Low Point

Hi all,
We left Oamaru for Geraldine on a bright sunny day with huge puffy white clouds in an azure sky. Once we arrived we immediately drove out to the Peel Forest for a couple of walks. The forest contains some of the most ancient totara trees (1000 years old)--that are like redwoods. We saw some that measured 15 ft in diameter. One of the hikes we took was through an area not frequented given the condition of the path. We needed a machete in parts. The day was perfect in every way, but I began to feel dizzy with each step. By evening I was vomiting and it was clear from my symptoms that I had the stomach flu. I spent the next 36 hrs in bed and got up this morning quite weak and foggy headed--not having eaten. We had to hit the road and fortunately Lake Tekapo was only one hour's drive to the West under fantastic dramatic skies and views of verdant rolling hills with hawks soaring. Once again we found hostel accommodations inadequate and we promptly dropped beach towels on the shore and napped. We got up to look for another place to stay and as is so often the case here, a friendly Kiwi made a call to another friendly Kiwi and voila we are in a little cottage behind Erin's house. Our plan is to one, recuperate, two, make our way to Mt Cook now that the weather had cleared out, and three, fish the area. Lake Tekapo is an unreal turquoise color below a backdrop of snow covered peaks. We took a drive to the top of Mt John (site of the observatory) to view the panorama of the Southern Alps--it was gusting a quite cold and we needed our down jackets and knitted caps. Once you dropped down from there, it was quite sunny and pleasant. We look forward to seeing the much advertised night sky. The skies are extremely dark here--lighting is prohibited. The fact that this small area is protected by two mountain ranges affords conditions that do not exist in other parts of NZ. It is why the University had established its research here and there are a number of small observatories on the hills. We are a little road weary (teeny weeny) and hoping to get a powerful second wind. Wish us luck and take care of one another, Linny and Joel