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Kicking back in MacKenzie Country
a flatlanders view of ice climbing on the Tasman Glacier, Mt Cook, New Zealand.
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| Chapter 1 |
Part 4 : Tekapo |
With the split second timing of a well honed military
exercise, or perhaps more that of a mafioso style abduction, no sooner
than I had walked out of customs, still sweating about my tent, when suddenly out of nowhere, three pairs of hands
stripped me of my goods and I am whisked out into the gray drizzle of a Christchurch afternoon
and bundled into a waiting vehicle.
The hurried introductions and greetings as we walked
briskly through the cold afternoon added a sense of urgency to our mission.
I hadn't met up with Nick for about 18 months and was also pleased to finally
meet Nick's dad John, as well. Our team of four squeezed into the little rent-a-car
along with the 6 metric tonnes of baggage we'd managed to bring with us for the
journey. Nick and Geoff had arrived yesterday and had been shopping as well!
With Nick behind the wheel we through and out of Christchurch like locals.
In no time we were motoring at high speed past beautiful,
hedge lined fields and the wide open spaces of New Zealand's south island.
Destination Lake Tekapo, the backpackers there, and ultimately,
Gottlieb Braun-Elwert's "Alpine Recreation" with whom
we had booked a four day Technical Mountaineering course. (TMC)
Tekapo was beautiful.
The cold snap breaking the unseasonably hot and dry conditions that had been persisting, had brought with it
a light dusting of snow to all the hilltops in the region, and further
in the distance, under a heavy grey/blue sky, we could see snow capped ridges leading off to the horizon.
If there was snow here already, what would it be like up on the glacier
we wondered ? As if to spite the overcast (and cold) weather, the lake itself was a brilliant
light blue color, fast being matched by my legs as I wished I had worn
long pants for the journey instead of my best canyoning shorts. Dinner that evening was a
cozy relaxed affair in the comfort of the local restaurant. Taken in with
the late sunset and the expansive view of the lake stretching towards the mountain
ranges in the distance. A distance so far away we could only imagine what
it was like over there.
Tomorrow we would know.
Tomorrow we would be there.
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Kicking back in MacKenzie Country
a flatlanders view of ice climbing on the Tasman Glacier, Mt Cook, New Zealand.
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