Shadows Beneath The Long White Cloud

CHAPTER 1

Lady Tamzin Scott-Walker had been introduced to Lawrence Porter purely as Tamzin at the end of her first week in New Zealand’s old gold miner’s town of Arrowtown. She had liked him, he was quite good-looking, and had a gentle sense of humour. In fact he was a nice companion to have tag along on her field trips out into the gullies she visited in search of exposed rock formations to map. He was also interested in seismology, in its broadest sense, a curiosity rather than the in-depth science, and Tamzin enjoyed being able to explain the basic reasons for the diverse rock folds, formations and fractures exhibited in the area.

“This whole area is like a compound bone fracture caused by the compressive forces of the Australian, Antarctic and Pacific tectonic plates moving against each other. New Zealand being on the rim of the Pacific Ring of Fire has both the hazards of seismic activity and volcanic activity and even as we speak the movement along the Alpine Fault line between the Pacific plate and the Australian plate is forcing the north-west corner of South Island to move slowly northwards.”

“That’s the fault line that goes up the West coast then cuts into the Southern Alps, crossing to Picton, Wellington and then North Island,” said Lawerence, keen to show that he had been listening to her.

They were taking a short rest having trekked a considerable distance north along the Arrow River Valley, turning off occasionally to study rock faces in the side gullies.

“That’s the culprit.” She smiled at his enthusiastic response. “In North Island the Pacific plate is being forced under the Australian plate, a process known as subduction. South of New Zealand it’s the Australian plate that is being subducted, and in-between, the two plates hit edge to edge, causing the upthrusts of the Southern Alps and the shatter-zones of Fiordland. They estimate that the major plate movement rate is about 45 millimetres a year and over the last couple of hundred years the pressure build up along the alpine fault has been immense, indicating that a major event could happen very soon. I have a theory that this area is on the axis line where the two plates are twisting which has produced a second fault line at right angles to the main one, forming the valley where Lake McKerrow and Lake Wakatipu are. To prove that such an action is taking place, I need to find new secondary fault lines running parallel, that occurred during recent minor events. That in turn could lead to a further fault line parallel to the original plate edge running up the east side of South Island, hence the recent quakes in Christchurch and Kiakoura.”

Lawerence looked down at the map and slowly nodded his head, “I see what you mean, I think.”

As he traced the line with his finger Tamzin realised she had revealed far more than she intended about her work and was relieved that her planned move to Cromwell would make a break in the relationship. Lawerence reminded her of Doodles, a chocolate Labrador, Springer Spaniel cross a brilliant but needy gun dog her family had owned who followed her everywhere when she was at home. Nice though he was Lawerence was not the man for her and she now needed to let him down gently; her Doctorate was important to her and she really didn’t need any distractions anyway.

“By the way, tomorrow I’m moving my base to Cromwell. I could only schedule two weeks here, as I want to study some of the formations along the Nevis River gullies.” She noted his disappointment. “I’ll do some initial surveys to identify areas of special interest, then I was planning to camp there now that the weather is improving. As the temperatures rise, I’ll move up into the Moke Lake area. ”

“Have you got a tent and all the cooking stuff?”

She nodded.

“I just love camping out,” he said, sounding a little like a schoolboy hoping to be included in a treat.

She didn’t respond.

“Will you be all right out there on your own? What happens if you have a fall or something?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“No, seriously, Tamzin, you need someone with you, just in case,” Lawerence said, a worried expression on his face. “Look, I can juggle a few days and come along to lend a hand. My Auntie won’t mind me taking a short break.”

“Really, I will be fine.”

“These remote gullies can be very dangerous places. The Nevis River will be up high and the gullies in flood. What with the thaw and heavy rain we’ve had in the last few weeks. You’ve seen the levels and the force of water down the Arrow River and you don’t have to go up much higher to get into snow and unstable areas that can avalanche.”

There was some sense in what he was saying and having now revealed a bit too much information about the focus of her study, she thought his attendance might keep her idea safe until it was either proved or conclusively disproved.

“Lawerence, if you come along it will be only as a friend and helper. This trip is all about a PhD thesis I’m writing and I can’t have any distractions.” She paused, then said, “What I explained just now is only a theory of mine and it could well be a pretty daft one at that, so please don’t mention it to anyone, will you? I really don’t want to be a complete idiot if my grand theory is a dud.”

“That’s fine, and of course I’ll keep it to myself. I know how cagey I was when I did my degree dissertation,” he replied. “Where are you going to be staying in Cromwell?”

“Clutha Lodge, it’s a B&B just back from the lake.”

“Yeh, I know the place, run by a couple of fellas.”

Tamzin shrugged her shoulders. “Is it? It was a lady that answered the telephone when I made the booking.”

Lawerence smiled. “When are you thinking of camping?”

“The long range forecast looks good from next Tuesday onwards so if you call by the Lodge at around eight that morning we can get going. Oh and you’ll have to bring your own tent and stuff, my tent is a small single.”

“No problem, I’ve got all the kit I’ll need.”

They continued along the track to a deep narrow defile leading off to their right; flat and heavily wooded at the start it then climbed steeply up to the point where the tree line ended and they found themselves staring at yet another barren, snow-covered peak of weathered sandstone.

Tamzin looked at her watch. “This will have to be it. It’s getting late and we have a long way to walk back.”

“Have you got all you need in the way of information and photographs?”

“I think so, it’s all a pretty consistent picture of tectonic plate collision.”

“You make it sound like a car accident.”

“Huh, I suppose it is similar except that this one has lasted a few million years.”

“Like a slow motion film and we’re seeing the latest frame.”

She smiled, there was something very sweet about Lawerence Porter. “That describes it very well.”

On the walk back, Tamzin detected that the atmosphere between them had changed, but she wasn’t sure whether Lawerence had fully accepted the rules she had laid down. In a way she felt a bit guilty and wondered whether, having accepted his company previously, she had sent the wrong signals.To dampen things even more it had started to rain again, not heavily but enough to keep their heads down and hoods tied firmly in place.

Back in Arrowtown, Lawerence declined to have a drink with her saying that he better get on with making arrangements for the camping trip, leaving her feeling even more guilty.

As clever as she was, Tamzin had taken on a massive task in selecting this region for her study and she was beginning to wonder whether she would find anything new to say about it, or produce any work that would further geophysical research. New Zealand had excited the interest of many geophysicists and geologists and at every turn she had found herself confirming the work of others, unable to find a new angle or build upon previous ideas. If the Nevis Valley didn’t produce any significant event to write up and expound upon, she would give Moke Lake a swift look then travel north into the recent quake area or return home in search of another country to do the research.

* * *

Early the following morning, Tamzin checked out at Arrowtown and drove south to Cromwell; she found Clutha Lodge easily and turned into the driveway that ran a short distance before opening up to allow parking for three cars, each bay neatly marked with the letter ‘G’. Getting out of the car, she looked at the neat garden with manicured lawns and tidy flowerbeds; the bungalow was classic clapboard, painted cream with white corner posts and window frames. The corrugated roof painted grey completed the image of conservatism and order, so it was a shock to the senses when she found herself stepping into a Victorian gothic interior as she followed Daniel who had emerged from the garage to carry her case.

“Charlie! Our latest guest has arrived,” called Daniel, putting the case down in the hallway.

Charlie appeared from the kitchen dressed in light green slacks and a pink shirt under a white apron. He was obviously younger than Daniel - possibly by ten years - with a face that could only be described as pretty. His hair was a chestnut brown which had that public school class casual style of long and wavy.

“Why hello, you must be Tamzin Scott-Walker, welcome to Clutha Lodge,” The voice was the one she had heard when making the booking. “I’m Charlie,” he said, taking off a yellow rubber glove and giving Tamzin a gentle handshake.

“Hi Charlie, it’s lovely to meet you.”

“Daniel, could you put Tamzin’s case in ‘Southland’? Mr and Mrs Colman have asked to be in ‘Canterbury’ again this time.”

Picking up her case again, Daniel said, “Follow me, you have the view of the terrace and back garden.”

She was relieved to find the room to be large and filled with lighter decor than the rest of the house, the exception was the shower room which had black marble-effect walls with white and gold streaks and white furniture with gold fittings; the shower itself was a double with a door and a fixed panel of clear glass with an ‘Arts and Crafts’ style frosted image of a naked man on the door and a woman on the panel.

“I hope you will be comfortable here,” said Daniel as he opened the fanlight over the window to allow some cold air into the room. “If you would like dinner this evening could you let Charlie know by midday? I think the main course is pork chop Ardennes with sauté potatoes and greens.”

“Wow that sounds wonderful, yes please, count me in.”

Promising to pass the message on, Daniel left her to unpack. Half an hour later Tamzin was stopping by the local supermarket to buy water and a sandwich before setting off on her first reconnaissance trip towards the Nevis Valley. Crossing the bridge over the Kawarau River, she drove through Bannockburn and out along the road to the junction with Hawksburn Road where the tarmac ended and the track leading to Nevis began. Like on many of the metalled roads in New Zealand, a properly designed four-wheel drive vehicle made the journey a lot more comfortable and Tamzin was pleased with her choice of the Rav4. Driving on the family estate had taught her how to handle corrugated trackways and loose gravel and an hour later, after driving up to a high, snow-covered plateau, she cautiously steered her car down the steep descent to Nevis Crossing in the bottom of a deep valley. To the north, the river entered a narrow gorge with precipitous sides denying access along the river banks but to the South lay more even ground. Turning the Toyota round she drove back onto the higher ground to the start of a gully striking north away from the road. If the gully led down to the Nevis River it could be the ideal starting point for her research. With that thought, the lack of enthusiasm she had been feeling since her search along the Arrow River disappeared and was replaced by a renewed sense of energy.

It was a very lonely and exposed spot and remembering Lawerence’s warning, she checked the battery level on her hand held SatPhone and the contents of her rucksack. Locking the car carefully, she climbed down the gully as light snow began to fall. The descent was quite gradual and the going through the light scrub was slippery underfoot. She was aware that on this type of terrain with barren, snow-covered hard rock above the vegetation line providing a vast area of run-off, the current trickle of water in the gully could quickly become a torrent if the temperature rose later in the day.

It took her about half an hour to follow the gulley down to a point where it joined a larger water course with what was now a fast running torrent cascading down towards the Nevis. The northern wall of this larger gully offered hope of greater interest than the gullies along the Arrow River, but now was not the right weather conditions to further the search. She stood for several minutes taking photographs and hoped that the results would give her something to review more carefully back at Clutha Lodge. The snow had turned to sleet, making every step hazardous on smooth rock surfaces, forcing her to keep to the loose scree which was a safer to walk on though harder on the legs. It was as she turned to retrace her steps back to her car that she picked up a movement out of the corner of her eye and, turning back to look down the gully, she caught sight of something or someone ducking down behind a scree ridge about a hundred or so metres away. She pulled the binoculars from her rucksack side pocket and focused them on two large boulders and a mound of rock scree down on the gully floor, keeping her view fixed on the spot for several seconds before deciding that the movement was probably a bird.

It was a much harder trek back to her car and she was grateful to lift the rear tailgate and sit to offload her rucksack and change her footwear. The movement she had seen still nagged at her as it had throughout the trudge back up the gully. Several times she had stopped to look back, expecting to see something or maybe someone.

She gave the gully a last look, closed the tailgate and went round to the driver’s door, got in and opened the topographical map of the area, concentrating on the large gully and its contours. It was definitely the right starting point but with a strong feeling of being watched, she decided that the next time she entered would definitely be in the company of Lawerence. Folding the map away, she started the car and headed back towards Cromwell. During the course of the next four days, she made further trips out into the Nevis area, first taking the track south of the Nevis Crossing and then driving beyond the crossing, looking at other areas but each day she returned convinced her first expedition had brought her to the right starting point for the detailed research.

* * *

When Lawerence rang the doorbell at Clutha Lodge at precisely eight o’clock the following Tuesday, Tamzin admitted to herself a sense of relief that she wouldn’t be camping alone.

“Hi, how are you,” Lawerence said as he put his heavy-looking rucksack down in the hallway.

“Fine thanks, you’re obviously still up for the trip, I see.”

“Can’t wait. If you open up the Rav I’ll get this gear inside and come back to give you a hand.”

“My stuff’s already in the car. It’s open, I’ll just say cheerio to the boys and I’ll be with you.”

Daniel and Charlie waved them off after Charlie, with the worried expression of a mother, told her to ‘take good care and come straight back if there were any problems’.

“They looked after you alright then?”

“Oh yes, they were both very sweet and Charlie is a master cook, I must have put on pounds.”

“Have you been able to do much in the way of a recce? The weather’s been bloody terrible in Arrowtown?”

“I’ve been out to the area everyday actually and discovered where I think we should make a serious search.”

“Oh, that’s good, I thought you might have been snowed off.”

“I come from England, last week’s weather is normal for us.”

“It gets pretty cold here in the winter but it’s normally warmed up a bit more this time of year.”

“The weather gods must have known I was coming?“ replied Tamzin.

“I’ve brought along some food and water, enough for me for three or four days, tinned mainly.”

“I’ve done much the same. I was going to buy a twelve volt cold box but our base camp is well off the road and this car won’t make it over really rough terrain.”

“No, these CUVs are a bit lightweight when it comes to real off-road stuff.”

They had crossed the bridge and driven through Bannockburn to the start of the metalled track...