Nicholas Quirke was astounded by his day on 6th February despite his exasperation with matters technical. Not only was he unable to post his blog as no WIFI connection, when he put his memory card back in the camera it said card was unable to be read. Really, on a big scenic route day! He was woken early by the Bikers who had taken over the hotel hollering at each other. Which was good as it meant he was on the road by 8am. The sun was shining and he felt in good spirits the sights were of course starting to look incredible with the mountains starting to reveal their snowy peaks. The first surprise of the day was when he came upon Lake Tekapo he had never seen such an incredible shade of blue. He stopped to photograph it and discovered a historic church which he attempted to photograph but such was the intensity of the tourists, he barely got a chance. The amazing sights continued, beautiful lakes and the advance of Mount Cook towering on the ever advancing horizon. When Nicholas arrived at the mounts foothills, having stopped to wield his GoPro many times, he discovered he had plenty of time to walk and experience more of the mountain. He made some advance, and found the memorial to lost climbers, and also went off track to avoid the crowds and sat in the sunshine on the mountainside watching the rabbits and meditating on the beauty of the world, but the failure of wearing a sensible shoe once more was his undoing and he retreated back to base, no full Mountain Climb for him. As he drove away and watched the mountains recede in the rear-view mirror, he felt strangely unfulfilled but this was not to to last as an unusual opportunity presented itself round the next corner. Yes. He could make it to the top of the mountain. Nicholas was not seen as an adventurer but the thought of taking a helicopter flight around the Mountain range and onto it filled him with dread and excitement and would get him where he wanted to go . It was unlikely that he would ever be at Mount Cook again, so why not do something wild and unexpected. And he did. Their Pilot was Troy, and he was flying with Jade and her boyfriend from Birmingham who were on a working holiday around the world, and a Chinese family. He found it thrilling from the roar of the take off to the stop on a snowy outcrop. It was an amazing unexpected adventure and he could not believe that the glory of it was in his day. He even resorted to buying a souvenir Photo. He was a satisfied man on the drive to Queenstown through more and more astonishing scenery. Mountain ranges which changed in form as he got closer and closer to his goal. Lakes and rivers and canyons and crags. He knew that he had seen these landscapes before and the thought that he was trapped in a Lord of the Rings movie did not escape him. He finally arrived at his B & B for the night which had an amazing view from his window. He needed to buy, he thought, a new memory card so went into town and had a wander. It was a lovely waterfront city and he spotted an old steamer traversing the waters. He got something to eat, a card and then went home for an early night.
WOW! Can’t believe you went in a helicopter!! Well done you and what amazing views xx
Strangely few have commented on that most unlike me activity. It was great though. I feel really grown up now I have done that. X