Castaway Kiwis

West Bragg Creek

2011-12-13T14:53:00.000+11:00

The snow has finally started to settle in the front ranges meaning that good XC skiing is only 30 min, rather than 2 hr drive away. The snow started to fall on Saturday night and by Sunday morning we had a good 15 cm on the ground. Snow coverage was a little thin in places but overall pretty good considering how early in the season it is. With the temperature staying around -10 C we may even be able to get a few laps in around our local park.

Aleisha enjoying our lovely skier set tracks

Gary, the special cat.

In cat related news, Gary is going well with minimal damage to our new furniture. Although he has developed a habit of going to sleep on our necks and chewing on our hair, he's a little special....

Calgary

2011-12-05T07:24:00.001+11:00

We were hoping to head out cross country skiing this weekend but a shock and awe snow storm came out of nowhere and blanked Calgary and surrounding roads with 15-20 cm of snow. Unfortunately little of the snow landed on the Mts so we decided to avoid the slick roads and insane local drivers and spend the day in Calgary.

The walking path was in better condition than the roads.

First ski of the Season - Moraine Lake Road

2011-11-14T08:34:00.001+11:00

After a long and relatively warm autumn winter has finally arrived. So far Calgary has only received a few lights dustings but thankfully the mountains have been getting a fair bit more.

Aleisha and I decided to head out yesterday to the Moraine Lake road which so far is the only XC trail that is open. This meant that we had to contend with crowds of Olympic athletes that put our abilities to shame. Despite being lapped a few times by people 1/2 or 3 times our age we still had a great time. The trip was made even more satisfying by stopping in at the Banff hot springs for a soak afterwards.

Aleisha enjoying the fresh snow.

Looking out to the Lake Louise ski resort

Our cat Gary

2011-10-17T11:01:00.001+11:00

Meet Gary, the latest addition to our Canadian family. We adopted him last week and he is already settling in well and making himself feel at home. He is still just a kitten at ~6 months old but so far has refrained from destroying our house. I hope our good luck continues.

Nova Scotia

2011-10-01T09:04:00.004+10:00

With Aleisha hitting the big 3 0 we decided to celebrate in style by holidaying in the Canadian Maritimes. The trip was made even better by having having Aleisha's folks, Sylvia and Tony join us.

We flew into Halifax and spent a couple days wandering around the historic town. We then dove down the cost to Lunenburg via Peggy's Cove. The coast of Nova Scotia is stunning with numerous quaint old small towns. We then crossed the island to Digby, the scallop capital of the world. Over the next couple of days we filled our stomachs with all the delicacies that the oceans could offer us. While in Digby we went Whale watching in the Bay of Fundy and even managed to see some Puffins in the process.

From Digby we hauled up to PEI and Charlottetown. While there we checked out the local distilleries and picked up a fine 150 proof paint stripper. We also stumbled across a small town by the name of New Zealand, apparently the people of PEI are not too original with the names of their towns.

Riding the cannon at the Citadel fort in Halifax

The picturesque town Lunenburg

The Bay of Fundy, home of the worlds biggest tides

DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!

I guess PEI spent too much money on the Confederation Bridge to afford a decent sign.

Hey look we are in NZ!

Abbot Pass Hut

2011-08-16T12:20:00.004+10:00

I do not think that there are enough superlatives in world to adequately describe the Lake O'Hara region, it is quite simply paradise. We have been there a number of times, both in summer and winter, and after each trip we always come away amazed.

This past weekends trip has been a long time in the planning and I can honestly say that I don't think Aleisha and I have ever been more excited or apprehensive about a hiking trip before. The trip was to the Abbot Pass Hut, the second highest habitable structure in Canada (2925 m).

The trip to the pass was made bearable by some mediocre scenery

When rocks the size of your pack start to slide you know its time to find another path, so we chose the snow.

Aleisha watches a small avalanche from the hut.

After a bit of a scramble I managed to finally get past 3000 m and in the process get a nice view of the hut.

Looking out to "The Death Trap" (I didn't make that one up), maybe next year we will come back via this route.

Chester Lake - An oldie but a goodie

2011-07-31T10:38:00.004+10:00

Hiking season is finally upon us so we decided to revisit an old friend, Chester Lake. It is possibly the busiest trail on this side of the rockies and has a car park that would be big enough for a WalMart as proof of its popularity. But it is popular for a reason, bang for buck it cant be beaten! It is an especially good place to take novice hikers as we were doing today. While we have done the hike a number of times for some reason we have never pushed all the way to the end of the trail so that's what we did today. I'm glad we did, as it turned out to be a truly spectacular area.

The second lake, notice the massive avalanche remnants that is half filling the lake, it must have been an impressive slide.

Summer hiking in the Rockies...

Hoary marmot, love those guys.

Golden

2011-07-25T12:36:00.003+10:00

Apologies for the lack of Blog updates of late, once you stop posting it is difficult to get back into the habit.

Things have been busy over the last few months. Firstly, we moved into a new condo, although it is only 100m away from the previous one. I have also started looking for work out in the real world. Unfortunately our permanent residence application has not been processed and that is making the job hunt a little more challenging. But enough of that boring stuff, I know you all want to see exciting photos of exciting places...

Over the weekend we headed out to Golden in BC with the aim of doing the Burgess Shale hike/tour. The Burgess Shale is possibly the most important fossil site ever discovered and as such you need to book the trip months in advance. Also as it is a world heritage site it is not possible to get to the site by yourself.

Unfortunately there was a massive rock slide on the highway that blocked the road and stopped us from getting to the hike. However, as we were already camping out there we figured we would try to get in a hike anyway. After consulting a rough road map and navigating some even rougher forestry roads we managed to find a hiking trail. In the end the hike was good, apart from the hordes of communist mosquitoes.

The town of Golden

Quartz Lake

Avalanche debris

Lake O'Hara

2011-03-15T14:00:00.005+11:00

A few weeks ago we managed to get back to one of our favourite locations, Lake O'Hara. As the hut is a pretty popular spot you need to book your trip long before there is any chance of knowing what the weather will do and its expensive enough that you dont want to cancel at the last minute.
When we left from the car in the morning it was -25 C with windchill taking it down to -45 C, it was not pleasant. Thankfully once we got out of the valley bottom the wind dropped and the temperatures held around a balmy -20 C. In the end it wasnt too bad, the trip in is all up hill so we generating plenty of our own heat.
I had hoped to hike up into the upper valleys but in the end there was just not enough time to get any where with a really good view of the numerous glaciers. I guess we will just have to head back next year.

Karl and Aleisha on the trip in.

Our cosy cabin

Lake O'Hara is always worth the trip

Blatant self promotion

2011-03-10T03:48:00.003+11:00

After months of arguing with reviewers about insignificant problems our paper has finally made it. I would have thought that with positive reviews from four, yes four, referees that three rounds of reviews would not be necessary.

Ice Racing

2011-02-09T14:27:00.005+11:00

Winter driving in the Great White North has always unnerved me, there is something just not quite right about driving down a snow covered highway at 100 km/hr. Most Canadians have grown up with this insanity and think its normal, however Im not convinced. So in the name of public safety I decided to take a winter driving course. Safety First, that's my motto.
Of course the best way to learn is to push your limits and there is no better way to do that than by racing on a frozen lake! Thankfully the ice was a good 1m thick so there was little chance of going through. Despite this we were still not allowed to wear seat belts, just in case we had to make a quick exit. The course was run as a non-profit organization by a local Autocross champion who wanted to help drivers deal with tricky situations.
My first lap of the day was pretty slow as the conditions were slick, not surprising I guess considering it was solid ice. My instructor encouraged my to push my limits and before long I was hitting 80 km/hr down the straights and power sliding around the corners. Despite being super fun I also learned a lot of skills and I think I will be back again next year to refresh my skills.

Proof that we were on a lake

There was a light dusting of snow giving us a little grip but I would still spin all four wheels in 3rd if I was too hard on the gas.

The corners were polished ice, great for learning about weight transfer/power sliding.

The Saabaru, making safety fun since 2010.

Happy International Year of Chemistry

2011-01-04T13:27:00.003+11:00

2011 is officially the international year of chemistry. Finally, chemistry is getting the respect it deserves.
The goals of IYC2011 are to increase the public appreciation of chemistry in meeting world needs, to encourage interest in chemistry among young people, and to generate enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry. For more exciting details check out

http://www.chemistry2011.org/

Hawaii

2011-01-03T13:06:00.004+11:00

One of the worst parts of my job is being forced to go to miserable conferences in miserable places. So in December Aleisha and I begrudgingly went to the tropical paradise of Hawaii. Before the conference started we holidayed for a week in Maui. The condo we stayed at was right on the beach in a secluded cove that was packed with turtles. It was pretty sweet.

The view from our condo

We had a pretty good run of weather but on one day we had one heck of a torrential downpour. So on that day we decided to drive the road to Hana. While only ~80 km long it apparently has over 600 corners and a stupid number of one way bridges/entire sections of one lane road. Its quite the tourist attraction but the heavy rain turned them all away. As I was driving an new Subaru Impreza the road was one of the best I have ever been on.

Nothing quite like blind hairpin corners, cliffs and narrow roads.

Aleisha and I posing in front of a random blow hole.

Much of our time was spent swimming, snorkeling and chasing fish in the crystal clear water.

The view from our hotel room on Waikiki. It made the conference bearable.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T10:32:00.003+11:00

Merry Christmas everyone. We are now back in Calgary after an incredible trip to Hawaii (photos will be up soon).

Our synthetic tree

Aleisha and I decided to head out for a quick XC ski by the river to work up an appetite.

General update

2010-11-29T09:51:00.004+11:00

The last few months have seemed to fly by with nothing really exciting happening, hence the lack of blog activity. The only notable exception being my Science paper coming out and research group getting 15 min of fame in the local media. Other than that we spent most of the weekends working on research proposals or our permanent residency application so didn't get out much. Until recently there also wasn't any snow in the Mts so there wasn't a lot of outdoor activities that we really wanted to do.

Last week we finally got our first good dump of snow, ~25cm in Calgary, so the Mts are starting to look better for skiing. Hopefully the weather will be miserable in December while we are in Hawaii and when we come back there will be a crud load of snow waiting for us.

Johnston Canyon is an absolute tourist mecca but when its -10 the hoards thin out and it made for an interesting hike.

Last weekend it was -22 out but Aleisha and I decided to get our first day of XC skiing in. Turned out that -22 is too cold.

With the snow comes the bad road conditions, thankfully we have our Saabaru so we no longer have to drive Nth American shit boxes. We also picked up some new snow tires/rims just before the snow so the car is an absolute dream on the snow/ice.

Lake O'Hara - Hiking Nirvana

2010-09-08T11:27:00.008+10:00

The monthly Canadian holiday came around again last weekend so Aleisha and I made the most of the remnants of summer and went camping. Lake O'Hara came highly recommended from everyone we had ever talked to, and we certainly liked it when we visited last winter. The fact that the campsites can be booked 3 months in advance and are booked out within hours of becoming available also indicated that the area was worth a visit. As you may have guessed by the title of this blog entry, the hiking was pretty good. In fact Aleisha and I would go as far as to say it is the most incredible location we have ever had the joy of hiking in, it was quite simply perfection!

On the trail to Wiwaxy Gap, overlooking Lake O'Hara

Lake Oesa

The weather for the first day started off nice, cool but sunny. Unfortunately this didnt hold for the rest of the day and after hiking 3/4 of the Alpine Circuit the weather packed in and we called it a day. Of course just as we got back to camp the skies cleared and we cursed our decision to end the hike.
The next morning we were greeted by snow and temperatures hovering around zero. Reluctantly I managed to drag Aleisha out of camp with the hope of making something of the day. We were rewarded with empty trails, incredible scenery and in the end sunshine.

Lake O'Hara

The route to Wiwaxy Pass that we slogged up the previous day

The view from All Souls just as the sun broke through

Car Camping - Waterton Lakes National Park

2010-08-18T12:26:00.004+10:00

Last Friday Aleisha and I skived off work a little early for a weekend of car camping in Waterton Lakes National Park. The combination of redneck truck drivers and torrential rain made for an interesting trip down, but the trusty Saabaru got us there safe.
After last years experience with the Crypt Lake hike in Waterton (apparently one of the best trails in Canada) were we not expecting exceptional hiking when we set off on the Carthew-Alderson trail. However, it turned out to be a breathtaking hike with an incredibly diverse mix of scenery, certainly a lot better than the overrated Crypt Lake hike.

Windy Waterton

Looking into the USA and Glacier National Park (looks like some exciting bush bashing)

Carthew Ridge

Alderson Lake

Glacier National Park Montana

2010-08-09T12:32:00.005+10:00

Last weekend Aleisha, the Saabaru and I took a three day trip down South of the border into Glacier National Park. We were incredibly surprised to find that it was only a 4 hr drive from Calgary and that included a friendly border crossing. In Montana we joined up with Stefan and Claire who were on the last leg of their departing Nth America tour. The trip started well after Stefan managed to lock the keys in the boot of his rental car. As it turned out breaking into the car was the easy part (thanks to a friendly ranger), dismantling the entire rear seat assembly to gain access to the boot was more challenging. The following day we headed off to the Grinnell Glacier hike, one of the few trails in the area that were not closed due to bear activity. After enduring a morning thunder storm we made it to the glacier, or whats left of it. Just as we were leaving the clouds parted and the day seemed to improve. However, while we were walking back one of the other people on the trail mentioned that there was a bear sighted close to the trail earlier in the day. Just to make it better the bear was a Grizzly with cubs, that turned it into a cluster f*#k moment. Unfortunately the valley was a dead end so we had to continue down the trail and hope that the bear had moved on. We passed a few more people who all seemed to indicate that the bear was staying in one place about 30 min down the trail. Then 5 min later we ran into a guy who said the bear was a 100 m away and coming this way. We quickly ran up rocky slope, about 30 m off the trail and waited. Sure enough less than a minute later the Grizzly and cubs came into view and slowly passed by us, barely paying us any attention. Lets hope that all our future bear encounters go as well!

The next day we did the tourist thing and drove the Going to the Sun Road through the national park. It is said to be the most scenic road in the US and we wouldnt disagree.

The crew at Grinnell Glacier

Looking back to the Glacier. Why is it that the weather always clears on the way out?

Stefan and the bearsAleisha and Claire having a dip after an eventful day

Saabaru Cam - Driving the Going to the Sun Road

Group Hike

2010-07-27T12:48:00.003+10:00

Every summer my supervisor suggests that we do a group hike every month. Unfortunately organisation of the outings always falls on to me so we usually end up doing one hike per summer. After scouring the hiking literature for an interesting hike that was essentially wheel chair accessible (some group members carry a number of sporting and food induced injuries) I came up with Chester Lake. Unfortunately on the morning of the hike a Grizzly Bear warning was posted for the trail so we were forced to Black Prince Cirque. For some reason I seem to have a poor memory for difficult sections of hikes and I though the hike was easier than what it actually was. However, in the end no one died and we had a great day.

A friendly Grizzly poses for the tourists and despite how big this one looks it is probably only a couple years old and has a lot more growing to do!

Looking up to Black Prince Cirque

The survivors

Burstall Pass

2010-07-19T07:48:00.004+10:00

The last few hikes we have done have been revisits of last years failures. When we did Burstall Pass last year the weather was miserable and the view from the top was non-existent due to rain/fog/cloud. Thankfully though the weather last weekend was simply perfect and the hike just as good. The drive in was also spiced up by seeing a Grizzly Bear wandering by the side of the road.

The snow cover uplands close to the pass

Aleisha and Karl approach the pass

The much improved view, definitely worth the second trip.

Insane hail storm in Calgary

2010-07-19T07:27:00.006+10:00

Thunder storms are quite common for Calgary at this time of year but the storm we got earlier in the week was something truly incredible. We had golf ball sized hail for about 10 min and while a lot of the city got missed the University copped a beating. Walking home that evening a saw a number of cars that had their windows smashed but thankfully our Saabaru was safe under ground.

This movie was taken just outside the Chemistry building (video from Karl Dawson).

I also recommend checking out this video which shows the Botany Departments glass house being destroyed.

Forgetmenot Ridge and Galatea Lakes

2010-07-05T11:30:00.005+10:00

The last couple of weekends have been chock-a-block full of outdoor goodness. Last weekend I managed to get out to the foot hills and finally get to the top of Forgetmenot Ridge. The last time Aleisha and I were up there, there was a foot of powder to contend with so the going was a little easier this time around.

The view from Forgetmenot Ridge

This weekend we travelled a little further out into the mountains and did the Galatea Lakes hike. Unfortunately the weather gods decided that we had seen too much sun of late so we had to put up with rain, wind and cold on the final few km's. Despite of this the lakes were quite impressive and well worth the few drops of rain.

Aleisha and Kim struggling through the rain

Galatea Lakes

Wasootch Ridge

2010-06-21T09:34:00.003+10:00

It looks like hiking season has finally started here in Calgary. After weeks of rain the sun came out in force this weekend so we made the most of it and headed for the mountains. The trip was to Wasootch ridge which is a ~11km return trip with ~700 m gain. We didnt quite make it all the way along the ridge, some rather ominous clouds started to roll in and an exposed ridge is the last place you want to be in a thunder storm.

A view from close to the top

Looking back down Washootch Ridge

Rest time

Our Saabaru

2010-06-13T07:35:00.004+10:00

Much to everyones surprise we have managed to survive the last 18 months in Calgary without owning a car. I actually think that if it wasnt for the insane winters here we could probably do without one for quite a few more years. But after putting a rental car into a snow bank this winter we decided for our own personal safety that we needed a car. After much thought, discussion and analysis the logical choice that Aleisha and I came up with was a 5 door 2006 or 2007 Subaru Impreza. In North America Subaru only make AWD cars and from 2006 there were a bunch of safety and mechanical improvements over the previous years models. After test driving (aka thrashing) a 2010 Impreza at the dealership (same engine and drive train as the 06) the decision was sealed. Over the last few months we have been keeping our eyes on the local used car market but were getting a little despondent at the price and quality of used Impreza's. Then last week a car caught our eye and after test driving it a few times and getting it checked out we parted with our hard earned money and bought the Saab 9-2x.

You see, Subaru has had a complex life. Back when GM wasnt loosing a massive amount of money each day (just a few million) they owned Saab and a small share in Subaru. A few of the designers over at Saab couldnt be bothered designing a new car so they figured they would take a Subaru Impreza, add a few new body panels and call it a Saab. So our car, the Saab 9-2x was born.

Our Saabaru in its new home after its first clean and polish.

Is it a Saab, is it a Subaru, no its a Saabaru!

People from warm climates may not recognise these two buttons, they are for the heated seats. It also has has a luxurious moon roof (sun roof). Also notice that it doesnt feature the usual Nth American lazy fat man drive system, instead you "manually" control the gears, amazing!

Back in Action

2010-05-30T09:38:00.003+10:00

The blog may hasnt seen much action of late and thats because we havent been up to much. You see, I had a mole removed from my leg (nothing serious) and that has put me out of action for the last month. Doctors orders were no hiking/biking for a few months. That seemed a little ridiculous so last weekend Aleisha and I escaped the confines of our house and went on a road trip to the wine region of Kelowna in BC. We were lucky enough to have Stefan and Claire drive in from Vancouver and join us for the trip. It was our first trip to the Okanagan region and I think we will be heading there again soon. The combination of sun, water and fine wine is tough to beat.

Not a bad view

The warmer weather in the region (technically Canada's only desert) gives rise to some diverse wildlife.

Admiring the fine wine.

While it was a long drive (~700 km) the scenery was never dull.

East End of Rundle - Second attempt

2010-04-21T12:50:00.006+10:00

This year Aleisha and I are trying to make sure that we get into the mountains every weekend. However, as we are now in shoulder season there are limited mountain activities. While there is still plenty of snow about, it is all spring slop and no good for any type of skiing. This is currently limiting us to the few front range hikes that are clear of snow and avalanche danger.

This weekends hike was to East End of Rundle (Eeor to the locals), a short sharp slog of a peak right next door to Ha-Ling, the hike we did a couple weeks ago. I did the hike with my research group last year but managed to get lost trying to find the correct route to the summit so I was keen to make up for my previous failure. Much to my relief we did find the correct route but it was some what challenging and Aleisha decided to take the safe option and not climb the final 40 m. I ignored my better judgment and scrambled to the top to be rewarded with a rather impressive view.

Easter R & R

2010-04-06T12:30:00.004+10:00

Unfortunately Canadians are a little stingy with their holidays so our Easter long weekend was only extended by one day. Despite the short long weekend we still managed to get out and about. On Friday we headed up to Sunshine for some downhill skiing and while the weather gods rewarded us with a recent dump of powder they also decided to punish us with poor visibility. On Sunday we decided to take a risk and try to get in a sneaky first hike of the season. The trip was a short and sharp slog up Ha Ling Peak. Its a pretty popular hike in summer but thankfully the snow/ice covered trail and howling winds kept the trail relatively quiet.

Aleisha making the final push to the top

View of the township of Canmore from the top.

We enjoyed the trip, honest!

San Francisco

2010-03-30T13:33:00.003+11:00

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Spring American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco. Im sure very few readers of this highly regarded blog care about chemistry so I wont bore you all with the details of the conference, suffice to say that it all went very well. Of course I also managed to squeeze in a couple days of sight seeing. Since I was in the city of cyclists I decided to shun motorised transport and hire a super nice road bike. Unfortunately San Francisco is a hilly city so my sightseeing proved to be quite tiring, but im sure I appreciated the views more.

The Golden Gate Bridge with the city in the background.

I also managed to sneak out of the conference early one day and check out Alcatraz.

On the last day I rode to the California Academy of Science. One of the coolest things was this pendulum that moves solely by the rotation of the earth and knocks down one of the pins ~30 min.

Every trip needs one artistic attempt.

Bryant Creek

2010-03-16T13:20:00.006+11:00

Despite the lack of activity on the Blog, the last few weeks have been pretty action packed. Firstly and most importantly, Canada had a stunning victory over the USA in the Olympic hockey final, although it was closer than most Canadians would have liked! I actually think that Canadians are more fanatical about hockey than New Zealanders are about rugby.
This weekend we did an overnight back country trip into Bryant Creek. We obviously had the weather gods on our side as the day before it dumped 60 cm of powder then cleared to blue skies for the days that we were out. The trip was nothing short of truly spectacular! While the deep snow proved to be somewhat difficult to negotiate on cross country skies it did provide soft landings for our numerous spills.

The journey in

Unfortunately a majority of the trip was in trees so afforded limited views of the Mts. But we still managed to grab a glimpse of Mt. Assiniboine, I think.

The view of our accommodation as seen from the dunny.

Las Vegas

2010-02-21T02:54:00.003+11:00

Last week Aleisha and I headed south of the boarder for a bit of a holiday. The main aim of the trip was to see the Rugby 7's tournament in Las Vegas, but we figured that while we were there we might as well see some of the sights. On the first day we met up Stefan and Claire in Vegas and drove out to the Grand Canyon. We timed the trip to perfection as a winter storm had just been through and dumped a foot of snow making for quite a surreal landscape. After a couple days exploring we headed back to Vegas for the 7's. The tournament had 44 games over 2 days so it was a non-stop rugby party which was a hell of a lot of fun. Unfortunately New Zealand lost to Samoa in the final but it was probably for the best as it keep the thousands of Samoan fans happy. After the rugby finished up we had a couple of days exploring the sights of Vegas, gambling and drinking $0.50 margaritas. The gambling worked out well for all of us as we all came home with more money than we spent. As a whole though Vegas left us with mixed feelings, its a fun place to be but in the end the excessiveness of it all becomes too much to bear and it was good to return to home.

Winter in the Grand Canyon

Team New Zealand exploring the worlds largest hole.

"The Strip" with the Eiffel tower in the background

Aleisha in Venice, well the fake Venice, complete with a canal system and fake ceiling all inside the Venetian hotel.

Samoa vs. New Zealand

Blueberry Hill

2010-02-08T11:21:00.004+11:00

One of the most important lessons that we quickly learnt here is that just because its cold and miserable in Calgary doesnt mean there isnt blue sky 10 min down the road. So on Sunday when there was freezing fog and it was -15 C in Calgary we decided to head to the mountains. The move paid off and we were rewarded with blue sky and balmy -5 C temps.

Having lunch on Blueberry Hill, not a bad spot.

This cheeky bugger tried to steal my sandwich out of my hand.

The view from the top looking over the Kananaskis Lakes

Cross country madness

2010-02-01T12:15:00.004+11:00

This weekends adventure was a couple of cross country ski trips to some new locations. The first was to the Mt. Shark area. The trip in was made a little more exciting when our car failed to make a corner and we ended up in a snow bank. Thankfully a friendly ranger passed by and gave us a tow out, hopefully the rental company will be none the wiser. The skiing was pretty good and we will certainly be heading back again soon, possibly for an overnight trip as we learnt that there is a hut further down the trail.
Sundays trip was to Lake Minnewanka and the Cascade Fire trail just out of Banff. After a few false starts and wrong turns we finally managed to find the trail head and start the day. While it was -15 C and snowing in Calgary it turned out to be a balmy -5 C with sun on the trail, perfect for cross country skiing. So all and all it was a pretty good weekend, although I think we will be a bit sore getting out of bed tomorrow.

A nice spot for lunch with Cone Mt. in the background.

Canadians

Weekend in Fernie

2010-01-25T13:37:00.005+11:00

This weekend was livened up with our first trip to Fernie. The infamous powder that Fernie is renowned for was unfortunately unable to be present for the weekend but on the whole it was great just to get out and about. Staying on the ski hill in a place with a hot tub was not too shabby either...

Team Kiwi (right) and team Canada (left)

No trip out to Fernie would be complete without stopping at Sparwood to marvel at one of the man-made wonders of the world, the Worlds Largest Truck. It indeed was a rather large truck.

This little thing?

Lake O'Hara cross country skiing

2010-01-09T04:34:00.003+11:00

Aleisha and I have really taken a liking to cross country skiing, so much so we went out and bought our own gear. Unfortunately there was a a bit of a stuff up with the shop we got our gear from and they ended up losing my boots. To compensate us they decided to give us the gear for FREE!
Our first trip out on our new kit was an overnighter to Lake O'Hara. The conditions were amazing with temperatures around -5 C and a foot of fresh powder on the ground.

Aleisha leading the expedition team on the 11km trip to the hut.

I think it will take us a while to get sick of the scenery here.

Our accommodation for the night, the Elizabeth Parker Hut.

Skiing across the lake.

The team

Stefan and Claire come to visit

2010-01-09T04:15:00.003+11:00

The reason why we were so busy over Christmas was because Stefan and Claire came to visit. Since they love the outdoors just as much as we do, we tried to cram as many outdoor activities as possible into a week long holiday.

Riding the lift at Sunshine (our local ski hill). This was also our first experience in skiing when its -15 C.

Happy faces at the end of a hard days skiing.

Stefan and Claire trying out some cross country skiing.

Snow shoeing at Chester Lake.

Christmas catch up

2010-01-09T04:09:00.003+11:00

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year (better late than never)

The Christmas break was pretty busy for Aleisha and myself so we didnt have a chance to update the blog. I had all four of my wisdom teeth out yesterday so I now have some free time to do some updates.

Stuck in Calgary

2009-12-15T15:00:00.002+11:00

Over the last few weeks the winter weather has defeated our attempts to escape the city limits. We tried valiantly this weekend, but with the temperatures topping out at -30 C and our rental car doing doughnuts at the sight of corners, we gave up. So with the thought of spending another weekend indoors being too much to handle I decided to be brave (stupid) and go for a bike ride. Thankfully, due to fitting studded tyres, my bike handles the ice and snow better than most American built cars and for some reason I seemed to have the entire bike path system all to myself.

A steaming Bow River with Calgary CBD in the background.

Winter clothing from the serial killer fashion line.

Brrrr

2009-12-08T13:57:00.002+11:00

I dont think this one needs much explaining, its f'ing cold.

Cross Country Skiing

2009-11-16T13:10:00.003+11:00

This weekend Aleisha and I tried out one of the iconic Canadian winter sports, cross country skiing. Despite our complete lack of experience our friends decided to take us on a rather advanced trail. While there were a few moments of sheer terror and a few long strings of expletives we survived relatively unscathed, in fact we really enjoyed the day.

Winter wonderland.

Aleisha getting her glide on.

One of the truly amazing aspects of the whole sport is that its free. Some poor sucker drives around in a groomer all night, smoothing out the trail and setting the tracks and we don't have to pay a cent. God bless living in a socialist country!

Preparing for winter

2009-11-10T13:31:00.002+11:00

For once we didn’t manage to get into the mountains this weekend. Instead we were finding, trying, buying and fixing ski gear. In the end Aleisha managed to get a pair of Salomon X-Screams and I got some Elan Fusion S12's, best of all they were both super cheap. We also had our first lesson in our eight week indoor climbing class and I think that I am now reasonably confident hanging off a knot that I tied myself.

Plain of Six Glaciers

2009-11-02T12:35:00.005+11:00

The Plain of Six Glaciers hike in Lake Louise is normally swarming with tourists but with chilly temperatures and fresh snow on the ground we basically had the trail to ourselves.

Unfortunately the weather was not quite perfect so we couldn't quite see all six glaciers

Some famous ugly hotel on Lake Louise with the Lake Louise ski field in the background.

A Clark's Nutcracker - not much wildlife on the trails at the moment

Happy hikers

Ptarmigan Cirque

2009-10-21T13:38:00.003+11:00

I dont know if you can really call Ptarmigan Cirque a hike, at only 5km its more like a brisk stroll in the mountains. But with rather ominous clouds and sloppy conditions under foot we didnt dare try anything longer. In the end it turned out to be a good trip as on the way there we spotted 6 Moose and a rather large Grizzly.

Moose

My finely tuned instincts and outstanding outdoor survival skills make me wonder if bad weather was on its way.

Anyone fancy some postholing?

Winter Hiking - Forgetmenot Ridge

2009-10-13T03:38:00.003+11:00

This last week saw the arrival of winter in Calgary with our first snowfall of the season. While most Calgarians were heading off to the mall, we decided to attempt one last hike for the season. We planned to only venture out to the front range in the hope of avoiding the snow and freezing temperatures, this idea failed. The tempeatures hovered around -10 C all day and there was a good foot of fresh snow on the ground. On the plus side, no one else was dumb enough to go out so we had the mountain to ourselves. In the end the cold and snow were not a problem and we had an amazing hike.

Aleisha enjoyed the day as much as I did, honest.

The view from the top, well close to top.

It wouldnt be a Thanksgiving hike without pumpkin pie.

Egypt Lake in Fall

2009-10-05T06:21:00.005+11:00

Last weekend we finially overcame our fear of bears and did our first canadian overnight tramping trip. The desitiation was Egypt lake, a place we had been earlier on a ski touring trip. We timed the trip perfectly as the Larch trees had just turned a magnificent shade of yellow.

The trip started off at Sunshine Village Ski resort, we cheated and took a bus to save us a 600 m climb.

Larch trees

Approaching Healy Pass

The view from Healy Pass looking down to Egypt Lake

The frosty view after a cool (-10 C) night.

Larch Valley & Sentinel Pass

2009-09-16T12:08:00.002+10:00

This weekends trip was to the tourist trap of Lake Louise for the Larch Valley/Sentinel Pass hike. Whilst the hikes are popular, they are popular for a very good reason. Thankfully though the crowds were minimal, surprising considering the incredible weather.

At the pass

We were hoping that the Larch trees would have turned more yellow but it looks like the warm weather has delayed the autumn colours by a few weeks.

Another hike, another view of a glacier

Vancouver

2009-09-11T11:49:00.003+10:00

Last weekend Aleisha and I decided to pop over to Vancouver to hang out with Stefan and Claire. Unfortunately the weather was average and it rained a lot, but thats Vancouver for you. Despite the weather we still had a great time and managed to do a bit of sightseeing, even if the sights were obscured by clouds.

Checking out the sights in Vancouver before the rain sets in

Banana Slug, one of the critters that enjoy the rain.

Car Camping in Waterton Lakes National Park

2009-09-01T11:35:00.006+10:00

Last weekend we decided to go a little further out of town for our weekly dose of hiking. Waterton Lakes National Park came highly recommended so we figured we would make a weekend of it and go car camping. The park is right on the boarder with the US (actually joins with Glacier National Park) and just a 3hr drive from Calgary. Its well know for being packed with bears and within 5 min of entering the park on Friday evening we had spotted a Black bear, thankfully we were safe in our car. The major hike for the weekend was the Crypt Lake trip, rated by many as a 5 star trip (for the trivia buffs it was also rated as the best hike in Canada in 1981). Maybe it was the scorching heat reminding us of our time spent in the penal colony, but we were not as impressed. However, the disappointment was some what overcome by the novelty of being able to walk into the US as the end point of the trail was technically over the boarder.

On the way to Crypt Lake

Crypt Lake

On Sunday we went for a short drive in the park to Cameron Lake. As there were no people about and the weather was perfect we decided to hire a canoe.

Pika, like the Pokemon

We like mountains

2009-08-26T12:33:00.005+10:00

One of the great things about Canada is the abundance of large pointy slabs of rock that poke out of the ground. We never saw them in Australia but apparently they are called "mountains" and they are fun to hike up. This weekends trip was to the top of Cirque peak (2993 m).

The slog begins

Hoary Marmot, dont know how they got their name...

Cirque Peak - If you look really closely you can see some people (black specks) on the ridge on the left of the picture.

The view from the top was truly incredible and well worth the effort.

Burstall Pass

2009-08-18T11:52:00.005+10:00

People say that there are two seasons in Calgary, July and winter. So far they seem correct as August has been wet and hasnt provided good hiking weather. However, bad weather never stopped us from hiking in NZ or Oz so this weekend we ignored the forecast and went hiking anyway. The trip was Burstall Pass, a very popular and highly rated hike just out of Calgary. While there were periods of rain, fresh snow on the peaks and temperatures just pushing into double digits, the hike was still excellent with scenery that would give most of NZ a run for its money and make Australia look like a B grade amusement park.

The team

The Robertson Glacier

Approaching the pass

The view from the top made the trip worthwhile

Our first Moose sighting!

Niles Meadow and Sherbrooke Lake

2009-08-12T12:34:00.007+10:00

To counteract the consumption of excessive amounts of fat, beer and salt at the football game we spent Sunday hiking. At 20 km, the hike was a tad longer than our usual outings but considering the food we had eaten the night before the exercise was needed. While the hike was rated very highly the forest fires in BC created a lot of haze which unfortunately limited the views so the hike didn't live up our lofty expectations.

Sherbrooke Lake

The wildflowers help distract you from the climb ahead

Niles amphitheatre

Niles Meadow just before a storm rolled in

The weather here always keeps you on your toes, especially when you are walking along an exposed ridge in a thunder storm getting pelted with hail.

Saturday night's a great night for football

2009-08-11T11:53:00.004+10:00

After putting it off for a few months we figured it was about time to try and understand American Football. This idea was made made even more tempting by a deal that a local pub was running where you could get two tickets, two beers, chicken wings and transport to the game for just $24.95. So on Saturdays we joined ~35 000 other punters to see the Calgary Stampeders play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Despite expert advise from my brother, we couldn't figure out what was going on half the time and the other half of the time we couldn't even figure out where the ball was. Thankfully Calgary won and we had another excellent, albeit confusing, Canadian experience.

It wouldn't be Canadian Football without Canadian beer

Canadian cuisine

Stefan and Claire come to visit

2009-08-07T11:24:00.004+10:00

Last weekend we had the pleasure of having Stefan and Claire come to visit. First up was a hike to Black Prince Cirque and while we had done the trip before the blooming wild flowers made it just as spectacular the second time around. The following day we joined a couple hundred other punters and floated down the Bow river, not quite grade 5 rapids but still a relaxing way to spend the day. On the last day we had an unseasonable spell of Vancouver (crap) weather so we headed out for a road trip along the Icefields Parkway. All and all a very enjoyable long weekend and we cant wait to visit Stefan and Claire in Vancouver next month.

Chilling on the Bow

Wildflowers

Stefan always has to be the centre of attention

Calgary Stampede

2009-07-14T11:49:00.004+10:00

The highlight of Calgary's cultural calendar is the Stampede, actually it's the only event on the cultural calendar, unless you count monster truck racing. The Stampede is famous for two main things, the rodeo and weird food. The rodeo was great and certainly very entertaining. The weird food available included; deep fried Jelly Beans, deep fried Oreos, deep fried ..... (insert any food here) and pizza on a stick to name just a few. But by far the greatest was Chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick, science is indeed capable of achieving amazing things....

Just in case you were all getting worried I still managed to fit in another hike last week. I was essentially a tour guide for a conference excursion up to Sentinel Pass, its so tough to get paid to go hiking.

Another day, another amazing hike

2009-07-12T08:11:00.004+10:00

Everyone here keeps on telling us that summer in Calgary is very short, so we have been trying to make the most of it. Last weekends excursion was the extended version of Black Prince Cirque. The usual route is a brisk stroll around a scenic lake, while the extended version takes a less traveled route up into a hanging valley (cirque).

Scenic lake

The remnants of a couple avalanches spiced up the hike, certainly never got those hiking in Oz, heck we were lucky if we could find water in Oz.

The cirque

Another scenic lake, although much nicer than the first.

Life is tough

2009-07-07T12:28:00.005+10:00

Last week our research group was dragged kicking and screaming out of the lab for our monthly group hike. Life is indeed pretty tough when you get paid to go hiking, I don't know how I cope. The hike was the East End of Rundle, a ~900 m slog to the 2950 m summit. While the hike wasn't amazing the views were well worth the effort. Unfortunately we stuffed up the correct approach the the summit and had to turn back just short, I guess I will need to go back...

Up and up and up

The Shimizu Group

I don't think the rest of the group realized how perilous their location was

Over looking the town of Canmore with Ha Ling peak to the right

Hiking with the Whānau

2009-07-07T12:00:00.003+10:00

The week before my bro's wedding was taken up with numerous hiking trips in the Rockies. Trip 1 was the first part of my brothers stag, a hike up Forgetmenot Ridge. It was a nice gentle 700 vertical meter slog with stunning views. Hike 2 was a more leisurely stroll around Moraine Lake and hike 3 was a return trip to Chester Lake, although this time there was less snow about.

Canada isn't as flat as Darfield

Karl strutting his stuff

Rivers from snow melt are surprisingly cold

Family portrait at Moraine Lake

I think after all the hiking my folks were ready to return to the flat lands of D'field.

My Bro's Wedding

2009-07-02T11:41:00.003+10:00

The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy so it may take us a little while to catch up with the Blog entries. Firstly, and most importantly, my brother got married last Friday. The wedding was perfect and everyone had a brilliant time.

Pa and Ma

I don't wear a suit very often so I though the occasion should be documented

The wedding was in a meadow overlooking the township of Banff, not a bad spot.

The Bride and Groom

Biking Highwood Pass x 2

2009-06-15T09:41:00.006+10:00

This weekends Canadian adventure was something a little different, biking Highway 40, Canada's highest paved road. Highway 40 is closed every winter to allow a free migration route for the various critters, this weekend marked the last weekend before it was reopened to cars. While it is not a long ride, just 38 km, the trip to the pass is an over 500 m gain. On Saturday Aleisha and I headed out and set a rather leisurely pace. The scenery was amazing and we even managed to spot a Black bear and cub.
For some reason I decided that once wasn't enough, so on Sunday I did the trip again but this time with Karl (not my bro but a friend from work). The pace was a little quicker but the ride was just as good. On the way up we spotted a Grizzly on the side of the road, thankfully he was happily munching on Dandelions and didn't pay much attention to us.

The slow climb

Aleisha enjoying biking

The Mountain Bike rack on the pass

The trip down was the best part

Karl and myself at the pass

Yamnuska

2009-06-01T12:41:00.002+10:00

On Saturday we had our first true Canadian hike and it was a good one. A lot of the peaks still have snow on them so we are limited to the front range for a few more weeks. On the plus side the front range is a short 30 min drive from our front door. Saturdays peak was Yamnuska, which translates to Wall of Stone, when you see it the name seems fitting. The hike was a bit of a scramble in sections with a few interesting points and the ~800m gain was a little tiring. The trip down was a little quicker as we descended down a massive scree slope. Unfortunately one of the group took a pretty big fall after gaining too much speed down the scree, luckily there were no broken bones, just wounded pride.

Yamnuska 2240m, thats 12m higher than Mount Kosciusko and without the chairlift.

Looking over the edge of the main wall.

Aleisha and the view from the 3/4 point.

In Canada this is called scrambling, its so much more exciting than walking down a fire trail in the Blue Mountains.

Car camping Canada style

2009-05-24T04:33:00.002+10:00

Last Monday was the Victoria Day (Queens Birthday) holiday so Aleisha and I headed out on our first Canadian car camp, the destination was just south of the township of Jasper in Jasper National Park. We took a scenic route via the Icefields Parkway, which turned out to be one of the most spectacular roads we have ever driven down. We were also lucky enough to spot a Black bear and cub on the side of the road, hopefully all our future bear encounters are as uneventful. Sunday was spent doing a couple of day walks and generally relaxing. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse Sunday night and the snow set in. On Monday it was still snowing so we decided to take the "safe" route back to Calgary via Edmonton, as this would avoid the high alpine passes and hopefully most of the heavy snow. In the end we didnt avoid the snow and to make matters worse we woefully underestimated the distance. So about 700km later, after some of the worst driving conditions we have ever seen (not to mention the worst drivers, we saw two trucks that had rolled and about 6 other cars that had gone off the road) we made it back to Calgary.

The Icefields Parkway

Black bears

One of the many glaciers that flow from the icefield.

Doing the tourist thing on the Glacier

Not all the Canadian animals want to eat you.

Out and about

2009-04-27T13:14:00.002+10:00

The last couple of weekends have been a little more relaxed than our Easter break, just a few short trips. Last weekend we had another attempt at snow shoeing and this weekend we checked out Lake Louise. There is still a fair bit of snow/ice on the trails and the weather gods have decided that spring is over and winter is back, so I dont know when hiking season will begin in earnest.

Easter Crucifiction

2009-04-16T13:22:00.004+10:00

Over the Easter long weekend Aleisha and I had the pleasure of accompanying Karl and Jo on a Alpine Ski Touring trip to Egypt Lake. While it was only 12km to the hut, the combination of >20 kg packs, rental gear and our poor fitness meant that the first day was a 8 hr crucification. Thankfully on the second day we rested before being reborn on the third. All and all a great trip, very character building.

Healy Pass

Egypt Lake from the pass

The guides (Jo and Karl)

The Hut during a dump of snow on the second night

The four wise wo/men

Some bugger stole my bike

2009-04-08T03:17:00.002+10:00

Just as we were beginning to think that Calgary is safer and nicer than Sydney some f#*ker goes and steals my bike. Stupidly enough we also hadn't organised insurance yet so it looks like I am going to have to get use to walking to work for a while...

Skiing

2009-04-06T10:50:00.003+10:00

With winter apparently coming to an end there is just a few weeks left in the ski season. So this weekend Aleisha and I decided to check out Nakiska, one of the local ski fields less than an hours drive from our front door. The skiing was great and it was great to be back on the slopes. We also learnt a valuable lesson, when hiring a car to go skiing always make sure the back seats fold down or else it may be difficult to put skies in.

View from the top, well as far as the chair lifts went.

Aleisha takes on the "black diamond" run.

New Toy

2009-03-29T12:40:00.003+11:00

Since Calgary drivers do not to actively hunt and enjoy maiming cyclists, unlike their Sydney counterparts, I have decided it is time to get back on a bike. The massive and excellent bike shop (Bow Cycles) just down the road from us had a ridiculous sale today so I picked up this beast of a bike for 1/2 price. Its a Specialized Hardrock Pro Disk with 100 mm front shocks and hydraulic disk breaks.
While the drivers may be friendly the roads are still covered with ice/snow so I guess there is a good chance that I will still end up hugging the pavement in the near future. I think I will go and buy a helmet tomorrow...

Snowshoeing

2009-03-16T09:04:00.003+11:00

With the weather warming up (its now above zero during the day) Karl took Aleisha and myself out on a bit of a hike to Chester Lake. Of course as there is still lots of snow about hiking becomes snowshoeing, which turned out to be quite a fun experience.

Karl our tour guide, he wasn't very knowledgeable but I guess you get what you pay for.

The end result of trying to run with snow shoes through deep snow.

After a while we got the hang of it (photo thanks to Karl)

Mt Chester (3054 m)

We like Canada

Calgary

2009-02-26T14:34:00.003+11:00

After almost 2 weeks of sorting out crap we can almost call Calgary home (for a year at least). Thankfully the rental market in Calgary is not as crazy as in Sydney and finding an apartment, sorry condominium, was a breeze. I think in the end we got quite lucky and got quite a good deal. The settling in process has been made a lot easier by the fact that the place is fully furnished. Aleisha managed to pick up a sweet job in downtown working at an optometrist. Best of all its Mon-Fri 9-5 (the pay is also pretty good) meaning we have every weekend free for adventures.

Our condo - check out the gas fire, no more slumming it like a poor student.

Our front yard covered in a fresh dump of snow (BBQ included),

The Bow river is just a stone throws away. Of course as it is -20 at the moment the river is kinda frozen over and as Uni is up a hill I cant skate to work.

Some people from Sydney might not know what this is but in Calgary they are called cycle paths. Apparently Calgary has ~700 km of them.

The snow here isnt that wet crud you get back in NZ or Oz its real snow.

Tasmania

2009-02-25T14:04:00.005+11:00

I know this blog entry is out of chronological order, deal with it. About a month ago when the temperatures were touching 40 C in Sydney Aleisha and I were in the lovely temperate climate of Tasmania. The trip was a mix of tramping and road tripping through the northern part of the island. We spent 3 easy days tramping in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park. I guess 2 of the days were easy, it was heaving down with rain on the last day and I some how managed to get a leech stuck in my eye (sorry no photos). Apart from my close encounter with a leech it was a nice trip.

The Walls

Camp day 1: No sleeping in puddles tonight.

Artistic attempt

This photo needs a little explaining. Walking into the Walls National park we came across an old trappers hut. Outside was a hollow tree trunk with what I though was a old possums tail nailed to it. It turned out that the possum was very much alive, he just like to sleep there (he was still fast asleep when we came back 2 days later).

One of the truly great features of Tasmania is the wildlife, we manage to see; Wombats, Tiger Snakes, Echidnas, White Lipped Whip Snakes and lots of leeches.

Canada

2009-02-16T14:23:00.003+11:00

The blog has been a little neglected of late as we have been preparing for our big move. Thankfully the waiting is now over and we have finally arrived in Calgary. The weather gods were kind as it was snowing and only a mild -10 C. Our Macpac down jackets have finally been tested and seem to prevent frostbite. More updates will follow when we finally get an appartment and internet.

New Zealand

2009-01-11T20:59:00.004+11:00

The Christmas break was a little busy for Aleisha and I this year but it was great to be home again. I had a conference in Christchurch in mid December, the conference was a little dull but it was still good to catch up with friends and old colleagues again After that I was up to Auckland for Stefans stag party, I cant remember much but I sure felt rough the next day so I assume it went well. Aleisha then flew into ChCh and we had our first Christmas in NZ for 5 years (One of the many benefits to getting married is that you can enjoy twice as many Christmas dinners).
On Boxing day Stefan and Claire flew down from Auckland to join us for some tramping and 8 long hours of driving later we arrived at Glenorchy Airport. The planed trip was a tramp known as the 5 passes, which was mostly off track with no huts and takes ~5 days. As time was going to be tight we decided to cheat a little and hire a helicopter to drop us off at the start of the walk and save a boring day trip walking up a river valley. The helicopter ride was amazing, certainly better than walking! The tip didnt go exactly to plan, bad weather caused us to spend some days stuck in the tents using up our walking time. We all decided to take the safe option and not try to rush the trip, sadly it meant we had to change the trip and walk back out.
The change in plans meant we got out a day early and we ended up spending New Years in a hotel in Omarama. New Years day we drove back to Darfield and spend the day attempting to dry out all our kit.
Feeling refreshed, the next day Aleisha and I headed up to Wellington to spend some time with my Grany and Nanna. The fun and excitement didnt end there though, and a couple of days later we headed to Auckland for Stefans and Claires wedding on Waiheke Island. The wedding was lovely and the weather perfect. We even managed a little time for R&R before flying back to Sydney.

Are we insane?

2008-12-12T18:43:00.000+11:00

The end of MOvember

2008-12-04T20:49:00.002+11:00

I think everyone is glad that Movember is finally over and my dirty moustache is finally gone. In the end I managed to raise $545.40 which made the embarrassment worth it. I would like to thank everyone who donated and everyone else who didnt make fun of me.

Movember

2008-11-13T19:48:00.005+11:00

This year I decided to throw away the small amount of dignity that I had left and grow a Mo, for a good cause of course. While the initial progress had me having second thoughts, the second week gave better results and its now becoming a passable Mo. I have been pleasently surprised by the number of donations that I have received with my total already over $200. To check out the Mo progress see the link. If you would like to sponsor the Mo and support a great cause then please follow this link. Remember you can only make fun of the Mo if you sponsor me.

Goodbye Hulk

2008-11-13T19:04:00.002+11:00

Well all good things must come to an end. With us heading to NZ for almost a month over Christmas and then off to Canada soon after it was time to goodbye to the Hulk (our car). Unfortunately we picked a poor time to sell with petrol prices coming back to earth and the economy hitting the shitter meaning the selling price wasn't great. But to be honest the Hulk wasn't without its faults (climbing too many mountains and fording too many streams) and I doubt we will be buying a Hyundai again anytime soon.

Newnes and the Wolgan Valley

2008-09-23T20:23:00.004+10:00

As we had been to the Capertee Valley three times in the last month we figured it could be time to check out some where new. So last weekend Aleisha and I headed out to Newnes in the Wolgan Valley for some car camping. The camping site was a little more popular than we would have liked but the local wildlife (glow worms, wombats, microbats and Gang-gang Cockatoos) and walks made up for it.

Star Trails - approximately 60 min exposure

Wombat! - After almost 5 years Aleisha finally saw her first wombat, well actually there were half a dozen of them.

The Wolgan Valley

Rainforest gully

Aleisha in front of an old train tunnel. It was ~400m long and apparently curves through almost 180 degrees. It was also inhabited with bats and glow worms.

The In-laws are in town

2008-09-22T18:50:00.004+10:00

Last weekend Sylvia and Tony popped into Sydney for a long weekend. As they had seen much of the city before, Aleisha and I decided to take them on a car camping road trip. First stop was the Jenolan caves where Tony spotted a Platypus (I would have placed a large sum of money on there being no Platypus in the area so we were all quite pleasantly surprised). That night we camped at Kanangra-Boyd National park, we were later awoken by torrential rain and a wee stream running under our tent. The next day wasn't much better and our hot lap around Mt Panorama in Bathurst might have been faster on a jetski. Luckily the weather cleared as we arrived in the Capertee Valley and the last day was pretty nice. All and all a great trip, apart from a crappy Toyota Camry that drove like a Holden Commodore.

The Kanangra Walls

Camp and Camry in the Capertee

A spot of bird watching

Back to the Capertee

2008-09-08T20:35:00.003+10:00

This weekend Aleisha and I headed back to the Capertee Valley, although this time it was for a spot of car tramping. The camp site was just a couple of km's walk which allowed a few extras to be taken without too much hassle.

Premium Reserve Extras

Unfortunately a large amount of condensation on the camera stopped this star trail shot going for as long as I intended, I guess I will have to go back when its warmer .

Another trip and another attempt to be artistic...

A complete 360 degree panorama of the camp site.

The recent rain added a little more fun to the short walk in.

Canada

2008-09-04T19:19:00.003+10:00

Well it is now official eh, we are off to Canada eh early next year. I just got the official letter eh of offer from George Shimizu at the University of Calgary with a project that will be focused on CO2/H2 separation eh. The start date is still under negotiation eh but it looks like it should be aboot (that's about in Canadian) Feb/March eh.

Dharug National Park

2008-08-25T19:10:00.002+10:00

Another weekend gone by and another weekend spent attempting to escape the madness of Sydney. This time it was a car camping trip to Mill Creek in Dharug National Park. It was only a 2hr drive from Sydney, well a 2hr drive from our house, making it a 30min drive from the edge of the suburban sprawl. This proximity to Sydney meant it was a little busier than we would have liked but Jarrod managed to fined a relatively quiet spot which even had its own fire pit.

Aleisha at the camp site

Brush Turkey (good eatin)

It wouldnt be a camping trip without a nice fire.

Tawny Frogmouth

With spring approaching all the wild flowers were out

Capertree Valley

2008-08-17T19:33:00.003+10:00

This weekend Aleisha and I headed to the Capertee Valley for a bit of car camping. The place turned out to be truly spectacular with cliffs on all sides. I think we will be heading back to this area again.

The Capertree Valley, apparently it is the 2nd widest in the world.

Cliffs

More cliffs

Cliffs as far as the eye could see

Nankeen Kestrel

Back home

2008-08-13T19:23:00.005+10:00

With the snow falling thick and fast back home (and both our Dads Birthdays) Aleisha and I decided to head back to NZ for a wee holiday.

We were welcomed home by a light dusting of snow.

Mountains, real ones not like those flat crappy ones in Oz.

The weather cleared for just enough time to allow a nice days skiing. Much to my relief I didn't forget how to ski, unfortunately my knee also didn't forget to give me gyp.

Always time for a lame artistic effort

We even managed to squeeze in a spot of fishing, although we didnt have much luck.

Mt Solitary

2008-08-07T21:41:00.004+10:00

After been stuck in Sydney for far too long I finally managed to get out into the Blue Mts last weekend. Unfortunately Aleisha was still recovering from the flu so the team was J'rod, Adelle and myself. The walk was an over night trip to Mt Solitary and was a nice mix of vegetation but a not so nice mix of up and down.

Nice

Not so nice

Looking back at Mt Solitary

New Toy

2008-07-24T19:25:00.002+10:00

Well after trying out Marty's Canon 10-22mm lens while I was down in Melbourne I decided to give in to temptation and buy the lens.

Melbourne

2008-07-14T19:25:00.003+10:00

Last week the inaugural Australasian Crystallography School was held in the Yarra Valley just out of Melbourne. I also spent a couple of days before the school started catching up with Marty and Suz and seeing the sights of Melbourne. Marty was kind enough to lend me his Canon 10-22 mm lens and I am now quite tempted to get one myself. The crystallography school was also pretty good although I must admit that was helped by the excellent venue and amazing food.

Car Camping

2008-06-29T18:40:00.000+10:00

This weekend we headed out of Sydney for a bit of lazy car camping, the destination was Mogo Creek in Yengo National Park. The place was packed with birds including a couple of friendly Eastern Yellow Robins.

Graduation

2008-06-15T18:39:00.004+10:00

Much to my relief the PhD is finally completely over and I am officially no longer a student.

Budawang National Park

2008-06-15T18:23:00.003+10:00

Alesiha and I decided to make the most of the long weekend and headed out for a bit of tramping. The location was the Budawang National park which is known for its spectacular views and rugged terrain. The weather forecast was less than perfect but we figured it would be character building. The first day was pretty nice but the terrain got the better of us and after only going at ~1km/hr for a while we revaluated our plans for the following days. This was probably a good idea as the weather packed in on the second day and the track turned into a bog making the going even tougher. Thankfully the weather cleared on the third day making the trip back a little nicer.

The view after the first days effort.

A nice spot for lunch and the last photo from the trip as I dont have a waterproof case for my camera!

Weekend Tramp

2008-05-26T18:27:00.003+10:00

The perfect (well near perfect) weather continued over the weekend so Aleisha and I headed out to Wollemi National Park(click here for a map). We camped by the car on the first night before the short but steep walk down to the Colo River. The water was a little colder than we expected meaning we couldnt explore much of the river, but it was still a relaxing weekend.

Looking down to the Colo River

Even the plants in Australia are out to get you!

The campsite

Weekend Snorkelling

2008-05-19T18:42:00.002+10:00

The weather this weekend was perfect for a bit of snorkelling so we headed out to North Bondi to check out the local wildlife. By far the highlight of the trip was spotting a gigantic Black Stingray which was ~2 m across and about the same in length.

The Black Stingray (Photo thanks to Allan)

Off to the Wollangambe crater again

2008-05-12T19:29:00.004+10:00

As the weather has started to cool and the dog sized spiders have started to die, it is time to start a bit of tramping. This trip was to an old favourite, the Wollangambe Crater but this time with a few new faces to make the trip a bit more interesting.

Camp day 2

After bashing our way up the canyon we finally managed to locate the mythical cave and some spectacular views.

A Greater Glider

Adding to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The sweaty crew after the walk, from left to right: Sneaky Pete, Allan, Sarah with unnamed -3 month old), Arnold and some other random punter.

The US of A - The fun stuff - Part IV

2008-05-05T21:04:00.003+10:00

After checking out the oldest trees in the world I figured I should go and see the largest. Unfortunately as I hadn’t planed any of the trip I was on the wrong side of the Sierra Nevada range and had a rather long day in the car as a result. This was not helped by my GPS unit which decided that there was a shorter route and would shave a few minutes off the trip. In the end I took the "short" route which took me through some nasty mountain pass with millions of hairpin corners and turned out to be a very long route. The next day I headed into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park to check out the Sequoia trees.

A local

To show the scale of these trees look at the tree that is laying over the road, see the hole in it, you can drive through that!

The General Sherman Tree - The largest tree in the world (by volume)

The US of A - The fun stuff - Part III

2008-05-04T20:35:00.004+10:00

From Death Valley it was off to check out the ancient Bristlecone Pines (oldest trees in the world) in the White Mountains. The oldest tree is known as the Methuselah tree and is almost 5000 years old, although only a few people know which tree is the Methuselah. As it was early spring there was still a lot of snow about which meant the road was closed and I had to walk a few miles to the trees. But on the plus side there was absolutely no one else around which made it even nicer.

A Joshua Tree - Like the U2 album

A Bristlecone Pine, this one is probably around 4000 years old.

Some of the dead trees are over 10 000 years old.

This photo shows the growth rings in a ~5 x 5 cm block.

The US of A - The fun stuff - Part II

2008-05-04T20:19:00.002+10:00

From the Grand Canyon I headed to Death Valley. Unfortunately I miscalculated how long it would take to drive there and ended up having to spend the night in some dodgy casino on the boarder. Death Valley turned out to be a pretty sweet place although the dust storms sucked. I managed to befriend a couple of locals who naively invited me to share some beers with them. Well, a few hours later there were no more beers left but they didn’t seem to mind, they even cooked me a traditional breakfast the next day (eggs, bacon and hash browns). Turns out not all Yanks are ring-wing-religious-nut-jobs, some a bloody friendly normal people.

The local drop (the good one)

A few photos from Death Valley

The US of A - The fun stuff

2008-05-04T19:50:00.003+10:00

I figured that as I was in the US I should make the most of it, so I took a week off and did a bit of a road trip. For once the road trip was completely unplanned, which is slightly unusual for me but it all worked out in the end.
The first adventure was attempting to drive out of LA. You see I haven’t had the best experiences driving on the other side of the road. I decided to hire a GPS unit for the car and while it didn’t tell me when I was driving on the wrong side of the road it did make driving out of LA a lot easier. From LA I headed to the Grand Canyon and after getting lost in the car park I managed to find the big hole. It was pretty impressive so I stayed there a couple of nights. Much to my surprise there was a bit of snow about which made for a few chilly nights in the tent, this was not helped by my new leaking thermarest.

Camp and car.

The Grand Canyon, but you probably figured that out by yourselves.

It wouldnt be a road trip without taking some funky long exposure photos, this one went for 18 min.

The US of A - New Orleans

2008-05-04T19:18:00.004+10:00

Well after a 13 hr flight from Sydney to LA (6 movies and no sleep) I arrived in the chaos that is LAX. After a refreshing 6 hr stop over we were looking forward to boarding the plane, unfortunately someone forgot to tell us that paying for a ticket doesn’t mean you get one. Apparently the flight was over booked and they had decided that those who just spent half a day getting to LAX could wait another half a day. Thankfully some people decided to take a later flight and we managed to get on. It is not surprising that half the airlines in the US are going bust when they treat people like shit. Anyway, 4 hrs later we arrived in New Orleans and much to my surprise it resembled a normal looking city. After a quick trip to the golden arches in the city centre I realised that the place reminded me of Dunedin during O-week, but with more sleaze and booze and a little bit more sleaze.
The conference had a pretty busy schedule of talks and I could only manage to take one morning off to see the sights. I decided to go and check out the swamps and saw a good collection of critters.

In the end the conference was pretty good and the 5 people who decided to stay for my talk on the last day seemed to like the work. I may have even managed to score a post-doc position in Canada, but there are a few details to iron out

Kosciuszko National Park

2008-03-26T20:05:00.004+11:00

Aleisha and I decided to make the most of our new found freedom, as well as sweet new camping gear and headed to Kosciuszko National Park for a spot of tramping. We skived off work a bit early to avoid the Easter holiday traffic and after 6 hrs arrived in Jindabyne. It turns out that Jindabyne is a bigger crap hole than Manapouri (long story) and even though it was the Easter long weekend all the accommodation in town had shut up shop by 7 pm. It turns out that this was a blessing in disguise as we ended up spending the night car camping in the National Park where we spotted a Wombat. The next day we headed off into the wilderness...

Wilderness - The main highway heading up to the summit, sorry summit is a little misleading as even though it is the highest peak in Oz it is only ~2300 m.

Camp Day 1 - After a few hours of nice weather it turned a little crud.

Camp Day 2 - We decided to be unaustralian and walk off the main trail, we were rewarded with having a valley all to ourselves.

Panorama from camp made with Autostitch.

This little critter is either an Agile Antechinus or a Broad Toothed Rat, although we are leaning toward the Antechinus.

After four years in Oz we finally managed to spot our first Frog, I will not even try to identify which one it is.

Kanangra-Boyd National Park

2008-03-25T20:44:00.003+11:00

As we have had the new car for quite a while but not put it to good use, Aleisha and I decided to take the Hulk out to stretch its legs. The destination was Kanangra-Boyd National Park just west of the Blue Mountains. Much to my relief the Hulk did not fall apart on the 30 km of crappy gravel roads. While it was too hot for serious tramping it was a nice weekend away from Sydney.

Jacky Lizard (a really fat one)

The Hulk at the campsite

The Kanangra Walls

Western Australia - Critters

2008-03-25T19:10:00.004+11:00

A Wedge Tailed Eagle

Perentie

Stromatolites - The oldest known living organisms on the planet. You have these little buggers to thank for the oxygen we breath today (or that God dude if you are that way inclined).

Dugong - Apparently these fat beasts are surpose to be what started the tale of mermaids.

A friendly Quoka on Rottnest Island, which is just off the coast of Perth.

A White-breasted Robin

Western Australia

2008-03-25T18:19:00.003+11:00

Just a few photos from out WA honeymoon road trip.

The great wee Corolla that we flogged for 5000 km.

The Pinnacles just north of Perth.

We were lucky enough to see a the Carnarvon river flooding which was due to rain inland a couple of days earlier. In my rush to take the photo I didnt put my shoes on and subsequntly severly burnt the bottom of my feet on the molten concrete, so enjoy the photo.

Termite mounds on the road to Ningaloo reef.

Coral Bay - A bit more like your usual honeymoon location.

Wedding Reception

2008-03-13T20:53:00.004+11:00

Due to popular demand I have decided to post the photos of the infamous bouquet tossing.