So Ends a Rather Fantastic Series of Adventures

I'm back in Columbus now, preparing to start classes on Wednesday.

The past two weeks have been full of friends and new places. I spent a week and a half staying with my friend Cat in Christchurch following my departure from The Ice. I saw a few people from the last time I was in New Zealand and met up with some friends from Antarctica for some exploration of life's finer pleasures (read: wine-tasting). I did a substantial amount of hiking, summiting two 2000 meter peaks in two days, plus miscellaneous glaciers (the original title of this post, when I was planning on writing it in New Zealand, was either 2x2x2000, or something involving some witty remark about leaving Antarctica and going to climb more glaciers). All this was accomplished with nothing more than a rental car and the minimum possible advanced planning.

I first explored Christchurch, somewhat more in-depth than I did on the way to Antarctica, having more time and money. I visited the botanical gardens and the Re:START mall, witnessed some demolition of earthquake-damaged buildings (two years later, it's still going on), met up with friend and IES Abroad Christchurch program coordinator, Eunice, who gave me a tour of some of the lesser-known areas earthquake of destruction, and went to a rehearsal of one of the pipe bands I was a part of when I was studying there.

Shipping containers protecting a roadway from falling debris in Sumner

Re:START mall, made out of shipping containers, where Cashel Mall used to be in downtown Christchurch

Skyscraper under deconstruction, Cashel St, Christchurch

The following day I commandeered a car and headed for the hills. Despite the number of times I've driven through Arthur's pass, I'd never stopped to hike there, so that was my destination. I booked a hostel and drove in early in the afternoon with the intention of climbing Avalanche Peak, but it was to be an eight-hour hike and I got there later than intended, so I settled for a couple of waterfall walks (Devil's Punchbowl and Bridal Veil Falls) and a hike up to a valley glacier. While the off-track hike up the glacial river was quite lovely, it was relatively anticlimactic because the glacier itself was covered in sediment and barely distinguishable from the surrounding cliffs.

Bridal Veil Falls, Arthur's Pass

Punchbowl Falls, Arthur's Pass

Glacier at the head of Bealy Valley, Arthur's Pass

I settled into my accommodation after an early dinner and woke up the next morning to do Avalanche Peak. I leap-frogged for a while with a German environmental scientist from Bolivia who had a lot of really interesting insight into the human element of climate change, and we ended up hiking the last kilometer up and most of the way down together. The peak itself was spectacular. We hiked into and then above the clouds, emerging onto a knife edge with only glaciers and a small number of peaks visible above the white. The whole hike, contrary to the Department of Conservation's estimate (6-8 hours) took 5.5 hours, including a very generous stop for lunch. With all the extra time, I drove back to Christchurch in time for dinner and went to see Les Misérables (the movie; Russel Crowe was a thoroughly deplorable casting choice, Anne Hathaway wasn't terrific, and Hugh Jackman didn't start off well, but he got better as the movie went on. All in all, the first half was difficult to suffer through, and the second half was brilliant) with Cat.

Ascent into the clouds, Arthur's Pass

View west from the top of Avalanche Peak, Arthur's Pass

The next morning it was off to Aoraki/Mt. Cook for some more hiking. I got there in the early afternoon and immediately headed up toward Mt. Ollivier, despite the cloudy weather, arriving at the summit in the early evening. The first half of the hike was stairs for the sake of accessibility, because of a particularly popular tourist attraction (the Sealy tarns) half-way up. There were over 2200 steps. It was excruciating. But the views were well worth it. I continued up the track (a real track this time) to the top of Mt. Ollivier via Mueller Hut and I was rewarded with some of the most spectacular scenery my eyes have ever had the pleasure to witness. When combined with the sounds of calving glaciers every few minutes and the smells of alpine wildflowers, it was in incredibly sensory experience, which words cannot begin to convey. But here are some pictures.

Sealy Tarns, Aoraki/Mt. Cook

View southeast from Mt. Ollivier with Aoraki/Mt. Cook Village

View northeast from Mt. Ollivier toward Mt. Sefton (left) and Mt. Cook (distant) with Mueller Hut in the foreground

Mt. Sefton moonrise, Aoraki/Mt. Cook

After a restful sleep at one of the hostels in the village (after coming down all those blasted steps), I met up with Antarctic friends (two of whom are actually Ohio State students that I didn't know - life at a big school, right?), Kelsey, Allie, and Garrett, and we departed Mount Cook village in search of greener pastures, er, vineyards. We went to Wanaka, where we visited the well-known and extremely scenic Rippon Vineyard, and stayed the night before heading to Cromwell, one of New Zealand's less frequented regions, for some tasting at a less known but more delicious small vineyard called Domain Road. I went to a lot of vineyards and brought home a lot of wine, but, all totaled, 40% of it is from Domain Road. The owner gave us a very thorough introduction to his processes and wines, and we went away very satisfied, if a little a poorer.

View from Rippon Vineyard, Wanaka

Domain Road Vineyard, Bannockburn

Not having filled my wine quota from Central Otago, I headed up north of Christchurch with the intent of tasting some of the Sauvignon Blancs for which the Marlborough region is so well known. However, I was waylaid and, I admit, a bit tired of driving, so about a half hour out of Christchurch (it would have been four hours to Marlborough), I saw an intriguing winery and stopped by. This turned out to be the small, but award-winning Greystone Winery (and vineyard), from which I came away with a lovely Chardonnay to go with my next clam chowder dinner. I stopped by a couple other vineyards in the area, including the famous Pegasus Bay Wines, but restrained myself, with difficulty, from overextending my wallet. I drove back to Christchurch, returned the car, and spent the remaining two days in the city going through museums, gardens, parks, favorite haunts (e.g. Captain Ben's fish and chips), etc.

Pegasus Bay Winery grounds, Waipara

Victorian flower arrangement, Festival of Flowers, Christchurch Botanical Gardens

Topiary penguins, Festival of Flowers, Christchurch Botanical Gardens

Mountfort Gallery of European Decorative Arts, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch

Cathedral Square, Christchurch

I caught an early morning flight to the land down under (north of where I'd been for the past two months...), where I stayed for three nights. I don't have much to write about it because I pretty much stayed in the city and did touristy things. I walked all around the city, went to a spectacular orchestra concert (Tan Dun conducting his Martial Arts Trilogy with the Sydney Symphony) at the Sydney Opera House, ate at a few delicious, albeit expensive, pubs and grills, visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Australian Museum, the zoo, the aquarium, the National Maritime Museum (where I explored a replica of Captain Cook's Eneavour), and the Royal Botanical Gardens.

It was really quite an amazing city. It was incredibly vibrant at all hours. It was surprisingly diverse and modern while proudly (sometimes apologetically) acknowledging a rich history of which I was unaware until my visit. The architecture, both new and old, was visually striking and generally aesthetically pleasing, and overall, its economy was much less tourist-driven than New Zealand's, which I liked. When I got up in the morning to walk to the gardens, I walked alongside people in suits and ties rather than through a gaggle of tourists trying to board a bus. It was refreshing.

Sydney Opera House, designed by Jørn Utzon, opened 1973, Sydney Harbour

Sydney Harbour

St. Mary's Cathedral, designed by William Wardell, opened 1883, Sydney CBD

Replica of HMB Endeavour, Captain Cook's ship, Darling Harbour

Row houses, The Rocks, Sydney's historic shipping district

Shark tank, Sydney Aquarium, Darling Harbour

Tasmanian devil, Sydney Zoo, Darling Harbour

Dome interior, Queen Victoria Building, designed by George McRae, opened in honor of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee in 1897, Sydney CBD

Chief Secretary's Building, designed by colonial architect Jarmes Barnet, opened 1880, Sydney CBD

Fireworks, Darling Harbour

Same view, different time of day, Darling Harbour

Downtown Sydney with bridge and opera house from Mrs. Macquarie Point, the Domain

But now I'm back in good ol' Columbus, preparing for the beginning of second session classes on Wednesday. Not sure what'll be next here. Maybe pictures of Columbus, or maybe it'll be dormant until my next foray into unknown lands. In the meantime, keep a weather eye, and thanks for watching!