We’ve now finished three weeks of working for Dave and Gordon in Barracuda. See www.barracudakayaks.co.nz if you want to see the boats. We got the order for Oz finished and shipped off on time. I now know all about all the bits that go onto and into sea kayaks, and Sean knows a good bit about cutting the plastic and putting the pieces together to make a boat. It’s been fun, and we’ll be working there for the next while on and off. It suits both us and the company for us to work at times and have spare time to travel at other times.
We’ve been kept busy in the evenings after work too. Monday evenings I have training with the Ladies A Grade polo team, Tuesday is training with the mixed B Grade team and Thursdays is the pool session for the whole club. Fridays tend to be traveling and on Wednesdays we get a bit of a break unless we go for a swim while Dave and Greg are playing fish feeding (underwater hockey). It’s a busy life!
Today is ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Core) day so we got to have a lie in, I’ve given Sean a haircut, and I’ve caught up with my blog at last! Yeay!
Friday 25 April 2008
Polo comp in Otaki
Getting into a bit of a habit, our second Friday of work was also cut short, again hopping into Dave’s van, but this time heading down to Otaki, just an hour short of Wellington. Steve from work also was coming with us, and along the way we picked up Nic and Scott. Cam had filled his van with all the boats for the weekend so we just piled our bags into Dave’s van and the seven of us headed south. After a very very long drive we got to Otaki and picked up the keys for the scout hall we were staying in for the weekend, conveniently located right beside the pool the games were on in! After a bit of indoor cricket (played with a plank and tennis ball) we headed off to bed.
This weekend was the first for the Grade B teams. Auckland club had two teams entered and had structured them to have two even teams. I was playing on Hammerheads with Sean, Cam, Andy Candy and Alistair (so no subs!), while Dave, Nic, Steve, Scott, Martin and Stacey were playing on Mako. Our team started off well on Saturday, winning two games and drawing with the strongest team in our group. However, on Sunday we lost our last match in the group stages, leaving us in 3rd place and playing for 7th to 9th place. It was a close run thing though, as one more goal at the right time in the group stages would have resulted in us playing for 4th to 6th place, and two goals at the right times would have left us playing for 1st to 3rd!
However, that was not to be and we ended up coming 9th after another draw and a loss. It wasn’t so bad though, as Mako came 10th so we were still ahead of them!
Then it was off back to Auckland to be ready for work the next morning, feeling like a normal Monday morning, wrecked after a polo comp!
This weekend was the first for the Grade B teams. Auckland club had two teams entered and had structured them to have two even teams. I was playing on Hammerheads with Sean, Cam, Andy Candy and Alistair (so no subs!), while Dave, Nic, Steve, Scott, Martin and Stacey were playing on Mako. Our team started off well on Saturday, winning two games and drawing with the strongest team in our group. However, on Sunday we lost our last match in the group stages, leaving us in 3rd place and playing for 7th to 9th place. It was a close run thing though, as one more goal at the right time in the group stages would have resulted in us playing for 4th to 6th place, and two goals at the right times would have left us playing for 1st to 3rd!
However, that was not to be and we ended up coming 9th after another draw and a loss. It wasn’t so bad though, as Mako came 10th so we were still ahead of them!
Then it was off back to Auckland to be ready for work the next morning, feeling like a normal Monday morning, wrecked after a polo comp!
Rangitiki River
On our first working week, Friday was cut short by being bundled into Dave’s van and heading to the Rangitiki River for the weekend, to a free campsite at the Anawhenua Power Station. As plans changed along the way, we switched into Greg’s car, which turned out to be quite good as we got to have a sneaky burger stop along the way to keep us going until meeting for dinner in Tirau! The campsite was very nice for a free campsite, with proper toilets and even a solar shower! As soon as we got there Sean was planning a return trip sometime for training!
On Saturday we all set off to do the Anawhenua section of the river, an easy Grade II. There were quite a lot of beginners with us though, so care was needed. I took our youngest paddler, a boy called Campbell, down the river in a topo duo (2 person boat) which was fun, though he really didn’t appreciate getting splashed, so gave out to me for heading for the parts with most waves! Sean was also in a topo duo with Campbell’s mum, Karrn, having her second ever time in a kayak. There were about 16 of us there in all, though some stayed dry and went up and down the river in the prototype jet boat with Dave.
That evening, making dinner was a bit chaotic, by lamplight, with everyone trying to be helpful somehow. Spaghetti Bolognese made by over a dozen people… We ended up with a team of spaghetti makers, including a Director, Manager, and me, the stirrer. It was fantastic spaghetti when we were finished with it!
The next day a smaller group of us did the Anawhenua section again. This time I was in a boat on my own (a Rad 180 which felt really tiny after the big topo duo) and looking after Karrn, who did really well on the white water bits, but did manage to fall over on a flat bit! Later on, six of us; Dave, Nic, Greg, Chris, Sean and I, did the mid section of the river, which was fun. It’s really Grade II but it’s so continuous it merits a Grade III rating. The water level was a bit low but we enjoyed it, and would love to do it again when it’s a bit higher.
On Saturday we all set off to do the Anawhenua section of the river, an easy Grade II. There were quite a lot of beginners with us though, so care was needed. I took our youngest paddler, a boy called Campbell, down the river in a topo duo (2 person boat) which was fun, though he really didn’t appreciate getting splashed, so gave out to me for heading for the parts with most waves! Sean was also in a topo duo with Campbell’s mum, Karrn, having her second ever time in a kayak. There were about 16 of us there in all, though some stayed dry and went up and down the river in the prototype jet boat with Dave.
That evening, making dinner was a bit chaotic, by lamplight, with everyone trying to be helpful somehow. Spaghetti Bolognese made by over a dozen people… We ended up with a team of spaghetti makers, including a Director, Manager, and me, the stirrer. It was fantastic spaghetti when we were finished with it!
The next day a smaller group of us did the Anawhenua section again. This time I was in a boat on my own (a Rad 180 which felt really tiny after the big topo duo) and looking after Karrn, who did really well on the white water bits, but did manage to fall over on a flat bit! Later on, six of us; Dave, Nic, Greg, Chris, Sean and I, did the mid section of the river, which was fun. It’s really Grade II but it’s so continuous it merits a Grade III rating. The water level was a bit low but we enjoyed it, and would love to do it again when it’s a bit higher.
The last of our holidays... for a while!
While we were in Christchurch I got a call from Dave in Auckland. Barracuda got a big order for sea kayaks from Oz so they were pretty busy and had a week or two’s work for us if we wanted it. After six months of traveling and no working, it was time for us to work again! So, we started making our way back up to Auckland.
First stop off the ferry was Wellington where we met up with Alan again, who had just started his first week in his new job. We also went to the Te Papa Museum, a massive six storey building with free entry! Although I’m not very fond of big museums (due to a personal belief that I must see everything in them and therefore tire myself out) it was really good and well worth visiting. It had a section on the earthquakes and volcanic activity in New Zealand, the Maoris, the Scots and other immigrants over the years.
We then went back up to Taupo for the weekend and met up with all our friends there. Sean was delighted to get to paddle his downriver boat again. We’d left it behind as it was too awkward to bring it in the van (it only just fits in and cuts off all conversation as it blocks the view from driver to passenger) and we didn’t have roof bars. When we were in Auckland just after getting the van we were quoted about $656 for roof bars as the roof is so high above the gutters on the van, but we finally got a brand new pair in Christchurch for just $150! They were old stock and that design isn’t being produced any more, but we were more than happy to get them.
And so, all packed up again, we drove back up to Auckland. Dave had everything arranged for us, including our accommodation, boarding with his parents. And so, we were all ready to start work bright and early on Monday morning, for the first time since last August for me!
First stop off the ferry was Wellington where we met up with Alan again, who had just started his first week in his new job. We also went to the Te Papa Museum, a massive six storey building with free entry! Although I’m not very fond of big museums (due to a personal belief that I must see everything in them and therefore tire myself out) it was really good and well worth visiting. It had a section on the earthquakes and volcanic activity in New Zealand, the Maoris, the Scots and other immigrants over the years.
We then went back up to Taupo for the weekend and met up with all our friends there. Sean was delighted to get to paddle his downriver boat again. We’d left it behind as it was too awkward to bring it in the van (it only just fits in and cuts off all conversation as it blocks the view from driver to passenger) and we didn’t have roof bars. When we were in Auckland just after getting the van we were quoted about $656 for roof bars as the roof is so high above the gutters on the van, but we finally got a brand new pair in Christchurch for just $150! They were old stock and that design isn’t being produced any more, but we were more than happy to get them.
And so, all packed up again, we drove back up to Auckland. Dave had everything arranged for us, including our accommodation, boarding with his parents. And so, we were all ready to start work bright and early on Monday morning, for the first time since last August for me!
Moving North
Further up the East Coast from Christchurch lies Kaikoura, renowned for whale watching. There is a sudden drop in the shelf off the coast, which means they don’t have to go far from the coast to see plenty of whales. We booked onto a boat trip and set off with cameras in hand. Each time we were moving in the boat they explained a bit more about the whales to us, with the help of a screen at the front of the boat.
We were in luck for the trip, it was a calm sunny day, and they had been tracking two sperm whales all day. We rushed straight out to where one had just come up for air. It was strange to see one sperm whale sitting at the surface of the water, with two boat loads of tourists around it and two tourist planes flying overhead. The sperm whales usually spend about 10 years in this area so I assume they’re quite used to all the fuss at this stage! This one was called Little Nick, due to a distinctive nick in his tail. We watched dutifully, seeing only a tiny fraction of the bulk of the whale above the water, until the exciting finale when he dived, showing us his tail. They usually dive for about 40 minutes to feed before coming back up for air again, so we set off to find the other whale they were tracking that day, Tiaki. We got two separate views of Tiaki, of a similar nature to that watching Little Nick. Here's a picture of sperm whales showing how much we see above the water and how much more there is below:
While Tiaki was feeding between our views of him, we also saw a lone Wandering Albatross sitting minding his own business floating on the sea, and a school of Dusky Dolphins. There were an estimated three or four hundred dolphins in the school, and they leapt and played just as you’d expect from Dolphins. I hadn’t realised there would be so many in one school and it was amazing to see. I really enjoyed the trip, though I would love to have been able to go underwater and see just how big the whales were as we really could see so little of them from the boat, and what we could see was still immense!
We then went back to visit Marie and Ross in Nelson again as promised, and had a few nice relaxing days with them, including making a trip to the “centre” of New Zealand, strangely located on the top of a hill overlooking Nelson. I’m sure it was close enough to the centre!
Finally, it was time to say farewell to the South Island for a while, and we hopped on the ferry on April Fools Day.
Christchurch
On the edge of Christchurch stands Mount Victoria, which has some mountain biking trails that we thought would be fun to try out and so we drove up the mountain via Lyttelton. When we got there, we got a map of the tracks and studied it for a while, before deciding that it all looked far too energetic (steep) and really we should just enjoy the views from the top of the mountain! It was very impressive as we drove down along the scenic route, with the blue sea, the mountain and the city to see.
Back down in the city we went for a walking tour, following the directions in my Lonely Planet. At the city centre there is a fine cathedral and square, which always has a few street performers or buskers to entertain everyone. Finally we found a city with a clear centre, an unusual thing for New Zealand. Christchurch is a very English city though, so perhaps that is why. It is full of older buildings, trams and even has punting available! We spent some time in the Museum there also, which has sections on the Moas, an extinct New Zealand bird, some breeds of which were over 2 metres tall, the Scott base, and also a section on early types of transport, including a penny farthing (safely attached to a wall) which you can try out. We found a better place to mountain bike too – Bottle Park is to the north of the city and is quite flat, but has good mountain biking tracks none the less. While we were in Christchurch we went out there with our bikes several times, and also ran there a couple of times. I did my first ever Orienteering Event there too. Sean has done it plenty of times at home so did a different course to me. When it was my turn to go, I was all set up with my map and a few tips from Sean as to how to navigate. You had a card that you had to punch at several different markers, reaching each in the correct order, the fastest time around the course winning. Despite having some difficulty trying to identify hills that really were just bumps I came 3rd in my division, and Sean came 4th in his. Not too bad for my first attempt I reckon!
We met up with another Irish paddler just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Alan played polo in UL on Friday nights back when we were in college and has been living here for about 7 years now. We spent the rest of our time in Christchurch staying at his house. It turned out to be quite a hectic visit as we had to celebrate Paddy’s Day and my birthday and Alan was about to move up to Wellington with his job, so was busy with leaving parties too. We managed to cook ourselves a roast dinner for Easter Sunday though after playing on the slides and wave pools in the QEII Centre for the afternoon! After staying with him for about a week, we discovered that his little sister was the year behind me in Alex too.
Sean and I met up with an ex DCU paddler, Hannah, and her boyfriend Tim one day also. They have been working on a farm near Ashburton since getting here and were amazed at the time we’ve spent traveling. Tim studied agriculture, and they are crying out for farm workers here to the extent of advertising how good a life it is on the TV, so he had his job organised before leaving home. It was good to catch up with them though and they were grateful for the tips on where to go!
Eventually we decided that it was just starting to get too cold on the South Island and it was time to go north for winter, so we left the fun in Christchurch, with Alan coming behind us ready to move to Wellington.
The Scenic Route, Dunedin to Christchurch
From Dunedin we drove straight up Highway 1 to Timaru where we met Ross, our friend from Nelson, in the campsite we chose. Promising to call in to Nelson before going back to the North Island, we set off the next day on the scenic route to Christchurch. Along the way we stopped in Peel Forest and spent a few hours walking there, going to see the 'big tree' and the 'waterfall'. See the pictures - very exciting... When we set off again, Sean spotted a mountain biking track at Mount Oxford on our map, which we decided could occupy us the next day. Having spent the last while touring only, we were eager to get some exercise to break up the site seeing.
When we got to Oxford that evening we decided to drive up to the start of the track, which turned out to be through some private looking land. When we were there we saw another possible start on the map of the tracks, and thinking it might be a more normal access point we drove that direction. Having made it through four shut gates, 2 fiords and a very bad pothole filled track, we finally reached the start of the track! After enjoying the view we’d bounced so hard to get to see, we agreed that we could start from the first place the next day! The track itself turned out to be hard going for me. We spent most of the first 20 minutes pushing or carrying our bikes along the track, which I was not very pleased about! After battling on for about three quarters of an hour we turned around, and the downhill part of the track was quite fun! Sean even managed a good tumble, nearly taking me down with him, in front of two walkers we’d just passed, much to their amusement!
After dusting ourselves off we finally made it to Christchurch, planning on staying a little longer this time!
Tuesday 1 April 2008
To Dunedin
From Hanmer Springs, we headed on down through Christchurch towards Dunedin. On the way we stopped to see the Moeraki Boulders, strange round boulders on the beach which scientists believe were not washed up, but rather were eroded from the mudstone cliffs behind. The boulders themselves have suffered more erosion with a strange network of cracks appearing.When we arrived in Dunedin we met up with Kerry, an old friend of Sean’s who moved over here with her parents about 6 years ago. They had a lot of catching up to do so we stayed a few days. While there we went on a tour of the Cadbury World factory, which we got very excited about, looking for Oompa Loompas all around the factory! In the end, although they did give us some tasty chocolate, it was just a tour of a factory, so not something I’d rush to do again – it would be cheaper to just buy the chocolate from a shop than pay for the tour!
We also went to see the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in the old Railway Building (apparently the most photographed building in New Zealand, though I have no idea how they would calculate that!) and it was well worth the visit. They pay tribute to sporting heroes of all sorts, in a great diversity of sports.
Finally, we walked up Baldwin Street, the worlds steepest street, with a gradient of 1 in 1.266. It is very steep… We went the day before the annual Gutbuster Race, a race up and down the street. I’d say that’s pretty tough!
Bullerfest
We made our way back up to Murchison again in time for Bullerfest and met Larry Feeley and his family there. His son, Lorcan, races Wildwater with Sean. They are spending about 6 weeks here travelling around the country.
Bullerfest started on Friday with the Extreme Race. Sean and I decided to brave it in our slow boats so assembled at the start. The format is the same as the Boatercross at home. Usually four paddlers starting at the top of the rapid, and first 1/2 paddlers to the finish line go through to the next round. We all got a test run first and were then put into heats according to our placing. That was quite useful, as plenty of us had never even seen what was around the corner from the start, let alone knew where we should go down it!
For my first test run heat the starter was obviously getting a bit impatient and shouted “go” while the four of us were in random places on the river. I paddled off as fast as I could in the Scud (it’s a very very slow boat!) and through a bit of guile managed to knock one of the girls out and managed to come third. I was just happy not to come last! It turned out that the whitewater around the corner was fun but not very difficult. Sean came third in his heat too.
With that run over, we hauled our boats back upstream, cursing the slowness of both our boats, ready for the next run. There was a great bit of banter amongst the paddlers as first runs were discussed, and plans made for the second run, some taking the whole thing a lot more seriously than others. Then I was up again. This time I was all ready at the line when we started, nearly too close though as I nearly got my head taken off by the starters rope… Not to be deterred I paddled like fury again, still moving quite slowly in my lovely Scud though… However, adopting the same tactics as last time I managed to bang into someone on the way and again not come last! Of course I didn’t come 1st or 2nd either though, so that was the end of my racing for the day. Sean also came 3rd again in his run. The two of us are pretty sure we could have made it through the first heat at least if we only had a faster boat!!!
With that moaning done we enjoyed the rest of the racing before paddling the rest of the way down the river. That was nearly like a race in itself as we had Lorcan with us who decided to paddle the whole way down as fast as possible! We were trying to introduce the concept of eddies to him, but he was determined to get home for his tea! It was all great fun though. Oh, and it was on the Earthquake section of the Matakitaki River. The party that night was pretty good too!
Murchison, like the rest of the country, was pretty lacking in water at that stage, and the organisers were having some difficulty because of the low levels of the rivers. However, it started raining at last on Friday night. But then it didn’t really stop for a few days…
Saturday’s event was Slalom together with a Raft Race on the O’Sullivan’s section of the Buller River. Though Sean and I didn’t take part, we went down to have a look, until we got wet through and went back to our campsite for tea that is. The course was looking a bit hairy at that stage though. Two gates had been taken out of the course altogether. Apparently the water rose over 1½ feet over the course of the racing, and it had already risen quite a bit overnight, the course having been laid the day before. It was a hard course to run, though thankfully there were some fine slalom paddlers there to do it properly.
By Sunday, the rivers had swollen so much the planned Big Air competition was cancelled. Mainly as the organisers were quite worried that the ramp would be washed away. To explain to the non-paddlers out there, a big air comp involves paddlers going down a slide in their kayaks and trying to flip their boat in some sort of a fancy way before they hit the water. I was really looking forward to seeing it too! So instead, we all assembled for the prize giving, followed by the handing out of a massive amount of spot prizes. They’ve a huge number of great sponsors for this event, which is no wonder cos it’s a great weekend and well organised. Well done to all the lads and lasses who work so hard to pull it off!
After the excitement of Bullerfest we drove to Hanmer Springs and spent some time lounging (in the rain which still hadn’t stopped) in the hot pools for which the town is famous. It is quite a lot cleaner than the water in Spa Park (Taupo) but much the same thing, only this time you have to pay for it. It was a nice evening though and a good experience. We’re not the sort of people who would enjoy spending a day there though!
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