On missing Aoraki

Blue skies, the frozen South

Ah! The glaciers we had kissed,

And yet, those eyes that went unseen

For Aoraki, we missed - 

The reflection lakes, they came and went

The sun, it smiled in jest,

Knowing well that we would miss

Mount Cook upon the crest.

Those few minutes we could turn back

Have all now turned to years,

How long until the white peak’s seen,

To blue a sky that clears

They say, Aoraki sees and knows it all,

Was it all then planned, I doubt

To return again with a purer soul

To the land of long, lost cloud…

5th June, 2021

It was a sparkling day, when stunned with the Fox Glacier - within arm’s reach - we headed back to Queenstown. New Zealand, Aotearoa, the land of the long lost cloud is a paradise, every turn a surprise, when temperate rainforest changes to stunning Tasman Coast to alpine lakes to gigantic sand dunes. In this land of plenty, the grandest spectacles have turned to Maori legends, the tallest of which is the celestial visitor, Aoraki, Mount Cook - the tallest peak of New Zealand. On a clear day, the grand chief shows itself to ardent pilgrims from far and wide, sometimes even visible on mirror lakes granting grand views of the peak. And yet, we missed Aoraki that day, failing to make a turn at Lake Matheson, not realising it until we went ahead a long way. It felt then as if the miss could have been made up easily in later travels. Only that, the travels never happened, as the world waits to heal itself and a ravaged race. Yet, hope remains, the clouds still form atop Aotearoa as Aoraki stands tall, watches over all and waits for the most spirited pilgrims to return again someday to feel humbled by blue skies and white snows....

(Cover image - The two tallest peaks of NZ - Mt. Tasman, left and Mt. Cook, right cast splendid reflections on Lake Matheson; image courtesy - NZ tourism; yes, I have to go back to get this image myself someday!)