Day 8-9: Soaring Home and the End of the Adventure

Wow. The past two days have felt like one extremely long day. It began with waking up at the Christchurch campground. All of us were exhausted from getting there so late, so the morning began slowly, wetly and coldly. Eventually we were ready to go and in the cars, and we drove off to the airport, waving goodbye to the last of the Top Ten Holiday Parks.

View from plane of 1 hour flight from Christchurch to Auckland; spectacular, and our shortest flight! 

View of the south coast of the North island.

Students in Auckland airport, minutes before the REAL flying began...

From our flight to Auckland and onward, everything has been a blur of timezone changes, airplane food and checking bags.The first flight from Auckland to Melbourne was only three hours, so that one was not so bad, but the next flight to Dubai was fourteen hours long. After a particularly uneventful flight, students got to relax in the Dubai airport for four hours, then hopped onto the next fourteen hour plane ride.

After watching the same safety video for Emirates for the sixth (and last!) time, we were off. Time seemed to fly as we all drifted in and out of sleep, but eventually the snow covered ground of Toronto could be seen. We all had the biggest smiles on our exhausted faces; for despite the mountain climbing, wave riding and rock identification we had done, we had officially survived our dreaded 35+ hours of flying. Now that was something we were ALL proud of. 

Overall, this trip has been spectacular both geologically and in terms of experiences. We certainly became a close group, and would all like to extend a warm round of thanks to Russ Pysklywec  and Grant Henderson for making the trip possible by coming with us. Also a huge thanks to Charly Bank who helped in the planning of this trip from day one, and to the folks at ICM who made this trip possible with funding. You have all contributed to one unforgettable experience that has made each of us students more keen to explore and learn about the world we live in. For that, there are truly no words enough to say thank you. 

I leave you with this: 

“Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.”
-Will Durant

The geology of New Zealand is remarkable, and yet it is still changing even today. By seeing the present features the past has created, we as geologists can make prediction as to why the earth changes the way it does. By doing so we can make humans safer in their living arrangements, and also can appreciate the raw beauty and power of an ever changing planet. Thank you for the last time readers, and never forget that life is an adventure.


**P.S. We have not uploaded nearly as many photos as we would like to, so keep looking at the blog as we consolidate pictures. We want to show you as many as possible. Thanks!