Mt. Cook Weekend Hike







Make sure your speakers are not turned all the way up!!


After a long week at work, Blaine and I were eager to get out of town for the weekend. Friday afternoon we packed our tent and sleeping bags and took off! 3 hours later we arrived at Lake Tekapo, after driving through rolling green pastures with grazing sheep. We set up our tent under the starry sky. Sometime in the middle of the night the wind began to roar, and this continued throughout the rest of our trip. We stopped for breakfast at Doughboy Cafe for coffee and muffins, while we watched a few rally car drivers finish up a leg of the race. We drove an hour more past a stunning turquoise lake and towards the snow-capped mountains. The road actually dead-ends into Mt. Cook National Park. We gathered lunch items (sardines and tuna with crackers), filtered some water for the hike and headed off for the Hooker Valley trail. Facing into the 60-100 km/h wind that blew through the valley was quite a challenge. We crossed 2 swinging bridges, passed Mueller Lake, met a lot of American hikers, saw an avalanche (which BT spotted high up on the moutainside) and finally made it to Hooker Lake. We had to sit behind a large boulder to eat our lunch just to be able to hear each other speak. It was amazing to see the rain clouds spill over the mountains at the end of the valley, but luckily we were able to make it close to the end of the trail back to the car before it started to rain heavily. We decided with the bad weather on the way we would head back to Christchurch so that we would have all of Sunday to relax and go to church.

Side note: My mom got a plane ticket to come see us the day after Christmas and stay through the New Year! I am soooo excited. Our first visitor!

Why would a Texan live in Antarctica?

Guess who my patient was today in the CCU? A Texan that works for NASA and lives at McMurdo station in Antarctica! He developed a heart attack and the medical team flew him 6 hours up to Christchurch in a C17 to our unit. Crazy, I come all this way and get to talk Southernese to a cowboy from Texas. I am not sure how much comfort he took in me as his nurse because he was in a lot of pain and was very scared of what all was happening to him. He actually will not be allowed to return to Antarctica because you have to be in optimal health and his right coronary artery was completely occluded and he will probably require surgery. After his angiogram, he was beginning to warm up to me a little. It was nice to hear someone's weight in lbs. and their height in inches instead of the stupid metric system. It was interesting to hear him describe life on the ice...when he left there it was -25 degrees Farhenheit and it is daylight 24 hours a day since it is summer in the southern hemisphere. He is only 42 years old but has smoked his entire life; amazing how many patients we get that smoke and develop heart attacks. I spoke with his mother and sister from Texas and they were country! They were so glad to know that an American was taking care of him!

Anyway, I have just worked 8 days in a row with one day off in between. So Blaine and I are planning on going out of town this weekend into the wilderness to do some camping/hiking! More updates soon!

Trans-gender nurse imposter in NZ?

Y'all are really going to laugh when I tell you this story! I was minding my own business at work the other day when a (woman) came into the CCU and introduced herself as a clinical nurse specialist and asked to see our nurse educator. We had a short chat about me being new to the country and how I was liking it. (She) was very friendly and seemed like she was comfortable/confident and had been working at the hospital for years. I told her our educator was sick and that I would leave her a message...long story short this (lady) was walking around the hospital pretending to be a nurse, looking at patients' charts, checking patients' ID bracelets, and taking care of business. Then she decided to steal a car. Funny I met her and thought we would be friends. Here is the news clip:

http://xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,11964-6470464-300,00.html

And they say nothing exciting ever happens in Christchurch, New Zealand...they were so wrong!

Mountain biking to Godley Head

"This can't be the trail...no one could ride a bike up THIS!"--Sammy
"If this is a moderate level trail, I would hate to see a HARD trail."--Megs
"I think we might get hypothermia."--Kate

O.K., everyone can blame me. It was my idea to go on the Godley Head bike trail. I read that it is on the top 10 mountainbiking trails in New Zealand and I should have probably researched it a little more to see if it was within our abilities (and our bikes' abilities). But it truly was an adventure, with some breathtaking views. The crew drove up to Evan's Pass on Sunday afternoon and set off on our bikes. The ominous looking clouds beginning to roll over the mountains were probably a premonition of what was to come. The beginning of the trail was literally straight up and rocky...honestly I would really like to see someone try to ride their bike up that incline. We walked our bikes up and then the next phase included trails with deep troughs, boardwalks with sharp peaks built-in, sheep obstructing the trail around a blind curve, etc. All in all, Sam and Megs both wrecked their bikes but escaped with only minor injuries. Megs bike was broken beyond repair and Sam's bike would only shift between 3 gears. But luckily when Megs bike broke we had made it to the end of the trail (where we took shelter in the bathroom) and the boys rode back on the paved road to get the car (uphill almost the whole way with the gusty wind in their face).

One thing we have learned about New Zealand weather is that it changes very quickly and being an island, the wind blows A LOT. When we started it was warm and sunny; when we ended it was windy, cloudy, and cold. Upon arriving back home, we all rewarded ourselves with Dominoes pizza and watched a movie to "thaw" ourselves out. Even though it was arduous and life-threatening, we felt a great sense of accomplishment on completing the Godley Head mountain biking trail.

Quail Island Trip (without the quail)

Lyttelton Port


The ship graveyard on Quail Island


Swinging at the beach on Quail Island



Saturday morning Blaine and I decided to have a "date" and venture out to Lyttleton, a town on the other side of the Port Hills. I had heard of a market that is held on the school grounds on Saturday mornings, so we decided to check it out. They had live music, a coffee shop set up, and stands of fresh fruit/veges, homemade honey, organic cheeses, and even a man from CA selling Louisiana bbq sauce (his families' recipie). There are a lot of hippies that live in New Zealand and everyone is into organic foods, herbal remedies, etc.
We then booked a ferry ride out to Quail Island that is just 15 minutes from Lyttleton. There is a hike around the island and a few beaches. The island has been used for multiple purposes...a leper colony, agriculture, storing of animals to be taken and used in Antarctica. It was an interesting history lesson and we had beautiful weather! After returning home we met up with Jonny, Craig, Meg and Sam to eat Indian food at Tandoria Palace...yum. Overall, a wonderful day.

Well, we either made the picture game too easy, too hard or too crude. Paige was our first guesser and SHE WON! Congrats Paige. As soon as you email me your address in NYC I will send you your prize. Here are the pictures revealed. Ben, I really didn't want to post this picture of you but I really had no choice.

The Weak, I mean Week Review


Jonny and his "baby"

Ricky Bobby and Blaine

We hope we did not offend too many people with the last post. It has been a funny topic of conversation for those friends we have talked to from home. The big news of this week is that I (Kate) have developed bronchitis and went to my first New Zealand doctor's visit. I am feeling much better today and will be working my first night shift tonight. This week's excitement included going to the movies with the crew (jonny, sister Meg, and her husband Sam) to see Talledega Nights, taking the crew to eat Mexican at our new favorite restaurant, and Blaine buying a $99 guitar to start his new hobby. I have mostly laid on the couch this weekend and listened to Blaine play G, C, and D chords. He really has made good progress in just a few days. When we get home I am sure he will be ready to play a solo concert, so get ready.