TRAVEL TALES | NEW ZEALAND

An Almost-Full Moon Twinkling as Christmas Lights on a Rainy Evening

Spending the holidays in nature

The lake calmed down again and lies now peacefully in front of me. Countless ducks are floating on the water looking for dinner. A few songbirds are singing in the trees while the mountains of the Southern Alps in the backdrop are still hanging deep in rain clouds.

One of our neighbors is playing ‘Last Christmas’ while I can hear some drum rolls from the other side. The campsite we are on is occupied by several campers in their vans, trucks with rooftop homes, and others like us, who just pitched a tent on the lakeshore.

I am surprised at how peaceful it is despite the number of tourists and locals gathering here. It’s 8 pm on Christmas Eve but nobody is too loud or disrespectful.

Except for these two ducks who keep on returning asking for some crumbs. I’m sorry for the birds but they won’t get any from us as bread is bad for them.

I’m sitting on a tree stump and I can hear the drops of rain falling onto the lake. I can’t recall anymore how many times it has rained since we arrived around 5 pm. It never lasted long and we stayed outside most of the time even cooking our Christmas dinner on the charcoal in the rain.

The tree above my head protects me from most of the rain. I turn my head and realize the mountains have disappeared. A wall of rain is hanging in front of them and I assume it’s the storm David had mentioned. Eight millimeters of rain are predicted to come down on us tonight and I guess this is when we will find out if our tent is waterproof or not…

The ducks are passing me once more with a silent but distinct quacking. I guess they feel the weather and know to find a hiding spot for the night. This should be my sign as well. I put my camera into the car and crawl into the tent just as it begins to come down.

A constant dripping and dropping is coming from our tent. This will probably be the sound I’ll be falling asleep to tonight but before that is happening, I still have a bit to share with you.

It was just before noon when they canceled work, keeping us on call since early morning but the weather simply wasn’t playing along. Yes, as skydiving instructors, our income is weather-dependent but we didn’t care today. The car was packed since last night and once the message came through, we jumped in and drove off.

Passing Lake Dunstan, we drove North across Lindi’s Pass and into the MacKenzie Basin. Crossing the vast plains we were looking toward the horizon where the massive mountains of the Southern Alps were towering. Right in front of a massive wall of clouds.

We began to wonder if we would have to expect some rain but when I last checked, the forecast remained dry. Knowing how soon the weather can change in the mountains, we didn’t worry but also knew there was a chance of rain.

Our goal was to set up next to a body of water where David could fish and I could paddle on. Unfortunately, the original site we had in mind since we had lunch there a month ago wasn’t an option as a sign prohibited overnight stays.

We then drove to Lake Benmore where David said a campsite was located and good fishing was to be found. While David cast his rod a few times, we decided not to use the campground as they charge 40$ per person and we were equipped for everything, not needing an official site.

I caught a bird sitting on a pole with my camera and sat in the grass admiring the purple flowers blooming on the shores of the canal while watching David catch nothing but some seaweed.

I just happened to watch a pair of dragonflies attached to each other land on a tall blade of grass. No wind was blowing and these two weren’t moving either.

We packed up again heading back to Lake Ruantaniwha where I located a Freedom Camping Site (sites in NZ where you are allowed to camp for free when your vehicle has a toilet and a trash bin) on the map but when we arrived, a sign prohibited camping from the 23rd of December until the 2nd of Jan.

Another bust. But since we were on the lake already and it was still early in the day, we decided to stay and enjoy the peace and quiet. I pumped up my paddleboard and David sat down on the shore to try his luck with fishing again.

I paddled out to a tiny island covered in large trees and one small building on it that wasn’t bigger than a toilet. I wondered what it was used for but assumed it must have to do with the nearby canoe club and countless cones in the water.

The lake was relatively deep toward the middle but closer to shore I could see the ground as the water was incredibly clear. However, I did not see a single fish, so had doubts about David being successful in his fishing attempts.

Back on shore, David had given up already on fishing and we jumped back in the car. As it was late in the afternoon and we were getting hungry, we decided to stop at the High Country Salmon Site. If we don’t catch a fish, at least we’ll get to eat some.

And we were lucky. We arrived just as they were about to close and their sushi was 50% off and the sashimi had a 30% discount. We looked at each other and no words were needed.

We’ll have sushi for Christmas. You won’t get anywhere fresher salmon than here as the fish were swimming in the water surrounding the restaurant.

We devoured both, the sashimi and the sushi. It was delicious and didn’t need much wasabi or soy sauce.

With a bit more research, we knew now where to sleep for the night and drove just ten more minutes until we reached the shores of Lake Poaka. With a few public toilets on site, everyone is welcome to camp here for free and we weren’t too late to score a nice place by the water.

Without knowing, we began to set up the tent when we saw the first raindrops bouncing off the lake. We just had to throw the tent fly over the poles and our cave, as David calls it, was ready.

The rain didn’t last long and after preparing the beds for the night, I went back outside, pumping my paddleboard a second time to test out these waters as well.

I didn’t get very far before the next raindrops were reflecting in the water but since I was wearing my bikini, I didn’t care and just kept going, floating between ducks and geese in this very shallow lake in the rain.

When I returned from my paddle, it was time for us to make dinner. It was a bit of a weird one as we saw signs everywhere indicating we entered the prohibited fire season but I read up on it and you are still allowed to have a charcoal barbecue as long as you have a source to put out the fire within five meters.

So, we had a bucket of water next to us, placed the small barbecue two meters from the lake and it began to rain again. I figured we were on the safe side.

There were many families on the lake on Christmas Eve. Most of them were with their offspring, some were younger, some older. And some left their children behind to have a date night.

Yes, I’m talking about birds. Ducks, geese and other species.

A larger gathering passed us twice that evening. David and I laughed at how they stuck their head into the water and then kicked with their legs to get what they were looking for in the water.

While it was still incredibly light outside despite the late hour, I decided it was time to put up our Christmas lights.

The rain had stopped and we stood outside admiring the reflecting lake with the mountains still semi-covered in the background. It was a peaceful moment.

As the clouds were covering the skies, there was no hope for me to see any stars and I also knew we were just days away from a full moon.

I took out my camera and captured our Christmas lights. Fairy lights shone in the tent and a bit of a glimpse from the moon above. Nothing big but just enough to create a light in the darkness.

The moon shone through the clouds just bright enough to create a reflection on the lake below. It was time for me to head to bed. It had been a long day.

Since Christmas is gone by the time this article gets published, I wish you a wonderful time with your family and a good start into the new year.

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