Sunday, November 14, 2004
I feel as though I have tent poles growing from my back!... No, apparently just slept on it.
Well, what HAVE we been up to lately. That is such a good question. Arthur's Pass was basically a warm up for the Real Thing, Mt. Cook. But before we could scramble the avalanche prone routes of Aoraki we made a quick stop to the beatiful town of Tekapo. Having lived so long and gotten to know the Sutherlands up in Nelson, we had to put the rest of the faces with the names.
Greg, Julie, Antony, Peta, and Casey
We met up with Greg, Julie, Casey, Peta, Antony, and their pooch Koda. With great smiles and open arms they welcomed us into their house, which consequently was above the Tekapo Police Station. Greg, being the constable of the rowdie tourist stop! And, where else do you house the crazy American tourists that drop by? Of course the old cell blocks! I might add that cell blocks turned guest house are actually quite accomodating. Especially when they remeber not to lock you in!
Apart from being the Constable Greg is also a member of the Search and Rescue Team of the Mt. Cook region meaning that he also had all sorts of fun toys in the OTHER room in the old cell block. I guess he didn't quite want me eyeing them!
It was quite fun getting to know the Tekapo contingent of Sutherlands, but alas our time was short. We managed to take in a few more sights in Tekapo before jetting away. The hike up to Mt. John overlooks the town and also houses the local observatory. From there we had a great view of the Mackinzie Region and more of the Southern Alps. We also had to stop at the local tourist icon of Tekapo, the Church of the Good Sheppard. Quite impressive and quite a view!
Mt. Cook was definately the must see. From the view at the end of Lake Pukaki it looms over the surrounding mountains and beckons us to its doorstep.
As usual Meghan and I had no real 'plan' per se as we came into the park, but one managed to evolve. The first day, having gotten some good tips from Greg we decided upon the nice easy hike up to the Sealy Tarns, at least a 500m hike straight the mountain towards Muller Hut.
We would have gladly stayed up at the hut for the night had it not been still too snowy, too pricy, and still up another 500 m (Of course that one REALLY didn't stop us!). The hike did afford some nice views of Mt. Cook and I would definately recommend that hike to all others, if only to hear what a climb it was!
Our second day having mastered the Tarns, Meghan and I felt as if we sprinted the comparatively easy hike out to Hooker Lake.
After seeing what we could of Mt Cook and listening with awe to the many avalanches continually happening around the area, we packed up and headed back towards Christchurch, once again. This irregular pattern and uneconomical route we are taking around the south island does have a purpose! Jeanette has more family that lives in Leeston, just outside of Christchurch and her grandson Matthew turned 13 recently. There was a big party and so that, of course, is where Jeanette was to be found. We'll be heading up and through Nelson again, but Jeanette is such a social butterfly, she won't be there. Instead she'll be biking around Australia, so if we wanted to hang out with her one more time this how things had to be done! Meghan and I bypassed the Christchurch area and headed to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula for the day on Saturday. What a great little French town. It was very touristy but a welcome break from all the hiking we've been doing lately. We just hung around town, browsing the shops and reading in the sunshine. We are thoroughly enjoying the weather!
Sunday we headed back towards Leeston and met up with Jeanette (who was diligently training for her ride) and were welcomed once again by the Sutherland family. Here we met up with Lyndon, Jeanette's eldest, his wife Kath, and their four boys James, Matthew, Andrew, and Tyler. We also were fortunate enough to meet Jeanette's youngest, Myke, because he was visiting for the party from Australia. Along with a few cousins from Kath's side of the family, we had a whopping waterfight in the afternoon. The highlight of Meghan's "summer" so far. We really feel like we're getting a piece of the summer we missed now that we've doused each other and ourselves with cold water and much laughter! The waterfights here are much more organized and professional than the ones we are used to. We just go all out and soak anyone around, but these guys made teams, set up stations, and had water bombs to top it off. I'm sure our team won, heh heh.
This morning we were able to see some of the farm workings. The boys showed us their brilliant tree forts in a huge old pine tree in the yard and then Lyndon showed us the calves and we watched while they were fed. Then we got to zoom around on his 4-wheeler for a wee bit. The three oldest boys also performed a Haka for us. Really amazing, and Myke got it on video and promises to send us a copy. Earlier in the year, Meghan and I were disappointed to miss video taping the All Blacks rugby team's Haka, but man this was much more impressive. Especially when you are in the front row! Well done boys!
When at last we could prolong it no longer, we had to say our farewells, which were much MUCH harder than expected. Hugs and thanks all around. Meghan didn't say much, just gulped and waved. Jeanette has just been so wonderful and her family so welcoming it was hard to severe that tie with her. But one day we'll meet again and maybe even in Idaho!
Leeston's Sutherland Contingent
Jeanette and Myke
Greg, Julie, Antony, Peta, and Casey
We met up with Greg, Julie, Casey, Peta, Antony, and their pooch Koda. With great smiles and open arms they welcomed us into their house, which consequently was above the Tekapo Police Station. Greg, being the constable of the rowdie tourist stop! And, where else do you house the crazy American tourists that drop by? Of course the old cell blocks! I might add that cell blocks turned guest house are actually quite accomodating. Especially when they remeber not to lock you in!
Apart from being the Constable Greg is also a member of the Search and Rescue Team of the Mt. Cook region meaning that he also had all sorts of fun toys in the OTHER room in the old cell block. I guess he didn't quite want me eyeing them!
It was quite fun getting to know the Tekapo contingent of Sutherlands, but alas our time was short. We managed to take in a few more sights in Tekapo before jetting away. The hike up to Mt. John overlooks the town and also houses the local observatory. From there we had a great view of the Mackinzie Region and more of the Southern Alps. We also had to stop at the local tourist icon of Tekapo, the Church of the Good Sheppard. Quite impressive and quite a view!
Mt. Cook was definately the must see. From the view at the end of Lake Pukaki it looms over the surrounding mountains and beckons us to its doorstep.
As usual Meghan and I had no real 'plan' per se as we came into the park, but one managed to evolve. The first day, having gotten some good tips from Greg we decided upon the nice easy hike up to the Sealy Tarns, at least a 500m hike straight the mountain towards Muller Hut.
We would have gladly stayed up at the hut for the night had it not been still too snowy, too pricy, and still up another 500 m (Of course that one REALLY didn't stop us!). The hike did afford some nice views of Mt. Cook and I would definately recommend that hike to all others, if only to hear what a climb it was!
Our second day having mastered the Tarns, Meghan and I felt as if we sprinted the comparatively easy hike out to Hooker Lake.
After seeing what we could of Mt Cook and listening with awe to the many avalanches continually happening around the area, we packed up and headed back towards Christchurch, once again. This irregular pattern and uneconomical route we are taking around the south island does have a purpose! Jeanette has more family that lives in Leeston, just outside of Christchurch and her grandson Matthew turned 13 recently. There was a big party and so that, of course, is where Jeanette was to be found. We'll be heading up and through Nelson again, but Jeanette is such a social butterfly, she won't be there. Instead she'll be biking around Australia, so if we wanted to hang out with her one more time this how things had to be done! Meghan and I bypassed the Christchurch area and headed to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula for the day on Saturday. What a great little French town. It was very touristy but a welcome break from all the hiking we've been doing lately. We just hung around town, browsing the shops and reading in the sunshine. We are thoroughly enjoying the weather!
Sunday we headed back towards Leeston and met up with Jeanette (who was diligently training for her ride) and were welcomed once again by the Sutherland family. Here we met up with Lyndon, Jeanette's eldest, his wife Kath, and their four boys James, Matthew, Andrew, and Tyler. We also were fortunate enough to meet Jeanette's youngest, Myke, because he was visiting for the party from Australia. Along with a few cousins from Kath's side of the family, we had a whopping waterfight in the afternoon. The highlight of Meghan's "summer" so far. We really feel like we're getting a piece of the summer we missed now that we've doused each other and ourselves with cold water and much laughter! The waterfights here are much more organized and professional than the ones we are used to. We just go all out and soak anyone around, but these guys made teams, set up stations, and had water bombs to top it off. I'm sure our team won, heh heh.
This morning we were able to see some of the farm workings. The boys showed us their brilliant tree forts in a huge old pine tree in the yard and then Lyndon showed us the calves and we watched while they were fed. Then we got to zoom around on his 4-wheeler for a wee bit. The three oldest boys also performed a Haka for us. Really amazing, and Myke got it on video and promises to send us a copy. Earlier in the year, Meghan and I were disappointed to miss video taping the All Blacks rugby team's Haka, but man this was much more impressive. Especially when you are in the front row! Well done boys!
When at last we could prolong it no longer, we had to say our farewells, which were much MUCH harder than expected. Hugs and thanks all around. Meghan didn't say much, just gulped and waved. Jeanette has just been so wonderful and her family so welcoming it was hard to severe that tie with her. But one day we'll meet again and maybe even in Idaho!
Leeston's Sutherland Contingent
Jeanette and Myke
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