Memorial plaque for hiker
MEMBERS of Queenstown’s Czech & Slovak Club will install a plaque on Ocean Peak this weekend to commemorate the late Ondrej Petr.
The 27yearold Czech national died near Lake Mackenzie on the Routeburn Track last July, after he and partner Pavlina Pizova became disoriented in bad weather.
Honorary consul for the Czech Republic Vladka Kennett, of Glenorchy, said about 10 club members would walk the track next Friday and Saturday and install the plaque on a rock close to where Mr Petr died.
The couple’s families had arranged for the plaque to be made and sent to New Zealand, Mrs Kennett said.
‘‘Ondrej was a keen climber who loved mountains and the outdoors, and a part of his soul will always be attached to this part of the world.’’
The Department of Conservation had given its blessing for the plaque.
Ms Pizova spent two nights in the open and was rescued after spending 24 days alone in the Lake Mackenzie warden’s hut.