From: "Philip Merryman" <phil_merryman@hotmail.com>

Date: Mon Apr 08, 2002 08:54:46 AM Etc/GMT

Subject: Bird on a wire

Hi again,

I am now in Taupo and found another internet cafe, and I got my washing done last night! :-)

Anyway, following yesterday's episode here is what happened since.

Having done all that I had come to Mt. Cook to do in the first day, I still had one more day there. So this was a bonus. So I went for a walk along the Hooker valley track up to the Hooker glacier. This is the main walk you can do in the valley without needing ice axes etc! The walks there are either do-able in trainers (but really need boots to be comfortable) or you need to be a mountaineer, there is nothing in between. Mt. Cook was climbed many times by Ed Hillary before he conquered Everest. In fact the climb from the valley bottom to the summit is the same as from Base Camp to the summit of Everest. Hence Mt. Cook was good practice! However it is now 20m shorter since the top fell off in a big rock avalanche 10 years ago!

This walk is directly up the valley and Mt. Cook is in front of you once you enter the valley proper, though it is out of sight for the first half of the walk until you get to the valley. The sky started off clear but began to cloud over as a thin layer, which gradually hid the tops of the surrounding hills and was slowly working towards the mountain. As the mountain is at the head of the valley this cloud had the effect of completely framing it: 2 valley sides, valley floor and cloud line. So made for some interesting photos. This cloud confirmed my thoughts the day before that it was the right decision, despite the cost, to fly then.

This walk took up most of the day. By the end of the walk I got to the glacier lake just before the top of the mountain was covered. So after a short stop (walk had been 2-3 hours) I began the walk back. Nothing much to note on the return, but as I got nearer the village so the cloud begain to lift again. By the time I was most of the way back it was almost totally clear once more. However on the mountains directly above the village there were a few wisps and cloud streamers. The sun was getting low behind these mountains (it was now about 5pm) and some of these cloud filaments were red and others green!! It was as though coloured streamers were flying from the mountain top. The angle of the sun relative to the mountain and myself was creating this rainbow effect! But only red and green! I presume the other colours were too feint to see against a blue sky. Has any of you seen this effect in the mountains before? Also during the day there were frequent cracking and rumbling sounds as the ice settled and there were mini avalaches. None were directly visible, but must have been in the surrounding valleys, though I did think I saw a little snow trickle from near the top of one of the mountains once.

The next day the little Mt. Cook Connection bus took me to Timaru. As we got on Alan, the driver, said to me: "I hear you have been chartering aircraft"! Word gets around! However the main highlight of this trip was that the bus dropped all its oil about 30 mins. into the journey!!! Luckily he was still in a mobile phone area so he was able to ring back to arrange another one. As this is his bus (it's a one man operation!) the Tasman glacier boat trip people loaned him one of theirs. One of the advantages of small communities: every one helps each other! However this spot was also a good photo opportunity as the view back had the road heading directly to Mt. Cook.

Timaru is where the Mt. Cook bus connected with the Magic Bus again. However I was staying there one night as one of you had asked me to do some research into Kevin Smith, the Kiwi actor who died a few weeks ago. Kevin was a native of Timaru. So the most I saw of Timaru was the inside of the public library!! However with some success. Timaru is the South Island's 5th city (out of 5) and is otherwise just an ordinary town.

The next day I got the Magic bus to Christchurch. This was a totally routine run on a boring straight road, but it got me back to Ch'ch just in time to get out to the wildlife reserve to see some Kiwis! They are nocturnal so they are kept in a dark room all day which is lit at night. So they are on UK time!! :-) Eventually your eyes adjust to the light and I managed to see several, as much as 4 in one place at one point.

Because of my diversion to Mt. Cook I was running short of time for the North Island. So I had booked the train north from Ch'ch and the Ferry across to Wellington, which gained me a day over the Magic Bus. The train run is quite a spectacular ride along the Pacific coast, not dissimilar (but longer) than the main line from Exeter to Plymouth in the UK. However it meant getting up at 05:45 (ugh) to get the 06:45 shuttle to the station to get the train, and it was p*ss*ng down! So the journey, while well worth it for the views was a bit of a washout. The train goes so early in order to connect with the ferry. The crossing takes 3 hours, the train 5. The weather in Cook Straight was no better and there was a strong wind. The waves were breaking over the bows of the ship and covering the front windows! There was no forward open deck. One wave was so big that I was on the open deck amidships and got soaked: it had come right around the front superstructure! I eventually got into Wellington at 6pm. However by then the rain had relented but Wellington was living up to its reputation as "The Windy City". I'll see how this compares to Chicago when I get there!

I had one day, Sunday, in Wellington. However the main event of the day was a few kms outside, so I had to get the commuter train out of town. So what was I up to yesterday morning before I sent the e-mail?

Answer:

www.flybywire.co.nz/index2.htm

Those of you in the UK will know what I am talking about when I say that I saw Jeremy Clarkson do this in one programme in his "Speed" series on TV last year and I thought it looked good then. If I was going to do any crazy stunt in the "Land of the long white knuckle ride" it was going to be this one!

So what was it like?? Absolutely Brilliant!!! I want one!

There are only 3 sites you can do this: Wellington (where it was invented), Queenstown (the centre of all white knuckle rides) and one in Texas! So my US friends do not have so far to go! They want to set up more but need a good marketeer! There HAS to be site in the UK for this!! The Wellington site is actually in some small hills so the supporting wires have no towers (as in the website promo page), they are just across the top of the valley. This means that as you swing up in some places you are still close to the ground, and in others you are really quite high. And yes, I am sitting here wearing the T-shirt!!!!

The journey here from Wellington was another exercise in getting from A to B, though the road went through some fairly spectacular hills on the way in a couple of places. The main stop was at the town of Napier. This was flattened by an earthquake (magnitude 7.8) in the 1930s and was rebuilt in a couple of years, almost entirely in the Art Deco style. Most of the buildings have been preserved and they have been decorated on the appropriate colours. It is a unique example of a modern town being built with a consistent style.

So you are now up to date which is more than my travel log is, as I still haven't written up yesterday! Off to a restaurant now! I leave NZ for Easter Island on Sunday. But hopefully I will still have plenty to tell you about before I go!

Cheers

Phil