Lake Wanaka and Rocky Mountain

Sunday, February 22, 2010
Edgewater Resort, Wanaka, New Zealand

Hike Day 8 (retrospective)

Yesterday was primarily a travel day to get us back on the arid side of the island and get us closer to the finish line in Queenstown tomorrow. We headed south and then inland, across the juncture of the Australian Plate (right) and the Pacific tectonic plates. We survived, but in the picture you can get an idea of the forces involved. The rock is actually twisted as the plate from the right moves against the one on the leftover Haast Pass to the east side of the Alps and stopped for a scenic 'amble' at a place called Blue Pools, , one of the minor but still beautiful sites of the week. This was our last stop in the temperate rain forest (we'd just gotten beyond the pass and the vegetation hadn't changed much) and the walk through it was once again memorable. Here's a picture of a Rimu tree with me to offer a sense of scale: . This was large, but not as large as others we've seen. And here is a Lance plant: . Note the downward lance-like looking leaves and the more normal looking leaves at its top. This plant was a favorite of the Moa, the now-extinct very large bird of New Zealand. It produced its unappetizing foliage until getting to a height where it was not threatened. Then it changes its leaf structure. The Moa are gone, but the plant apparently doesn't know that. Change is hard.

We were on the lookout during part of the walk for Riflemen. Not Chuck Connors wannabes, but the smallest bird of New Zealand. I thought I had one here, but it's got a tail. It's a pretty yellow breasted tit (I think), but not the Rifleman. Didn't see any this trip. May have to come back.

We finished our amble with a Backroads' signature picnic lunch and then hit the road again to Lake Wanaka and Wanaka, the first real city (small) that we've seen since leaving Christchurch. Dropped Bob, who continues to nurse his sprained ankle, at the hotel and headed for Rocky Mountain (looks pretty ordinary, huh?)and a rigorous 3 hour afternoon hike. That, I believe, was the last of the hikes and ranks second in degree of difficulty. The entire group did the long option to the summit. (l to r: Kevin-leader, Glenda, Dana, Anthony, Pamela, Janet, David, Margo, Kent, Me, April, Linda, Marty, Cindy-leader). And here are our leaders proud and no doubt relieved to have shepherded us this far. As usual, the descent was more problematic for me than the ascent…knees barking at every foot plant going down.