That One Time I Went Moose-Hunting...

I went on a few adventures in the South Island. This is the first of three. Enjoy the picture-stories.

Flying over the South Island. The famous Southern lakes reflect the mid-day sun while Mt. Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain, spires through the cloud layer.

Lake Wakatipu panorama, travelling south on the east side.

My scarf was a character of its own on my trip. It acted beautifully in the wind, waving back and forth, but this is the only picture where that is captured. On a gravel stop-off above the banks of Lake Wakatipu.

Stopping for lunch beside Lake Wakatipu. Peanut butter, homemade dandelion marmalade, salsa corn chips, hummus, and a banana. The beautiful scenery almost made up for the extremely cold winds blowing all around. My fingers got close to freezing stiff.

Day two was the time for an adventure, looking for moose. I forgot to layer up at the hostel, so I stopped on the side of the road outside of Te Anau to layer up.

As prepared as I could be for the clever moose.

The dark forest over looked a river that wound its way in and out of view.

I had to cross rivers

on treacherous swinging bridges,

in the most uncomfortable boots, at blister-inducing speeds,

to look for moose. See this brief for the full story.

A decoy left by the clever moose. Without my flash, I thought this was a moose hiding behind a fallen tree.  When the flash lit up the alpine rainforest, I saw that I mistook the outline of a fallen tree’s roots for a pair of moose antlers.

X marks the spot.

I stopped at a swamp made from a glacier years and years ago.

I didn’t find any moose, but I did see a purple mushroom.

The end.