Two more mountains

Little Mount Peel, 8 December
Turns out to be not very little at all. We drive down the day before planning to stop the night in Geraldine, but also to meet up with Brahm, Mike's old work buddy, for lunch who's living and working in Timaru. We've passed through Geraldine before but not stayed there and the Backpackers turns out to be pretty good, converted from an old maternity hospital.

Mike and Paul beside a stream at the foot of the mountain

We set off pretty early and the weather's not looking too bad though there's a chance of rain later on. Before we start the walk we bump into Paul, a Kiwi tramper, who's doing the same as us but planning to go up the longer 'more interesting' way. He obviously has a lot of experience and certainly looks like he knows what he's doing so we join forces with him.

Following the ridge up to the peak, still visible before the cloud arrives

He leads us over and along streams right at the start of the walk and I begin to wonder if we've done the right thing. However he's a nice chap and he likes to talk but has difficulty walking and talking at the same time, so there are a lot of rather unnecessary stops and all the time the clouds are gathering as the weather begins to turn.

Looking through the flax back across the Canterbury plains

We know it's a long walk. The DOC boards say 3.5 hours up the long way and 2.5 the quick route. We eventually climb out onto a ridge, walking through huge clumps of flax and spiky Spaniard. Initially we can see the top of the mountain but as we get closer, thick grey cloud floods in over the saddle and envelops the peak. The track itself is pretty clear but not at all easy, involving some huge leg-stretching steps and, towards the top, some rock climbing. 'Nothing difficult, so long as you maintain 3 points of contact at all times' says Paul. By this time I'm really tired and the slight drizzle turns into rain. At the top we can't see anything at all.

Following Paul up the rock face, Mike behind ready to catch me

We have lunch in the hut just below the summit then begin the descent down the 'easy' path. To begin with there are a lot of board walk steps and as they're wet we really have to concentrate. It's certainly quicker going down but still takes about 2 hours, so just over 6 hours in total. We are wet through and I have to pour the water out of my boots. It takes 4 days for my legs to recover, but I'm quite proud of myself, good practice for the Routeburn!


Mount Grey, 15 December

Huge flax surround the pool with dragon flies skimming the surface

Not such a high mountain, this one, so should be a doddle after Mt Peel, but it's a very warm day so could be a struggle. We start off planning to do the Grey River Nature Trail, and are definitely on the right road, but somehow we miss that and end up at the foot of the Mt Grey trail. Just as we're having a look around the lake at the start of the walk, 5 or 6 other cars arrive altogether, planning to climb the mountain, so we do it too.

Fabulous foxglove path

Starts off through a lovely shady pine forest and then as we come out into the dappled sunlight we find ourselves on the most gorgeous woodland trail edged by huge quantities of foxgloves. The path continues upwards eventually coming out into full sun as the upper part of the mountain is covered with broom and manuka. We're getting pretty hot but the lookout is within sight and when we get up there I sit for a long time in the cool shade before heading back down the same way.

Looking through the flax northwards

Just a short walk, 2 hours at most so we go to Amberley for lunch, take a look at the local beach and make our way home.

Washpen Gorge

8 December 2013

This is a really interesting and varied walk on private land, taking about 3-4 hours. The owner joins us at the start to give us leaflets and information. We begin walking through a pine forest and then come out onto a path beside a gorge.

The sides of the gorge rise above us as we make our way along the footpath

We continue climbing and eventually reach a lovely tussock upland area and follow the path down again into the gorge. The owner’s done a lot of work building steps and bridges to create this circular walk. He makes a $10 charge for the upkeep of the path.

 



Beautiful upland tussock grass

 





Coming down to the pool at the foot of the waterfall

 

At the lowest point there’s a waterfall plunging into a pool and we’re able to cross the stream and come out into a lovely valley bottom below overhanging cliffs. The vegetation is all native trees and plants.

 

Beautiful native greenery

We soon come to the lake which he’d mentioned as a good lunch spot. What he failed to mention is that the place is sandfly infested, so I have to eat my lunch walking round the lake rather than seated at a picnic table. They don’t bother Mike as he’s helped himself to the insect repellent spray on the table, which I can’t bring myself to use because it smells so dreadful. When we get back to the car we are attacked again and spend a lot of time slapping our legs to get rid of the little black monsters.

 

Picnic area beside the lake all set up for group visits, all we saw were sandflies

 

Hokitika

14 November
It's a long w/e here in Christchurch and the weather's not looking too bad so we decide to make the trip over to the west coast. It rains quite a lot that side of South Island and we’ve been waiting for decent weather before making the trip. We set off on Thursday evening once Mike finishes work planning to stop this side of the Alps in Springfield having booked ourselves into Smylies on our new YHA cards. Not exactly sure what’s happening about food but as the hostel is run by a kiwi man and his Japanese wife we’re hoping Japanese food might be available.

The hostel itself is rather nice. We’re in Narnia room (so-called because we have to go enter through a wardrobe door). Kiwi hostels all seem to have double rooms some with en suites so quite comfortable. Works out much cheaper than a normal b&b and they’re very sociable places. The rumour of Japanese food was correct and we get a lovely dinner for $10 each!

Wild lupins beside the Waimakariri on the way to Arthur's Pass

 
15 November
We head off towards the mountains next morning planning to stop for a walk somewhere near Arthur’s Pass,  the village by the mountain pass. We walk up the Otira Valley for a few hours, starting off with the Dobson’s Nature Walk which takes us over boardwalks through tussock grass, with masses of Mount Cook lilies and other wild flowers. It becomes quite a narrow stony path and we end up by a small bridge which takes us across a torrent , where we stop for lunch. Any further walking is for experienced mountaineers according to the sign.

Mt Cook lilies beside the boardwalk

Next stop is Arthur’s Pass village for coffee then we head on down towards Hokitika. Driving up towards the Pass we’re travelling through beech forests but once we begin to descend the other side the vegetation changes completely and we’re in native bush, back to tree ferns and lush green vegetation. All that rain I guess. We find our hostel, Birdsong, and book in. It’s another rather individual one run by an English couple, though unfortunately it’s a little too far out of town. That evening we walk in along the beautiful wild beach collecting pebbles. It’s a long hike with an empty stomach but eventually we make our way to the chippie where we bump into Brenda, one of my quilting ladies. Jolly good fish and chips. Tonight we walk up to the Glow-worm Dell. It’s pitch black and quite magical as the fairy lights of the glow worms twinkle in strings and patterns in the dark.

 

Rickety bridge at the top end of the Otira Valley

16 November
Next morning the weather’s overcast and rain threatens. We wander round the local market, buy some lunch and end up doing a series of short walks starting with a bit of coastal bush leading to a wild beach. Next is the Bellbird walk near Lake Mahinapua and then Hokitika Gorge, a major attraction round here. The river here is an extraordinary chalky turquoise in colour and we walk over a swing bridge to cross to a bank of rock.

Amazing blue of the river at the Hokitika Gorge

At this point it really begins to pour with rain, so while Mike wanders over the rocks, I beat a hasty retreat back up to the car. We end up seriously wet, but dry off on the way to our next walk, Lake Kaniere Water Race Walkway, and by the time we get there the sun’s coming out. The Race is a fast-flowing water channel built originally for use in gold mining but later to produce electricity. It makes for an interesting walk though we don’t have time to do the whole thing.

The Victorian water race stretches for about 12 km south from Lake Kaniere

We get a taxi into town and have a disappointing meal at the Cafe de Paris. Hokitika is a town built in the gold rush days back in the middle of the 19^th century. It’s now famous for it’s greenstone and has a lot of art & craft shops.

17 November
Goldsborough is recommended to us by the hostel owners so we take a diversion on our way back to Christchurch. It was a town that grew out of nothing in the heart of the bush when gold was discovered there in the 1840s. We do a fantastic walk through and above the gold workings. It’s very atmospheric and evocative of this bygone era when men would struggle on foot through dense bush and set up mining and panning for gold. The town disappeared almost as quickly as it had grown when the gold dwindled.

Footpath in the old gold-mining district by Goldsborough

 
We drive back through Arthurs Pass stopping for a walk up to the Devil’s Punch Bowl. We’re back into beech forest now we’re west of the main divide, and lower down we walk through these forests to Turkey Flat in the valley bottom where the Waimakariri river flows its windy way.

Beech forest at the devil's Punch bowl, west of the main divide

 

 

Michael whilst Sue's in the UK

Kaituna Valley 27 July 2013

View from the Banks Peninsula over the Port Hills to the Southern Alps

Out walking with Ed.  Following a discussion about why our height meant we didn't have good balance, he fell in the river.

Monument Hill 8 October 2013

An early morning cloud filled Lyttleton Harbour

View from Monument Hill on the Banks Peninsula

Peak Hill 13 October 2013

Alan atop Peak Hill. Lake Colerdige and the Southern Alps in the distance







 

The descent of Peak Hill - the snow was thigh deep in places

 

Castle Hill Rocks

3 November
Castle Hill is south-west of Christchurch on the way to Arthur's Pass in the Southern Alps. We managed to leave our lunch behind in Christchurch so stopped in Springfield to stock up before going on to Castle Hill which is about an hour and a half from Christchurch I guess. The huge grey boulders cover a large area, are set on beautiful bright green grass and have the snow capped peaks of the Alps for a backdrop. They are water eroded remnants of limestone formed when much of New Zealand was covered by the sea and you can clearly see the channels and basins carved by water, millions of years ago. They are very impressive and have been used for filming some Narnia scenes, also regularly used by climbers. We spent the afternoon wandering around, climbing up to the highest point then round to the back where an area is fenced off to protect rare plants.

After a good walk round we drove a bit further and stopped at the Cave Stream. This is a limestone cavern with a stream flowing through it and it's possible to wade through the length of it if you don't mind walking in pitch darkness up to your waist in ice-cold water. The image below is the entrance to the cave. I don't plan to get any closer but Mike's planning a work trip there so I guess he'll be giving it a go sometime soon . . .

Akaroa on the Banks Peninsular

Saturday 26 October
Akaroa, being on the Banks Peninsular, is not really that far from Christchurch and you can visit for the day, but we decide to get to know it a bit better and drive over there on Saturday morning for the w/e. The weather is bright and sunny and warm but forecast is for plenty of wind later.

Boat houses on the way to Onawe

The Banks is made up of two huge ancient volcanoes, one creating Lyttleton Harbour and the other Akaroa Harbour. I’d not been to Akaroa before and looking down from the crater rim it’s a really beautiful harbour. Before reaching the little town we stopped at the Onawe peninsula. This is an old Maori Pa site, a series of small hills sticking up out of the western end of the harbour looking for all the world like the humps of a sea monster. The plan was to walk along the humps avoiding getting our feet wet if possible.

Having parked by the boat houses we walked around the little hills to the main island from which this picture is taken

Unfortunately there has been a land slip and the path over the tops is closed but as the tide’s turning we don’t get too wet as we walk around the rocks to the largest island. The base rock is compressed sand with bright orange layers forming patterns. We do a loop walk to the Pa at the highest point and back again choosing the coastal path on our return with strange rusty metal parts underfoot  and glorious views of the harbour.



Beautiful patterns in orange rock

Arriving in Akaroa we find a great place for lunch (Vangoris -- best Western food so far in South Island according to Mike), check into the Youth Hostel, and then wander round exploring the town. We visit the i-site and plan a circular walk up to Stony Bay Peak the next day.

The small jetty at Akaroa on a bright, windy day

Sunday 27 October

Set off early for a long steep climb almost straight up to the peak. One of those walks where you can see your destination right from the start. A beautiful morning with great views of the harbour below and a ring of hills above all the way up. A long section of the climb is an old drovers’ trail which then becomes a stony track between areas of flowering gorse. Eventually we reach the saddle where the wind is ripping through us and the path turns to the right for the final climb up to the top.

Looking up the drovers track to the top of Stony Peak

 



Nearly at the top looking down on Akaroa. Onawe in the distance

Strangely enough it’s a little less windy up here and we enjoy a wander and a sit down with the views below us. The path down starts well as we walk in a south-easterly direction on the far side of the mountain over-looking the Pacific. It then joins a gravel road which takes us all the way down to Akaroa. Great dinner at Vangoris.



Standing proud at the top

 

Monday 28 November

We want to explore the Hinewai Reserve before returning to Christchurch. Find the car park and do a little walk through bush and broom getting a bit wet in the drizzle. Then walk on down to the lodge on the reserve. You can book to stay here ($18 a night!) so might be a fun place to stay. Set up like a hostel with cooking facilities but any profits go towards the upkeep of the Reserve which is run by a Hugh Wilson who has managed the Reserve since 1987. He’s an expert on the botany of the Banks and has written books about it. Looks a great place to stay so we’ll be back I’m sure. Later on, driving on the Crater Rim we overtake an old bearded chap on his push bike and it turns out to be the man himself.


Lovely collection of old settlers buildings

We carry on to the NE coastal settlement of Okains Bay which has a museum famous for its Maori collection. The place is nothing but a few buildings and a beach but the Museum is fascinating, being a collection of old settler buildings, lots of wakas, and a huge collection of Maori artefacts rivalling anything you could see in the Auckland Museum. Amazing for such a tiny out-of-the-way place. Head for home.

Lake Tekapo and Aoraki Mount Cook

19-21 October

I landed at Christchurch Airport on the Friday morning (18 October) having been away almost exactly one month. Mike has booked a w/e away staying on Lake Tekapo in the Southern Alps. It’s a small town with a strip of cafes, bars and adventure outfits, famous for its air clarity, a world heritage site for that in fact, so we’re hoping to do a spot of star gazing while we’re here.

Looking across Lake Tekapo with the snow-topped peaks all around

Having booked into our smart b&b we set off for a walk around the town and down by the gloriously turquoise blue lake, ending up with a soak in the local hot pools. Good Japanese restaurant for dinner. We’ve been given lots of info by the landlady and plan to walk to the base of Mount Cook the next day.

The car park for the Hooker Valley walk at the foot of the mountains

Turns out to be a fine day and we set off in good time driving for about an hour to Mount Cook village, buying lunch and setting off on our walk up the Hooker Valley. The day is sunny and warm but there’s a lot of snow around on the mountain tops and a chill in the air.



The first of three swing bridges with lines of moraine ahead

We start off walking over a landscape shaped by glacial deposits looking rather like man-made dykes, the path is good and quite well-used and we can see Mount Cook looming up ahead of us: a perfect pyramid-shaped mountain peak, snow and ice shining in the sunlight. We hear a distant rumble and watch as an avalanche spreads slowly down the mountain side above us.

 

Looking up at the mountain range from the second swing bridge

There are three rivers to cross on our journey up the valley, each one traversed by a fairly newly built  swing bridge. In fact the its clear the path has recently been upgraded as there are new board walks across wet areas as well as fun stretches where we have to walk along stepping stones to cross streams. It’s bit early in the year for much in the way of flowers but we spot a large patch of beautiful Mount Cook lilies.

 

Mount Cook lilies which are actually the world's largest buttercup

At the top of the valley we come to the end of the trail where there’s a large picnic area beside Lake Hooker and Mount Cook rises majestically at the far side of the lake. The lake of course is freezing: we can see the glacier at its far end and there are a couple of mini icebergs floating in it, but Mike has to go for a paddle.

 

Paddling in the icy waters

Aoraki Mt Cook with glacier melting into the lake below

 

After lunch we retrace our steps and as its fairly early we head across to Lake Tasman a short drive away. It takes about an hour to walk across the litchen covered moraine and up a hill to view the Lake and glacier. Here there are a lot more icebergs and the glacier is on a much bigger scale. Quite a chilling spot.

 

Icebergs on Lake Tasman

The Observatory on the top of Mount John over Lake Tekapo

The next day we drive up to the top of Mount John and walk around the Observatory buildings looking down on the town before heading back to Christchurch. The evening skies have had a layer of cloud so star gazing’s not been an option over the w/e but I’m sure we’ll be back.

Local Beaches in Mid-Winter

Christchurch boasts some pretty spectacular beaches, which we’re getting to know gradually, and Mike did quite a lot of beach walking while I was away in the UK for the Summer. So this is a collection of images taken in June and July, mid-Winter in the Southern hemisphere.

 

16 June. A very grey damp day on New Brighton Beach, taken from the end of the pier. New Brighton is about 5 miles due east of Christchurch, the nearest beach. I stayed in the café while Mike got wet and windswept
 

23 June. Waikuku Beach at the northern end where the Ashley River meets the sea. These beaches are all in the large curve of Pegasus Bay. Christchurch and the Banks Peninsular are at the southern end of the Bay

23 June. We were just on our way back to the car when we saw a large group of people going swimming up ahead of us. By the time we caught up with them they were mostly out of the water. We realised it was mid-Winter w/e and this was the kiwi equivalent of an annual Christmas swim. There must have been about 40 people, the water certainly warmer than it is in the UK at Christmas




14 July. The coast road leading to Sumner was one of the areas worst hit by the earthquake and much of the cliff crumbled down onto the coast road. These houses are now teetering on the edge of the cliff, many were lost.



14 July. The road below the cliff was cleared and these shipping containers were placed  all along under the cliff to prevent further falls onto the road. They are mostly still there.



14 July. Waimairi Beach south of New Brighton the way to Sumner