McCrain's
in Middle Earth
A travel dialogue of our adventures
in New Zealand
In February 2004, Jim and Kathy McCrain began a five month oddessy in New Zealand. Kathy was transferred to Auckland for a temporary work assignment, and Jim followed her for moral support. (Isn't he just the greatest husband?)
What follows is Jim's account of this adventure.
"Low
Trouble, High Adventure"
July 24, 2004
We
spent last night in the town of Franz Joseph. And let me tell you, we
were glad to make it there. You see, right as the sun was beginning
to set, and some of the mountain passes were being shrouded in shadow,
we hit a small patch of ice. Now before you go saying “Jim was
driving reckless!” let me state for the record that I was going
about 40 kilometers per hour UNDER the speed limit,
shifting gears into a LOWER gear, and had both hands
on the wheel. Once the van stopped spinning, Kathy and I
caught our breath and checked our shorts! Thankfully,
I have literally driven over a million miles in my lifetime, 
and all
those years of driving trucks for a living gave me the right skills
to avoid an accident. Still, my heart was beating pretty fast for a
few minutes. But, no harm was done, nothing was hit, and only my ego
was bruised. “Black ice” can happen in any country!
To
celebrate life and living, today we decided to do something VERY safe.
We took a helicopter ride over the tops of several of the
glaciers and mountains. There is nothing like skimming
along a knife-edged 
ridge line at an altitude of only about 300 feet,
in a vehicle that has no wings! Neither Kathy or I had ever been in
a helicopter, so this was a true thrill for both of us. I also finally
got to show Kathy UP 
CLOSE
just how beautiful a glacier and an ice-fall can be, as well as how
scary they can be when you look straight down into a crevasse. The added
bonus of seeing the climbing routes of Mt. Tasman and Mt. Cook was spectacular!
I can’t wait to get back into the mountains again! Of
course, for the rest of the trip, every time we see a helicopter ride
offered, I am sure we will be very tempted to take it!
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