A near-death experience

Not my own though. So don't worry. Yesterday I went hiking; my flatmate managed to talk me into going along with the mountaineering club, which didn't take much work because I did want to go, I just didn't want to spend money on new gear. This was about the third proper hike up a mountain that I have done (I think maybe school camp back in second form might have involved a couple of big hikes but I don't really remember them) and the weather has never been nice for me. So I wasn't really expecting too much. The weather started of OK, then got worse, then worse still, and then it got really, really bad. The range of hills was in county Mayo and we climbed up about 700 metres, to walk along a ridge a short way and then descend at a different place to where we went up. By the time we got to the top the wind was so strong that it could have blown me over and there was a sea of fog all around us, so you couldn't even see what the drop was like and how bad it would be to fall. That wasn't really so bad though, the biggest problem was that my waterproof gear, including my big ski jacket, couldn't stand up to that much rain and I was soaked to the skin. Finally the water soaked my soaks and then trickled down into my boots until they were waterlogged. The final bit of going up and then the walk along the ridge was absolutely awful.

Finally we began to go down and before you knew it the wind had died down, which was great. The walk down is easier and faster, and I had to go fast to stay warm because whenever we stopped I began to freeze. However, the slope was really slippery and it was so easy to just slide down a few metres, but once you started sliding it was really hard to stop. Somebody knocked a rock loose and it picked up speed and began to bounce down the mountain. I don't think we were even halfway down when I heard something loud and turned around to see one of the climbers tumbling down the mountain. I can't actually remember now what I heard and saw - I think he was not making any noise, but maybe other people were screaming a little. People had to dive out of his way so that he wouldn't take them down with him, he was going incredibly fast and was actually bouncing. I think what I remember of it might be exaggerated, but I'm pretty sure that by the time I saw him he was going  head over heels and bouncing a lot. One of the very experienced climbers tried to grab him but mostly missed. The girl that was in the lead dove for him and caught on to his legs, so then they were both sliding down. He slipped from her grasp but she must have slowed him down a lot because then he stopped finally, wedged into a little creek. It looked like she was going to start falling to but she managed to stop herself.

I think that for the poor guy's entire fall I was just saying 'oh my god oh my god oh my god' over and over again. When he stopped I began to go down to him, but there was a girl up behind me absolutely freaking out so I couldn't figure out if I should go up or down. It looked like the girl's boyfriend could manage her though so I headed down, because the guy that fell still wasn't moving. A couple of others, including the girl that was in charge, were already there by the time I reached them and I could see his hand moving so he definitely wasn't dead. He was covered in blood but next thing you know, he was talking and asking us to get him out of the creek because he was freezing. He managed to roll over and didn't seem to have broken anything, amazingly enough, but he had a couple of huge gashes on his face and one on his wrist. We slowly began to patch him up and clean the blood off and eventually got him out of the creek and tried to keep him warm. The poor guy kept saying sorry, I don't think he even realised at that point how lucky he was. He's probably going to have an awful week, it must have been so scary. The girl in charge will probably be feeling pretty terrible too.

The main part of our group still had to get down of the mountain before we froze, so as soon as he was OK we left him there with a couple of the leaders and a storm shelter to wait for mountain rescue. We still had more than an hour of walking to get down the mountain and most of the group had slowed right down because they were so freaked out. I, on the other hand, sped up because I just wanted to get off of that mountain. How bloody unlucky is it that my first climb with the mountaineering club included the worst weather that anybody can remember and somebody falling down the mountain? Apparently that is only the second such accident that they've had in 12 years, and they climb every week. The guy has a broken wrist and is in hospital. Hopefully it won't put him off climbing. It hasn't put me off, although after getting off the mountain last night, after I was dry and warm, I got the shakes pretty bad so I reckon I must have been a bit shocked. It has put of my climbing partners though, so I'm going to need to find some more. I would really like to experience a hike that is properly enjoyable at some stage. With clear enough weather that I can take photos of the view. 

Shopping, greyhounds, and other things

Today is a good day, because today I brought something new and shiny for my kitchen. Now I have a great big stock-pot to make soup in, which I need because it is very cold and wet outside. This week I will make chicken soup, and then again next week, and maybe again, until I am sure that I can make an awesome chicken soup. Perhaps it won't really be necessary, perhaps the weather will clear. But it's unlikely. It's even more of a shame because I have begun to attempt to play rugby (I know, me, playing rugby!). Over here the game is called tag and it is pretty much just like touch rugby, only it seems a bit girlier to me. Basically, instead of touching a player on the shoulder, every player has two fabric tags velcroed to their shorts, one on each hip. You have to snatch the tag off of a player. So there are tags hanging off of you, there is a lot of fumbling, and the possibility of being groped or accidentaly grabbing a piece of somebody is a bit of a worry! Other than that though, there's also the problem of my not really being able to throw, nor to catch, and my co-ordination in general is pretty shoddy. But I'm going to find myself some bright pink rugby socks and then all will be well.

In other news, I also had a good weekend, again because I went shopping and spent money and brought myself a pretty new dress. It's purple and indecently short and gorgeous. It's not really as short as what some of the Irish girls wear, it at least covers my butt. With the help of the new dress, I dressed up nice to go to the dog races, which are nothing like the horse races and there is no need to dress up. But that's OK. The races end almost as soon as they begin and I did not manage to make my fortune in gambling. But I did win 5 euro on the lotto, so that's at least enough to cover my ticket, though not quite the 5 mil that I was hoping for. Guess I will have to stick with my day job and not become a professional TV watcher yet.

Irish Spring

So it's halfway through February already and I haven't written in ages because I really have not been doing a heck of a lot - perhaps I'm just boring? Over here it is spring already, even though the rest of the Northern hemisphere still considers it to be winter. There are daffodils - I picked the first ones I found, and got told off by some old guy walking his dog, who I of course ignored. It is cold here but clear and frosty, and the days are getting longer. This last weekend I finally got out of the house and went for a walk, during which a really friendly dog came to say hi. Here is Galway in the sunshine, which is much nicer than all the rain:

The new year here in Galway is pretty much the same as the old year, only there are always less people. Students finish and leave but new ones rarely come to take their places. Work goes slowly and my office is very quiet, except for the fish, who sometimes likes to blow bubbles. In May I am going to Lisbon, in Portugal, for a conference so soon I guess I will need to begin freaking out about that. In the meantime I will continue to spend my free time baking and sharing with my colleagues - today I made cupcakes and shared them at work, which made everybodies day, including mine. Then I got to spend some time playing with a puppy, which really made my day. And now the day is over, and I have work to prepare for tomorrow.

Back in Galway

I have been back a week now and I miss the lovely warm weather that I had in Invercargill! I can't believe how lucky I got, to plan a summer holiday in Invers and actually get summer! I hear that it's over now and is raining there so I guess I left at the right time. Still, I'm sure it's warmer than here. When I arrived in Galway it was cold and rainy - the type of rain that doesn't fall so much as constantly hang in the air around you, so that you can't see very far and get soaked no matter what. My trip back was fine, it was better than the flights over there and I did not get too tired or sick. At Sydney airport I stopped to buy sparkly nail polish because they were on special and right now I am wearing bright blue sparkles on my finger nails and pink on my toes. My first week back has been slow and dull but I have been convinced that it would be a big waste at this point to drop out of the PhD - it's far too late for that. And seeing as I have not yet managed to win the lotto I guess I cannot yet take up a career of professional layabout and will have to stick it out. It's hard to get back into the routine of it all, especially when my lab work keeps being held up by things running out and needing to be re-ordered.

My apartment in Galway is much quieter now with the guinea pig gone, but at least I no longer have to worry about all my cords and cables and shoelaces being bitten in half. For my first week in Galway there has been a lack of hot-water here at home so I have first had a plumber in, who told me that there is nothing wrong with the plumbing and that I need an electrician (which I had already figured out, and told the landlord, but he sent a plumber anyway). The electrician came and decided that some fuse had been tripped, probably from becoming overheated, which stopped the timer from turning the heat on every night. So he sorted that out but warned me that it might be faulty, in which case the fuse-thing would need to be replaced. That was Friday and I had lovely warm water for my showers all weekend, but sadly my Monday started with a luke-warm, nearly cold shower. Now the electrician can't come till Wednesday or Thursday. Of course, that doesn't actually mean that we are stuck with cold water because the way it works over here is that you can push a button to bypass the timer and just heat the water whenever you want. So my sob story isn't actually so bad, it's just a slight nuisance really. And an excuse to go to work late, because I must be here to meet the electrician. So, that was my first, action-packed week back here in Galway. I really must try to get out and do a bit more so that I am not so boring.

Travel Woes

Well, here I am in Abu Dhabi airport, having difficulty typing on a strange computer because their free wifi does not seem to work. I am more than halfway through my journey and I really wish it was over already. To begin with, the bus that I took from Invercargill was aboout 50 years old and really musty; it surely had not been cleaned since before they banned smoking on public transport. Luckily in Dunedin there was to be a change of bus. Unluckily, that  second bus was a half hour late, the driver was a toothless imbecile who just laughed insteading of being sorry for making two busloads of people late, they had yet to  fill the bus up with gas and  then the useless  driver took another 20 minutes or so to figure out the electronic device that they use to check passengers in. He didn't manage that either, in the  end they just did a headcount and assumed that all the correct people were there.

So despite that incompetent geriatric,  we finally arrived in Christchurch, where I got to have a look around the rubble and experience an earthquake (it was just a small one though). Despite having to get up at an ungodly hour, the first part of my plane travels went well. In Sydney I got to meet one of my uncles and we had a good long chat, until the time ran away from me and I had to rush off to security. And you wouldn't believe what happened to me there. Clearly Sydney security is more thorough than that in Christchurch. Some alarm went off and they had to open my bag and search it. You know  what  they found? One of my hairclips, a sharp metal one! I hadn't even considered that when I packed it, it's just a hairclip! They took it off of me of course, it being a stabbing sort of an object and all. Luckily they didn't also take my sharp bone brooch that Dad had made. So they  threw away  my hairpin, which had been a gift, but I can surely get another. I repacked my bag and on my way to my gate I stopped to buy some sparkly nailpolish. I made it to the gate just as they began to board, so at least I had no waiting around! I got a window seat and an empty seat next to me, the food was good and I managed to get a little sleep. Then I watched Cowboys vs. Aliens.

Now I have about a half hour until my next flight begins to board, but really it will probably be longer. It is about 10 am in NZ, it will be 6 am when I arrive in Dublin and I am terribly tired. After the last flight I couldn't figure out why  my shoes were so  uncomfortable, until I changed my socks and realised that my feet were all swollen. I really hate flying. I think I have about 9 hours to go, then a 3 hour bus ride. Can't wait to be in my own bed again!

Leaving Invers

Well, my last few days in Invers have been quiet. To begin with, the dry weather took the weekend off and we had torrential, unending rain. That was OK though, gave me time to finish my jigsaw puzzle and read a book. I have succeeded in clearing out loads of my sister's junk and fixing up her tv so that she is not so bored while on bedrest. I finally got around to organising my trip up to Christchurch for my return flight and buying NZ treats to take back to Ireland. Then the weather cleared again and I made the most of a sunny day to go sightseeing in my own city. Only, there are not really any sights here. At all. There is a park, a water tower, there is our somewhat dull excuse for a city centre/town square. There are a couple of statues. That's about it. I gotta say, my cat is more interesting than Invercargill's sights. Right now she is considering sitting on my knee so that I can no longer type. Then, when I try to type she will get all pissed of with me for moving and give me this look that says 'if you don't stay still, I will scratch you'. So, here are some pictures and that's pretty much it from me for the night.

My impossible jigsaw puzzle.

 My cat, as she ignores me piling junk on her while she tries to sleep.

 Weird concrete 'art' in our city centre.

 The water tower! Last time I checked, you could climb up it and see the view for 50 cents. It's probably a little bit more than that now.

 Here are the pretty roses at our park, where you are not allowed to pick the roses but I have never been caught yet.

The pond and the bridge, where once when I was feeding the ducks one of them got tired of me holding the bread out to it and decided to bite my toe instead.

 This is the band rotunda, it's not ver exciting at all, but as I was walking towards it a huge branch randomly fell off of a tree and almost right on top of me!

Last one, here is the fountain in the playground. It has statues around it that we always used to climb all over. They are slippery though so some of them were really difficult to get up on. But I lied, that wasn't the last one, this one is, because my cat is awesome (that is, when she's not waking me up at 5 am because she wants company).

The Catlins - Part 2

My second day in the Catlins was full of waterfulls. The first was this one below, called Matai falls. I have since looked all of these places up on google and it seems that all of the falls are often far more full of water and impressive than they look here. I mean, we have had a summer with barely any rain. They were still picturesque enough.

Next was Horseshoe falls, which was further up the track from the previous falls. So altogether it was a decent bushwalk but it didn't actually take very long, it just involved a fair amount of climbing. I liked this fall better, it was bigger and had a nicer pool. I will have to re-visit the Catlins one day, after lots of rain, to see how it all can look in different circumstances.

So after the bushwalk we got back to the car and the next stop along the road (because we really were just turning off at every signpost) was the Purukaunui falls. This was a slightly longer walk, with lots of interesting trees, and instead of walking up the river like the others we followed the river down until we could here the falls below.

These falls were bigger, with lots of levels, which with very little encouragement we climbed onto. I'm not sure that we would have been able to do that if there had been the usual amount of water going down the falls. As it was, the water was ankle-deep and freezing cold.

After the falls we finally made it to Jack's Bay, where there is a big blow-hole, which was one of the major attractions of the day. Now, when I think of a blowhole I imagine a hole that water rushes up out of at high speed. This, it turns out, is not neccessarily the case. First, however, here is Jack's Bay, which was very pretty with it's very blue water:

Here is the blowhole:

As you can see, it is not a hole that water rushes up through, to fly out of the top as foamy spray. Instead, this blow-hole was steep cliffs with water crashing somewhat violently at the bottom. It was very noisy. At a very high tide the water would probably be somewhat higher, and in a storm even more so, and it was very huge and impressive, and I think if you fell in it you would probably not survive. It just was not what I thought it would be. It's sort of odd though, when you think of it, that there could be a great big hole in the land like this.

We stood around watching the waves crash below for quite a long time. But eventually there is only so much of staring down a blow-hole that a person can do, so we turned back (which was actually quite a long way back and included a big, steep hole). The next stop was somewhere sheltered to eat lunch, because it was incredibly windy on this particular day. However, it was windy everywhere and nowhere looked like a good place for a picnic so we stopped in a camping ground and figured that nobody would notice. Unfortunately, it was quite crowded so when we finally found an empty area to stop the car, it turned out to be a staff-only area. So we got found out and told off. Luckily, we had finished our picnic by that point so it didn't ruin our lunch. We packed up and moved on to Surat Bay in search of more sealife. Again, the sea provided and we came across a sea-lion!

At first the sea-lion was just snoozing in the sand but I guess he got tired of me hanging around and trying to take his photo because he suddenly reared up with a grunt, which gave me a hell of a fright. I jumped and backed off because I thought that perhaps he wanted to chase me. He didn't though, he just gave me a look and then turned around and flopped back down on the sand. It might not have been me at all really, maybe he was worried about the incoming tide getting him all wet.

Surat Bay began as an estuary and was only a little windy, until we walked around a point of land to reach the ocean and were scoured by wind-blown sand. We kept on walking, however, until we reached a signpost pointing to the location of an old shipwreck, and at this point it was pretty much a mutual decision to turn back. We wussed out of going for a swim because it just seemed too cold, so the rest of the afternoon was spent trying to find somewhere more sheltered to swim, in fresh-water so that we could wash all the previous day's salt off. We drove along, slowing over every bridge to check out the rivers beneath, but none of them looked good enough to swim in. We knew that there was a lake nearby, so decided to risk it even though lakes are generally freezing cold. However, this particular lake was all marshy around the edges and full of week, and clearly a reserve, regenerating-forest area.

So instead we just took photos and rested for awhile in the sunshine before continuing our search for a swimming spot.

The lake was very still and reflective, and very pretty, not to mention how warm it was on account of it being sheltered all around by hills and forest. Speaking of which, on the walk to the lake I found yet another interesting, twisted tree.

So for lack of a swimming spot, we decided to just go ahead and look at one more waterfall, in the hope that there would be a swimming spot somewhere along the way. There was, but then we got to the top, where the waterfall was (this one was called Mclean's Falls). On account of the region being so dry, we could clamber right to the pool that the water falls into - perhaps you can always do this, I don't know, but I have seen pictures in which these falls are a huge mass of rushing water so I think on other occasions I would be more wary.

On this occasion, however, there was not too much water and there were already a couple of guys in the pool, so in we went, not only for a swim but also for a bit of a wash! It's a long-standing tradition for us (I'm not going to say for Kiwi's because perhaps other people don't do this) to take soap and shampoo along to the river and make the most of fresh, free water when staying out in the countryside. I'm not actually so sure that it can be very good for the river, but at the same time, so long as it's just us and not the entire population, I'm sure it won't do any harm. It probably gives the tourists a false impression of our way of life though! For the record, the water was absolutely freezing, I took forever to actually get in it, but then it was actually quite nice, but the waterfall itself was sort of painful.

So feeling clean and refreshed, there was one final task for the day. This was the ropes course at Tautuku, which is an obstacle-course built up in the trees in the forest, that has been there for ages and ages but I had never heard of before. Considering how dangerous it could potentially be, I'm not surprised that it's not so well known. I'd say it's probably the type of thing that youth adventure clubs and boy scouts do, and random people that live nearby or are passing through and have heard of it. Like us. I had never visited the Catlins properly before so this was my first time, and some of it was very difficult and bruise inducing, like the wooden contraption below that you have to sort of slide your body through, from one swing to the next.

One of the hardest parts was a rope net that had to be climbed up, and it being somewhat loose and soggy really didn't help. Then, once you reached the top, you had to haul yourself over the top, cling onto a thin plastic pipe and somehow slide down. I nearly fell off of that bit. The next day my arms were absolutely killing me and I reckon it was that particular obstacle that did it.

The more fun part of the course was the easier bit, which was a series of wire bridges through the tree-tops. There were some balance beams of various sorts and a tightrope that was impossible (for us at least, the only obstacle we did not complete). The course ended with a rope swing into a rope net, which looked like fun but proved to be the most painful part. The net was perhaps too close to the rope, because you didn't so much drop gracefully onto the net as hit it at high-speed and be paralysed with shock for a minute or two while you tried to figure out if you'd broken your fingers and arms and legs or not.

Finally, after the ropes course, the day was over and we really deserved our dinner and a rest. Clearly, so did this wood-pigeon that was hanging out by our camp, eating some sort of fruit or seeds.

So after a long weekend of sightseeing around the southern coast, the good weather has finally packed up and the farmer's are getting their long sought after rain. It has been raining quite steadily and I miss the sunshine, but at least it has given me time to finish my Christmas jigsaw puzzle and clean up the house.