South Island
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The terrible catastrophe of 1863
Whitney Thurlow revisits a notorious avalanche. In Avalanche Accidents in Aotearoa, the only scholarly history of avalanches in New Zealand, one event stands out. It was August of 1963, and 50 prospectors were camped at the head of the Serpentine Gully, near Dunstan, when a “very heavy snowfall” hit the Main Divide of the Southern…
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Fishing with the poet
Writer and fisher Dougal Rillstone takes to the Mataura River with the acclaimed New Zealand poet Kevin Ireland. THE POET TRAVELS FROM DEVONPORT TO THE FAR SOUTH OF NEW ZEALAND A COUPLE OF TIMES A YEAR, TO FLY-FISH FOR TROUT AND CATCH UP WITH OLD FRIENDS. He says he is in his eighty-eighth year, but…
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Repo Raupo
On wetlands and the cost of standing up for the environment in a small rural community. For seven years I gave the responsibility for the land under my stewardship and care to a local farmer. Twenty acres of land so sodden and stony the last owner had named it Bastard Flats. The farmer owns 20,000…
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All roads lead to snow
The 1964 guide to the ski roads of the South Island. WE HAVE TO DRIVE TO THE SNOWLINE HERE, UNLIKE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD, AND THE ROAD UP TO ANY NEW ZEALAND SKI FIELD IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF ITS FOUNDING STORY. Early paths carved by bulldozers, winches and good keen humans opened…
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Ode to Port Emo
Fringe dwellers, story tellers, and a used-to-be-bar that somehow still is. At the bottom of a small staircase, in a low-ceilinged basement, the darkened space is lit by candles and the flickering of an open fire. People in coats swarm the bar. There’s a microphone stand in the corner. It feels intimate, familial even. The…
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Sparkles like the day it went in
In search of the General Grant’s gold. There was no raging storm when a lookout on the General Grant sighted Disappointment Island. The evening of Sunday, May 13, 1866 was almost completely still. There was a dense fog. At 10.30pm, Captain William Loughlin ordered all hands to “square the yard” — set the sails so…
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Book Review: Aspiring
by Damien Wilkins FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD RICKY LIVES IN ASPIRING, A TOWN GROWING AT AN ALARMING RATE, LIKE RICKY HIMSELF, WHO HAS HIT 6’7” AND IS GETTING TALLER BY THE DAY. IT’S THE SECOND YEAR OF THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY. CLIMATE CHANGE FRAMES EVERYTHING. RICKY’S INTERNAL MONOLOGUEIS GETTING LOUDER. “THE SELFIE STICK CARRIED IN ITS TIP THE MOST…
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Flare – A Ski Trip: A NZ ski film by Sam Neill
Laura Williamson looks back at Flare, a classic New Zealand ski film directed by Sam Neill. Warning: Contains ski ballet. “FREESTYLE,” THE NARRATOR TELLS US, “BEGAN AS AN EXUBERANT REACTION TO THE CONSTRAINTS OF CONVENTIONAL SKIING. NOW IT HAS STRETCHED THE LIMITS OF WHAT’S POSSIBLE ON SKIS.” It’s 1976. Six skiers (five Kiwis and one…
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Where can I take my dog?
How to avoid the pound when you hike with your hound. THE WORDS “DOG” AND “WALK” GO TOGETHER LIKE “BARK” AND “BITE”, SO IT’S PRETTY FRUSTRATING TO ARRIVE AT A TRACK WITH YOUR BEST MATE, ONLY TO REALISE YOUR MUTT IS NOT PERMITTED. A SIGN ANNOUNCING THAT IT IS LAMBING SEASON, OR THAT THERE’S BEEN…