Awesome Mt. Aspiring

Last weekend (have I mentioned my weekends begin on Thursdays?), I headed out of Dunedin and towards the South Island's Mt. Aspiring National Park.  The plan was for Louis and myself to go tramping in the park's Rob Roy Valley, known for it's glaciers and alpine vistas (route in red at right).

Unlike previous adventures, this trip started with a long drive in a car instead of a bus.  To get to Wanaka (the closest town) we rented a car and drove.  This was a new experience for me because it meant driving on the left hand side of the road.  It didn't take long to adjust, but I still prefer driving out of town where I don't have to think about how to make turns!

The other interesting part of the drive was that we got stuck with a manual transmission meaning that I had to do all of the driving (Louis can't drive stick) and learn to shift with my left hand.  The switch wasn't nearly as difficult as tackling shifting on New Zealand's very steep roads.  However, I still managed to enjoy the beautiful fall scenery as it passed by.

Our first day on the trail (Friday) had been preceded by several days of rain, but we were still surprised when, with more than 10 km to go to the official trail head, the dirt road we had been following disappeared beneath a stream.  Theoretically this 'ford' shouldn't have been a problem, but since we were driving a very small rented car, and there was more rain in the forecast we decided not to chance it.  Thus the ford became our trail head. 

After a few hours of walking we reached the real trail head, and after a stop for lunch got our first views of the West Matukituki Valley.  From there it was only two hours to Aspiring Hut where we stayed for two nights.

We were especially glad to be in a hut with a warm fire because that night it poured....

The next morning we awoke to stunning views of the surrounding peaks through the hut's huge windows.  Beautiful, but we wanted to get closer so we decided to day hike up a bit higher to Liverpool Hut.

The hike up to Liverpool Hut was a steep one.  Although it appeared to involve a significant elevation increase over a reasonable horizontal distance, it actually ended up being a fairly flat walk until the last hour and a half when we climbed one km over a distance of one km.  1:1 Oofda!

But oh how the views were worth it!  After an extended lunch at the hut we had trouble leaving because it was so beautiful.  But as we reached the valley floor we were rewarded with views of the setting sun on the surrounding peaks.

On our final day of tramping we hiked up to the Rob Roy Glacier which was spectacular but photographed poorly due to the rain.

That afternoon we hiked back to the real trail head and then caught a ride back to our car with a couple of Kiwis who were on their way back from a weekend of trout fishing.

Back on the main road at 3pm, we made a stop for Thai food and drove through the dark (singing the Beatles and Paul Simon at the top of our lungs to keep awake) back to Dunedin.

But as usual.....there's still more!

The next morning we woke up at 5:30am and headed off to see the penguin colony on the Dunedin Peninsula.  The penguins are most active at dawn and dusk and since we had the rental car until 10 it was the perfect opportunity.  We also got to see the sunrise!   

Cruising back into Dunedin (this time singing the Bee Gees and Buddy Holly) at 8:25, just in time for Louis' 9am class, we congratulated ourselves on another successful weekend escape.

Next weekend, I'm headed off to Mt. Cook with Jeff and Peter (fellow Mac students) so more fantastic pictures of snow-capped peaks await! 

Love,
Allison

Coasting through the Catlins

Last weekend I escaped increasingly chilly Dunedin and headed off on a fantastic adventure with the tramping club to the Catlins.

The Catlins are located on the coastline south of Dunedin and are beautifully rugged cliffs and beaches which are the perfect location for day hikes.  Unfortunately, they are also known for being rainy this time of year (as is much of the South Island) so we decided to stay at a holiday park with dorm rooms.

Our first day we headed off to one of the area's beaches known for its exposures of the Southland Syncline.  If you don't know what a syncline is, don't worry, basically what I'm saying is that this beach had really exciting rock outcrops!  But not only did this beach have beautifully dipping beds, it also had some exciting erosional features, beautiful sands and fascinating sedimentological structures.

Let me show you what I mean....

 Lots of caves and channels which show the dipping beds

Crazy fluvial erosion features that have been filled in with pink algae











Beautiful purple beach sands composed of shell fragments

Hummocky swaley sedimentary structures representing massive storm events.







OK, so now that I've finished geeking out about the rocks (at least from the first stop) I can tell you about the rest of our time at the beach.  After walking for about 45 minutes over the rocky coast we reached a very steep and rocky cliff which we could not go around.  So we had to go up the cliff and back down the other side.  The up part wasn't too bad (a lot of holding on to tree roots and slipping and sliding) but when we got to the top it wasn't immediately clear how to get back down.  I followed a few other people down a little ways, but it became clear that as more people passed along the same route it got slicker and slicker until it reached the point where I lost my footing and smacked my tailbone on a rock (ow!).

At that point I decided that it was probably best to try to find my own route.  I started off in my own direction and was doing quite well until the branch I was hanging from snapped, causing me to slide down the remaining 15 feet.  I landed at the bottom (on my feet) and am proud to say that not only did I get down faster than anyone else, but I also won a tramping club award (a Speights beer) for the most graceful descent.  The only drawback was that I emerged with a bloody torso and a bruised rib.  I'll live.

But that was only the first stop on the first day!!

Next we headed off to a fossilized forest which was created when volcanic activity inundated the area, preventing the decomposition of a coastal forest.  This was really cool because not only were the trunks still perfectly preserved several million years later but they actually still looked fresh!

It was also at this beach that the sun finally came out making this late afternoon picture possible.

Our last stop that day was to visit the southernmost point on the South Island.  This is probably the closest I will ever get to Antarctica unless I get hooked on studying ice this summer at LDEO.  Strangley, I found out that I was not actually nearly as far south as I had imagined myself to be.  This point is only about halfway between the Equator and the South Pole.

So why is it so COLD here?

The next day we made our first stop at Jack's Blowhole (which sucked-haha) and then moved on to Purakaunui Falls.

Next, was a stop at Cannibal Beach where we ate a delicious protein-rich lunch (no joke, I do not lie) and saw a raft of sea lions.  This was pretty exciting because they were very active and vocal.  I took a few videos of them playing/fighting but mostly we tried not to disturb them because they are a 'threatened species' and protected under the Marine Mammals Act of New Zealand.

Our final stop of the trip was at the Nugget Point Lighthouse where I was again enthralled by the rocks.  In fact I was so distracted that I seem to have forgotten to take any pictures of the lighthouse except this one from afar. 

Check out the bedding in those nuggets!!!  Rotated 90 degrees!!!

And that was my trip to the Catlins!  This weekend I'm hanging out in Dunedin where I'm spending most of my time in the library writing three papers and procrastinating by updating my blog.  The semester is coming to a close (I'm leaving on the 3rd of June-less than a month) but never fear, two more adventures are in the works.  Thursday I'm heading off with Louis go tramping in a location which we will decide upon Wednesday morning (see how spontaneous I've become!) when he returns from doing the Kepler.  This trip should be made extra exciting by the fact that we will be renting a car and driving on the left side of the road!  Then, if we manage not to get into an accident or die in a snowstorm, we're headed off to do some hiking around Mt. Cook the following Thursday.

Much love,

Allison