A Star-Studded Outing

On the weekend of October 3rd I went to Mackenzie Basin with some friends from church.  Katherine lived in the area, so she drove us down and showed us around.  Thomas, Dan, and Becca came, too.  We got a late start but had a pleasant ride down, with lots of singing, story-telling, and muffin-munching.  When it got dark I was glued to the window to catch the first glimpse of the stars--the Mackenzie Basin is an International Dark Sky Reserve, home to some impressive stargazing.

We arrived late at night and set up our tents quickly in the dark before making pizza in the kitchen.  We ended up staying awake quite late enjoying waffles, nutella, German coffee, and good company.  At last we each took our hot water bottles to our tents and braved the first chilly night.

The following day was filled with amazing views from start to finish.  First thing in the morning we walked down by Lake Tekapo and took in the sights.  Then we drove up to Lake Pukaki, a brilliant turquoise lake with fantastic views of the mountains, especially Aoraki, or Mt. Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand.  There was hardly a cloud in the sky.  Even Aoraki, which is usually shrouded, had cast off his cloak for us on that fine day.

We drove up to the Hermitage at Mt. Cook village, glimpsing some snowflakes on the way.  The weather was nice when we arrived, but we put on a few layers too keep warm and partook of some Cadbury chocolate to keep our strength up, just in case.  We needn't have worried.  The trail was sunny and warm, not to mention gorgeous!  Snowy mountain peaks surrounded us as we crossed soaring bridges over seafoam-green glacial rivers.  The vegetation was bright and festive, and Aoraki stood tall in front of us almost the entire way.  We had a lot of fun on the way up.  We sang Frozen, scaled rocks, and visited a little cabin with a great view.  We finally reached the end of the trail and were greeted by a lake adorned with icebergs and stopped up on the far end by a glacier.  We tossed rocks onto some of the closer ice bergs, then just relaxed in the sun.  Eventually we headed back, tired but joyful.

We struggled to stay awake during evening Mass in the cozy, warm church, but somehow we managed.  We headed back to Lake Tekapo for some stargazing: there was a free event and a clear night waiting for us.  We took our sleeping bags and wandered out into a field, arranging ourselves in the shape of a star and looking up.  The moon was huge and bright and round like a silver sun.  Its light dimmed the stars, but we could still see a decent number.  We talked about God and creation, about the cosmos and life.  We glimpsed some shooting stars.  It was lovely.  On the way out we said goodbye to the Jedi and snagged some cake.

The next day, Sunday, we started with a trip to the monument to the working dogs of New Zealand and the Church of the Good Shepherd, taking in some lovely views of Lake Tekapo while we did.  Afterward, we climbed Mt. John.  We were still exhausted, but we eventually made it up in one piece.  There was a cafe at the observatory on top, which was a welcome stop!  The views around us were amazing.  We half expected the armies of Mordor to come spilling out onto the plains.

By the end we were utterly exhausted, but we had such a good time.  It was really a great time with friends, just doing something amazing together.  What a great trip!

Wildlife at Willowbank

The time is going by so fast now!

On Sat, Sept 27th, I joined Becca and a couple of her friends on a trip to the farmers' market (which was lots of fun) and Willowbank Wildife Reserve.  The reserve is set up kind of like a zoo, and you follow a trail around the different parts to see the animals.  We started out with the eels, then wandered through, seeing all sorts of animals.  There were some very interesting birds, including a black swan, a pukeko and a golden pheasant:

The pheasant was running around on its own, so it seemed to have escaped.  It also looked like it was trying to get into one of the cages!

We saw plenty of non-native critters, including wallabies, peacocks, and ridiculously soft bunnies.  

Of course I was excited to see some native birds!  The kea had a lot of personality.  They were friendly and a little cheeky--one kept going after the bows on someone's shoes!  Then they appeared to have a meeting where they gathered and shouted at each other.

Finally, I got so see my first kiwi bird!  We went into a nocturnal enclosure, and while our eyes adjusted, we listened carefully.  I heard some rustling off the path to our left, and stared at the spot until I saw a fluffy little kiwi sifting through the leaves.  A kiwi is about the size of a big chicken with shaggy brown feathers and a long beak.  It was so neat to see!

Verso L'alto: Adventure at Lewis Pass

Hello, all.  I know I haven't been doing a great job of keeping up with the blog since spring break, but fear not--updates are coming!  My adventures have certainly continued since then.

On September 13th Becca and I met up with the Catholic tramping club in the St. Teresa's carpark.  We drove up to Lewis Pass to hike to the Ada Pass hut, hoping that the sun would come out!
We were an international group,with members from New Zealand, the US, France, England, and Germany.  The hike up was pretty wet, but nice.  The trees were coated in moss.  We crossed a number of little mountain streams, but most of the views were concealed by clouds.

On the trail we befriended a little robin named Pierre.  It was a long hike in the drizzle, but it was excellent company, so we were all chipper when we arrived at the hut.  We could finally see some mountains through the misty clouds.  We changed and heated up some water for tea, then had a beautiful Mass before dinner.  Evening activities included training in "the Cup Song," a ridiculously fun version of charades that culminated in "a community of dentists imitating a haka," and a possum named Barnabas.  Long before bed we were all best friends with each other.

The following morning we were up with the sun and had a lovely morning Mass.  The clouds had all cleared away, leaving azure skies and mountains lightly rimmed with the last of the morning fog.   We washed up in a clear mountain stream, took a group photo, and headed back across Billy Goat's Gruff bridge towards civilization and the ice cream that waited for us there.

 We said a Rosary on the way back, enjoying the nicer weather.  It did end up getting a little chillier as we went along, though, which was nice for our speedy pace!

 We made it back really quickly and made plans to reunite at the next event, our Frozen Unfrozen night.  All in all, a wonderful weekend with friends.  So much fun!

Father, Cathy, Patrick, Dan, Hillary, me, Becca, Bianca, Thomas