SHEEP!

SHEEP!  I can hardly believe how tightly packed sheep can get as they are herded by one of the well trained outdoor sheep dogs.  Fifty sheep can move seamlessly as one unit with not even an inch of space between them across a large field.  As I watched the spectacle unfold, I simply could not stop laughing.  It is an absurd sight.

And how bizarrely docile sheep are!  The sheep herder, Neil, can hook a sheep around the leg, pull it from the pack, and it will simply lay at his feet without moving until he lets it go.  Then it scurries as quickly as it can, burying itself back into the pack.  

The dogs are equally amazing.  They are skilled enough to drive the sheep in a tight circle around a group of people upon command.  Or to bring the sheep to a halt mere inches in front of us.  Or to chase them to a specific location around the field.  All of this is achieved through a multi-toned whistle and a string of voice commands wielded by Neil.

Sheep shearing is also a bizarre practice.  I watched as Neil hand-sheared a sheep until it quickly became lost in a pile of wool on the platform.  When he was done, he shoved the sheep into a wooden shoot, where it went tumbling down to run back to the herd.

It's one of those things that quickly becomes commonplace when you're doing it for a living but is totally surreal for a first time spectator.

Hunting Orcs

​Another day, another grueling hike.  The Bealey Pass wasn't as tough as Routeburn, but climbing up into the hills was no easy task.  Thankfully, the overcast day gave me respite from direct sunlight, so I didn't lose quite so much water through my skin.  The walk was worth it, though.

Along the way, I had 360 degree views of the surrounding mountain ranges, and the distance I could see around me was staggering.  I found myself unintentionally humming the Lord of the Rings theme as I walked…I could easily imagine Aragon hunting orcs in these lands.  

Tonight, I'm going to watch some dogs herd sheep, and I am giddy with excitement.

Over the Mountain and through the Valley

​There really is something special about driving through gorgeous scenery with nary a car in sight.  Even my underpowered Toyota becomes an awesome tool of human engineering, able to push me up mountains and glide me down hills.  Arthur's Pass really must be one of the nicer drives in the world.  On your way through stunning countryside and multiple mountain ranges, it's hard not to pull over every couple kilometers to snap a picture of some new wonder revealed by a twist in the road.

Early in the drive, I stopped off at the Franz-Joseph glacier, which was much larger than the Fox glacier.  Once again, seeing the blue ice was a real treat, but the constant whir of spinning helicopter blades sort of ruins the experience.  As soon as one helicopter leaves, another one enters the scene.  Even the nearby roaring waterfalls could not drown out the hum.

In the evening, after arriving at the Wilderness Lodge at Arthur's Pass, I went out with a guide, some guests, and a very friendly 12 year old border collie named Tess to examine the area's vegetation.  As the guide described the various mosses and ferns, I had eyes only for the dog.  Tess and I got along quite well, you'll be happy to hear.

Glay-sure or Glay-seer

I remember the 4-5 hour drive to and from Ithaca pretty well.  Mostly, I recall thinking: "How long is it until I will not be driving?"  My 5 hour drive today, on the other hand, passed in a heartbeat.  I began the drive with a stunning ascent through a mountain pass.  At the peak, I could see for many miles in any direction.  Up one side and down the other, I continued through luscious farmland nested by the foot of a towering mountain range.  The land flattened out somewhat as I approached the ocean, and for a time, I drove parallel to the seemingly endless water.  I stopped to walk along a beach that was more driftwood than sand.

By the time I reached Fox Glacier, 280 kilometers seemed a short distance to have passed over such varied terrain.  The hike up to Fox Glacier was nice, and it was odd to see so much ice in 80 degree weather.  The contrast between blue ice and the dirt on top was certainly striking.

The picture I included in this post is of a hill nearby the glacier.  It looks as though the rocks from the hill spread out at the bottom, but that's actually a separate pile of rocks close to where I was standing.  The hill was hundreds of feet behind.

A Wide Angle Day

I've been carrying around a 14mm lens (which is as wide angle as you can go without stuff bending in a goofy circle around the center of the image), and I've barely had the opportunity to use it.  The landscape just never seemed appropriate…until today.

I hiked the first two legs of the Routeburn Track today.  It was one of the more strenuous hikes I've been on in my life, as the second portion climbed straight up into the mountains.  Until I reached my destination, things were quite boring.  Sure, I crossed a few swaying suspension bridges, but nothing really caught my eye.  Then, I stepped into Middle Earth.

The land opened up into beautiful waterfalls on one side and the valley from whence I'd come on the other.  It was truly spectacular to behold, but I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking today.  Sleepiness dulls my ability to form sentences.