Note To Future Self

It’s an exciting week here at Rancho Marburg because both Anna and I get to go on field trips. Sadly, they aren’t the same field trip.

Anna leaves tomorrow morning for the deep, deep, deep south.

Supposedly it’s for a rain-soaked week of native forest sampling. I haven’t Googled to see if there are any all-inclusive wine-tasting-hot-springs spa/resorts in the area.

The details are a bit sketchy, but she’ll be flying to Invercargill and then taking either a jet boat or a helicopter to the Wairaurahiri river (the right marker below).

Sometime mid-week she’ll be taking another helicopter to a camp on the Waitutu river (left marker). If the forest doesn’t swallow her, she’ll be back next weekend. Besides jet boat and helicopter rides Anna has been promised primitive cabins, torrential rain, and, ahem, local color. Needless to say, our living room now looks like a staging area for an Antarctic expedition.

(For those attempting to follow along at home, the Waitutu is the outflow from Lake Poteriteri, and the Wairaurahiri is the outflow from lake Hauroko, the deepest lake in NZed).

Sadly, my expedition won’t involve helicopters at all. I’m heading back to the States for a wedding and some family time. No helicopters at all. Sniff.