Lookout...LOOK OUT!

Monday, Jan 23

Another wonderfully sunny and clear day here. After a 'wake up slow' breakfast of pancakes (here these are called pikelets--pancakes are like crepes), we decided to tackle this mountain lookout behind the house. The switchback trail was extremely steep, inducing breathlessness almost immediately. I konked out about 3/4 of the way up, but Ranger Frank made it to the top--doesn't he look the part?


The view from up there was indeed marvelous and worth the effort.


Afterwards, we went for a long explore in the car, along the gravel tracks surrounding our cottage. We had gotten so used to having the road to ourselves, and gawking at the amazing scenery, that we were both terribly startled to suddenly find ourselves almost head-to-head with an Isuzu tracker! In a natural (Canadian) reaction, Frank swerved...RIGHT!...to avoid a collision. Luckily the other driver was paying attention and easily avoided us. Then we had to drive alongside to apologize and explain, and met Kim Tribe, a Welsh fly fishing guide who spends every winter in NZ. We got on so well that Kim ended up coming back to the cottage for a beer, then dinner, and eventually stayed with us overnight. He will take Frank out fly fishing tomorrow in return. Nice guy to (almost) run into!