New Zealand
Flying into NZ was magical. The Southern Alps had just received a massive dump of snow that spread out across the Canterbury Plains presenting a sparkling fantasy playground.
Marty and I left Perth at midnight of June 17th 2006. At Sydney we changed planes and fitted in a little duty free shopping. This included sampling all the new Baileys flavours - perhaps not the best thing for 6am in the morning. Fortunately our flight to NZ was nearly empty and I could sprawl across the center seats with a blanket and sleep the flight away. I awoke on news of our descent which begins almost before the West Coast of the South Island is in sight. Things promised to be good.
Mum and Dad met us out at the airport on a chilly but sunny 8 degree day. We had a light nap and dinner at their house in Dunsandel with Helen and Dean while ignoring/admiring the snow on their front lawn. It was tempting but for some reason we stayed by the fire instead of going to play in it. After dinner we went into ChristChurch to Vanda's 30th birthday party. It was a fancy dress affair with a 'dress from another country' theme. Marty wore safari gear and carried an inflatable crocodile - a great hit with all the children - while I wore my mother's Scottish scarf and jewellery. When jetlag finally overtook us, Helen whisked us away to a comfortable, electric blanket heated bed.
The following day was accidentally written off by us sleeping until 1pm. We did manage to find time to go for a walk around the Halswell Quarry. On Monday we recovered our snowboarding gear from Mum and Dad's barn, went shopping at Riccerton Mall and walked Taylor's Mistake headland walk before returning to Dunsandel for dinner with friends Abigail and Charles. We also received confirmation that a back country snowboarding/caving trip was going to go ahead so Tuesday morning was spent running around town hiring snowshoes, transceivers, shovels, probes and lots of other assorted gear necessary for our survival. We spent the afternoon at Mt Hutt ski field regaining a feel for the snow and our boards. Fillling up with fuel in Methven we got a fright when none of our cards worked at the gas station. Luckily we could withdraw funds from an ATM down the road so we could recover my snowboard that had been left as surety.
The plan for Wednesday was to rise and leave Dunsandel early in order to arrive at Carolyn and Matt's in Wanaka in time to have a good catch up and an early night before leaving for our backcountry venture the next morning. Instead we took the entire morning to sort and pack all our gear leaving a late after lunch start to what turned out to be quite an exciting road trip. An hour down the road at Geraldine, snow began to fall and add itself to the drifts already stacked against the road. In our big Surf we felt comfortable in ignoring the 'Road Closed' sign from Geraldine to Fairlie, then again to go through Burke's Pass. The vehicle hardly even slid around despite the ice and snow it was driving over. Just past Lake Tekapo we were forced to stop by a Kiwi Experience bus that had slid out and blocked off the whole road. Fortunately it managed this right by the army base so it didn't take too long for a huge truck to come and tow it out of the way. Marty rode the verge with his board while we waited. By 5pm we were at Omarama contemplating the Lindis Pass. Marty was exhausted and didn't really want to tackle the steepest hardest pass of all as dark was rapidly descending. Carolyn chose that moment to ring through to see if we were ok and before I knew it I had agreed to be at her house in 3 hours - twice the time it would usually take for that drive. I took the wheel and headed through fat snowflakes and inches of snow on the road making it without any problems to the top of the pass. There we found a bus and trailored truck blocking the road. Just as we were about to turn back, they managed to clear each other leaving the road free again. Thankfully Marty took the wheel again and I could sit back and take in the surreal sight of deserted trucks slid out and abandoned on the side of the road, hazard lights still flashing. It was a relief to finally pull into Carolyn and Matt's just before 9pm where they had roast chicken on the table and lots of warmth and cheer to welcome us with.
Thursday began at 5:30am. We rose and dressed in the dark then nicked around the corner to pick up James for the ride back over the Lindis Pass to Twizel and the McKenzie Valley behind. A promising playground for snowboards depsite modrerate avalanche danger. We met Tim and Zoe at the Tarras Store just after 6:30am. In the bitter cold we were all jealous of Zoe's Mobil Station coffee. The risk now was that the road workers would close Lindis Pass to clear it before we could get through. We drove following Tim about half an hour into the pass before coming to the closed sign. After a moment's pause Tim drove around it and we followed suit. Two minutes up the road we came to a semi trailor that had jack-knifed and almost blocked the entire road. There was just enough space to get around it so we continued on with the road no worse than it had been the night before and no sign of the previous night's abandoned trucks. An hour later we were pulling into a car park just off the Mt Cook road and rearranging our pack's ready for a 9km hike into an old mustering hut converted into hiking quarters by DoC (the Department of Conservation). After crossing two paddocks we donned our snow shoes and fairly flew across the foot + deep snow. Our only hold up was passing through a pine grove where branches overladen with snow had snapped off and fallen over the path. Normally not a problem, with big packs and snowboards it bacame quite an obstacle course. We ended up taking everything off and portering it through. After that it was a long slog across the wide river flat to the base of the McKenzie Valley and the Baikie Hut. It was built in 1949 but recently had been renovated by DoC and had a great new wood burning stove at one end. I was so glad to see that little wooden shack as I was exhausted by the unaccustomed weight of the snowboard on my pack. The evening was passed shivering next to the wood burner and cooking hot pasta on Marty's MSR stove.
We woke up at daybreak the next day. Usually that would be early but now in NZ that means about 8am. The decision was made to hike over the next ridge and find a place to build a snowcave for the following night. We would then return down to Baikie Hut for the final night before walking out. We had a practice play with our transceivers then packed our bags ready to go. The day's hike started with a river crossing. I learnt a whole new definition for the word cold! That crossing hurt! It was a good opportunity for Marty and I to try out our new river sandals and they worked a treat, though we later discovered they didn't dry as quickly as we would have hoped. I lost the snow basket off my walking stick somewhere in the river which was fortunately the only incident. The hike up to our valley was more arduous than it looked so we were pleased when we finally reached the top. From there we snowboarded down with our packs (no mean feat) to a river bank with snow drifts built up against it for our snow caves. The next 3 hours were spent shaping and building the caves then all but myself crossed the creek and hiked up a snow chute to ride down just as it got dark. I was relieved to save myself the tumbles I would have taken and the wet boots Marty got crossing the creek, but the cup of tea I intended brewing had to wait as we had forgotton to bring in a lighter for our stove. This time we were lucky as Tim and James both had lighters but we won't forget that one again.
The night in the cave was definitely an adventure. Tim and Zoe occupied one cave and James, Marty and I took the other. Without the experience of sleeping in one before we had made the roof slightly too low to sit up and too narrow to sleep 3 across so Marty slept down a tunnel with his head next to mine while James and I were top to toe in the wider part near the entrance. It was a pretty cold night and early in the morning Marty's feet started to feel numb. At daybreak - or some time after we got up. James had to go first, then I, then Marty. There wasn't enough room for us to sort ourselves out at the same time. Our boots were frozen solid and difficult to put on as was everything else in camp. Eventually we sorted ourselves out and put our daypacks together, turned our transceivers on and began our hike up the valley.
The snow was beautiful! The sun shone clear in a blue sky and hares ran away from us while up on the hill, Thar (New Zealand mountain goats) milled around looking for food. We filled water bottles from the creek and the pure icy cold water was refreshing and rejuvenating. At 1pm we stopped for lunch looking far down to our caves. It grew steeper ahead and knowing my snowboarding abilities Marty agreed to make an early start back with me rather than hike higher with the others. The ride out was like nothing else. Fresh powder and I had first tracks... it was amazing until I fell onto a Spaniard (a flax with pointy tips that carry a mild poison). After that I managed to take a few tumbles and down by the creek I resorted to my snowshoes again. Marty rode almost back to the caves - very impressive! The others weren't too far behind and before I had scraped the ice off our sleeping mats they were down too. In half an hour we were ready to hike back up the ridge we had boarded down the day before. The ride down back to the hut should have been a simple 15 minute journey, but for some reason, I could not ride with my pack on my back. It turned into an absolute mission to get down. Fortunately the others were all really patient and could see the humour in me floundering around in the snow. James went ahead to get the fire going and when I finally made it down with Marty's and Tim's help the windows emitted an extremely welcoming glow. We still had a river crossing to make before we could enjoy the warmth of the wood burner's blaze. To my surprise, with warm feet from snowshoeing, I didn't even feel the cold from the water this time and ran around for about 15 minutes with my river crossing shoes still on before I even began to feel a bit cool. Marty's toes were still quite numb and we were all concerned he had frost bite as his big toe had turned a dark purple. Despite that it was a fun night to be in a hiking hut in the back country of NZ. Stories were told and jokes made, all the good things of hiking including lots of chocolate, emerged. One story was that our friend Peter who is in the NZ army had been out on a training mission. At night in the freezing cold they stopped to sleep and everyone got into warm sleeping bags except for the patrol leader (SAS) who lay down in what he was wearing. In the morning when they went to wake him they found he was already awake, staring at a laminated picture of a fire to keep warm. The evening ended with crawling into my cozy sleeping bag a foot away from the condensation covered roof completely at peace with the world.
When we awoke it was cold. The drips of condensation I had noticed right above my nose the night before had become icy stars. More jokes were made about all the uses a laminated picture of a fire could be put to. Marty, who had slept fully dressed, jumped up to get the fire going (and to make me a hot cup of tea in bed) and informed me my boots left right next to it had frozen solid. It took all of us a long time to get ourselves out of bed, but once we did it was a wonderful day. We walked out and down over the river flat chasing inversion cloud before us. The mountains behind us now, looked incredible. This time the pine grove didn't hold us back at all. We were all a lot more confident with handling our packs and gear and we all walked straight through the labyrinth of falling branches. James made the joke that nothing would hold me back from reaching our cars. It was true. I was ready to be back in a comfortable warm room in dry clothes.
Driving back to Wanaka was uneventful with most of the snow and ice melted off the roads. We rented a nice single room apartment for the night to dry out all our gear and do mountains of laundry. Once we were organised we went over for dinner with Carolyn and Matt. Tim and Zoe called in for a coffee - it was hard to imagine it was only that morning we had been so far from the comfort of a friend's living room. We stayed with Carolyn and Matt the next night but went down to Queenstown for the Winter Festival Mardi Gras on Tuesday night. This was timely as Carolyn's midwife instructed her to head to Dunedin to have her almost due baby. We are still waiting for the arrival but it really will be any day now.
We stayed with Abigail and Charles in their parent's timeshare in Qeenstown and had a great time catching up with all my friends there. Marty went to the doctor and we were relieved to discover that the frost bite was more of a frost nip that should heal itself so he won't be losing any toes this time around. A valuble lesson was learnt, fortunately not at the expense of a digit. The Mardi Gras was fun and we enjoyed mulled wine and food from the stalls, then retreated to a bar with old friends and students to tell stories and relax.
In the morning we got up latish after a good nights sleep and bid farewell to Abi and Charles and their four beautiful children then hiked up toward the gondola. The track was draped with icy stalagmites and stalagtites sparkling amongst the ferns and along the track banks. We came back into town for lunch with Tash and coffee with Hiedi, Eva and Will. It was also really great to see Steve and Kirsten again. It was so good to see everyone doing so well. We then drove up to Bannockburn to stay the night with Zoe and Tim before heading back up to ChristChurch before the next forecast storm broke.
We got up to ChristChurch in time to spend a night out celebrating with Helen who had just finished exams. We played pool at my old favorite haunt - the Dux de Lux in the Art Center. Eventually we caught a cab back to her place and enjoyed another long comfortable sleep in her bed while she graciously slept on a stretcher in her lounge room.
We woke in good time to go out to a FairyDown sale shop. FairyDown is an outdoor wear/gear company that was recently liquidated and sold off. This outlet store was selling top range gear for below wholesale prices. Marty relented and let me buy the most wonderful tent I have ever seen in my life! We got sleeping bags and down jackets too. It was so much fun shopping for all this gear. Now I am confidant we have all we need for our trip - though we still don't have a lighter...
The following day we woke up a bit earlier, despite having many family and friends over for dinner the night before. The programme was to pick up my Uncle Hugh and go out to the Rangiora Air Field with him where he would take us all for a fly in his microlight. It was a beautiful day and Uncle Hugh is a competent pilot. I went up first and had the time of my life. Strapped in to a tiny open air cockpit seat, we followed the Ashley River out to the sea where we almost dive bombed a couple of seals, chased seagulls and ducks, landed on the beach then took off again - it was completely brilliant. We flew for almost an hour before I was dropped off and my mother Marjorie was taken up for a ride. She also had a great experience though wasn't so sure she needed to do it again any time soon. Marty was given a bit more of a run for his money with a steep take off and lots of tight turns. Dad (Malcolm) also had a go and came down smiling. Uncle Hugh had spent almost 4 hours of solid flying time with only a brief break in the middle for lunch so was also pretty happy with how the day had gone. I would microlight anytime!
Last night we had a lovely Indian dinner cooked for us by Sanjay, Vanda's husband and today we went to my parent's church then came home to sit by their fire. Before dark we took Milly the dog for a walk/bush bash down by the Selwyn River. With only a day before we go the rest of our time will be spent in packing, practicing making a pavlova in case we need to show anyone some kiwi/aussie cuisine and I have to go to the dentist as a filling fell out. On Tuesday July 4 we leave ChristChurch and after a couple of brief stopovers will arrive in New York.
