My next intended stop after Lake Tekapo was the remote Mount Cook Village. En route I wanted to stop at Lake Pukaki just before the turn off to Mount Cook Village, and to get here I got picked up some Asians who took me to Pukaki and when arriving wanted selfies with me and gave me some South Korean snacks to say goodbye! New Zealand is popular with Asians although you do need to be careful as they often do things like drive on the wrong side of the road. There were some great views of the mountains from Lake Pukaki although you couldn't see Mount Cook because there was some low lying cloud in that area. Whilst here I did do a little walk down to Marker Beach as I had time on my side which was nice.
From Pukaki I pretty easily got a ride to Mount Cook Village. The small village lies in the heart of the Mount Cook National Park, and is particularly famous for the Hermitage hotel built in the late 1800s for people wanting to climb the surrounding mountains, many of which are above 3000m. Nowadays it is a hotel for the rich with penthouse style rooms offering views of Mount Cook itself. There is no supermarket in the village, the nearest town Twizel being a 63km drive away. The village is in fact just 39km from the West Coast though, with Franz Josef located the other side of the mountains. When arriving I went to the information centre where I evaluated my options, and with 5 nights planned in the national park I had plenty of time to explore weather depending.
Friday was not a great day in terms of weather with another storm battering New Zealand. Outside was gale force winds, zero visibility, and blizzards so I decided not to go out hiking. In fact what was snow in the village was heavy rain in lower lying areas and places like Timaru and Ashburton experienced some pretty bad flooding. Instead I headed to the Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre after lunch which was a mission getting to because of the weather, including a wind chill of minus 8. The centre had a museum and a variety of films to watch in this theatre and planetarium, watching films about Edmund Hillary, Mount Cook, and some interesting films about black holes and how infinite space is in the planetarium.
Saturday wasn't a great day either with poor visibility and persistent rain. It somewhat cleared after lunch though although it was still a little grey, but despite this I decided to head to the Tasman Glacier. Getting there was an 8km walk along a sealed road so I couldn't get lost, and when reaching the car park at the end there were a few little walks to various different points. I first headed to the Blue Lakes which were completely frozen over and I was even able to walk on them! I then headed to a lookout point over to the Tasman Glacier, the biggest glacier in New Zealand. The final walk took me down to the Tasman Lake which was completely frozen in places, a good 6 inches thick which a few icebergs floating at the end. The mountains even reflected in the lake despite the weather. I then headed back to the hostel, catching the sunset on the way, although I was glad to be back in the warm when getting back!
Sunday was by far the best days weather with blue skies and the sun out, which meant I had to make the most of it. Shortly after sunrise I therefore set out to do the Hooker Valley track, one of the most popular walks in New Zealand. The walk was flat going into the Hooker Valley finishing at the Hooker Lake with great views of Mount Cook and the Hooker Glacier. The lake was also frozen over with a few odd icebergs. As I left so early I passed very few people on the way to the lake and had it all to myself when arriving, but on my way out of the valley I passed a lot of people coming in.
After getting back to the start of the track I then decided to attempt the track up to the Sealy Tarns, about 1250m above sea level. As the village itself was covered in a fair amount of snow, heading up created even more snow and to add to this the path was incredibly steep and icy. In the end I got to about 1200m before I could no longer tell where the path was, and every direction I guessed I could go I was in snow above waist deep. I therefore decided not to continue, but I was still rewarded with great views of the Mueller and Hooker lakes and glaciers, as well as Mount Cook itself. When reaching the bottom I went via the Kea Point lookout looking out to the Mueller Lake, before heading back to the village via the Hermitage where I went up to this lookout point.
Monday was another grotty day. The only significant walk left I wanted to do was up to the Red Tarns and I saved this for afternoon when the weather improved a little. It was still a little rainy and visibility wasn't great but it wasn't torrential and I thought I would just go for it. When reaching the tarns there was a view looking back to the village, although the tarns themselves were completely frozen and there was a lot of snow. I even ended up to head at one point but luckily managed to dig myself out. When getting back to the hostel I was actually quite wet although I was glad I attempted to do every walk I planned in the national park. It would be interesting to return in the summer months to see how different it looks without snow!
Monday, 31 July 2017
Sunday, 23 July 2017
Lake Tekapo
After being stuck in Geraldine for a week, Monday was the day I could finally move on, next stop Lake Tekapo for 3 nights. I had to book my accomodation here a couple weeks in advance as a combination of the snow and the fact it's ski season makes it a very sought after destination this time of year. En route to Lake Tekapo however I stopped in the small town of Fairlie to visit the famous Fairlie Bakehouse to try one of their pies. I got the pork and apple one and it was as good as people have made out to me, absolutely rammed full of pork and even a piece of crackling on top! Whilst in Fairlie the weather turned however which meant I stayed longer than intended but it was a nice little place.
After the rain somewhat cleared I got a ride to Tekapo and what was rain in Fairlie was snow in Tekapo, and quite a lot of it. Lake Tekapo is a glacial lake lieing in the Mackenzie Basin. At over 700m above sea level, the area is prone to snow, but it also makes a great place to go stargazing, and if your extra lucky you can see the southern lights, the area classified as a dark sky reserve. After checking into my hostel I just popped down to the famous Church of the Good Shepherd before it got dark, although you couldn't see much in terms of scenery with it very cloudy and cold. The streets were also very snowy and icy making them incredibly slippery!
On Tuesday the forecast was better although when waking up visibility wasn't great. I wanted to go out for a walk along the lakeshore to this island, and thought despite the poor visibility I would go anyway. Luckily my gamble paid off and it wasn't long until the sun came out and the views were great of the lake with snowcapped mountains as the backdrop. It was fascinating as the township behind remained in cloud but as I followed the lakeshore it got clearer. Before long however following the lake got challenging and after climbing up these rocks I had no choice but to do an improvised abseil down this cliff face with some old wire I found to get to the other side.
A bit further along the lakeshore this rock face made further progress impossible without swimming round, so I instead headed inland, attempting a scramble up where a recent landslide had occurred. The sediment was very loose but by using roots and trees to support my weight I made it up the cliff. From here there was lots of snow which slowed my progress but I eventually made it to the peninsula where I got great views of the northern parts of the lake, as well as the island in the lake. From here I headed to the road. I decided to take a short cut to the road across a frozen wetland which luckily took my weight although it was very slippery!
When reaching the road I followed it to Lake McGregor and then round to Lake Alexandrina where I followed a path along the lakes edge to the other end. There was a lot of snow along this path. I then reached another road which I intended to follow up to the summit of Mount John to get back to Tekapo. This road was however private and the security guard refused me entry and told me to walk the long way round (which would have got me back to Tekapo in darkness). I was having none of this and instead walked up to the summit cross country and because the security guard was so fat he couldn't catch up with me to stop me. It was actually a more direct route to the summit. When reaching the summit the views were great with all the cloud cleared. I then headed down the other side, although the path was an absolute ice rink which meant I just walked straight down the mountain through the snow for more grip instead of using the zigzag path. I made it back to Tekapo at sunset so it was a pretty full on walk!
On Wednesday I had more of a lie in, before heading out to the nearby forest via the Church of the Good Shepherd and dog statue as it was a nice day. When reaching the forest I headed to Pines Beach where I got some great lake views as well as seeing a fair amount of bird life. I then did a loop walk round the forest although there was a lot of snow. When exiting I headed up Cowans Hill before heading back into Tekapo. It was a far more chilled out day to the one previous. Come evening there was also a great sunset although I wasn't luckily enough to see the southern lights during my time here. There was only a kp rating of 3 at best and you need at least 5 to create a geomagnetic storm. There was great stargazing opportunities though, with very few clouds in the sky so at least I saw the stars.
After the rain somewhat cleared I got a ride to Tekapo and what was rain in Fairlie was snow in Tekapo, and quite a lot of it. Lake Tekapo is a glacial lake lieing in the Mackenzie Basin. At over 700m above sea level, the area is prone to snow, but it also makes a great place to go stargazing, and if your extra lucky you can see the southern lights, the area classified as a dark sky reserve. After checking into my hostel I just popped down to the famous Church of the Good Shepherd before it got dark, although you couldn't see much in terms of scenery with it very cloudy and cold. The streets were also very snowy and icy making them incredibly slippery!
On Tuesday the forecast was better although when waking up visibility wasn't great. I wanted to go out for a walk along the lakeshore to this island, and thought despite the poor visibility I would go anyway. Luckily my gamble paid off and it wasn't long until the sun came out and the views were great of the lake with snowcapped mountains as the backdrop. It was fascinating as the township behind remained in cloud but as I followed the lakeshore it got clearer. Before long however following the lake got challenging and after climbing up these rocks I had no choice but to do an improvised abseil down this cliff face with some old wire I found to get to the other side.
A bit further along the lakeshore this rock face made further progress impossible without swimming round, so I instead headed inland, attempting a scramble up where a recent landslide had occurred. The sediment was very loose but by using roots and trees to support my weight I made it up the cliff. From here there was lots of snow which slowed my progress but I eventually made it to the peninsula where I got great views of the northern parts of the lake, as well as the island in the lake. From here I headed to the road. I decided to take a short cut to the road across a frozen wetland which luckily took my weight although it was very slippery!
When reaching the road I followed it to Lake McGregor and then round to Lake Alexandrina where I followed a path along the lakes edge to the other end. There was a lot of snow along this path. I then reached another road which I intended to follow up to the summit of Mount John to get back to Tekapo. This road was however private and the security guard refused me entry and told me to walk the long way round (which would have got me back to Tekapo in darkness). I was having none of this and instead walked up to the summit cross country and because the security guard was so fat he couldn't catch up with me to stop me. It was actually a more direct route to the summit. When reaching the summit the views were great with all the cloud cleared. I then headed down the other side, although the path was an absolute ice rink which meant I just walked straight down the mountain through the snow for more grip instead of using the zigzag path. I made it back to Tekapo at sunset so it was a pretty full on walk!
On Wednesday I had more of a lie in, before heading out to the nearby forest via the Church of the Good Shepherd and dog statue as it was a nice day. When reaching the forest I headed to Pines Beach where I got some great lake views as well as seeing a fair amount of bird life. I then did a loop walk round the forest although there was a lot of snow. When exiting I headed up Cowans Hill before heading back into Tekapo. It was a far more chilled out day to the one previous. Come evening there was also a great sunset although I wasn't luckily enough to see the southern lights during my time here. There was only a kp rating of 3 at best and you need at least 5 to create a geomagnetic storm. There was great stargazing opportunities though, with very few clouds in the sky so at least I saw the stars.
Wednesday, 19 July 2017
Geraldine
I spent Monday having a relatively relaxing day exploring Geraldine. Geraldine is just a small country town popular with the elderly as a place for retirement with its slower pace of life. The town centres around a small high street with a few shops, which I looked round, with a backdrop of the Southern Alps, the town itself lieing in the Canterbury Plains. Originally I was only planning to spend a couple of nights here before heading out to the Ashburton Lakes for a few days of hiking, arriving at Lake Tekapo the following Monday which I had booked last week due to the high demand for accomodation there. This wasn't to be the case however with some significant snowfall hampering my plans.
Geraldine got away with the brunt of the snowfall and instead just got a lot of rain, accompanied by the odd bit of snow which unfortunately didn't settle. The surrounding areas got a lot though including Lake Tekapo and Mt Hutt (nearby Mt Somers) which were places relatively near Geraldine at slightly higher altitudes, and it looked stunning when watching it on the news. This did mean however that until Thursday I couldn't really go out and do much which meant I had the joys of daytime tv although I have missed watching things like Jeremy Kyle, tipping point, and the chase.
Come Friday the weather had improved and I had to do something other than be in Geraldine so I decided to go down to Timaru for the day, which is a sizable coastal town by New Zealand standards not far from Geraldine. After being dropped off at the information centre I headed to the botanic gardens before following the coast via the port and main high street to the popular beach of Caroline Bay. The town has plenty of Edwardian architecture unlike many other parts of New Zealand with less historical buildings. It was good to get out somewhere for the day.
Saturday was by the far the best days weather forecast for the week and I therefore decided to head out to the Peel Forest to check out some of the waterfalls and attempt the summit of Little Mount Peel. The forest itself was a little remote but luckily some old man in a vintage car picked me up and took me right into the forest to the main car park which saved me walking the sizable distance from the main road, a good hours walk from the car park where I was dropped off. Before attempting the summit I did a walk in the forest taking in some big trees, Acland Falls, and a boardwalk through some swamp land which was a nice walk.
I joined the the path to the summit after the waterfall and the path headed up through the forest before emerging at a frozen lake where I encountered my first significant amount of snow. From here it was snow all the way to the summit, initially through bushes before opening out to scrubland. It was a challenging ascent, especially through the scrubland as the snow had settled over this wooden boardwalk which was the path and I couldn't tell where the path was. Everyone I missed the boardwalk I would sink to my knee as I was effectively stepping on scrub. I eventually reached the summit and from the top the views were stunning, the Canterbury Plains one way, the Southern Alps the other. I couldn't have asked for better weather!
Coming down I was originally planning to take the South Ridge to complete a loop walk, taking me via Rata Falls and Emily Falls en route. Being south facing however there was a lot more snow because of the decreased sun exposure, and a mere 50m or so following the path with the snow above my knees I thought maybe not, so decended the same way I came up. Going down was a lot quicker as I could basically slide down, getting down in little over an hour. When reaching the bottom I unfortunately had to walk from the car park back to the main road at Arundel where I was able to get a ride back to Geraldine. Come evening Geraldine had a small festival thing on which if I had known about would have gone to. There was a fairly big firework display which I watched from the hostel but apparently there was lots going on where it took place. Sunday was my last day in Geraldine and I just had a relaxing one as the weather was a bit overcast.
Geraldine got away with the brunt of the snowfall and instead just got a lot of rain, accompanied by the odd bit of snow which unfortunately didn't settle. The surrounding areas got a lot though including Lake Tekapo and Mt Hutt (nearby Mt Somers) which were places relatively near Geraldine at slightly higher altitudes, and it looked stunning when watching it on the news. This did mean however that until Thursday I couldn't really go out and do much which meant I had the joys of daytime tv although I have missed watching things like Jeremy Kyle, tipping point, and the chase.
Come Friday the weather had improved and I had to do something other than be in Geraldine so I decided to go down to Timaru for the day, which is a sizable coastal town by New Zealand standards not far from Geraldine. After being dropped off at the information centre I headed to the botanic gardens before following the coast via the port and main high street to the popular beach of Caroline Bay. The town has plenty of Edwardian architecture unlike many other parts of New Zealand with less historical buildings. It was good to get out somewhere for the day.
Saturday was by the far the best days weather forecast for the week and I therefore decided to head out to the Peel Forest to check out some of the waterfalls and attempt the summit of Little Mount Peel. The forest itself was a little remote but luckily some old man in a vintage car picked me up and took me right into the forest to the main car park which saved me walking the sizable distance from the main road, a good hours walk from the car park where I was dropped off. Before attempting the summit I did a walk in the forest taking in some big trees, Acland Falls, and a boardwalk through some swamp land which was a nice walk.
I joined the the path to the summit after the waterfall and the path headed up through the forest before emerging at a frozen lake where I encountered my first significant amount of snow. From here it was snow all the way to the summit, initially through bushes before opening out to scrubland. It was a challenging ascent, especially through the scrubland as the snow had settled over this wooden boardwalk which was the path and I couldn't tell where the path was. Everyone I missed the boardwalk I would sink to my knee as I was effectively stepping on scrub. I eventually reached the summit and from the top the views were stunning, the Canterbury Plains one way, the Southern Alps the other. I couldn't have asked for better weather!
Coming down I was originally planning to take the South Ridge to complete a loop walk, taking me via Rata Falls and Emily Falls en route. Being south facing however there was a lot more snow because of the decreased sun exposure, and a mere 50m or so following the path with the snow above my knees I thought maybe not, so decended the same way I came up. Going down was a lot quicker as I could basically slide down, getting down in little over an hour. When reaching the bottom I unfortunately had to walk from the car park back to the main road at Arundel where I was able to get a ride back to Geraldine. Come evening Geraldine had a small festival thing on which if I had known about would have gone to. There was a fairly big firework display which I watched from the hostel but apparently there was lots going on where it took place. Sunday was my last day in Geraldine and I just had a relaxing one as the weather was a bit overcast.
Wednesday, 12 July 2017
Mount Somers
I left Akaroa Wednesday morning ready to head south to my next destination. That was easier said than done however as the road out of Akaroa basically takes you into Christchurch and it's not a very busy road. I managed to get a lift eventually though with this local guy from Christchurch who knew a lot about the local area and was telling me about all the settlements we passed. He even took a detour at Tai Tapu to show me this place which recently suffered from a wildfire last summer. He kindly dropped me off in Hornby which is a suburb of Christchurch lieing on State Highway 1, the main route south. I had lunch in Hornby too as there was a sizable shopping complex.
After lunch I got picked up within minutes and arrived in my intended destination of Ashburton for the night. Ashburton is town about an hour south of Christchurch. Lieing on the Canterbury Plains the surrounding area is very flat so there isn't much to see other than farmland. It's not the kind of place you would visit as a tourist but it has plenty of shops and facilities which I needed. My intention was the following day to get as close to Staveley as I could to hike the Mount Somers Track. Ashburton was the nearest town of a considerable size to that so I could buy food to do the trek. As I arrived a lot earlier than expected I took a short walk along the river which was nice. I then relaxed in my accomodation come evening.
Thursday morning I wasn't sure how the day would go with Staveley being very remote. I knew I could pretty easily get a lift to Methven which would have been a 3 hour walk from Staveley but I couldn't believe my luck that I not only got picked up within minutes, but was picked up by a local guy who was a trail runner unsure of where he fancied running so decided to go to Staveley too! The Mount Somers Track is a 2 day 1 night hike around Mount Somers, although I planned to do 3 days 2 nights to attempt the summit one of the days. After getting ready the guy who gave me a lift ran off and I followed on the same path behind.
The path was initially very steep and there was a heavy frost which made is slippery but equally beautiful. There was a viewpoint not far from the car park with some great views, before the path dropped a bit and followed this stream which was stunning with the frosty surroundings. There was even a partially frozen waterfall as one point with icicles all around it! The path then climbed steeply again before reaching an area called the pinnacles which were some rock formations, with the snowcapped Southern Alps as a back drop. There was also a hut up here and shortly after reaching it the guy who gave me a lift passed me and said he had ran all the way to the saddle so fair play to him. I had lunch at the hut.
After leaving the hut the path continued to climb up to the saddle which when reaching the top was 1170m so pretty high, although nothing compared to the mountains around me! The path then dropped down the other side eventually reaching a point called the water caves which were some rock formations which the stream flowed through. Shortly after this I reached the Woolshed Creek Hut which was my bed for the night. It was a pretty solid days walking. I was only one there when arriving which surprised me as it sleeps 26 people, although a Kiwi couple arrived shortly after. They only stopped for a rest though although they were over 2 hours from the nearby car park with only an hours daylight left!
Come morning it was absolutely freezing and outside was a solid frost. My plan for the day was to attempt the Mount Somers summit. Officially there is marked route up the south face although they strongly advise against this as that face gets the least sunlight and during winter the path is effectively ice which means crampons and ice axes are recommended. I instead thought I'd attempt the summit up the unmarked and less steep west face. Shortly after leaving I reached the emerald pools which was a swimming hole, although I was not planning on a swim. I instead took the swing bridge over the gorge and headed up through the scrub.
Before long the path headed down to this stream which was an interesting crossing as the rocks were covered in ice. Nearby there was a waterfall which was surrounded in snow and icicles which was pretty stunning. The path then rapidly started to rise and I eventually reached a feature known as the bus stop overhang which literally had a bus stop sign! From here I left the path and headed towards the summit, initially climbing this rock face before it levelled out a bit to this scrubland. It was very hard work making progress though and before long there were patches of snow everywhere.
I eventually made it to about 1400m but from here there was a considerably greater amount of snow and it was a little unstable. After accidentally triggering a small avalanche I rested on some rocks and decided I wouldn't continue. The issue was a hard layer of snow had formed over a soft layer which was great when the hard layer took my weight, but every so often it broke and I would sink a considerable way. The views were still stunning though but if I were to die no one would even know I'm missing let alone where I was. After having lunch I headed back down stopping at a few rock formations for views, eventually heading back down to the bus stop and the marked route. En route back I stopped at the waterfall and emerald pools again as they were pretty special! When arriving back at the hut there were a few people there and before long they had cheese and biscuits and all sorts out and let me help myself as they had loads. They even insisted I had dinner with them afterwards which was nice. More people later arrived and there were 14 people in the hut by bedtime!
After lunch I got picked up within minutes and arrived in my intended destination of Ashburton for the night. Ashburton is town about an hour south of Christchurch. Lieing on the Canterbury Plains the surrounding area is very flat so there isn't much to see other than farmland. It's not the kind of place you would visit as a tourist but it has plenty of shops and facilities which I needed. My intention was the following day to get as close to Staveley as I could to hike the Mount Somers Track. Ashburton was the nearest town of a considerable size to that so I could buy food to do the trek. As I arrived a lot earlier than expected I took a short walk along the river which was nice. I then relaxed in my accomodation come evening.
Thursday morning I wasn't sure how the day would go with Staveley being very remote. I knew I could pretty easily get a lift to Methven which would have been a 3 hour walk from Staveley but I couldn't believe my luck that I not only got picked up within minutes, but was picked up by a local guy who was a trail runner unsure of where he fancied running so decided to go to Staveley too! The Mount Somers Track is a 2 day 1 night hike around Mount Somers, although I planned to do 3 days 2 nights to attempt the summit one of the days. After getting ready the guy who gave me a lift ran off and I followed on the same path behind.
The path was initially very steep and there was a heavy frost which made is slippery but equally beautiful. There was a viewpoint not far from the car park with some great views, before the path dropped a bit and followed this stream which was stunning with the frosty surroundings. There was even a partially frozen waterfall as one point with icicles all around it! The path then climbed steeply again before reaching an area called the pinnacles which were some rock formations, with the snowcapped Southern Alps as a back drop. There was also a hut up here and shortly after reaching it the guy who gave me a lift passed me and said he had ran all the way to the saddle so fair play to him. I had lunch at the hut.
After leaving the hut the path continued to climb up to the saddle which when reaching the top was 1170m so pretty high, although nothing compared to the mountains around me! The path then dropped down the other side eventually reaching a point called the water caves which were some rock formations which the stream flowed through. Shortly after this I reached the Woolshed Creek Hut which was my bed for the night. It was a pretty solid days walking. I was only one there when arriving which surprised me as it sleeps 26 people, although a Kiwi couple arrived shortly after. They only stopped for a rest though although they were over 2 hours from the nearby car park with only an hours daylight left!
Come morning it was absolutely freezing and outside was a solid frost. My plan for the day was to attempt the Mount Somers summit. Officially there is marked route up the south face although they strongly advise against this as that face gets the least sunlight and during winter the path is effectively ice which means crampons and ice axes are recommended. I instead thought I'd attempt the summit up the unmarked and less steep west face. Shortly after leaving I reached the emerald pools which was a swimming hole, although I was not planning on a swim. I instead took the swing bridge over the gorge and headed up through the scrub.
Before long the path headed down to this stream which was an interesting crossing as the rocks were covered in ice. Nearby there was a waterfall which was surrounded in snow and icicles which was pretty stunning. The path then rapidly started to rise and I eventually reached a feature known as the bus stop overhang which literally had a bus stop sign! From here I left the path and headed towards the summit, initially climbing this rock face before it levelled out a bit to this scrubland. It was very hard work making progress though and before long there were patches of snow everywhere.
I eventually made it to about 1400m but from here there was a considerably greater amount of snow and it was a little unstable. After accidentally triggering a small avalanche I rested on some rocks and decided I wouldn't continue. The issue was a hard layer of snow had formed over a soft layer which was great when the hard layer took my weight, but every so often it broke and I would sink a considerable way. The views were still stunning though but if I were to die no one would even know I'm missing let alone where I was. After having lunch I headed back down stopping at a few rock formations for views, eventually heading back down to the bus stop and the marked route. En route back I stopped at the waterfall and emerald pools again as they were pretty special! When arriving back at the hut there were a few people there and before long they had cheese and biscuits and all sorts out and let me help myself as they had loads. They even insisted I had dinner with them afterwards which was nice. More people later arrived and there were 14 people in the hut by bedtime!
Sunday morning I had to decide whether to return to civilisation via the south face of Mount Somers back to Staveley, or to follow an old miners route back to the township of Mount Somers itself. I opted for the latter. The route basically climbed to this viewpoint back towards the creek before dropping sharply to an old mine which had a few old relics lieing about. The path then dropped down to a 4wd track which I followed until reaching Mount Somers and the inland scenic route 72 which was my way out. The road wasn't very busy though but I eventually got picked up. I had to decide whether to go to Methven or Geraldine and I opted for Geraldine. I arrived here by afternoon and after sorting myself out relaxed in the quiet hostel. Come evening I went down the pub for a roast dinner although it was full of old people playing ukeleles for the annual Geraldine Uke Fest.
Sunday, 9 July 2017
Banks Peninsula
Sunday morning I left Christchurch bright and early to head out to the Banks Peninsula just south of Christchurch. I ultimately wanted to get to the town of Akaroa in the heart of the peninsula, and I decided I would hike there instead of hitchhiking. Akaroa is an 85km drive from Christchurch although geographically speaking it's just 40km away. To get there I decided to follow a route called the Te Ara Pataka although I started from Diamond Harbour instead of the official start point elsewhere.
After catching a bus to Lyttelton I took the short 10 minute ferry ride across to Diamond Harbour where I began the walk. The weather wasn't on my side however and I couldn't even see the peninsula when I arrived. The Banks Peninsula is of volcanic origin and encompasses two large harbours as well as many smaller bays and coves. It is a very hilly area however with the highest peak Mt Herbert being 919m which to put into perspective is higher than Cadair Idris for example. The first part of my hike was to climb Mt Herbert which was fun because shortly after leaving the harbour I entered the cloud and the visibility was very poor. Luckily the path was pretty obvious.
Eventually I managed to leave the cloud and before long I was literally above the clouds and made it the summit. It was very surreal looking out just seeing random peaks stick out the cloud including the Southern Alps in the distance. From Mt Herbert the path followed the ridge line where the clouds eventually began to clear a little and I could see a couple of the bays. I even managed to find a few geocaches along the way! I eventually got to the point where I had to drop down into the valley to the hut I was staying in for the night which meant going into the cloud. After arriving I relaxed and by the time I got a fire going it was actually really warm unlike outside where the temperature just plummeted when the sun went down.
Come morning I actually had a really good night's sleep and after leaving the hut headed back up to the ridge line. It was amazing being somewhere in the middle of nowhere and unlike the previous day there were no clouds which meant some of the views of the smaller bays were stunning. I even found a few more geocaches although they were challenging in a terrain point of view as they were all mainly off the main path. One of them in particular took me to this cave which was only accessible climbing up this rock face which was incredibly slippery.
I eventually reached a point called the Hilltop which is where I finally saw people again, and where I also got my first views of the Akaroa harbour. From here the path dropped down to the road although the path was pretty treacherous as it was made up of slippery rocks and was really muddy elsewhere. I got down eventually and when reaching the road made it to the Hilltop Tavern which was the official end of the Te Ara Pataka. I had lunch and a well earned pint here, ordering one of there famous pizzas. It was nice as the pub was on top of the hill giving great views of the Akaroa harbour. From here I hitched a ride into Akaroa arriving mid afternoon where I checked into my hostel. It turned out I was the only person in the entire hostel though!
On Tuesday I had a more chilled out day although the weather in the morning wasn't great. It cleared up by lunchtime though and before long it was blue skies. I decided to best way to explore the town was to go geocaching. Akaroa was colonised by the French in the 1800s and that connection still goes on today with many of the street names being French. The harbour it lies on is home to the hector dolphin, the world's smallest and in the summer welcomes in large cruise liners! My walk took me along the beachfront where I saw the harbour, lighthouse, and beaches. I also headed up a couple of the hills to get a more aerial view of the town. Wednesday I had a more relaxing day, heading out to the Giants House in the afternoon which was a garden full of mosaic artwork and sculptures! The weather was a little more grotty though but it was nice to have a chilled out day.
After catching a bus to Lyttelton I took the short 10 minute ferry ride across to Diamond Harbour where I began the walk. The weather wasn't on my side however and I couldn't even see the peninsula when I arrived. The Banks Peninsula is of volcanic origin and encompasses two large harbours as well as many smaller bays and coves. It is a very hilly area however with the highest peak Mt Herbert being 919m which to put into perspective is higher than Cadair Idris for example. The first part of my hike was to climb Mt Herbert which was fun because shortly after leaving the harbour I entered the cloud and the visibility was very poor. Luckily the path was pretty obvious.
Eventually I managed to leave the cloud and before long I was literally above the clouds and made it the summit. It was very surreal looking out just seeing random peaks stick out the cloud including the Southern Alps in the distance. From Mt Herbert the path followed the ridge line where the clouds eventually began to clear a little and I could see a couple of the bays. I even managed to find a few geocaches along the way! I eventually got to the point where I had to drop down into the valley to the hut I was staying in for the night which meant going into the cloud. After arriving I relaxed and by the time I got a fire going it was actually really warm unlike outside where the temperature just plummeted when the sun went down.
Come morning I actually had a really good night's sleep and after leaving the hut headed back up to the ridge line. It was amazing being somewhere in the middle of nowhere and unlike the previous day there were no clouds which meant some of the views of the smaller bays were stunning. I even found a few more geocaches although they were challenging in a terrain point of view as they were all mainly off the main path. One of them in particular took me to this cave which was only accessible climbing up this rock face which was incredibly slippery.
I eventually reached a point called the Hilltop which is where I finally saw people again, and where I also got my first views of the Akaroa harbour. From here the path dropped down to the road although the path was pretty treacherous as it was made up of slippery rocks and was really muddy elsewhere. I got down eventually and when reaching the road made it to the Hilltop Tavern which was the official end of the Te Ara Pataka. I had lunch and a well earned pint here, ordering one of there famous pizzas. It was nice as the pub was on top of the hill giving great views of the Akaroa harbour. From here I hitched a ride into Akaroa arriving mid afternoon where I checked into my hostel. It turned out I was the only person in the entire hostel though!
On Tuesday I had a more chilled out day although the weather in the morning wasn't great. It cleared up by lunchtime though and before long it was blue skies. I decided to best way to explore the town was to go geocaching. Akaroa was colonised by the French in the 1800s and that connection still goes on today with many of the street names being French. The harbour it lies on is home to the hector dolphin, the world's smallest and in the summer welcomes in large cruise liners! My walk took me along the beachfront where I saw the harbour, lighthouse, and beaches. I also headed up a couple of the hills to get a more aerial view of the town. Wednesday I had a more relaxing day, heading out to the Giants House in the afternoon which was a garden full of mosaic artwork and sculptures! The weather was a little more grotty though but it was nice to have a chilled out day.
Tuesday, 4 July 2017
Hanmer Springs and Christchurch
On Monday I left Kaikoura relatively early, saying goodbye to everyone just before they started work. With the State Highway 1 northbound still closed, not reopening until December at the very earliest, I had to head south. The only public transport option from Kaikoura is a daily bus to Christchurch, but I decided I would attempt to get to Hanmer Springs about 135km drive via the scenic Inland Kaikoura Road. After crossing the nearby Kowhai River which was an extremely cold and interesting crossing over what was essentially rapids barefoot, I reached the the road and before long managed to get a lift off some massive Morecambe fan. Hanmer Springs is about 7km down a turnoff from State Highway 7, and he kindly dropped me off here, stopping in Waiau en route for a drink break.
A short way off the turnoff was a popular viewpoint of the Waiau river bridge which was a great view of the bridge, river, and surrounding mountains. It was then onto Hanmer Springs, arriving early afternoon. Surrounded by forests and mountains, Hanmer Springs is a popular alpine holiday destination famous for its hot springs and boutique shopping. After checking into the hostel I went out and explored the small town looking round a few of the shops before heading up Conical Hill where I got some great views of the Hanmer Forest and surrounding mountains. Come evening I visited the hot pools where I relaxed. Like many of the hot pools in New Zealand they are naturally heated by geothermal energy, with the springs essentially lieing on the Hanmer fault line. It was definitely a good place to be with the temperature outside the pools below freezing!
Tuesday was a great day in terms on the weather and I therefore decided to take to opportunity to climb the nearby Mt Isobel. At 1319m above sea level I had three route options to climb it, deciding to get there the most direct yet most challenging route through the Hanmer Forest via the Dog Stream Waterfall to reach the ridge line. Navigating through the forest was challenging as there were paths everywhere but I managed it, reaching the waterfall in good time which at 41m high was impressive! The section after the waterfall was the difficult bit as it left the forest up this incredibly steep path which was covered in a thick layer of ice which made making progress up very difficult!
I eventually made it to the ridge line where the views were stunning, and a short walk along the ridge took me to the summit which even had patches of snow about. The views one way looked out over the Hanmer forest and basin, the other way looking out towards the snowcapped Kaikoura Ranges. After having lunch in a sheltered spot out of the wind, I headed back down the same way to the waterfall, before taking an alternative route back through the forest to the hostel. The next day I had a more chilled out day, deciding to go geocaching in the forest which was a successful day. I pretty much followed the dog stream before going up Conical Hill once again, although Mt Isobel which I climbed the day previously was not visible due to low lying cloud, so I was lucky with the weather!
Come Thursday I left Hanmer Springs to continue heading south. I was considering spending a few days hiking round the Lake Sumner Forest Park although I opted against this in favour of getting to Christchurch as I needed to buy a few things. I left Hanmer late morning, stopping at the viewpoint of the Waiau river gorge before hitching a ride with some guy into Christchurch. He even insisted on buying me lunch which was nice of him, dropping me off at the shopping mall just outside the city centre so I could look round the shops. After looking round I headed into the city, checking into a hostel for a couple of nights.
On Friday I headed into Riccarton which had a bigger shopping centre to the one I visited the day before, as well as some outlet and warehouse type stores. I spent a while looking round and managed to get some waterproofs which I was lacking. I should hopefully get through the winter now fingers crossed. Originally I was planning on spending just 2 nights in Christchurch, before heading to the nearby Banks Peninsula and Akaroa, although all the accomodation there was fully booked as it was a Saturday night so I ended up staying 3 nights in Christchurch instead. This was a good thing though as I could watch the Lions game and unlike the week before where there were just 3 British people, this time it was a pub packed with Lions fans who obviously went hysterical when they beats the All Blacks, a great atmosphere.
A short way off the turnoff was a popular viewpoint of the Waiau river bridge which was a great view of the bridge, river, and surrounding mountains. It was then onto Hanmer Springs, arriving early afternoon. Surrounded by forests and mountains, Hanmer Springs is a popular alpine holiday destination famous for its hot springs and boutique shopping. After checking into the hostel I went out and explored the small town looking round a few of the shops before heading up Conical Hill where I got some great views of the Hanmer Forest and surrounding mountains. Come evening I visited the hot pools where I relaxed. Like many of the hot pools in New Zealand they are naturally heated by geothermal energy, with the springs essentially lieing on the Hanmer fault line. It was definitely a good place to be with the temperature outside the pools below freezing!
Tuesday was a great day in terms on the weather and I therefore decided to take to opportunity to climb the nearby Mt Isobel. At 1319m above sea level I had three route options to climb it, deciding to get there the most direct yet most challenging route through the Hanmer Forest via the Dog Stream Waterfall to reach the ridge line. Navigating through the forest was challenging as there were paths everywhere but I managed it, reaching the waterfall in good time which at 41m high was impressive! The section after the waterfall was the difficult bit as it left the forest up this incredibly steep path which was covered in a thick layer of ice which made making progress up very difficult!
I eventually made it to the ridge line where the views were stunning, and a short walk along the ridge took me to the summit which even had patches of snow about. The views one way looked out over the Hanmer forest and basin, the other way looking out towards the snowcapped Kaikoura Ranges. After having lunch in a sheltered spot out of the wind, I headed back down the same way to the waterfall, before taking an alternative route back through the forest to the hostel. The next day I had a more chilled out day, deciding to go geocaching in the forest which was a successful day. I pretty much followed the dog stream before going up Conical Hill once again, although Mt Isobel which I climbed the day previously was not visible due to low lying cloud, so I was lucky with the weather!
Come Thursday I left Hanmer Springs to continue heading south. I was considering spending a few days hiking round the Lake Sumner Forest Park although I opted against this in favour of getting to Christchurch as I needed to buy a few things. I left Hanmer late morning, stopping at the viewpoint of the Waiau river gorge before hitching a ride with some guy into Christchurch. He even insisted on buying me lunch which was nice of him, dropping me off at the shopping mall just outside the city centre so I could look round the shops. After looking round I headed into the city, checking into a hostel for a couple of nights.
On Friday I headed into Riccarton which had a bigger shopping centre to the one I visited the day before, as well as some outlet and warehouse type stores. I spent a while looking round and managed to get some waterproofs which I was lacking. I should hopefully get through the winter now fingers crossed. Originally I was planning on spending just 2 nights in Christchurch, before heading to the nearby Banks Peninsula and Akaroa, although all the accomodation there was fully booked as it was a Saturday night so I ended up staying 3 nights in Christchurch instead. This was a good thing though as I could watch the Lions game and unlike the week before where there were just 3 British people, this time it was a pub packed with Lions fans who obviously went hysterical when they beats the All Blacks, a great atmosphere.
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