Jumping for joy to see Jubilee Hut

Helloooooo warm weather!  This weekend was perfect for a tramping mission to Silver Peaks.  It was my second time visiting this little gem that's located less than 30 minutes from Dunedin.  Daniel has been to the area numerous times and so he was the tour guide.  We parked on Mountain Rd. and walked very roughly 6 hours (9-ish miles) to Jubilee Hut.  The hike was challenging due to heat, terrain and... my little water issue...

Kate kindly let me borrow her pack and I loaded it up with things for the overnight trip.  I was responsible for making something delicious for dinner, so I chose this:

Lime-Curry Couscous 

Serves 2 hungry hikers.  

1 lime* 

½ cup whole-wheat couscous 

¾ cup water1 ½ tablespoons olive oil 

1 teaspoon curry powder 

2 carrots1 cup chickpeas 

1 bunch scallion 

¼ cup sliced almonds 

¼ cup golden raisins 

Dash salt and pepper 

 At home 

Rinse, drain, and pat dry chickpeas; pack them in a zip-top bag. Transfer oil to a spillproof container. Pack curry, salt, pepper, almonds, and raisins in another zip-top bag.  

In camp 

Bring water to a boil in a pot; remove from heat, add couscous, cover, and let sit until all water is absorbed (about five minutes). While couscous is heating, grate, shred, or chop the carrots. Chop scallions into thin slices. When couscous is done, add olive oil, vegetables, chickpeas, and the contents of the curry bag. Slice lime in half and squeeze fresh juice into the couscous; mix well to combine. Grate a little lime zest on top. Serve warm.

*For some reason, limes aren't like, you know, standard grocery store products around here.  I had to use lime concentrate instead. It worked fine.

I wasn't entirely sure how the carrots and chickpeas would hold up, so I froze a water bottle to set next to them to keep them cool.  Unfortunately, the bottom of the water bottom busted in the pack. But, I didn't realize this until we already had walked about an hour towards the hut!  I should have thought something was up when I kept becoming aware of how wet the backs of my knees were, but I shrugged it off and hoped no one else noticed.  Well, not only was I little bit embarrassed that I thought I was having some weirdo sweaty knee syndrome, but I worried about how I'd stay hydrated with nearly 5 hours to go before we reached the hut which would have a tank of rain water waiting for us.

Things worked out fine in the end.  I actually was thankful for the experience of having to conserve water and the ice that remained in my water bottle (when I wasn't having visions of bending over muddy puddles lapping up water out of desperation).  Life in my comfy little flat is so easy and I never appreciate how I can just turn on a faucet when I want cold water. Out there, the chunks of ice that would break off when I'd shake the water bottle were delicious!  On top of that, every now and then a cool breeze would blow past us - how refreshing!

Here's an idea of the terrain we were walking on...imagine the sun beating down!

The landscape on this trip was much different from what I saw on my first outing to Silver Peaks.  It seemed more scenic.

We reached Jubilee Hut and I was downright knackered - but sooooo happy that there was a huge tank of cold water waiting for us.  I actually made a comment about drinking water until I started to float away.... I was pretty thirsty from hours of taking dainty sips from Daniel's water bottle.

Just before sunset I was out on the porch when I heard voices in the distance.  Soon after we welcomed four international students to the hut (three Americans and one Columbian).  They got lost out on the trail and had nearly given up hope that they'd find the hut before dark (they didn't have flashlights, but had a whole loaf of bread and peanut butter, ha!).  After dark, Malcolm, a middle aged kiwi, joined us.  We all had a fantastic evening just chatting away while drinking ginger wine and whiskey.  During the night, we all had a good laugh at Malcolm's expense, too - he was quite a snorer.  But, he also had a good sense of humor; here's what he wrote in the hut's visitors log:

"Mostly some friendly Americans here with no torches (flashlights) but plenty of peanut butter =)"

In the morning, this was the view I enjoyed during breakfast:

Not too shabby!  Imagine that sky filled with millions of stars at night. It's not pitch black like you might imagine.  At one point in the night I was out there just looking up and taking it all in.  It definitely made me feel so small to look up and think about how we're all floating around on a small blue dot surrounded by all those small white dots.

After breakfast, it was time to head up Devil's Staircase and make our way back to the car.  It was a good bouldering session to get to the top.  I used the empty whiskey bottle for a water bottle - that was interesting to take sips of whisky flavored water!

We stopped  here for a quick lunch:

Since the weather is getting warmer, I'm sure I'll be posting more and more pictures from outdoor adventures.  Stay tuned!

David Tua - Wheel Of Fortune - O For Awesome

No shoes? No shirt? No problem! Dunedin naked rugby...

The All Blacks were in town!

Last weekend, Kate, Mandy and I watched the All Blacks crush South Africa's Springboks 21-11 here in Dunedin.  The tickets were $90 each, but I was willing to fork over the cash since it's such a unique New Zealand experience to watch the All Blacks play and see their famous pre-game haka in person.

Despite barely understanding a lick of the sport I really enjoyed the game.  The atmosphere in the stadium was awesome because thousands of fans were on the edge of their seats in anticipation and busy heckling the other team (the four young drunk guys sitting behind us were an added entertainment bonus).

Surprisingly, it's hard to say if watching the All Blacks win was the highlight of my day (I think if I were a New Zealander this would be a no brainer, though).  Earlier in the day, a friend texted me to say that I needed to head to the rugby pitch just down the road for a 3pm naked rugby game.  Surely, they wouldn't be completely naked, right?  Being a curious gal, I walked over to watch the Nude Blacks take on the Nude Boks.  

Much to my surprise, the field was lined several spectators deep on all four sides.  There were hundreds of people watching some very naked men play rugby with some men who also became very naked when the boxes affixed around their waist finally fell off in competition!  At first, I thought I'd have to duct tape my jaw back into place - it's quite a shock that there were men and women, children and adults, standing around watching such a spectacle. Interestingly, it didn't take too long to adjust to the fact that these men were playing a sport with no clothes on.  In fact, it became quite hilarious as one by one the players were tackled to the ground.

So, who's ready to come visit me in New Zealand now?

Ghost Hunters International Visits Larnach Castle

Thanks, Deb, for pointing out this episode of Ghost Hunters International to me!  There is footage from the ballroom... the same one that we spent the night in last month for the Highland Gala Ball.

My First Mihi Whakatau and Other Glimpses Into Maori Culture

The Public Health Association of New Zealand opened the annual conference on 4 September 2012 with Mihi Whakatau (a formal welcome).   To begin, Manuhiri (visitors) were invited into a lecture theater.  After we were all seated the Tangata Whenua (people of the land - marae representatives) went to the front.  The Kaumatua (elder) said a karakia (prayer) and mihi (greeting speech).  The Tangata Whenua then did a waiata tautoko (song of support) for his speech.  A male representative for the visitors responded with a mihi.  Here's a video of the waiata to support him:

The protocol for the Mihi Whakatau allow Tangata Whenua and Manuhiri to merge as one and become the Whanau (family) for the conference.  I think it was great to incorporate the Mihi Whakatau into the conference.  I had no idea what was going on for the hour or so that the Mihi Whakatau went on, but I enjoyed the experience nonetheless and liked the idea of us merging as one.

That wasn't the last of the singing, though.   Children came and sang for us on a few occasions.  During this song the whole audience got involved:

I'll post more about what I learned at the conference from the presentations I attended later on.  In the mean time, here's one last video of the children to tide you over: 

ACT for Body Image Dissatisfaction

I'm not sure what people will think of this, but I thought I'd share a book that I found when I was literature searching in Google Scholar. At some point, I'll sit down and look through it. I'm hoping to find a protocol for weight management that I can adapt for an online intervention. This looked promising.

Wellington Recap

Oh, Wellington, how I adore thee!  I arrived on Monday and left on Wednesday.  This gave me enough time to visit Te Papa, the Botanic Garden and Mount Victoria.  I stopped in for nibbles at Midnight Espresso, Sweet Mother's Kitchen, Tulsi, and Abrakebabra (Midnight Espresso and Abrakebabra were my favs).  I also stopped in for a beer sampler at Fork and Brewer. This is where I learned about wonderful craft beer hot spots in Wellington and around New Zealand.  For example, Parrot Dog is a local brewery that makes a mighty tasty Bitter Bitch.  Moa is a New Zealand brewery that makes a mighty fine Five Hops. M'mm.

Since the last post was so gosh darn wordy, I'll just post pictures for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

First pit stop in Wellington was Te Papa. The museum was not only impressive for its size and high quality engaging exhibits, but it is also free to the public...

View of the Beehive (a building of Parliament) from Victoria University...

The Pou Whenua are traditional tribal boundary markers...

Wellington is the world's southernmost capital city.  Here's another view of Parliament buildings...

View from the Botanic Garden...

I loved walking along the harbor...

The signage around the city was great.  I had an easy time finding the path to the lookout on Mount Victoria.  Someone was even kind enough to alert visitors to a zombie situation...

Sunset from Mount Victoria? Yes, please!

Just a wee bit windy up there...

Looking forward to going back to Wellington.  The plan is to get out on the harbor on a ferry ride next time. =)