Camp

I forgot to tell everyone about the year 9 camp I went on.We came to school that day (without our uniforms) and listened to a river safety guy tell us how to keep safe in rivers. Then we took a bus to Tairahonga camp. We ate lunch and learned the rules of the camp.Since there were two form classes(9Td & 9Gb) each of the classes did something different. 9Td set their tents up while we played games in the hall. Then we set our tents up. I was Sarah’s tent buddy and Esther was supposed to be with us but was sick.After the tents were set up we went for a walk to a spot where we would build survival huts. Our hut didn’t come first but could hold 7 people! We walked back and did a confidence course. Then we ate tea(dinner). After that we had quizzes in the hall. When that was over, we went through the forest blind-folded. It was very fun. Then we went to sleep. In the morning we ate breakfast & packed our tents up. Then we took a van to Outram Glen to do river safety. We learned how to survival swim and active swim. Then we came back to school. The End. Or is it?

Purakaunui

Fa finished her exams on Thursday and had a day off Friday, while the kids were still on holiday, so we decided to make a quick trip down to Purakaunui Bay, where we went a couple of times last summer. We were originally planning a few days but then someone pointed out that the All Blacks play on Sunday morning so we realized we’d have to make it just an overnight trip. We got up and out of the house by 8:30 AM, which was the earliest we all got going since the kids were on holiday. After dropping off some video rentals and filling up with diesel ($1.14/litre, highest in a while), we were on the road.

Within an hour and a half we were there at the beach. We dropped down on to the beach and found our favourite camp spot. The weather was pretty nice at this point so we set up the tent and had some lunch. Fa got out her book while the Ginny, Hank, and I explored the beach. Hank then got a shovel and began digging while I found a walking stick to carve. Ginny and I then decided to get a closer look at the Hooker Sea Lions across the stream. We didn’t want to get wet so we had to walk upstream for 15 minutes looking for a place to cross. Eventually we found a log, which we placed across the creek and I tightrope-walked across. Ginny stumbled around in the water before getting to the log and got wet anyway. We crossed a paddock through some sheep and made our way back to the beach. We wandered around looking at the six sea lions. By the time we had gotten to the other end of the beach, it began raining so we ran back. Not wanting to walk back upstream to the log crossing, we took our boots off and rolled up our pants and waded right across. The water was absolutely freezing, of course. We dried off and went into the tent.

We hung out in the tent reading for a bit until we were all asleep. After hour-long naps, the sun came back out so the kids and I played some beach soccer. I think I won 9-7. It was fun but we had to occasionally chase the ball into the water, which, as I mentioned before, was icy. We wiled away the afternoon, playing, reading, whittling, exploring, etc. By 6:00 I cooked some hot dogs for dinner, but we had forgotten the buns so just had them plain and with beans. Hot dogs (frankfurters) here are not very good but we’re getting used to them. The baked beans are very popular, mostly on toast, but taste strange, although we have finally found some tolerable ones in barbecue sauce. All in all it was a nice meal. After dinner Hank and I crossed the stream to look at the sea lions. We braved the cold water and sand to get a look and watched one come out of the surf to join the remaining 3 on the beach. We had a few tense moments when it looked like he was charging us, but just when he got going, he collapsed in exhaustion on the sand. Apparently they get very tired and hot when walking on land. We came back, tried to warm up our feet, and had some hot tea. Then we all went to bed with Ginny reading “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to us.

The night started off well but by midnight the wind had come up ferociously strong. Earlier I had moved the car upwind of the tent and attached the guy wires to it for strength, and I was glad I had done that now because otherwise I don’t think it could have withstood the wind. We then suffered through hours of the deafening sound of wind and rain on the tent. We were dry and warm but had a difficult time sleeping because of the noise. At 3:30 AM I woke up again but by 4:30 AM I was so exhausted I finally slept again. Fa, Hank, and I woke at 8:00 to more wind and rain. Every half hour the rain would stop and it seemed like it was going to be nice but then the rain would start again. We finally took a chance and got most of our gear packed away in the car before the rain started again. Then we woke Ginny up, got her in the car, and took down the tent. We wadded it into a ball and through it into the car. We left the beach just as a group of surfers arrived in 6 cars. This was similar to our last exit in March.

We decided to visit Purakaunui Falls this time so turned south rather than towards Dunedin. We got to the trailhead in 15 minutes and headed down into the driving rain. Ten minutes later we were at the waterfall, when the rain stopped and the sun came out. The falls was quite impressive, especially since the stream was bank-to-bank with the night’s rain. After getting back to the car we decided to explore Papatowai, a few kilometres farther down the road. There wasn’t much to see, but there is a holiday park we could use the next time we come. Then we headed home, stopping for our traditional ice cream at the dairy in Milton. Driving through some heavy downpours, we got home in bright sunshine, unpacked, and dried our gear. We had a nice day and an exciting night, always fun in New Zealand.

I’ve posted some pictures on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13857&l=65ffd&id=543764697

Wednesday, 25 April

Last day on the track. We started as usual at about 9:00 am. The first km was very steep, but provided great views of Anchorage Bay. Once at the top we walked up and down for many kms. We saw a lot of people on this section, either because we were close to the start of the track or because it was a national holiday (ANZAC Day, commemorating the battle at Gallipoli). Near the end Hank was dragging so Fa took his pack while I pulled him along. By the end we were practically running. We made it to the end and I walked the road back to the car, drove to the trailhead, picked everyone up, and drove back to the holiday park. We set up our tents and took much needed showers. After a nice dinner of nachos in the kitchen, which was much envied by the other campers, we went to bed. It was a great end to a great tramp.

Tuesday, 24 April

We woke up today very sore. Good thing we had some Aleve. We had breakfast and got underway by 9:30. The going was pretty easy compared to yesterday. We made it to Torrent Bay at noon and took off our shoes for some beach walking. About half-way across the bay the mussel and clam shells were too much for everyone except Ginny. We put on our crocs while Ginny continued on barefoot. After crossing a final mudflat we climbed 50 meters over a rise and down to Anchorage Beach. We walked along the beach to the hut and claimed a bunk. We were so early today that we had a lot of time for relaxing. The kids put on their wetsuits and waded around in the water. Finally Fa and I jumped in and the kids followed. However, even though the air was warm, the water was cold so we didn’t last too long. Fa and I read and napped on the beach while the kids swam and played for 4 or 5 hours. It was a fantastic way to spend the last day on the tramp. Eventually we made our way back to the hut for dinner and then looked at the stars as it got dark. We shared the room with others again but it was not as loud as last night. A very nice day.

Monday, 23 April

We got up at 7:00 am with a goal to get on the trail by 9:00. We made breakfast and packed up for our first real day of hiking. We wore boots this time, since yesterday we thought the hut was close enough that we only wore crocs and sandals. The cairns from yesterday were still standing. We quickly covered the distance back to the water crossing from yesterday and started up the hill. After over an hour of climbing we could still see the Awaroa Lodge from yesterday, which was not encouraging. Finally we crossed the divide and began descending to Onetahuti Beach, which we reached by about 11:00. By then our feet were getting pretty hot, but no blisters yet. We took off our boots and walked barefoot down the beach. We reached the end of the beach and the start of the trail and decided to have a one-hour lunch break. Onetahuti is just about the most perfect beach we had ever seen.

It has no hut but we’ll have to come back to the campground at some point. After exploring some rocks and a cave, we loaded up for the final couple of hours to Bark Bay. It may have been a mistake to have had such a long break because we were pretty slow on the trail after that. Corinna went on ahead to save some bunks while we trudged along. Eventually she came back and took Hank’s pack as we walked the last km around Bark Bay. We arrived at the hut and took our boots off our aching feet. Ginny changed into her wet suit and Hank and I followed her to the beach, but she didn’t go in. We came back to the hut to find Fa in bed. We made dinner and then went to bed by 7:00 pm. There’s not a lot to do when it gets dark at 6:00 and you don’t have electricity. We were the first to bed so had to listen to much talking and laughter for a couple of hours. Also, we had to share the room for the first time and listen to some snoring, although not too bad.

Sunday, 22 April

Big day today. We awoke to great weather. We slept with the tent door open so the fly was dry. We had breakfast and packed up our stuff – our packs for the tramp and the rest for the car. I moved the car over to a long-term carpark and we waited for our

10:30 water taxi. We had a lot of stuff – each person’s backpack plus boots and other things strapped on. The skipper of our boat arrived and we loaded him up with our packs. They were all pretty heavy but somehow we got them on board and stowed, although they were thrown around pretty casually. Luckily nothing fell out. We boarded the boat on the trailer as usual for here. It was about half-tide so when we got to the water it was too shallow for the boat ramp. We drove around in about 3′ feet of water until another tractor showed up and the drivers transferred. Our skipper waded out and got on board. It’s a pretty weird setup they have here but we’re used to it since we did the same thing last year. Eventually we were launched off the trailer and underway. The skipper warned us that it was too shallow to head straight out so he was going to have to really throttle down and get on plane as soon as possible to be able to get over the sandbars and then weave back and forth to find the deepest channels. That’s exactly what he did as we whipped back and forth until finally we got to deep water. It was amazing and something like a carnival ride, probably a lot like the jet boat rides on the rivers in NZ. Lots of fun. We detoured south to Split Apple Rock, just like last year, where the skipper, Glen, told us some Moari stories about the rock. We then traveled up the coast where Glen stopped occasionally and told us about the sights. We stopped for the longest at the Tonga Island seal colony and took some pictures. We dropped off a passenger at Onetahuti Bay and then sailed around to Awaroa Bay, where we were dropped off. They have a neat way to drop off passengers: the boat approaches the shore in reverse, drops an anchor off the bow as it reverses, and then lifts the motor as the boat beaches. Then we get off and the windlass pulls the boat back to deep water as the engine is starting. Very slick and they really have it down. You barely get wet. Awaroa Bay is very nice and the kids found a dead crab immediately, but we didn’t think we had time to explore so we found the trail and were off.

 

The trail passes a lodge where we were tempted by their nice cafe, but we decided to push on. The Abel Tasman National Park has several areas with private holdings and this was one of them. They are only accessible by water or air. Maybe someday we’ll come back to try them. The food smelled particularly good. We passed by the lodge, walked through their “airfield”, and then found our first obstacle. I guess we didn’t read the notes carefully on our maps but we were faced with a high-tide crossing of a creek mouth. We walked up and down it for a half an hour, trying to see if we could cross, and eventually discovered a place where we only got wet up to our thighs. After crossing we rejoined the trail and walked another 1 km to the Awaroa Hut.

 

Our first day was supposed to be easy but we were disappointed at the slow start. However, Awaroa Hut is very nice and set on a beautiful estuary. We claimed the top bunk in one room and then set about some serious relaxing. Fa took the kids looking for crabs while Corinna and I read for a while. The kids returned and Hank and I built a couple of rock cairns for fun.We had dinner as it got dark and then went to bed quite early – about 7:00 pm.

 

 

 

It was a very nice day.

 

 

 

 

Saturday, 21 April

We woke up at 7:00 am to a wet tent. Actually, it was cold last night so we made the mistake of closing up the doors and windows so the water was from condensation on the inside of the rain fly. We opened everything up and tried to dry it as we had breakfast. After breakfast we packed up the wet tents and hit the road.

We quickly passed through the Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains, stopping to fuel up in Amberly. Fa wanted to give driving a go so she took over for a while until we got a ways into the mountains near Hanmer Springs. I took over and continued over Lewis Pass. I remembered a waterfall we stopped at last year so I offered to get us there for lunch. Unfortunately, it was much farther than I remembered so we didn’t get to stop until 2:00 pm, but we got there.

After eating we continued on to Marahau, the start of the Abel Tasman Coast Track. We booked our water taxi ride for tomorrow and got a tent site for the night. We set up our tents and got some food for dinner at the camp shop. At the holiday park kitchen, we cooked up some baked potatoes with various toppings for dinner with the slowest stove and oven in the world. Eventually we were able to eat – yummy. After dinner we all wandered to the beach to look at the stars. There was no moon so viewing conditions were perfect. We saw the main constellations, the Milky Way, several planets, some satellites, and shooting stars. We got to bed and prepared for our trip tomorrow.

Friday, 20 April

We spent last night doing our final packing for our trip. It was complicated by the fact that we needed two sets of supplies: one for the hiking part and one for the camping part. Fa and I tried on our packs when we were done. At that time it seemed manageable. Today we got Fa off to school for her last final while we went to the library to get some reading materials for the trip. The kids and I thought we had a lot of time for final preparations but we nearly ran out of time. We got back to the house and packed the car. It was a strange setup with one of the middle seats facing backwards and one of the back seats down. We needed seating for 5 to take Corinna with us. We got the car packed and the kids played in it while I cleaned the house – I wanted it to be clean for when we returned. I turned off all of the electrical appliances except for the fridge. We got out and filled up the car, but by then it was too late to get food before picking up Fa and Corinna. We met them at Corinna’s house and loaded up her stuff. We were finally on the road at 3:30 pm. We drove to Timaru, got some food for dinner, and then 20 kms farther to Temuka, where we got to the holiday park as it was almost dark. We quickly set up our tents (Corinna’s first time) and had dinner in the dark. We bundled up from the cold and went to sleep. We were happy to be on the road – it was a good start to our trip.

Some Videos

I have many photos to post, but, since that takes so long to do on WordPress, I’ve started with some videos.

Here is the view outside Awaroa Hut:

Hiking along the Abel Tasman Coast Track:

Pancake rocks at Paparoa National Park:

Wekas, related to Kiwis:

Lake Wakatipu

Friday morning we had a slow start to the trip. After breakfast and showers, we got the car packed. We seem to be getting better because we have more room every time we pack for these camping trips. After stopping at the Business School and then BP to get fuel (lucky it was open because most shops are closed on Good Friday by law!), we hit road at about noon. The first bit seemed to fly be as usual until we got to Milton and the turnoff to Queenstown. There’s something about the next section from Milton to Alexandra that seems to take forever. This is the main and shortest route to Queenstown, but it is a somewhat narrow and winding road. Many places you have to slow to under 50 or 60 and there is at least one one-lane bridge. Then Alexandra to Cromwell and through the Kawarau Gorge to the AJ Hackett bungy, where we stopped for a potty break. Unfortunately, they must have been on a break since no one was jumping.

Our plan was to go to Skippers for the night so we figured the route through Arrowtown would be the shortest. Once in Arrowtown, we drove around in circles a few times because, even with several maps plus the GPS, we couldn’t figure out the correct road to take. Finally, we got it sorted and then proceeded to hit road construction. In fact, the road we wanted to take was closed so we detoured around for a few kilometers and got back to the start of Skippers road. It was pretty nice on the sealed road up to the Coronet Peak Ski Area, but then it got a bit hairy. As we dropped in to the canyon, it was very narrow with no turnouts. Fa was not happy so after having to back up to get around some on-coming cars, we found the first spot where I could turn around (7 point turn!) and got out of there. I’ll try some other time without the family.

We dropped down through Arthur’s Point and into Queenstown. It was quite a madhouse as usual, with people wandering about everywhere. We slipped through and onto to the road to Glenorchy. At 12 Mile Delta, we pulled off into the DOC campground and found a nice spot tucked under some willows. We set up camp (door facing wrong way) and had a nice dinner of hot dogs before a little bit of rain came. We stayed dry (seams sealed this time) and waited out the rain, which was over in a few minutes. We’re deep into fall now so it was dark by 7:00 – we headed to bed.

Next morning we got up and had breakfast and walked the beach. We met the ranger who asked us for our camp fee, but we had no change. She said no worries, get it tomorrow, but I headed for town to get some cash. I got into Queenstown quickly to find the ATM, get some diesel, and out. I saw the Highlanders practicing on the waterfront for their game that evening as I left town. On the way back I veered off up the hill to Lakes Kirkpatrick and Moke to do some fishing. At Kirkpatrick I saw some nice browns cruising around, but I couldn’t get them interested in anything I had. The book I have says that Kirkpatrick trout are frustrating, and I truly believe it. Seeing trout as long as your arm ignoring your flies can drive you crazy. The book says that it builds character! I must have lots of character now. I continued on to Moke Lake, where I didn’t see a thing except a steady stream of SUVs, mountain bikes, and even ultra-marathoners. After a couple of hours, I headed back, stopping again at Kirkpatrick to torment myself.

Back at the camp Fa and the kids were resting and playing. By the middle of the day it was quite warm and sunny so the kids put on swimsuits and walked into the water. Ginny the fish braved it and swam for awhile, but Hank just waded around a bit. Then they both got cold and came out. We lounged around for the rest of the day before having smoked mussels and oysters for dinner. Again, an early night sent us to bed.

Easter Sunday we awoke to find eggs around the campsite so Ginny and Hank collected them before breakfast. We finished and packed up to head to Glenorchy. It was a fantastic day in New Zealand – clear and warm. We could see forever up into the Southern Alps. We passed through Glenorchy and on to the Lake Sylvan DOC campground. Unfortunately, the camp was not at the lake but 40 minutes away by foot, so we decided not to stay there. However, the camp was on the Routeburn River, which had an interesting suspension bridge across it, much like the bridge in Shrek. We walked back and forth across it a few times and left.

20 km down the road we came to Kinloch where there is a lodge (motel, really) and a DOC campground. We found an amazing spot at the end of the road, surrounded on three sides by water, looking up the valley and down the lake. Just as we pulled up I spotted a couple of 24″ trout in the little stream entering the lake, so I new this had to be the place. We set up the tent in the loose gravel, using the car to stabilize it. Then we all changed and headed for the water, me with my fishing gear and the kids with their swim gear. I didn’t see any more fish but wandered upstream for an hour while Hank and Ginny swam in the lake. Eventually we made our way back to the camp and relaxed the afternoon away, reading, fishing, exploring, etc. I didn’t have any luck but Hank caught some minnows with a bucket and his hands.

After a dinner of reheated 4-cheese pasta, everyone went to bed while I got out my fishing gear again. As it got dark, many fish entered the stream in front of the camp. I could see rises all over the place, but couldn’t figure out what they were hitting. I finally tied on a large woolly bugger and had a couple of strikes, but didn’t hook them. Oh well. Eventually it got completely dark and even though I could still see and hear fish rising in the starlight, I gave up when I lost my fly on a backcast. I looked at the stars for a while and came to bed.

There had to be a downside to that perfect place and we discovered it that night. All night long what we thought were cows were mooing in the distance. They were occasionally interrupted by ducks quacking and sometimes by a bird calling right outside our tent. I think it was some kind of plover since it sounded much like a killdeer. It felt like we were sleeping in a barn.

Eventually, the night was over and we got some sleep. Once we got up I talked to the DOC fee collector and he said the mooing was from deer, or rather stags that jumped the fence and went bush. He said they are in rut right now so that’s why they were so noisy at night. We decided that after such a horrible night we were done camping and would head home a day early. We had a nice breakfast at the lodge and then packed up the camp. Amazingly, I found the fly I lost the night before just sitting on the ground. That never happens.

Leaving Kinloch, Fa drove for the first time in New Zealand. She made it about 20 kms to Glenorchy, good as gold. On the way back to Queenstown we ran into a bicycle race, which delayed us probably 30 – 45 minutes. Eventually we leapfrogged the several groups of cyclists and got through Queenstown. We stopped at the bungy again and this time watched a few jumps. We saw a double jump and several water touches. It looks like so much fun we’ll have to do it before we leave New Zealand. This time on the way back we took the long route over to Ranfurly and Palmerston. At 20 extra kms it didn’t seem as bad as the normal route – less traffic, wider road, and less turns. We got back to Dunedin at 5:30 and got Flying Squid takeaway.

Home and unpacking, relaxing, movies, etc. Today clothes washing, cleaning, recovering.

Tent

Our planned weekend didn’t turn out as planned. We got down to the Catlins in great weather, but as we approached the last 2 km to Purakaunui Bay, a large black cloud blotted out the sky. We found the same campsite as we had before, and decided to get the tent up as soon as possible before the rain started. We got it up and transferred our stuff to it just as it began raining pretty hard. We congratulated ourselves on beating the rain as we settled in. Did I mention this was a new tent we bought last week? It’s much larger than our previous one and has a nice vestibule for our shoes and packs. However, it’s much to heavy for tramping so it will be car camping only. Here we are just after setting up the tent.

Fa and I both soon fell asleep for naps while the kids played their DS’s. After about half an hour I was awoken by both kids commenting on the water dripping onto their sleeping bags. Did I mention it was a new tent? I started looking at the drips and wondering what was going on. At that moment I remembered what you’re supposed to do with a new tent. I read it in the instructions a couple of days before and right then I glanced at the label inside the tent. Anyone know? SEAM SEALER! They don’t seal the seams before you buy a tent! Why, I don’t know. Maybe more expensive ones are seam-sealed. This is a Coleman tent that seems to be pretty good quality. I was planning on doing it but I completely forgot. I realized we had no chance to stay dry like that so we waited for a break in the weather and quickly dismantled the tent, hopped in the car, and drove off.

We got back to the nearest town of Owaka, about 10 km away, where it was still sunny, and had some cheese and salami. Then we retreated back to Dunedin. At home we unpacked and brought the tent inside to dry off. Now as soon as the tent dries I’ll get some seam sealer and we’ll try again, maybe next week. At least Fa was able to get some studying done last night and this morning so the whole weekend wasn’t a total waste.

St. Patrick’s Day Kiwi-style

(Fa says…) It is a sunny summer weekend and we are off to Purakaunui Bay in the Catlins after Ginny’s ballet class. Corinna and I stayed until closing at the library last night so we could have a wee bit of fun on St. Patrick’s Day. It was my first time at closing and we were treated to the library staff’s routine of randomly turning the lights on and off and setting off the fire alarm 20 minutes before 11:00pm to get all of us out (or wake the sleeping ones?). Very odd. Of course I still have more work to do so I am bringing my laptop and books, but I plan on enjoying some time off as well; I hope my syndicate mates will forgive me.

Purakaunui Falls
A 10 minute walk on an excellent track brings you to the best known of the Catlins forest waterfalls, located in a small reserve of mixed podocarp and beech forest.

Purakaunui Bay
A side trip to Purakaunui Bay is well worth while, whether to see the highest cliffs in the Catlins, to explore the sheltered beach and rocky shore or to camp.

Congratulations to Melisa and Ryan on the birth of their first child, Brandon Timothy Dolby born Thursday afternoon in Olympia, Washington USA. We hear from proud grandmother, Debbie, that he is beautiful! He was 9 pounds 9 ounces and 21 ¾ inches long. Mother and son are doing well and plan to go home some time Friday.

Rain

Yesterday Ginny, Hank, and I got up early, loaded the car, and set off to Milford Sound. We were on the road by 9:00 AM, which is a record for us. First we traveled across the whole of Southland. At Clinton, we took the “Presidential Highway” to Gore. Seems that so many Americans commented on the curious fact that two small communities very close together had the names of the former president and vice-president that they put up a sign. I should have taken a picture. Anyway, we stopped at Gore for a snack. Gore is the self-proclaimed Brown Trout Capital of the World, so I was salivating at the Mataura River running through town. I didn’t get out my rod, planning to hit it on the way back.

We took off for Te Anau, unfortunately running into several road construction areas along the way. They usually drop the limit to 30, which seems unbelievably slow. By the last one, I guess I was frustrated and didn’t slow quick enough so some guy jumped off his grader and scolded me for driving too fast. Of course I was just one of a long line of cars so he could have gotten anyone. I promised to slow down next time. We crossed over a couple of more world famous rivers, which I promised to fish tomorrow or the next day: the Oreti, the Mararoa, and others. By lunchtime we were at Te Anau. The weather was OK so far but we could see rain on the horizon

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We left Te Anau and followed another famous river – the Eglinton. The valley floor is just beautiful and I again promised to fish it later in the day.

After crossing into the Hollyford drainage, the road got very steep.

We stopped at a viewpoint and the kids jumped out into the first of the day’s rain. Ginny didn’t have shoes on, of course.

Soon after the waterfalls began appearing. Eventually you could see literally hundreds all around. The rain was falling very hard by this point. We came to a tunnel through the mountain, which was a remarkable engineering achievement. The one-lane tunnel was controlled by a 15 minute light, so we waited in the car for a while. Here is a video I took of the waterfalls and the tunnel (both coming and going).

Finally we dropped to Milford Sound. It was very overcast and rainy, but still you could make out how beautiful it is, although it’s been called “moody” and I can see why. Unfortunately, it is not at all a wilderness experience, since thousands of tourists are wandering around the information shop and getting on and off buses and tour boats. But it is really amazing and not to be missed. We’ll have to come out when the weather is better and there are fewer tourists – maybe a clear day in winter?

We decided we couldn’t put up with the rain so decided to head back to one of the many DOC campgrounds on the Eglinton. We made it back to the McKay Creek campground and quickly set up the tent in a very light rain. By the time we were done and committed, the rain fell harder. I noticed a rip in the rainfly, right at the top, so made a quick repair with duct tape. We backed the car up to the picnic table to provide shelter and cooked dinner. Then we backed the car up to the tent so we could get from the car to the tent without getting wet. I geared up and did a little bit of fishing, but the rain started really coming down so I retreated to camp. I didn’t see a thing, but I have often done poorly in rain. We got ready for bed in the car and then jumped into the tent. I noticed the repair I made earlier was leaking, but figured it wouldn’t amount to much. I fell asleep quickly to the sound of the rain on the tent. Ginny and Hank both slept well but I woke every hour or so and felt the water dripping on my bag. I was completely warm but it was a pretty miserable night for me.

By morning the rain was worse. The dishes we left out overnight were full. It probably rained 3 cm. The placid river the night before was up to its banks – probably 10 times the flow. I got the kids into the car and changed, then quickly took down everything without getting too wet. We retreated the hour drive back to Te Anau to decide what to do. After grabbing some snacks, we decided we’d see if the weather was any better in Central Otago up around Queenstown. So we headed that way. As we passed over the great rivers I saw yesterday, they were all running bank to bank and muddy. The only exception was the Mataura high up, but it was raining and miserable. I’ll have to come back to fish these rivers.

We arrived at Lake Wakitipu and drove on in to Queenstown. The weather was overcast and raining here, too. We barely got a glimpse of the mountains surrounding the lake. After driving through town and fueling up, we decided to abandon the trip and head home. Along the way back to Dunedin, we stopped at the TJ Hackett Bungy jumping site over the Kawarau river, the original bungy jumping site. We watched about 10 jumps. It was funny that seeing it in person made me more interested in trying it someday, but not today.

The road back took us through some interesting grape and fruit growing areas, including Cromwell, with its giant fruit. The rain kept us from getting out, though. A couple of hours later and we are home, trying to figure out how to dry everything.

Camping Trip

Tuesday we had grand plans. We were going to clean the house, then get ready for our trip. But right in the middle of the vacuuming, the new computer came. So we dropped everything and set it up. Of course before we set it up we had to reorganize the office and clean it. Then we put it together. It took about 2 hours in all, but now here it is:

It’s a “cheap” Dell with a 20″ screen – not bad, but I’m sure several of my friends would be very disappointed. At first it seemed dog-slow on the internet. I was about ready to call Dell to complain, but then I noticed that the free McAfee it came with seemed to be a bit bloated. It had all this anti-phishing, anti-spam, anti-this, anti-that – man, it was slow. I turned off most everything and it works much better.

Then we finally got going to run some errands for our camping trip. We went to Pak N Save supermarket because Hank really wanted to go there (it’s mentioned in Wallace and Grommit). Not my favourite, but fine. We hurried to The Warehouse to get some bins, but we didn’t find a chilly bin (cooler) we liked. Then home for dinner, but we weren’t in time to make dinner before Fa’s ballet class, so she left and we had pasta.

We went out later looking for a chilly bin, but we couldn’t find any stores open. Most close at 5:30 pm, except for the supermarkets which close at 8 or 9. We ended up going back to The Warehouse and got one that was acceptable for $85. Unbelievable. We should have sent ours! Finally, we thought we were ready.

Yesterday, we woke and began packing for our overnight trip. Somehow we filled the whole back of the car! We only had to get diesel and some white gas for our hiking stoves. I had heard we could get white gas at a petrol station, but BP didn’t have it. We tried The Warehouse – nope, only butane. By the way, no such thing as “white gas” here, try “white fuel”. We tried Katmandu – they sent us to the supermarket. New World – no, Countdown – no. We finally went to the outdoor shop which sold me the fishing license and they had one bottle of “Coleman Fuel”. They also said it was known as “fuel light”. Obviously not a popular product here.

We were finally on our way 2 hours late at 11:00. We drove Highway 1 south, through Milton and Balclutha, turning off on 92 to Owaka, then into the Catlins Region. We were heading for Purakaunui Bay Conservation Camp, which is run by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Fortunately, we had a good map (New Zealand Atlas) because at no point before we got there were there any signs for a campground or park. Turned on progressively smaller and smaller roads, we left open sheep country and entered native (somewhat) bush. Finally we came out on Purakaunui Bay. It’s an

amazingly beautiful place. Wow. Unbelievable. And under 2 hours from home.

We took a look around and chose a campsite, but right then we saw a Toyota Hilux Surf (Forerunner?) and a Subaru Legacy drive past us on to the beach and up to some other campsites, so we followed them. If I hadn’t seen them I probably wouldn’t have, but it was very easy with 4 wheel drive and high ground clearance. We set up camp on a grassy point right next to the beach.

We had lunch and changed into our wetsuits. The kids played in the little stream where it entered the surf while I waded with them. I was frozen and wouldn’t get in – too cold. I was a party-pooper because the conditions were a bit rough, so I didn’t let the kids do any boogie boarding. It was tough because there were several surfers out there in the big waves, but it looked too dangerous for us. Anyway, we had a great time.

We changed and the kids played in the sand for awhile while I drove back up the road to find cell phone reception. I did eventually and called Fa to tell her where we were. I guess phone reception is not that great or we were way out in the wilderness. I followed a Toyota Hiace (minivan) back to the camp, then passed it as I went back on the beach to our campsite. I was surprised to see a few minutes later it followed me out. Unfortunately, it immediately got stuck in the soft sand. This is not an off-road vehicle of any kind so it wasn’t unexpected. A British guy and his girlfriend were driving around the South Island in it. It was pretty run-down, but I think this was the worst that had happened to him so far. I helped dig him out and we pushed it back, but not quite far enough. He got stuck again and I helped dig him out one more time. Then he backtracked to the path from the sand to the road, where he got stuck again. This time I couldn’t help him. Everything we tried made it worse. He even tried jacking up the van, but it didn’t work and the jack bent the body of the van so much he couldn’t close his sliding door anymore. Some campers nearby tried towing him up with a Honda Accord – didn’t work. Finally he asked the surfers for some help and the Hilux came. They pulled it down and then, with a running start, pulled it up. Funny thing, though, when the Hilux unhitched the Hiace, it couldn’t move because it was stuck for the fourth time! On flat, grassy, ground. This time was the last because we quickly pushed it out of a hole and he was good as gold. He drove a few meters and parked for the night out of sheer relief. The door wouldn’t close, but by morning he had fixed the door enough to close it so he could drive the thing.

After that very interesting experience we had dinner. It was too windy for a campfire so we figured we’d cook over the stove. I hadn’t tried the hiking stoves before we left Dunedin and so of course they both had problems. In Olympia they worked great right before I sent them. Now the good one leaked, so I tried the not-so-good backup stove. It leaked less, but the burner wasn’t working right. After a long time Ginny’s veggie hotdogs were lukewarm. I got fed up and switched to the leaky good stove and voila, it didn’t leak anymore. After an hour wasted we quickly finished cooking with the good stove and ate. By now we were freezing as the sun dropped in the sky but we found we hadn’t brought any hot chocolate, tea, coffee, or Milo (Kiwi drink). So I boiled some water and drank it straight. Weird, but not bad. This prompted me to start a list of things we forgot, which reached about 15 by the time we got back. Better preparation next time.

After a short walk we went to bed by about 9:00. I wore just about everything I had with me (3 shirts & 3 sweaters) because I thought it would be cold. It turned out about right because I never was cold except my fingers. The kids did pretty well too, although Ginny woke up at 5:30 to put on another sweater. We slept in until 9:00, listening to the wind beating on the poor tent. We got up and had breakfast. It was much easier to cook this time because I got the stove up and running instantly and had water boiling for oatmeal in ten minutes. The kids played on the beach for a while and we briefly considered swimming, but it was too windy. We packed up the camp and headed home by noon. I stopped for a look at the Clutha River and decided I’d have to give it a try. It was my first attempt at fishing in New Zealand. No luck, though. I did see the didymo everyone’s talking about. It’s known as “rock snot” and now I see why. I didn’t see any on the bottom but there was a lot of it floating downstream through the water. It looks like a white algae. It didn’t affect me but would be a problem for spin anglers. After a stop for Hokey Pokey ice cream at a dairy in Milton, we reached home by 2:00.

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Slow day for the kids and I, very tough for Fa. We did more schoolwork. Hank had a very good day with his Language Arts, which has been a problem lately. Then Ginny had ballet while Hank and I went to the library. I picked Fa up at 8:00pm after 12 hours at school. We’re preparing for a camping trip tomorrow. Bye.