Where in the World is Saura

We awoke earlier this week to some cold slushy snow. We were pretty lucky since other areas of Canterbury had about a meter of snow dumped on them and some still have no power.

Currently, Al and I are sorting out the paperwork for student loans as well as organizing our class schedules for July. We’re experiencing the calm before the storm and we’re both doing our best to prepare our bodies and minds for our first classes in two years. Written, that doesn’t seem like a long time, but it feels like ages. I’ve lost touch with ‘Christen the student’. I really hope the reunion goes smoothly.

For those who haven’t heard, Alan is getting his Masters of Science in Computer Security and I am getting my Masters of Health Sciences and will focus on Pain Management. We’ve already begun to read up in these areas to get in the right mindset and to get prepared to dive right into our classes. My Masters incorporates some general health care courses, like Health Information Mangagement, which I consider the “increase your employability” courses. These degrees will take us two years, and from there I will either go on to medical school or get my PhD. At this moment I have absolutely no idea which direction I will go, and I’m going to give it a year before I start to seriously decide.

Well, that’s the news from here, we’ll give an update once we start our classes. Its a few days early, but Happy Father’s Day to Dad, Papa, Devlin, and all the other fathers out there. Love you all!

Here it is. Almost three months after we walked the Abel Tasman I’ve finally put this together. The walk was absolutely gorgeous, and its touted as the easiest of New Zealands Great Walks (although you couldn’t tell that to my feet after four days of carrying a heavy uncomfortable pack). The track takes you over the hilly coastline down to sandy beaches and bays, then up and down over and over again.

Our trip began with a water taxi, although there are several different ways to go about the tramp. The water taxi ride alone is a nice outing, taking in the crystal clear aqua blue waters and the golden beaches. The drivers are really cool and you get alittle info about the area. They took us by Tongo Island to see the seals sunning on the rocks. We even saw a few pups. Its a great perspective of the area that you don’t see while your hiking along. We were dropped off near the top at Totaranui and spent the first day hiking up to Mutton Cove then back to Totaranui to camp. We came a bit short of covering the entire trail north of our camp, but I really had enough after a few hours the first day. The terrain was hillier and my pack was heavier than I was prepared for. So we turned around and headed back for the day and hit the hay well before the sun.

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Well, we're settling in to life here in Christchurch now that we have officially finished travelling...for now of course. We even made a few purchases to bring us up to date, my favorites being ... [Continue reading this entry]

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As much as the South Island is characterized by ancient glaical activity, much of the North Island can be characterized by its geothermal history. We drove through the heart, along the geothermal highway to Taupo and Rotorua. We saw some ... [Continue reading this entry]

Sorry for the delay! Its been awhile since our last post and alot has happened since. We did the Abel Tasman track after leaving ... [Continue reading this entry]