Goodbyes; The Knifepoint; Circles over Mount Cook Snowfields; Gentle, Kind Mount Cook; Christchurch and More Goodbyes; Prince William
Having finished packing, we walked up to Jo and Matt’s for one last time. I listened to the sheep baaing and the cows mooing in the distance, the birds chirping in the trees overhead, and felt at peace. Jo was finishing a full setting of scones for the entire enlarged farm crew today as they were going to finish the last 1000 sheep with exams for foot rot and 4 different shots. Due to my request last night, Jo brought out the Flyinn clothing consisting of a merino golfstyle shirt and a vest. We each got the shirt. Matt and I finished our accounting and then it was time to go, with hugs all around. And a last goodbye to Nugget, the 11-year old yellow lab, and a look out at the adjacent pasture with Delta, McGyver and Cookie, their horses, our screen savers for the past 9 days - 9 days of no radio or television and not much news. Life does go on without them.
Sue helped load the plane and we taxied to the grass runway for one last takeoff, fully loaded and with full fuel, destined for the highest point in NZ, Mount Cook. The skies were blue, with a few midlevel clouds over some of the peaks. We banked right to the north after takeoff, doing a cruise climb up Ahurin River valley, then over to the Dobson River valley as the mountains got higher and higher and snow appeared on the summits. Mount Cook, with its distinctive knife edge top, was in plain sight the entire time during the climb up to 9500’. We turned to the west just south of Mt. Selton (10,338’) and then headed directly to Mount Cook (12,316’). As we approached its west face, a knife point of thin rock wall protruded up from the mountain about 100’ in front of the mountain and since our altitude was about equal to the middle of the point, we could not see what was behind the point. Sue said we would fly past the point turning left around it. But I couldn’t see around it at all, and thus could not tell if the point would curve around to the main summit wall. If it did, or even part way, we would not have room to pass through, let alone turn around. To my nervous questioning about what was behind the knife point, Sue assured me that we would just fly over a saddle behind the point and come out over the glacier to our left. So, with a little of me holding my breath and trusting Sue with our lives (again), I flew on in little WAX and turned left behind the knife point and, with the left wing appearing to brush the back side of the knife point wall and the right wing along the west face of the summit wall, we popped over the saddle Sue said would be there to the wide open spaces of the glacier. A big PHEW! We did some 360’s over the snowfield where a helicopter had landed and people were cross-country skiing. Looking out, we felt we were at the top of the world. We headed for Katie’s Col and then turned to the east and then south flying along the eastern slopes of Mt. Tasman (11,473’) toward Mount Cook again. Sue wanted us to fly over the shelf at about 9200; where the helicopter lands on Mount Cook to drop off those who want to summit the mountain. She kept telling me to go “closer, closer” and “closer, closer” again as we headed right for the middle of the summit, but 2,700’ below it. We reached the shelf and Sue pointed out a glacier that folded in to the north that the climbers followed to the summit, very difficult and technical climbing. In the meantime, as I listened to Sue describe the complexity of the climb, I’m looking at a snow covered rock wall that I’m hurtling toward at 105 knots. After we flew over the helicopter landing site, I didn’t wait for her to tell me to turn away to the west. I just did it with my heart pounding in my ears, and it’s still pounding just writing about it. And there was nary a bounce on either side of the summit, a very unusual day, and very fortunate for us. The beauty of the area is astounding. Have I told you that before?
With last looks at Franz Joseph Glacier, we followed Tasman Glacier downward and turned east to be eventually dropped off at Christchurch Airport. We flew through miles and miles of more mountains, heading for the flatlands around Christchurch - what a contrast, from the numerous high sharp peaks to the green farm country on the flatlands leading us to Christchurch. We landed at an airport that was not that busy and taxied to the General Aviation area where we unpacked and headed for Budget Rental Car. We said goodbye to Sue with tears in all our eyes - she brought so much love and caring to us, and taught me a lot about piloting a small aircraft in the mountains.
We got in our Ford Falcon (really, but a new one) and headed west on Route 73 for Arthur’s Pass and continuing all the way across the South Island to Greymouth on the shore of the Pacific. Sugar asked me if I was nervous about driving here after not having driven for 9 days. After what we had just gone through in the past two days, I didn’t think that driving a car would make me nervous. And I learned on the radio on the way that Prince William may be visiting Greymouth in the next day or two or three in conjunction with his attendance in Christchurch at a memorial service to those who died in the earthquake. We are spending the night here at Greymouth but intend to head north along the coast tomorrow morning. God Save the Queen.
Goodnight, with no planned alarm clock or wakeup call for tomorrow. Sleep tight.
Love, Nat, Dad, Matt,DB
PS Picture is of Mount Tasman in right foreground and Mount Cook in left background - headed for helicopter landing shelf.
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