A taste of summer...down on the icy South!

Part 2 of the Mid-Semester Break was time for some proper exploring of the South Island. Departing on the fine sunny afternoon of Friday 24 August aboard the ‘Aratere’ interislander vessel, the South Island greeted with crisp clear skies at sunset through the Marlborough Sounds to Picton. Then it was quickly onto Nelson for an overnight stop in the little seaside city, where I found myself sharing an all British dorm at the City YHA! No time to hang about however as the West Coast was calling with the 0715 Saturday morning departure of the Inter-City Coachlines Nelson-Fox Glacier service, which I was to take for most of its journey, to the little town of Ross. Gliding over the frosty passes between the Kahurangi and Nelson Lakes National Parks, we soon descended into the deep Buller Gorge, home of White Water rafting, the ‘Flying Fox’ wire bridge and various Lord of the Rings river locations. Soon we were out on the Tasman Sea at Westport, from where the road almost hugs the coast all the way to Ross. The first section passes along the rugged limestone coast of the Paporoa National Park, where steaming temperate rainforest rises steeply from the thin strip of battered rock and sand. The lunch stop was made at Punakaikai, with enough time for a whiz round the Pancake Rocks, a limestone headland with spires, caves and bays carved into the pancake-like layered rock formation. Back on the bus, it was on through Greymouth, Hokitika and the gold rush township of Ross, my destination for the day.

Pancake Rocks at Punakaikai, the dense rainforest of the Paparoa National Park rises straight from the Tasman Sea

Like many of the sleepy West Coast towns, the golden days seem all but over, however unusually Ross is still gleaming with the stuff and digging began again in 2004 - if the miners had their way the town would be shunted a few miles up the coast in order to scrape out every last nugget. Spent the night just outside Ross with a glaciologist from Victoria University, Brian Anderson to get in the know with the New Zealand glaciers and get tips for my dissertation. Sunday afternoon I boarded the Coach at Ross to continue South to Franz-Josef Glacier, the village named after the big icy cascade that descends from the main divide of the Southern Alps right down to 300m above sea level. Various activities are on offer at Franz-J, including walking on the glacier, ice climbing, sky diving and ‘heli-hiking’ (buzzing up to about 2500m to stand on the upper glacier)! Rather than exchange a panful of west coast gold to partake in one of these activities, my plan of action for the full day (Monday) I had in Franz-J was to go on a jolly good tramp - totally free, and with views that you’d struggle to get even from the helicopter! The main objective was the ascent of Alex Knob, 1303m for fine views of the glacier and the main divide of the Southern Alps. According to a Department of Conservation (DOC) leaflet, it was best to arrive on the summit a.m., as there was a tendency for cloud to roll in off the Tasman in the afternoon. Arriving on the summit at approximately 1127 and sitting down to admire the views and recuperate, it was not long before two big fluffy white things became trotting up-valley to obscure the scene - most unfortunate for the group of Americans that arrived a couple of minutes after midday to find the, as promised by DOC, thick mist (however it did clear again later)!

Franz Josef Glacier from Alex Knob 1303m

Tuesday morning I headed north out of Franz-J back up to the port of Greymouth. This being the western terminus of the ‘tranz-alpine’ railway to Christchurch, my pathway across the Southern Alps. The ‘tranz-alpine’ along with the ‘tranz-coastal’ are all that is left of South Islands passenger railway network, heading west and north from Christchurch respectively. The suitably named ‘southerner’ to Invercargill ended in 2002, and judging by the number of passenger on the tranz-alpine (7 carriages worth) I’d call for its re-instatement despite the NZ government favouring internal flights! Heading inland and away from the Tasman, the line trundles alongside broad braided river valleys before climbing steeply and diving through the Otira tunnel and emerging at Arthurs Pass at 743m. Then its all downhill before the flats of the Canterbury Plains leading into Christchurch.

Christchurch, South Islands largest city, English by name and very much English by nature. The city sits on the River Avon which complete with punts makes it the Oxbridge of the Southern Hemisphere. Wednesday morning I visited the disappointing Antarctic Centre, where you get to stand in a freezer and experience -20 wind chill or something, although I’m sure standing high on Rannoch Moor in shorts and t-shirt in summer would feel colder! The Little Blue Penguins were entertaining though. Wednesday afternoon, I attended an NZ Snow and Ice research group meeting at Canterbury University, as recommended by Brian, which was very flash with video-links to people all over the country. Just before sun-down I nipped out of town to get the Christchurch gondola up to the crater rim of the extinct Lyttleton volcano. This is the first of two basalt cones forming the craggy Banks Peninsula, extending East from Christchurch out into the Pacific. At munro-worthy elevation, the view is not surprisingly amazing, and the crater itself has been filled by a deep tidal inlet, forming Lyttleton Harbour. Thursday was moving on day again, but not before checking out the Canterbury Museum with far better Antarctic displays than the National Antarctic Centre and an excellent stuffed bird display. Then I nipped out to Sumner Bay for lunch with a swarm of Red Billed gulls before catching the 1600 northbound Inter-City Coach.

Sun rises from behind Christchurch Cathedral spire

Two hours later I was in Kaikoura (meaning ‘to eat shellfish’ in Maori). Out of all New Zealand destinations so far, this must score as the top, if only for the amazing setting, a little peninsula jutting out into the Pacific with the impressive backdrop of the Seaward Kaikoura Range. Like with many NZ places, it has a two phase history, starting out as a Maori settlement who were drawn by the abundance of shellfish (hence the name), the arrival of the Pakeha (Europeans) in the late 1800’s soon led to the town becoming established as Whaling settlement. And today its all about Whale Watching! Friday morning I boarded the Maori owned and run ‘Whale Watch Kaikoura’ high speed catermeran ‘Aoraki’ for the trip out to the Kaikoura trench. This is the 1500m deep trench where the up-welling occurs bringing all the nutrients up from the deep and attracting all sorts of marine life. All in all saw four Sperm Whales and numerous Albatross, the much hyped by our commentator highlight being the ‘showing of the tail’, as the Whale heads down into the deep for a 45 minute feeding session. Thursday afternoon I checked out the seal colony out on the peninsula, the usual collection of NZ fur seals hauled out all over the place to the point where you almost trip over them! And in the evening I sampled the best local establishment, complete with live music from a good old checked shirt clad bunch of blokes, perfect for post card writing!

Sunset behind the Seaward Kaikoura Range, from the north bay

Well this really has ended up a long’n however Saturday was a perfect last day, to be back on the ‘tranz-coastal’ and see the Pacific coast in 20°C sunshine all the way up to Picton, where ‘Kaitaki’ was waiting to cruise us back across the Cook Strait into Wellington. Managed to keep the waterproofs safely in the bottom of the rucksack for the whole trip to the summery South, with the only drop of daytime rain falling for a few minutes at Sumner Bay, Christchurch! However despite the warmth of the South, winter is well and truly still up and running here in Wellington as I sit here in down jacket!

A Sperm Whale dives into the 1.5km deep Kaikoura trench

Snow, Sun and Sulphur Dioxide...

Friday 17 August, was the first opportunity to head into the depths of North Island, with the destination being the barren central volcanic plateau area of the Tongariro National Park. Arriving at the village of Whakapapa, Ollie, Andrea, Simon and myself sharpened our ice axes and donned the waterproofs in preparation to head up and make camp in the ski fields of ‘Mordor’. Plodding up through the ski highways, avoiding the tractor like ‘groomers’ we selected a secluded valley, in which to pitch up. Then we spent a fine couple of hours in torrential drizzle digging a pit in which to pitch the two tents. Awaking Saturday morning to just as pleasant weather (which hadn’t put off those keen skiers and boarders) we continued on our plod to gain more height on the mountain. At some point in the afternoon we reached the area known as the summit plateau of Mt Ruapehu, a 2600m high ice plateau. Having decided the weather was not favourable to camping and after a few minutes of attempting to dig a snow cave in the side of Dome Ridge before hitting rock hard layers in the pack, we decided to head to the Dome Ridge Hut, a fine little shack complete with all the facilities you would need including a steaming spa pool just minutes walk (the highly acidic Crater Lake). After digging into the metres deep snow drift in front of the door and removing the plated steel armour from ourselves (the rain from lower down had gradually turned to snow as we headed up mountain, and thus our waterproofs/ rucksacks had frozen solid) we settled into our home and cooked a fine stew!

The Entrance to the Dome Ridge Hut

Sunday turned the weather gradually started to get better, and we spent the day ice bouldering on the hut roof, and admiring some fine views of the icy, volcanic scenery. Kieran and Craig headed up to join us, whilst Simon and Andrea headed back to Wellington. Monday myself and Kieran headed out for the Crater Rim traverse, whilst Craig and Ollie headed to Cathedral Rocks to find an ice route. The Crater Rim traverse was indeed what it said on the tin, a fine circuit on the airy ridge up above the bubbling lake. It included the highest point on Mt Ruapehu and the North Island, Tahurangi! We also had the opportunity to cross the hot Crater outlet stream, by means of a perfectly stable snow bridge! Monday evening it was time to head down to a more comfortable accommodation, that of a bach (pronounced ‘batch’, the Kiwi word for a prefab-like holiday home) on Lake Taupo, belonging to a friend of Craig’s.

From the Crater Rim and summit ridge of Tahurangi, the Crater Lake steams in the midday sun!

On Pyramid, the final peak of the Crater Rim route, with Cathedral Rocks (R) and the summit plateau (L) in the background.

Tuesday was another fine day with clear skies and blazing sunshine, so while Kieran and Craig headed out to ski the Whakapapa routes, Ollie and myself headed to climb amongst the snowy Whakapapa Pinnacles. Ended up nipping up a fine neve filled scoop onto a col between two of the pinnacles, for the view over the Mt Nghauruhoe (Doom) and Tongariro volcanic complexes. Then it was back down the same way and nipping across the ski highways to the Waterfall cafe, where we managed to grab a lift down the mountain on the Waterfall Express chairlift, a fitting finish to the trip, with fine late afternoon sunny views across to the Pinnacles.
So that was Ruapehu, ‘The Andesite Beast’.

At the Northern End of Dome Ridge, above the Whakapapa Ski Fields, with Nghauruhoe and Tongariro in the background