Man, last night was a doozie. It was one of the best nights of stargazing I've had. The Milky Way sliced through the center of the sky. In the middle was a black, cloud-like formation, darker than any of the surrounding sky void of stars.
The interesting thing about stargazing here is that the stars seem to emit quick flashes of light. I hesitate to use the word twinkle because it is too soft...this is a more noticeable flickering. Jude agreed...more so than either of us have ever seen. I'd guess it was due to the relatively clearer air quality, but I can't say for sure.
Between the gazing and the long exposures, both my big toes HATED me. I see now how toes commonly get frostbite. Even though my feet were dry, the wetness icing on the outside of my boot must have chilled my feet rapidly. After I snuggled into my sleeping bag, it took about 15 minutes before I could feel the first signs of my big toes escaping numbness.
The night's sleep was poor at best. The chill had us both wishing we'd stayed at the south end of the lake. In weather like this, the heat from the sleeping bag is too much, and not enough all at the same time. You cover yourself whole and you are warm, but your air intake lacks the oxygen your lungs desire. Meanwhile the top of your bag gets moist with breath. You remove the bag from your face and well...that goes without saying. The only way I could finally drift off was to place a second pillow on my forehead with nose and mouth exposed. The was enough to regulate me.
Morning was equally as cold - even with the sun out. We took a short hike to Kea Point, which is about all I could bare. The sweater that I am, the thing I wanted was a long hike, leading to wet clothes in this weather - a discomfort I don't want to imagine.
Even so, the mountains were awe-inspiring. We landed a perfectly clear day. Not a cloud in the sky! (a first since we've been here). We marveled at the various glaciers, and the entire ridge line, which was now exposed to us for the first time.
Ewww...I just received some disheartening news... Tonight is supposed to reach -1 or -2 degrees Celsius here on Lake Hawea, an area I would expect to be much warmer than where we were last night. I don't even want to know how cold it must have been at Cook.
Anyways...back to the day...
I finally saw the whole of Mt. Cook, which is quite impressive. The range really does look a lot like the Swiss Alps. The mountains shoot straight up from the flat valley floor.
We motored along past Lake Pukaki and towards Central Otago. On the way, we passed several early model vehicles. The landscape began to change from alpine to arid. The low, golden mountains were a beautiful contrast to the equally vivid blue sky.
Eventually, we reached the picturesque autumn hills of Central Otago. Upon entering, I saw a sign...something along the lines of "Home of Icebreaker," so I knew I had to stop to check out the local selection of Merino wool.
Sheep here may be a dime a dozen, but a finished Merino garment is more like 2000-3000 dimes. In the back of 'The Merino Shop' I found balls of dyed Merino wool. I was so happy to find something from the trip I could send to Grandma; something I knew she would enjoy. She's quite the seamstress, even these days - she's always been very active. The wool is just lovely - as soft as you could possibly imagine. I purchased one neutral-colored possum yarn, and one colorful Merino yarn - Navy, greens and purples.
Wanaka is the type of place my mother would fall in love with. If her dream is "to live by the lake," her dream is in Wanaka - she just doesn't know it yet. :)
The place was having the opposite affect on Jude, who wanted nothing more than to escape the tourists gathered there. So, we set out for a hike, which would have been mildly ambitious (given that we left Wanaka after 4PM), but it became a moot point when we couldn't find the trail head.
As Jude took a second look at the maps, I relieved myself in nature's restroom, only to see a herd of sheep across the lake stampeding down a dirt road, providing one unfortunate driver with a wait at New Zealand's only traffic jam - the sheep crossing.
Strangely enough, our destination led us down that same dirt road, and we got to experience the herd up close and personal. It was so funny. As we slowly moved along, one by one, the sheep jumped from the road, downward beyond our view. From such a perspective, the sheep appeared to be happily jumping off a cliff, almost in a single-file line. No longer could I possibly count sheep...I'd keep myself up laughing.
We returned from a pleasant walk on the north side of Lake Hawea. I got to introduce myself to several cattle, and 1 strange sheep who thought he was a cow :). Hell, I think even the cows thought he was one of there own.
It's weird entering a herd of cattle. They're ALL checking you out, from the time you arrive til the time you leave.
Moo,
Ryan
