TEKAPO, NEW ZEALAND

Most of the time spent with the USSCo. was sailing around the coasts of New Zealand, across to Australia, and Tasmania and up to the various Pacific islands.

However I did have an opportunity to take a three month vacation to travel New Zealand. The time was used to tour the length and breadth of both the North Island and the South Island by bus - 1960 NZ buses!! It was a wonderful experience, with outstanding hospitality, in this beautiful country. One of the many places visited was a small church near Tekapo in the McKenzie Basin of the South Island. It had an window which was behind the alter and looked out over the lake. The photos I took at the time are above this Post and remember these are 49 years old.

Today I picked up my local South Florida Sunday paper and saw an article there with a photo of that church. Tekapo, NZ is a small town of 830 people, it has grown since 1960, is in the dark and wants to remain that way. The purpose is to bring out the stars more vividly. The town hopes to become the first UNESCO "starlight reserve" and attract, in addition to stargazers, "astro tourists". A UNESCO working party has agreed to study what Graeme Murray of the McKenzie Tourism and Development Board calls "a heritage park in the sky". Should be interesting to see how things work out.

Good Watch

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