Fiordland and the Darrans

We spent New Year's Eve cruising around Doubtful Sound. The weather was typical for Fiordland (its a rainforest after all!) but it was very atmospheric in the mist and the waterfalls were in full flow down the steep towering sides of the fiord. It was especially fun out near the mouth of the Fiord watching seals while the full ravages of the Tasman Sea were being hurled upon the ship, good job we brought waterproofs!

Next stop was a rather misty and wet Milford Sound but after sitting out the whole day in the cafe, the rain eventually stopped and the mist cleared for our view of the iconic Mitre Peak.
The day after we walked up though the morning mist to Key Summit to be rewarded with a brief glimse of the snow covered peaks of The Darrans and the Alias Mountains but views to the south were obliterated by a freak NZ sleet shower before we got to the viewpoint. We spent the rest of the day walking to and back from the Mackenzie Hut (day 3 of the famous Routeburn Great Walk) though intermittent showers and almost constant mist.

We have now parted company with Ruth and Peter, but it looks like they are looking forward to getting back soon. We've headed back to Queenstown to get some more tramping and climbing done till some good weather eventually arrives in Fiordland (late Janurary/Feb is usually good) and we can head back to the awesome looking Darrans.

Lake Manapouri

Experiencing the full force of the Tasman Sea at the mouth of Doubtful Sound

Atmospheric Doutful Sound

Solitutde at Lake Marian in The Darrans

Cloud lifts over Milford Sound and Mitre Peak

Wanaka, Tarras and Queenstown

We spent a brief days around the senic Wanaka and Queenstown staying with a uni friend of Ruth at their lovely house surrounded by the rolling golden hills of Central Otago. We managed a short day climbing near Lake Wanaka and an afternoon at Wye Creek near Queenstown. We hope to get back there soon...View from Tarras

Biking around Lake Wanaka

Arthur's Pass and Westland

We met Peter and Ruth (Helen's parents) in Christchurch with their newly aquired white rental van. We headed back though Castle Hill, now with the hill tops sprinkled with snow, to Arthur's Pass National Park and did a fantastic one day tramp to the top of Avalanche Peak, with its supurb views of the surrounding mountains.

From there we headed to the goldfields of the rugged West Coast, exploring Hokitika and Lake Kaniere. We spent Christmas at Franz Josef Galcier, walking up to the terminal face and having a Christmas treat of a scenic flight over the Southern Alps, around Mount Tasman, Aoraki/Mount Cook and over the Fox, Franz Josef and Tasman glaciers.

The weather then changed for the worse so we headed south, quicker than planned, through typical Westland driving rain, over Haast Pass to better weather on the other side of the divide.


The newest members of our travelling contingent

Two vans in Castle Hill basin, the tops dusted by the previous day's snow

The Alpine Highway towards Arthur's Pass

Mount Rolleston from Avalanche Peak

Ruth and Peter approach the lofty summit of Avalanche Peak after a hefty 1000m climb from the valley floor

Aroaki/Mount Cook.... one day

Mount Tasman from our plane, just wanted to get dropped off (but not too close to the top, where's the fun in that!)

Christmas Day at the Franz Josef glacier

Christmas dinner -BBQ lamb, fried potatoes and veg plus Xmas pud and custard!!

Castle Hill and Banks Peninsula

From Nelson Lakes we travelled over Lewis Pass, stopping for a couple of hours in the thermal pools of Hamner Springs before heading over the Canterbury Plains and up into the foothills and the Castle Hill Basin. We spent a few days here exploring the extensive limestone outcrops and boulders of Quantum Field, just a small part of the whole area! Plenty to go back to. It did however take a while to get used to the unique techniques of limestone friction climbing!

With sore hands and climbing muscles, we headed to the Banks Peninsula, for some spectacular sunny views of the harbour and rocky summits. Plans for a spot of climbing here were however cut short by the wet morning that we woke up to, so we decided to head into Christchurch.

Tim soloing the ultra classic splitter crack of Rembandit (21) at Quatum Field in Castle Hill Basin

(New Zealand's Font!)

Helen enjoying the blank slabs of Quantum Field

Banks Peninsula

Golden Bay and Nelson Lakes

Due to the brooding weather, we didn't stay long to explore the Sounds, somewhere to head back to sometime. We drove through Nelson and up and over Tarkaka hill to Golden Bay and the main climbing destination of the northern South Island; Paynes Ford. It continued to rain all through the night and it took most of the next day for the crag to dry so instead we went off to explore Farewell Spit and the rugged beaches of the West Coast. For the next few days we ticked off some classics at the Ford and the nearby Cathedral Rock near the Abel Tasman National Park before heading back up Tarkaka hill for some views across the rugged Kuaruanga National Park and Golden Bay and to visit Harwood's Hole, the biggest sink hole in the southern hemisphere, and the surrounding beech forest, used for scenes in Lord of the Rings.

The next stop was the fantastic alpine scenery of the Nelson Lakes National Park. We spent a sunny afternoon resting by the shore of one of the eponymous lakes (an activity severely hampered by the incessant sand flies) and preparing for the following day's tramp. The morning's cloud was slow to lift as we climbed the north flank of Mount Robert and set out on the fantastic journey along the Robert Ridge. The wide ridge eventually narrowed and we picked our way up, down and around rocky spurs and negotiated plenty of scree, but were rewarded with spectacular views of the adjacent ridges and the northern peaks of Southern Alps to the south. By mid afternoon we were descending to the Angelus Hut, nestled within the senic backdrop of the Angelus Basin. The next morning dawned crystal clear and we watched the sun rise over the St Arnaud range to the east, cloud pooling in valley beneath. We descended down Spearcrass Creek, having to cross back and forth over the stream more times than we can remember with a final stint back to the car park though the beech forest.


West Coast beaches


View from Cathedral Rock


Nelson Lakes National Park


Robert Ridge



Sunrise from the Angelus Hut

Lunchtime in Bongo. Meet Maty the Kiwi, the newest member of our travelling contingent!

Southern North Island

From Tongariro we drove along the senic Whanganui River Road and headed through North Palmerston to the Turara Forest Park, just north of Wellington, for a two day tramp along the alpine tops with fantastic views of both the east and west coasts of the North Island, the distant volcanoes of Mount Taranaki, Mount Ruapehu on the central plateau and even the South Island! This left us with a sunny day to explore Wellington before catching the Interislander Ferry (our ferry the Kaitia, formerly the Pride of Cherbough) across the Cook Strait and through the Marlborough Sounds to Picton.

Whanganui River

Tramping in the high Turara range up to the Jumbo Hut

Sunrise from the Jumbo Hut

The rare NZ blue caterpillar viewing the sunrise

Looking over the Wiarapa from Jumbo Hut

Wellington harbour from Mount Victoria

Tongario Northern Circuit

The weather looked good for our first day on the tramp so we set out early and completed the normal 'day one' in 2 and a bit hours so embarked on the most famous section of the trek; the Tongariro Alpine Crossing'. After climbing steeply for a hour, we decided to add a side trip up to the lofty summit of Mount Ngauruhoe, a perfect volcanic cone and another relentless 500m slog up its uniform scree slopes. At the top however, we were rewarded with fantasic views of the large Mount Ruepahu, Mount Tongariro itself and the enitre of Lake Taupo to the north. We carried on the circuit to the Ketahai Hut passing stunning craters and volcanic lakes.

The next day we descended into the moonscape of Outere Valley and traversed the eastern barren slopes of Mount Ngahoue to another hut. The final day however dawned wet and very misty and we trudged for 5 hours back to the start without seeing any views for a bit of a rest. It however a fantastic tramp!

Wharepapa South and Lake Taupo

After the Coromandel, we headed to Wharepapa South, the centre for climbing on the North Island with its wonderfully sculplted ingimbrite crags. On our first day we went to Froggatt crag, where,unlike its Peak District cousin, the routes were well bolted, steep and juggy. The follwing day we exlplore Sheridan Hills and Bayleys and the day after heading 30 minutes south to the recently developed Wipapa.

For a 'rest' day, the next day we visited volcanic and thermal parks around Taupo particualy, the magnificent colourful silica terrances of Orakei Korato and found a quiet place to stay in Kinloch on the northern shore of the lake.

The next day we tramped for 1 1/2 hours to the secluded Kawkawa Bay to enjoy its rhyolite crags and some sunny climbing above the lake. We were lucky to meet some other climbings with a boat so didn't have to tramp back, instead crusing back over the still waters of the lake.

The following morning, we headed to one of the best climbing areas in the whole of NZ: Whanganui Bay. We spent the afternoon ticking some classic trad cracks and corners on the magnificent rock architecture of its Main Wall. We managed a few more routes the next morning beforee our arms finally gave in, after 6 days of climbing!