Auckland University

The University of Auckland is for the most part a massive concrete jungle in the heart of Auckland. There are, however, a smattering of pretty buildings through out the campus, and the Clocktower (pictured below) is just downright beautiful. Just like the memorial Union at OSU, they look like they tried to go the extra mile with this one. I've been wanting to boulder the sides of it for months now, but word has it security has it locked down tighter than ______(insert colorful colloquialism) __________.

The Graduate student's building, likewise is gorgeous. It has an older charm to it, as the stairs creak when you ascend them, and it is made of wood unlike the brick, stone and concrete construction of the rest of campus. Note to prospective PhD and Master's students: they seem to treat their slaves.. imeangraduatestudents pretty well here. There are lots of opportunities for research and the lecturers have been some of the best I've ever had.

Like any University, the stuff visitors rarely see isn't the most aesthetic environment. My locker is deep in the underground under the Information Commons. Next to the entrance, some pipes burst months ago from one of the restaurant upstairs and there have been some fuzzy civilizations growing on the ground ever since. The area where I park my bike is littered with broken glass and is a minefield for my tires. I've never considered myself a city boy, but I've learn to accommodate this as part of my daily routine. I've never been to Times Square and it looks awesome, but I'm sure nearby lies a seedy ally filled with garbage and god knows what else. But hey, it would still be worth it.

The real plus of this campus is having Albert Park right next to it. It's a great place to go bask in the sun, though not for too long as Auckland appears to have trade restrictions on ozone. The park has some completely awesome fig trees (involved in a biology lab of mine recently) that I'll have to take some pictures of for you guys. Some climbing club members and I have set up a slack line there a few times. We're pretty lucky to have something like this this close to downtown and the high rises.

Behind the clocktower

Albert Park

A quick deviation from studying

I needed to write this otherwise it'd be January before I posted....

If you ever find yourself in Whanganui Bay on the western shores of Lake Taupo, you may just happen across a climbing area called The Plateau. Imagine your astonishment (no really. imagine it.) as you are gazing up at a featureless overhung 30 and you notice a dirty, weta infested hole in the ground between a detached column and the main wall. Choose your own adventure: do you a) keep walking and climb the gorgeous 18 crack further on, or do you b) willfully have a mate lower you into the spider web choked abyss and attempt to climb back out? My friend Andrew chose option B.

Surprisingly, the Whanganui Bay rock climbing guide identifies this hole as an actual climb, and Andrew had his heart set on it. Apparantly it goes down 40 meters and as we all later dubbed it..."is a physical 15" (5.6 or so). Andrew didn't have me lower him the whole 40 meters, but he gets major style points for just even attempting it. We wrapped a sling around a horn and I backed myself up by attaching my safety to a tree. Then, after some nervous jokes I lowered him not-so-quickly (we are talking tens of millimeters per minute here, so as not to dislodge anything from the ominous walls) into the hole. He chimneyed his way out in a timely fashion, with a giant grin on his face. Probably the funniest belay I've ever given in my life. Many "Predator" and "The Descent" movie quotes were uttered up at base camp while Andrew was down there fighting half-orcs (or something).

all photos courtesy of Andrew Baddeley

I plan on getting an A in biochemistry

Whanganui Bay pictures

It's Exam period for the next few weeks for me, but here are some of Inga's pictures from our Whanganui Bay trip a few weeks ago. Ciao.

Inga's Pics

The Rugby Way of Life

Monday, October 8. 2007.
It is a day of mourning in New Zealand reflected by the somber gray skies and seen resonating in the eyes of citizens everywhere. The unthinkable has happened. The All Blacks have been eliminated from the Rugby World Cup. It was a quarterfinals game I believe, and New Zealand lost 20-18 to France, who, somewhat surprisingly didn't surrender *rim shot*. A friend of mine told me that her father openly wept for the first time since his mother died, and men everywhere spoke of inexplicable loss about yesterday's game.

Rugby is far and away the national sport of New Zealand, with Cricket being a distant second. The players have achieved God-like status here. Their Quads are the size of 60 Gallon drums and their skulls have been known to deflect shells from the battleship Yamato. There are posters up everywhere, cars everywhere are adorned with black flags and I've met guys that could recite just about every play from a game they saw 20 years ago. The Super 14 league game I went to earlier this year is a pretty standard event, but the Rugby World Cup, just as in Football (That's soccer for you Yanks) only happens every 4 years. It's been 20 years since the All Blacks, New Zealand's team, has come home with the Championship. Kiwi's feel they are long overdue, as they are almost always a powerhouse and an early favorite in the competition. I was away during the weekend, but apparently during the game the streets were eerily quite and the supermarkets were empty. Expectations were definitely high before the momentum was shattered by France's rally. They'll be even higher in 2011 when New Zealand hosts the next world cup. Cheers!