Somes Island

We recently visited Somes Island which is located in Wellington Harbour. The island has plenty of history having been at various times an internment camp, a quarantine station and a military base but these days is a protected nature reserve. A number of endangered species have been reintroduced to the island including blue penguins, red-crowned parakeets (kākāriki) and tuatara which are New Zealand’s largest reptiles.

We caught a ferry and after a short but rather rough crossing we reached the island and had fun setting up the tent (up to 12 people are allowed to camp overnight) in a howling gale. I would highly recommend camping as many of the islands inhabitants are nocturnal.

 

The Camp site.

 

Somes Island is quite small and we managed to walk all the way around in about an hour. We saw a number of kākāriki and fantails, but not much else.

 

 We found this small lighthouse quite close to the campsite.

 

Most of the island is pretty rugged.

Kākāriki

 

In the evening we wandered down to the beach on the lookout for blue penguins. The birds spend their days at sea foraging for food and come ashore in the evenings and live underground in burrows or holes. We didn’t see anything for quite a while but eventually they started to come ashore, not that they were that easy to spot, as they are the world’s smallest penguin and it was rather dark.

 

Blue Penguin.

We could have spent all evening looking at the penguins but decided to go exploring on the islands various bush tracks on the lookout for tuatara. We spent ages while looking for them and were considering giving up when we came round a bend and found one of them in the middle of the track and then a few seconds later a second one. For both of us this was the highlight of the trip as the tuatara are not easy to find with none of our fellow campers seeing any at all.

Tuatara.

Xmas Trip

Another year, another Xmas and bugger me here we are back in Queenstown. We were supposed to be walking the Kepler Track but for a number of reasons this fell through and we ended with 10 days to kill and no plan of action.

We flew down to Queenstown and spent the first night there and then took the bus to Te Anau where we spent the next four nights staying at the distinctly average Kiwi Lakeside Holiday Park. Truth be known the accommodation was perfectly acceptable and reasonably priced but utterly devoid of character. What the heck though, it’s only somewhere to sleep the night and a base to explore a part of New Zealand that has character in spades.

We went on a couple of ½ day walks and effectively covered the last section of the Kepler track as far as Moturau Hut. Shortish walks were the order of the day as the weather was really scorching and certainly too hot to walk much after midday. We did have one rainy day where we decided to do something different and visited the local glow-worm caves which are a 30 minute boat ride across Lake Te Anau. The boat journey and caves are well worth it, but if you are into your glow-worms, not a patch on the North Island’s Waitomo caves.

 The three pictures below were all taken on the Kepler Track.

 

 We found this nice little lake signposted just off the track.

 

 Overlooking Lake Manapouri.

 

Shallow Bay.

 

We then took the bus back to Queenstown and stayed for four nights at the Southern Laughter Sir Cedric hostel. Odd name but not a bad hostel and really well located.

To give us a bit more flexibility we decided to hire a car. The best thing about the car was that it had air conditioning which we really came to appreciate as if we thought Te Anau was hot then Queenstown definitely turned things up a notch or two and it really was a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. Given the weather, it was somewhat incongruous to see the odd patch of snow still lingering up in the hills.

We visited Wanaka which was relaxed and chilled out and probably much like Queenstown 20 years ago before it exploded into the big brash tourist mecca that it is now.

Next on the list was a trip to the nearby Mt Aspiring National Park. We decided to head to a place called Raspberry Creek where there looked to be an interesting walk up to the Rob Roy glacier.

The road to Raspberry Creek started off as tarmac but then turned to the gravel with the road surface gradually deteriorating. After a while we came to a ford. I didn’t really like the look of the ford particularly as we in a hire car and faced a big bill if the car was damaged but went across anyway. Shortly after this the road became single lane and right on cue a dirty great lorry came round the next bend. There was no way of getting around the truck so we had no alternative but to reverse all the way back to and over the ford. This was rather unnerving as I am rubbish at reversing and there were some nice steep drops awaiting if I got it wrong. It turned out there was a sign near the ford advising that there were a total of nine fords to cross which were only suitable for 4-wheel drives and even then only in good conditions. All in all it was rather fortuitous that the lorry came along.

This was taken near the ford and basically as far as we managed to get. The mountain is Mt Aspiring.

Ben Lomond (no not that one) is a high peak overlooking Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. This is a tough climb but one that I really fancied giving a go, not least as the views from the top were purportedly stunning. Neena is nowhere near as fit as me but decided to come along anyway. To be honest I didn’t think she would get all that far but stunned me and I think herself and made it all the way to the summit. Mind you she could barely walk for the next couple of days, but still thought it was well worth the pain. And yes, the views were indeed rather stunning.

The pictures below were taken on the climb up to Ben Lomond.

 Walking up from Queenstown.

 

 Looking up at Ben Lomond from a saddle. The track got a lot steeper from this point.

 

 As we climbed above the saddle these mountains came into view.

 

 Ditto.

 

At the top.

 

There is a bit of a Scottish theme going on here as we also visited the rather lovely Glenorchy and the even more enchanting Kinloch. Kinloch is a tiny village but had an absolutely terrific camp site at the edge of Lake Wakatipu and is definitely on the list of things to do next time we are down this way.

We drove to the Remarkables Ski Field which is about 40 minutes from Queenstown. From here we walked uphill for an hour or so to Lake Alta. The lake is in a fantastic setting and a great place for a spot of lunch and a muck around in the patches of snow left over from winter. There are some demanding hikes from here and on another day we would have given them a go, but we both fancied an easy day after the rigours of Ben Lomond. So I walked and Neena hobbled back to the car and then onto Queenstown and ice cream and latte heaven.

The pictures below were all taken at Lake Alta.

 

 

PS If you somehow find yourself in Queenstown, assuming you survive the numerous adventure activities on offer, head to Patagonia who do amazingly good ice cream.

 

 

 

 

Patio

Our house as originally constructed was pretty bland and very much a built to budget kind of property.­ The previous owner was an artist and had a studio and associated patio constructed which has added enormously to the vibe of the place. ­­­The patio in particular is very nice especially in the spring when everything is blooming.

Tawatawa Reserve

These pictures were taken on a walk with Neena in the Tawatawa Reserve which is located 10 minutes drive from where we live. The area is little known as it is tucked away and surrounded by hills, but is a little gem.

 This statue is located at the highest point in the reserve.

 

Yours truly

 

 Looking over towards Hawkins Hill

Looking towards Wellington

Powell Hut in the Snow

Following our mildest June ever we finally had a run of cold weather and some serious snow up in the local Tararua mountain range.

The forecast for the weekend was for cold but sunny weather, so I decided to head up into the hills. The target for the trip was Powell Hut which is the most accessible of the high level Taraura huts.

The start of the walk.

I parked up at the Holdsworth roadend and was greeted with the awesome sight of snow capped peaks. I set off on the Gentle Annie track which ascends up 600m or so to Pig Flat. The track is aptly named and is beautifully engineered and graded and about the easiest way of going up hill short of not going up hill. Unlike most Tararua tracks, there are a number of more open sections which give some great views of the tops but also act as a reminder of how far one has to go.

This was taken on one of the more open sections of the Gentle Annie track.

There was no snow on this section but what there was was lots of bird life. I saw dozens of birds and heard many more. To put this into context, in the past I have rarely seen any any signs of bird life in this area. So why the difference? The difference is that the area has been subject to a pest eradication program involving among other things, 1080. 1080 is extremely toxic and is used in the form of pellets which are dispersed by plane and are used to kill non-indigenous species. The 1080 drops are a contentious subject in this part of the world with a vocal minority of people opposed to its use. They claim that the pellets kill family pets and poison waterways among other things. The odd family pet has indeed been killed over the years but a quick walk through the woods reveals how effective 1080's use is, and in my opinion, without it we would have no native wildlife at all. I suspect many opponents idea of the great outdoors is sipping a latte outside on a sunny day and have little idea of the grim reality for most native species. Anyway, enough of the rant and on with the walk.

Similar to the previous picture but taken at a wider angle.

After crossing Pig Flat the track becomes quite steep and heads up through lush bush which gradually starts to become more sparse and stunted as altitude is gained. I soon started to come across small patches of snow until after about 40 minutes or so I was walking through deep snow. The final section of the track used to involve some minor scrambling up rocks and tree roots but has been upgraded recently with these sections now covered by wooden stairs. I have mixed feelings about the upgrade. The stairs certainly make this section of the walk easier but also means that it has lost some of its character and some of its fun. Having said that, the snow was very icy and slippery and the stairs were certainly a more appealing option than the rocks.

 The higher I went the more I saw of this stuff.

These were put in about a year ago, before that it was all done the old fashioned way.

Eventually the track starts to emerge above the trees onto an open ridge and it was here that the wind really hit hard and the temperature plummeted, so it was a welcome sight when the hut came into view.

Taken on the final ridge up to the hut.

When climbing up steep hills like this, even in freezing temperatures, I tend to wear just shorts and a tee shirt. This is all fine, but as soon as I stop then on comes the cold and on go the layers. The next job was to get a brew going and think about what to do next.

The last little bit to Powell Hut. The snow was starting to get pretty deep by this point.

I had been considering climbing Mt Holdsworth which is about an hours climb above the hut but all of this is above the tree line and in these conditions not to taken lightly. I met another tramper at the hut who had ventured a short way up but was beaten back by white-out conditions, so that put paid to that.

All that was left was to have another cup of tea and beat a tactical retreat back down again. This wasn't without its hazards as the ice made for a very tricky descent at times, but as soon as I cleared the snowline the wind dropped, the sun appeared and all was right with the world.

Milford Sound on the Bike

Accompanying me on this trip were Stephen and Gavin.

For me these trips are more satisfying if there is a specific target rather than just an aimless ride, so the objective was to ride to Milford Sound in the Fiordland National Park.

I took the ferry over to Picton and from there rode down to Nelson where I stayed a couple of nights. I then met up with Stephen and Gavin and we set off down the island’s West coast staying the night in the town of Westport.

The bikes.

Camping in Westport.

The weather so far had been hot and sunny but it all turned to custard that evening when the rain arrived, though at least not until after I pitched my tent. It rained heavily all night and I had the grim task of packing up my tent in the pouring rain.

We rode all day in the rain, which made for some demanding riding on the regions tight and twisty roads. In a perverse way the riding was actually rather enjoyable and all part of the highs and lows of touring. 

We stopped off on the way at Punakaiki to view some weird rock formations before arriving in Franz Josef where we stayed the night. Miraculously the rain stopped just as we arrived and I was able to put up the tent in relative comfort and start the process of drying everything out. The reason for stopping here was to take a look at the Franz Josef Glacier that flows from New Zealand highest mountain, Mt Cook. It was about a 40 minutes walk to reach the terminal face of the glacier, but well worth the effort. I first visited here 11 years ago and it was sobering to see how far the glacier had receded in that time.

Punakaiki.

The Franz Josef Glacier.

Come the next day the rain was back with a vengeance. We rode down to Haast where we had lunch and a chance to retreat from the driving rain. The road from here heads inland up and over the Southern Alps via the Haast pass. The scenery and riding was spectacular not least as the rain finally stopped as we passed over the range. We eventually arrived in a hot and sunny Queenstown.

Queenstown is a big, brash and in your face international resort and consequently disliked by many Kiwis. Personally I love the place. Gavin and I did a couple of rides on our own in this area at a rather more “spirited” pace than we had so far. We rode to Glenorchy, which boasts some great views of Mt Aspiring. The other trip was between Wanaka and Queenstown via the Crown Range. This is  New Zealand’s highest road and to my mind is about as good as it gets in biking terms with seeming endless fast sweeping bends.

 At the top of the Crown Range.

 Looking over towards Glenorchy with Mt Aspiring in the background.

Lake Wakatipu.

From Queenstown we headed off on the relatively short leg to Te Anau, where we stayed for a couple of nights.

The next day was the real big one, and I guess the climax of the trip, where we headed off to Milford Sound. The road to the Sound is about 140km long and passes back over the Southern Alps before dropping down steeply to the coast. We set of very early to avoid the dreaded camper vans and to give us a chance to beat the heavy rain forecast for later in the day. As we ascended the mountains it became cool and misty but mercifully dry. We eventually arrived at the Homer tunnel. The tunnel is long, steep and roughly hewn and quite an experience on a motorbike. From here the road dropped down very steeply and after another 15 minutes or so we finally arrived in Milford Sound.

This isn't our footage (thanks for the link Stephen) but the clip below shows the last part of the trip, starting at the Homer Tunnel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roBWem8NdwU

The main thing to do in the Sound is a boat cruise, so this is what we did. The weather on the outward leg of the boat trip was dry but rather cloudy and misty which I reckon actually gives the mountains more of an air of mystery. We also saw a penguin and a seal eating a fish, which according to the skipper of the boat was actually rather unusual. I am no expert so will take his word for it.

Milford Sound.

A bit further down the Sounds with one of its permanent waterfalls in the distance.

On the return leg of the cruise the rain returned and quickly became heavy. To some extent this was actually rather lucky as we got to see a great many waterfalls, which sprung up almost instantly from the steep hillsides. The downside was yet another soggy day on the bikes.

As tends to be the way, the rest of the journey was very nice but also a bit of an anticlimax as we needed to head North and cover a lot of ground to make it to the ferry in Picton. On the way back we stayed in Geraldine and Kaikoura. The highlights of these last few days motorbiking wise were the nice and twisty Lindis Pass and the much straighter but very cruisy Inland Scenic Route.

  

Christmas Trip

We decided to head south for our annual Xmas camping trip. That was the plan anyway, but we somehow ended up leaving the tent at home and staying in half decent accommodation for a change. We are definitely getting a bit soft in our dotage.

We stayed at Lake Manapouri and Queenstown. Lake Manapouri is I reckon New Zealand’s prettiest lake, which makes it very pretty indeed. Queenstown is a big brash international resort and as such is most un-Kiwi like. It is also the countries “adventure capital” with any number of ways of scaring yourself witless.

As ever the weather was mostly wet and miserable and was even cold enough for some snow up on the tops. This didn’t stop us getting out and about and we managed to visit Arrowtown (a bit rubbish – best seen in Autumn), Glenorchy (not much there, but what a drive) and Doubtful Sound (awesome and wet) as well as getting in a few tramps.

 Lake Manapouri

 Doubtful Sound

 Lake Manapouri. It was a bit wet but the waterfalls sort of made up for it.

 Lake Te Anau.

 Lake Wakatipu.

 Queenstown.

 About to risk life and limb on Queenstown's "Luge".

This one was taken on a tramp to Ben Lomond.