SERENDIPITY

SERENDIPITY

The long Bus ride from Queenstown to Christchurch did allow us to experience the outback of New Zealand. We learned that NZ is not crowded with subdivisions and housing additions. There are many miles of nothing between these two cities! But sandwiched in between remote places there are scenic hills with wide open skies. In fact, atop one large hill in particular rests a large celestial telescope where one can go to view the heavens. This is the Lake Tekapo Observatory. The neighboring town is required by city ordinances to point their street lights downward so as to not reflect light onto the skies that might inhibit stargazing.

Some of the lakes were awesome even though a lack of rain has plagued the Island. The evening sky reflecting in the calm, blue water provided photo ops in spite of the fast moving bus. Hillsides were brown; few trees grew along this stretch of highway. Lake Tekapo was one of the most beautiful lakes and s the second largest of three lakes in a series along this area. It had a rich turquoise color to it, caused by finely ground glacial rock and carried into the lake by glacial streams.

In the small town, along the shore of Lake Tekapo, our driver thought we shouldn't miss seeing The Church of the Good Shepherd and the nearby bronze statue of a Sheepdog. He said the statue honors all of the sheepdogs of New Zealand, but he singled out one sheepdog in particular. It seems that a rancher had rode out with his dog one cold day, checking on his many sheep grazing on his hundreds of acres of land. Something startled his horse, throwing the rancher to the ground where he was injured and knocked unconscious. When he came to, he discovered it was nearly dark and his horse was long gone. He was all alone except for his faithful sheepdog. The night was bitter cold and the rancher credits his life being saved by his dog who curled up against him throughout the night and provided the warmth he needed for survival. So the rancher commissioned a sculptor to make a cast. About a year and a half later the bronze dog was commissioned, honoring and recognizing the invaluable roll of the NZ Sheep Dogs.

Had we not been blown out of the saddle by Air New Zealand's canceled flight, we would never have gotten to see a turquoise lake and a bronze dog on the side of the road.

Life is good!