Dave takes me through a refresher of tie-in, belaying, general rock safety, and lead belaying, then sets up a toprope on the sports route (there's very little trad. climbing here, since the rock, schist, isn't suited to it - where there's a crack that looks good for gear placement, it's probably the kind of crack that will shatter if you take a fall on that gear... so, it's better and safer for sport climbing). It's great to be climbing again - I get the feel of it pretty quick on the first few goes up the short route, then the rest of the group turn up, a couple from London, and we move on with another instructor, Bronwyn, to try some higher stuff. When the routes get higher i'm not quite so confident, but it's just great to climbing outside after so long after from even indoor stuff (the 'climbing gym' as they call it here)! We all have a go at placing quickdraws, and cleaning the gear on the way down, and a go at leading, and I actually climb better that way, with more things to think about, than when I'm simply top-roping, which is pretty cool. After lunch there's a longer walk-in (well, it's more of scramble-in) up a slope, bush-bashing our way along a path below the crag, with the cliff dropping away to our right, to reach the crags we're aiming for. The views even from the bottom of the climb are fantastic, and when you pause at the top of the crag after finihing a climb, the silence is all-encompassing.

It was a great day; a real challenge. Part of me is really keen to get back to the UK and get some serious climbing in (though maybe in...six months time or so :) )!

written by  LizIsHere on March 3, 2010 from Wanaka, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand & Australia 2010
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My first view of Wanaka is of a town nestled round the edges of a deep Blue Lake, with brown -grassed mountains to one side and blue, snow-covered ones to the far end of the lake (Mount Aspriing, in Mount Aspiring National Park). Even the drive in is fantastic, round the main body of Lake Wanaka, with craggy mountains stretching round it's edge... magic.

I'm at the YHA, which has amazing views across the lake to the mountains, but which just isn't my thing as a hostel - no soul!!! (It does, however, have an awesome cat - another of the many hostel pets I've met along the way who have a don't-care attitude combined with a high level of discernment over which backpackers they'll let pet them! This cat has taken begging from diners to a whole new level - actually clawing an entire steak off a girl's plate when her gaze is turned!) So I decide to just have two nights at the YHA, and book into the Wanaka Bakpaka, a little further round the lake, 5 mins out of town, for the other three. And I book my rockclimbing trip for tomorrow!!!

written by  LizIsHere on March 2, 2010 from Wanaka, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand & Australia 2010
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We had caught a glimpse of the glacier as we rounded one of the bends in the road, after crossing (those one-lane briges again!) an icy-blue river flowing from the glacier, and that glimpse alone, out the large front window of the bus, took our breath away. But when we do the actual glacier walk across the valley to it's foot (or as close to the foot as those not on hiking tours are allowed to go), it's astounding. It's so huge it's impossible to take in - sublime, a huge river of ice snaking down the mountains, it's snowy top lit by the sunlight. The glacier valley itself (carved out by the glacier, which is now receding and growing in almost equal amounts, thousands of years ago) is a flat moonscape of grey-white rocks, the bush-covered sides of the hills cut at irregular intervals by small waterfalls falling from hundreds of feet up.

Up close the glacier seems less huge - the snowy top obscured by the bend in the valley walls. Where the river flows out there is a dark cavern in the ice - after a few minutes standing there we see a large chunk of ice detach itself from the cave roof and land with a splash in the river. It kind of reinforces the slightly comically dramatic, bright yellow signs on the other side of the fence, warning of all types of dangers from crushing with ice to drowing, if we cross the ropes. A few people have been killed in the past trying to get photos right up on the ice, or trying to touch it, when pieces the size of campervans came crashing loose at just the wrong moment.

That night we make the healthiest meal I've had this trip, an epic salad... I wish I'd taken a picture as evidence that I am actually eating vegetables, but unfortunately we ate it too fast :).

The next day we had planned to do a five hour hike around the glacier valley, while others from our bus went off to do glacier ice-hikes. But it's raining in the morning, and when we check with the DOC at the I-Site office, the woman behind the desk gives us an horrified look and exclaims that the route is far too dangerous, and has been since flooding a month or two ago which washed away a lot of the stream-sides leaving deep gullies to cross, with slippery ascents and descent.. "And anyway," she adds, frowning, "It was always a really, really nasty route!". Good job we checked then I guess!

Instead we do a short hike away from the township, to a tunnel through the mountain. We take headtorches like the map says, but when we get the tunnel it's over ankle-deep in water. Still, the promise of some amateur caving definitely outweighs having soaking wet shoes and freezing feet for the walk back. And it's pretty cool: entering the pitch-dark tunnel, our torchbeams hardly seeming to fight against the gloom, we splash into the water, flinching again the cold, following rough tunnel walls with our hands as we gingerly step forward, wary of deeper pools ahead. On the way back out we cover our torchlights and catch sight of glowworms on the cave-roof.

We squelch back to the hostel just as the rain starts. It starts at 1pm - moonsoon-style, battering the hostel roof - and doesn't stop until late that night. The rest of the day is lost to books, films and one risky sprint to the fish'n'chip shop down the road.

written by  LizIsHere on March 1, 2010 from Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand & Australia 2010
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I've treated myself to a horse trek today, and another English lady from my hostel is joining me. At the stables I, being the only experienced rider in the group, get put on the 'grumpy' horse , Jazz, who is irritable with other horses but thankfully ok with people! The ride goes through the Punakaiki river valley, and I get to break off from the main group with a french guide, Marie, so we can have some trots and canters along the riverside! We meet the others at a tramping hut for tea and biscuits, then head off on our own again, criss-crossing the river, before meeting the others at the beach. Here me and Marie get a canter down the beach, which is brilliant - though Jazz starts 'pacing' at first, a weird Icelandic horse gait, which is really uncomfortable before she settles into a proper canter!

The evening is pretty low-key, but me and June, an English lady living in France, who was also on the ride and at my hostel, crack open a bottle of wine or two, and then get talking to a couple of Dutch guys who are camping in the hostel garden, and two German girls. We also get to catch a pretty sweet West coast sunset over the sea from the hostel balcony... a pretty great day all-in-all :).

written by  LizIsHere on February 26, 2010 from Punakaiki, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand & Australia 2010
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The Pancake Rocks themselves are weird, alien-looking ancient rock formations on the coast - much, much bigger and widespread that I'd expected! When the tide is high and rough (i think it's always rough...), some of the rocks act as blowholes, shooting spray high into the air, drawing 'oohs' from the assembled tourists (including moi). There is also a raging surge pool which you can gaze down into, carved out by the sea, and the water rages and boils inside it, eroding bit by bit with every tide.

written by  LizIsHere on February 25, 2010 from Punakaiki, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand & Australia 2010
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We got the hire car off hostel-owner Chris - it turned out to be a giant-seeming 4X4 - it took a little bit of nervy reversing and some interesting manouvres in the petrol station before I got comfortable with it, and don't even get me started on those one-lane bridges they seem to love in NZ!

We drove first to the Farewell Spit, going up to viewpoint (you can't go on the actual spit without a tour), then drove to Wharakiki Beach (sp?) which is a gorgeous, paradise-style beach (with some distinctly un-paradise like rip-tides), with golden sands, massive rocky outcrops in the ocean, a seal colony, and caves to explore on the beach. We spent a perfect few others there, just chilling out on the sand, then drove to the legendary Mussel Inn, normally a lively den of live music (and poetry readings?), but at 5pm, just a nice pub with local beers (homemade lemonade for the designated driver of course),good food, situated in a woody area with a large, colourful garden.

Back at the hostel the Antarctica guys, a dutch girl and I head to check out the town's nightlife - a bar which is closing at 10pm as we enter! So we head down to the beach instead, to watch shooting stars and talk. There's also the mini-adventure of trying to bash our way through the dune undergrowth to find our way back to the road after clouds obscure the bright moon!

written by  LizIsHere on February 23, 2010 from Collingwood, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand & Australia 2010
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Within minutes of arriving I've agreed to rent the hostel's car with a Finnish girl (Satu - though I don't even know her name at this point!), to drive to a legendarily gorgeous beach, Wharakiki (sp?) beach, and the Farewell Spit, the next day. Then about twenty minutes later we meet two American guys, Jonathan and Travis, who have just come up from working 5 months in Antarctica, shifting cargo at the American base there, who we invite to join us. I, fortunately or unfortunately, get volunteered to drive, since I'm the only one who's used to the left side of the road! They may not know what they've signed up for...!!!

In the evening, after a day of exploring the beach, paddling in the warm waters and, most important, discovering Rosie's Chocolate Shop, Chris the hostel owner offers to take all of us at the hostel on a little walk to see some glowworms. No paying cave entry fees for us! We walk up the road behind the hostel and there they are, glowworms just hanging on the trees and in the bushes! It's very cool and I suppose a little eerie - there are the stars in the sky (the milky way clear as anything) and then the glowworms like greenish stars in the bushes. When a car comes Chris urges us all to turn to the hedge and shut our eyes to protect our night vision - we must have looked pretty entertaning to the driver, twenty people huddled by the side of road, eyes tight shut, faces in the hedge!

written by  LizIsHere on February 22, 2010 from Collingwood, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand & Australia 2010
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The Takaka valley is flat as a pancake, and as such you can see the weather coming in from miles away over the mountain tops. Apparently it's much wetter than the Nelson region because of this, but I saw no evidence of that! I'm staying at Annie's Nirvana Lodge, which while it doesn't perhaps bring a nirvana-like state, has a wonderful sun-trap garden, cosily-worn style inside, and some very cool and friendly staff and long-termers staying (plus the slightly mad owner, Alan, who seems to laugh all the time). And cheap bikes! The first thing I do is grab a bike and cycle the 6km to the Pupu Springs, a large area of springs set in regenerating bush: one of the clearest springs in the world. You can see the water bubbling up in the clear pools, and watch the 'Dancing Sands' as the bubbling of water sets the sand moving below the surface. It's a peaceful, tranquil area, despite the relatively large number of tourists there. It's all I can do not to dive into the pools (the springs are closed to prevent evil algae infiltrating their purity) after a hot, sweaty ride from Takaka, culminating in a hill at the end. To my embarrassment, i meet two old Dutch ladies who have also cycled from town; they didn't seem the types to push their bikes up the hill like I did! On the way back I stop at the Takaka river, where a few campers are parked up (including one decked out to look like a wooden house on wheels), and paddle in the clear water and chill out in the sun for a while.

Takaka is a one-street sort of town, with a kooky, hippie vibe - one of the first people i see is a girl in long skirts, wearing beads, leaning against a painted-up van holding a bunch of flowers. These aren't weekend hippies, these are the real deal, selling their wares in the little green areas that pepper the main street, spinning staff, and setting up slack-lines in the park.

That night I go out with the a Japanese guy, Shingo, and an Austrian girl, Tumasha, who work at the hostel, and an old guy Kiwi guy called Dave, who lives in a bus out the back. It's a dub/reggae night at the local Roots bar, they have four-berry cider, and it's a lot of fun - the music is good and the dancing is ace! I have to call it a night at 1am though since I'm shattered from the early start (and that gruelling bike ride of course, ahem).

written by  LizIsHere on February 20, 2010 from Takaka, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand & Australia 2010
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The Aquapackers is small, with only 16 beds, which, apart from the one double cabin, are the original tiny crew bunks: six of them are crammed into one of the lower-cabin areas where me and Lisa slept. It's a cosy arrangement, meaning you have to stay on fairly good terms with your roommates! - i can't imagine sleeping there night after night and living in such a tiny space, as the original catamaran crew must have done! There's a kitchen area, sofas, a table, and a dining area on the upper deck with an honesty bar. The other guests are mostly german and italians, with one honeymooning Engish/Kiwi couple.

It was so hot that I grabbed my swimming stuff (relegated to the bottom of my backpack one the rain started in the morning) and jumped off the boat into the cold clear sea. Then it seemed about time for a glass of wine and some sunbathing on the deck before the two-man crew served dinner, spicy veggie pie, salad and bbq. It was probably the most 'pampering' I'll get on my whole trip, so I figured I'd enjoy it! The day ends with some of us sitting at the back of the boat, watching the sun drop behind the mountains, lulled by the lapping of the sea against the hull. Ahh....

The next day's walk was easier, with bright blue skies and hot sun. Lisa and I walked the last bit of the track together, stopping at a bay for lunch, before finishing with a absurdly easy (someone was actually pushing a pushchair along it!) track into Marahau.

written by  LizIsHere on February 19, 2010 from Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand & Australia 2010
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