Random thoughts

I was channel surfing last night, and I caught part of a story about West Nile Fever on the news. They mentioned that its starting to show up in the crows in California. My mind made some interesting connections...I remembered the Raven that interrupted the "Birds of Flight" presentation at the Toronga Zoo in Sydney (it landed near their owl, capturing the poor owl's attention for several minutes before the staff could get it to fly back to where they wanted it!). Then I realized that I its been a long time since I've seen any crows in this area. I remember reading somewhere that crows are especially vulnerable to the West Nile virus, and it seems to have killed almost all the crows in this area. Now, I can't say that I was ever a big fan of crows, but I still find their absence disturbing. I have to wonder about the long term impacts of these declines in avian populations. Maybe the US needs to get more serious about our biological quarantine rules, like New Zealand, where they inspected my hiking boots, and where failure to declare potential biological threats carries an instant fine of $200 (payable on the spot!). It is inconvenient when you are entering the country, but then again, maybe it would prevent the introduction of new pests and diseases...

Milford Sound

After reading skyring's book "Bookcrossing Through Middle-Earth," I knew that New Zealand was a place that I wanted to visit. After signing up for our "ski" trip, I was hoping to visit some of the same places, but I wasn't sure how many would be accessible. However, the descriptions of Milford Sound convinced me that I HAD to find a way to get there. Luckily, our trip leader decided to organize a side tip to Milford Sound, and I eagerly signed up.

On our second morning in Queenstown, our bus pulled away from the hotel in the pre-dawn dark, in a light rain. Unfortunately, the early hour prevented us from enjoying the scenery as we drove south around Lake Wakatipu. A couple of hours later we stopped for breakfast at a tourist trap in Te Anau. I grabbed some food from the cafeteria, released a book (The Confession of Joe Cullen, by Howard Fast), and did some souvenir shopping. Soon, we were back on our bus, driving up through the Fiordland National Park to Homer Tunnel and Milford Sound. It was overcast, but light enough to enjoy the increasingly beautiful landscape. We left the farmland behind and moved into the mountains, with snow capped peaks surrounding us. It was strange to be driving through the middle of a rain forest, looking up at the mountains, which were covered with snow, only a few thousand feet above us.

As we drew near the Homer Tunnel, which passes through the mountains below the Homer Pass, we began to see signs of recent avalanche activity, and the roadside was lined with signs that read "No Stopping - Avalanche Zone." After passing through the tunnel, we finally arrived at the wharf at Milford Sound. We were running behind, and had to hurry to catch our boat to tour the Sound (though I still released another book at the wharf -- A Botanist at Bay, by John Sherwood). It will take me a long time to find the words to describe the beauty of Milford Sound. It is one of the most breathtakingly gorgeous places I have ever visited. For the time being, I have to hope that these pictures can convey at least a portion of the beauty of this place.

( Milford Sound Pictures )

After a stunning cruise, one that included dolphins frolicking in our bow wave, seals sunbathing on the rocks, and penguins working their way over the rocks to their breeding grounds, departure time inevitably arrived. During the long, drowsy ride back to Queenstown, I happened to look to the left and saw one of the most impressive rainbows I've ever seen:

( Kiwi Rainbow )

It was a long, tiring day, but it was one of the highlights of the trip. Milford Sound, by itself, was worth making the long trip across the Pacific. The amazing thing is that this was only one day out of a two week trip!