33.

Well, day 33 shouldn't even count as a day. 
We spent Saturday night in the Christchurch airport. 
I don't necessarily recommend that.
Sunday was spent in the Auckland airport in a sort of sleepless daze. 
We finally arrived back in Sydney late Sunday afternoon. 


Hallelujah. 


I'll miss you, New Zealand. 

32.

The following two posts are going to be short and sweet. This is due to the fact that we were in transition both Saturday and Sunday, traveling from Queenstown to Christchurch and then flying from Christchurch to Auckland and then from Auckland to Sydney. Lots of time in an airport! We rented a bus for the 6 hour drive through New Zealand which was really quite beautiful. Unfortunately, I kept falling asleep. No surprise there. Then we explored Christchurch and the earthquake damage. Christchurch was eerily quiet. It was unnerving, as though there was no one left in the city. It has been a year since the first major earthquake but there were two other large aftershocks in June and then again in December. Around 200 people died in the Christchurch earthquake, making it New Zealand's greatest natural disaster in history. Glad I got to see it all, glad I didn't have to stay more than a few hours. 

the city was closed down

a church used to be at this spot

31.

Day 31 was spent in Queenstown exploring and enjoying the scenery. But, most importantly day 31 was spent BUNGY JUMPING!!!! Most incredible, indescribable experience of my life. The Nevis Bungy Jump was situated in the mountains of Queenstown and is 134 meters high. We took a 45 minute bus ride to the site and 8 of us jumped. It was insane. I loved every minute of it. 

That's the buggy jump in the background

obviously, this picture doesn't give the full effect...

right before I jump!

30.

Hard to believe it is day 30 already. Bittersweet. Wait, no. Mostly bitter. I don't want to leave to go home just yet and I especially don't want to leave New Zealand. Day 30 was spent in Queenstown, New Zealand. We spent the first part of the morning headed on a two hour flight to the south island and the beautiful lake town of Queenstown. I have been all over the world and I thought I would never see anything more beautiful than some of the coastlands of Italy but Queenstown, New Zealand gives anywhere in Italy a run for its money. It is easily the most beautiful and charming place I have ever traveled to. I guess it is like comparing apples to oranges, too different to truly pick a winner. Queenstown is a small community right on the water situated in between massive mountains green lands. I am in love. I would write more, but I think the pictures tell the story best. 

Queenstown, New Zealand

We took a gondola to the top of a mountain to ride the luge! So fun.

view from our balcony

in the park

beautiful day 

29.

Piha Beach, New Zealand

Piha was one of the most incredible places I have ever been to. The pictures don't do it justice...they never do it seems. Here are a few I took last Wednesday when we spent the day at Piha and Lion Rock. We were able to climb about halfway up the rock so we got some awesome pictures. 

black sand beaches!

Jay enjoying the view

view from the other side of the rock

28.

Another school-oriented day here in Auckland yesterday. I mean, I guess that's ok. We are technically in school over here, after all. We headed to Unitech, a technical school right outside the main part of Auckland city. There we met with the dean of architecture, construction management professors, and even landscape and sustainability engineering professors We had a great discussion about construction in New Zealand versus the United States and we were able to make even more contacts for our thesis research. No one had heard of my thesis topic....again....but no surprise there.

I love chai!

My afternoon was spent in this small cafe, researching and trying to make contacts with some good concrete folks. I had little luck in the research department but my chai latte was so delicious that it made up for it. I did get a few responses from some people in the industry I had been waiting for, though, so that was good. All in all, a productive afternoon. That evening we enjoyed some delicious Italian food and wine. I love New Zealand.

27.

Yesterday was a busy day here in Auckland. We awoke early and headed down to University of Auckland, one of New Zealand's major universities. There we met with the construction management and civil engineering department and discussed the various issues in New Zealand construction today. We also were able to get a tour of the campus and get contact information for a number of professors and people in the industry that have various interests in the construction field that may be able to assist with our thesis research. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, no one had even heard of photocatalytic concrete-my thesis topic. I have found in my research that there is a number of solid examples of photocatalytic materials in use all over the world but I have yet to find any applications in Australia or New Zealand. This is due, in large part, to the relative newness of the material and also perhaps because when building concrete structures, much of Australia and NZ use precast panels (because labor costs are so high) and on much of precast other sustainable coatings, etc are being used. My research is now slowly looking into these other sustainable concrete options. Hopefully, I will run across someone who has heard of my thesis topic soon. Its funny the things you find out (or don't) when doing research in another country. After our meeting and presentation, we split into groups and went on a tour of the university's campus. Our tour guide was a construction management PhD student, Alice. She was a student here in Auckland from China. And she was precious.

with Alice, our sweet tour guide

After our tour, we headed out for a quick lunch and change of clothes. Then we headed to One Tree Hill, one of the highest points in Auckland. We sort of missed the road to the top, so naturally, we decided to hop a fence and literally climb and scrape our way up the rolling hills. Very. Steep. Hills. Aside from scaring the poor sheep and dodging quite a bit of poo, it was awesome. We had a lot of fun finding our way to the top and taking great pictures along the way. The view was incredible. 

A few of the sheep we chased on the climb to the top. Sorry, sheep.

the view

The day didn't end there. After taking the road back down the mountain (roads are boring), we headed back into the city to grab a bite to eat and head to Sky Tower. Sky Tower is the highest point in the southern hemisphere and basically exists as a tourist attraction where you can take an elevator to the top and look out, grab dinner in the revolving restaurant, or even jump off. I thought the view from One Tree Hill was incredible, but this was in a league all its own. The sun was just setting and it was astonishing. We stayed at the top for awhile, enjoyed some good New Zealand brews, and soaked in the city lights down below. All in all, a fantastic day in Auckland.

not a great view of the city below...but check the sunset

soooo high. 300+ meters.

26.

Our first full day in Auckland! I have managed to get behind a few days on my blogging, so these next two will serve as catch up posts. I will try to fit in all the wonderful things I have discovered about the beautiful country of New Zealand. Our first full day was Sunday here in the land of the kiwis. First, for those of you who don't know, New Zealanders are affectionately called "kiwis" in this part of the world. They are named after the kiwi bird, who is (again) affectionately deemed a kiwi due in large part that it looks like....you guessed it: a kiwi. Creative, I know. I have yet to see one. Fingers crossed.

We awoke early Sunday morning in hopes of hiking Mt. Eden. However, the weather had something else in mind. Due to a dreary, rainy morning we decided to postpone our hike and instead go to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. There, we had a "Maori Experience", in which local Maori people performed their traditional songs and dances and taught us a bit about their indigenous culture and how they live in the modern world. Honestly, I didn't expect much. I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the music and dancing and the presentation was short, sweet, and informative. We also visited around the museum and spent a large part of our time in the exhibit featuring the All Blacks, New Zealand's famous rugby team who is a Maori team (although-confusingly-you don't have to be Maori to play for the All Blacks) and won the Rugby World Cup last year. They are a team unlike any other sports team in the world, rich in culture and indigenous tradition. So much so that they even preform their native song/chant before and after every game.

After the museum and Maori Experience, we headed into the city for an excellent lunch and a bit of exploring. I have already found that the food is slightly more reasonably priced (at least the exchange rate is finally in our favor) and it so far has all been delicious. More to come.

25.

All we did yesterday was travel. No, really. With a 4 hour flight and a 2 hour time change, we didn't arrive to New Zealand until around 5. We then walked to the War Memorial and attempted to settle into our (awesome) new hotel. Check the page "Melbourne: An Overview" for a reflection on Melbourne, Australia. So excited to be in NEW ZEALAND!!

24.

sweet Robert giving us a tour of the MCG

Ah, our last day in Melbourne. Pretty depressing because this means that our time in Australia is basically done. I can't be too upset though because this also means New Zealand is on our horizon! Yesterday was a bit of a cloudy day in Melbourne and the weather cooled off quite a bit. We woke up early and went down to the Melbourne Cricket Grounds for a tour. The MCG is a big deal in the world of cricket. The Melbourne Cricket Grounds are to cricket as Fenway Park is to baseball. Everyone who loves the sport has to see a game here at some point in their life. We were able to snag a tour from a 77 year old gem named Robert. Robert grew up in Melbourne and has been part of the Melbourne Cricket Club since 1948. This man loves him some cricket. He knows his stuff too, his passion was refreshing and anything we asked him about he provided not only an answer but some sweet little anecdote. I loved Robert and his quirky memories that he shared with us. It was a great last little bit of Melbourne, a nice piece of the heart of the place.

23.

so many kite boarders at St. Kilda Beach

Thursday was another half day for us here in Melbourne. That afternoon we all headed to the Melbourne Museum of Art where we saw a good bit of Australian art, a lot of pottery and ceramics, and a bit of modern art and impressionism. I love impressionism so I enjoyed getting to see art from Sisley and Monet and Pissarro. Afterwords we headed out of the city to St. Kilda Beach. It was a bit chilly so we decided to sit in a cafe and enjoy the afternoon. A few of us stayed later to take a stroll on the beach and ended up staying and watching the multitude of kite boarders on the ocean. 

22.

Our time here in Melbourne is winding down. In this city, more so than any of the others, we have been able to get on a few construction sites in the city. This has been a big privilege for us. Yesterday was arguabley the most unique construction project we visited. It was a building for RMIT, the university that we are staying at, and is a major 12 story mixed space that will be used for retail space, student lounge space, classrooms, lecture halls, and faculty offices. As I have said before, Melbourne is not afraid of bold architecture. This building proves to be no different--the architecture is funky. It is awesome, especially for a student space, but all I could think about was how miserable it must be to build. There is no repetition, no symmetry, all the corners and ceilings and walls are completely random. Great in a design sense, but a nightmare for a builder. I can't even begin to imagine the complexity of a project like this. Especially the formwork. Yikes. 

not a great picture, but check the walls' shapes in the background

we visited the scale-ish looking building in the back....the architects are either crazy or brilliant

It was a great project to be able to visit and the project manager that gave us the tour was an excellent resource, explaining all of the design and construction elements to us and discussing the various challenges in building a structure of this size and complexity. After our site visit, we all went out for 50 cent wings. A STEAL. Especially in this country where the price of food will bring tears to your eyes. Some of the boys ate 35 wings. I, however, am not a boy and managed to squeak in 10 and was still stuffed. After our delicious meal of wings and beer, we headed down to the night market. The night market in Melbourne is every Wednesday night from 5-10 and is host to a plethora of food stands, drinks, live music, and various vendors selling anything from leather books to sombreros. 

A few of us at the night market 

21.

Yesterday we headed out into the city for a few more tours. First, we went to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center. This was one of THE. COOLEST. BUILDINGS. EVER. It was definitely the smartest. We had a great two hour tour of the entire facility. The architectural features are unprecedented and I am serious when I say--this building was smart. The designers and builders literally thought of everything. Watch the video below to see the building and its sustainable features that make it unlike any other in the world.. It is worth your time.

one of  the entrances 

20.

The temperature in Melbourne seems to be rising. Why is it that everywhere we go it gets hotter once we arrive? Oh well, we put on our long pants and hardhats and headed to a job site Monday morning regardless of the temperature (which happened to be in the upper 90s...).  The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology here has a construction and project management program so they were able to hook us up with a few site visits here in the city. Our first one was Monday early afternoon at the Lacrosse Docklands. We were able to tour the site with the construction manager who proved to be full of knowledge not only about construction methods, but architectural and structural design as well. He gave great insight into the way that this particular apartment complex was being built and the reasoning behind it. We were able to ask questions and take pictures. Surprisingly, construction in Australia is almost the exact same as in the states. The codes, etc are obviously a little different (not as strict it seems in Aussieland) but for the most part things are done very similarly. 

visiting the construction site of the Docklands Apartment Complex

That evening we had the privilege of going to the Australian Open!!! This was one of my favorite things we have done in Australia thus far. We were able to watch Roger Federer play his first match and Caroline Wozniacki play her first match. Both won each set and ultimately won their match. It was incredible. I have always played a bit of (bad) tennis but now I have quite the itch to take up the sport. At the very least, I think I will definitely be following the Australian Open this year and years to come. 

Federer's amazing serve

Wozniacki

retractable roof stadium--very cool

19.

Our only day off in Melbourne was yesterday, which was Sunday for us. Unfortunately, we spent the majority of it being verrry lazy. We explored for a bit, caught up on schoolwork, managed to find a grocery store, rented some movies and made a day of it. Lazy days are necessary over here once in awhile. We are pretty full speed all of the time. 

Since yesterday wasn't very exciting, I decided to dedicate my post to my newfound love.....

Tim Tams. 

So. Good. America, get on board. Tim Tams are delightful chocolate wafer cookies with tantalizing chocolate icing and a rich, creamy center. Basically, I am obsessed. I may or may not attempt to bring a few packs on the plane with me when I head back to the states in a few weeks....

I realize that they don't look too enticing here.....I swear they are delicious

18.

The Twelve Apostles

The Twelve Apostles are rock stacks that run along Australia's southern coastline. They are created by constant erosion of the limestone cliffs on the mainline beginning 10-20 million years ago. The caves that were created then became arches and eventually eroded into isolated rock stacks. Incredible. No words necessary. Check out the pictures I had the supreme pleasure in being able to take. My camera did a decent job. Really, really beautiful. 

part of the 12 apostles rock formation

Loch and Gorge formations

I may or may not have jumped a fence and walked out on the cliff for this pic. Sorry, Mom.

part of London Bridge formation

part of London Bridge formation

Gog and MaGog formations

17.

Not a rose...but cooler.

Federation Square landmark

Helloooooo, Melbourne. My apologies for this late post--this one is two days late. Our first day in Melbourne was a bit blah, the travel days always are. We spend the first half of the day at the airport or in the air and the second half of the day attempting to settle in and rest up. The place we are staying is called Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology student housing. It was built in the 1970s as a themed hotel made to feel like early twentieth century France. Very interesting. The accommodations are nice though, and BONUS! We have internet! That afternoon we spent wandering about, checking out some of the major sites like Federation Square and the Botanical Gardens, and visiting the open-air Queen Victoria Marketplace. Our first night in the city we decided to splurge on dinner and ate at a great place called Jeremy's Cafe. A very successful first night in Melbourne. 

16.

Kurilpa Bridge (Kurilpa means place of the water rat...soo thats special)

sunset over the William Jolly Bridge

Jay and I at our last stop - Story Bridge

Sigh, our last day in Brisbane. I loved this city but I am ready to move on, I suppose. We didn't do much yesterday. We didn't have anything scheduled until 5 pm yesterday so we spent the day doing research for our thesis. Mine seems to be coming along fairly well. I am finding lots of good stuff on photocatalytic concrete, the only problem is that not much of it is really in Australia. Greeeeat. But I have sent some emails out to a wide variety of folks across Aussieland, so hopefully something more will pop up. At 5 we headed out for our final evening in the city. Michael Hein, one of the professors on the trip, used to be a bridge designer and has a plethora of knowledge on structural design so we spent our last night in the city on a bridge tour. It was very informative and a good way to see all of the city on our final night. We weren't able to go to every bridge (there are around 20) so we saw a few of the major ones, talked about how they carry loads and other interesting building science geeky stuff, and took some good pictures as the sun went down. All in all, not a bad way to spend our final sunset in Brisbane.

15.

How is it that we are already on day 15? Time is a funny thing. Yesterday was another scorcher here in Brisbane. Apparently, it hasn't been this hot here in years. Go figure, the Alabama crew brings the heat. We traveled to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and spent the afternoon. This is a unique place where you can go and play with kangaroos, cuddle koalas, and see a variety of native Australian species. And we thought the zoo was cool. I think I speak for everyone when I say it was one of the most unique experiences we have had since we have been here in Australia. I mean, who gets to cuddle a koala and lay in the grass with kangaroos?!

Jay McDaniel Photography

Afterwards, the group got together to go eat some Mexican food. This was no easy feat. After finally finding a restaurant a ways away, we discovered that the chips are extra $5 and the margaritas taste like bananas. If there is one thing America does well it is bad, cheap Mexican food. I miss it.

14.

The construction company we visited.

It is Wednesday here in Brisbane, Australia. Yesterday proved to be a bit more exciting than Monday but still a tad slower. No complaints here. Around noon we had a presentation at Fluor Inc., a construction company that is actually based out of Texas, that has an office here in Brisbane. The presentation was tremendous. The primary focus of the presentation was an overview of the job that Fluor is doing for Santos. Santos is a major Australian oil and gas exploration and production company based out of Australia. The two gentlemen that spoke were the project manager on the Santos job and the other was the Environmental Manager for Flour. This particular job involves the construction of upstream facilities that will extract and liquify gas from coal seams for eventual export to global markets. It is a 4 billion dollar job---huge. The coal seam gas and liquified natural gas industry is something that I knew virtually nothing about. I learned a lot about the processes, the construction of such a plant, the environmental considerations that must be taken into account, and the way that Australia approaches specific construction issues. The presentation was well thought out, informative, and interesting. If you want to read more about this project click here. Something that I have discovered here in Australia is their emphasis on preserving the environment. They have many successful initiatives put into place by both their federal and local governments that actively pursue a sustainable perspective in every aspect of life here in Australia. They also do an excellent job of preserving their cultural heritage and there is a very mutual respect and understanding between the indigenous Aboriginal people of Australia and the rest of the citizens. They clearly took note of America's mistakes in how we handled the Native Americans. Australia did/does things the right way. It is refreshing, to say the least. 

The afternoon was spent working on our thesis projects and catching up on various assignments. Later that night Jay and I went to dinner at a restaurant on the river. The food and view were spectacular. And whoever designed this restaurant should get a medal. I absolutely loved the design. I didn't have my camera so I stole the following image off of google, but I kid you not: the city really was this beautiful at night.

I wish I took this picture.

13.

Hello, again. We are safely back in Brisbane! Yesterday was a bit of a travel + school day so I don't have much interesting to write about. We left our glorious condo on the Gold Coast to travel back to the comfort of our beloved apartments in Brisbane mid morning yesterday. After a few hours on the bus and train, we arrived and had a team meeting. We primarily discussed the hot button issue of wifi (or lack thereof) and then examined where we all stood on our thesis work. I do have to keep reminding myself I am here for school. Oh, yeah. After our group meeting, we all headed to the State Library of Queensland. Probably the coolest library I have ever been to. Maybe I am just a super nerd but I was reeeeeally into it. Superb design. And exceedingly fast wifi!! Go google image it right now. At the library, we finally got a good deal of work done and caught up on some blogs and assignments. Not the most exciting day in Australia thus far, but a fairly productive one.

12.

Day two of the Gold Coast. First, let me just say that if any of you ever consider going to Australia PLEASE wear sunscreen. I have always considered myself fortunate in that I can wear minimal sunscreen on my face and chest and usually not burn. This is NOT the case under the Australian sunshine. Oops. I didn't put on sunscreen until about an hour after we got there and I am feeling it today. I am a (beautiful) shade of pink all over my legs, stomach, and random parts on my arms and neck. Goody. I guess I learned my lesson. (This is probably the point in which my mom is shaking her head thinking I should have known better---yes, I know. I should have known better...) Despite my medium rare skin tone, I absolutely loved our time at the Gold Coast. We woke up Sunday morning and headed to the beach. It was beautiful and relaxing. We watched surfers and kite boarders and played some in the ocean. We decided to eat cheap again on night two and grilled out hamburgers. Another excellent family meal on the balcony. The Gold Coast has proven to be one of my favorite spots in Australia but I am looking forward to spending the rest of the week back in Brisbane working some more on my thesis and seeing what all the city has left to offer.

11.

family dinner on the balcony

THE GOLD COAST!! This past weekend we had two free nights where we were able to choose what we all wanted to do individually. Some went to the Great Barrier Reef which obviously was my first choice buuuuuut I didn't really have 600 bucks to spare. So, about 2/3 of the group decided to head to the Gold Coast. It is like Australia's version of Destin. Only cooler, because it is in Australia. Duh. We took a bus & train and arrived at Surfer's Paradise, one of the main beaches of the Gold Coast, around noon on Saturday. It was a cloudy day so we spent the day exploring and enjoying our afternoon off. That night, we decided to stay in and cook. Partly because we are broke and its always cheaper to cook in, but also because for the first time since we have been in Aussie we had a full kitchen!! (A special thanks to Reel for finding us an amazing condo!) We all pitched in and made a great meal which we ate on the balcony overlooking the beach on one side and the inlet on the other. An excellent kick-off to our weekend at the Gold Coast.