Otautahi meanderings

From Marlborough I headed south to Christchurch, Otautahi, to visit my friend Brent and go paddling with him and Jenny, who was down from Wellington for a few days.

I joined them for a paddle across Lyttleton Harbour, me in my inflatable kayak and them in hard shells. It became apparent very quickly that I couldn't maintain their pace so I turned back and let them continue without me. The wind picked up a bit during their crossing, so I was glad to have turned back, and instead spent the time waiting for my kayak to dry. Being fabric, it actually takes a ridiculous amount of time to dry here in cold damp NZ, unlike the claims of quick drying made by the seller on the sunny Gold Coast of Australia.

The problem with a damp boat in NZ is that there is a real risk of introducing aquatic pests into new waterways if your boat isn't completely dry. It is the single biggest issue I have with the kayak. I don't mind that it's a bit slow, I don't mind that there isn't a huge amount of storage space, but I do mind that it can take days to dry completely.

On the day Jenny was flying back to Wellington she borrowed Brent's packraft and we went for a float down the Avon. We parked our car in the red zone then walked through Hagley Park to our put in just below a weir. From there we had a leisurely time floating through the botanic gardens and right through the CBD, past some Maori waka, and back to the red zone. A very novel way to see the city.

I stayed a few more days, because I was very keen to visit the Caravan and Motorhome Show. I wanted to see what options were out there for upgrading my transport. I very quickly decided that these large campervans were not my cup of tea, but I did see an interesting slide on unit on the back of a 4WD ute that got me thinking....

I went up to Godley Head to enjoy the view and learn about the WW2 coastal defences, and Brent and I went for a few bike rides. We cycled around the estuary, up to Sumner, and around to Ferrymead, where we spent an amusing hour or so enjoying the quirky collections. 

We also went for another walk up onto the crater rim, where there were more old coastal defence sites, these a little more derelict. The views never disappoint though.

Another day Brent took me for a paddle in a borrowed hard shell kayak out from Sumner Beach and around to Boulder Bay, where a bunch of old baches still line the shore. It took me a while to get used to the larger craft but I won't be buying one of them anytime in my future!

After a few enjoyable days exploring Christchurch it was time to begin the road trip south again for the winter. 

That's next..

Hutbagging by fatbike and inflatable kayak

Packrafts aren't perfect. They do a great job of being jacks of all trades, but they have their limitations. Newer, more rigid crafts are being designed to be whitewater specialists, but on flat water nothing beats a proper kayak with a keel. Also packrafts are downright unsafe and dangerous to be in on open water in windy conditions. Let's face it, I needed a kayak.

I didn't want a hard shell, because I have nowhere to store such a huge piece of kit, and I also didn't have room to carry it on my vehicle with a full sized rooftop box already installed, so I decided to purchase an inflatable kayak from a retailer in Australia and have it shipped to NZ.

It's a fairly clever design with aluminium bow and stern ridges, but otherwise heavy duty PVC bladders covered with a hard wearing fabric. It uses similar stitched technology as used in inflatable SUPs to ensure  a rigid floor and it has a small keel to allow much better tracking. It's not as fast as a regular kayak, but it's not a bad compromise. 

I took it for a test run on Lake Wanaka and had a pleasant hour or so paddling, but then discovered it's major drawback: it takes forever to get it dry!!

Perhaps in Australia it dries easily, but not so here in drizzly autumnal NZ, where transporting a damp water craft between fresh water bodies is downright irresponsible. NZ has some very nasty water borne algae and bacteria that everyone is doing their best not to spread by cleaning and drying their equipment between watersheds. It literally takes days for it to be fully dry....

Following my eye checkup I headed out of town, this time over to Queenstown to Moke Lake, where I camped the night. The next morning I headed off on my Surly Wednesday to visit a couple of huts on the back side of Ben Lomond. There were a few hills to climb ( I walked them) but it's a much more comfortable way to cycle rough dirt roads than the gravel bike.

After Moke I headed south to Mavora Lakes, where I set up camp for a few days. The next morning was clear with not much breeze so I inflated the kayak and paddled up North Mavora Lake to visit West Burn Hut, encountering a bit of a headwind in the final hour to the hut. The kayak handled the wind well, though it was hard work. It would have been near impossible with the packraft. I had lunch and a cuppa, then paddled back, this time with a tailwind and a small rolling swell. The kayak handled the conditions well and the trip back took a fraction of the time of the trip out!!

Last time I was at Mavora with a bike I had a slow leak in my front tyre, but this time I had no such issues. I drove down to the fishing access on the Oreti and cycled the rough track downstream. It was muddy and rocky in places but the fat bike made short work of the terrain. Two huts were visited: Upper Oreti and Lincoln Hut, both cute old huts with real character. There are still a few huts I'm yet to visit in the Eyre Mountains, but they'll require a tramp!

But now it's north again, chasing the good weather....

Traipsing around Wanaka

Here's a little commentary, complete with photos, of some of the walks and cycle trips I've been doing in the last few weeks.

Mt Iron is a piece of left over glacial debris sitting at the head of Lake Wanaka. I'm pretty sure it isn't made of iron or it would have been mined into extinction by now! Well that's what we do in Australia at any rate....

Being a mere 500m above sea level, and about 240m above Lake Wanaka, it's an easy climb to capture great views right up the Lake, and also overlooks Albert Town and the Cardrona River. It forms the backdrop to my rear garden and is the only mountain my eye surgeon says I can climb at the moment. It's also a favourite for exercise training amongst the super fit Wanaka locals. The climb is short but steep in sections, and the preferred option is to run it. I'm sticking with walking myself!!

From Albert Town there are a series of tracks radiating up and down the various rivers that meet there. There's the Hawea River Track which crosses a swing bridge and then follows the Hawea River (funny that!) up to the small township by the lake's edge. I love the serenity out at Lake Hawea, though I am reliably informed it can get hellish windy and not bad for kitesurfing and windsurfing either. Brrr!!! I'll stick to my warm ocean wave riding back in West Oz thank you!

Travelling in to Wanaka from Albert Town you can either ride around the base of Mt Iron (the quick way in) or take the much more scenic Outlet Track, which is a fairly narrow track heading upstream next to the Clutha River to where it begins at Lake Wanaka. From there you ride along the lakeside with spectacular views across the water to snow capped peaks on one side, and jaw dropping mansions on the other. And most of those mansions are holiday homes of the rich lying cruelly vacant. Sigh....

A third and fourth alternative from Albert Town is to follow the Clutha River downstream. There is a choice of tracks either side of the river as it flows swiftly southward. Both tracks (Newcastle on the true left, Upper Clutha on right) finish at the Luggate Red Bridge which makes it a good 26-28km round trip. Considerably easier to do on a bicycle, but I decided to walk it! Bit of preparation for some long day and overnight walks I have planned. Aside from sore legs and a blister on one little toe, I nailed it.

Across the Albert Town bridge on the other side of the Clutha River is Deans Bank. This is a more technical mountain bike track so I've been holding off on riding it until my vision is a little better. Now that the gas bubble in my eye has mostly reabsorbed I am left with a thick cataract that limits my ability to see with clarity in that eye. But I have enough vision to have better depth perception than is possible with just the one eye, meaning I'm now overtaking and passing others with ease, and downhill riding is no longer a completely terrifying experience.

Aside from Deans Bank, there's the Dublin Bay track, a rutted and at times steep, sandy and still terrifying for me downhill run out to the tranquil waters of Dublin Bay on the eastern side of Lake Wanaka.

I'm yet to tackle the more serious mountain bike tracks in Wanaka, of which there are many that I haven't even mentioned. Tackling the tracks out to Dublin Bay via Deans Bank were a bit challenging so perhaps I shall leave the others for another year, when my eyesight is fully restored.

On that note, yet another eye review has been and gone, and I am happy to report that there is a slight possibility that my two remaining operations will be done before Christmas to restore my sight back to what it was. In fact better than it was as the plan is to correct the myopia so I won't need to wear a contact lens in that eye!

Right now I'm preparing a list of all the things I need back here for the summer and the following year in NZ, because soon I'll be jetting home for a few days of sun, sea and surf, bookclub and catchups.

Woohoo! The grounding is over!!!!!!