Earthquakes, solo ramblings in the Pisa, and a good friend realises a dream

It's a tad humbling to be posting benign photos as I look, right this moment, at the photos coming in from the unbelievably strong earthquake in Chile. Not for the squeamish!

My mundane story this week is that I set off yesterday with full bivy gear to push the boundaries of where I've been tramping before in the southern Pisa Range on my doorstep - to intersect the 4wd route explored with my cousin over the last few weekends, but this time on foot.

However at about 1200 m it turned cold and was very windy and unpleasant so I pondered my plan in the shelter of a low rock outcrop [self portrait - just love them: 10 secs. to get in position!]...


Making landscape photos is an excellent way to procrastinate, as especially as I realised I could do this one from the shelter I was snoozing in. I certainly spent sometime looking at the wrinkles and texture in the background and wondering what geological and weathering events caused them, and over what time-frame...


Once again in my outdoor's life, I realised the mountains were not at home to me for this trip - a night bivying even higher would have been miserable despite the full moon, so I made the descent to less windy climes and home - the return from whence I'd come [upwards sweating lots] an hour or two beforehand...


I reckon these cows know me, as I have a habit of doing this trip every year or so. I'm always a sucker for their kind and innocent eyes...



On another note I was recently pondering the very minor part I played in my friend Alexei realising his dream to coach at the Winter Olympics. Over two winters ago we [nordicnz.com] decided to aim for the stars for a new coach for the kids we help with cross country skiing at The Snow Farm, and so we posted a Situations Vacant on the web site I'd created and host. I think Alexei may have found it by accident and a few months later I found myself with a flat mate for the winter, and what excellent company he was! That was two good winters ago and look where he's ended up as the NZ Coach => www.wp.umpi.edu/ski/ [which is a excellent blog on his day-to-day experiences at Whistler]

It's tempting to think it was all cause and effect, but it's not that simple. We attract what we think about, and the salutary point I make here is, if we're not careful, we attract what we don't want also!

The adventurous world of under-runners

As per last week's post my cousin Mike and myself were out again yesterday on another 4wd adventure tidying the choice of descent route off of the Pisa Range for the upcoming North Otago Search and Rescue 4wd fundraiser to be held in a couple of weeks time.

Last week's problem were these things called "under-runners"...


They form in ancient glacial soils/clays comprised of loess [derived from the floodplains of glacial braided rivers that carried large volumes of glacial meltwater and sediments]. Somehow as loess was deposited by wind in certain areas [tors on hillsides seem to accompany the formation] all the particles dropped by the wind were occasionally of a similar size, and it's known that this sort of structure in the soil has no strength to resist the likes of water percolating down mountain sides, sometimes under ancient land slides. Under-runners [of water] then work away eventually under-mining the surface, which collapses inwards, to considerable depths it seems if this hole is anything to go by [stones thrown in clattered for sometime!]...


Although we'd identified this one [which was why I was not in the truck!], Mike dropped a front wheel in as an edge collapsed. At the instant I made this photo, the rear end of the truck [on the left looking] lurched alarmingly into the air and the rear wheel left the ground...


Mike got his first Land Rover about close on 50 years ago, and in those years with 4wd driving as his hobby, I can't imagine anyone more experienced. So to get out of this literal hole he matter-of-factly asked for some weight and drove onwards, but stopping before the back wheel dropped into the hole. We then evaluated options and decided to fill the hole in enough to progress, which worked nicely...


A lot of thought last week was given to whether or not we should bring 50-100 vehicles [with accompanying vibration and base line driver skills in some cases] down this route, and the farmer was consulted. He advised there was another route, but a complex one, so with his knowledge and a very obscure map we set off yesterday from the bottom of the Kawarau gorge this time, to nut it out going upwards from a known exit point rather than last week's downward effort featuring numerous choices. As we climbed up an over grown track the views across the valley became fascinating. This one is of a huge area modified by miners, and there is a wee hut bottom left...


With just one vehicle going quietly and slowly we had ideas of fresh venison, but first morning tea break...


While driving along with the intensity of native trackers on an almost non-existent track hidden by short grasses, thankfully on gentle slopes, we were rewarded by this amazing view of the Kawarau - the road to Queenstown just on the right of the river...


Route finding problem solved we reached known ground and Mike left his marks in the form of fluro paint to aid his leading the trip...


As we gained height we encountered 45 knot winds so we adjourned to this hut down in a gully for a nice picnic lunch out of the wind...


A good clean up is needed 'else DOC may decide to remove this icon of NZ's past...


Mike keeps his boot very still as a confused lizard grapples with a whole new reality...


After lunch we serendipitously meet a 7 vehicle expedition of the Canterbury Land Rover Users Club, and keen to try out our new route down and prove it's safety/viability with very experienced drivers [and mark/flatten the grass] Mike invited them to follow and thus add some real distance and value to their outing [we also had the key to the gate]. Vehicles like this maybe great at mud slugging and handling big Canterbury rivers, but their turning circle is not so good in this terrain....


The descent went well and we were soon back down by the amazingly beautiful Kawarau river...






And for those wondering: venison eluded us.

Up coming four wheel drive trip fundraiser ~ weekend of 6-7 March 2010

For perhaps near on 20 years my cousin Mike and a handful of enthusiastic friends in North Otago Search and Rescue have pioneered organising 4 wheel drive trips [drive your own] all over the remote areas of Otago. Apparently they've guided about 7500 vehicles over this time, and that'd equate to well over 14,000 people!

Since permission from high country farmers is hard to organise [finding out who owns what], and there are so many complex routes and tracks, they're very popular with the public - you pay your money and rock on up. They're not all about pitting one's vehicle against the terrain either, but about enjoying a day out in the hills. I like to sign up to see remote areas myself, and like to be the tail ender helping shut gates etc..

This autumn [best season - good traction means no damage to terrain, vehicles or nerves] Mike invited me and my camera on the pre runs which are right on my back door step, and as I prefer to ride with him to catch up in a brotherly way, rather than drive myself, we talked about trying a blog to see if it'd be useful for folk who are contemplating coming, to see a few photos.

So below is all the guff for anyone keen and a selection of photos made last weekend during the recce. of the two trips offered on the Sat. and Sun. of the weekend 6-7 March 2010.

Actually re-post to a different blog [btw I use MarsEdit to blog - it's Mac and marvellous, and I can post about 4 times faster than in blogger, to numerous destinations]

Day One: Dunstan Mountains - from Cromwell Gorge to Thomsons Gorge road via Leaning Rock.

Dunstan tops...


Lake Dunstan...


Leaning Rock...


Track up to Leaning Rock...


Arriving at Leaning Rock...


Gentian...


Past Leaning Rock...

Recce crew has lunch...




Stamper Battery Thomsons Gorge...


Trip ending at Northburn Station Vineyard...




Day Two: Pisa Range - southern end.

On the tops at 1900 mts...


Possible morning tea stop in this ancient glacial cirque...


Looking across at the Dunstans and Leaning Rock...


Fragile alpine bog...


Looking towards Roaring Meg country...

Fragile vegetation abounds...








Register 8 to 8.30 am for a 9 am start each day at the Cromwell sports grounds on Alpha St.

Cost $35 per adult per day. Under 16 no charge. Deposits to John Simpson, 6 Forth St.. Oamaru. Chqs. made out to N.O.S.A.R.

No dogs allowed.

For Sat. night we recommend the Cromwell Top 10 Camping Ground ph 0800 107 275, and is very close to the assembly point.

Should the weather be unsuitable it will be held the following weekend 13 - 14 March. In event of cancellations please tune into Radio Central [More FM] Port FM or Classic Hits FM [4ZB].

John Simpson: 03 437 1689
Mike Firman: 03 434 7385 or 027 220 1948

Photos and blog creation Donald Lousley email

A light trip back to Glenorchy and the Rees

Who was Rees you may well ponder? I recall from my school history days that perhaps he was a prospector. And although many are motivated by gold, last weekend my photographer and tramping friend Roger joined me to do some prospecting for images back in the area that was the focus of my recent posts on a Rees/Dart tramping trip.

However often in life in our rush to reach a goal we overlook many things, including, in my case an intriguing lagoon area with board-walks very near Glenorchy...






There happened to be some old "kiwiana" style clutter begging to be imaged nearby...


Forever the romantic though, my eyes wander quickly to the far hills - in this case [left to right] the Dart Valley, Mt Alfred, Mt Earnslaw and the Rees Valley. All old friends...


You can't keep a good man down they say, especially Roger in his self induced [photographic] zone in the Rees...


Anyone care to make a caption for this shot...


From top to bottom: my shorts, my knees, and my toes...


Perched on a cliff for a bird's eye view of the renown Muddy Creek - stopper of many a car and 4wd every time it rains and a few more tons of soft-rock is ground up and gravitated down the hill...


Where we camped on Sat. night in the Rees - a strong sunset...


On Sunday morning we were approached by some stranded climbers who had got their 4wd stuck way up the Rees in soft gravel and water. Like little kids we played in the water and sun extricating their Hi Lux, which was all a bit engrossing, so I never did make a photo of their dilemma, but Roger was there with his tripod 'till way after they drove off at speed - I'd said "give it heaps" if they ever had any more sinking feelings, and it seems they took me literally...


My trusty camper was a bit of a hero of the day - she can be high and mighty, but loved most of all for the kitchen stove in the back, and therefore sometimes she is known as "Cafe Toyota"...


Back in Glenorchy for a real coffee we did predictably wander about. You maybe forgiven for thinking this man is jumping from a moving train, but no, he had just been doing some more shooting, and I captured the get-away...


On closing please be aware that this blog is now on a new server, and there is some fine tuning to do soon as blogger has changed in a technical sense how we publish to our own domain names. So if it is static for awhile please pop in later. Meanwhile having got it shifted and tested via this post [noted odd things appearing on the right column, and comments one post behind], I'm behind on reading and commenting on the excellent blogs I follow.

Btw a heads up on a new local blog by friends D and G "Touring the Deep South of NZ"

Cheers

Donald