Bay of Islands

My last few days in NZ took me to the Bay of Islands area for a weekend tramp. A group of six of us drove to the small settlement of Rawhiti, north east of Russell, where we stayed Friday night in a backpackers' hostel of sorts. It comprised a collection of rather old caravans; the toilet facilities were fairly basic with just a mossie screen door. Still it was right on the beach as we saw in the early morning sunshine.

The Cape Brett Track which we walked started 1km from here. This was an undulating walk (we clocked 1100m of ascent that day) through the bush but with glimpses of the coastline on either side of the peninsula from time to time. These would have been better if the sunshine has remained but the cloud came in for much of the day giving some rain. However it was not too wet and by mid afternoon we were back in sunshine.

After about seven hours walking we arrived at the Cape Brett lighthouse. The DOC (Dept of Conservation) "hut" where we stayed differed from their normal huts as it is actually the former lighthouse-keepers' house. It is below the main lighthouse but about 45m above the sea. We read that there had been occasions when the spray from breaking waves reached up to the house! It was agreat place to spend a night.

Sunday morning we retraced our steps for a couple of hours before descending a short distance to Deepwater Cove where we had booked a water taxi to take us back to Rawhiti. Fortunately it was calm morning or we would have had to walk out the way we had come in. Then a fairly direct return to Auckland for my flight to Sydney.

Next morning I took a short flight to Hervey Bay in southern Queensland where I am now, staying with friends, Phil and Eleanor.

Ski Touring and Winter Walking

On Monday (14 Sep) I should have been ski touring but the previous renter of the kit I was to use failed to return it to the shop! As it turned out the weather was not good that day so things worked out OK. Arriving late morning on Tuesday the snow was still rather firm and cover not great but Andy and I managed a short tour to a nearby peak (see photo), though we both need to put into use our self-arrest technique when traversing a steep icy slope (no harscheisen!)

Later in the week I flew north to Nelson where I met up with Richard and John, a friend of his, for a four day tramp in the Nelson lakes area. Friday was grey and increasingly damp for our quite lengthy walk in as far as the Angelus Hut. Richard had gone ahead and was going to come back and help John with his pack but in the end John turned back and went to a different hut. By now it was too late for Richard and myself to do this! We got to the hut, which was not easy to find in the mist with dusk approaching, rather wet and cold but got the stove going well and got all our kit dried out overnight.



The next day provided stunning weather and the two of us made an early ascent of Angelus peak (seen in the background of other photo, hut in foreground). The snow was well frozen and perfect for cramponing. After this Richard went in search of John and/or a mobile signal but the news eventually arrived via another tramper that all was well. This night, being Saturday, the hut was relatively busy with a dozen or so peole there. (The full story of John's journey is far to long to tell here.)

Sunday was another sunny day and we returned to near our starting point via a superb ridge walk; mostl on snow but some rocky patches to blunt the crampons. We finally met up with John again for the last night and had a gentle day on Monday before returning to Auckland.

The Auckland weather has not been so good for the last few days so it's been museum and wine tasting before heading north tomorrow.

Dolphins

After my Nguaruhoe ascent I had a gentle day taking a scenic route to Raglan on the west coast some way south of Auckland. Not such a nice day so I was very lucky the day before. Raglan is a laid back surfing town, very quiet (no surf).

Then flew to Christchurch where weather for the weekend was superb. Stayed with Pete and Dee for Fri/Sat - many thanks to them - and had a great run in the Port Hills each morning.

Sunday afternoon took a wildlife cruise in Lyttelton Harbour and saw some spectacular action by Hector's Dolphins (that's the name of the species, not the owner!)

Today (Monday) Andy and I were supposed to head to Broken River to go ski touring. Unfortunately the person who had the ski touring kit I was to rent had failed to return it. Anyway it is very windy today and +9C at the skifield so we have delayed a day; had a good mountain bike ride instead. 24C in Christchurch.

Now in New Zealand

First day in Auckland was mainly taken up with domestic chores; a shame as it was perfect weather. Had an unscheduled visit to Waiheke Island when I got directed to wrong ferry!

Next day I headed south to Tongariro National Park but only time for a short walk after the drive, but spectacular views of three snowy peaks - Tongariro, Nguaruhoe (a classic volcano cone) and the skifield peak of Ruapehu.

Wednesday had planned for the Tongariro Crossing but impossible to book the shuttle bus back without doing a guided trip. So as alternative I made a pre-dawn start to walk up Tongariro, round its ridge and then up Nguaruhoe. A fantastic day out with a couple of interesting sections, given that the snow was quite icy in places.

Pictures show me on summit of Tongariro with Nguaruhoe in background (self-timer pic), Shadow of Mt Fuji at dawn from summit and tuna in Tokyo fish market.

Japan - Part 2

So a day later than planned we walked up most of Mt Fuji to a hut at 3450m. Early to bed for a 3.30am departure for the final 300m to the summit for sunrise. There were probably about 1000 people making their way up, mostly from lower huts - so they had to get up even earlier. And we were told - "I've never seen it so quiet!"

Sunrise was duly observed but no views to speak of as we were above a sea of cloud and could just make out one or two distant peaks poking through. After a lap of the crater rim we had the long descent - 1300m mostly down a loose (ash/lava) path.

Ended the Japan tour with two and a half days in Tokyo, managing to see quite a bit, including an early morning visit to the fish market. This is huge and there are hundreds of varieties of fish. Also there is a specific tuna auction area where we saw at least several hundred huge tuna awaiting sale. I'll try and put a photo on this blog when I get access from my own computer.

Now arrived in Auckland and after a day getting sorted am headed to Tongariro in central North Island for a couple of days walking. Hope the weather holds as it's currently blue skies and reached 18C yesterday, not bad for the beginning of spring.