The Last Cantaloupe in New Zealand

I have been in New Zealand for almost three weeks now. Below are the highlights. In the future I plan to make more incremental additions. 

            My first weekend was spent camping on a saddle between two peaks above the Mt. Aspiring Valley  (central in the south island). Sam Libby and Rich Saunders accompanied. Calving glaciers covered the surrounding crags; the sound of ice blocks crashing and exploding so close to camp was like sleeping in a thundercloud. For additional paranoia, we camped about ten paces from a 270-meter cliff dropping to the valley floor – the largest cliff in New Zealand. It was very windy at night, and in the morning Sam reminded me rather publicly of how I clutched him in sleepy terror, asking, “are we going to blow off the cliff!?” On the last morning, Rich spilled the remains of our food supply. We haven’t talked much since.

            My second week was full of geology. One of my classes began with a weeklong field trip during orientation week. Instead of diversifying my cultural perspectives in the various bars around town, I was swept off to northern Otago to jump over electric fences, dodge cow patties, and climb mountains all in the name of geological mapping. The following week was spent creating a detailed geologic map of a 16 square km area, cross sections, stratigraphic columns, and a ten-page report.  By the time formal classes started, one third of my grade was submitted. I slept very little.

            I finished the project on Saturday night and drove four hours north with Evan Mikkelson. Our mission: to run the Christchurch marathon. We arrived late on Saturday night, ate peanut butter sandwiches, and slept in the trunk of a Subaru. In the morning we hurried to the starting line. Christchurch is known broadly as the home of all things extreme and sporty, so Evan and I expected a bonanza of activity and energy. We arrived to discover that the marathon was in fact a 17-lap race around a 2-km loop of the city park. Additionally, only 11 people were participating. Well, Evan won the first marathon he ever ran with a time of 3:26; his prize was a box of fruit containing probably the only cantaloupe and non-seasonal fruit on the island. As for myself, I was sleep deprived, running in shoes borrowed from my female room mate (2 sizes too small), and almost completely untrained. I also encountered gastro-intestinal problems on the same magnitude as my Indian experiences – explosive. I got fifth place with a time of 3:56 and was happy to receive a free vegetarian meal in the town center.

            Currently I am happily recovering and binge eating in my flat.