be dry versus the usual wet and cold. The streets and sidewalks were vacant as most people don't venture out on such days and many of our coworkers weren't in the office. By the end of the day the streets were clear of ice, snow, and cars. It's supposed to stay cold for a couple more days.


Clearly kiwis do not know how to deal with snow

Work has been a bit busy for both of us as students' classes are done for the semester. Katie and I have been busy grading practical exams over the past week. Written exams will be completed in the next couple days and then reading and grading essays will take precedence, but only for another 10 days until we head to Thailand! Most of our trip is sorted and we are looking forward to sunny warm days and learning about Thai culture.

This past weekend we went to our first "test". A test is an international rugby match. The All Blacks were in town and played France at the local pitch, Carisbrook. Normally, New Zealand vs. France would not be much of an event, except in the last Rugby World Cup, France knocked New Zealand out of the tourney, so tensions were higher than would be expected. We were able to score second row seats as our friend Lexie had a connection for presale tickets. Carisbrook is a short walk from our flat, so Katie and I decided to host a pregame party at our house for the event. We invited some other coworkers over for some bratwurst, home fries, plenty of fattening snacks, and an array of beverages. The weather was sunny and warm all day and stayed great for the night game.

The town was abuzz with many fans in from out of town and many events ongoing around the test. There was the traditional nude rugby match at the local pitch. The city centre octagon was partly shut down with tents and video screens up for those who weren't part of the 28,000 fans who sold out Carisbrook. There were also several meet the players/autograph signing sessions in town.

The AB's were pretty short handed as their captain and their first five-eighth (quarterback) were both injured as well as eight other starters. So the starting lineup was mostly young guys trying to make their way into the regular rotation. Expectations for a victory were a bit dulled due to these factors, but we were fired up for a win. Before every game the All Blacks perform the haka, which is a traditional Maori war chant. It is pretty cool to see on TV and even more so in person. Unfortunately, they were facing away from us so we didn't get the full experience. Check out a clip of the haka here. It would be pretty intimidating to watch 25 huge men yell, chant, dance, and give you the cut-throat right before you go head to head for 80 minutes on the rugby pitch.

The game was pretty cool as I am starting to understand some more of the rules and themes of the game. Unfortunately, this means I could tell the AB's were not playing well. France got out to an early lead scoring two tries right in front of us. France was in command until the last 10 minutes of the first half when NZ got a penalty goal and a try in quick succession. At halftime France was up 17-11. The AB's continued their scoring to come even at 17-17 by the middle of the second half, but in the end the kiwi's came up short 22-27. Our seats were sweet and we got to see 3 of 4 tries about 15 metres away. After the game we stopped to watch the French boys wander around and thank their fan contingent, which was pretty strong. Their guys are all about the size of NFL linebackers, but 15 of them play both offense and defense for 80 minutes.


Action Shot


France gets a Try

We were both stoked to get to the game and take in a real kiwi tradition with a pregame American flare. This may also be the historic last test at Carisbrook as a new stadium is currently being built, despite much local protest. We look forward to the AB's getting revenge against France next weekend in Wellington. This test will be taken at a local pub with a beer or two. This is the way all tests should be taken!!

More fun pics!

Update:
We had some excitement at work today, before publishing the blog. There was a large crane working on the top of the hospital next door when we walked to work this morning. At about 11am, the crane came crashing down in the street! What a mess that is. It was still there at 4.30 when we left for home. Made for good views out our office windows! See the news story and pics HERE.

Wine-ing

Last week the Banff Mountain Film Festival came to Dunedin so Craig and I made our annual pilgrimmage to the movie theater for some outdoor action. The 3 hours of films included one about backcountry and heli-skiers in Jackson Hole which was cool because we've skied there, although not down a nearly vertical cliff after dropping from a helicopter. There were also a few about free solo climbers and base jumpers, both populations of crazy people. The 50 minute featured film induced the most audience anxiety. It was about 3 base jumpers from 3 different countries who went to China to jump into the world's largest, deepest vertical cave. In order to do so, the had to shimmy out over the cave on a cable connected only by a carabiner, unhook the biner, and then let go, falling into a giganitic, seemingly bottomless pit, to try to land in the only safe area which was a rocky, planty area about a meter square near the bottom. All three jumpers were concerned about death and serious injury after previously claiming to only jump when they knew it was safe. Unbelievably, all three hit the landing spot and remained intact. All in all the movies re-affirmed my love of the outdoors and my desire to remain firmly planted on solid ground whenever possible. Click here to see the trailer.

For the weekend, we had planned to escape to Hanmer Springs for a couple days of hot pools and spa relaxation, for my birthday fun. To our disappointment, we were unable to get reservations so Friday found us racking our brains for something else to do. We preferred to get out of Dunedin if possible to avoid the predicted freezing temps and snow. So, we ended up booking a last minute wine tour with our friends Dan and Emily, and all headed to Christchurch after work on Friday. We got to our hotel at about 10.30 pm, got some sleep and woke up ready for a fun day. We went to breakfast at Sticky Fingers where Dan had some uncooked pancakes and bad coffee before heading over to the week(end)ly artisans market. There we bought a hundred dollars' worth of german bratwurst from our favorite sausage man. Then we stopped by Bivouac outlet where I got a great bargain on an Icebreakers merino wool jacket. By then it was noon and time for our wine tour guide to pick us up at the hotel, and the fun began.

The tour took us by bus to four wineries: Waipara Springs, Torlesse, Mt Cass, and Mud House. There were 6 others on the tour including a very nice, newly engaged couple from Brisbane, and winery student from Germany, and three others from Australia, all very nice. The first winery served us lunch including fresh bread, soup, smoked salmon, crackers, salami, fruit (including grapes of course), and some other tasties. The food and wine were great starters. The second winery consisted of a small bar in a gift shop type room. Here we bought a bottle of merlot, completely out of character for us. The third, Mt Cass, was in a tiny tented area so it was a bit chilly but they had the coolest dog!


Dan with the cool dog

The fourth and last was by far the most flash and was housed in a humongous building, originally built by a radiologist from California. It was a beautiful wood and stone building but he had apparently not impressed the locals when he imported all of the stone from the US instead of using local goods. Either way, the place (Mud House) was amazing and the wine was the best we tasted that day. The tour ended there with some hot coffee/tea.


Mud House Winery


The Happy Winers

On the way back to the hotel, the driver made quick stop for us Americans to see a monument to the Twin Towers. Some local firefighters had travelled to help with the rescue/cleanup after 9/11. In return, they were given several of the twisted, mangled steel beams from the towers. The city had placed the beams next to a river alongside a main road with a few plaques explaining their significance. It was really amazing and gave us goosebumps to see it. We should be thankful that so many people are so willing to help any way they can when tragedy occurs.

It was only about 6.30pm when we got back to our hotel so we headed over to Dux de Lux for an okay beer and then wandered around the city trying to find an affordable place to eat. We ended up (after about an hour) at Wagamama, a noodle house and then moved on to Ferment for the best desserts ever. I had some tasty apple crumple with vanilla ice cream and fruit. Craig had chocolate mint cheesecake, and we helped Emily and Dan with their chocolate mousse with the yummiest sorbet I've ever had and creme brulee. By the time we finished off every last bite, we were all pretty stuffed and sleepy so we called it a night. Sunday morning we ate at our new favorite, Drexels and were back in Dunners about four hours later. Great weekend and even though we didn't get to heat up in the spa pools, we got to sleep in a nice warm hotel room, a nice break from our chilly house!

wine pics

Older and Wiser

There has been a relative lack of updating on the New Zealand adventures as late, and this is for good reason. We haven't done much. To help build our case of inaction, I note today's news which pointed out this was the coldest May since 1947 and we had more than twice as much rain as average. So this update will not have many pictures.


Our front yard full of leaves

Since the last update the Katie dropped her 20's like a fat kid drops a carrot stick. For her birthday, she was treated to around a dozen 18-20 year old transvestites in a beauty pageant consisting of swimwear, formalwear, and a talent portion. Before, you start to question such a celebration, it should be noted this was a work event that just happened to be on her birthday. Each year the 2nd and 3rd year male students have a contest called "Miss Physiotherapy" where all male students are able to participate in the cross dressing competition. This qualifies as a work event because faculty are called upon to act as judges. Besides the he-she shenanigans, we were also treated to drinking contests and cucumber eating contests (no further descriptions to be provided). Needless to say, we saw more of our students than educationally necessary and had many a good laugh as the intoxicated students had their fun.

The male cross dressing/nudity appears to be a kiwi thing. There is a comedy show coming to Dunedin called Puppetry of the Penis where two guys do tricks with their man bits. Fortunately or unfortunately, we have the news story reviewing the show. Please note, this story has full video detail of man parts and some of the tricks which can be done with them. As a reminder, THIS WAS ON THE LOCAL NEWS!!

As Katie did not even have a decent meal on her birthday, she was treated to post birthday breakfast at the Dunedin famous breakfast place, Capers. We enjoyed fruit stuffed pancakes and french toast. Katie could hardly finish her half serving and I couldn't help as I was stuffed after my full serving.

Last weekend was Queen's Birthday weekend and we got an extra day to celebrate the allegiance to Great Britain and Queen Elizabeth. We took advantage by road tripping to Christchurch and taking in the sights and sounds of a "big" city. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island and is about a 4 hour drive due north along the coast. There are just less than 400,000 people that live there and the visit was a good time. We took advantage of the sunny day and wandered around an artists market, the city botanical gardens, and the museum. We also spent some time exploring the city centre and wandering the streets in the tourist areas. We happened to stop into a bottle shop that had some wine tasting. It was our lucky taste as we found a wine from the Craggy Range winery that we visited on our North Island trip and had been unable to track down. A sample and a bottle later we were off to dinner.


Watching rugby from a wall in the botanics


Katie the Giant Tree Hugger


Craig in Fred and Myrtle's Paua Shell House

Sunday were checked out the "best" breakfast place in Christchurch, Drexel's. This again did not disappoint and we left stuffed and glad to have hit the big city. That afternoon we toured the Antarctic Centre. This was a museum which was solely dedicated to Antarctica. There was a blizzard room which was basically a huge freezer that had some fans set up so people could experience what a blizzard was like. The whole experience was essentially a 5 minute visit to Buffalo in February. Another section was a rescue centre for injured blue penguins. There was nearly 20 little blue penguins in an outdoor habitat and pool. They were playful but many had injuries or disabilities that would not allow them to survive outside the centre. Our adventure for the weekend occurred on a hagglund ride. This is a truck like vehicle which has treads to move on ice and snow. On the sample ride we were jerked up and down hills, rode over 5 foot gaps, and floated across a small pond. Overall, it was an interesting museum.


Katie in the Igloo


Little Blues


Craig survived the Hagglan Ride

We then decided our big city fun was over and headed back to Dunedin. The ride home we made a quick stop at Cookie Time, a NZ famous cookie company. A couple road trip munchies purchased later, we completed the 4 hour ride home.


Yummy!

This week has been a short one due to the long weekend. We should have some fun adventures upcoming, along with some video of this past weekend, starring the disabled little blue penguins.

More exciting photos!!

Another NZ Video

Here is a video we made from Andy's visit. We are trying a new video method so people don't have to download huge files. The video is password protected so not everyone can access it. The password is "n-zizzle". Take a look.

Untitled from Craig Wassinger on Vimeo.

A Bit of Home Cooking

A few weeks have passed since the last update and fall is in full swing in Dunners. We have recently been treated to quite calm weather, nice sunny days and cool nights. We have been grateful of the sun as it warms the house but daylight is running shorter and nights are seemingly long. The fireplace has been put through it's paces quite a bit recently.

After our Easter travels we have mostly chilled and taken advantage of some local activities and relaxing. Katie has been working in her role at the University for a few weeks and she has been very busy covering for others who have been sick. I also have a bunch of things going on at work and have been working some at night and went in for a few hours on the Saturday last week.

Last weekend we experienced our first Anzac Day (and I thought they were just cookies). Anzac Day is a remembrance for those that served and died in military action for New Zealand and Australia. Anzac stands for Australia, New Zealand Armed Corps. As a result, most stores were closed in the morning, and some all day. This shifted the Farmer's Market to a Saturday afternoon and it was crowded! Last weekend we also celebrated a year of engagement by going out to the local famous seafood restaurant, Fleur's Place. It is about an hour drive north in Moeraki, right on the coast, and came highly recommended. The food was good but didn't live up to the hype, no matter, the setting was awesome on the coast and we were treated to a vibrant sunset.


Ready for Fish


Sunset in Moeraki

Last Tuesday was the first of our community education classes, indoor rock climbing. Unfortunately, I was teaching that night and Katie had to fly (climb) solo. She was excited about what she learned and is keen to continue. I am looking forward to learning and a new challenge.

We both had a busy work week, but Friday we found ourselves at an Organic Beer Festival. It was held at a bar, Sammy's, that was a theater in a former life. All seats were out of the building but there was a stage and the balcony had a dozen or so nasty old couches for viewing or hanging out. It had a fun, albeit dirty vibe. We enjoyed our beer samples and some local music for a couple hours and headed home. Saturday we made our rounds to the market and decided to have the Pinto's over for a fire, appetizers, and desserts. It was great to just hang out with friends and eat some tasty food. Our Sunday was spent checking out a boat which set the world circumnavigation speed record while running only on biodiesel. It was a really strange shape but looked fast and unlike any boat I had ever seen. Check out their story here. Also, if anyone has 1.5 million laying around, it's for sale. We also hit up a exhibit which detailed Tibet's struggle for independence. It was a humanitarian, environmental day.


Fast Boat


Katie on Earthrace

A few more pics