Another Day in New Zealand

We are all filthy, smelly, and gross from lack of showers and laundry as we travel down the West Coast of the South Island.  We decided to camp at a full service camp ground, with showers, water for our van, and laundry facilities.  The day consisted of recharging and cleaning up at a wonderful camper park, and enjoying a brief hike around a lake.

The day started with a morning hike around Lake Matheson.  Overlooking the glacial tarn, are two beautiful mountains, Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman.  The larger of the two, Mt. Cook, was used in the filming of the Lord of the Rings as Mt. Caradhras.  The company of the ring attempted crossing over Caradhras, but the malevolence of the cold, spiky, bitter, peak drove them to pass beneath the mountain, through the mines of Moria.  On our hike, there were no snow storms or crashing boulders, just sunshine and a beautiful view of the lake, Mt. Cook, and Mt. Tasman.  We occasionally stopped to gaze in awe at the towering mountains.  The walk could not have been better.   

After the hike, we drove to a camper park with showers, power, and water to fill our water tank.  I worked on a lesson of math for most of the day, but the best part of my day was spent playing with some kids in the camper park playground.  I am not sure what any of my  companions' names were because we all had nick names referring to our shirts.  There was Pinky, Slick, Wave, Hockey, and a todler called Unicorn.  My name was “Guy in the blue shirt.”  We played mostly tag in a park near our camper.  We had a great time.  But as you know,  if I have a great time with kids my age for more than an hour, I am likely to experience a minor casualty.  Today, I ran into a thick rope secured to the ground and attached to a pole above my head.  I hit the rope at full speed, saw a couple stars, shrugged and continued after Pinky. 

After playing a while, my belly informed me that it was time to eat.  We drove to a good place for dinner, as my goose bump was developing.  Since I hit a rope, there is a big swollen line across my face.  It is kind of cool, but I would prefer a black eye.  I reckon that would look awesome!  Next time!

Thank you for reading Rohan Geographic!