Climate Lesson

Dunedin is on the East Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is classified as temperate, and might be considered similar to San Francisco. Weather is very changeable (remember this adjective if you ever visit and are considering what to pack); you can often have four seasons in one day.

Dunedin climate, historical averages.

Temperature, celsius	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
Previous Averages	14.7	14.7	13.4	10.7	7.6	4.9	4.8	6.5	8.6	10.5	11.9	13.8	10.2

Rainfall, millimeters	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
Previous Averages	70	41	61	54	59	48	45	50	47	57	57	70	55

Wind Run, kms	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
Previous Averages	168	156	156	144	156	132	132	144	168	180	180	168	157

Sunshine, hours	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
Previous Averages	174	165	143	128	99	98	100	122	134	162	169	182

 * 1749 to 2003 (http://www.climate.co.nz/)

The hills that surround the city mean that the lowland town area is often more sheltered, whereas up here on Pine Hill, or Mt. Cargill it can get pretty windy. With our hills and valleys you can get anabatic and katabatic winds. Mt Cargill can trap the rain coming in from the Southeast, and leave the other side completely sunny in the Mt's rain shadow. This results in the roadtrip effect . . . whereby as people return from holiday in central otago or further up the coast, and come over the hill into Dunedin, inexplicably it starts to rain :)

The average yearly rainfall is 660mm, but feels like more because it tends to arrive as a mist/drizzle that persists. Of the main centers in NZ, Dunedin is the coolest, as it's found the furthest South.

Read the Dunedin City Council's Report on Dunedin and Climate Change by University of Otago Emeritus Professor of Geography Professor Blair Fitzharris. Dunedin may be one city that superficially benefits from a temperature increase--but what's going to happen to Logan Park and all that reclaimed land down by the harbour?

In the meantime, here's the view from my parents' house on a typical day :) Mist, rain, rainbows (out of my chosen window/view), cloud, sun, wind. No hail or snow as yet, but it is supposedly summer. Photos probably aren't in order.

Allium sativum

Finally dried and cleaned, here is the second pile of garlic from mum's prolific garden.

If you're looking for a good website for instructions on how to do the plaiting/braiding, I looked at a couple and liked one from Bloomingfields Farm in Connecticut
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The finished product! Now we just have to cook a ton of dishes with garlic in. Tonight we had roasted garlic (as well as other veggies). Any recipe suggestions?

It's really really real (C'est vraiment très réel)

On Tuesday I took the commuter flight to Wellington in order to plead my case to the French, that I'd be a great addition to their country for a year. I made sure to dress "French." I arrived 45 minutes early in my excitement. The woman at the desk asked me if I didn't want to go for un café and come back later when I'd actually be seen. I said I was fine, and sat in their waiting room reading my book . . . excitement probably palpable. An hour and a quarter later I was out of there, with a beautiful addition to my passport . . . the working holiday visa (vacances travail). From May 20, 2011 to May 20, 2012 I am able to live and work in France. What I'm going to do there, is anybody's guess.

Ideas? Friends of friends to visit? Places I just cannot go without seeing? Job prospects (to be truthful, I mainly see myself working on farms and vineyards and meandering around, but if any of you NG people have contacts at National Geographic France--now's the time to let me know)?

After this, I decided to celebrate Kiwi-style with a steak and cheese pie, and a visit to Te Papa (New Zealand's Smithsonian, I guess).

The long-term Mana Whenua exhibit, and the Maori carvings you find there are always some of my favourites. A neat addition (or one I hadn't seen before) were How-to videos on using traditional Maori tools and carving wood, stone, and bone. Made the pieces in the exhibit much more concrete yet even more amazing.  I also thought the Earthquake exhibit was fantastic. Not thoroughly convinced by the 12 minute "Golden Days" film, although may be an insightful view into the New Zealand Psyche--for good or for bad.

Can't leave you without a map . . . this one a beautiful floor map with New Zealand as the center of the world. As it should be.

Penguin Meetup

This is a video of some Yellow-eyed Penguins wandering in from the beach to their nests at Moeraki. Alison, I have a long way to go as videographer, I know. Wish you were here.

Points to anyone who writes a dialogue of the discussion between the three penguins and the curious seagull.

Wedding Celebrations

May I present Samara and Eamonn Whitham!

As I had so much fun at the wedding of one of my closest and oldest friends to another great friend and former flatmate, I forgot to take any photos.  To carry on one of the themes of this geographer on the move, provided is a map of the festivities for your enjoyment.

Congratulations to my two dear friends!

-M.

And so it starts.

Kia Ora everyone.

I arrived into Auckland on Wednesday, temperature 22 degrees (into the 70s) wearing two jerseys, a woollen jacket, scarf, and snowboots. . . all in the name of transporting more possessions from one continent to the other.

Being a New Zealander, I refused to take the free shuttle provided for foreigners, and (still wearing my snowboots) tramped along the blue and white lines meandering past cargo holds and airport hangars along the inter-terminal walkway. That little bubble of laughter rising in me as I considered how silly I looked, and how unthinkable this type of walk would be in so many other security-laden airports in this world.

Home at the parents, I've already been to a 10:00am tea, bikkies and movie at the Rialto with my parents and the Kanes. The King's Speech. Highly recommend it. I've dug garlic; it's waiting to dry and be braided. I've made a latticed rhubarb and strawberry pie out of rhubarb from my mum's garden, and strawberries from the farmer's market. I've slept. Played sudoku. Basically I've aged an extra 35 years and am living out my retired years in style. Look for me at the church fair, I'll be the one with the doilies.


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