Christmas Miracle, Christmas Keas, Arthur's Pass with several waterfalls
Christmas Miracle:
So, as many of you may know, I lost my wedding rings about one week after getting married. I went on a 6 day glacier mountaineering course on Mt. Shuksan (which is next to Mt. Baker), and the very first night snow-camping my rings disappeared. I remembered having them on when I was getting ready for bed. I woke up in the morning and part of my sleeping bag was wet (with snow-camping any part of the sleeping bag not on the sleeping mat gets wet)- so I put it upside down on top of the other tent to try to dry it out before we changed campsites. Then I looked at my hands and realized the rings were gone!
I stayed pretty calm, searched through the tent and all of my belongings, and concluded that they must have fallen out of the sleeping bag into the snow. The 3 of us in the class looked extensively in the snow, but then had to move on. The instructor Chris and I went back the next day and searched again. They did not turn up in my (very few) belongings over the 6 days, and we searched again coming back down after summit-ing the peak.
That is when I felt like they were really lost, and I was so upset! Mike was really nice to me about it.
A week or so later, I went back to the spot with a metal detector- no luck. Then when the snow melted I went back again with 2 metal detectors and helpers (thank you Dad, Molly, and Kerry!)- no luck.
So imagine my surprise, when on December 24th I went into my room and saw one of my rings on the carpet floor! Here in New Zealand! 6 months later! I couldn't believe it.
Still processing, I went to work my shift. (I worked on Dec. 24th and 26th). After work Mike and I headed to Arthur's Pass and stayed in the Christchurch Tramping Club hut. That evening I spent about 45 minutes exploring every millimeter of my backpack, and, lo and behold, found my other ring between the frame of the pack and the fabric!!! So exciting. And amazing that they managed to fall out on my carpet at home in a visible spot rather than during numerous hikes, plane rides, car trips, etc. Crazy.
Anyway, back to Christmas in New Zealand. Mike and I skyped with my family in California and chatted with his family on the phone prior to taking off for the mountains.
Christmas day we went on a hike- Avalanche Peak- it was very hot and sunny! And steep.
These parrots are really fun- very inquisitive, destructive (they love to pick at anything rubber and are one of the leading causes of rental car damage in New Zealand), and smart.
We loved our Kea encounters on this hike. At one point Mike recorded their cries, and then played the video back to them, and the Kea making the calls on the video replied to each call immediately!
video:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111801169627502333103/ArthursPassNZDec2012?noredirect=1#5826031101103896802
At the summit we met 2 gentlemen from the Netherlands (surrounded by Keas) and reflected with them about Christmas Day in Arthur's Pass.
Heading back down.
Waterfall at a distance- The Devil's Punchbowl.
Now the waterfall up close! We both got soaked by spray- felt great on a hot day. Mike was more adventurous and got right next to the fall (I stayed back a bit but still got soaked).
This waterfall is a short walk from Arthur's Pass town.
We visited Bridal Veil falls as well.
A great day!
Side note on Keas- once back in Christchurch Mike and I watched some documentary videos about Keas and saw them solve puzzles and things. Much to my horror, though, they also showed them pulling fuzzy baby birds out of nests and eating them! (non-Kea baby birds).
They also like to peck at sheep until they get to the subcutaneous fat- and they eat that. The poor sheep survive this, but then tend to get fatal infections from the wounds! The farmers used to kill Keas on site, and this is a major reason why they are now endangered.
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