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.

The water stood out, a blue-green color, almost opaque in place, moving steadily through the gorge. This river has been shaping this land for a very long time. The Kawarau River carries with it the history of this region. In the 1860s, it drew miners into the gorge during the gold rush, its banks worked for what it might yield. Today, the river is no longer worked in that way, but it still defines everything around it: the shape of the land, the placement of the vineyards and even the path we followed above it.

Taking that time, amid teaching and travel, added something to the experience. We don’t often take the time during our teaching weekends to explore, which made this moment feel worthwhile.