Haunting without Sun 
Entrancing--Over 4,000 feet up-Roy's Peak “I can’t get out of this sick bed,” our editor complained. We were very worried about her remaining in bed. After all, who knows what you can catch from a sick bed. We felt poorly about our dear editor, especially as we probably passed our ‘flu on to her. There is some downside to this share and share-alike philosophy. Our editor suspected that if she did not send us out to climb, there might be some whining taking place in the room today. Everyone loves a winner but who likes a whiner? “You go do it for us,” she encouraged. We were in two minds. We did not want to be without our dear editor. Who would carry the backpacks? How would we determine when and what to eat…what about when to go potty. We were concerned being without her. Had we recovered our own strength? Nevertheless, we put on a brave face and strode off to climb Roy’s Peak.
View of Lake Wanaka from hidden side 
Jenni-less at PeakWhen we arrived in the town of Wanaka, we noticed the surrounding mountains. We were fascinated. Something about them caught the eye. We were determined to find a way to the top. The statistics are breathtaking. Elevation gain of over 4,000 feet in a little under 2.5 hours. It amounts to over 1,600 feet gain per hour, the steepest climb we have encountered. Frankly, it was straight up without respite. Really tough and unforgiving. However, it was also one of the most rewarding. One just never seems to reach the peak when climbing to this type of elevation. Hikes like it test one’s mettle as well as ‘titanium’. We don’t say it often but we think it much of the time. We are very grateful for the skill and competence of Dr. Norman Kane.
Looking towards Mt. Aspiring
Family vacation with ViewThe ‘lambing’ season has just ended. What a delight to see the little ones romping with their moms. We think of Ellie often. She transposes sheep into ‘peesh’. While this works with ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’, not quite so well with New Zealand’s finest. Last week at Kepler, the ranger warned us of two things. “When the gale blows on the mountaintop, you should get down on your knees and crawl,” he said. Wonderful! The other point he made was to avoid relieving ourselves on the track. We wanted to point out that perhaps he should also lecture the peeshes…pardon us, the sheep. Today, for the first 2,000 feet, the track was well covered by peeshes’ excess. However, after that elevation, the sheep are smart—they stop climbing—the dummies continue.
5200ft above sea levelWe had more time today. Without the editor around, we were unable to show off much. Instead, we pondered. We realize there are more sheep than people in New Zealand. So what! What does that mean? Our thinking goes something like this. We can make New Zealand into the Switzerland of the southern hemisphere. How do we do that? Well, in Switzerland, every goat, sheep and cow carries a bell around its neck but not ‘Down Under’. Therefore, let’s establish ‘a bell of rights’. Think about it. How happy will those hikers on the mountains be when they too can hear ‘jingle bells’ played every other minute of the day. By the way, we did not mention that we are going into the bell manufacturing business, did we?
From below Roy's Peak--View of town
Cheers,
Reunited Again
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