Continued from The Quest for The Ring
The Ring boarded the plane with me to New Zealand. Weeks prior, I have mulled over ideas for the proposal. I had decided it shall be a simple, intimate affair - no fireworks, explosions or large audiences. As we were planning for the trip, I mentally took note of possible locations and timings for proposal - sunrises, sunsets, under the stars, on top of glaciers, on a hot air balloon...
Potential Proposal Site 1 was Lake Matheson. We first went there in the afternoon of 1st Jan 2012. As we walked around the trail, I took note of the various places that I could propose. The photo below was taken from the "View of Views". I then suggested to return tomorrow morning for the sunrise, when we could take the famous photo of Mt Cook being reflected in the lake.
We then woke up at 4am the next day. Drove and trekked in the dark to reach the lake. But alas! I was thwarted by thick clouds which shrouded the sky. The sunrise ended up less than spectacular and there was no reflection in the lake. Our spirits were both dampened, and hence, the ring stayed inside the bag..
We took this photo to amuse ourselves while waiting for the sun to rise and the clouds to clear.
In the end, the mountains stayed hidden..
Potential Proposal Site 2 was Fox Glacier. We had previously booked a helihike trip to the top of Fox Glacier. It would be so beautiful proposing on a shiny white glacier isn't it? No. The weather had to destroy our plans again. The cloud cover was too heavy for the helicopter to take off and our trip was cancelled.
In the end we signed up for a half-day hike on foot instead.
The hike was tiring but fun. We were constantly on the move and there were lots of other people around, so the ring stayed in the bag once again...
I had half a mind to propose during this awesome sunset on the long drive from Fox Glacier to Queenstown, but the light was fading very fast and we were rushing to set up our photography equipment, so I let it pass..
Potential Proposal Site 3 - Queenstown. We went for the Luge ride on Bob's Peak in the afternoon of 3rd Jan 2012, and I shortlisted the location.
Bob's peak had a panoramic view of Queenstown and the adjacent Lake Wakatipu.
The Luge ride was fun too :)
You only had to pay for the ride at the top of the hill, so you could keep taking the gondola for free... which was what we did. Hahaha. I then suggested to return for the sunset...
The clouds started to shimmer with the golden colour of the evening light at about 8pm. There were a number of fellow photography enthusiasts there too.
Such a magical sunset right? I thought so too. So I asked dear to walk up with me to the top of the hill, where the start of the Luge ride was, to "get a better view". It was almost 10pm and the place was closing. The crowd was dwindling and the hill top was all but deserted. As she was setting up her tripod, I dug out The Ring from my bag and surprised her her behind...
"Will you marry me?"
And the rest is history.
There were many other Potential Proposal Sites which followed, but all were ruined by the weather.. Our observatory/star gazing trip was terminated by the rain and our hot-air balloon flight was cancelled twice due to "unfavorable weather conditions". I was lucky to have managed to propose successfully before the trip ended!
