Skiing and mountaineering class on Mt Ruapehu

We didn't make it up the mountains last winter as we were renovating and usually too busy doing demolition on the weekends, our ski gear was also too hard to extricate from the garage, as it was behind and under all our house stuff. After the lack of snow down in Queenstown we booked ourselves to do an intro to winter mountaineering course up at Whakapapa, Mt Ruapehu. Helen has done lots of mountaineering - but it was all over 10 years ago and she was feeling rather rusty. Aaron has not done any. So it was a good chance to learn/brush up on some of the basics.

We decided to go up on Friday and get an afternoon of skiing in before the course as the weather was looking pretty good. Fortunately it was only an afternoon of skiing as our skiing muscles are rather out of shape and we got pretty tired.

Helen with the Pinnacles in the background

Once the lifts were closed and the sun was going down we walked up to the hut that we were staying in over the weekend. Unfortunately it wasn't one of the huts that is easily accessible from the carpark and it took about 30 minutes to walk up in the snow carrying our gear. Fortunately it was a beautiful evening and a very pleasant stroll up the hill.

On the way up to the hut

The Hutt Valley tramping Club hut

Sunset from the hut balcony

And back toward Ruapehu's summit

As with most of the huts on the mountain this one was built in the 1970's and has some interesting decor - straight from the 1970's. The wall paper was "special".

Groovy wallpaper in the hut

Most of the other people on the course arrived on Friday night and had to walked up in the dark with the instructors, it would have been a little tricky to find your way in the dark. Saturday morning the weather was great and we headed out to learn how to kick steps, cut steps with the ice axes, walk with crampons and stop yourself using the ice axe (ice axe arrest) if you fell on a slope. We also practised navigating, trying to find transceivers (in case you get buried by an avalanche) and learnt a little about the snow and avalanche risk.

Learning to play with ice axe and crampons

Some guys had built a snow cave just by the hut, so we crawled inside and checked it out.

Escaping from a snow cave

Unfortunately by mid afternoon on Saturday the weather had come in and we had to find our way back to the hut in a white out. The weather only worsened overnight and we awoke to rain/snow and strong winds. So after some more talks about the theory of weather forecasting/conditions, avalanche risk and shelters, we headed back down to the car park mid morning on Sunday and drove very cautiously down the hill and back to Wellington.

Despite the shortened course, I think we got what we needed out of the course. Aaron now knows how to walk in his crampons and is ready to climb a big snowy mountain - if the conditions are good and it isn't too hard!

Rakiura Great Walk - Stewart Island

After the conference a few of us took the opportunity to explore Stewart Island a little more. We had hoped to fly over to the west coast, which is well known for having lots of kiwis, but the weather was too foul to fly.

The team - Alan, Shane, Kareen, Helen and Dave

So instead we took a water taxi, north along the more sheltered east coast and then walked the Rakiura Great Walk.

Pushing the water taxi off Bungaree Beach

Bungaree Hut, right on the beach

Walking along the beach to the track

The weather was pretty interesting.... lots of little hail storms passing through, followed by sunny spells. At least the hail mostly just bounces off and you don't get soaking wet. However it does eventually melt - so the track was pretty wet and muddy in places. Stewart Island is well known for mud, so some of us just embraced it - while others tried to avoid it by climbing around the track!

Hail collected in the centre of the ferns

Wet and muddy track

We walked from Bungaree Hut to Port William. We got to the hut mid afternoon and spend the rest of the day reading books in front of the fire in the hut, trying to fish of the pier and drinking lots of tea.

Shane and Kareen trying to fish off the landing dock - thankfully we brought plenty of food and didn't have to rely on them catching anything!

Sitting in the hut drinking tea and playing cards, billies heading up on the fire for the next round of tea!

The next day we walked to North Arm hut. The route took us through areas of forest that had been logged for the large Rimu and other trees. There were lots of evidence of the historical logging - the old rail way tracks, the log haulers, areas of forest with very few large trees and lots of new growth.

Log haulers left behind in the forest

North Arm of Patterson Inlet - the view from the hut

After 3 nights in huts we walked back to civilisation, well showers and the pub in Oban. The lovely lady who looked after the bach we were staying at in Oban had put on the fire for us....

We had a great time in Stewart Island. It is a beautiful place and a great escape from everyday stresses.

Rainbow over Halfmoon Bay with Oban in the background

Stewart Island

After Queenstown Aaron dropped me off in Bluff to catch the ferry over to Stewart Island for the NZ Marine Sciences conference. Aaron then headed home.

Bluff... the end of the South Island of New Zealand

Stewart Island is just off the south island of New Zealand and despite having been past it several times on the ship it was my first visit to the island. Fortunately the ferry trip across Foveaux Strait was very calm.

A calm Foveaux Strait with Stewart Island in the distance

The conference was in Oban, the very small township on Stewart Island. As it is mid-winter there were very few tourists around and only the pub and small shop were open. The conference was in the community centre with the local Lion's club doing all the catering and looking after us. Quite a few of the community members even came to several of the talks about the local marine history and the tagging and tracking of Great White Sharks around Stewart Island - many of the sharks are named after the locals who had helped with the work and they came to see where their shark had gone on its winter holidays! Usually somewhere tropical like Fiji, Tonga, Great Barrier Reef.

Oban the little township on Stewart Island

There were several field trips out to some of the reserves. I went out to Ulva Island - a local bird and marine reserve. The water was very, very clear... lots of the marine biologists went diving and snorkelling as the visibility was so good - after hearing about the Great White Sharks I wasn't so brave.

Clear waters of Patterson Inlet

There were lots of birds on Ulva island - I saw my first Saddleback

Saddleback

An inquisitive robin

It was a very good, social conference in a beautiful location with friendly, interested locals.

Queenstown Holiday - Part 3

After a couple of days on the Routeburn track we had a day off checking out the famous bungy jump from the old bridge over the Kawrau River, and wine and food tasting. This coincided with the only foggy day of the week. The next day the weather cleared again and we headed up the cable car up Ben Lomond that overlooks Queenstown.

View from the top of the cable car of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables in the background

From the top of the cable we started walking up Ben Lomond. However after a late start in the morning we were running out of time and Aaron desperately wanted to go on the luges - to relive his last visit to Queenstown with Dave Osmond.

Ben Lomond

Aaron on his luge about to race Helen down the track.... he won - but then gravity was on his side!

Riding the alpine slides

Our final day we headed up the otherside of the valley, towards Coronet Peak Ski fields and also where there are quite a few mountain bike tracks that Aaron wanted to check out for when he goes back in summer with his bike!

Coronet Peak ski fields - a few pathetic patches of man made snow in a sea of brown hills!

Skippers Canyon and the Alps

The Shotover River where lots of the jet boats go up and down the canyon.

So lots of walking, but also lots of relaxing - it was a great week away.

Queenstown Holiday - Part 2

The next couple of days the forecast was for cold and sunny so we attempted to do the Routeburn great walk. We packed up our rucksacks with our overnight gear and set off on a very frosty morning up the Routeburn valley. In the summer you have to book these great walks weeks in advance, but the nice thing about doing it in winter is that you can just pick your weather and go for it, and there usually aren't many other people on the track and competing for the beds in the huts.

Crossing the Routeburn River at the start of the track on a very frosty morning

Most of the track up the valley is in the beautiful beech forest and doesn't get any sun at this time of year. But when you reach Routeburn Flats it was warm and sunny, so we stopped and had lunch at the hut there.

Looking down on sunny Routeburn Flats

From Routeburn flats the track climbs up the side of the valley and up towards the cirque or glacier bowl. We stayed at the Routeburn Falls hut just at the lip of the cirque. The views from the hut are probably some of the best from any hut in New Zealand, back down the valley with snow dusted mountains all around.

Sunset from Routeburn Falls Hut

After a very cold night at the hut - huddled around a pathetic fire with two other guys who arrived later we headed up into the cirque and tried to climb up to Harris Saddle. The last few entries in the hut visitors book had said that they had turned around due to the ice. We did the same as we didn't have crampons or axes with us.

Icy track with a steep drop off into Lake Harris when you get around the corner

Helen and Harris Lake

So we headed back down the way we had come and back to the comfort of the bach.

Queenstown Holiday - Part 1

Several of our friends have access to family "baches" (otherwise known as holiday homes) - or in the south island they actually call them "cribs". Don't ask me where the names come from. We have been making the most of these "friendships" and taking advantage of the baches. As I had a work conference down south of New Zealand we decided to take the opportunity to go to Queenstown for the week. Queenstown is in the middle of the Southern Alps and is a big tourist destination - especially at this time of the year as there are several ski fields near by and it was opening week and the Queenstown winter festival. Unfortunately for the ski fields there wasn't any snow yet.

Our friend's bach was a typical 1970-80's bach, just outside of Queenstown on the sunny side of the lake - right next to the newly opened Hilton Hotel! So in a prime location.

View from the deck of the "bach"

Although it was opening week for the ski fields there wasn't any snow and they hadn't been able to make very much as the temperatures have been very mild so far this year. So there was no point in going skiing. We took down our tramping gear and explored some of the local tracks around the area.

We went over to Wanaka and headed up the spectacular Rob Roy hanging valley to check out the glacier at the top.

Crossing the Matukituki River to get to the Rob Roy valley

The Rob Roy Glacier

The next day we headed up to the Remarkables and walked up to Lake Alta through the ski fields desperately trying to make some snow. Surprisingly Lake Alta was frozen, and there was some natural snow on Double Cone above the lake.

Frozen Lake Alta at the Remarkables

Double Cone above Lake Alta

Hawkes Bay and tramping in the Ruahine's

We haven't had much of a holiday in the last few months as we have been finishing off the house and have had a lot of different visitors, followed by a lot of work - so Aaron organised for us to take a break in Hawkes Bay over the Queen's birthday long weekend (yes I know it is weird that we celebrate the Queen's birthday in New Zealand and Australia, although it isn't much of a celebration, just an excuse for a holiday). We have only been up to Hawkes Bay once before, a few months after we arrived over the Christmas break, so it was a chance to explore the area properly - making sure that we tasted the food and wine which the region is well known for.

Other than visiting a few wineries and tasting some cheese, honey and various other delicacies we tried to work off a few calories with a walk up and around Te Mata Peak - a large limestone hill just outside of Havelock North.

Te Mata Peak

We also took the excuse to go tramping in the Ruahine's (the range north of the Tararuas - which are the mountains just to the north of Wellington). We walked the main walking track up to Sunrise Hut, where we dumped our bags and walked up to one of the peaks.

Sunrise Hut just on the treeline

On top of the unnamed peak just to the north of the hut 1499 m high

Aaron with the views of the mountains and the hut just on the ridge to the left

We stayed in the hut overnight and had a very romantic meal of rehydrated morroccan lentils by candle light (our kind of romantic).

Candlelit dinner!

The next morning we were up with the sunrise and headed out on a bit of an epic adventure climbing up to the the top of Te Atuaoparapara peak, then down a scree slope on the other side and then down the Waipara River back to the road. 6 hours of walking, battling the wind, scrambling, scree skiing, bush bashing, wading across the river countless times - back to the car.

The ridge up to the top of Te Atuaoparapara - it was really windy and I didn't really want to walk too close to the edge in case I was blown over as it was a sheer drop down the other side.

One of the many times we crossed the Waipara River