The country’s mountain ranges, and in particular those of the South Island, create different climactic conditions between the North and the South Islands and also form a climatic barrier between the east and west coasts of the South Island. It is the higher Southern Alps that run the length of the South Island and boast 360 glaciers, of which the Tasman, Murchison, Mueller, Godley and the Hooker glaciers are the largest. These five are situated on the East coast of the South Island. On the West coast, the largest glaciers are the Fox and the Franz Josef glaciers. At least 223 named peaks in the Southern Alps are higher than 2.300 meters. Most of the highest mountains are in the South Island with Mount Cook being the highest mountain at 3,754 meters. The South Island is just one of the islands that make up New Zealand, the other main ones being the North Island and Stewart Island, but there a number of smaller offshore islands are also included: The Chatham Islands, The Kermadec Islands, Campbell Island, The Antipodes Islands, The Bounty Islands and the The Auckland Islands. New Zealand also has part jurisdiction over the territories of Tokelau and the Ross Dependency, and is involved in Antarctica.

In general, the country experiences high rainfall, with the East Coast of New Zealand being the driest area, while the West Coast of the South Island has one of the highest annual rainfalls in the world. Approximately 23% of the country is now forested and protected compared to 80% originally. These sorts of conditions make for an adventurer’s wonderland and there are many bush trails, adventure sports and snow field activities for the hardiest of people. The South Island very nearly became a French colony though, when in the late 1830’s a convoy of French settlers left the port of Rochefort in France on March 1840 on the ship “Comte de Paris”, under the command of Captain Lavaud. Captain Lavaud was to represent the French Government in the South Island until the arrival of a Governor.

However, just one month before the “Comte de Paris” left France, and on the 6^th February 1840, the British signed the Treaty of Waitangi with Maori Chieftains, at the Bay of Islands. The South Island Maori chiefs signed the treaty a little later, on 30th May of the same year. The unknowing French arrived at Akaroa near Christchurch only in August 1840, to discover they would be settling in a British colony. After the signing of The Treaty, a British warship had sailed to Akaroa or Banks Peninsular, and planted the Union Jack. The French also discovered that the land bought earlier had been resold, several times over actually, as was often Maori custom with some British settlers already having claims to certain areas of land. In 1841, British Government agreed with France to protect the rights of French landowners in New Zealand, and the French colonists then settled in two small towns of around 60 people each at Akaroa.

My family history with the South Island is mainly with Westport on the West Coast of New Zealand. My Fathers parents and Grandparents settled here owning a hotel and apparently living quite basically in these tough conditions. I have visited the area once apart from when I was still a baby, and that was in 1974 when I did a bit of a tour around the area. I have an aunt and uncle still in Westport with another aunt and uncle over in Christchurch, a very English city on the east coast and the largest in the South Island. Also, I have been down to Milford Sound, working there over one Christmas and visiting Queenstown and areas long before the tourism boom really took off! I have visited the Hermitage on Mount Cook and gone through the Haast pass and a few other places, but as of yet, not been able to get to Invercargill or the Golden Spit, that stretch of land that extends from the top of the South Island. Steward Island is another area still to visit as well. Deb, my sister, had an engineering job at the big aluminum smeltering works in Invercargill before moving back up to Hamilton with her family. One of my biggest thrills in the south was taking a light plane and flying through the mountains to reach Milford, skimming close to the mountain tops and having a great view all the way. Fantastic!