Whanganui Bay Labour Weekend Trip

Our Labour Weekend began early on Friday night, sitting in traffic as we headed north out of Wellington with Steve and Sichang from the NZAC in the back seats and a boot full of gear. We camped near Rangipo (having been relieved to hear that the murderer who'd escaped the day before from the nearby prison had been recaptured...) in a DOC camping on the edge of the Kaimanawa Forest Park. We woke in the morning to a thick frost on the inside and outside of the tents by a clear sky up above as the sun rose over the thick bush clad hills. It was less than an hour from here and down the shocking road to Whanganui Bay on the western shore of Lake Taupo.
Whekenui from the beach

The beach from the crag

We headed straight to Whekenui, the original crag to get climbing, the first time since the autumn and Tim was itching to get his hands back on real rock. We started off up the classic 17 hand crack of 'Sayonara', followed by the classic 22 arete, aptly named 'Bizzarete' right next door. Then was another classic 17 crack in the form of 'James Sterling Direct', fantastic climbing (slightly easier that 'Sayonara') and placement opportunities for all the gear you could possibly carry. Having done some cracks and aretes, we decided it was time for the other staple of Whekenui - corners, so next stop was the nearby technical 22 corner of 'Zarathrustra'. The awesome soaring lines and features of Whekenui makes it probably the best trad crag in NZ!

'Sayonara'

'Bizzarete'

Tim on 'James Stirling Direct'

Helen on 'Champange'

In the evening we enjoyed a bonfire in the lakeside campsite with some other friends from Wellington ensuring we were rested and ready to go the next morning. We first decided to check out the Sunday Up De Do Da Buttress a little back up the track and got straight on the classic 'Rumble in the Jungle', a long bolted 19 bringing you high above the valley floor with great views out to the bay. 'Limestone Cowboy' (22) provided some fun steep jug hauling until the lichen slab above the last bolt and soon we were off to the crags of The Plateau to join Steve and Sichang.

The Plateau has a bit more of a sport climbing focus (despite having some great trad lines) and we ticked some more classics on its sunny walls until the end of the day when we hardly had enough energy to pack our rucksacs! Highlight was the surpurb technical groove of 'Mid-Life Crisis' (22) and the neighbouring short pitch of 'Hands Solo' (19).

'Knobs and Knockers'

'Mid-Life Crisis'

Despite worries of some impending weather, Monday morning dawned bright and sunny and we rushed back off to Whekenui to explore the hidden but brilliant pitches nestled amongst the short walls around the right hand end of the crag including the classic hand/finger open-book corner of 'Moss Corner' and the crack/slab of 'Ego Trip' (19). By lunch time we were well and truly exhausted and headed back along the pumice beach to pack up camp and head back to Wellington, enjoying the views of Tongariro, Ngaurahoe and Ruapehu as we traversed the Desert Road and the expected weather rolled in.

Helen bridging up the classic corner crack 'Moss Corner'

Look out at Lake Taupo

Spring around Wellington

In the middle of September we thought we'd have one last weekend skiing before the snow disappeared for the season. We drove up Saturday morning to find typical spring conditions and only managed a few runs on the churned up piste before walking over to the Blythe Hut for the night.

Where's all the snow gone? Alpine vegetation on the way to the hut.

The next day we went for a wonder up towards the summit peak of Girdlestone and managed to find a good pitch of ice to climb on the Gendarme on the north ridge.

Unfortunately Helen was unlucky and a chunk of ice hit her face so we headed back to the ski field medical centre for stitches (Helen enjoying a ride down on a ski patrol skidoo!). They're out now and its healed nicely.

The next weekend we opted to stay in Wellington and on Saturday we went for a moutain bike ride around Wainuiomata in the hills to the east of the Hutt Valley.

Looking across the harbour to Wellington CBD and the snowy tops of the Seaward Kaikoura mountains on the other side of the strait from the top of Wanui hill.

Helen descending a steep rocky section along the firebreak.

On Sunday the wind turned southerly and rain turned to hail (typical unsettled spring weather). But we still managed a stroll along the coast checking out the rocks as we went.

Tim sea stack climbing near Makara Beach on Wellington's west coast.

Looking south to the new 'West Wind' wind farm development.

The following week, the country was hit by a couple of big dumps of snow so as the weather cleared on Saturday we drove back up to the mountain to find some fresh powder at Turoa.

Tim enjoying the fresh powder and empty slopes.