Christchurch's FESTA, and the rest of my last 2 weeks...

So, nearly 3 weeks ago now (!), Christchurch held an annual event called the Festival of Transitional Architecture (FESTA). It's a long weekend celebration of futuristic projects and activities. It took place in the CBD, an area itself that is both futuristic and apocalyptic.

One night during this weekend, they put on an event called CityUps. Here, the "next generation of architects" (students from Auckland) come and erect large, colorful, illuminated designs which lit up the night. Apparently, over 100,000 people came down to the CBD to see it, and we were 2 of them.

What exactly was it though?

Basically, in several of the empty spaces between buildings, massive scaffolding was set up, and the students then had free reign to build whatever they desired in that space. There was definitely a recycle/rebuild/reuse theme going on with some of them, but I don't think this was a requirement. 

What was awesome, was to see so many people back in the center of the city. Between the large scale projects there were smaller activities- glow in the dark volleyball, ping-pong, beer gardens, a "light" maze with creepy instrumental music, classic cars, and a bike-light disco set up by our friends at RAD.

The whole evening felt like a culmination of the creativity humming in Christchurch.

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The omnipresent orange cone invasion, captured as architectural art.

Thousands of water bottles make up this... purple thing.

Flourescent suspended water balloons? Why not. This was by far the most popular one. I know, my photo is just confusing.

Air-con ducting turned futuristic dance rave?

Interactive design above the bike-light disco dance floor.
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Bird's eye view.
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The last few weeks has otherwise been filled with the usual. Here's a shameless Instagram image purge. If you follow my Instagram just quit now!

Scenery from recent runs:

It's spring!

Botanical Gardens

Scenery from recent rides:

Labour Day weekend was nearly 2 weeks ago, and we spent a night in Akaroa at a bach with some friends. We took a boat out on the harbor, and although the weather was pretty average, we managed to avoid the rain and take in some stunning scenery.

I love this colloquial scene: the kayaks stacked in front of the Kiwi bach. Every beachy bach, everywhere.

 Oh, last but very not least, Grandpa's famous sourdough pancakes!

It's the little things...

Bike Photos (again, I know!)

So back on our anniversary, we did what every normal couple does. We went to work, then met up at the local trails to ride and take some nice couple-y pictures to commemorate our 4 years of marriage. 

The problem is we have very limited photography skills, and we were working with limited light and time. Our idea was that we would both ride this specific section of trail, then later "stitch" the two photos together. Anyways... the making of our "anniversary photo shoot":

Too soon.

Too far.

A bit close.

Scott really has exceptional timing.

After seeing art like those photos, how could you not be excited to see the final product? I mean, think of all the hard work and practice that went into shooting those pics! It was 15 minutes of my life. 

Hah, anyways. Stitching them together actually took more than 15 minutes of my life, and yes its riddled with imperfections but whatever. I think its a nice way to remember our wedding anniversary!

Ta-Dah!!!

Yes, we considered just riding it both at the same time, but the truth is the possibility of Scott hitting me in the head with his front wheel was real. This was safer.

Also for my anniversary present, Scott coached me through hitting this jump that has been my recent nemesis. And after I did it, like a good coach, he made me do it 5 times to ensure I had it. Or so he could practice taking pictures, of which the majority could compile a whole album titled "One Second Late".

My jump:

Nope, not snowing. Don't know how he does it! ;)

Just right!

Road Trip to Wanaka and Alexandra (but mostly just bike pics)

This has been the rainiest summer/fall that Christchurch has had in ages. In March there was 4 times more rain than in your average March (thank you, cyclone Lusi.) Every time we visited Queenstown, we heard about the amazing weather they had been having, but it always rained. We are starting to feel like the rain follows us. We headed back down to Central Otago for a quick visit to Q-town, then a few days in Wanaka and a few days in Alexandra. Although we had some fair weather in Wanaka, the rain followed us to Alexandra. Which is a desert.

Anyways, thats my winge about the weather for now (except that, Im not even kidding, we are experiencing the end of Cyclone Ita - the one that devastated the Solomon Islands a few days ago… and once again the windows are rattling, the roads/houses are flooded, and it's raining inside my house in 4 places.)

Ok, now I'm done with the weather report. Back to last weekend.

Scott teamed up with a much faster partner than last year for the 6 Hour Super D in Queenstown. The gondola shuttled them up to the top of the hill, where they then zig-zagged back down, trading off turns, for 6 hours of fun/excitement/endurance/pain/torture. 

Their hard work also paid off, as Scott and Nick took 3rd in the Men's Teams of Two, out of 33 teams. 

They're team "Jamaican Hopscotch Mafia" - the ones in the matching hats.

Meanwhile, while Scott was racing, I went out and did some very cold, wet shuttles with a few friends. I smashed the ground hard and thought I broke my hand. Oddly, a few ibuprofen, a few beers, and a good night sleep fixed it up right.

The next morning we rode some fun and some crazy trails in Wanaka. Scott and our friend Dane (visiting from the States) took turns hitting big jumps and drops, and I found my place as photographer. 

Unfortunately Scott took a chunk out of his knee, causing him to take a very temporary break from riding on Sunday afternoon. This allowed some one-on-one coaching time for me, and I practiced getting my wheels in the air. Which is the scariest thing in the world, only secondary to giant squid.

You gotta start somewhere...

My photographer is working on his skills, which might need close to as much practice as I do at jumping. 

Scott and Dane woke up early Monday morning to do a sunrise photoshoot, while I slept. It was fun for everyone.

Dane and Scott's new car. Both have superior off road efficiency. 

Dane left early Monday morning to fly back to the country where the sun exists, while Scott and I leisurely drove further down south to Alexandra. On the way, we stopped in the adorable (probably retirement) village of Clyde, which happens to have the most killer trail going. It's called Cup Cake Track, which makes me like it even more. 

And it was sort of sunny-ish. 

Wheels in the air!

We stayed 12km south of Alexandra in a little stone building called "Paddys Cottage" (Rent It Here). It was built in the early 1900's out of stones from nearby ruins. Stone buildings were built in the 1800's during the Central Otago gold rush. There are barely any trees in the area, so people used the one resource widely available. Hence, ruins can be found all over the area today. Kinda neat.

Outdoor BBQ, indoor wood burner, lots of charm, sheep in nearby paddock, beds for 8 people, hot water for 2.

Old-timey stuff.

Cozy Stuff.

The next morning, a bit of exploring and a hike around Flat Top Hill. Pretty fall colors galore.

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons riding in Alexandra on borderline illegal but completely ripper trails.

Alexandra is very cute. And kind of boring unless you are on a bike.

Getting artsy.

Good thing we filled up on adrenaline and smiles this week, as it looks like we'll be battening down the hatches for another 24 hours or so here in Christchurch. Hopefully the weather clears after this though, because we're going to try for a West Coast trip over Anzac weekend.

Hope it is sunnier where all of you are, and that you have a great Easter weekend!