Lake Wakatipu
Marty and I found ourselves on the South Island of New Zealand, walking along the edge of Lake Wakatipu, surrounded by breathtaking scenery. The air was crisp and clean, and the mountains, known as The Remarkables, rose sharply across the water as if they were placed for dramatic effect.
We wandered the shoreline, drawn by the beauty of the lake. The water was clear, glacial and sill, reflecting sky and mountains. Lake Wakatipu is ancient, carved by glaciers during the last Ice Age. It stretches deep into the Southern Alps, holding stories older than settlement itself. The Maori people name it Whakatipu wai-maori, often translated as “growing water”. According to legend, the lake rises and falls with the heartbeat of a giant who lies sleeping beneath its surface.
New Zealand has a way of placing you gently in perspective. Along the edge of Lake Wakatipu, with the Southern Alps rising across the water, we felt both the immensity of the landscape and the steadiness of the ground beneath our feet. The mountains stretched skyward in quiet authority, while the lake mirrored their strength with calm reflection.
Read More
Read More From Nancy
Gibbston Valley
Attached to our time teaching in New Zealand, we took the time to explore a bit, making our way into Gibbston Valley, just outside Queenstown. The landscape there does not reveal itself all at once, it unfolds gradually, the path rising, the view widening, until the Kawarau River comes into sight, cutting its way through the valley below. […]
Chinese Settlement Site
Nestled above the historic town of Arrowtown along the banks of Bush Creek lies the partially restored Chinese Settlement, one of the reminders of the region’s gold rush history. Marty and I spend time walking through this small village, where these cottages and stone pathways tell the story of the Chinese miners and merchants who […]
Arrowtown
Arrowtown is one of those rare towns where history feels close to the surface. Tucked just outside Queenstown, it began as a gold mining settlement in the 1860s, during the rush that brought thousands into the region following discoveries along the Arrow River. The town quickly grew as miners, many of them European and later […]
