The Great Ocean Road

Great start to our holiday (I know my life is a holiday but this is different!).

We flew into Melbourne yesterday evening and breezed through customs with all our drugs....those being anti-malarial, anti-biotic and anti all sorts of stuff. The plan was to get out of town quickly in our big uly white car we have hired and make tracks towards the northern end of the Great Ocean Road. By 8.30ish Australian we were ready to find somewhere to sleep. For once we played hard, turning down a couple of holiday parks that didn't meet our strict criteria of cheapness and friendliness. We eventually found a great little backpackers in Anglesea.

We woke on New Zealand time and decided to use the opportunity to see a sunrise. Breakfast was fruity bix on a boat ramp gazing out into the Southern Ocean. We couldn't quite work out where the Southern Ocean and the Tasman Sea, and for that matter the Indian all merge, but the Aussies seem convinced this is the Southern Ocean. The local headland is known as “Roadknight Point”, perhaps asking for trouble, but an awesome place. A wedge of gummy rocks stretches out into bay. At its point the rock has been worn down flat and the waves crash in flinging spray on the rock that slides off in a series of miniature rapids and waterfalls.

The Great Ocean Road (GOR) was created as a memorial to the soldiers of the first world war, and perhaps also reading between the lines as a project for the unemployed during the Great Depression, ala Milford Road in New Zealand. We headed off down this labour of love which winds between heath covered headlands and lush valleys with beach settlements backing onto rainforest. We had a brochure from the backpackers advertising the attractions of a guided tour in the region so thought we would try our luck “viewing wild koalas at Kennett River”. Our first attempt saw us assessing the villages constructed wetland designed to protect the local estuarine environment, informative but not really what we were after! So it was with some scepticism we headed up a gravel road signposted “koalas”, surely it wouldn't be that easy. But round the first bend two round bundles of fluff were spotted, live koala! Or were they just stuffed ones planted by enterprising locals, they weren't moving and surely koalas don't just sit there like owls put through a dryer? But further exploration revealed another 20 odd koala in the vicinity and the occasional one moving. Pennys favourite was a little cutie, down low enough that she could take a decent photo.

Moving on we paused for hot drinks in Apollo Bay, a pleasant seaside town with a big flat sand beach and lots of shops. The GOR continued in earnest after this but we decided to take a little diversion, to the beech forest, or at least the town called Beech Forest in the middle of the Otways. We stumbled really across a couple of the local tourist attractions Hopetoun and Triplet falls by following our nose through some groovy dirt roads in the rainforest.

Our diversion saw us at the top of a big plateau above the ocean drained by the Aire River. This catchment has one of the highest rainfalls in Victoria and is quite similar in character to native bush say in the Rotorua area except that instead of podocarps it has massive eucalypts towering above the lower canopy. We followed this river back down to the GOR and watched the vegetation change to the dryer, wind battered coastal scrub. I am reading Tim Flannery's Future Eaters at the moments which discusses at some depth the Australian ecosystem, the challenges faced by it and its uniqueness. The amazing insights he has includes the way the bush here operates not on a seasonal cycle but on a random cycle dictated by the El Nino phenomenon, Australia demonstrates the evolution of an ecosystem in a cycle of drought and deluge, and how resource scarce environments can encourage high levels of biodiversity as species specialise in energy deficient niches. Interesting stuff anyway to think about as we go around this first part of our journey.

Back down at the GOR, PK went for a run from Castle Cove towards Johannas while I strolled around taking photos and stopping myself devouring the left over Subway and peanut butter sandwiches which we ate for lunch when she returned. Endorphins released and hunger satiated we set back off along the GOR towards the series of classic coastal erosion examples epitomised by the Twelve Apostles, the Loch Ard Gorge and the Bay of Martyr's. Somehow from the peace and quiet of early in the day the road quickly became a zoo as the tourist buses centred in on the percieved highlight of the GOR. There really is only so much coastal erosion one can handle, its kind of like crappy biscuits the returns diminish quickly, especially when sugar levels are low :-)

But yeah great day, and looking forward to tomorrow which should see us, mtbing around Warrnambool using the complimentary bikes from our backpackers, exploring the local environment and nearby beaches before striking inland to the mighty Grampian mountains where in the hamlet of Halls Gap we should meet with Zane, Lindyl, Charlie and Scarlett, awesome.

Take care, out there.

The time has come...

On the road again starting today! Tonight we will all going well be in the vicinity of Torquay on the great ocean road. Our trip begins with a 5 day visit to Australia centred on some time in the Grampians with Zane, Lindyl, Scarlett and Charlie...can't wait to meet the twins.

The last month or so has been a blur, not through busyness by any means, but trying, largely fruitlessly, to distill some meaning or values from experiences of the last year or so. Penny and I start of this next adventure on a good footing having recently got engaged (after 7 1/2 years it still means a lot to commit privately and publically to living the rest of our lives together). We have managed to sort out the fundamentals of our wedding in January which will be great fun.

Yesterday we had a nice walk up onto the Craigeburn range above Castle Hill, great to be on some steepish country with an amazing view. We had ordered a ring for Penny from a local silversmith which I gave her at the top, almost a second engagement moment!

Although we are lucky to have the opportunity to go away it is sad to be be leaving Christchurch. Although many of our friends are going or gone already it has been great for me living with Lara, Matt and Andy J for the last six months. We look forward to seeing them in Sweden this September. And of course family, Mum, Dad, Sam, and Grandparents all here in Christchurch with Gemma doing a fantastic job teaching over in Westport. The transitory life has its drawbacks.

Nevertheless to the road we go...

Pukeamaru's 'riverteering'

Riverteering is a new sport halfway between boulder hopping and canyoning, requiring less equipment, skill and dedication than the latter and less agility than the former. It primarily exists of finding a likely creek and walking your way up it shrieking and jumping in pools and lying in the sun. This particular adventure took place in the Pukeamarus on the East Cape and starred four very absurd people Steve, Kathryn, Penny and Jamie.

Absurd is my word for the month. Theres actually quite a coherent philosophy called absurdism. Heres the crux:

For Camus, the beauty that people encounter in life makes it worth living. People may create meaning in their own lives, which may not be the objective meaning of life but still provides something for which to strive. However, he insisted that one must always maintain an ironic distance between this invented meaning and the knowledge of the absurd lest the fictitious meaning take the place of the absurd.

Anyway some reasonably absurd photos.

Dairy and Deforestation

I sent a letter to the listener today with the general subject of deforestation, dairy and biofuel. Somethings been bugging me recently about how high and mighty NZ can be about its world leading agricultural systems...and now our sustainable biofuel source through tallow. I reckon its only a quirk of fate and timing that has given us this opportunity, and we should be grateful for it.

"It's not that I support the importation of Kwila or deforestation of the worlds last 'paradises'. But isn't it time we get to grips with the irony that the Kwila deck chairs we laze on while downing our favourite lagers often rest on rimu floorboards and boxing. Just as our 'booming' dairy industry and wider agricultural sector rest on the gross deforestation of our country in the last one hundred and fifty years.

When Paul Kerr (letters) and Sarah Barnett (ecologic) discuss the true cost of dairying and the tragedy of bio-fuels, they could continue to note that both the dairy industry and our government are harvesting the proceeds of deforestation through 'dairy pay-outs' and 'sustainable' bio-fuels created from agricultural waste. In a globalised world, it is perhaps the treasures, biodiversity and carbon of places like West Papua that our government and largest company should seek to protect rather than our milk prices and false carbon conscience."

Alpine Mountain Marathon

I just wrote this up for Endurance Sport magazine. I am deliberately trying to break the adventure sport reporting mould. Lets just call it a more holistic approach.

Competitors in the Inaugural Alpine Mountain Marathon traversed the rugged edges of the newly formed Hakatere Conservation Park, ploughing up the slopes of Mt Somers, twisting through the streams of the Stour and the Swin before cascading from the slopes of the Clent Hills to the finish on the glassy Lake Heron.

Mountain Marathons can best be described as competitive tramping races. Teams, self sufficient with shelter and food, journey through wild terrain using their endurance, cunning and bush skills to edge ahead of rival teams competing to reach the overnight campsite first, and then the finish. It's orienteering writ large, rogaining with racing, adventure racing without the complications.

With the success of the government's tenure review programme huge new areas are being opened to the public in the back-country of the South Island. Opportunities for tramping, hunting, mountain biking and 4WDing are expanding quickly, while the potential for more exciting events whether they be commercial or not for profit, that can help to alert the outdoors community to these new possibilities is massive.

The Alpine Mountain Marathon set out with this purpose to showcase the brand new Hakatere Conservation park a vast area of rugged hills, rivers and wetlands centred on the Ashburton Lakes Region famous for its high country stations such as Erewhon and Mt Potts. The Hakatere conservation park includes the popular Mt Somers Area; replete with its unique geology, startling canyons, and startled skinks but unfortunately without its once famous sauna; as well as the nationally important O Tu Wharekai wetlands.

However the brave competitors didn't know this when they rocked up to cathedral square on a rainy Saturday morning. The location was a mystery only to be revealed by a nervous bus trip (shouldn't all event organisers internalise the transport costs and ensure environmental efficiency?). As the bus headed south the skies quickly cleared and by Rakaia the foothills could be seen clearly with a light dusting of snow. As the bush headed through Mt Somers and hung a right the Woolshed Creek start was revealed. A quick briefing and the teams were off into the beech forest.

They were soon to find this was a navigation event with an interesting twist. The organisers had chosen several interesting areas to map in fine detail, an old mining area, a giant cascade of boulders (otherwise known as the water caves), and the scenic environs of a hut where an interesting feature was an array of 44 gallon drums fashioned into dog kennels. It was straight into the old mining area, with checkpoints scattered through the flotsam and jetsam, and trolleys and sluicings.

Courtesy of course planner for the day, adventure racing world champion Chris Forne, it was then straight up the tussocky talllused slopes of Mt Somers, although not before the depths of Watershed Creek had been plummeted for a waterfall control. Out of the blocks quickly were the favourites, Aucklanders surprisingly. Phil Wood of Lactic Turkey fame is one of the countries best navigators while Ross Rotherham has been known to do well in the odd multisport race, including that little one in February they call the Coast to Coast. They were followed by a bevy of top outdoors people; the Prince family was out in force, West Coast nut bar Tim Sikma was grinning and suffering, while World Rogaine Champion Dennis de Monchy was looking mean.

Down off Mt Somers and the Aucklanders maintained a slight advantage having mastered the maze of the water caves. At Woolshed creek hut organisers were ensuring all teams were disinfected for didymo before they headed off west into the Stour catchment and around the fringes of the O Tu Wharekai. The metaphorical journey began here; a change of horizons from the wide deforested expanse of the plains to the flickering golden mountainous basin. Te Wari of the Waitaha trod this land once spreading the Mana of Aotea Roa, forging the connection between the people and land. An age ago, but a moment ago in the vast landscape that greeted teams in the setting sun.

The long traverse of the Manuka range took its toll on competitors, many greeted the moon before they finally collapsed at the idyllic campsite and warm fire of Double Hut. By moonlight the silhouettes of the mountain ranges fringed the horizon and as the sun rose the first rays of light struck the Arrowsmith range across the valley on the other side of Lake Heron. Teams brewed up again for breakfast or just sat watching the sunrise. The Aucklanders still lead the long course “the Classic” while Colin and Chris Dixon were in front in “The Charmer”.

The idea was that the Classic would challenge even the most hardened teams, with cut-offs available for those who couldn't handle the pace. In the event no team finished the full course, creating a challenge for future years. The Charmer on the other hand was meant to be, well charming. A navigation challenge in rugged and beautiful terrain for older, younger and less confident competitors. An opportunity to smell the rosehip if you wanted to. From the get go on the second day this was achieved. After teams recovered from the surprise of micronavigation at the start, the Charmer teams traversed towards the mouth of the Swin while the Classic teams quickly thought up strategies to make the most of the time available. Many completing a loop along the Longwood range before returning to Double Hut and ascending the steep ridge to access terraces high above the Swin.

Early movers were the team of DeMonchy and Robert Jarvis. A bad error early on day 1 had reduced them to also-rans but they were determined to make ammends, opening up a 10 minute lead through brute physical force. High up the Swin river as it narrowed and Clent Hills saddle loomed teams were forced to make choices over which checkpoints to chase, the highest checkpoint carving across the scree at about 1800metres intimidating many. Jelly legs from the day before forced many to retreat tumvling down the true right of the Swin joining the Charmers on the alluvials fans and terraces feeding into Lake Heron.

To the finish and it was the mornings leaders who held their nerve to be greated first by the stink of the BBQ then by the happy organisers. Also worthy of mention were Aaron and Lara Prince mixed winners of the Classic course and second overall. After a relaxing afternoon, complete with a "mountains" and "marathons" quiz to decide the spot prizes provided courtesy of Montrail. The bus rolled off back to Cathedral Square, leaving the lake and the mountains lying in the sun. To check more photos and results look at www.madeventz.co.nz/alpinemm

Goth Party

The guy is my flatmate, and the girl on the left, I think thats Kenny Pane...

Karyn's Christening

Some of my favourite people: Aaron, Sara and Baby Karyn at Karyn's christening during February at the Arthurs Pass Chapel. They're off to Sweden now, Aaron via the Primal Quest in America. Friends dispersing over the world is a sad part of life these days.

The chapel at Arthurs Pass is a very spiritual place integrated into the surrounding bush with the light and sound flowing in from the bushy cascades through the nave.

I don't often notice many cultural differences with Sara (maybe its because I am blind to it!) but there is definitely an interesting different relationship between the Church and the people in Sweden, largely perhaps because the Church and the State were only seperated this century. Swedes like their religious ceremonies: "68 percent are baptised, 60 percent are married and 87 of funerals are held in church." even though less than 1% attend church regularly. I couldn't find the figures for NZ but would suspect despite much higher church attendances that the baptism (or christening) figure would be much lower...

A highlight ofthe ceremony apart from the smiling Karyn was Sara's brother in law Anders singing very well the traditional Swedish hymn's that go along with this occasion.

The christening and the gathering at the bach afterwards was a great occasion with a nice mix of family of friends who will be part of Karyn's community as she grows up. And also doubled as a celebration of Aaron and Sara and their relationship in lieu of the wedding in Sweden in September which many will be unable to attend. Good luck guys we'll miss you heaps.