PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

Flying into the New Year

Week 178 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

This week, one year has come to an end and a new one has begun. Between gusts of wind and flights in the sky, I have focused on being in the moment and embracing nature’s healing power all around.

On one of my regular walks up the hill to my favorite spot, I saw the California Quail standing on the trail and being alert, I heard the chicks in the high grass.

I had been waiting so long to see them on foot and not in the car, almost crushing them. I was so excited filling an entire article on it.

On Friday we had for once a good day at work. The clouds were there but not too thick and broken up, the wind mellow.

On the last jump of the day, I was booked to film a passenger's skydive. After looking out the door and seeing my husband jump out and wave at me, I held tightly onto the bar on top of the plane while climbing out and keeping the tandem pair in the frame. This is a key moment as I have to leave at the exact same time with them, not too early and not too late or I won't be able to get anything on film.

So yes, I do hold onto that bar while staring at the tandem master's eye hoping he's going to give me a good key. And sure enough, everyone here is rather experienced so it was an easy and fun jump seeing the passenger smile and scream throughout the free fall.

The next day started again with my alarm going off at stupid-o’clock (using the term again as so many readers commented on my choice of words). At 6 am, we hit the road, and the sun had already lit up most of the hill behind our home while the moon was slowly going down.

We didn't get more than three jumps in before the wind began to blow a gale. While other people around the world are fighting extreme heat or the lack of cold, we just deal with incredibly inconsistent and unpredictable weather. Lots of wind is part of that.

See below, this live picture I took in the afternoon from home. This is our backyard. The vineyard.

Oh, and my favorite family visited us again. The lone father with his seven chicks walked past our glass-front doors while I was reading.

The next morning, they caught me on the backside, walking past the bedroom window. Still all seven.

I loved these two as the little one had the same body position and gesture as his father. Aren't they cute?

And no, even though the 31st of December is said to be the busiest day of the year, we stayed in. Due to winds. Again. Together with our (big) sister company in Queenstown, Skydive Australia (our employer) lost 400 customers on us as neither Queenstown nor us, Wanaka, could get into the air at all. That’s life.

I’m sure those tourists weren’t happy, but neither were we. It’s our income. But if you know one thing, then it’s that we can’t change the weather. So what does it help to get upset about it?

Rather, look around and smile at small (or big) joys like this feathered family coming for a visit.

While David wasn’t in the mood to get out of the house, I convinced him to leave his laptop behind and head out with me for a walk. Or hike. Not a big one, but a scenic one.

On the other side of Cromwell, a short one-hour hike offers stunning views of the city and surrounding mountains and waters. This is where the Clutha and the Kawarau River meet. One coming from Queenstown, the other one from Wānaka, they carry different kinds of waters, as it seems.

There used to be a historic bridge leading across where one could see the different colors of the water but since the building of the dam and the forming of Lake Dunstan, I read one can’t see it anymore.

How wrong were they? Look how beautifully one can see the different colors of the water where these two rivers meet. One just has to climb a little higher.

And with that, 2023 has come to an end. There was no party for us, not even a glass of champagne. We were in bed long before midnight and I was overly happy not having woken for any fireworks as there were none.

2024 began with a bang as we woke to our alarm at 5:30 am and stayed at work until 8:30 pm. The weather kept us on hold during lunch time, but in the end, our company served 80 happy customers, and each of us instructors did ten jumps. Not bad for a working day.

Below, you can see the skies when we drove to work. The sun wasn’t even up yet when we got into the car…

When we came home, hungry and tired, I spotted this rabbit outside our kitchen window. Just one of many rodents in the area. But it made me smile.

The second of Jan was even better and busier workwise. We began again at stupid-o’clock, but since the weather held up, we were finished by 5 pm and I had 12 jumps under my belt at the end of the day.

I can see this is going to be a good year.

Remembering I still needed a photo for you, I went out of our home and took a picture of the blooming lavender with the lush green vineyard in the background.

The third of Jan was a Wednesday and, therefore, our off day. While we usually would have packed our bags and hit the road on Tuesday already, after two long days at work, we decided to stay in for the night and only move on the next morning.

The sun shone when we hit the trail and the heat made us suffer. We still felt the knock our bodies took the two days before and walked rather slowly.

The entire trail led along this lovely creek, and I truly enjoyed listening to the roaring sound of moving water. Also, once we got into the forest, I admired weird shapes and interesting-looking trees all around me.

Some wildflowers were blooming, bringing a smile to my tired face.

After one more turn, we could see her. The Fern Burn Hut. Our destination for the day, and as we were the first ones arriving, we claimed two mattresses and didn’t need to pitch a tent.

The rest of the afternoon we spent lying around, playing cards and simply enjoying being out in the mountains.

The return journey will be part of next week’s essay…

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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