Work Hard, Play Hard!

I’ve always liked that axiom and it seems especially apt for the past month.  May started out with a trip to Wellington for the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars Conference.  The Auckland contingent took the Overlander train down.  This was the first time I had ridden on a train in New Zealand and though scenic, it was quite slow; very similar to the Alaska Railroad really.  The conference was a large success and we not only learned about the Rotary programs, but also had the opportunity to meet all the other Ambassadorial Scholars in New Zealand and hear from speakers to include the Governor General of New Zealand, Sir Anand Satyanand, and the U.S. Ambassador, David Huebner.  Rotary is such a wonderful community and I feel privileged to be a part of it.

The following weekend I went out with some friends and competed in the Whakatane Great Outdoors 6 hour adventure race.  After an interesting drive down from Auckland to Whakatane on Friday night where my friend, Simon, lost a few lug-nuts and we improvised by redistributing the remaining ones, the race started with a splash on Saturday morning.  Well maybe more of slur-ghhh as we traversed 2 kilometres of calf to thigh deep mud.  We then jumped on our bikes and began climbing some incredibly steep hills on dirt paths.  The descents were really the scariest part (thankfully, I had taken a course on mountain biking at West Point), and I managed to come away from my one accident, after hitting a ditch and flying over the handle-bards, unscathed.  In the next phase we ran and orienteered countless kilometres over very hilly country making our way to the rifle range.  West Point training really kicked in here, enabling me to hit five out of five shots in quick succession and drive on.  The final phases included trail biking, archery, river crossing, and climbing.  At the end of the six hours, which we barely made—yet, we managed to get all but one of the optional points—our team was beat.  We went for pizza and downed it like there was no tomorrow only to later find out that we won our category: mixed four person teams.  The following day we went to raft and kayak the Rangitaiki River, which was a good chance of pace.  The class III+/IV- white-water cleaned our faces off a bit and we enjoyed a nice long soak in the local hot pools afterward.

The following weekend, on the 16^th of May, I was back in the Bay of Plenty Region again, this time kayaking the Kaituna River.  Ever since Tutea Waterfall ate me last time, I have been meaning to go back in something other than my packraft.  Being attached to the kayak and having that extra buoyancy really paid off.  The waterfalls were much easier to master in a kayak I found.  That said, I still love my packraft and am currently dreaming up epic adventures to take it out on when I get back to Alaska.  After all this paddling, I needed to resurface for air, so I spent the next weekend biking around Auckland and seeing the sites and having some friends over for a barbecue.

Last weekend was probably the most exciting of the month.  It began with eight friends and a caving mission into Gardeners Gut on May 29th.  This was my first time on a true caving mission and it was grand fun.  We saw the largest stalagmite in New Zealand standing at 6-7m tall and 2m wide aptly dubbed the Birthday Candle.   We also did a few abseils and climbs in order to make it to the grotto, filled with intricate crystal formations growing from the walls, and the organ grinder.  Now the organ grinder was something else.  At five meters long, 80-150 cm wide and perhaps 30-35cm high, it certainly was not something for those faint of heart.  It affirmed for me, in the most ruthless of ways, that I am not claustrophobic.   Gaining passage involved a combination of exhaling, scrunching, and dragging myself across through the narrow limestone passage.  Once on the other side I was incredibly relieved as seen by my expression in the photo below.  The following day, I drove back to Auckland and helped my Rotary Club run Circus Quirkus.  Circus Quirkus provides roughly 5,000 underprivileged kids a chance to go to the circus free of charge.  It was a great event and was very rewarding to see all the smiles on the kids faces.

 So by this point you are probably wondering, what is all this work business about, Erik just writes about his weekend escapades?!!  Well, during the week, I assure you I am hard at work hammering away on my thesis.  Significant headway has been made on the write-up over the past month, and I am now two chapters away from finishing.  As it presently stands, the body of the document is just over 115 pages long, with numerous models, charts, and maps presenting geographic analysis.  Better yet, I have arranged a big meeting/workshop with the Auckland Regional Council and Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management group for the end of this month.  At the workshop, I will present my findings and engage the organizations in a discussion focused on mass evacuation planning and what can be done to make Auckland a more resilient city.  Everyone, including myself, seems to be very excited.  I’m really looking forward to finishing the thesis up, presenting my results, and turning the thesis in (as well as furnishing copies to these organizations).  I expect in just over a month this will all be complete and I’ll be back in “The Last Frontier.”