on the path to mordor . . .

our journey begins

I see Smeagol behind every rock 

our view of Mt Ngauruhoe aka MT DOOM

halfway through the devil's staircase

now we cross the south crater

 preparing to hike into nothingness

ouch.  sliding through "loose scree" into the red crater

now we've reached the Emerald Lakes 

and the less poisonous looking Blue Lake

David and Jacob agree that it's time to eat more chipies

the scenery becomes a lot more grassy.  i imagine Legolas trotting lightly down the hill on his little elf feet

 

taking a rest before our descent

pretty high up, its gonna be a long walk down

and then suddenly we are in the jungle. its a nice shady walk till the end of the trail

So here's a quick summary of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.  We started at the Mangatepopo car park where our bus dropped us off, and started the first part of our trek to Soda Springs.  This part was pretty easy and we got a great view of the surrounding mountains towering above us as well as a waterfall and some small creeks which I assume are the Soda Springs.  The next part of the hike becomes a lot steeper as we hike up the side of the South Crater.  This section was called the Devil's Staircase.    Once we have conquered the Devil's Staircase we make our way across the flat South Crater.  Once to the other side of the crater we have lunch on a small rock outcropping overlooking a steep rocky cliff marking the rim of the crater where "if you fall you will not come out" (according to our map).  At this point we might have been able to take the side track up Mt Ngauruhoe, but we were afraid we would not have enough time to catch the bus if we did.  Next we begin our "last big climb for the day"  up the Red Crater Ridge.  For me this was the hardest part of the trek because it was extremely steep and the ground was quite loose under our feet.  Once we reached  the top we had a view of the Emerald Lakes down below in the crater.  This spot was incredibly beautiful as well as pretty strange.  After we passed the Emerald Lakes we soon came across the Blue Lake which was much larger and didn't look as though if you jumped into it you would sizzle into a crisp.  We then followed the track down through the Rotopaunga valley to the Ketetahi hut where there were toilets and a nice spot to rest for a bit.  Coming out on this side of the pass there was a dramatic change in scenery.  The view was a lot less alien and volcanic, and more open and picturesque.  Im not sure which I prefer.  The hike down the north face of the mountain was really a downhill stroll through pretty hills and flowers.  Then, yet again the scenery changed and we entered into a tunnel of trees.  The last mile or so of the trip was through a ferny forest complete with picturesque waterfalls a loud birds.  It really was a strange journey and I definitely felt accomplished by the end.

Lake Taupo

This weekend was my easter break so I took a 5 day trip to Lake Taupo.  Me and three friends took a 4 hour bus ride to Taupo and stayed in a hostel called the Tiki Lodge.  The hostel was really nice and we met a lot of really cool people.  It was comforting to be around so many friends at Easter, it was kind of like a surrogate family:)  Here's what we did . . .

The first day we took a hike to Huka Falls.  This part of the Waikato river had incredible rapids, beautiful clear water, and even natural hot springs that you can lounge around or play in.    

The second day we decided to hike the Tongariro Crossing.  This is an all day 12 mile hike through the Tongariro National Park.  This park is home to Mt Ngauruhoe aka MT DOOM! from the Lord of the Ring movies.  We were a bit behind so we didnt actually get to do the sidetrack and climb Mt Ngauruhoe, but it was definitely an incredible sight.  It was a unique Easter experience.  ( more pictures to come . . .)

http://www.www.youtub.com/watch?v=9n3ggVn6GMM

Finally, on the last day since our bus didn't come till 3:30 we decided to fit in one last activity . . . bungy jumping!! I know I said I wasn't going to do it, but something about New Zealand just makes you wanna jump off stuff!  I was terrified since well Im terrified of heights and I still cant believe I was able to face my fears and do it, but Im so glad I did!!  My jump was 47 meters or 154 ft! AHHHHHHH! ( check out my video^)

art show

So my first art show was wednesday.  Everyone in each department (photography, painting, sculpture, and print) were required to do 2 weeks of drawing.  They used the term drawing pretty loosely and encouraged students to experiment and look at things in different ways.  I felt very inspired by the trees in Albert park, so that was my starting point.  I started drawing the trees from pictures I had taken, and then I moved onto drawing the negative space around the trees and then finally some blind contour drawings (where I could only look at what I was drawing, not at the paper and I could never lift my pen).  One day when I was walking I saw a weed growing at the side of the art building, I yanked it up and the roots and everything came out with it.  I gathered some more and decided to make prints with the weeds I found.  I brought some paper from home that when you lay objects on it and then put it in the sun it leaves an impression and kind of looks like a cyanotype.  I made a few of these prints and then I began to do blind contour drawings of the weeds as well.  I really loooooove blind contour.  Anyways, I played around with the linework I came up with during of all these processes, combined them and used some color.  I really like some of the abstract images I came up with because they still have the essence of what I started with, but they really became something quite different.  Im really glad I got this opportunity to experiment, I really had fun and I feel like I came up with something completely different then what I would have come up with back home.  I also think some of these drawings will translate well into prints.

The way the show is set up is everyone gets a bit of wall space and you have to select the work that you think should go up based on what goes best together, and what you think is your best and most evololved work.  The rest of the "supporting work" or "sources" goes on the floor in piles for the professors  to look through. 

Hope you enjoy it, the pictures aren't very high quality, but I tried:) Also if you click on the image it should enlarge so maybe you can see it better (or it may look worse because of the quality who knows lol)

Weekend at Waiheke

We passed sailboats and other islands on our ferry ride to Waiheke island. There was a free music festival there over the weeekend so we decided to go and spend the night

Kaitlyn and Christy walking to the other stage at he Waiheke music festival. The side we set up on had bands who played chill reggaeish music while the other side had djs who played techno and drum and base


The next day we decided to visit the beach. This is Onetangi beach. The water was kind of cold but, it was beautiful and clear like swimming in a pool. There are also some of the prettiest shells i have ever seen on this beach

Every one laying on the beach. Starting on the left there's Christy, Michelle, Kaitlyn (my roomie) and one of our new kiwi friends Rueben.

This is the second beach we visited, I cant remeber what its called. We ate fish n chips and then went exploring

This is me climbing around on the rocks looking for little sea creatures

This is a starfish I found in one of the tidepools

food glorious food

mmmmmmmmmmmm





So I figured it was about time I started to catalogue all the new foods I have tried since Iv been here. I would say most have been pretty good. Lets see . . .


Marmite and vegemite tasted the same and were definitely not very good. It tastes like tar and beef jerky. They tell you to put only a little on toast and then slather the toast with butter. They do this because its gross and they have to drown out the taste.

Of course you already know about the meat flavored crisps. So far I've had lamb and mint, and chicken crisps. They also have heaps of other good flavors like olive and sundried tomato. mmmmmmm goes good with guacamole

The Maori hangi dinner I went to was incredible! It was a traditional Maori dinner where they cook all the food buried in the ground. They had lamb, tons of vegetables, mussels, and even steamed pudding. It was sooooooooooooo good. And they had mint sauce to go with the lamb as well.


Well I have already had Pavlova at Ms. Pat Stranger's house, but that was a long time ago. They had it for dessert almost every night at the Hostel we stayed at and it was delicious. I really wanna learn how to make it.


Another NZ unique dessert is Hokey Pokey iceacream. My roomates bought some and its really good. It really creamy vanilla icecream with crunchy little bits that are kind of like caramel or heath.


Since Auckland has a very high Asian population, there is a lot of really good asian food. So far I have tried sashimi which is basically the purest type sushi becasue it is just a slab of raw fish, and Takoyaki which is like an octapus fritter. The sashimi really has to be eaten sparingly I think or else it is pretty overwhelming, but it tastes really fresh and good. I also went to one of those sushi places where the sushi goes around on a conveyer belt. That was pretty exciting.



Like all the books claim, the fish and chips here are the best I have ever tasted. The best I have had so far was on Waiheke Island. Instead of regular chips (fries) I ordered kumera chips which are kind of like NZs version of sweet potatoes. They are not orange, they're white, and they are not quite as sweet . . . i cant really describe the taste. Iv tried them steamed and I didnt like them, but as chips they were incredible!


While I was at a music festival I tried a sea dog from one of the vendors. It was crab meat fried and put in a hot dog bun with tartar sauce. It was probably the fattiest thing I have ever eaten in my life but it was pretty good.



I also tried a fresh fig while I was in Waiheke. Its a strange looking fruit and when you open it up it looks like there are tons of slimy little grubs and seeds inside it. It was really sweet and good once you get past how wierd it looks.


I think the most adventurous thing I have eaten thus far was fresh tutu while i was at Onetangi Beach in Wiaheke. Tutu is a shell fish that kind of looks like a clam. If you dig your feet into the sand not too far out in the surf you can find them. Some friends we met in Wiaheke found us some and cracked them open on the beach. We ate them raw and they were delicious! It was not slurpy like raw oysters, but a little more rubbery and solid. It was really exciting to eat shellfish straight from the ocean. I dont think there is any better way to eat it.


Well, I am sure there will be more food posts to come, but for now Jillian's eating adventures must come to an end. Till next time!




Love you guys!

carpe diem!

beautiful trees in Albert park about 5 mins from Wellesly


Our beautiful view from Mt Eden. Its just a small hike from the heart of the city






a huge crater in the middle of Mt Eden

This is Shea, my friend David's Kiwi roomate, jumping off a land surveying plaque on top of Mt Eden. He asked us if there really were a lot of fat people in America.

we went "retro bowling" as part of welcome week

We went exploring on K rd. This is where all the thrift shops and art galleries are. This is Jenny, she is a dance major from California and she loves movies just like me:)