Summer in the Catlins

December 27-31 2014

Team: Mark, Spike, Myself

Catlins Area

Our summer holiday this year saw us hit the Catlins - an area neither Mark nor I had ever visited before. It was lovely to explore somewhere new, that was laid back and relaxed, with lots of outdoors things to do. We spent MONTHS planning this trip, and managed to largely get absolutely perfect weather, which was awesome.

While there are some longer walks available in the area, mostly the walking is short - as in 45-minutes at a time is a fairly long hike. Which is perfect when you have a nearly 2 year old on your back because he doesn't want to walk!

We based ourselves at Pounawea to start with, at the campground. It was lovely. Couple of really nice little units, clean showers (although the hot water was patchy), a small kitchen that worked mainly because the site was predominantly taken up by locals, who bought their own massive set-ups to stay for a week.


December 27th

After an early arrival at the campground, we did a loop walk that starts at the back corner of the site. This is call the Pounawea Nature Walk. It had heaps of interesting stopping points with information about some of the native trees that were in evidence. It didn't take us as long as we anticipated - or as long as the signs advised, even though we took the long way to go down to the tidal flats of the lake to make our way back to camp.



December 28th

It was a very warm day. We decided to head around the coast a bit to Nugget Point for our walk in the morning, stopping briefly at Tunnel Gully on our way there. Its a nice, cool little spot, but only worth it for train or history buffs, really!

Nugget Point was really neat, although you wouldn't want to try it if you had vertigo!

The return walk from the carpark was 1.8km, and took us 40 minutes return, with Spike in a pack. We stopped at the lighthouse for morning tea, and I definitely think I need to go back - although rumour has it that the area down there is hectic at dawn (which would be epic) with busloads of tourists - buses we never saw, anywhere in the Catlins. It is quite markedly downhill from the carpark to the lighthouse.

 

In the afternoon we did a double waterfalls walk - first in to Purakanui Falls, and then to Matai Falls. Both were gorgeous, and cemented WaterFALLS as one of Spikes favourite things. Purakanui was busy (as expected) and Matai was pretty quiet, which was lovely. Spike largely refused to walk anywhere on these two walks.



December 29th

A quieter day - a morning walk up the hill to Jacks Blowhole. I found it quite an effort, and I wasn't carrying a toddler. The blowhole was neat, but as with many, your view is limited as you have to stay well back for safety reasons. The views on the way back were better.



In the afternoon, we hung around the campsite as Spike had had a rough night with getting to sleep the night before and was refusing to nap. We also had nothing we felt strongly enough about to go back to, as we had done all the key walks we wanted to do at this end of the coast. It was actually a lovely afternoon at the campground, especially since it was rather hot!
The dusk was seriously impressive, which I would have missed had I not made friends with the family on the neighbouring campsite and spent the evening chatting to them.




December 30th

After checking out of the cabin, we headed up to Kaka Point for morning tea. There aren't many walks here, and Spike hated the beach, so we jumped back in the car to drive south to Waikawa Bay, where we had another nights accomodation booked. As with everything in the Catlins, it wasn't that long a drive, and we wound up going through "town" and down to Curio Bay for lunch once Spike woke up.

After checking in to our lovely, but VERY hot accommodation, we headed to the access road for Cathedral Caves, intending to arrive shortly after the road opened so we would have as much time as possible to explore. The day was roasting hot and we were looking forward to getting our feet wet. Sadly we hit two problems: 1. The road wasn't open yet, 20 minutes after it was meant to be, and there was no shady area to wait in, and 2. We didn't have anywhere near enough cash to pay the fee to cross the private land to get to the Caves.

So, we abandoned that plan and headed for McLean falls instead, which were totally worth it. In this day and age, where viewing platforms and safety barriers are the norm, you can actually climb all over and into  the falls. Fantastic on a hot day for cooling yourself off! On the way back we stopped at the campground cafe for an ice-cream and to grab a couple of cans of coke (at $4 each), as there are no shops in this part of the Catlins. What we really wanted was a beer, and Mark seriously considered staying at the cafe for dinner so we could have one, but we had meat that needed to be cooked back at the motel.



December 31st

We had purposely not done Slope Point the previous morning, leaving it for on our way south to Bluff. This was a mistake. The weather turned absolutely nasty when we were half way to the sign, and then started hailing as we got to it. Cue panicked toddler in backpack and soaked parents in jeans! A quick photo at the sign, then I threw the backpack on while Mark carried Spike in his arms, inside his raincoat to keep him calm. I all-but ran back to the car so I could dig out towels and dry clothes for everyone, and after a very rapid change of clothes in the backseat for Spike (including a nappy since he was wet through!), we got changed too and headed off again.



The weather for the rest of the drive south was much better. We got some nice views down the coast, and stopped in a small town just out of Invercargill for a late morning tea (we were completely out of food because we had expected small shops down the coast, since the map indicated there were shops or cafes in most towns. There kinda werent). In Invercargill it was time for lunch and groceries (I pushed Spike in the buggy to the supermarket to keep him quiet) before we headed south to Bluff for the night.

Goal Achieved

Monday 15 December 2014

Solo

Route: Ngaio Shops to Awarua St, up Bells Track to the Skyline. Climb to top of Mt Kaukau and back down via Simla Cres track. Return to Ngaio.

View to top of Bells Track from lower Awarua St

I've been meaning to get up Kaukau for a couple of months now, but events had continually conspired against me. Between toddler-at-home days, sickness and the awful weather we had in November, it looked like I wasn't going to manage it before Christmas.

Bells Track

The weather report for today was glowing - calm and warm. Awesome. I know from past experience that a light breeze around the suburbs means a bluster at the top of the hills, while still here is not still at the top. So after doing a chunk of our Christmas shopping in the morning, I headed off.

I opted to be a little lazy, and parked my car at Ngaio shops to save the 10 minutes walk each way. At the end of the walk I was so rediculously glad of this forethought! Whipping through Cummings Park at about 12:45, the climbing started almost immediately.

Traffic was quiet as I started up Awarua St, although there was a random surge of cars going past when I was nearly at the top. By the time I got to the top, I was incredibly glad that we had opted not to buy the house up there that we looked at the same day we saw our current place. I was also really hot, and realising that I probably could have left my jersey at home.

At the Skyline Walkway

The sign indicated half an hour to the Skyline Walkway, and 75 minutes to Mt Kaukau. It was 1pm. My friend Louisa had done a 7km loop up here and back in 1hr 45, so I thought perhaps the times were a little exaggerated.

Final climb to the top

It was a long, slow climb up the hill. I made it to the Skyline in about 17 minutes, and I thought I was pretty slow (and stopping frequently, both to admire the view, and to rest). I continued what seemed to be ever upwards towards Mt Kaukau, standing at the bottom of the final grunt to the transciever at 1:45, and making it to the top at just on 2pm.

View to Tappy

I spent a few minutes sitting underneath the viewing platform, trying to cool down a little from the heat, and watching the herd of cows that were hanging around, seeming pretty docile, but huge and seeming slightly threatening none-the-less.

I toyed with the idea of going around behind the transciever to actually bag the trig at the proper top of the hill, but decided against it in favour of getting home for a cool shower.

A quick mission down to Simla Cres (which actually seemed to take ages, and every time I looked down to where I was headed, it looked forever away), and then a whip along Khandallah Road, and I was stopping at the dairy to buy an icecream, before being back at the car just before 2:45.

So, just under 2 hours, including breaks, just under 6.5km travelled. Total climb 317m.

Mums go wild

Hut #45

20-21 September 2014

Team: Me, Sarah, Denise, Karen, Romana

Herepai Hut, Puatara Road end, Tararua Forest Park

What a weekend! I would say 4 seasons in two days, but really, it was a spring blast of winter for most of the weekend. This trip was a special one - my first overnight away without Spike. Sure, he had spent nights at Granma and Pops before, but I had not gone away overnight without him. As such, it was my first overnight tramp in just over two years, with the previous being a road end south at Blue Range while 7 weeks pregnant.

Friday afternoon there was a flurry of emails - the weather forecast for the weekend was ominous. Foul weather any which way you read it. Lovely. After one punter pulling out earlier in the week because they were unwell, another pulled out because of the weather forecast, and I was briefly concerned we were going to all decide not to go. The question was put to the chief guide and club prez as to whether perhaps we should be going - a party where every member had either not tramped in multiple years, or had only done one tramp - into the teeth of such a storm. "Dont worry", they said, "Its sheltered, a fantastic all-weather tramp".
So off we went.

Saturday morning. It rained most of the way north, stopping literally only while we were at Mitre 10 Masterton using their bathroom and buying a biscuit or two on our way north. It started hailing as we headed north out of town, and the Putara Road was not far off starting to flood as we got nearer to the road end. The hail stopped long enough to get our packs on, and then started again as soon as we stepped onto the boggy, muddy trail.

It was a very wet walk - the track was marked by the fact it was a fast-running stream. Side-streams that would usually go unnoticed were running fast enough that some party members required assistance to get across them. As we started climbing, the hail started to settle on the ground, anywhere there wasn't running water. When we got to the top of the hill, the decision was made that there was no way we were going to try and get down the hill to Roaring Stag as originally planned - we were all too cold, and soaked through. The pouring rain and cold weather had meant no-one had stopped for a proper lunch either, we had all been surviving our slow plod up the hill with whatever snacks we had shoved in our raincoats at the van.



Plus it had now started snowing. Snow was settling on top of any flat patches of water. The ridgeline was exposed to the wind, and it bit straight through our wet gear. On we moved. The walk through to Herepai seemed to take a really long time as the weather continued to get colder (not aided by the fact I had no watch!). The snow was settling quite thickly under the trees, and was hiding traps. In one section, I stood on a submerged tree stump, and promptly slipped, landing on hands and kees in just under 10cm of icy water, with both knees landing on other submerged rocks / stumps / something. Agony.

Nothing for it though - I wasn't going to sit around in the cold and cry. At some stage here I thought I saw the hut, but was mistaken. I even looked two or three times to be sure before I told Karen and Denise. But I was wrong. The smell of woodsmoke 5 minutes later was fantastic. We had arrived. The fire was going, we could get inside!

I dont know whether it was the fact we were all so cold to start with, or what, but the fire just seemed to take forever to actually do its job of warming the place up. Probably not helped by the wind driven snow on uninsulated double-metal walls (inside and out) that literally ran with condensation - absolutely nothing dried overnight, including the floor.

That said, we had an awesome time chatting with a group from the Rangitikei Tramping Club who we were sharing the hut with. They were the best kind of people to share a hut with - welcoming, friendly, inclusive. They made hot drinks for everyone, kept the fire going, told stories, shared the rest of their dinner when some of ours didn't work so well, and volunteered to clean the hut in the morning.

Sunday dawned fine. Sunshine! It had stopped snowing about an hour after we arrived at the hut Saturday night, and the difference in the track on the way down was incredible - almost no standing water, and no streams running down the hill. The barely crossable side streams were back to barely noticeable, and the river had dropped substantially. I would say we made it back to the van "dry", but given we had all put wet clothes back on before we left the hut, it would be more correct to say we didn't get rained on, although it did spit a bit as we were getting sorted to go.

 

A quick stop at the bakery in Kirupuni for a pie, and at Schoc for a treat, and we headed off home. It eventually turned out that my sore knee was an impact sprain. A month later and I'm still in physio, and its still tender to touch in the wrong spots. But at least I can walk again!

Hut Bagged: Herepai Hut (1 night). First visit.

Family "camping"

29-30 March 2014

Matiu-Somes Island, Wellington Harbour

Crew: Mark, Spike, Myself, 15 others from the WTMC Families group



Saturday morning and we were running for the train, trying to get Spike in his carrier plus a daybag and two overnight bags from the carpark to the platform so we didn't miss the ferry to Somes Island. We made it with moments to spare, and the lovely train attendant even helped us load the bags onto the carriage.

Figuring out how we were carrying all this luggage from the train to the ferry was an entertaining game at the other end, but we got it sorted and missioned our way down the waterfront to meet with everyone else nicely in time for our pre-booked and pre-paid (thankfully) ferry across the harbour.

Our arrival at Somes Island was too early for getting in to the houses we had booked (should have checked that before arranging ferry times around Spikes nap), so we had to leave our bags at the wharf and go exploring for a while before the houses came available and we could try and get Spike to have his nap, since he was refusing to do it in the carrier.



Once we eventually got into the houses and got Spike down for a sleep, it was time for a bit of chilling out, watching the weather, which was a bit average. We got a short walk of about 45 minutes in during the late afternoon before it was time to retire to the house for dinner and chilling out before it was Spikes bedtime. The entire party, who were spread over two houses for sleeping, enjoyed dinner together in the house we were established in, and the kitchens were much better equipped than I had expected.



While the bigger kids and parents wandered off on a nocturnal walk, we settled Spike to bed, and were joined back in the lounge later by the intrepid explorers, where books were read, games were played and the heat pump was thoroughly enjoyed until it was time to turn it off.

Sunday morning was a chilled affair. A quick breakfast, clean up and pack up and then off for another walk. Because we knew we had stuff on at home in the afternoon (and Spike needed his naps, which seemed to be a dominating exercise the whole weekend), we had booked an earlier ferry home than many of the others. Back to Queens Wharf, a walk back to the train station and a train home to our car and our weekend was done.



It was very neat staying in the houses on the island, as I have previously camped there twice. Looking back from over a year later, I do wish we had just pushed on with doing stuff rather than making ourselves slaves to Spikes naps. And I definitely intend for us all to do it again sometime.

A little different

13 July 2014

Team: Just me. (Not even me and my ipod since it died between charging and trying to use!)

City to Sea Walkway, Bolton St to Aro St section

The weather looked pretty dismal, and the report was not entertaining reading either - we were on day 2 of what promised to be at least 10 consecutive days of coll temperatures, southerly breezes and showers around the city. I had suggested to a fitness group I am in that we start doing regular walks, and the date of this one unfortunately coincided with the middle of school holidays, so a few people were away. I suspect some others were put off by the fact it was a long walk if we went the whole distance (even though there are hundreds of "jump points" along the way where public transport is right there).

 

Anyway, 9:30am on a Sunday, I had dropped Mark to work, Spike was with his grandparents and I was standing around on Bowen St outside MBIE, waiting to see if anyone turned up, when I discovered my ipod had no battery. Stupid thing, I hadn't used it since I had charged it last the other week! A couple of minutes after scheduled departure, I went with the decision that no-one was coming and started off.

I was expecting to find this much harder than I did. I was sure last time I did any of these bits of track I found them difficult. Perhaps though, the fact of simply doing it at my pace, and not having to maintain a conversation made it easier? Perhaps it was the fact I was carrying a light pack - only a pump water bottle, my camera with its 50mm lens, 2 slices of pizza, cellphone, wallet, keys and one spare warm layer. I was never intending to go beyond Brooklyn, so I would always be within a couple of hundred metres of sustenance and shelter.



The climb up through to the Lady Norwood Rose Garden is the usual route, nothing spectacular, but once you get up towards the metservice offices in the upper gardens, you start being sent off on trails I had never been on before. It was quite neat to be somewhere a little different. Before I knew it, I had popped out the top at the Cable Car. This seemed not only much faster, but also less steep than other paths I had taken between the two points.



From here the track dropped down (again through some unusual zig-zagging) to the university and a trail down under Kelburn Park, around the back of the gym and into its carpark before dropping into the bush again, to appear on Salamanca Rd about 100m city side of the driveway. Climbing back up Mount St to the cemetery seemed pointless when I knew I wanted the Boyd-Wilson Field down Wai-iti St, but I did it anyway, and was astounded to discover just how large the Mount St Cemetery actually is.



Seeing the new(ish) hall of residence above the field close-up was quite overpowering. It is a big, ugly building. It stands out like a sore thumb from the city, and from close up? Well, I wouldn't want that as a neighbour. Wandering down to Aro Valley was a doddle, and the cute path past the council flats was something I had never known about before.



Unfortunately, at Aro Park I took a wrong turn (I didn't have a map with me). The sign-post seemed to indicate turning left, so I did. But it actually meant cross the road and continue up Aro Valley a bit. So instead I got to Willis St, saw the bus go past, realised I had lost the trail and missed a half-hourly bus and decided that was enough for the day.

It took me about an hour from Bowen St to Aro St, including several stops for water, photos and route finding, and my pace was leisurely. Definitely keen to do this portion again, and include the rest of the track through to the south coast. I took a slow walk back to the car on Bowen St via the CBD, and the round-trip took just under 2 hours (including a stop at the bookstore).