Lake Wanaka Tourism
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Getting across the river
How Anthea Fisher learned to stay composed in a crisis. When the helicopter smashed into Antarctica’s Amery Ice Shelf, the force was enough to eject Anthea Fisher out of the four-point harness strapping her to the seat. It was so violent it ripped her boots off. In a few seconds, the sleek machine had become…
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Tracing water
A walk along a creek. We begin at the delta, where the creek abruptly splits, first into arteries, then into veins, making its way through small stones and silt toward the lake. Standing on a rectangular tongue of wood that protrudes over the water, dozens of longfin eels slither below among the piles. The song…
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The Great Jandal
Those shoes weren’t meant for walking. They say before you judge a person, you must walk a mile in their shoes. If that’s the case, I won’t be judging Gus Cope, because his shoes are a beaten pair of sweat-soaked jandals. Once upon a time, Gus was camping with friends at the Routeburn Flats for…
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A plague on both our islands
The 1964 guide to pest control in Aotearoa. The American at the dinner table is telling us about coming across a woman, who from the sounds of it was a West Coaster, in the act of dispatching a possum. I won’t get into it, but a rock was involved. He goes a bit pale as…
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The Right to Repair
Can we fix it? Yes we can, and we should. It’s Sunday morning, and the Wānaka Community Workshop is abuzz with power drills, bobbin winders and hammers. Outside under a marquee, someone is sorting out the drivetrain on a vintage Mongoose hybrid bike. In the main workspace, a wooden chair, a planer and a toaster…
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Film review: The War on Style
Directed and produced by Hank Bilous Our favourite photographer/writer/nurse/skier and regular 1964 contributor has made a movie, and we caught it at The New Zealand Mountain Film & Book Festival earlier this winter. Blending poetry with skiing and surfing, this is not your traditional action sports film. It’s more about people and learning than your…
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Music review: Merchants by Powder Chutes
Wānaka’s Powder Chutes have dropped a new single and it’s a “hell, yes” from me. ‘Merchants’ is just the thing for our times, a bundle of joyous grunge-infused angst that simultaneously looks forwards and back. Sonically, it’s smarter than your average rock anthem. Powder Chutes reminds me of the musically-sophisticated rock bros of my youth…
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Under your own green steam
“There is no machine known that is more efficient than a human on a bicycle. A bowl of oatmeal, 30 miles, you can’t come close to that. Put a bowl of oatmeal in your car, you’re not going anywhere, let alone 30 miles. The efficiency is terrible compared to a human.” These are the words…
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Book review: Everest Mountain Guide – The remarkable story of a Kiwi mountaineer
By Guy Cotter (Potton & Burton, 2023) Since first climbing the mountain in 1992 as part of the Adventure Consultants team, Guy Cotter has become one of the industry’s most respected Everest guides. In the three decades since, he has accumulated a proper shopping list of accomplishments, including summiting Everest five times and scaling seven…