Travel story: New Zealand by Polly Kolstad

Great Falls 03/28/2010, Page P20

Floating past ‘a chip off the old block’ in New Zealand
It’s a bit odd to escape the northern hemisphere’s cold, snowy winter, go south of the equator for “hottie” days, then end up boating on a glacial lake surrounded by icebergs.
That’s just one of the many inter­esting activities “down under.”
Indeed, no matter the time of the year, there’s something cool about floating among millennium glaciers, ancient ice, and wet clear crystals in the New Zealand south island sun.
In the middle of February, my hus­band and I found ourselves over­dressed, layered in fine local woolen sweaters and long pants. Who would have thought an 85 degree day would blaze down on Aoraki Mount Cook National Park and the Tasman Glaci­er in a country that can get 200 days of rain, clouds, and overcast a year?
Our B&B hosts, Denise and Michael Scheele, reminded us that “the lady (Mount Cook) is often cloaked.” They knew a woman from Scotland who had come four years in a row and never seen the top of Mount Cook, highest mountain in New Zealand’s alpine park.
It behooved us to head to the Mount Cook Heritage Centre and Vil­lage for an adventure.
It is a surreal feeling, cruising in an inflatable boat amid islands of ice. The ice may be centuries old, but the lake was formed only decades ago when huge swaths of ice sheared off the Tasman Glacier’s terminal face. Few glaciers terminate in lakes, and even fewer of these are accessible to the average person. The terminal end of this glacier is in a melting and calv­ing phase which produces all the ice­bergs in Tasman Lake. It is a dynamic environment, often emitting a “chip off the old block.”
“Up until this time, Tenefly is the largest iceberg to come up,” said Katy, our guide and boat pilot, as she motored up to the towering ice cliff.
All around us were huge floating ice sculptures, each unique in color and shape. Before ice is exposed to the elements, it is extremely dense and a steel blue color. Once the ice­berg becomes exposed to sun, wind, and rain, the gases inside the ice warm, separating the ice into individ­ual crystals. At this stage the iceberg develops a white color.
Ice crystals, the essential element of the glacier, allow the glacier to move as one body of ice. They deform or change shape under immense pressure. The exposed iceberg is only 10 percent of the mass, we learned; 90 percent is under water. Icebergs have impurities that can cause cracks, or fractures, which eventually give way. When this happens, the iceberg may rebalance by turning over. Not far from us was one that seemed to be rocking and rolling. We moved along quickly, not knowing if it might flip.
Being able to view, touch, and taste 500-year-old ice was a new experi­ence. The crystal clear pieces that dripped from our hands tasted better than the finest of pure bott led water.
The lake’s water has a milky appearance from the “glacial rock flour,” a fine powder formed as the glaciers move, grinding and crushing brittle stones.
The Tasman Glacier and the moun­tains around it attract visitors from all over the world.
This is where Sir Edmund Hillary honed his mountaineering skills before his 1953 ascent of Mount Ever­est. A native of Auckland, New Zealand, Hillary came to Mount Cook to climb many times during his life.
In late 2007, the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre opened, three weeks before his death.
With one last look at Mount Cook resplendent in the bright blue sky, we hurried back for dinner. The Scheeles had fresh salmon from Lake Pukaki and vegetables from their garden, prepared, and awaiting our return, eager to hear about our day.
We were “gob smacked,” as they say in New Zealand.



PHOTO COURTESY POLLY KOLSTAD
An iceberg in New Zealand’s Tasman Lake


On the Road
— Polly Kolstad