Lazarow World-Hike-About

Beautiful often comes in small packages. More beauty... Low flying over Brunner Lake, another massive body of water. Editor set him up for a dare. He's become a rock lover instead of a tree hugger. 'Flash' trying out for New Zealand track team. 'Where'd that bunch come from?' Herd being driven by a cowboy on a 4-wheel motor bike. Should've seen the state of the road after that lot let us through. A couple of birds: Jen and weka having form of communication. Bird does not fly but scavenges profusely. Pool was not sufficiently inviting for a swim. Puddles, pools, lake and swimmers. The full picture. Cheers, Jenni and Jeffrey Decisions, decisions...Stables or the Loveshack? He kids you...he's gazing at the mountain tops...but wondering about the shack. In car park of Chateau Franz Josef, the name might be a little above the establishment. Could not resist...backpackers humor.

Jen reaches the halfway mark...on the way up. Into the heart of the southern alps: sometimes intimidating, always thrilling. Should one wish to characterize New Zealand’s real heart, certainly those aspects outside the few ‘big’ cities, one might use descriptive words like hardy, rugged, elusive, explosive, testing, beautiful, mesmerizing, dangerous, unforgiving, erratic, changing, volatile, growing and a whole lot more. Admittedly, many parts of the world could also fit the profile. (Indeed, remove hardy and rugged and one could be describing a woman.) Nevertheless, this seemingly small couple of islands is neither small and certainly not tame. The last half-dozen or so hikes, essentially climbs, and a few earlier experiences, illustrate this succinctly, we think. Specifically, Avalanche Peak above Arthur’s Pass Village encompasses it all. We can’t remember, although it’s certainly possible, enjoying a climb of 3,600 feet in a mere mile-and-a-half through a gorgeous fore...

A river, a bay, a sea and a mountain backdrop. Day 1, we find a sweet spot. While jogging on one of the trails, it jogged our memories to a few months back when we were on the island of Crete, Greece. We were in the town of Hora Sfakion admiring the bay and a sunset thrown in for good measure when we noticed a memorial. The plaque mentioned the sacrifices made by British and New Zealand soldiers who had to retreat under heavy German fire during the early years of the Second World war. As an aside, it's so difficult and tragic to reconcile the beauty of the world, the goodwill of so many people whom we meet with the horrors of beastly behavior by some of our fellow inhabitants. "Cry the Beloved World!". Gorgeous, we think. The estuary at a higher tide as we wait to cross. Mid-morning, waiting to cross the estuary. The woman in purple and blue works for the US Federal Parks Department in Lassen, California, a favorite of ours. Bob, the Scot, has his...