Dec. 14 - Wanaka

Dec. 14, 2008
Wanaka, Central Otago

Wow, what a trip: you pass over to the eastern side of the Southern Alps, and suddenly the rainforest yields to open fields. Suddenly, you are not contained within a green sea, and you can see everything -- like doulbe-tracks going up a mountainside 3 miles away. Within a few minutes of driving, you go from a Costa Rica-like environment, to one that is not that far off from the American West..........except for the lakes. They have these deep blue, almost Tahoe-sized lakes with snow-capped mountains dropping precipitously in. !Quelle dramatique!

In the world of wilderness pornography, New Zealand is in a category all by itself: this is prurient, under-the-counter material. Even I am shocked.

Why am I not on the trail? Well, I was planning to do the Young-Wilkin Valleys circuit with 2 Israeli dudes. Then, we checked the forecast: rain through Thursday. Tough break. Discussing the matter with those dudes and the ranger, we anticipated several days of hiking in the rain, and being stuck in huts the rest of the time.

So, for me, the idea of slogging in the rain for 4 days sounds about as fun as an accidental hershey squirt. I'll wait 'til the storm passes.

I met a black dude from the States today, and mention his race just because he may be the only African-American on the South Island. Anyway, dude is an IT manager and was living in SF, and then after Bush was re-elected in 2004, moved to Auckland. You hear people say things like that all the time, but it's cool to meet someone who has actually followed through with it. And dude loves it; doesn't really miss California. He said he might consider moving back once Obama's at the helm, but with the financial situation, he doesn't seem to be in too much of a hurry.
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