Some Snippets and Photos, New Zealand

Excerpts from an email dated 16 September 2008:

Hi All,

Just been out for a morning walk: for the first time, I am able to take off my jacket & sweater! The sun is bright, it's quite warm, but the breeze has an edge to it. Last evening I watched and photographed the lake at sunset, and the wind off the snow mountains was cutting, I had all protective clothing on! The mountains look best early morning and evening, and I should have stayed on until the sun went down, as the snow stays almost luminous against the dark sky, and the hight clouds go pink & orange. I don't know if a digital camera will capture it, but I'll have a go tonight; you have to use a tripod and time-exposure, so it's experimental at present! I have taken 100's of photos, to try to get the best exposure, so quite a lot may be deleted eventually. However there are just so many angles to take photos from, so I mustn't waste too much time. I wanted to get up close to Mt Cook, but the bus service there and back only starts in the summer: here defined as 1st October! Anyway, it's pleasant & quiet here, and i have one more day to walk. I'm doing quite well, last evening I walked out across the bare bed of the lake (it is very low now), over rocks and boulders, and survived without the walking stick.

This high plateau is known as the "Mackenzie Country', after one James McKenzie, a 19th century Scottish immigrant. Mckenzie was a noted sheep-thief, and amassed a flock of over 1000 rustled sheep which he drove over Burke's Pass, to graze on the open land here. Arrested and sentenced to five years in prison, he escaped three times, after which the authorities allowed him to leave the country; I think he went to Australia. This must be one of the few farming districts anmed for a rogue! He's described as a New Zealand folk hero.

After two years of drought the plateau looks as brown as the highveld in winter, but they hope for better rains.

There is a memorial here to the collie dog, which was put up by the sheep-farmers as a tribute to these fine dogs, without which they couldn't work here.

Yesterday morning early I took a flight around Mt Cook and the Alps; the aircraft look quite big in the brochure, but I had no breakfast, just in case. In the event, there were extra passengers, and I was allocated to a seriously small aircraft (excuse if I'm repeating this?), a Cessna 6-seater! Five of us got in, and I had to sit in the co-pilot's seat, very cramped. It was alright at altitude, but on the way back, of course, it got very rough, and I had my sick-bag ready in my hands. However, the pilot Andrew was very good; I just made it to the airport without throwing up. I say airport, it is just a tarmac strip in the middle of this wilderness, and a small terminal building. I went off and had a large breakfast (for me), and that's just the "small breakfast", the Farmers' breakfast includes rib-eye steak!