Annual Search and Rescue training for the 2010-11 summer season

I post this event every year it seems. The years go by a bit too quickly! Last summer thankfully there was little happening re. accidents in our mountains. Lets hope it's quiet this time around also.

I train because it's fun, and don't feel a burning need to be as involved as I was back on the 80s. But if I end up 'out there' in a sharp situation, I simply want to stay safe for my own sake and for my companions/friends, and of course for all the wonderful people who comprise my day-to-day life.

Anna, a very experienced heli-ski guide summons her team [with a smile] to board for a trip up the hill to do a stretcher rope lower down over low angle terrain...


Much of the exercise was devoted to safety around helicopters...


The lower begins in the bush...




Then out into the open...




Job done it's time for multiple hops/pickups and alights from the Squirrel down the hill, while it has one skid or less on the ground...




Next it's off to the Matukituki river for 4wd, stretcher bearing and tramping style familiarisation with river crossing. All mixed in with some GPS work, and finishing with a barbe in the cool under a willow by the river...


Mt Aspiring, scene of so many Wanaka Search and Rescue missions sort of watches over us and the river...


Wild roses back at the Police Station - they seem an incongruous foil to the temp. shipping container goal for New Year's drunks...


So stay safe dear readers!

Routeburn wanderings

I was invited to a 60 th birthday party for work colleague Greg at Kinloch on Sat. evening, and festivities were to begin earlier in the day at the nearby Routeburn Flat's hut.

Not having wandered the Routeburn track since about 1969 I thought I'd make a day of it and see if I could get to Lake Harris and return for nibbles at the hut by 3.30 pm.

Routeburn Flats en-route to Routeburn Falls. Looking up the North Branch of the Routeburn...


The outlet to Lake Harris. Apparently only two weeks ago the lake was frozen over...


Travellers and packs are ferried past a nasty section of the track that still holds winter avalanche debris. It's $75 deal at 12.30 pm each day there is a need, and walkers are advised before departing that it's required. It only takes several minutes, and when the snow has melted in a couple of weeks it'll no longer be necessary...


Lake Harris and outlet. Weather deteriorating too, so I scurried off promptly, after watching the flying productions...


Back by Routeburn Falls hut I spent sometime asking myself what the dynamic waterfalls were sort of telling me, and finally settled on the fact that the vegetation behind the water and this rock comprised a story...


Mattresses at Routeburn Falls hut admiring the view...


Party time at Routeburn Flats hut...


The regulatory swing bridge shot on the return, [with the odd raindrop becoming a worry]...


These downward sloping grasses seemed unusual. I imagine they're host to a modest waterfall during rain storms...

Ten things about myself, shots of Nevis Valley, and insights from Leonard Cohen

Following on from a recent post by my friend Marg, I'm copying her playful idea of publishing 10 things about self. In this case I'm interspersing my points with landscape photos from the rather large batch made last weekend. No comments - they're all about the wonderful landscape in the Nevis Valley again.

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1] When I hear a song I really like for the first time, I'll have it repeating for days non stop [iPod helps achieve this].

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2] Apricot jam and cheese in a white bread sandwich can be compelling at certain times in my life [this seems to shock some people].

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3] When I expect the unexpected, or expect serendipitous things to happen, they always do [makes going out the gate, much more fun].

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4] I like living in cold climates, but short daylight hours I struggle with [so I've learnt to like the dry heat that shimmers in Central Otago - this seems to balance out the aforementioned conflict in winter]

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5] I don't fully understand rugby at the level most New Zealanders do [smiling and nodding gets me by].

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6] I like washing dishes by hand [this seems to shock some people, but I find it relaxing].

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7] I have one leg half an inch shorter than the other [therefore traversing hillsides on the contour line should be easier one way than the other, but it's not].

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8] I'm not a keen conversationalist just after getting up in the morning [I hide behind food and a drink to avoid conversations]

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9] Having my birthday just six weeks after Xmas always seemed unfair as a child [the rest of the year was a desert present wise].

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10] I was born during a "heat wave" [does this tie in with point 4!?]

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As per point [1] above, my song of the moment is Heart With No Companion by Leonard Cohern:

I greet you from the other side
Of sorrow and despair
With a love so vast and shattered
It will reach you everywhere

And I sing this for the captain
Whose ship has not been built
For the mother in confusion
Her cradle still unfilled

For the heart with no companion
For the soul without a king
For the prima ballerina
Who cannot dance to anything

Through the days of shame that are coming
Through the nights of wild distress
Tho' your promise count for nothing
You must keep it nonetheless

You must keep it for the captain
Whose ship has not been built
For the mother in confusion
Her cradle still unfilled

For the heart with no companion ...

I greet you from the other side ...

I find the lyrics compelling... feel a message in them that mirrors feelings deep in my heart and experiences in life - 'nuff said though, as it'd be a big essay to explain.

Maybe his ability to compose and perform in such a way that can be matched by a wide range of life's experiences is a hallmark of all his work, like many say.

I discovered Leonard's song on Friday night when I accidentally found myself watching him and his wonderful band on a DVD lent to me. I was mesmerised by his humility while accepting applause - I watched it over and over realising I was not only seeing that, but compassion at work of the deepest sort.

Having slept on that next morning I went to pick up a fresh muffin at Soul Food for Dougal and myself for a breakfast treat, and noted one of my friends Karen who works there was back from holiday. I asked her where she'd been. She replied "Oh, in Christchurch to see Leonard Cohen"!

So as per point [3] above!

And I did not even know Leonard was performing there. Karen confirmed what I'd noted in the video, and a bit more besides.

All good, this serendipitous stuff!

Huts and dwellings on the Nevis Valley route Garston to Bannockburn

Every year or two I like to do a trip through the Nevis Valley in Central Otago, and on every occasion I end up taking longer and longer, as it's just full of history and points of interest.

So working our way from Garston back to Bannockburn here are a few of the dwellings in the valley...

The historic Southland Ski Club hut near the top of the Nevis Saddle...

This hut has been restored, but being beside a road can leave it open to abuse. Still it is dry and clean enough...

The carpark beside what is a public 4wd road [closed over winter though]...

This style chair was a product of the 60s. My parents had a set, so this took me right back down memory lane. This one even made the same noise as I placed it by the light...

The above's out-house...

Sadly this state of disrepair of a hut down in the head of the Nevis river, and up a side stream, could easily be put right...

Modern day miner's cottages I suspect, turned bach /crib/ holiday home...

Beside an old gold dredging hole/lake

Fireplace in above remains...

Again a modern day miner's cottage...

Up a side valley - new lean-to on the side of a really old mud and stone hut...

The perfect situation for those roasting summer days, where shade is everything...

Selwyn's house has been lovingly restored and inside is lined with hi-tech astro foil for insulation that was developed by NASA...

Ken's house was built by his grand-father, and is over a hundred years old with the roof still the original iron bought here from Scotland...