PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

Finding My Slice of Paradise

Week 175 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

I hope you aren’t tired of my stories filled with beech forests, turquoise blue mountain rivers and lush green pastures displayed in pictures and captured in words.

But then again, if you do, feel free to skip this article.

And if not, sit back and relax because this is another week filled with loads of photos of the wilderness down under. We’ve been active, at work and in our free time and there is much to share with you.

While writing this from the desk inside our home, I can see a rabbit hopping past our sliding doors and heading up into the vineyard, where birds are chirping happily.

There is such a peace surrounding this place that I can easily forget how people survive in harsh environments such as cities. How on Earth do you live there without any nature around you?

I guess, I couldn’t.

At least not as happily as I live now.

After our adventure on the West Coast on our weekend and writing about the potential lack of brake pads on our vehicle, I have received countless comments from my readers who worry about us and told me to get those brakes checked up.

Listen up.

Since we got home Wednesday evening, David dedicated the next day, which is our Sunday, to locating the problem and fixing it. Not having any tools, he just walked over to the main house and asked our landlords if they had any he could use. They happily nodded, and soon enough after, I heard some swearing outside.

If you have a partner who knows how to work on cars, then you’ll know nothing can be fixed without some swearing. It’s part of the job even if I often worry about things going wrong, they don’t. And don’t come up with the idea to offer help. You’ll be only in the way.

So I went back to the main house, pulled the laundry out of the washing machine, and walked past the car once again on my way to hang up the clothes on the washing line.

Soon, David called me over to show me something I wouldn’t believe. While I am not one of those women who can’t change a tire, I don’t know much else about fixing cars, but what he showed me next didn’t need much explanation.

The brake pad he was holding in his hand had no pad left. Good on us for hearing the squeaking noise and addressing the problem now after driving down Haast Pass twice in two days.

It needed one phone call to the local mechanic and David drove off to buy the needed brakes. He was back in less than half an hour but didn’t get back to working on the car until later that afternoon when the sun wasn’t burning down on him.

The brake pads are replaced now. Both sides. Just so you don’t have to worry about us anymore. Thank you for your care; I appreciate it.

On Friday, we went back to work, and on our way home, David wanted to test out a fishing spot on Lake Dunstan. While he did cast a few times and got the line hooked a couple of times in the reeds, I walked around capturing yellow-blooming poppies.

And no, there was no fish for dinner.

Later that afternoon, I headed back up on the hill on my spot and watched bunnies running around in the tall grass. Only thanks to sitting still for a long time and doing nothing else but observing nature, I managed to locate the animals.

See below; they are good at hiding.

On Saturday we didn’t go to work as all operations (we work as skydiving instructors) had been canceled due to strong winds. Gale force winds.

The winds were so strong we didn’t dare to go out of the house and stayed inside while watching branches, leaves, and everything else fly past our windows.

I only remembered to take a picture during late afternoon when the winds had calmed but were still blowing strongly. This is the view from our living room.

After coming home from work on Sunday, I grabbed my camera and notebook and went out to the backyard again. Here is an excerpt from my journal.

On the way to my favorite spot on the hill I needed to stop and change my intentions. Just after crossing the small streamlet, I looked up the hill to find out where the herd of sheep was at which I didn’t want to disturb. I spotted them in the shade underneath a large tree and as I wanted to head to the right up the hill, I saw the person standing.

From a distance, I looked at what appeared to be a tripod but knew this person wasn’t shooting pictures the way I did. I looked to the left and saw a car parked next to the water tanks. It made sense to me now why the gates were open.

The farmer was up on the hill shooting rabbits in an effort to control their population which long has turned into a pest in New Zealand with no natural predators to the species. Sure enough, I heard the echoing of a gun shot through the valley.

I guess this isn’t my time to be up on the hill. I turned around and picked some white clover flowers in the protection of some trees, I was far enough to be out of shooting range but didn’t want to disturb the farmer so I headed one more field back.

Sitting now on a field where the farmer had cut and harvested the grass just days ago, I only heard the happy melodies of songbirds chirping in the trees and saw some California quails hiding in the undergrowth.

Monday was a bit of a bust as we were called in for work, ascended to 10,000 feet in the plane, and were then ordered to land again as the ground crew decided the winds were too strong for us.

Now, if there is one thing skydivers hate, then it is landing with the plane. It’s not that we don’t trust our pilots, but they take off every day with a full load of people and land empty. Plus, we feel safer under a parachute than inside an aircraft. It’s just as it is. We’re a different kind of people. We jump out of planes for a living.

The day was canceled after that, and on our way home, we were trying to find motivation when David pulled off the road and stopped next to Lake Dunstan.

No, still no fish for dinner, but at least a tranquil place to relax during midday and embrace the beauty of these surroundings.

And then comes Tuesday which is our last working day of the week. While we had certainly planned our getaway already, we first had to jump eight times out of the plane before hitting the road into our weekend.

With all the camping gear in our backpacks, we hiked up the western end of Matukituki River toward Aspiring Hut. While we weren’t planning on staying in a hut and paying 40 NZ Dollars for nothing else but bunk beds and a roof over our heads, the place allowed hikers to pitch a tent behind the premises and use the long drop toilet outside.

On the two-hour hike up in the valley, we passed countless sheep, some cattle, and a few rabbits, one of which was extraordinarily huge while failing at hiding in the grass.

While you might not find these animals so interesting, the view of Rob’s Glacier certainly was breathtaking. The route to the viewpoint was closed as the bridge across the river needed repairs, but one could easily see the white against the stark backdrop of the lush green forests below from the main track.

What a sight!

And then there was this waterfall. That’s a lie. There were hundreds of waterfalls. Everywhere. Water was rushing down every creek on both sides of the mountains surrounding us.

But there was this one waterfall that made me stop more than a dozen times to admire it. I don’t know what it was, but it pulled my attention like none of the others.

I loved how it sprayed out of the bottom of the last trees growing on that side of the mountains as above only smaller bushland could thrive. The water fell passing flat cliffs before dropping down below into the creek.

I could see this waterfall that night still looking out of my tent.

Yes, I did plan the opening of our tent accordingly. David had no idea.

After waking up with the sound of the rushing river in the creek below and the singing of the birds in the trees behind our camp, we packed one of our backpacks with the necessities for a day hike and ventured deeper into the valley.

This was where I found my slice of paradise.

And yes, I did go swimming somewhere in that turquoise-blue glacier water, but I won’t tell you where. Not just yet.

This has been my weekly photo essay. Anyone can join. Once. Or weekly. It doesn’t matter. We welcome everyone! Dennett started this photography challenge in 2020 and many have participated ever since.

Dennett / Erika / Eileen / K. Barrett / Juan / David / Mia / Susan / LensAfield / Kim / Barbara / Diana / Barb / Sandra / Shruthi / Ellie / Pene / Olive / Gustavo / Jane / Penny / Jillian / Shell / Ivy / Lisa / Lynne / Julia

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