Lake Coleridge, called Whakamatua by the Maori, is 17 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide, and lies nestled in the Southern Alps. The majestic local landscape was formed from the combined forces of glaciers, earthquakes, wind, rain, frost, and volcanoes. Mount Gargarus rose above the basin, and was an arm’s reach from our “Base camp”. We joined up with Andy and Dave, two British transplants as crazy about New Zealand’s countryside as we are, on a Boxing Day trek. Andy, our fearless leader, started the trip off with a bang as he escorted us through a section of dense broom brush. From a distance this bush looks deceivingly soft, with its butter yellow flowers shining in the sun. Up close and personal, the bush engulfed and swallowed us whole. We dipped down into the bush and
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