Matukituki Valley, Mt. Aspiring Nat'l Park
The Power of Place
By Randy Richards, MSI Founder
I was debating how I was going to write my first entry from New Zealand. I have already written one article but don’t think it will make the grade. So I guess I’ll write about a magical valley. Oh, I can hear you say, “But all places are spiritual.” Yes, but, I think there are places where the spirit of the place is so evident it comes over you like a wave. I think this valley is one of those places. Places like these have a power that is unmistakable, people are drawn to them, as Boyton Canyon, near Sedona Arizona, or Alta, Utah, and of course Machu Pichu. All land has an energy, and some places are humming with energy, whether it’s the beauty of the place or the history or both.
NW Ridge of Mt. Aspiring
The Matukituki Valley is west of Wanaka , New Zealand in the Mt. Aspiring National Park. The hour drive from Wanaka changes by the mile. The long flat valley with cascading waterfalls begs superlatives. Mt. Aspiring is the tallest and proudest peak near the back of the long valley. Climbers come from all over the world to do their best on the mountain. But others come to enjoy the valley and glacier edges high above.
In the US, Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods is gaining traction with his important coinage of the term, Nature
A family group arrives at Aspiring Hut
Deficit Disorder. Here I have observed many families in the valley for their summer vacations. One group at right, consisted of two families with a total of 10 children who hung out at the hut and environs for three days. They did steep day-hikes up to the surrounding ridge lines. The four-year-old didn’t make it all the way up on her daddy’s shoulders though.
The hut ranger at Mt. Aspiring Hut in the valley, and greets both climbers and “trampers” of all ages. It’s clear that the valley has its hold on many. One volunteer hut warden makes the annual pilgrimage from London, while others I met from New Zealand come back year after year, and others, after some 30 years away.
Hut Warden and her sister at Shovel Flat
One who has a special feeling for the place is a hut ranger going on her third season. The coveted position is shared by another Department of Conservation employee as well. The former, divides her time between Aspiring Hut, French Ridge, precariously perched on the valley’s edge just below the glaciers near Mt. Aspiring, and other huts in the region. She beckoned me, “You’ll love the place”. And I did.
The large trees have a way of calling to you. The winds that caress the grasses on the valley floor seem to create a rhythm that makes us forget the traffic in town.
Double Rainbow from the warden's quarters
It’ s a good reminder of why we need to get to these places, and of course preserve them. Whether it’s Mt. Washington, Mt. Shasta, Alta, or the Matukituki, get out while you still can. I will still post that previous article with tons of revisions, but here’s a start on my impressions of New Zealand and the power of the place.
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