This is some river coming down in Arthur’s Pass.

This is the Otira River (I think) on the western side of the divide.

And now some pictures of the west coast, north of Greymouth.

We even saw signs for penguins… Alas, we didn’t see any penguins.

Pops wasn’t terribly exhausted yet at this point.

We moved on to Punakaiki, also known as Pancake rocks. It’s thusly called due to the fact that the limestone is layered in such a way that it looks like it’s just so many pancakes stacked all on top of each other. Pretty cool deal. We were getting there right near sunset, so that was a neat place to watch the sun set.

And that’s that for pictures from the first day. We ate that evening in Westport, and then made the 1h30 – 2h drive off to Murchison. That’s when Pops started getting real tired and hallucinating. It was both amusing and frightening at the same time. At least now I know what happens when one is subject to prolonged lack of sleep.

We get a week off, and then head into 2 weeks worth of finals. I don’t finish until the 27th, but I’ve got a bunch of free time until then. For this coming week before my first exam (the 19th), we’re going up to Castle Hill for some sweet bouldering (where I’m going to send a V7 sit start to a V5 problem called Dominatrix), and then after that, some sort of road trip will ensue from Wednesday onwards. Haven’t figured out the details yet (or the big picture really), but it should prove to be good fun. Maybe sometime soon I’ll start posting up some pictures from the mid semester break when my folks were out here. Until then, happy winter to you all out there!

We even got to see some seals, one of whom was surfing the wave!

We did some dune jumping, which is always good fun, even if not the best thing for the dunes (we didn’t do it that much really, anyways).

After spending a few hours at Wharariki beach that morning, we left and headed off to the sea cliffs at Pohara. We did some pretty relaxed climbs, as we were all feeling quite relaxed and not in the mood for anything really trying. I lead two climbs, a 15 (5.8) and a 16 (5.9). Nothing whatsoever challenging, but a great amount of fun none the less. After that, my buddy wanted to jump on a juggy overhanging 22 (5.11a) called Flexestentialism, and I soon thereafter changed my mind about not doing anything hard that day.  After he got up there, I asked him to leave the rope for me to top rope, as I didn’t think I could fully lead it, being fairly tired from the previous day. Well, I managed to do it in one go, which I was quite impressed with. Anyways, the first picture is me starting a lead on one of the easy routes, while the second one is myself on Flexestentialism.

Climbing until it was basically dark again, we headed back to the Hang Dog campground right next to Paynes Ford. We were originally planning on going off to Nelson Lakes and camping there, but ended up staying at Hang Dog mainly due to the time, so we set our tent back up again.

After spending the night, we woke up early, and got on our way back to Chch, a ~6hour drive that needed to get done that day as we needed to get our rental car back while the place was still open.

There you have it, folks. The final installment of my Easter break journey. Waaay too late, but better late than never! I’ll try to post more and more frequently, but I seemingly always see that. I’ll believe it myself when I see it. Until then, may you all have happy adventures!

Call me a dirty hippy if you will, but I like the look.  Anyways, I’ll try to get up to some more posting soon, finishing up the Easter Break series and then move on to my mid semester break when my folks came out here.  Until then, cheers!

The next day, the climbing began! The Hangdog is conveniently located about 2 minutes walk away from Paynes Ford, one of, if not the best location for some sport climbing in the south island. It’s all limestone, and great quality limestone at that. Sweet as. Did some leading that day, as well as some top roping, and it was a good time for all. Don’t have too many pics from the climbing that day, but here we go.

The first three are from this super fun and pumpy 22 (.11a) that I top roped (as I didn’t think I could lead it, and the first bolt was rather high) called Go With The Flow. As I said, it was super fun, really pumpy, very technical, and had an awesome tufa on it.

The next picture is from a fun and super exposed 19 (.10a/b) that I lead called Fat Cats. The cliff that both of these climbs were on was positioned over another cliff, so on this climb you come out a little bit, and all of a sudden there’s nothing below you. Kinda scary, really fun.

After that I lead an ultra classic 27m 18 (.9/.10a) called Temples of Stone. It’s really really tall, and it gets scary up there, but it’s really not that hard, and it’s an all around classic climb. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of that one, but yea, it was good fun.

After we finished up with that climb, we went over to one of the swimming holes where there was a slackline set up over the water. I tried my luck, but alas didn’t do too well. I attribute that one to being freaked out (for no real reason), and the fact that after the first time I fell, I knew just how cold the water was (take your breath away type of cold). Also the line was set really loosely, which messed with my head a bit, as I’m much more used to a tighter line. In any event, here are a few pics of myself trying my luck.

Having failed at the slackline, we all went back to the Hang Dog and had some lunch. After lunch we made our way to another swimming hole along the river, this one featuring a super cool V4 roof problem called Acid Test, I believe. I gave that a go, and it was good good fun, but yet again, the water was super cold, so only jumped on it twice. Even so, lots of fun.

After spending some time down at that swimming hole, we made our way back to Hang Dog where we hung out for a while. We then drove over to Pohara, where there are some sea cliffs. These cliffs are huge, but the tops of the the cliffs are really chossy rock (low quality), so most of the climbs there are fairly short (~17m). Here are a few pictures of the area around there.

At that point we didn’t have a guide book (I ended up buying one the next day), so we kind of drove around a bit, and in our drivings we found a small harbour which had the coolest thing ever – a pirate espresso ship! This was an old boat of Jacques Cousteau’s which was now being used as a small coffee shop. Now just try to tell me that’s not cool… you can’t! It was super chill, and they had the best iced coffee I’d ever had – it was espresso poured over a scoop of absolutely delicious vanilla ice cream. Mmmm, soo good.

After having our espresso, we made our way to the climbing. We only ended up climbing one route, a fun 16(?) with a small roof. I didn’t lead it due to both time concerns and my being unsure of how I’d do on a roof, but I very well could have lead it easily. Don’t remember what that one was called at the moment (one of my buddies still has my guide book, so I can’t look it up), but it was great fun.  [Edit:] The route was called Woof Woof, and was a 17 (5.9).

We hung out and watched the sun set over the Golden Bay, and then headed back to Hang Dog, having just barely enough time to stop in the grocery store in Takaka to buy some more beans for another wonderful beans and rice concoction that evening.

That’s the end of this day. More to come in the next segment, which if all goes as planned, should be done within a day or two! Cheers for now.

The Easter Holidays were on March 21-25, and this being a fairly substantial chunk of time, I decided that a road trip was in order. Not having a car (more on that another time), I rented out some tiny piece of shit car with a buddy of mine, and early on the 21st, we were off, heading away towards Abel Tasman National Park. Before even leaving Chch, we picked up a German hitchhiker who was heading towards Hanmer Springs. It was interesting to talk with him, we found out that he was basically doing a round the world trip, and that such trips are fairly common for Germans to be doing. We stopped in Hanmer and get lunch there after dropping this guy off, and then proceeded on our way towards Abel Tas.

The driving is really nice, and quite pleasant, especially as there aren’t that many cars out there on the roads. The road its self goes over Lewis Pass, and travels through some great country with some gorgeous freestone rivers running through it.

After some more driving, we finally made our way to Murchison, a small town of somewhere abouts 900 or so people. Murchison is known for the abundance of both excellent fly fishing in the area and also the water sports in the area, such as white water kayaking and white water rafting. We stopped there and got some coffee at the Rivers Café, a great little place. After that we moved on, as it was getting a bit late, and finally made it to our ultimate destination for that night, Marahau. Marahau is a sleepy little town right at the base of Abel Tas. where were heading into the next day. We set up our tent, made some food (gotta love the beans and rice combo), and yea, that pretty much sums up the first day.

These pics are somewhere between Murchison and Marahau.

The next day we woke up to see just where we’d set up our tent. I always thing it’s fun and somewhat exciting to set up your tent in the night time and then to see just where you’ve ended up the next morning. Well, this was no exception. The mountains right behind our tent were rather unexpected, and at least I thought it to be a nice sight.

In any event, we ate breakfast (a mix of left over beans and rice and some fruit maybe?), and then went off to both pay for the camping and try to figure out where we were going to tramp that day in the park, and how to go about it logistically. After talking with the guy at the backpackers (a hostel, if you will), we eventually ended up deciding to take an aqua taxi into the park and tramp for a few hours and then take an aqua taxi out of the park. We took this route as we’d been told that the section we were going to be doing (approx 9km) was one of the best, if not the best stretch of track in the park.

We just barely made it in time to get onto the water taxi that we were booked in for, but all was well. On the way out, they took us by split apple rock (actually a little bit south of Marahau), which is a famous rock that well, looks like a split apple…

We finally ended up in a place called Bark Bay when we got off the water taxi. This was where our tramp for the day was to begin.

This is a section of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. It gets a lot of traffic, and as you can see, is very well maintained.

Most of the track runs through forests such as that, but you are afforded glamorous views of super cool beaches every so often. This is one of those beaches.

This next picture is just another picture of the track, somewhat altered forest, but still fairly dense generally rain forest type stuff.

There are a few sections where you can do a small side trip to a beach or a vantage point. This picture is from one of the beaches. The only issue is that you have to go down really far to get to this beach, which therefore implies you need to go up really far to get back from this beach. Kind of a bummer, but really nice nonetheless.

This was a really pretty looking fern frond that I saw along the track.

And a different, much larger fern frond latter along the track.

And finally, our destination, Torrent Bay. To get to Torrent Bay from Bark Bay we walked somewhere around 9km, a decent but not terrible walk. Good fun too.

We had our lunch there, which consisted of some muesli (granola), fruit, and Tim Tams, and then soon thereafter boarded the aqua taxi back to Marahau. When we got back, we poked around there for a bit, and then headed North into the Golden Bay. More on that in part 2! It’ll be up soon, promise. Cheers!

The first day, we went out to Quantum Field, a large area in the main section of Castle Hill to wrestle some pebbles out there. The place is really amazing, with just so many rocks everywhere. It’s beyond your wildest dreams.

So we started out at the Submarine boulder, which is actually at Spittle Hill, but after that we headed over into Quantum Field. The first thing we jumped onto was Ode To Joy, a highball V1 ultra classic problem, well within my ability. I was given the chance to onsight, and feeling good about my climbing after having flashed a V4 on the submarine boulder, I went for it and got the onsight. Quite exhilarating, and a wonderful problem too.

After that, we headed further into quantum field to check out this hidden super cool V7 arete, The Phoenix. I wasn’t really expecting much, as I hadn’t ever even sent a 6, but some of my strong buddies had been projecting that arete for a while, and I wanted to check it out. Don’t have any pictures of that, alas, however, I think it could totally go within the next few weeks if I keep climbing consistently – I felt pretty damn good on it, and I’m just stuck at the crux. My one kiwi buddy did send, so that was awesome for him, especially as it was a long standing project for him, and it was his first V7.

So I played on The Phoenix for a bit, and then did some fun V1′s and a very Castle Hill style V4 called Curvature, given a 3 star rating (which I’d totally agree with). That was a great little problem, climbing much like some of the stuff I’ve climbed before at Horse Pens 40 (in Alabama), really necessitating trusting of the feet and of course a tricky mantle. Good fun though.

After hanging around for a bit, my couple buddies told me they were checking out a sweet V5 and V6, so I went over with them to check it out. This is when I went into the Cauldron. It’s literally a huge cauldron, with a few lines going through it. We were working the V6 there for quite a while, and after a lot of refining of beta, I finally managed to send! I was so stoked, as it’s a great problem, and of course, that was my first V6 ever! Couldn’t think of a better place to climb my first V6 also. Here are some pics of myself sending The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, V6. These are some of the ones that my buddy Dan took.

After that, we headed out to climb on the headlight boulders. I flashed a V4 out there right before we all left the field for that day, but alas, no pictures…

That night we stayed at a field research station in the nearby outpost of Cass owned by UC. By outpost, I really mean outpost, there are no shops or anything, and maybe 3 or 4 houses there. So yea, pretty far out there. It’s a really nice place, and the club provided us with a (very foamy) keg, so that was enjoyable. The pictures are of and around the research station.

The next day, after breaking into someone’s car using a coat hanger, only to find the keys on the counter inside, we headed out to Flock Hill. This area is another, and apparently even larger area that’s all part of the Castle Hill Basin. The rock is still limestone, but tends to be a bit more featured than the stuff down at Spittle Hill or Quantum Field. The really special thing about Flock Hill is that you can’t just go there any given day – you need to receive permission from the farm manager, as the land is on an active farm. Our club was able to receive permission, and we headed out there. Parking along the road, and then walking for about 30-45 minutes, we finally made it to the top of the hill were the Flock Hill boulders were.

Initially when we got there, I helped a buddy set up a slackline, but after a failed venture which included tipping over a huge ass rock (the wonders of physics!), I got to some wicked cool climbing. Being that there’s much less traffic at Flock Hill due to the access restrictions, there’s no real guide book (at least to my knowledge), so it’s kind of an area that you can just run around and think to yourself, “Ooh, this looks neat, I’ll climb it!” which is always fun. The first climb I got on was this really cool V4 ish, with some neat-o pockets and really cool movements going for it. I think one of the coolest things about it was that everyone that sent was able to do so with different beta – super cool when that happens (and especially when it’s not the short person beta versus tall person beta… I’m looking at Red Arrow down at Horse Pens…). Worked that for a bit, and finally figured out my own way to go about it, and sent.

After sending that problem, I wandered around and found the most gorgeous climb I think I’ve ever seen. I think it’s called the Classic Runnel, and it’s a V4. It’s simply a singular runnel (a water groove) going up the side of the boulder. So gorgeous. The first time I did it I used the bucket jug at the top, but I just had to get on it again and send it clean. Such an awesome climb.

After that I played on the Hundred Times Slab, and got really close to sending, but not quite there. I suppose I haven’t tried it a hundred times, so yes, that will be one to come back to at some point or another. After playing on that slab for a while, we headed home, as it was getting late in the day. Unfortunately, weekends end and reality is something that, as much as I don’t want to, has to be dealt with.

Here are some more pictures of the area just around Flock Hill, it’s really quite incredible.

This next picture shows just how far Flock Hill is… See those boulders all up on the top of the hill? That’s the Flock Hill Boulder. And this picture was taken probably about 2-3km from the car park along the road…

And of course, the Canterbury valley stayed filled in with clouds all day long…

All in all, it was an incredible incredible trip to an even more incredible and magical place, and I’m hoping to make it out there numerous times again before I come back to the states. And please, no comments on how dangerous some of this stuff is that I’m doing – I only do it if I feel comfortable. (This comment goes out to you know who…)

Lastly, we just had our Easter break, which was awesome, and I’ll try to post something up about that semi soon, but yea, it takes time, which I don’t always have…  In brief, and to whet your appetite, I went to Abel Tasman National Park and the Golden Bay, which includes Paynes Ford.  Until then, cheers!

As an aside, this past weekend, I went to Castle Hill with the climbing club. There are some various pics up on their website, here. I’ll get a post up sometime lattre, but it probably won’t be until at least next week, as I’m leaving for a semi road trip over the Easter break either this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

Happy Easter everyone! Cheers!

I ended up deciding to go on an overnight tramping (backpacking) trip in Arthur’s Pass, with a friend of mine (as opposed to trying to get to the Wild Foods Festival in Hokitika).  However, transportation basically bailed out on us, and we were stuck in Chch, with our packs, not even heading towards Arthur’s Pass.  So we very reluctantly gave up on that idea, as there wasn’t enough time left in the day, and just went back to our respective flats at the uni.  I do suppose it was a good shakedown for future trips, but at the same time, it was quite a bummer, frankly.  We were both  ready, geared and stocked up, and really wanting to just spend a night out in the bush, but alas, such was not our luck.  This whole event though has pushed me even further towards really strongly considering buying a car here.  That’s another issue for another time though.

After spending an hour or two just relaxing, I spent some time in the late afternoon and early evening wandering about downtowne Chch.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so nothing to show the world from that adventure. We wandered about some of the shops, and stopped at another café, where I got yet another excellent shot of espresso (a short black, as it’s called in the local lingo).  Speaking of espresso, I simply want to comment on the fact that I have yet to have a bad cup of coffee here in NZ, and rarely have I had just a good cup of coffee.  It’s always been great or excellent cups of coffee.  The retailers in the states could really learn something here.

Later on, we ate in a Mexican restaurant, which was the first time since I was in Jackson, Wy (back in late Jan / early Feb) that I’d had any Mexican food.  And boy was it delicious.  I had some vege taquitos and a strawberry Margarita, both of which were delicious (I’m aware that I already said it, I just want to underline the point, so to speak).  Went back to the uni for a bit, and then ended up going out on the towne for a bit in the evening.  We went into some Irish bar called The Bog, and hung out there for a while.  They had a good cover band playing, and a good time was had by all.

Otherwise, life around here is great.  School is going well, I’m about at the point were I’m going to have to start doing some work, as the assignments are just starting to get dolled out, so that’s a bummer, but such is life.  Anyways, I suppose taht after all’s said and done, I’m actually here to study…  Outside today, it’s absolutely gorgeous,which was quite a change from what I was expecting.  It was a bit cool this morning, and the skies were really ominous, with what I thought to be threats of rain, but as the day has gone on, it’s gotten nicer and nicer.  Right now, it’s 23° and sunny, nary a cloud in the sky.  I’d go for a run, but I’m still feeling somewhat sickly, so I might head out to check out the Ilam Gardens, which are only a 2-3 minute walk from my flat.

On tap for this weekend: Castle Hill, with the climbing club.  I’m quite excited, and I’m sure it’ll be an awesome time.

That would be: feta and herb cheese, sautéed mushrooms and capsicum (bell pepper), corn, cherry tomatoes and greens.

And admittedly less pretty, but just as delicious (if not more), the main meal:

So being in a self serviced flat, has it’s advantages and set backs, of course.  One of these (haven’t decided which one it is yet) is that I have to cook for myself.  It’s been interesting, given that I’ve never really spent any serious amount of time cooking for myself (I have a meal plan at uni at home), but for the most part it’s been working out pretty decently.  The only real downside is that groceries tend to be pretty expensive here, but oh well.  It just has me eating a lot of rice / pasta / couscous dishes, which I’m more than alright with.

Sorry I haven’t put anything else up in a while, there really hasn’t been too much brewing this past week.  Just getting back into the daily grind with classes and what not.  There should be more of interest in the near future – I’m tentatively planning on either going off to the Wild Foods Festival in Hokitika over on the west coast or going for an overnight tramping adventure somewhere.  The Wild Foods Festival would be the first option though.  As for next weekend, I’m hoping to go with the Climbing Club to Castle Hill for a weekend of bouldering and general fun.  Cheers!