Quiz Night and Electric Fences

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Monday I set out to cross a small mountain pass near Reefton (through the Waitahu Track). I made my first stream crossing. It appeared to be a straight forward crossing (it was only 10 feet across and relatively shallow), but I slipped and fell into the creek. There was some water in my boots, but all in all I survived with only a bruised ego a new respect for the water. I ultimately made it to the valley slope next to the Waitahu River where the track disappeared due to a major landslide. There were other smaller trails that seemed to lead further down into the valley, but it was getting late, I was without my map and I was now unsure of my ability to cross the river, particularly with the recent rains. So I turned back. It took more than 3 hours to get up through the pass (about 300 metres in elevation); it took just 30 minutes to ride back down.

Astrid had her first emergency call in the middle of the night on Tuesday. A young boy showed up at the hospital unable to breathe. It was a real professional challenge to work within the limited resources that are present here (no x-ray, no immediate blood work), but she dealt with it as you would expect - with her usual fine skill and judgment. She stabilized the boy and sent him on to Christchurch by air ambulance, but I suspect it was still a bit of a harrowing experience. She left the house at one in the morning and didn't return until about 5:00 am. We later learned that it was likely the most difficult emergency in Reefton in the last couple of years - a successful trial by fire.

I got up with Astrid to see that she left safely. I was awestruck by the night sky. This was the first time I had a chance to see the sky late at night without clouds. With no light pollution, the sky was a mass of stars. The Milky Way was clearly visible.

Wednesday, Avery left for a two night camp near Waiuta (about 15 minutes drive south of Reefton, followed by an 8 km walk). The rest of us headed into Westport to buy some eye glasses for Adrianne (her glasses broke in half and she was walking around with them taped together for a day or so). The drive through the valley next to the Buller River was something to be seen. At one point, the road narrows to one lane for 200 metres with a steep rock cliff on one side and the river (a 100 metres down) on the other. One has to navigate by using a series of mirrors to avoid a head on collision. I imagine that this is particularly treacherous route in the rain with reduced visibility.

The fourth Thursday of every month is “quiz night” at the local pub and Astrid and I made our first appearance. The whole experience was very entertaining. The $5 entry fee goes to raise funds for the new ambulance building. The questions cover the whole range from general knowledge to the contents of the most recent Clarion - the local newspaper published by the school. I am pleased to report that our team won the night. It was a real team effort. Astrid and I hadn't a clue on any of the sports questions (at times we didn’t even know what sport the questions were referring to), but we nailed most of the topics related to the U.S. Embarrassingly, we got a medical question wrong - relating to the relative number of bones in the hands and feet (the other doctor on our team missed it as well!).

Astrid had another emergency call on Friday. She had to attend to a power worker who had fallen off his truck and severally dislocated his elbow. It sounded pretty unpleasant, but Astrid learned an important lesson about the fences around here - some of them are electrified. Unfortunately, she learned it the hard way when she accidentally leaned on a fence while displaying an air of quiet confidence in front of the ambulance attendants. They thought it was pretty funny. Avery returned from camp on Friday with two very nasty blisters on her toes. She was the only kid wearing shoes on the hikes into the mountains - go figure.

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Photos

Buller Gorge
One of the many beautiful vistas on the road to Westport

Comments

[Ilene]

Maybe doing better, Paul
How is Josh? You have never, obviously never driven in Scotland or tried to traverse "streams"! Foolhardy man! Not even a Jeep would have done it for you and your friend!

[CanadianKiwis]

Crossing Streams
Yes, but see March 27th blog.