Have you ever seen "dull" used in the weather forecast? I've heard it twice today.

From the front page of the paper today:
"La Nina is tightening its grip on New Zealand and promising more dull, drizzly weather for the rest of the year."

Really, the rest of the year? It's only June.

Also relevant to my previous post, this article said that Highway 75 to Akaroa was closed on Sunday afternoon due to mud slides and trees on the road from the heavy rain, and it didn't re-open until Monday morning. It's a good thing we took the treacherous, gravel road home, or else we might have been stuck in Akaroa for the night.

Check out the full article.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/3863490/Heres-the-forecast-and-its-all-gloomy

Chilly Weekend: Fireworks, Tramping, and French

It was a festive weekend in the Canterbury region.

The weekend started off lively on Friday night. I caught the bus with some American friends to the Festival of Lights in Lyttelton, the port town near Christchurch. The light display was a bit dismal for a "festival of lights." I think there was a total of 3 strings of Christmas lights lighting up the entire block where the festival was held. But there was a fireworks show, live music and more types of sausages being grilled than I'd ever care to see again (the kiwis love their sausages... just wrap a piece of white bread around it and you're good to go). All the kiwis were out enjoying the festival on the street with their sausages and mulled wine, a few boys even in shorts. I, on the other hand, was a bit on the frozen side. Perhaps it was because I didn't have a sausage in one hand and a glass of mulled wine in the other. Lesson noted. I enjoyed the festival nonetheless.


Saturday morning was the beginning of my adventurous weekend with the French. My french flatmate hired a car and he and I, along with 3 other french guys, went tramping. It was drizzly and cold when we woke up, but we headed out to climb Mount Herbert, the highest peak on the Banks Peninsula at about 920 meters (~3000 feet). It's about a 45 minute drive from Christchurch. The hike was mostly through private sheep pastures, rising from the ocean to the peak, which is said to have beautiful views of Christchurch and the Canterbury plains. I can't validate that. It was drizzling when we started, then began to rain, then the wind picked up. Any moisture-wicking ability of my pants disappeared quickly and they soon became soaked. We were in a cloud for about half of the hike. My face went numb, then my legs, then my hands, but we made it to the shelter at the top. Ate lunch. Struggled to get my gloves on my hands then journeyed back down the slippery slope. We were muddy and a bit of mess when we got back to the car, but it was a fun first tramp in NZ.

The crew. Wet and happy to be almost down the mountain.

Sunday was another day, even a bit more French. We loaded up in the car again, me and the French guys, and headed to Akaroa, the famous French settlement on the Banks Peninsula, located about 1.5 hours from Christchurch. The weather was even worse than Saturday. It was raining and the road was flooded in sections. I tried to explain the concept of hydroplaning to the French in an effort to persuade them to drive a bit slower. I don't know if it helped much but I did find out that it's called aqua-planing in France. We made it to Akaroa. It was pretty but cloudy and rainy so the bay didn't exhibit the usual vibrant turquoise colors it's known for. We then ventured to Pigeon Bay, which has significance to my family as this is where my mom's family settled before coming to Hawaii in the 1860s. I went there with my family when I was 8, but remembered very little of it. It's a very small settlement with nothing more than a few houses. After a brief exploration, my French friends decided we were taking the coastal route back. This was where the biggest adventure of the weekend began. The road became all gravel and quite narrow. It had been raining so it was a bit slick. It wove up and down the hillsides of the finger-like Banks Peninsula, with a steep dropoff on one side with no guardrail. Luckily, the French guy driving understood it was good to slow down on this part of the road. It was still a bit sketchy. As we were going down some of the steep sections probably burning the brakes on the rental car, I suggested that they switch the car into 2nd gear or Low. I found out they didn't know what the letters stood for, i.e. P for Park, R for reverse, N for neutral, etc. We saw one sign that said "Christchurch 54 km" and the running joke was that this was the main road to Christchurch. For some reason, jokes don't even need to have a hint of humor to be funny when you're with French and there is a lot of miscommunication involved. Luckily, it wasn't gravel for all 54 km. We hit asphalt again and the roller coast ride continued. I was sure happy to make it home alive!


Summary of the weekend: cold, wet, and french, but a great adventure!

View of Banks Peninsula looking north.

Looking out from Pigeon Bay. Psuedo-symmetry!

Looking up the valley from Pigeon Bay.

Hello! Heading from Pigeon Bay back to Christchurch.

Addendum: My mind is getting used to biking on the left and driving on the left, but for some reason I'm still walking on the right. I returned to uni this morning and realized today that I need to walk on the left side when I'm walking up/down stairs or through hallways. I keep almost running into people and have gotten some curious looks.

Okay, New Zealand isn't perfect

The list of wonderful things about New Zealand seems almost infinite. As most of you know, if you get me talking about New Zealand, I might never stop. A select few tease me that I think of New Zealand as the land of nothing bad. It's probably true. The worst thing I've ever encountered here is sand flies, which I can easily fend off with some good insect repellent. But, on this trip, my fourth trip here, I suppose my perspective is a bit different. Working as a visiting researcher, looking at energy issues, forces me to confront some of the, let's say, challenges, of the country. Here are a few things that I've learned over the past two days:

1. Although New Zealand looks pristine, New Zealand still mines for and burns coal, an extremely dirty fossil fuel. The high smoke stack right outside the engineering building at the University of Canterbury is for the coal-fired boiler, which heats water that is distributed throughout the building via pipes to heat the building.

2. Many residents in Christchurch use some type of wood burning stove to heat their home. The amount of oxygen available to the fire (set by the damper position) is often not sufficient for complete combustion and thus large plumes of smoke exit the chimney. A clear signal! The good thing is that it's still possible to drink hot chocolate and eat Tim Tams around a nice cozy fire without the resulting smoke and air pollution! Just need to have the damper properly adjusted! (Sorry, this sounds like a public service announcement).

3. The result of (1) and (2) is that the air pollution in Christchurch is pretty bad, especially in the winter when wood burners and fire places are in high use. The temperature inversions often present in the winter exacerbate the problem, as they keep pollutants from rising and escaping. But this air pollution does help create the beautiful reddish-orange sunsets in Christchurch that I love. Catch 22.

4. Unlike many countries, energy is not the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand. In fact, 49% of NZ GHG emissions are from the agricultural sector, of which 2/3 of that is designated "enteric fermentation." Look that one up! Hint: Emissions from livestock. As NZ begins to tackle emissions standards and formulate strategies, this is a key area they will need to address. Tricky business! It's not quite as simple as installing a control device on a power plant to control emissions.

5. Last interesting fact, if you made it this far.... In California, the peak demand on the electrical grid usually occurs in the late afternoon on a hot summer day due to the high A/C load. The peak in NZ, however, occurs in the winter, two times per day. With short days in the winter and lots of electrical heating, the first peak occurs in the morning when people wake up and turn on their electrical heaters or heat pumps. The second, slightly larger peak occurs in the evening when people get home from work and turn the lights on (it's already dark) and the heaters on (it's cold). Very few homes in NZ have piped natural gas for heating and/or cooking. Thus, while both California and NZ are facing constraints on the grid, the issues and solutions are in stark contrast.

While NZ faces some environmental challenges, it is and will likely always be amazingly beautiful and filled with adventure that is unique and inspiring. Come check it out!

Beautiful Winter Solstice

It's a beautiful winter day in Christchurch. I woke up this morning to the first frost since I've been here. The grass was white and crunchy and the air was a brisk -2.8C (~27F). I went on a run, with 3 layers on top, pants, a beanie and gloves, ready to embrace the winter. It was lovely out, sun rising, high clouds glowing orange. The clear sky explained why the temperatures dropped significantly last night... radiational cooling!

While all you Northen Hemispherers are experiencing the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, we are having the shortest day of the year. It's a bit tricky to figure out if the shortest day of the year occurred here yesterday or if it is today. There seem to be conflicting reports on the internet. I'm going to say that last night was the longest night of the year here, which would seem to correspond appropriately to the longest day occuring today in the Northern Hemisphere. Either way, the days can only get longer now! Things are looking up!

Reunited with my long lost home

Made it to Christchurch! For a few minutes I thought I might be hitchhiking to who knows where this afternoon when I got off the plane. My host researcher said she would be at the curb to pick me up in a green minivan. I stood on the curb with my bags, trying to clearly look like a girl who wants a ride in a green minivan. I only saw one green minivan and when I walked towards it, it sped away. That wasn't it. After about 10 or so more minutes passed, I saw a woman talking to the traffic controller/officer. She looked familiar from the picture I saw on the University of Canterbury website so I went up and introduced myself. Sure enough, it was my host researcher. Whew! Turns out her husband took the green van to work.

We rode bikes from my host researcher's house to uni. I got to meet several of the Ph.D. students in her group, chat about some projects, etc. Then I just read some papers in the office, while checking the status of the NBA finals game online. Go Lakers!

Overall, a fine day in the Southern hemisphere.

Looking out the plane window towards Kaikoura (east coast of the South Island).

Mesmerizing clouds a couple of hours before sunset. Taken from my host researcher's office.

Abalone and Ambassador

The weather in Wellington improved dramatically. These past 2 days were much warmer, between about 50-54 degF with just a slight breeze. The air is beautifully fresh.

Yesterday was a day full of orientation activities for all of us here on the NSF program. There are 16 students, including myself, all graduate students in science or engineering from the US. We visited Victoria University where we went on lab tours and listened to presentations from NZ Ph.D. students. Most of it focused on nanotechnology- way over my head.

Today was a bit more interesting. I went running near the waterfront before breakfast. The first scheduled activity on the agenda was the NIWA Aquarium. After a bit of a drive on a windy road around the harbor, we arrived at this small little building tucked into a bay. It wasn't an aquarium. Turns out that we were spending 3.5 hours touring a small aquaculture facility. But it was fun! They grow heaps of abalone (paua in maori) and we each got to pick one, shell it, cut its skirt off, rip the teeth out, cook it and eat it. That was a first! Delicious, but I almost didn't make it. The abalone I picked started dancing on my hand while I was trying to properly get it out of the shell. Not only does it tickle, but it kind of freaks you out.

We met the US Ambassador to New Zealand at the US Embassy. Apparently the US Embassy is the most secure building in Wellington. Meeting the ambassador was a bit formal- we had to address him as Mr. Ambassador and all stand up when he entered the room. Seemed like something you would see in a movie. Fun visit though!

I'm off to Christchurch tomorrow morning! Will be there for the next 8 weeks.

I went to New World grocery store this afternoon and bought a carrot. It was as delicious as I remember!

Old St. Paul's Church in Wellington. All made from New Zealand wood.

The view of the Wellington Harbor from the NIWA aquaculture facility. Beautiful clouds.

The view of Wellington from my hotel room.

Arrived in Wellington

The past week was a bit of a whirlwind, that picked me up and dropped me off in windy Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. I think it has finally hit me that I am in New Zealand and I am getting excited to rediscover all those little things about this country that I love- the friendly Kiwis and their cheerful spirit, the deliciously sweet carrots, Hubbard's muesli, the vast open green pastures and hills, the simplicity and modesty that is ingrained in this country...

I left 95 degF in Palo Alto and arrived in Wellington where it was 42 degF this morning. I went through customs in Auckland and was reminded of one reason this country is so pristine- the strict biosecurity policies. I remembered having to wait 45 minutes for the NZ inspectors to scrub my hiking boots 3 years ago when I came here so I scrubbed my hiking boots before I left to make sure they at least looked clean. They passed inspection with merely a quick glance. I forgot about my tent, however. They have to run lab tests on all used tents, which meant I had to unpack my entire pack to dig my tent out, then wait for about 20 minutes for them to test it. There didn't seem to be any problems so I guess the soil in the Sierra and Big Sur (the two last places I camped) didn't contain anything they were worried about. I had to spend about 5-10 minutes repacking my pack before checking my luggage in again and connecting to my flight to Wellington.

On the flight to Wellington, the pilot began warning us about the weather in Wellington- raining, 42deg F, gusts up to 100 km/hr. Then he said that there was a chance we wouldn't successfully land on the first approach due to the strong winds, but reassured us that we had enough fuel to make a second approach if needed, but that we would have to figure something else out if we didn't succeed on that one. I think I recall him saying, "We're keen on landing in Wellington, as I'm sure you are too, so we're going to try for it." I laughed. The approach was a bit bouncy but we made it on the first try. An American guy on the plane began to clap, but quickly stopped as no one else joined in. I gathered my bags and headed out of the airport and it began to hail..... Hello winter. Goodbye summer.