Science + Hooker Valley = PhD Fun. Part 2

There are two kinds of PhD research topics.

The first kind involves doing really cool stuff to collect data, but the rest of the research is either very boring or, and this seems to be the case more often than not, others may feign interest in the topic yet only vaguely understand why the research is being done.

Take my friend Rob, for example.  He likes things that explode - volcanoes to be exact.  This guy has been all over the map to do volcano-y research that, I think, involves some fancy pants math stuff.  But, I don't care what makes these things go kaboom - I'm interested in the pictures of the places he's visited to study the kaboom.

The other kind of research is like my own; collecting the data is as exciting as watching paint dry, but most people will understand and have an opinion on the results.

I've been to a handful of parties where no one cares that I sent out a few thousand questionnaires and then sat around for 3 months waiting for them to be returned, but people do care to hear that our results suggest this, this and this about predictors of weight gain/weight stability and they have a related personal story to share.

Well, it just so happens that my friend Mandy is one of those lucky ducks who gets to travel for her research.  She takes samples of water from various ponds (and has even had people from overseas send her water samples!) and then looks for things in them.

Last week, we went on a little road trip and she pointed out some of her ponds.

Here's one:

Mandy has to walk around the water and scoop up samples with a net.  Here's an example of what she takes back to the lab at the end of the day:

Just an hour from the Kettleholes was our destination - Mt. Cook (the highest mountain in New Zealand and called Aoraki a.k.a. "Could Piercer" by the Maori).

We could see Mt. Cook really well from a lookout on Lake Pukaki.

We wanted to get a closer look at Mt. Cook and so we took a walk on the Hooker Valley track (roughly 4k to the Hooker glacier).  Mandy loved the bridges that we crossed.

Getting closer...

We made it to the glacier!  There were giant chunks of ice floating in the lake, but I am a lump head and didn't take a video of them bobbing and rolling around.

I really recommend this track.  It was soooo cheesy easy to walk because it was pretty flat and it was very accessible.  Just be warned that in the summer it gets very busy.  With that said, I'd definitely do the ~ 2 hour walk again.  *hint, hint to friends and family*

Science + Hooker Valley = PhD Fun. Part 1

Recently, a friend asked me to come for a road trip.  Along the way she pointed out sites of interest and the ponds where she collects samples of water for her research (something about parasites???).

We stopped to see the fossilized scapula of a whale at this site:

Three cows guarded the entrance to see this whale scapula (ooooh! ahhhh!):

Next up, Elephant Rocks! This area is located in the Waitaki Valley and has really neat features that I hadn't seen yet, like the limestone formations that resemble elephants. *Note: that is a real, live sheep; not a rock that resembles a sheep.

We carried on to Mt. Cook after a quick look around at the Elephant Rocks and a pit stop for the best lemon slice in the entire world.  On the way back from our adventures in the Hooker Valley, we stopped to see Maori rock art.  There was a wee bit of graffiti, so I can't say for certain that this is definitely Maori-made, but let's all just smile and nod and say it is, m'kay?

Next up... pictures from Mandy's data collection ponds and our Hooker Valley hike!

Kiwi Christmas 2012

Last night will go down as one of the most memorable Christmas Eve's.

My friend Max invited all the orphans over for a traditional Christmas BBQ.  The picture above was taken from Max's deck at about 10pm when the last bit of sunlight was disappearing behind the mountains.  I kept my eye out on the harbor to look for dolphins, but they must have been chasing salmon somewhere else.

We spent hours chatting, eating, playing with the cutest 3-year-old boy, and even watched Finding Nemo (guess who picked that movie?).

To thank Max for his hospitality, he asked for me to entertain him and I obliged.  Max is French and so I like to practice the vocabulary that I remember from five years of French classes with him.  He gets a particular kick out of me saying things like, "La vache aime nager" and "One egg is un oeuf!"  (I just learned that there's a joke to that... "Why do the French make their omelets with one egg? Because 'one egg' is un oeuf!).  I even sang him a song that I was taught to learn French vocabulary for the weather.

I think the night wrapped up beautifully... we indulged in Max's glorious chocolate cake and Alia's cheesecake (that took her about 6 hours to make, but nonetheless came out as a gloppy, but delectable, mess).  Then we bid our adieu's after taking in the moonlight with La Vie en Rose in the background.

Merry Christmas!