Archaeological survey, my ass
I have retired to the cozy couch under a blanket after a ridiculously long day of survey at Whatipu this fine spring day. A few learnings today:
1. I rented and drove my first car in NZ, right hand drive, through traffic and then ridiculously windy gravel roads. I know kung fu. Err, or wait I know how to drive!! Think left, think left think left. Turn signal on the right, WIPERS on the left, duh!
2. More water is not enough water. Silly rabbit, a little water bottle is not enough water for this kind of work. Especially when the tap at the carpark says "boil or treat all water before drinking" and it's 15k to the nearest store. +1 for thirst.
3. Don't choose the Giant Probe. It's heaviest, and even a bit dangerous when the operator is tired. Even if it does go deeper, it's just not worth +2 exhaustion.
4. Gratuitously large GPS devices that can zap your loc AND check your email while you are also editing your thesis in Word are stupid. +1 exhaustion for each extraneous piece of software on the damn thing.
5. Walking in sand is hard. Walking muddy, shitty flooded trails between dunes and the hills is harder. Somewhere upland, a cow is looking down at me and laughing.
6. When the trail ends in a little swampy lake, for goodness' sake Stop Walking. Don't roll up your pants and try to boulder hop through it with a pack full of electronic gear. Repeat: a probe is not a stabilizer. Heed the warnings of the geese who are honking at you from across the swamp, and Go Back.
7. Oh, Toto. Heed the little dog who barks at you to Come Here, there's Something Cool Here. He will lead you to a lovely little pa with terraces, and show you how to shimmy through the gorse to see the eroding midden.
8. Being someplace beautiful makes everything okay somehow. -25 exhaustion for serene beauty, black sand, bird calls, ocean waves, cool caves and green.
1. I rented and drove my first car in NZ, right hand drive, through traffic and then ridiculously windy gravel roads. I know kung fu. Err, or wait I know how to drive!! Think left, think left think left. Turn signal on the right, WIPERS on the left, duh!
2. More water is not enough water. Silly rabbit, a little water bottle is not enough water for this kind of work. Especially when the tap at the carpark says "boil or treat all water before drinking" and it's 15k to the nearest store. +1 for thirst.
3. Don't choose the Giant Probe. It's heaviest, and even a bit dangerous when the operator is tired. Even if it does go deeper, it's just not worth +2 exhaustion.
4. Gratuitously large GPS devices that can zap your loc AND check your email while you are also editing your thesis in Word are stupid. +1 exhaustion for each extraneous piece of software on the damn thing.
5. Walking in sand is hard. Walking muddy, shitty flooded trails between dunes and the hills is harder. Somewhere upland, a cow is looking down at me and laughing.
6. When the trail ends in a little swampy lake, for goodness' sake Stop Walking. Don't roll up your pants and try to boulder hop through it with a pack full of electronic gear. Repeat: a probe is not a stabilizer. Heed the warnings of the geese who are honking at you from across the swamp, and Go Back.
7. Oh, Toto. Heed the little dog who barks at you to Come Here, there's Something Cool Here. He will lead you to a lovely little pa with terraces, and show you how to shimmy through the gorse to see the eroding midden.
8. Being someplace beautiful makes everything okay somehow. -25 exhaustion for serene beauty, black sand, bird calls, ocean waves, cool caves and green.
posted by Jen at
4:04 PM
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