I met up with the tour group from Active Adventures New Zealand at a hotel just about a block from the one that I stayed in. There were a lot of people there, and it all came clear when we realized it was 2 groups — one doing the Rimu trip northbound, and one doing it southbound. I had been directed to the southbound group, and there were just 5 of us at the hotel meeting point, and we were to pick up the other 5 at the airport. The northbound group had 13 people; we were to be 10. Our lead guide is a Kiwi, Vanessa, who’s been leading tours for a couple of years, and her second in command and head chef is Joe, a Brit from the north of England who’s been here for a year. There are 2 couples and 8 singles; 7 men and 3 women in the group, and by the end of the day we were all getting on like old friends.
We headed south and a bit west, with the first stop in Geraldine for a picnic lunch. The landscape for much of the trip to this point was very dry with some rolling hills, but was we continued west the hills got steeper. From there it was another hour to the Morelea Ranch, where Stan and Angie, who run a sheep and cattle farm have opened their home to tour groups to share what a farm life in NZ is about. Stan demonstrated by shearing a lamb for us, and shared stories, while Angie baked scones for our afternoon tea on the veranda. He had a small group of sheep and one small calf at a lot next to the house. He was bottle feeding the calf and one little lamb, and the rest he called his “tourist mob”. There was a ram with perfectly curled horns who had gotten quite aggressive as a result of understanding that he had horns where others did not, and one black sheep, just so we could ask “Baa baa black sheep have you any wool…” Truth is, black wool is less valuable than white! It was a delightful afternoon, and while I certainly have heard about the challenges of farming from my grandfather and uncles in Missouri, it was interesting to hear about similar efforts to build a life farming in NZ.
As we headed towards Mount Cook, we reached the Lake Tekapo region. We climbed Mt John, a 3,000 foot peak, for the most amazing view of the glacier lake from the top. The water is a gorgeous aqua blue, from the minerals which wash down with the glacier melt. The temperature of the lake makes swimming limited, but that didn’t stop a few of our group to jump in (and even more quickly jump out!) after our hot hike. Back in the van for a quick 30 minutes to Braemar Station — our home for the next two nights.
It is an old sheep shearing ranch, situated on Lake Pukaki, with astounding views of Mt Cook and the Canterbury Alps. We are staying in a rustic cottage with some private and some shared rooms and shared baths. There’s a fully equipped kitchen so Joe went to work immediately preparing a terrific dinner which we ate as we watched the sunset at about 10PM! Being this remote is wonderful for the camera and the soul, but makes wifi a laughable question, so this will be posted at some point… As will tomorrow’s.
Updated with pictures.
I’m so loving your writing and your photos are just stunning as always!
Oh sheeeeeeeeep.