...recounts the retirement travels of Mark and Vicki Sherouse since 2008...in Asia and the Pacific, New Zealand, Europe, South America, and Africa, as well as the US and Canada. Our website, with much practical information, is: sites.google.com/site/theroadgoeseveron/.Contact us at mark.sherouse@gmail.com or vsherouse@gmail.com.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Moeraki Boulders
The Moeraki Boulders are large spherical concretions littering the low-tide beach near Kaiki Point, between Oamaru and Dunedin. They began forming some 55 million years ago--lime has something to do with it--and are appearing now due to the general uplift of the islands and local erosion. They look like so many giant marbles scattered around on the beach, many more than meter in diameter, and they apparently elicit strange behaviors on the parts of some visitors.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Oamaru
The local limestone--Oamaru stone--lent itself to architects, builders, sculptors, and others in the latter 19th century |
Library |
Interesting inscription |
Forests of acanthus leaves...lots of the buildings had Corinthian columns |
Thus |
More ornate limestone |
More than a few of the Oamaruvians (!) were of interest too |
Here we learned much about the advanced state of home- brewing and -distilling in New Zealand |
Thus |
But Steampunk (look it up) was our real discovery in Oamaru ("that's news to me" department) |
Thus |
And thus |
Very interesting little town...but we didn't want to miss the boulders at low tide, and had to move on... |
Takiroa Rock Art
Next morning we continued southeast toward the coast and Oamaru (not Omarama), stopping to examine the Maori rock art at Takiroa. OK, it's not Lascaux, and certainly not very old, but nonetheless interesting. After ascertaining there was no cafe nor gift shoppe, we drove on.
Limestone cliff now; we'll see much more limestone in Oamaru |
Bird (on left) |
Sea serpent |
Your guess... |
See below for interpretation |
More reminiscent of the rock art we saw in Scandinavia...but much younger |
Clay Cliffs of Omarama
We drove on from Mt. Cook, south, through Twizel (not as in Twizzlers), stopping at the so-called Clay Cliffs, on the Ahuriri River. The Clay Cliffs are billed as similar to the American Badlands. They are indeed similar, if quite limited in extent. Sensing that there would be no Wall Drug nor jackalopes, not even a Corn Palace, not even a rattlesnake, we snapped a few pix and drove on, camping at a free DOC site on the river.
The beautiful, clear, fast-flowing Ahuriri--there are browns and rainbows in them thar waters |
Clay Cliffs |
Closer up |
Ditto |
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Mt. Cook, 2
We spent parts of 3 days in the Mt. Cook area, driving, hiking, visiting the museum and visitor center, watching the movies, etc. It's a pretty spectacular alpine place.
Another day, on Lake Pukaki, looking toward Mt. Cook, now in a total white-out of wind, rain, blowing snow... |
At the Hillary Alpine Center |
We weathered the storm--torrential rain mostly--at the Mt. Cook backapacka |
Next day...fine weather again |
Mt. Cook, again |
Fine enough weather for another walk, this time up to Lake Tasman, at the end of Mt. Cook's Tasman Glacier |
Thus; Lake Tasman was not there, 20-30 years ago, starting then as a pot-hole, then melting the glacier from beneath; it's now 2-3 kilometers in length, and growing |
Closer up of lake and glacier, and icebergs |
Closer up of Mt. Cook summit ridge, a horrific kilometer- long knife-edge of snow and ice; from southeast |
Thus; OK, it's not actually my photo |
Us at Lake Tasman |
Looking back to the huge out-wash plain leading down to Lake Pukaki |
Last look at the big mountain and it beautiful turquoise lake |
Mt. Cook, 1
After Edoras we drove to a campground
on Lake Tekapo, one of several very large turquoise lakes emanating
from the Southern Alps. Next day we drove up to Mt. Cook, a sight we
had missed on our 2008-2009 New Zealand visit (bad weather). Mt. Cook
is the highest of the Southern Alps, only 12,000-something feet, but
still a famous and formidable mountain...in the same range,
altitude-wise, with Mt. Robson, the Grossglockner, the Eiger, etc.
Anyhow, I wanted to see it and especially the Sir Edmund Hillary
Alpine Center located in the Mt. Cook village there. Hillary—known
as Sir Ed among New Zealanders—was, with the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the
first to climb Mt. Everest, back in 1953, part of the great
expedition led by Lord Hunt. Hillary had a variety of further adventures later in life, but he is best remembered for Everest and for his subsequent devotion to the Nepalese, building schools, hospitals, airfields, and so on. He is revered in Nepal as well as in New Zealand, and among mountaineers everywhere.
Lake Tekapo; similar to the Finger Lakes, it and its neighbor, Lake Pukaki; there are huge lakes all over the South Island, mostly east of the big mountains |
Traveling with children; the twin 10-month-olds are in the carriage |
Looking up Lake Pukaki, Mt. Cook, still 20 miles or so away |
Closer |
Climbers on a wall near the Village |
Closer |
"Big mountains make their own weather," episode #9,229 |
While the weather was still decent, we decided to do the Hooker Valley day-hike, said to be New Zealand's finest |
Lunch, sitting on a promontory, watching avalanches off an adjacent mountain |
One several cable bridges |
Hooker Creek and afternoon weather |
The goal: Hooker Glacier and Hooker Lake |
Icebergs off the glacier |
Thus |
And thus |
New Zealand daisies along the trail |
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