July 18, 2014 A long trip home

After a spectacular yet exhausting previous three days, a relaxing day of travel was needed. Having said this today wasn't without its fair share of amazing sights and fun times. For the third time in four days, the day began with brekky at Maggie's, which I must say was just as good as the first two times we experienced it. You can't help but be in a good mood at this place as the walls are covered with great posters and quotes from customers and the folks working are nothing but smiles and full of jokes. 

Soon after we hit the road on our way back to Lincoln. However, unlike our trip over on Arthur's Pass, we took the northern route through Lewis Pass. These are the only two roads that travel west and east through the Southern Alps. Our first stop along the road was in a small town called Reefton. Although at first sight the town didn’t appear to be much, it has a pretty significant history. In 1888, Reefton was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to have a street lighting system and the power station became the source of the first municipal power supply south of the Equator. The iStop (visitor center) that we went to had some great information about everything in the area from historical gold mining to the timber industry.

Here is a link that has more information about the history of the town.

http://www.reefton.co.nz/reefton/155-the-town-of-light

Our next and final stop before we made it home to Lincoln was at the Goblin Forest. We walked along the St. James Walkway for a short distance through a beech forest. Several of the native species that we have been studying were present including mountain beech, silver beech, and red tussock. The forest had a very eerie look to it so it was understandable why it was called the Goblin Forest. Along the walkway there were some breathtaking views of the snowcapped peaks of the Southern Alps. I must say that the sight never gets old.

The Southern Alps along the Lewis Pass

Trekking through the Goblin Forest. Note the variety of silver and mountain beech.

The Squads best attempt to stay unnoticed in the forest.

Red tussock along the walkway.

In front of the magnificent Southern Alps.

The rest of the five hour drive was spent listening to some quality jams while playing road trip games like 20 questions. We were able to see some of the Wine District. The area experiences a relatively warm climate where the best grapes are grown in New Zealand. We passed several vineyards and got a taste of what may be in store for our trip back there next week.

An intense game of 20 questions in the back of the Gator Waka.Connor prevailed

By the time we got back to the university everybody was more than ready to get out of the car. Dinner was tasty fried fish among other things. All of the students are back from break now so the cafeteria was packed compared to our previous couple of weeks on campus.

All in all it was another quality day in paradise.

I would sadly like to say goodbye to Breion Long who was taken from us way too soon on Monday. Rest In Peace Buddy. You are remembered and loved by many.

Braden