Training Log Archive: syd

Nelson Lakes NP: We were getting bored of sitting in the car so decided to stop at the Nelson Lakes NP visitors center and see if there were any short hikes we could do. As we were on our way out of the building, Kevin saw a permanent orienteering marking on the entry sign. He went back in to ask if there was a course and they gave us a couple maps! Sweet. Treated it rogaine style and hit all the points. We stuck to trails as it was pretty green. We were wondering if they hosted meets here, since the o-map was pretty detailed, and a short while later we saw a girl and her father emerge onto the trail carrying what looked like a map and compass. Turns out they were scouting for an event they are hosting later in November. What a coincidence! Excellent unplanned stop.



Pancake Rocks/Blowhole (no tracks): Neat rock formations, but the tide was out so no activity at the blow hole.

Punakaiki Caverns (no tracks): Just down the road there was a cavern you could just go in and explore. It wasn't that big, but there were a couple winding tunnels that went a ways back. Pretty cool that you can just wander around underground.



Cape Foulwind (no tracks): Hiked out to a point where you could see a seal colony on the rocks below. Really neat! It took us a few minutes to spot the seals, they blended in really well with the rocks, but once we knew what to look for they were all over the place. Seek and find photo below :)

Fox Glacier: Started the day with a hike up the Fox Glacier valley. The valley itself was really beautiful, with rocky mountains on either side. The glacier itself was underwhelming. The trail went to within 400 m of the terminal face, but from the angle we were at you couldn't get a feel for the size of the glacier. It just looked like a wall of ice/snow/rocks.

Franz Josef Glacier: Journeyed a short ways down the road to hike up the Franz Josef Glacier valley. While the valley itself was less picturesque, the glacier was awesome!! The trial went to within 800 m of the terminal face and the valley was angled so you could see the glacier extending up through the valley. It was massive. I really enjoyed this hike.

Tatere tunnels: A short hike up to a old tunnel. The shaft was originally dug to flow water from one river valley to the next to use in gold mining operations. Now it's just an empty tunnel that you can trek through! It was maybe 4 ft wide by 6 ft tall and went for at least a quarter mile. There was a lot of water on the floor. We took the tunnel all the way through the ridge to the other side and then back. Super cool!

Rob Roy Glacier: The rain from yesterday cleared and it was a beautiful day. Kevin found us a hike in Mt. Aspiring NP that led to a view of a glacier. Getting to the trailhead was an adventure in itself as we had to ford 8 or so streams in the car. When we arrived we saw another couple on mountain bikes decked out with climbing gear and with skiis on their packs! They told us they were planning to hike and then ski down Mt. Aspiring. Crazy. The hike started off through pastures (with cows) and then climbed up into the forest. After a while we emerged from the trees into a wide valley. There were snow capped mountains on both side with the glacier on one side. We weren't really sure where the glacier was specifically, but the views were great! And we were early enough that we had it to ourselves.





Blue Pools (no tracks): A touristy stop along the highway. Hiked down to a couple glacier fed pools that were crystal clear. It was pretty, but quite busy. We saw better pools on our morning hike.

Haast Pass (no tracks): Another short walk. We trekked up to a view point of Haast Pass. Not that exciting, but we were the only car in the parking lot, so at least we had it to ourselves!

Rocky Peak: A nice hike just outside Wanaka. Different terrain than what we had been hiking with forested areas and large rock outcroppings. At the top we had a great view of the lake and the surrounding mountains (although some were in the clouds).

Puzzling World: It was a rainy afternoon, so we opted for a break from hiking. We did a large maze, basically a corn maze but made of wood, that took us much longer than it should have! There was a cool tilted room too where everything looked like it rolled uphill.

Hooker Valley: An out and back hike up a valley to a lake. The views were stunning, with snow capped mountains in every direction. The lake was glacier fed and bright turquoise. We could see the end of the glacier where it met the water, but the top just looked like a boulder field. Not what I was expecting a glacier to look like.



Tasman Lake (no tracks): Another out and back over to a larger lake. This was a less popular track, so we mostly had it to ourselves. Hiked up to the main viewpoint first and had more amazing views of the mountains. We then trekked over to the mouth of the river that was flowing out of the lake. I think it ranks as the most beautiful place I've ever been. We were surrounded by mountains on three sides with a massive river plain stretching out in the other direction. So awesome.

A quick stop in Arthur's Pass NP on our way south. It was rainy and windy, so we just hiked up to the devils punchbowl to see a waterfall. It was neat, the water was really flowing. Once we drove through the pass it was nice and sunny on the other side and we had amazing views of the mountains.