My Christmas Present to me!

, originally uploaded by ladyhedda.

Today we were up at the crack of dawn being fitted with crampons and issued ice axes. That's right, someone knowingly gave me an axe, and then they took me onto a glacier to climb massive walls of ice.

There's a certain knack to swinging those axes into the wall. It's a bit like a hammer swing, with a flick of the wrist, and then they grab the ice and you stab your toes into the wall and use the legs to push yourself up. It's hard work and a strange feeling standing on a near vertical wall of ice, on just your tippy toes.

Being on the glacier itself was fantastic (and bloody cold) - I am now ready to get warm, where are the hot springs when you really need them?

Our hut in the woods......

, originally uploaded by ladyhedda.

This is where we spent Christmas. It's a Dept of Conservation Hut, about 18kms from the road in the rain forest, by some hot pools... The walk up the valley is beautiful with many creeks and streams to cross - some by bolder hopping, others on wee flood bridges and some you just have to wade through, especially if there's been some rain.

And did we get rain? Of course we did. This part of New Zealand gets 5m of rain per year - that's 500cm (200 inches).... For comparison, London gets approx 58cm (22 inches) and Los Angeles gets a measly 38cm (15 inches). So if you go walking, hiking or tramping in New Zealand you stand a very good chance of soggy feet, most of the time!

The hot springs were a treat - the perfect temperature for bathing and with spectacular views of the mountains. We even got a fresh dusting of snow on the peaks - for our very own White Christmas!

Happy Christmas!

We're somewhere on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. There's no cell phone coverage, and there's a severe weather warning. We're experiencing a lot of rain!
On Xmas day (providing the rivers have fallen and the creeks are passable) we're planning a hike in the Copland Valley, with an overnight camp at Welcome Flat - by the hot pools.

I love New Zealand!

originally uploaded by ladyhedda.

I can't even tell you how much I enjoyed the Milford Track. It was beautiful, challenging and so much fun. The photo above is taken on top of the Mackinnon Pass, looking down the Clinton Canyon. The track follows the Clinton River in the base of the canyon, before climbing up over the pass and then descending on the other side.

A massive highlight of the track was the trip to Sutherland falls - the tallest waterfalls in New Zealand (580m). It's possible to get behind the falls, which is something that I would never have attempted on my own, as it's a little like standing in the eye of a cyclone... We crossed over a stream to the left of the falls and then hugged the rocks and scrambled in behind the water. At times I couldn't see shit, and the noise was so loud that even yelling was useless. Instead of returning the way we came it seemed like a good idea to keep on going and go all the way around. Unfortunately this meant we had to clamber back across a fast moving stream knee deep in freezing water.

Up up and away

Uploaded by ladyhedda.

Michael is somewhere on the coast hiking with a very heavy back pack and his surfboard! He's carrying 7 days worth of food - which if you think about it is a lot of food, especially if you eat like he eats. He's also got a stove, his wetsuit, reef booties, fishing pole and some clean clothes. All of this is packed into a waterproof bag, because this is Fiordland, and it WILL rain on him. Today he will hike to his destination, which is a Department of Conservation hut on a beach, where there is a bunk and a wood stove. He'll then have 4 days to himself before hiking back around the headland, and starting the return journey. Unfortunately he won't be able to catch a plane out of there, so he's hoping to catch a ride up river before hiking the final 20+ kms out.
I have decided to take myself off to Queenstown for a couple of days - just to check it out. Today I'm hiking to the summit of Ben Lomond (1748m), the views are supposed to be amazing and the weather is good, so I'm packing a lunch and putting on my hiking shoes....

An early Xmas present

Today I'm dropping Michael off at the local airstrip. We managed to get him a seat on a 'back flight', the plane is going to pick up some trampers at the end of a hiking trail, and Michael will be hitching a ride out there for some quality surfing time. He'll have to walk back - but the backpack will be a good deal lighter by then!
I am headed off to Queenstown, and then to do some more tramping on the Milford Track. I managed to get myself a spot in the huts for next week (booked out 6 months in advance) - so Tuesday to Friday will be spent with my backpack tramping the 53kms to Milford. The walk is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in the world....

Wet? Just a little

Uploaded by ladyhedda.

We've just returned from an amazing kayak trip on Doubtful Sound. We decided we wanted to get away from all the cruise ships ploughing up and down, and find our own spot of tranquility on the water, so we opted to do an overnight trip with Fiordland Wilderness Experiences.
The trip was everything we had hoped, and more..... They really care about the environment, with one of their objectives being to put the environment before profit, which is something that is so important in an ecosystem as fragile as Fiordland.
We got up with the sun, dismantled our soggy tent and bundled our necessaries into a bag and headed off for our 6.30am pickup. The first part of the trip was a boat journey across Lake Manapouri to the West Arm. The journey took just under an hour and gave us time to appreciate the distance that we were travelling for the privilege of spending a night in the wilderness. After the boat we had a short ride over Wilmot Pass for our first sighting of a very grey and rainy Doubtful Sound. There were a total of 8 of us, including Adrien our guide and the only experienced sea kayaker among us!
We took some time to pack the boats - in go the tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, food, wine, cooking stuff and a change of clothes. The boats were fantastic sea kayaks, with dry storage areas for our gear and a rudder in the stern.
We'd been told that Fiordland 'comes alive' in the rain, yeah yeah yeah.... Well, it does! The volume of water descending over the land into the sound was incredible. The sounds are saltwater, but due to the immense quantities of rain that fall there is a freshwater layer of a few meters floating on top of the salt water. This freshwater layer is dark with tannins from the earth and prevents light from penetrating far into the saltwater layer. This makes the sounds unique as lots of deep water species live close to the surface - the majority of life is only 20m deep.
We saw penguins, and a playful fur seal who can only have been a year old. He was so friendly and curious - swimming on his back right next to the boat, ducking under us and popping out the other side. I could have reached out and touched him.
At night we slept in our tents beside a small river and listened to the calls of a male Kiwi. My own little slice of heaven.

They call it tramping down here

We've spent the last week in and around the fiords of Southern New Zealand. We were lucky enough to get out onto both Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound, as well as fitting in some hiking on the Kepler Track.
The Kepler Track is a 3 day 60km walk through beautiful forests, around a lake, up to alpine forests, along alpine ridge lines, down into a valley and back around through forests and lakes. There are hut accommodations along the route, so no need for us to carry our tent (thank the lord), and also no need to carry the stove... We did have to carry our sleeping bags, food, clothing, water and any other luxuries we would need. Chocolate for me.
The weather was absolutely beautiful and on the day we climbed Mount Luxmore (1472m) there was not a cloud in the sky and we had panoramic views over the Fiordland National Park. The walking itself ranges from easy tramping through the forests, to some tricky descents along the ridge line, my calves have had a good workout! On the 3rd day we were chased out of the forest by swarms of sandflies (a NZ native that I could do without ever meeting again!)
Hopefully I'll find a computer that I can hook up the camera to, and then I'll be able to show you some photos.

They move fast when they want to!

Uploaded by ladyhedda.

This guy gave me quite a fright! We were walking along the beach, looking for a nice spot to sit and eat our lunch, when we came across this rather large Hooker Sea Lion.
He was quite happy to pose for some photos, even managing to look quite cute and cuddly. Then, he decided that he'd had enough of us, (either that, or he wanted some of my lunch).
Time to get out of there....

Just hangin out

Uploaded by ladyhedda.

Holy crap. I can't believe how lucky we were to hang out with these fellas! Having gone to Oamaru to see penguins, we headed south to Dunedin for some surf and some more wildlife spotting.
We drove out to find some waves, and Michael got to surf with a seal while the penguins watched from the rocks! It was amazing to be able to see the penguins playing in the waves, I behaved and kept my distance despite the urge to kidnap a penguin and bring him back to the tent with me.
I also considered joining this guy in a nap.