Page 32 - 1966

On arrival at the airport we were greeted by Mr.
and Frankton, then were Hung up over the summit of the majestic sentinels, the Remarkables, where we en­ countered bumpy conditions, but this was compensated by seeing the Remarkables from the east side-a thing seldom done by tourists.
Kennard, the Chief Flying Instructor for the Southland Aero Club, and were introduced to the Piper Cherokee which was to be our faithful airborne chariot during the ensuing 345-mile Hight. All fears of a cancellation due to the weather had been dispelled when shortly before lunch the mists had dispersed to reveal a cloudless sky and bright sunshine, accompanied by a " met " report that weather over the whole of Southland was perfect.
As if by magic the whole scene had changed. The mountains gave way to brown eroded rolling tussock hill country, and the nal transition took place as we passed down the Waimea Plains at the back of the
As we sat on the tarmac outside the Aero Club hangar listening to the crackle of the intercom. as it gave our pilot take-o instructions, wind velocities and temperature readings, I could not help but feel tense and excited and our noble Head Prefect had forgotten the leg injury which had caused him so much anguish during the previous few days. At exactly twelve minutes past two we parted company with Terra Firma and climbed away, heading out over the city towards the Takitimu Mountains barely visible in the haze on the distant horizon. We maintained a steady course heading a few degrees east of north and soon passed over Otautau and into the valley of the Waiau River. We followed this river upstream till we were in the fringes of the native bush of outer Fiordland, with the Taki­ timus on our right and Lakes Monowai and Hauroko on our immediate left. The scenery at this point could be described as nothing more than typical of the lakes area with rather rugged yet not too steep bushclad landscapes.
Hokonuis to Gore. The rest of the journey back to Invercargill was interesting only from the point of view that we were seeing it all from a di erent perspective.
However, several minutes later the panorama set out before us changed from one of a luxurious tropical green to the blinding white bareness of the snow elds and higher mountain ranges, and suddenly as we emerged from a snowclad mountain pass New Zealand's most beautiful lake, Manapouri, lay before us, its un­ disturbed surface rippled only by the barge from the West Arm Power Project as it crawled its way back to Supply Bay at the end of yet another daily run.
I grasp my poles and push away, A champion in the malting!
From here we broke away to the west and followed the West Arm of the lake to its conclusion where the Spey River Hows into it. A pall of smoke was rising from the construction site of New Zealand's greatest­ ever power venture as we passed, and the picture of the little groups of huts, large plants, workshops and machinery imprinted itself on one's mind as one of man's attempts to utilise Nature's forces yet at the same time this outpost of civilization is dwarfed by it.
But memories of maths are lost In this freezing cold.
The road, which is costing the Government £1,000 a mile, provided us with a twelve-mile-long guideline over the Wilmot Pass, and several minutes later we had completed the link. The long, sinuous arm of Deep Cove lay before us. The Power Project at this end was even more prominent, with the "Wanganella" the focal point of interest-a centre of attention. The journey out of Deep Cove past Secretary Island, supposed home of the legendary lost-tribe, and up the coast towards Milford was one of sparkling contrast with the Tasman Sea on our port wing and the snow-covered mountains and rocky shoreline of the Fiordland coast to starboard.
(Written on an occasion when a teacher was absent from class and another gave an imposition for disorder.)
Six sounds later we passed over the Sutherland Falls and into Milford Sound. Nearby 9042-foot Mount Tutoko was next to receive our attention. This area, seldom seen by other than climbers, thwarted the power of descrip­ tion. For the geographically minded the area was a glaciated paradise-you name it and it was there: glaciers, cirques, hanging valleys, razor ridges with vertical drops of thousands of feet.
Orating, he imposed:
Dropping considerably in altitude we descended into the Hollyford Valley, then still travelling south crossed into the Dart Valley which led us to Glenorchy at the head of Lake Wakatipu. Travelling down the lake, we passed over the popular tourist resorts of Queenstown
I wrote of complexes,
Twenty-two
More than two and a-half hours after setting out, we were back circling over Invercargill again and touched down just before 5 p.m. In 160 all-too-short minutes we had travelled several hundred miles and had seen some of the most beautiful scenery in New Zea­ land, if not in the world, and we both o er our grati­ tude to the School for having made this experience of a lifetime possible.
ME? S ?
On my rst attempt to ski.
0 slopes! How smooth thou art! As I slowly oat above thee High hope have I. as I depart
We near the top: I can't get o !
But do, and stand a-shaking.
Those slopes which I perceived To be smooth up near the top
Are not-I've been deceived,
But alas! Too late to stop.
" Keep your skis parallel "
Is what I have been told;
I'll soon be down. And what relief!
To be at the foot of the hill.
Will I go up again? It's beyond belief This madness. You bet I will!
LYRIC OF LAW
The forces which might run your lives
When Zeus left Olympus,
Unknown, he took the law with him And order followed close behind,
Far from his fair kingdom.
With lightning steps and stick
Mars Hew to the noise and he saw;
Twice did he enter upon the host, Vowing to restore the law.
"Present to me by eve next day, The forces which might run your lives
And make you act this way."
And so to work I went;
Fiery, with racing hand I smote, Delved into the depths of Freud,
And saw and thought and wrote.
Of instincts: Primitive and herd, And through ego and libido
Made Mars the fool absurd.
_W.S.H., L6A
-J.H.M., 5a
-L.R.W., U6A