Copenhagen Wrapped Up?

Masked climate activists protest outside U.N. climate talks in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, Oct. 2, 2009, (AP Photo)

The negotiations in Copenhagen have finished, and dignitaries, world leaders, and activists are heading home with copies of the draft Copenhagen Accord in their pockets. It’s not what many had hoped for, and I’m feeling disappointed and deflated as I read over the outcomes.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to scavenge for scraps of “insider news” from the Bella Centre for the last couple of weeks, then you might find this brief summary of what has come out of Copenhagen useful. I wasn’t there, and I have not read the draft Accord, but this is what I know:

Copenhagen Accord: The Basics

• No legally binding emissions targets were set. From what I understand, countries have been asked to develop and submit their mid-term (2020) emissions targets by February 2010. However, the Accord includes a target of 80% reductions from 1990 levels by 2050.
• Negotiators settled on limiting temperature rise to 2C. This has major implications for developing nations, and is significantly higher then the 1.5C rise that many environmental groups, developing nations, and climate scientists have been advocating for…. not ambitious.
• A date for the peak of global emissions was not set.
• A statement regarding the important role of deforestation in climate change was included in the Copenhagen Accord, but it is vague and does not specify mechanisms for an outcome from Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+).
• This accord is not a replacement of the Kyoto Protocol – an important factor because it means that countries are still responsible for their commitments in the Kyoto Protocol, as well as what comes from the final version of the Copenhagen Accord.
• As for “fairness,” $30bn of funding for developing nations from 2010-2012 was promised, increasing to $100bn by 2020. These funds will go to the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund – no specifics on who the money will come from, or how it will be used. From what I understand, developing nations will need to agree to international monitoring and verification of their emissions to be eligible to receive funding.
• Nations have agreed to reconvene in 2015 to readdress targets like the maximum temperature rise of 2C.
• A goal to make the Copenhagen Accord a legally binding document by the end of 2010.
• The first time in history that all major greenhouse gas emitting nations (both developed and developing) came together to slow the threat of climate change.

What’s Next?
Canada will be hosting the next G20 Summit in June, and there are already whispers of organizing to show world leaders (once again) how important climate change is to the people they represent. The Copenhagen Accord should become a legally binding document at the COP16 in Mexico City, December 2010 – perfect timing for a sunny vacation… just kidding!

Meanwhile, developed nations have to meet the February 2010 deadline for submitting their specific mid-term emissions targets. From the leaked documents revealing Canada’s position on this, it looks like we have a lot of work to do in January to show Harper and our Government that their proposal is not acceptable.

Take Action
Calling my MP seemed intimidating at first, but then I remembered that his job is to represent me and that if I don’t tell him what I think then he can make as many assumptions about the views of his constituents as he wants. With that in mind, it felt great to tell him (actually his answering machine) what I thought of Canada’s role at Copenhagen, our government’s weak emissions targets, and lack of funding for alternative energy and green jobs.

If you haven’t already, please call your MP and Prime Minister Steven Harper – tell them what you think! Watch how easy it is here.

“While the reality of climate change is not in doubt, [...] our ability to take collective action is in doubt…” President Barack Obama

In the coming weeks and months we will need to come together to send a strong and clear message to our government to take action on climate change. Keep your eyes peeled and an ear to the ground for local groups and actions you can participate in. Talk to your friends, family, and collegues about what future you want to see, and then start ‘doing’. We cannot rely on government to organize all the solutions. We cannot stand alone in the face of climate change – identify your strengths and share them with your community to create the blueprint for our survival.

Wellington Wellington Wellington

Ooops! I almost forgot to tell write about Wellington. We spent about a week there wandering about, and it is a very cool city. The thing the stood out the most for me was the way they have designed their public spaces. Along downtown’s main streets there are lots of places to sit and admire the street art and people watch. It’s obvious that it is a city full of arts and culture.

Here are a few of my favourite public spots in Wellington:

A city that replaces a pedestrian overpass with a pirate ship earns lots of brownie points in my books!

I found this ingenious chicken nesting box at an installation featuring all recycled/reused materials. Caitlin and Lee Taylor created it, and called it "Chicks in Cyberspace"

I think more buildings should have pokadots

Rainbow Valley Farm – Flood, Feathers, Filth, and Feta

The Flood

Usually the stream flows through a culvert under the drive way... didn't quite fit this time

My first week on Rainbow Valley Farm coincided with monsoon rains. The first few days the mornings were pleasant, and just as we would sit down for our communal lunch the rains would begin. It was like clock work. It started with a little drizzle and quickly became torrential! Soon after we finished washing up the lunch dishes, the clouds would part and we could get back to work in the humid heat.

A few days later the rain settled in, and it poured for about three days. The last day was amazing! It was so loud that we had to raise our voices, and it just kept getting louder and wetter as the day progressed. The gutter above the door to my room got clogged, so by the middle of the night I had a waterfall shooting off the roof in front of my door! By noon the next day the property was starting to flood. Trish, the owner of the farm, said it was the biggest flood she’d seen on the property in over twenty years. The flooding was caused because the farm is situated in a steep valley. The ground became so saturated that the rain just ran off, and flooded the valley stream. Luckily the main house and wwoofery (housing for interns and wwoofers) were up high enough on the hill to not be affected. Just as quickly as the water had come up it subsided. The wood lot had been shifted a bit, the permanent tent was a little damp and silty, and the lower paddocks looked flattened. Amazingly none of the fences broke, the bridges held up, and nothing was shifted too far.

The bridge during the flood

Same bridge a few days later

Tom checking on the fences

The Feathers

“Birds of a feather flock together,” doesn’t quite ring true on this farm. We’ve got chooks (chickens), ducks, geese, and guinea fowl all living a somewhat harmonious existence. One of the first tasks I was given was feeding the poultry and collecting the eggs. I quite enjoy it as a start and end to my day.

Chickens, ducks, and guinea fowl living together

Until recently, all of the poultry was totally free ranging on the farm, and most of them stuck to the orchards. It’s quite cute to walk through the orchard and around the wwoofery and find random and creatively placed nesting boxes that have now been abandoned. Having free range chickens in the orchard for over a decade began to take it’s toll as they had started to scratch down to the shallow rooting systems of the fruit trees, so things changed! The chickens were split into three groups – a chicken tractor, a flock for the hen house, and a small group to remain free ranging in the orchard. Some of the ducks joined the hens headed for the house, but the most of them and the guinea fowl and geese stayed in the orchard. Since the switch up the orchard has changed a lot. There is a new rhubarb patch, and lots of undergrowth growing back, and still benefiting from the bird poop fertilizer.

A favourite nesting box or a wood oven?

As with any barnyard, there is a love story to share. A few years ago Mrs Goose passed away, and Mr Gander was left heartbroken and lonely. Then one day his eye caught a sleek looking black duck named Victoria. It was love at first sight, and he has been at her side ever since. Victoria enjoys Mr Gander’s company alright, but she has been a bit promiscuous. Eight little ducklings were born just a few weeks ago, but Mr Gander seems to think they could only be his. He is very protective of them, and they’re growing very strong as a result. Meanwhile, Ms Goosey was introduced to the flock as a replacement for Mrs Goose. Smitten immediately with Mr Gander, Ms Goosey tends to spend her days following Mr Gander, Victoria, and their ducklings around – I have yet to decide whether it should be classified as stalking or just the nature of a protective aunt to the ducklings.
Mr Gander and Ms Goosey team up to be bullies at feeding time, and I’ve had a really hard time dealing with their behaviour. If they were simply being mean for the sake of it and stealing everyone else’s food then I suppose they could have been moved or isolated for a little bit. However, they’re only acting out of protection for the ducklings. Most of the other birds have realized this and stay a safe distance away from them at all times…. I think Mr Gander gets a little bit bored by their good behaviour and lashes out indiscriminately on occasion. He doesn’t respond when I tell him off.

The love triangle - Mr Gander, Victoria, Ms Goosey, and the ducklings

The Filth

Weeding the rice paddy is a dirty job

The hot and humid summers here make for good rice growing conditions. It is probably the only rice paddy in New Zealand, and produces almost enough to sustain the farm. They’ve been experimenting with annual versus perennial systems of growing rice. Although it is more common to grow rice on a small scale annually because it is a staple and yield has to be consistent for subsistence farmers, friends of the farm in Japan have insisted that their perennial rice has higher yield. The easy part of growing annual rice is that at the beginning of the season the paddy can be drained and thoroughly weeded, and then rice transplanted in, and ducks added to keep the weeds down and fertilize. The hard part about growing it perennially is that this weeding has to happen between the already establish rice plants, and more often… it’s a lot more work.

Hair of the Day Winner: Fran!

Off we went to weed the rice paddy! Honestly, I don’t think I even imagined spending time in a rice paddy, but it was quite enjoyable. Especially once I got the hang of keeping my legs wide enough to keep balance and limit how much I had to bend my back.

Fran ‘accidentally’ threw her handful of mud and weeds at Tom instead of the bank. From that point on there were random missiles of mud flying in every direction. We were filthy by the end of it, but my skin was softer!

Who should get the next mud bomb?

The Feta

Some of you may already know about my fascination with making my own cheese. Just before I left on this trip I bought a little starter kit, but decided to wait until I got back because I didn’t have enough time to finish it, and by that I mean eat it. It was just my luck that Joc, the farm’s people care manager, is an accomplish home cheese maker! Even though I’m only here for a month, it is more then enough time to make feta. YAY! One of the farm hands, James, regularily buys raw milk for his family and he was happy to fill a few bottles up for Tom and I. Tom made a MASSIVE block of camembert that is still curing, and I’ve made a wee little blob of feta. Today I’ll be taking it out of the mold and putting it in a brine solution for a week or so. Hopefully by then we’ll have some lovely tomatoes and cucumbers to make a big greek salad! Some ancient greek ancestor will be proud!

First step in making Feta: skim the cream off the milk, and to make butter and buttermilk

Wanaka to Fox Glacier

Wanaka Wanaka Wanaka

The drive from Queenstown to Wanaka was beautiful in a new New Zealand way. It felt like we drove through Summer Land, Peach Land, a little bit of Penticton, and a dash of Lilooet. 360 degrees of snow capped mountains and scrub bush and grasses.

Almost at the top of the Diamond Lake trail... thank goodness!

Wanaka is a mellower Queenstown (sans $16 cocktails). There were a few cute businesses that made puns on the town’s name – “Wanakab” taxi service was my favourite.

Set on a beautiful lake, there are lots of hikes and bike trails in the area. We chose to do the Diamond Lake track up to a view of the mountains and lake. Known as “one of the most spectacular day hikes in New Zealand,” it was on private land, so there were lots of sheep around. I got an opportunity to work on my sheep communication skills – something anyone can be driven to when there are this many sheep around and so few people. Anyways, usually I don’t get much of a response from my “Ba-ahahaha-ing,” and I think it’s because of my accent. This time I got through to them though, but Miranda nearly abandoned me. I will be keeping the keys to the car for the next little while.

The view of Lake Wanaka from the top of the Diamond Lake trail

A random beach on the way to Fox Glacier was lined with rock and drift wood sculptures - this little guy was just so cute

There is also this odd little place called Puzzling World in Wanaka. It was a puzzling place.. check out the toilets.

WTF... kinda cool in an incredibly tacky way

Fox Glacier

View of Fox Glacier... if you squint your eyes you can see it turning up the valley

There are very few places in the world where you can walk directly from a temperate rain forest onto a glacier. At 13km long, 800m wide, and 150-300m deep – Fox Glacier is spectacular. It’s neighbour, Franz Josef Glacier, is very well known and more popular because until about 40 years ago the road stopped there, so it did not reach Fox. On my radar from beginning our trip to New Zealand, I talked to a lot of people about the difference between Fox and Franz Josepf glaciers, and which one I should explore. Most people told me they were pretty much the same, so it didn’t matter which one you did. However, after doing some Sherlock-Holmes-ing, I discovered that Fox is actually the cooler glacier to visit and the visually more spectacular.

What makes Fox Glacier so cool?

1. The valley that Fox Glacier is in has a sharp turn in it. This causes the glacier to slow down at the corner and get all squished up. Ice isn’t like playdoh, so squishing = big ass ice towers.

Ice pick in hand - and towers behind. This was the highest up the glacier we got

2. The terminal face of Fox Glacier is too active and far to steep to hike onto directly,  so an hour hike along the valley side takes you up onto the glacier at a much higher point then on the Franz Joseph glacier. Benefit is that this means you get more time on ‘clean ice’.

Blue ice tunnel

3. Fox Glacier Guides take you along the top of the glacier versus along the bottom of crevasses. Both are probably cool, but I can only handle looking at ice walls on either side of me for so long.

Had to ham it up a bit

4. Okay, this one is a little dorky. Fox is receding, and because the the glacier is accessible from the side, you get to see some very cool glacial features. Like recession arches.

Compression arch coolness... hah!

Overall, I’m sure that doing a hike on Fox or Franz Josef glacier would be awe inspiring, but I’m happy with my decision to go with the under dog. After nearly seven hours on the ice, I was exhausted  and exhilarated! So cool to see something that has carved out so much the planet’s geography up close and personal.

Fox Glacier

On the terminal face! 75 years ago the terminal face was at that big vertical rock face in the background of this picture

Talk about a tunnel! This one was sooo cool. Officially called a "moulin" and carved out by water

I felt like spider man in my crampons - climb anything anywhere!

The Milford Road, Routeburn, and on to Queenstown

The Milford Road - looking back

The Milford Road

We witnessed Milford Sound with spectacularly clear skies on the morning we left for Queenstown. Miranda and I agreed that Milford was more majestic with the fog and rain.

The long and twisty road from Milford to Te Anau was beautiful, and a little scary at times. The Homer Tunnel was particularly ‘fun’. It was built in the 1950’s to complete the road, and it goes straight through a big mountain. Only wide enough for one lane of traffic, there is a set of lights at each end. Often tunnels wind around corners, but this one actually dips down!

Looking back as we approach the Homer Tunnel

We couldn't help but stop at the Mirror Lakes one last time.

Suprisingly the reflection looked more amazing then the real thing

Where mountains meet water

Queenstown

View of the lake as we drive into town

Queenstown is full of every extreme sport you can think of.  Neither of us being adrenaline junkies, we took the opportunity to explore some of the trails and scenery. A grueling hike up to the Skyline Gondola, turned out to be a bit of fun. At the top there was a free chair lift ride. It wasn’t very long, but had great views of the lake and town.

All smiles on the free chair lift!

We also got in our first bungy jump! HAH! Fooled you… we didn’t actually participate in the action, but we did get to watch a girl take the leap of faith off a platform sticking out of the side of the mountain – right out over the city! Crazy….

Routeburn

I love the thick mat of moss as the forest floor that you can see in this photo

A great drive through the country side to Glenorchy took us to the start of the Routeburn Track – another of the Great Walks. We did a day hike up to the Routeburn Falls Hut – lots of swing bridges, and views of the river. Once up at the Falls Hut, it was amazing to look down on the flats.

Lots of swing bridges! Some more swingy then others

How many beautiful rivers? Endless

Miranda's camera has a cool setting where you can pick one colour to highlight - this one shows just how turquoise the water is

A well named creek if I ever saw one

View from the Falls Hut down onto the Routeburn Flats

Just as we were heading back, a helicopter flew in over our heads and landed on the near by platform. Very cool to see one flying so close - also somewhat terrifying... and of course produced fits of giggles captured here

Miranda’s Vlogs!

I don’t know why I didn’t post these sooner! Instead of blogging, Miranda has been video blogging or “vlogging” our trip. They’re awesome, so enjoy!

June Adventures

September Fun

October Travels

Walking the Milford Track

 

Four days of tramping! Hah! I still get a kick out of that (‘tramping’); it sounds so much dirtier then just going hiking. Anyways, the Milford track is NZ’s most famous trail, and has been called the “finest walk in the world.” I would have to agree that it was spectacular. At 33.5 miles (53.5Km) it starts at the end of one of Lake Te Anau’s arms, winds up the Clinton Valley along the river’s edge, steeply climbs the Mackinnon Pass, and descends even steeper into the Aurther Valley, following the river again through the valley to an end in the Milford Sound.  The first day is super easy with a nice boat ride, and then only 5km walk through Beech Forest to the Clinton Hut.

Day 1 – Lake Te Anau to Clinton Hut

Where it all started! A 1.5hr boat ride on Lake Te Anau - a very calming way to start the journey

Clinton Valley from a side trail to a bog

I didn’t take many pictures on the first day because I forgot to charge my camera! WHOOPS! It was like having a film camera for the whole track – flashback!

Day 2 – Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut

Another fairly easy walk, but quite a bit longer. I woke up early and decided to get a move on because the weather report called for rain. It was a steady and slow climb up a few hundred vertical meters over the 16.5Km. It’s the start of the season, so a lot of the track is still raw from the winter’s avalanches. There were quite a few rock fall areas too. Apparently, the Fiordland area grows vertically the same amount as our fingernails in one year, but due to all the erosion from rockfalls, snow, etc the seismic action doesn’t add any height to the peaks.

I made it to the Mintaro Hut just as it started to pour! Luckily I had managed to get through day 2 and remain mostly dry!

Day 3 – Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut via Mackinnon Pass

View upon reaching the Mackinnon Pass

This is the grueling day. Mintaro Hut lies right at the base of the Pass, so it’s a 1.5hr – 2hr hike up 1000m, and then straight back down on the other side. It was a foggy and rainy morning, and as we got higher up the mountain the rain turned to snow.

There were a lot of Keas, a sort of alpine parrot, as we climbed higher. They’re very beautiful with green and red feathers, but they’re also a pain in the but. They’re super smart, and like to play tricks on hikers… I got through the pass unscathed, but one guy lost his camera!

The Pass is where the really beautiful views of the Clinton and Arthur Valleys are from. I was disappointed not to get to see them because of the crappy weather, but then it all changed! It’s so true how weather can turn so quickly when you’re that high in the mountains.

This memorial was built for Quintin Mackinnon who was one of the founders and first guides of the Milford Track... my camera has acted up since it had a bath so sometimes pictures are fuzzy. I like how old school this one looks with the sepia though. Oh - that bird on top of the memorial is a Kea.

Wahoo! Made it to the highest point - fingers crossed the knees hold out for the way down

I didn't have much hope that the fog was going to clear while we were on the pass, but then all of a sudden the sun and blue sky started to appear!

And the fog lifts revealing the stunning Clinton Valley

Ten seconds later this picture was taken - already getting socked in again!

The view from the window in the long drop at the Pass Hut - must be the outhouse with the best view in the world

These lovely little flowers were poking out of the snowy slopes as we descended into the Arthur Valley

Cascading waterfalls along the trail

Sutherland Falls - the highest waterfall in NZ at 580m. You may remember that I claimed this for the Browne Falls in the Doubtful Sound too. It's disputed which is higher because Browne hasn't had it's height officially recorded.

Day 3 – Dumpling Hut to Milford Sound

Last day on the track! A gentle (thank goodness!) descent from Dumpling Hut down the Arther Valley all the way to the river mouth at Milford Sound.

Te Anau gets about 2m of rain fall a year… Milford Sound gets about 8m. Every day you’re on the Milford Track increases the likelihood that you are going to get very very wet. It was a rainy morning, but actually started to lift mid morning.

It’s a funny thing down here, they tend to call streams ‘trails’ instead. I don’t know about you, but I’d just prefer if they were honest about it – you’re going to walk most of the Milford Track along stream beds. It’s hard to hold a grudge about wet feet when there is so much beauty to look at.

Pop Quiz: Stream or trail??

If you guessed stream for the last one, you're wrong. These are both 'trails'

At this point, why bother putting in that green bridge?

Water falls like this make up for having wet feet

Beautiful Beech forest dripping with moss and lichen - the lower reaches of the Clinton and Arthur Valleys

I made it! It looks like I'm about to pass out....

Cute little boat to pick us up at the end of the track and transport us to Milford Sound "town"

We passed BOWEN FALLS on the way to Milford! It was pumpin'!

Made it to Milford - stunning once again

 

 

Doubtful Sound 2 Day Kayak Adventure

I really wanted to do a kayak trip while in Fiordland, and had a choice between Milford and Doubtful Sounds. Milford Sound is more well known for it’s spectacular beauty and massive size. Doubtful on the other hand is harder to get to, has a lot less traffic, and offers more of a wilderness experience.  I opted for the Doubtful trip! Two days on the water with Fiordland Wilderness Kayak Adventures.

I was a little apprehensive that the weather would suck, and I would end up cold and wet for two days. Lucky again, the first day was a spectacular blue sky with relatively calm winds… good kayaking weather!

At 6:30am I jumped in the guide’s van, and saw Bruce’s sleepy face! Bruce was the guy I had met and hiked with on the Abel Tasman track. Neither of us had any idea the other was doing the trip or even in the area, so it was a pretty random surprise.

The day started early because we had to drive down to Lake Manapouri, then take a boat across the lake, jump in a 4WD and go over the mountain and Wilmot Pass, and down into Deep Cove where we could finally get into a kayak. The remoteness of Doubtful Sound is definitely one of the reasons it is so much quieter then Milford Sound.

Looking down on Doubtful Sound from the Wilmot Pass

Two guides and seven guests getting the boats packed up in Deep Cove

On the water by 10am, we had the whole day to explore the beginning of the main channel of Doubtful Sound and Hall’s Arm.

Doubtful Sound here we come!

Hall's Arm

The mountain sides are so steep that "tree slips" are very common. You can see the various stages of succession here

We spotted an avalanche high on the mountain side. Never thought I would see an avalanche like that! Very cool

The wind conditions in the afternoon were perfect for a little kayailing (aka kayak sailing)! I was so stoked about this because it is something that I have always wanted to try. I don’t have any pictures of it because I was the mast… requires two hands! Essentially we broke into two groups of two double kayaks. The folks in the back seats became masts by tying the top rope of the sail to the end of their paddle, and then propping the paddle up in their lap – lifting the sail high in the air. The folks in the front held onto the bottom rope of the sail, and pulled it in or let it out as needed. The hulls of the two kayaks worked much like a catameran. So much fun!

Camp was about half way down Hall’s Arm, and set up right by the river. They even had a mosquito net room set up to save us from the vicious sand flies. After dark we heard a Kiwi bird singing! They’re very rare, but have been making a come back because the DOC has been setting traps for the stouts (rat like creatures).

Next morning the fog rolled in.

View up Hall's Arm from the campsite's beach

I made Bruce do all the hard work while I had fun taking pictures! ... Just kidding

Snake cloud

The water was like glass, with no wind at all! I’ve never seen water that flat. Just after we all got in our kayaks and pushed off the beach, we heard the sound of dolphins coming up for air. The swam right passed us – it was so majestic. They were a pod of bottle nose dolphins, and one of the southern most pods in the world.

Dolphin cruising past

Kayaking away up the sound

The Navigator was one of four other boats we saw on the whole trip

Time for some kayak-yoga... kayoga?

Up close and personal with one of Doubtful Sound's many waterfalls

Brown Falls - NZ's largest waterfall at 880m

We saw another two pods of dolphins that morning! One pod was very curios, and came right up to the boats. The water is so clear that we could easily see them swimming under and around the boats – amazing! Bruce caught them on film:

We also saw the Fiordland Crested Penguin. We saw a few couples fishing, so it was hard to see them in detail, but looking them up later of google revelaed that they’re pretty darn cool! Only found in Fiordland and occaionally the Antarctic, and there are only 1500 breeding pairs left.

Fiordland National Park

Taking up a whopping 5% of New Zealand’s land mass, Fiordland National Park is spectacular. More hiking and camping for us- yay!

Fiordland is aptly named – the steep glacial carved mountains drop into deep green seas. With nearly 8m of rain a year, we have been SO lucky to have a handful of blue skies down here. Other then make tourists soggy, all that rain has also created a really cool phenomena. About 2m of fresh water sits on top of the salt water in the fiords – so there aren’t any barnacles or mussels clinging to the intertidal zone. Not only that, the fresh water has traveled down the mountain sides and become concentrated with tannins, which tints the water with a rusty brown colour. This has impacted the amount of light that reaches below the 2m of fresh water so much that the sea creatures living at just 4m below sea level are usually found below 20m!

Key Summit

Above water there is lots to look at too. To see the tops of the mountains you have to crane your head back all the way! On our first sunny day we hiked up the Key Summit, which we were told was the best hike to do if you only have a few days in the area.

That is the Hollyford Valley behind me

Reaching the summit of the Key Summit on the Milford Road

The Department of Conservation created a self guided nature walk brochure for the alpine area at the Key Summit. Miranda and I are putting together a little video footage to share with you… but you’ll have to be patient and wait for that. Looking around at the top it was really cool to see the hanging valley that Lake Marian sits in.

1 <3 alpine

Lake Marian sitting in a hanging valley

I thought this little patch of moss was very sweet.

Lake Marian

Since we could see Lake Marian from the Key Summit we decided that it would be cool to hike up there as well to get a different perspective. It was a bit of a rougher track, but the turquoise/emerald lake was well worth it. We couldn’t stay at the top for very long because we were afraid the swarms of loonie sized mosquitoes were going to carry us off!

You can see the trail marker, but can you see the trail?

Me looking composed shortly before an epic battle against the mossies

Road Trip Requirement

As with any road trip, you can expect at least one minor mishap. We got a flat tire. Not to worry – the friendly people of Te Anau were there for the rescue!

Our car all jacked up

Our friendly neighbourhood mechanic got us fixed up

The culprit

The culprit was a rouge screw! We’ve kept it as a memento. The tire was patched and we were out of there in about half an hour. It was actually really cool to watch the tire being patched – I’d never seen it done before.

Mirror Lake

We caught Mirror Lake on a breezy day, so the sign was a little hard to read.

A reflective sign - smart thinkin'

Great views of the mountains from Mirror Lake

A Couple of Our Favourite Camps

 

The Eglinton Valley was pretty, but cold and windy at night. Even had some snow!

Henry Creek Camp - close to Te Anau and a little warmer then the mountain camp sites

Rainbow Reach to Shallow Bay

A much gentler hike, this one followed the river into Lake Manapouri.

Lots of suspension bridges along this hike from Rainbow Reach to Shallow Bay

Trout fishing is popular along the river... we really wished we had a rod too!

The Catlins – New Zealand’s Forgotten Coast

Nugget Point

The coastal drive along the south-east corner of New Zealand is often overlooked by travelers, but we found it spectacular for day hikes and camping. I think having a car is essential though because the big bus companies don’t go this route.

Typical view along the Southern Scenic Route

Driving south from Dunedin, Nugget Point was our first stop. Home of New Zealand’s oldest light house (built in 1869), Nugget Point’s turquoise water was beautiful. I think I remeber reading somewhere that Nugget Point was named “Nugget” because the rocks along the point look like big nuggets of gold in the right sun light.

Nugget Point - lots of ships wrecked here in the mid-1800's

Nugget Point light house - the oldest in New Zealand

Another windy day - I won "Best Hair" this time!

Purakaunui Bay

We camped at Purakaunui Beach the first night. It was the labour day long weekend and a great surf break, so there were a lot of people out there. A couple of families came in old school converted buses; one even had an old hand powered dryer attached to the grill.

Evening reflections on Purakaunui Beach

I'm an official entrant on Master Chef - Car Camping Edition

There was a woman fishing for Whitebait at the river mouth (aka ‘Whitebaiting’). She had caught a few, and was excited to enjoy the delicacy for dinner. Ali had told us that most people just eat Whitebait whole, and that it is an aquired taste.

“The New Zealand whitebait is small, sweet and tender with a delicate taste that is easily over-powered if mixed with stronger ingredients when cooked. The most popular way of cooking whitebait in New Zealand is the whitebait fritter, which is essentially an omelette containing whitebait. Purists use only the egg white in order to minimize interfering with the taste of the bait. Foreigners frequently react with revulsion when shown uncooked whitebait, which resembles slimy, translucent worms… read more“

Bucket of Whitebait... they look like worms to me too

On the way back to the highway the next morning we stopped in at the Purakaunui Falls.

Purakaunui Falls

Cathedral Caves

After a few more small walks to waterfalls we stopped at Cathedral Caves. Accessible only at low tide, these caves were amazing. We only explored the first one. We had to crawl across the slimy narrow rock edge to avoid a hip deep tide pool, and then jump in when it was ‘only’ knee deep freezing (just been circling the Antarctic) water. As the tall ceiling came down to normal room height and took a sharp corner, we were submersed in darkness for a few moments. Then the light from the other end infiltrated the tunnel and the ceiling began to rise up to astounding heights again.

Miranda near the entrance to the Cathedral Cave

Me prancing into the light at the end of the tunnel

The view from the far side of the cave

The hot sand on our near frozen feet felt fantastic

Jack’s Blowhole

Next stop – Jack’s Blow Hole. Our timing was a bit off because we had to hit the Cathedral Caves at low tide, and Jack’s Hole is best at high tide. Another track on private land, we were lucky this one was open even though the lambs were out.

Path through pasture and bush to Jack's Blowhole

As we were walking along the path to the blowhole we came across a little lamb trapped on the wrong side of the fence. I find it alarming because the little guys are always so stressed out and just keep running at the wire fences in the hopes that they’ll magically find themselves on the right side. They’re also scared of humans so it’s hard to help them get back. Miranda and I have developed expert lamb wrangling skills, so it only took us 5 or 10 minutes to get the lamb pushed back through the wire fence.

The actual blowhole is pretty cool because it’s not right on the coast line where you normally see blowholes. It is situated about 200m inland. At 55m deep, 145m long, and 68m wide, it is quite a sight.

Water would be rushing in and out of Jack's blowhole... but we took this photo at low-ish tide

Curio Bay

POP QUIZ: Is this wood or rock?

I think Curio Bay must have been my favourite stop in the Catlins. When I heard “petrified forest’ I thought, “cool,  we’ll probably see a few obscure fossils and a lot of interpretive signs.” I don’t think I could have been more wrong! One of my life goals is to find my very own fossil, but just seeing this petrified forest comes dangerously close to fulfilling that goal.

180 million years ago (MYA) this part of New Zealand was part of the super continent Gondwana. In the middle Jurassic period, about 170 MYA, volcanic eruptions and heavy rains resulted in severe flooding on hundreds of square kilometers. The exciting part was that the water was full of ash. The flood killed the forest and downed the trees, and silification occurred very quickly – essentially, all that ash got embedded into the sodden wood before the wood had time to decay.

“In the millions of years, since the sediments were buried deeply and impregnated over time with silica minerals, eventually turning the wood to rock. In some places fern fronds and leaves have been preserved as fossils within the mudstone rocks… read more.“

Petrified wood is very rare because usually decay occurs before this process can take place. Here in Curio Bay, whole logs and stumps are still visible amongst tidal pools. Over the last 10,000 years coastal erosion has exposed these fossils from the limestone and sediment. Fossils are also visible in the cliff faces along the beach line, which indicates that this phenomena happened many times and created many layers of petrified forest and fossils.

SO COOL!!

A few fossilized trees

A larger tree stump - up close you can count the growth rings

The bigger picture - all those lumps are tree stumps

Balancing on a 170 million year old tree... sweet as!

Another stump... this one was a small one (7-10cm diameter)

How Far South Can You Go?

Slope Point is the most southern point of the South Island. Somewhere on Stewart Island claims the most southern part of the country, but we couldn’t make it down there, so this is as close as we’ll get to Antarctica this trip!

Slope Point - next stop South Pole