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.