nz_photos

New Zealand - page 1

From December of 1995 through March of 1996, I was lucky enough to go on a free four-month trip to New Zealand, as part of the US-NZ South Island Geophysical Transect.

Researchers at the University of Southern California Dept. of Earth Sciences, Victoria University (NZ), NZ's Institute for Geological and Nuclear Sciences, and various other institutions undertook a multidisciplinary study of the structure of the Southern Alps. They needed people to help deploy and retrieve the seismometers, so several of my friends and I (all former USC graduate students), managed to get trips to NZ. I went early and stayed late, to do some climbing and tramping, as well as fishing. Well, I didn't manage to get much climbing or fishing done, but I spent a lot of time tramping in the mountains. New Zealand is absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to go back one of these days.

Some more photos from the 1995-1996 trip can be found here. This page also has links to more information about the project.

Tussock country near the Lindis Pass. It's a magnificent, stark landscape, somewhat reminiscent of Nevada or Montana.

Mt. Cook from Mueller Hut. Oh, if only I'd had the weather to attempt it!

Crossing Rough Creek after a deployment in the Copland Valley.

The Eglington Valley, between Te Anau and Milford Sound.
The contrast between the dark green rainforest on the hills and
the golden brown valley floor was heightened by the typically
'astmospheric' Fiordland weather.

So, naturally, I stopped and took a picture. Clinton valley, Milford Track.

Some of the Fiordland peaks, seen from the lower Arthur Valley.