#tbh the science is really cool and I like learning about new studies/developments in our understanding

[dirt-goth]

Best thing about working at a dispensary is I've noticed when I fuck up slightly/miss an item people like?? Tip me better? As long as I'm apologetic and get the other teansacti9n going quickly no one has gotten mad at me for that + I just got an extra dollar that way 💖😎 It's like when I do dumb shit it proves I actually use the product and my suggestions are trustworthy lmao

[pipettesbymouth-blog]

So my university requires us to take this absolutely abhorrent writing “class” where we are subjected to a weekly rigmarole of pretending to learn and develop skills as scientists...it’s really stupid and I have so many complaints I could make about it (maybe a later post tbh, where I address it’s shortcomings and how it could be improved to ACTUALLY TEACH US HOW TO WRITE FOR SCIENCE)

But anywho one of the biggest reasons I dislike the class is because our professor seems to have a horrible attitude and apparently low expectations for us when it comes to writing and even other things. Like literally she opened up the first day of class saying something like “I know we all hate writing and it’s not fun, but we all hope you still try to enjoy this class!!” and I was like ????? I love writing???? Even for science???? Why are you already trying to convince me to dislike it???? And she’s continued this tone throughout the class, which has been very disappointing. Lately we’ve been practicing writing grants, which if you are in any way associated with science in academia, you know that as the end-all-be-all of being a good scientist and PI because it’s how you get FUNDING (v important so you can feed your cells and pay grad students, in that order). Specifically, we’ve been working on the F31 grant, which is a graduate level NIH training grant (big deal for starving PhDs) and we have been harping on the specific aims, arguably the most important section of this grant. 

So this professor is reading my specific aims (OUT LOUD TO THE ENTIRE CLASS which I have complained about because I think it’s just a wee bit inappropriate to not retain anonymity for an activity like this, I know I have a soft heart and should just get over it, but it’s just my preference so srry) and she comments on my use of the phrase “to providence evidence” to the point etc. etc. basically just stating my overall hypothesis/goal of the project I’ve made up for this practice exercise, saying I shouldn’t use this wording because it demonstrates that I am looking for a certain outcome in my results and thus will automatically cloud my judgement towards analyzing my data. And I get upset.

Now, I KNOW that word usage is SUPER IMPORTANT in grantsmanship. I KNOWWWWWW OKAYYYYY. You use one word wrong, or write one phrase weirdly, your readers don’t like it and your grant gets thrown out of the study session. I understand that. But it bothers me that this implication is even made. Why is it that my professor, my peers, my PI, and most importantly, the potential reader for my NIH grant assume that I am unable to look at my results in an objective manner from the beginning? I understand that human error can do a lot to affect your interpretations and that almost NO ONE can be perfectly objective. But why is the default to assume that I’ll fail automatically at it? Just because I add two words to my writing does not mean that I completely throw my scientific discipline and training out the window and become an individual who only sees what I want from my data. I still know how to be impartial and separate a hypothesis from my results. In fact, I’ve always found it to be exciting when the results of an experiment are unexpected! That means you learned something way new that you didn’t even think of before and it’s one of the coolest parts of science!!! I feel like this negative attitude is either people like my professor trying to squeeze our excitement out or thinking we’re already so damn jaded that we can’t get excited about pure, cool science anymore. It’s super frustrating and honestly a HUGE disappointment to receive from people who should be mentoring and encouraging me in my future field. 

I know these types of actions tend to stem from good intentions, but I would like to get at least a little bit of credit for still being a good scientist at heart. I know a lot of people before me have paved a road of untrustworthiness by fabricating data and misrepresenting facts, but I believe those people are in the minority and should cast negative light on everyone. And I also think that our older mentors and teachers could give us all a little more encouragement and assume that most of us are here because we want to do cool science and learn things, not to lie and make things up to get ahead. I mean we all know you don’t get a PhD because you want to make money. 

Tl;dr I’m disappointed by my professor’s attitude towards our discipline as scientists and feel like I’m already being pushed into becoming extremely jaded as a grad student. 

[lieamsciencenerd]

Long post, don't say I didn't warn you

So a question I never get asked is how'd you know you liked girls or how'd you figure it out. Answer is A) still haven't figured it out, and B) (here's the long bit so brace yourselves) I never really questioned it. Back in primary school I had a few crushes on guys and I can distinctly remember have a few lil flirty things with guys in year 5/6. (TBH I still sometimes have random flirty things with people to this day) In year 7 I had this massive crush on this guy called cooper, I was fucking drooling over this guy. And everyone joined in on the crush and it was kinda cool. Nothing ever happened with that. Year 7 was a big year for me as I met my best friend (to this day) Sam. We were inseparable throughout year 8, and even went on double dates with our "boyfriends" at the time. In year 8 I dared my Frenamy to ask out a guy she'd been on and off with forever. She said she would if I asked out the guy I liked. Now this guy was called Caleb and we're still really good friends now, but he was best friends with the cool guy, Leo. Leo was just cool, and everyone knew him. Caleb wasn't as cool as him but really tried to be. Eboni, the frenamy, asked out mason (the dare) and so therefore I had to ask out Caleb. Now we went out as much as year 8's could. No physical contact or kissy face emojis, just the presence of each other when hanging out. I was forced to tell my family as I wanted to go out to the park with him and stuff as a "date", that's when I learned my parents can and will use any thing and everything against me. I haven't told them anything personal like crushes or shit like that since. Me and Caleb broke up the day before our year 8 camp which was really awkward cause he and Leo were in my group, and my dad was our group leader and didn't know that we had broken up. Fucking awkward. Thankfully my best friend Sam stuck with me through all of it. When I got to high school, I stuck with Sam as we only could tolerate each other till we met new people. I introduced Sam to a lovely girl called liv who I did drama with outside of school. They are still best friends 3 years on. That was my squad if you will. At one of our almost regular sleepovers, Sam braved up and told us that she was bi, and that she'd had a massive crush on our friend Tash since year 5. This was such a gorgon concept to me and I was a little bit shocked and just kept asking her questions about it, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. I accepted it and it all ended in big hugs. At school, I was in a different form class to Sam and liv and met a girl called Gemma. Gemma bought along with her primary school friends michaela and Natasha. We all became good friends and I'm still really good friends with Gemma now. We spent heaps of time together in classes as the others barely showed up to class and became really close. At the time I had this massive crush on this guy called Calum, but everyone called him gibby. He was so cool and really good at sports. He ended up dating a girl called Jenna who Gemma was also friends with and I actually cried when I saw it on Facebook. I FUCKING CRIED. I forced myself to forget him and focus on other people. That's when I for some reason developed feelings for Gemma. I was crushing on a girl and I seriously thought it was just normal. There were nights where Sam would wing man me over Facebook chat at 1am talking to her. I told Sam I liked her and she was totally cool with it. Seeing as she was as straight as a ruler I never got anywhere with her. She was my first girl crush. Moving on into the year I had a small flirt thing with one of my friend Sam, (a guy) at drama and everyone seriously thought we were dating. We weren't, it was just flirting. I started hanging out with these new people from my performing arts class. Her name was Elicia. Elicia and I were best friends and I even ditched Sam for her and her friends. Elliott and Morne were her "crew" her and Elliott had been dating since the start of the year and tbh were a super cute couple. Me, Sam , Elicia and Elliott all went to the pool one day and Sam and I legit stood on the corner of the pool making bets at how long it would take them to kiss. I won, it was real soon. This made me feel real jealous and wanted some human contact too. I became almost obsessed with their friend Morne. He was a quiet South African guy who was really into art. I BECAME OBSESSED! I lent over to him when sitting for lunch and tried to get as close as possible to him cause I liked him so much. I found out the hard way he had a girlfriend in South Africa and that seriously broke my heart. The last two terms of year 9 I did home economics with Elliott and we became best friends. So much that it was almost flirty. In November, I took all my friends to an advanced screening of the new hunger games movie as a fundraiser for my primary school. It ran over time and Elliotts parents were not impressed as it was a school night and we got home about 10pm. He came to school the next day and was told he either had to break up with Elicia or move to the other college in the area. He broke up with Elicia and were on and off secret dating for the rest of the year. I felt so bad. Me and Elliott became better and better friends in home ech and were seriously flirting on the classroom. On the 8th of December, we had our year 9 talent show. This is one of the most important nights of my life thus far. Me and Elicia weren't getting along so well and Elliott and her weren't either. I took Elliott into the side room and felt like I really needed to tell him something. I wrote in notes on my iPad "I think I'm bi" I wrote it then started running around the room nervously. It felt so good. He read the iPad and said okay and didn't ask many questions apart from. "So who was it?" I told him about my crush on Gemma and he thought it was funny. Thst was also the night I told him I had a small crush on him. A serious love hate triangle had formed between me, Elliott and Elicia. That night there was also a disagreement about a false accusation Elliott made against Alex. Alex was a really chilled guy who was into anime and music. He was. Pretty good singer too. I told Alex I believed he didn't do it. (What ever it was) as he was almost in years about it. Me and Alex have been best friends since and I really miss him. I did t win the talent show but went home sorta happy. The next day I woke up and looked at my YouTube and way that Connor Franks had posted yesterday with a coming out video. Connor came out as gay and it brought me to tears. I was talking about it heaps and watching it in English with Gemma, in tears. It was so awesome to listen to Connor be so passionate about it and give some advice. The holidays then happened and going into year 10 was scary. I was still friends with Elicia and Elliott and stuff. I didn't hang out with Sam and liv at all anymore. Early that year I asked my best friend Sam out and it was pretty cool. My first time dating a girl. I was so terrified. We went on a couple double dates with liv and her boyfriend jack and it was fun. I only ever kissed her cheek though. On April 1st, in social studies, Elliott had been sick and I was messaging him. Very awkwardly I asked him out but still hadn't broken up with Sam. It was s couple days before I broke the news to her but didn't tell her bout Elliott. He came back a few days before the term ended and we got to hang out. At this time, Sam (guy) was single, and Elicia was dating codi. I liked codi as a friend, he was cool. We all awkwardly walked around the field at interval and lunch, 2 couples and Sam. During the holidays I went to Auckland and stayed with my great grandma and my cousin stayed a few nights. Every morning I would get up early and talk to Elliott using many kissy emojis and hearts. It was lust. I went to his house once to do my music assessment and I full on was mind washed when he asked my what a chord was. I did ukulele and guitar for several years and his parents were not impressed. When I left, his parents asked him to break up with me. He lied to them and said he had but never did. That same day I told him I might be moving to Australia and he was upset. He had his arm around me and I get so safe. I loved it. I had completely forgotten about Sam and Gemma. This went on till term 2 started. That year we were in the same science and maths class and sat nearly on top of each other the entire time. We had hand on each other's laps or holding hands in every class. TBH watching him have to get up in class was funny. He wasn't good at hiding boners at all ;) my graded went down those few months and my parents got really suspicious. My first kiss was with him and it was so weird. I was so nervous to do it and everyone was trying to coerce me to do it. Alex took everyone away to the library and we had a moment to ourselves. He kissed me and sorta missed. We had better kisses after school. Everyday, after school. I confirmed I was moving and had to move in with my grandparents. I had a single bed in the front room and barely ever talked to Elliott outside of school. At school though we would play beam NG drive together on with laptop at lunch. That was our game. And always got a music room at lunch. The music rooms are an ongoing joke with my friends as some times we would come out if there looking real shabby and was fixing ourselves up like we had just fucked. We didn't. It was just a lot of making out. Getting closer to when my mum moved across the ditch, he got more distant from me and started to see Elicia again after school. This got me really jealous and we were off and on for several weeks. This effected me so bad I begun to harm myself and it wasn't pretty. Some days I'd do it to get his attention and show him how he was hurting me mentally, he didn't care. Best he did was try cuddle and kiss me better. We sorta broke up when my mum and sisters left but we're still doing full on contact in classes. It was really weird. I caught the bus home or walked to my grandmas so I could be st home whenever I wanted to in the afternoons. I usually stuck behind and made out with Elliott for a bit in m block. I had a going away party with me, Elliott, Alex and Sam before I left. Elliott came with me home as he could t get there otherwise. We went to my Grandmas house and my grandad was home. We went into my bedroom and had a small session with the door wide open. We went to the park and welp that's a story for another time. Let's just say it was boner city! We cuddled on the couch when watching the movie and Sam and Alex thoight it was cute. My last day at school was shit as you can imagine. It was the first time was walked holding hands around school, no one cared cause it was the last day. He helped my clean out my locker and left me at the office with one last kiss and hug. That was the end. I cried the whole was home on the bus. It was pissing down. I got home and cleaned myself up and prepared for my trip to aus. Arriving here I made the wrong friends and said the wrong things and got severely verbally bullied and cyber bullied. I met s girl in my music class called Tiah. We clicked right away and became best friends. One day I told her I was bi and she said she was too. I developed a bit of a crush on Tiah but she had her sight set on her best friend Cyrus. I too had a big thing for Cyrus. We bacame sorta friends and talked heaps in classes. Cyrus then moved and Tiah went downhill. She fortunately introduced my to the nicest of people from her class. Mina, Tahli, and Kaylan instantly welcomed me and I am so grateful for it. It was only this year I told them I liked girls and felt it was easier to slap the label "gay" on me. Thst was a mistake. Through hightschool I could never make up my mind or label myself correctly for how I felt. It always changed and confused people and me. They all took it pretty well and are okay with it. During this time I had started a long distance relationship with Sam. We barely ever talked and we lost contact so I decided to move on a bit. And me in my typical fashion decided to have a crush on my friend, which was Tahli. Now I know she might read this so if you are, you have been the nicest person to me even though the shit storm of last year. Thank you for being so forgiving and kind. Tahli you are very talented and smart and I hope you fucking know that okay! Thank you so much! Shit got sorta complicated with my and Tahli and I don't wish to overturn that leaf. Let's just say that things are much better now. During this Tahli thing, I changed to legal studies and there was someone in that class I knew very well. Brayden. Now for the first lit bit it was just friends but as the term went on it got a lot flirtyier and people even shipped it. I'll admit, it was cute. It was another one of my flirty friend things. I really need to stop those. Either way, gong into 2017 I'm felling good. I'm unsure if my current relationship status and I have talked to Sam since she came over here early December. I'm over everything that happened in my past and I sorta hope no one reads this. I really needed to write all of this down, so thank you. I know I should tell my parents about all this but I really don't want to. I have a feeling their homophobic and it'll kill me if I tell them - Mikaela

[wayneooverton]

Everything you need to know about surviving winter in New Zealand

Listen up, everyone! It’s the first week of June. Winter has officially arrived. Grab your woolen sweaters! Raid the supermarkets for supplies! Gather your loved ones inside. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

You may think I’m being dramatic because New Zealand actually has a relatively mild climate year-round compared to say, Canada or Siberia, but trust me on this: winter in New Zealand is next level.

No, the temperatures don’t get below -5 Celsius very frequently and it often doesn’t snow to ground level, usually remains just in the mountains, but don’t let that trick you. Yes, if the sun’s out the days can be quite pleasant but if you’re heading into your first winter in New Zealand, there are some things you need to know.

Here’s everything you need to know about surviving New Zealand’s winters.

10 Reasons Why New Zealand in Winter Rocks

Our friend the hoar frost, a frequent visitor in winter in New Zealand

Winter is opposite, obviously

The seasons are opposite in New Zealand from what many of us might experience in the Northern Hemisphere.

Winter officially runs from June to September, with usually the best skiing and snowboarding in July and August. The autumn colors usually are finished in the South Island by mid-May and so from May to June is the sort of ugly in-between season where it’s cold and damp but the mountains aren’t open yet for all the winter fun. Wanaka is usually blessed with an inversion layer around this time as well, but more on that in a bit.

May and June are when most locals go overseas on holiday but can be a great time to travel here and get good deals and its certainly quiet.

The night is dark and full of terrors

And by terrors, of course, I’m referring to poorly-built wooden houses with little to no insulation.

New Zealand went through a radical century of minimal building regulations for homes which resulted in little-to-no understanding of insulation and therefore pretty terrible design flaws for New Zealand homes.

Many homes have very little insulation and no double-glazing on the windows. Central heating and radiators don’t exist (as far as I can tell) and down in Wanaka where we live, you heat your house with a fire. Yes you read that right. A fire.

A study done in 2010 showed the average evening temperature of a New Zealand living room was 17.8 degrees Celsius. For my American friends keeping track at home, that’s a balmy 64 degrees. Some homes were as chilly as 10 degrees in the evenings (50F), well below the World Health Organization’s recommended minimum 18 degrees.

Of course, Kiwis will hear this and give a solemn nod and perhaps say, “She’ll be right,” 
(ehhh, not ideal but oh well what can you do?) But Kiwis are built tough and are a hardy folk. Much tougher than me. They basically come out of the womb ready to be submerged in an ice bath. They see ice on the *inside* of their bedroom window and don’t even flinch.

Just put on your puffer jacket and beanie and you’ll be fine. Harden up.

This is only a *slight* exaggeration on what New Zealand homes feel like.

I thought I was ok with the cold. I survived seven Chicago winters where the temperatures rarely reached above -5C but in Chicago, the inside of places are usually warm and inviting.

I’m used to central heating. You know, a heating system that circulates warm air throughout the home to ward off the cold and dampness. I’m not used to wearing six layers and sleeping under 14 blankets. I’m not used to only heating one room in the house (sidenote: am I alone in thinking sitting on an ice cold toilet seat has to be one of the most unsettling feelings on the planet?) All I’m saying is I shouldn’t see my breath in the morning as I roll out of bed. Is that too much to ask?

Look, I’m not telling this to scare you or dissuade you. I’m just giving you the hard words because you should know exactly what you’re heading into. No one told me these things when I moved here so you’ll be miles ahead of me. Your mental preparation starts now.

I reckon it takes three winters here before you get used to it.

Invest in your heating sources

Part of why New Zealand houses are so cold is because it can be very expensive to heat them.

Most older homes will have a wood burning stove which will heat up the common area. If you’re lucky, you might have a heat transfer system that pretends to transfer that warm air to the bedrooms (spoiler: it doesn’t).

Many of us Americans grow up without solid fire-building skills, but trust me, it only takes one winter in Wanaka with a wood burner for heating and you’ll learn to build a good fire fast.

If you’re planning to heat your house with wood, buy early.

Seriously, you can never be too early to buy your winter supply of wood. Not only will it be cheaper the earlier you buy it but there’s also a good chance the entire region will run out of wood if you leave it too long. You also want it really early because often it’s wet and not completely dried out and you need time to get it to dry.

If you’re nearing the end of May and haven’t figured out your wood supply yet, be ready to shell out big bucks for a few meters or be prepared to tough it without a fire.

If you’re a giant baby like me, you’ll also probably want to figure out how you can have a heater in your room without blowing your life savings. I use an oil heater and I’ve read if you let it run for 3 hours a day for 30 days, your monthly power bill will go up by about $50. Since I leave mine on almost all night, I’d triple this.

Some houses are heated with heat pumps which can be more economical.

If you’re heating your water with electric power, your bill will be even higher. In my opinion, there’s really no way around it. I’m past the point in my life where I’m too cheap to pay to be warm so I try to budget through the year. I’m conscious when I get my cheap summer bills to set some extra aside for winter.

Bite the bullet and pay up. It’s so worth it to be warm.

The sun is there. Learn how to find it

It’s no secret that winters are dark. We’re not special here, I know.

This isn’t a fact solely synonymous with New Zealand. Unless you’re on the equator, every country gets dark earlier and earlier as winter creeps up. But in many parts of the South Island (especially our beloved Wanaka home) we are also treated to the infamous inversion layer in the early winter day smothering the town in a layer of grey gloom for days on end.

8 reasons to visit the South Island in winter

Without getting too science-y here, inversion layers develop when the ground cools off rapidly making the air closest to the ground much cooler than the atmosphere layers above. This produces a dense, low hanging cloud that blankets the town. Sometimes it burns off by the afternoon and othertimes you’re stuck with it.

If you’re planning to enjoy a Wanaka winter, you’ll most likely be introduced to the inversion and be left wondering when the sun will come out again. But don’t worry, it usually ends by July and August and then we have many bluebird winter days, great for skiing.

Here’s the secret: get above the sun.

It can be so deceiving when you’re the town, huddled beneath the dark clouds to think you’ll never see the sun again but a quick drive up Cardrona Valley or up the ski field access roads will catapult you into that bright and warm sunshine you’ve been craving.

If you don’t want to drive, just start walking up a hill. Any mountain reaching 1,000m is likely to be above the inversion layer and there’s really nothing quite like popping out the other side of the inversion layer, basking in the sun and looking down to the sea of clouds below you.

Pretty tough to not feel very smug for all those poor people still in town hiding under the clouds. Go ahead, let that smirk slip. No one’s going to know when you’re 1,000m in the air.

And before you know it, the ski fields are open and winter New Zealand is in full swing.

Powder days are the best!

If you find yourself living near one of the many mountains in New Zealand or even just visiting in winter. Learn to ski or get up the hills.

Skiing and snowboarding is a big part of the winter culture in New Zealand, and it’s really fun to embrace it. Everyone gets excited for storms and powder days, and being such small communities you often see people you know up the mountains.

You’ll find us riding up at our local mountain, Cardrona, this winter, we have season passes and are especially excited as there is already so much snow!

Since major hikes are often off the cards in winter due to avalanche dangers, zipping around on skis is the next best thing. And there is great backcountry exploring and even heli-skiing options to be had for the bold and adventurous.

Winter is the perfect time to accessorize!

No, I’m not talking about a new necklace or a dope new scarf (although that actually might be a good investment tbh). I’m talking about home accessorizing!

There are few old tricks of the trade to pull out from the archives on how to keep warm in the house, without lighting the fire or putting the heater on.

First things first, you’re going to need to get yourself about five hot water bottles.

Yes, the ones your mom would give you when you had terrible cramps. Stock up on those babies and fill them to the brim every night with boiling hot water. Hug one while you’re watching a movie in the lounge. Strategically put them in different corners of your bed to make it nice and toasty before going to sleep. Take one with you to meet a friend for brunch. Whatever. I’m not here to judge you.

Get a nice wooley cover for them, or if you’re feeling particularly kiwi, a possum fur cover.

Next, stock up on merino wool clothing. I know it can be expensive but it’s worth it. You’ll be much warmer in wool than in cotton and you’re body will be thanking you for not having to work so hard to keep you warm. Long sleeve shirts, leggings, hats, gloves. You really can’t have too much merino.

Often heating is such a luxury in the States and I can remember living in places with radiators where it was so hot inside in winter you’d be in a t-shirt. Well let me be the first to tell you, you won’t even be looking at t-shirts in winter in New Zealand. Bundle. Up.

Finally, you’re going to want to get yourself some flannel sheets. There’s nothing worse than crawling into an icebox of a bed thanks to your cotton sheets. Flannel sheets will change your life and will make getting out of bed in the morning 10 times harder.

(Hot take: Many people in New Zealand use electric blankets to heat their bed. I’m not advocating for this because there’s tons of research showing they are extremely dangerous, emitting an electromagnetic field that is directly linked to an increased risk of cancer. Google it!)

Learn to eat seasonally

If you’re staying for winter you’re going to find out very quickly that a lot of produce is simply not available in the winter.

Yes, hi, privileged American girl over here, I know.

I guess I took for granted the plethora of tropical fruit and exotic vegetables offered year-round in American grocery stores. I quickly changed my tune when I moved here and saw that limes are $30/kilo here ($13/lb). Don’t even get me started on avocados.

Most people who live here know avocados are strictly off limits until summer unless you’re a millionaire.

See ya later produce!

The good news is you’re quickly going to learn how to eat seasonally.

Things like broccoli, parsnips, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, sweet potato and carrots get a lot cheaper.

At first, you might miss your watermelon and pineapple and bell peppers but it will just make them taste that much sweeter when they finally come back in season.

Indulge in your hobbies

Winter is a great time to finally devote some time to that hobby you’ve been meaning to pick up.

The daylight hours are limited, the weather outside is frightful, etc. etc. Maybe take that pottery class you’ve been scoping out. Perhaps you’re finally going to learn how to crochet a pair of socks. Take a cheese making course. Learn to bake really dope bread.

Even better, learn how to make the perfect American doughnut because there’s a shockingly low standards for good doughnuts in New Zealand (what’s a girl gotta do to get an old-fashioned cake doughnut around here??)

Also get outside and indulge in some of those epic winter adventures available around New Zealand. My favorite is snowshoeing on the Tasman Glacier.

There are a lot of cool things happening in winter

It’s not surprising that a lot of the really cool events happen in winter when people really need a boost of spirits. There are plenty of winter events to keep you happy.

Starting in late May, get tickets to the world-renowned Banff Mountain Film Festival which hits locations (including Queenstown) around the country. Hit up another film festival, this time the New Zealand Mountain Film Festival which is a super fun event celebrating all things adventure in Queenstown and Wanaka for a few days.

Winter Photography Tips for Snow Bunnies (and Bears)

Check out Luma, a lights festival focusing on arts and culture in Queenstown. Don’t forget to partake in your local Matariki (Māori New Year) celebration.

Winterfest in Queenstown is also a big hit, and this year the host mountain is my local hill, Cardrona Alpine Resort! The southern hemisphere’s biggest celebration of winter, it is such a fun way to kick off the winter season if you find yourself around the South Island at the time.

Embrace the cold

What’s that saying? If you can’t beat them, curl up in a ball and cry until you finally generate some body heat? No?

Despite my complaining and moaning, there’s a reason I’ve weathered three winters in Wanaka.

Yes it’s cold and somedays I feel like my toes won’t have feeling in them again until October but there’s no denying winter is a special time in New Zealand. The mountains that are already spectacularly grand somehow look even more massive and majestic with half a coat of snow.

Embrace that snow and do as the locals do.

Get up the hill and learn to ski/board. If you already know how bite the bullet and buy a ski pass so you can enjoy the winter sun guilt free whenever you please. Go for a walk on a lower altitude track (there are TONS!). Find some snowshoes and go from a tramp around the gentle slowing Pisa Range.

If nothing else, find some snow and throw a snowball in your best friend’s face. It’s bound to make you laugh and break out of that seasonal depression disorder.

It can be tough weathering New Zealand’s winter but just remember, each day you’re that much closer to summer and when it’s all said and done, you’re going to be a lot tougher on the other side of winter than when you started.

Welcome to the Kiwi lifestyle. Time to harden up!

Do you travel in winter? Have you ever been to New Zealand in winter? Share!

The post Everything you need to know about surviving winter in New Zealand appeared first on Young Adventuress.

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