Changes in Latitudes

Happy Auckland Anniversary Day! It is a public holiday that falls on the Monday closest to January 29th every year. It is the anniversary of the arrival of William Hobson, later the first Governor of New Zealand, in the Bay of Islands in 1840. A major event for the Anniversary Day is the Auckland Anniversary Regatta is one of the largest single-day regattas and is the oldest sporting event in New Zealand. The seafood festival was also this weekend and Jimmy Buffett was supposed to perform. I was keen to go to the show, but it was a good thing I didn't spend money on the ticket in the end. I only say that because while Buffett was at one of his shows in Australia he fell off the stage pretty hard and was in the hospital. He had initially said the concert would still go on as planned, but then it was cancelled because the doctors recommended that he stay in the hospital for a few more days. Sorry, Kiwis, no Jimmy Buffett for you guys.

New Zealand has been hit by numerous earthquakes and the news sometimes reports that they can be felt in Auckland, but I cannot say that I have felt a single one in my two years of living here. Early this morning (around 4AM) 5.9 magnitude quake hit near Taupo and it could even be felt in Christchurch! It had to have been felt in Auckland then since it's a 4 hour drive to Taupo. I want to feel one before I leave and see a tsunami, we had several tsunami warnings last year and I want to be on the beach when they predict it to take a video because every single time it wasn't nearly as large as they say it will be. Earthquake strikes near Taupo

Finally found a picture of the boat I saw wrecked on the sea wall where I go running. I had no idea the storm was this bad. Turned out there was remnants of a cyclone that decided to swing by. Click here for the article in the New Zealand Herald.

Over the weekend the North Island was hit with rain and gusts of wind. I was inside for the majority of it studying for a test and working. But there are some images ( here ) that show the waves on the road where I usually go running. To go along with the theme of this semester's blog, it is my favorite running route because I get the sunshine and a sea breeze.

I sometimes change the picture at the top of my page...This is best seen if you don't use Internet Explorer as your web browser, rather, I recommend Google Chrome (and probably Mozilla Firefox, but I haven't used that one much).

So I thought for the last semester of my stay in New Zealand I would mention one of my favorite things about my stay here. I'll make it like a travel guide for anyone interested in taking a trip to one of the most beautiful countries. I'll start with my favorite spot in Auckland: Viaduct Harbor - A great spot for finding some great restaurants. They can be on the more expensive side, but I highly recommend Waterfront Cafe's seafood chowder. It's about $16 and it is VERY filling. I went here with Lisa during my first semester here and I took my mom here when she visited in November. This month is the seafood festival in Auckland where Jimmy Buffett will be having a limited seat concert. Too cool that he is having a show here. Surprised to know that there are some kiwi Parrotheads down here!

It is now the final six months of my journey in New Zealand. I hope to keep this blog updated with various things of New Zealand. Please leave a comment with any suggestions so that I can finish off this segment of the blog properly before I transition it to a new location.

Here are some photos from my remaining days in Norway. It was a wonderful month! Thank you, Marius for such a great trip - see you in July! [Across the way is Bryggen - The old fishing part of Bergen] [Covered in flour, but making a delicious chicken pot pie] [At the famous Bergen Fish Market] [Snoopy! - Cousin Enzo's travelmate project outside Julehuset and the rest of Bryggen] On the 4th I had a meeting with three researchers at the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen. They gave me lots of reading material to keep me busy on my long flight back to Auckland and get some ideas for a possible Masters thesis. I am eager to get things started at the University of Bergen already! Time to start the last 6 months of my journey in New Zealand. It's been such an experience, and I look forward to what Norway has to offer me on the complete opposite side of the world.

This year I celebrated the New Year in Bergen with Marius and some friends. We had them come to his flat and I cooked dinner before heading to someone else's place for the festivities. In Norway, Dick Clark isn't there to help us count down to the New Year, so we hope that everyone's watches and clocks are in sync when we went outside to light off fireworks. [Knut putting on a sparkler show for us] [Happy New Year!]