Easter with Vicky Bostock

With Helen leaving t ogo out to sea the day after the Easter long weekend and Vicky Bostock (Helen's cousin) arriving in town, we had a relatively quiet weekend in Wellington, although Helen spent most of the weekend worrying about having everything ready for the voyage.

On Easter day we did get out of Wellington to nearby Kapiti Island. This a nature reserve just off the Kapiti coast and after years of sealers and farmer s living on it they have not eradicated all the goats and possums and other pests and it is just alive with lots of native birds. This is a protected nature researve that yo uahve to get a permit and get a boat out to the island.

I have to say I spent most of the time stumbling up the path to the top, as I was too busy looking up in the trees. We did see lots of birds including the north island robin and the tui, but we heard a lot more.... that you couldn't see in the native trees! Once you get to the top of the island, you finally get a view down the steep western side of the island and down to the south island of New Zealand.

We had a rather fancy picnic lunch at the top and then shared our Easter lollies with the other visitors at the top.

The boat out to Kapiti Island.


The amazing tree ferns.

The north island robin.


Aaron and Vicky at the top.

View down the western steep side of the island.

Great to see you Vicky and hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip to New Zealand.

Karapoti Mtb Race 2008

After going to watch the start of the Karapoti Race last year we decided we should have a go in the original NZ mountain bike race. The race is 50 km, with three big hills in it, and we had done a bit of training for it. The hills are so steep that it is more of bike/hike than ride - so my tramping trip to Fiordland was part of my training! We had done a practise ride a few weeks earlier, so we knew what we were letting ourselves in for. It is almost all 4WD track, but much of it is rutted with a few river crossings and a couple of big muddy puddles/lakes. Fortunately the last few weeks have been pretty dry, so the track was in pretty good condition as with a little bit of rain it gets very muddy and slippy. The weather forecast for the race was for rain, but fortunately it held off until about 2:30 pm.

Aaron was in the largest category with over 350 men in the 30-39 yr age group. The start looked like carnarge as they all ran across the river carrying their bikes.


Aaron waiting at the start


The start - a run through the river (which is fairly deep if you pick the wrong line - one guy swam as he went neck deep!)

Helen's race report
I was in the last wave of starters - the 19+ yr women and the 50+ yr men. I was surprised how many of us there were. The problem with going in the last group, is that by the time you get to the first hill there is absolutely no way to ride up it as everyone is pushing their bike up the hill in front of you. I think I made it about 1/3 or the way up the hill but then was forced off my bike by the mass of people in front who had no way of getting out of my way. Fortunately I have a relatively light bike - so pushing it up the hill is not too bad, and I'm well practised at it as I often have to walk when I try to follow Aaron up/down things that are beyond my mountain bike skills.

Down the other side of the first hill is rather tricky - with a steep gravel track. Fortunately with the 1000 or so people who had gone before me there was quite a good line picked out, so I think I managed to ride more than I had in our practise ride. However, I had to get off half way down as there was a man lying at the side of the track with a couple of medics sorting him out - this didn't stop some guy flying past and almost taking us all out! The track undulates along for a while after this, with a few short uphill pinches. I had started to get cramps in my legs near the top of the 1st hill, as I think I went out a bit too hard and I didn't have any proper electrolyte stuff with me. So I didn't push it and tried to stretch out my legs along the ridge. I made it to the top of the "Rock Garden" and stopped and had some food and got some electrolyte stuff and a magnesium tablet from one of the other guys who was also taking on some food. I started to feel better and managed to ride quite a bit of this tricky "Rock Garden" descent.

The next hill is called the "Giants Staircase" - this is impossible to ride and is so steep, rutted and slippy that it is hard enough to get grip walking up it, especially while carrying/pushing your bike. About half way up my cramps came back with earnest and I had to stop and ask one of the other girls for some more electrolyte stuff. I pushed through the cramps and made it to the top. Cycling along the ridge was okay - I stayed in a low gear and just spun my legs and the cramps seemed to stay away. Descending "Big Ring Boulevard" was great fun and I almost forgot about the painful cramps in my legs. I was following this girl, who rode so smooth and I tried to copy her and take the same lines around the corners.

Start of the third and final hill I was feeling pretty good and I just got into a rhythm and spun up the first part in my granny gear! By this time of the race everyone was so spread out that it was possible to ride up the hills around the rest of the riders. About half way up, however, the hill gets a bit steeper and I had to get off and walk as everytime I pushed a little harder the cramps returned. About 5 minutes from the top of "Dopers" hill the rain finally arrived and came down pretty hard. Fortunately all the tricky stuff was done and now it was just a matter of negotiating my way down the fairly tame 4WD track and back down the gorge. I looked at my watch and I realised that I was getting fairly close to my estimated time of 4 hours and I was feeling pretty good after a fast, fun descent so I tried to pedal hard down the Karapoti Gorge. I soon had to stop as the cramps were so excruciating that I had to stretch out my legs before I could continue. This happened a couple of times down the gorge and I finally managed to complete the race in a frustrating 4 hour 11 minutes. The fastest female time was 2 hours 47 minutes, but I came in a respectable 14th out 37 in my 19+ yr women's category.

Sea Kayaking on Milford Sound

After four days of tramping we figured it was time to give our legs a rest. So we booked a sea kayaking adventure on Milford Sound. The weather was perfect, clear, sunny and very still. We arrived at Milford Sound and were kitted out with thermals, buoyancy aids, spraydecks etc.. and were given a bit of a briefing by our guide Tracy. We were all in double kayaks - lucky Louisa got to be with me again!


Louisa and Helen in the double kayak

We started out in Deep Water Basin amongst the lobster fishing huts and boats. The water was glassy and clear and the kayaks just glided along with little effort. We headed out in to the main sound to be greeted by a very large cruise liner that was pumping out lots of fumes... what a shame! Supposedly they have to pay a lot of money to come in to the sound and this ship was certainly making the most of it, it spent the whole day going back and forth in the sound. It did, however, give you a sense of scale, as the large cruise liner looked small compared to Mitre Peak.


Paddling towards Mitre Peak

We started by paddling over to Bowen Falls and then along the northern edge of the sound looking out for wildlife on the rocks and in the clear water. We saw a couple of young male fur seals hanging out on the rocks. As we crossed the sound towards Mitre Peak we were also lucky enough to see a Fiordland penguin - but it was too shy to let us get close and photograph it.

We stopped on one of the few beaches to have some lunch and then headed up to see where the Milford Track ends at Sandfly Point. There were certainly a few sandflies around - especially when we were stopped for lunch. The wind picked up after lunch and it was a little bit of a battle paddling back to Deep Water Bay. It was a really relaxing and beautiful way to see Milford Sound on a perfect day.


Milford Sound

On the way back from Milford Sound to Te Anau we stopped at lots of different spots along the scenic drive to look at waterfalls, chasms, spectacular views, as well as a stop for ice cream and a cup of tea! The guides knew lots about the area and provided us with lots of little anecdotes along the way.


Helen and Louisa

It was a great trip - but just too short. So many other things to do in spectacular Fiordland. I'm sure we'll be back again.

Fiordland Adventures - Kepler Track

Louisa, my old housemate from Canberra, came over to New Zealand to visit. We flew in to Dunedin, and then took a bus to Te Anau in Fiordland, southwest of the South Island. A couple of years ago Louisa, Alison and I had done the south coast track in Tasmania and Lou and I thought it was about time we had another multiday tramping adventure. This time we were walking the four day Kepler Great Walk in Fiordland. Unfortunately Aaron couldn't come as he has only just started his new job - so he hasn't earned any holidays yet. He prefers biking to tramping anyway!

Day 1
We set off from Te Anau, picked up our tickets for the huts from the Department of Conservation office, checked out the birds at the wildlife centre and then started on our tramp around the edge of the lake. The walk officially starts from the dam/control gates at the south of the lake, but we walked the 4 km from town. Most of the first day of the walk goes through beautiful beech forests along the lake edge and then heads up the hill in a series of steep switch backs to the tree line. Then it is a gentle climb up to the Mt Luxmore hut. The weather was looking pretty grey when we left Te Anau, but the clouds came and went and there was only a little bit of rain. However when we got to the tree line we walked the rest of the way in the clouds. We arrived at the hut, dumped our bags and went out to explore some caves near the hut. The weather also cleared and we got some wonderful views down to the southern arm of Lake Te Anau.


Louisa at the official start of the Kepler Track


The well maintained track through the beech forest


Stalactites/flowstones in the cave


View of Lake Te Anau from the Mt Luxmore hut

Day 2
After a rather noisy and cool night at Mt Luxmore hut we waited to see what the weather forecast was before setting off up the hill to Mt Luxmore. I guess there are advantages and disadvantages of staying in the huts. The main advantage is that you only have to carry your sleeping bag, clothes, food and pots and pans, but the disadvantage is that you have to share with people who stay up late, get up early and you definitely don't get as much sleep as you would like!

The cloud was pretty low and our view from the top of Mt Luxmore was a sea of white/grey! But most of the way along the track the clouds were just above us and we got some fleeting views of the Lake below and along the ridge. It was quite spectacular with the clouds adding to the atmosphere and contrasting with the green forests and blue lake below. It wasn't as windy as we expected, but quite cool, so we had our rain jackets on most of the way along the top to protect us from the wind. We had been warned that we might see keas (the mountain parrot), but obviously they were shy. Soon we were heading down back into the trees through a series of tight, steep switch backs down to the Iris Burn Valley.


Crazy clouds


Louisa walking along the ridge with the view down to Lake Te Anau

We got to the Iris Burn hut and again selected our beds and dumped our packs and headed out again to head up the valley to the Iris Burn waterfall. It it nice to walk without a pack and just loosen up the legs at the end of the day. We didn't stay long at the waterfall as there were quite a few sandflies around. These are the scourge of Fiordland, and well known for ruining a tramp. We were very lucky that because it had been cool and windy we really didn't have too many problems with sandflies on the whole tramp.


Iris Burn waterfall

That night, after our delicious meal of tuna and pasta, we spent a couple of hours playing cards with a bunch of Israeli guys and a dutch couple. We were surprised how many Israeli's we met, but supposedly it is very common to travel after you finish your military service and Australia and New Zealand are popular destinations. Once it got dark, around 9:30pm, Louisa and I went out "Spotlighting" to search for kiwis. Supposedly a male and female live in the clearing in front of the hut and the hut warden played us their calls, so we knew what to listen for. Unfortunately we didn't seen any kiwis, but we did see a deer (a feral pest in Fiordland) and a morepork (a native owl).

Day 3
After a slightly quieter night in the hut, we set off down the Iris Burn valley. Most of the track was through more beech forests, with lots of ferns, fungi, but not many birds or wildlife. The track had a couple of detours as a result of landslides. We followed the river down the valley until we reached Manapori Lake - claimed to be the most beautiful lake in New Zealand. We walked along the side of the lake and reached the hut. What an idyllic location for a hut, about 20 m from the lake. The weather had finally cleared up and it was relatively warm and sunny, although the wind had picked up and there were some significant waves on the lake. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out on the beach and braving a brief swim in the cool waters of the lake - very refreshing, especially after 3 days of walking and no showers!


Fungi in the forest


Lake Manapori

Day 4
Last day of the tramp. We set off and soon left the edge of Lake Manapori and headed through some wetlands and down to the river that connects Lake Te Anau with Lake Manapori. We walked along the edge of the river until we were back at the control gates. There was a lot more foot traffic along this section, with lots of day walkers. From the control gates we strolled back to Te Anau along the lake front. Back at the hostel we had a quick shower and then headed down to the pub for a beer and some hot chips. The perfect way to end a long walk!

Culture Day

By today we were all pretty tired and decided to have a culture day. The Nelson Museum had an exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci's machines that we went and checked out. Then we went out to the Waimea winery for a quick wine tasting and lunch at the cafe. On the way back we went to visit Hoglund Glass and the Craft Habitat.

Fireball Road / Abel Tasman NP

Dan was headed back to Christchurch today so we just had a quick spin up to Tantragee Saddle and down the Fireball Road tracks. They were not as sketchy as I thought they would be and was able to ride them all.


As usual it looks worse on the bike than in the picture

Helen decided she had had enough of riding so she went for a tramp in Abel Tasman NP, walking the first day of the coastal Abel Tasman Great Walk Watering Hole bay. This is a very easy walk with a great track and very gentle inclines and descents as it climbs over headlands and descends to beaches. The bush and the beaches are spectacular with great views across to a couple of the islands offshore. Unfortunately as it was a public holiday and the weather was hot and sunny, so it was incredibly busy with hundreds of people on the track and lots of motorboats, jet skis etc.. offshore - so there was a continuous hum of motors in the background the whole day. I tried to find a nice secluded beach to go for a swim to cool off - but all the beaches were packed with people and kayaks....

There were lots of kayaks out on the water - I think next time I would like to explore the area by kayak, a different perspective, but at a less busy time of year, when there is less chance of being run over by a motorboat.




Beautiful forest and beaches of Abel Tasman NP

Dun Mountian Walkway

After a lazy morning - recovering from a late night celebrating the new year, we headed out to try and ride the actual Dun Mountain Walkway that we had failed to ride on Christmas Day.
We all rode up the Dun Mountain Walkway to Third House and continued on a little way until the track got less gentle, when Dan and I decided to carry on to see if we could make it to Windy Point. After a sweaty one and a half hour climb, the long descent back down the walkway was very quick and a lot of fun. Hopefully the ride also worked some of the alcohol from the night before out of our systems with all the sweat!