4. JUST A DAY-TRIP AWAY: THE SOUTHERN ALPS

To Ngāi Tahu, Mount Aoraki in the Mackenzie region represents the most sacred of ancestors. Aoraki and his three brothers, sons of Ranginui/Sky Father, were voyaging around Papatūānuku/Earth Mother when their waka was stranded after hitting a reef. When Aoraki and his brothers clambered up their overturned vessel, the frigid south wind froze them into stone. That’s how Aoraki became the highest peak and his brothers some of the principal mountains of the Southern Alps. A mighty carving of the legend of Aoraki by renowned artist Cliff Whiting is a highlight at the Department of Conservation Aoraki/ Mt Cook National Park Visitor Centre. In late spring through to early autumn, lupins flower colourfully along the road edges of the Mackenzie Country. Their visual symphony is not music to the eyes of all, however. Connie Scott, now safely tucked up in her grave at the Burke’s Pass Cemetery, would be alarmed at the kerfuffle over her beloved lupins, which some have labeled “botanic thugs” for their river- clogging habits. Others, such as farmers, know their hardy, nitrogenfixing, sheep-feeding potential, and they’re relentlessly stalked by visiting photographers. All Connie wanted to do was add some brightness to the duncoloured Mackenzie landscape. She bought about £ 100 worth of lupin seeds (hiding the bill from her husband) and scattered them along roadsides. “The Lupin Lady” is inscribed on her headstone.