Green Lake Tramp- May 21-23

Once upon a time, my kea-catching mate Nick told me of a mystical lake in the south of Fiordland National Park, tucked away in the cradle of the Southern Alps. He told a beautiful tramp through forests and wetlands in the shadow of the snow-covered mountaintops. From that time I was determined to go to Green Lake, and successfully convinced my mates to ventured out to the southwest for a weekend adventure to Green Lake on the 21st of May.

And so, in typical fashion, we headed out for Green Lake early on a Saturday morning. Barbara and I accompanied the Spaniard crew- Ferran, Marc, Carmen, and Maria- on the drive through the rolling country hills of NZ to the Southern Alps, where our 4 hour tramp began. The tramp started typically, with lush green forests and perfect weather. Soon we found ourselves in marshland inhabited by tall grasses and big puddles. In no time our boots and pants were soaked, and the sneaky bog ground claimed dry leg after dry leg, and soon had us all soaked up to our knees. Barbara was at one time almost completely consumed  by the soggy earth, but we saved her at the last second from death-by-wetland. Patches of snow proved to be loads of fun and sparked battles and countless sneak-attacks. Blessed once more with sunshine and good times, the tramp was over far too soon and we arrived at the Green Lake Hut.

The Green Lake Hut was really cool. It only sleeps 12 people, and we had heard on the way up that a group of Isrealis were on their way to the hut, and that there would be no room for us! Fortunately, when we arrived, there were only 5 other people there- an older group of trampers, and a mother and son group from Dunedin. We all hung around the hut and chatted and made food. The other groups even gave us some of their custard dessert! We played the game where you put a famous persons name on your forehead and then go around the circle and ask questions in order to figure out who you are. We played for a while around the fire, then went outside to stargaze by the lake before sleepy time.

The next day the other groups left early and we slept in and hung out at the hut for a long time. We kept making food and tea and played Pinchazo, a spanish card game. After contemplating spending another night at the hut, we ended up heading back. For the return tramp, we played the person-guessing game as we walked, which was a lot of fun. The weather was a bit rainy this time, but the tramp was heaps of fun!

Can you find Marc hiding to attack us with snowballs?

I almost forgot- we saw an entire rainbow- the first I have ever seen! Unfortunately, as a consequence, I can no longer believe in leprechauns...



1800's pose- Inside joke with dad and I!

 Another successful tramp complete, with beautiful scenes and awesome friends! Cheers New Zealand!
Love to All!

TWALK- May 14th-15th

Hello Friends and Family!

I most apologize for my lack of timeless in posting some of these blogs. While I am not the busiest student in the world, I an fortunate enough to spend a lot of time travelling, and have found that all of my free time is consumed by planning where I will be travelling next! I have just finished taking my second final exam (Genetic Analysis of Eukaryotes) and finally have some free time to relay my past adventures! For this report, I look back to the weekend of May 14th, when Dunedin wasn't so freezing cold!

The weekend adventure was TWALK, which stands for 24-hour walk! The TWALK was an orienteering/rogaining competition hosted by the Canterbury University Tramping Club in Christchurch. For those who do not know (as I did not), orienteering and rogaining is basically a giant scavenger hunt for adults!

First, all of the teams had to dress up in themed costumes (of course) and meet at Canterbury Uni at 7 am on Saturday the 14th. The groups (about 50 total people) were then driven to the mountain country of Canterbury and given maps of the area. On these maps, which were scaled 1:50,000, red circles were placed to indicate the area where a tiny white triangle was hidden, with a code written on it. The objective of the TWALK, then, was to tramp through the mountains with your group, following the maps and short clues, searching for the coded triangles. The competition lasted for 24 hours straight, and was divided into 4 legs. After each leg, teams were forced to stay for 30 minutes at the Hash House, where unlimited food and water was prepared for the teams. One leg at a time, the objective was to find as many codes as possible in 24 hours.

Needless to say, the prospect of running around mountains, through bush, and across rivers searching for magical codes for 24 hours straight was an exciting and daunting proposition. To optimize our competitiveness, Ferran and I decided to created the ultimate team of TWALKers. The members, selected through rigorous tryouts and extensive background checks(including moving violations), were as follows:

The White Ninjas:
Ferran "Spanish Omelette" Caceres
Jan "Swede Machine" Van Eimern
Matthew "Team America" Moynihan
Marc "Surfs Up" Torredemer

Unfortunately, my obligations as treasurer of my hockey team forced me to spend 3 hours completing online tests on Friday night, and the group was not able to leave for Christchurch (5 hour drive) until Saturday at 2 am. We traveled with a rival group- Carmen, Maria, and Tomas- and left for the TWALK with little sleep, and as the culprit responsible for our late departure, I stayed up with Ferran while he drove. Needless to say, it was not the best start to a 24-hour-tramp!

As we arrived to the start of the TWALK, clad in ninja costumes, we were excited to begin what was destined to be an extensive, but amazing 24 hours. The weather, predicted to be rainy and cold, was, of course, exactly the opposite. Running around the hills searching for the secret hiding places was just as fun as I had imagined. Like children searching for hidden treasures, we proceeded with energy and excitement, and, portraying our ninja characters in true immature fashion, battled each other extensively with our dollar store foam swords.

Jan, Ferran, Myself, and Marc

At first, all of the groups were close, and the codes were easier to find, as people tried and failed to reveal to others that they just found the clue. Clues were attached to trees, rocks, bushes, and fences and could be found on mountaintops, cliffs, riverbeds, and hillsides. As the groups spread out, codes became more difficult to find, and 'other group spying' no longer proved an effective tool to locate the spots. Our group did very well, as all of us have had experience reading topographical maps, and we were very successful on the first leg- which took 6 hours! By the end of the first leg, we were already beat! We had found 15 out of 16 clues, and spent a glorious half hour devouring food and inhaling water at the Hash House.

Not the manliest of ninja costumes- nice legs Ferran

When our time was up, it was already getting dark, and Jan, Ferran and I headed out for the second leg. Marc fell victim to the enticing warmth of the Hash House and the taste of fresh lasagna, and decided to skip out on this leg. After a munch and a rest, the group morale was up once more, and it soon became evident that navigating and finding clues in the darkness would be far more difficult than in daylight. Fortunately, the moon was bright this night, and the fun of running around like kids playing night-games helped us find success throughout the first half of the 2nd leg. We found 7 out of the first 8 codes, and we were bursting with energy and enthusiasm as we all ran uncontrollably down a hillside to find clue 9 next to the riverbed.

Soon after finding #9, we were faced with a dry-spell, and faced a lot of trouble finding the next clues, which were hidden amoungst the bush along a dark river. Hit by a wave of fatigue, we struggled to find sparatic clues as we continued our way up the mountainside toward the Hash House. As it started to rain and we started to get tired of running up and down mountainsides, the morale was at an all-time low, and we lackadaisically searched for the final clues before finding the road back to the House in the rain.

Ram skull I found on the way! Ahh!

After moderate success and tons of fun on the second leg,  we feasted once more and contemplated the prospect of completing a 3rd leg. The time was now 3 am, and the TWALK timer read 8 hours remaining. With little debate, we decided to stick around the Hash House and get some rest until 9am, when we would "wake up and try to get some more before the TWALK ended at 11", though we all knew this would not happen. More than satisfied with our efforts and ready to pass out for a while, we set up tents in the rain and went to glorious sleep.

Waking the next morning around 10, an hour still remained in the TWALK and we enjoyed a tasty breakfast, watching the hard-core dudes finish the 4th leg of the TWALK! The results were pretty incredible. A group of hard-core Canterbury residents ranging in age from 30-40 won, with around 56 codes found. Even more surprising, a 65 year-old couple stayed up all 24 hours and got 40 codes, effectively making me feel like a weakling for going to sleep at 3! New Zealand folks continue to combat stereotypes about old people not being totally cool and hard-core. Very inspiration!

Happy to return to Dunedin, a warm shower and a hot tea put me right into a long and deep sleep.

TWALK: accomplished.

Love to all!

Easter Break Road Trip with Pops- 19/4-4/5

      For 15 days, starting a bit before and ending a bit after my Easter Break from University, I was blessed with a visit from my father! Together, we adventured around the South Island, completing a counter-clockwise circumnavigation of the island, and enjoying countless experiences along the way. Given the extended nature of the adventure, I feel it is best to give a summary of the trip, day by day. The following map shows our road trip, starting from Dunedin and heading north:

      As you can see, we managed to cover almost the entire South Island in 15 days. Our starting point was H, Dunedin. From there we headed up to the unnumbered pennisula that is Christchurch. We then covered all of the following cities-
B- Picton
C- Nelson
D- Greymouth
The Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers (unnumbered)
E- Haast
F- Wanaka and Queenstown
G- Te Anau
Then back to University in Dunedin.

       While summarization can do no justice in relaying the fun and adventure of the trip, the following summarizes all of our activites in each of the places where they occured:

Dunedin: Penninsula visit, Royal Albatross sightings, Speight's Brewery Tour- extended beer tasting session to follow!

Oamaru: Mouraiki boulders, blue penguin sightings, and New Zealand Fur Seal colony watching!

Churstchurch: Spent the night and witness some bad damage from the earthquake

Kaikora: Whale watching- saw 2 massive Sperm whales less that 30m away- totally amazing!

Picton: Queen Charlotte's Park day hike and drive along the Queen Charlotte Sound

Nelson: Delicious Thai dinner!

Abel Tasman National Park: Attempted sea kayaking, but the weather and ocean swells stopped us from going into the water, so we headed down to Nelson Lakes

Nelson Lakes National Park: Day tramp to Whisky Falls in the rain- amazing waterfall, which, to our dismay, did not flow whisky!

Punakaiki: Pancake Rocks and amazing views along the West Coast highway

Can you find the creatures in the rock shapes?!?!?!

Franz Joseph: Half day adventure on Franz Joseph Glacier!

Franz Joseph Glacier the night before the trek!

We went past cuz we're cool like that.

Fox Glacier: Fantastic lamb dinner, Matheson Lake- amazing views of Mt Cook (the tallest mountain in NZ) and Mt Tasman

Mt Tasman on the left, Mt Cook on the right

Wanaka: Dad's Birthday!! Mountain biking around Wanaka wilderness, NZ movie at the classic Cinema Paradiso- couch seating! And another delicious Thai dinner!

Dad with a random guy who wanted to take a picture with us! Haha!

Queenstown: River Boarding, it was freezing cold, but tons of fun. We rode atop body boards down grade 3 rapids in the middle of the beautiful NZ country. At the tend of the trip, we enjoyed being towed around by a jet ski, sliding down a massive waterslide, and doing cool tricks off of a rope swing!



View of Queenstown from our hostel!


Te Anau (Fiordland National Park): Milford Track- 4 days of "the finest walk in the world":

Day 1: 2 hour ferry to the starting point of the track, a short trip and long stay at a gorgeous river, and a short 1.5 hour walk to our first hut. We were lucky enough to complete the whole track with my good mate Ferran and his whole family! All of us enjoyed perfect weather for all four days, with a warm sun beaming down on our heads the whole way through, and no rain! In Fiordland, four days like this in  a row can be considered a miracle! The hut was a lot of fun, with good food and Spanish card games!

Day 2: Another beautiful hike through the valley leads us to Hidden Lake, where we eat lunch with plenty of sandflies! With Mackinnon Pass in sight, we enjoy the rapid changes in scenery and beautiful floral and fauna throughout the rest of the 6 hour tramp- taking it easy and enjoying all that the environment has to offer! Another great night at the hut finishes with some star-gazing!

Day 3: The day begins with a climb up to the highest point of the tramp- Mackinnon Pass, which offers breathtaking views of valleys, mountains, and fiords! The 7 hour tramp finishes with a slow downhill to a track leading to Sutherland Falls- the highest waterfall in the southern hemisphere at 500m!!! After taking showers in the mist from the falls, we head to the hut where we meet up with the rest of the group. More good hot food and lots of chocolate from our sugaraholic friend Kim from Belgium!

Day 4: This last day was filled with endless amazing waterfalls! The hike was just as perfect as the last 3 days had been, and as our feet began to get sore, we knew that the track was coming to an end.
After another day filled with perfect weather and gorgeous scenery, we reached Sandfly Point. From here we took a tiny boat to Milford, and grabbed the first beer and fish and chips we could find. Here we found out about Bin Laden's assassination, and the special at the tiny bar was 'Bin Laden Freedom Fries'! What a great trip!

Milford Sound: Sea kayaking in Milford Sound (not a sound, actually a fiord!)

Dunedin: Return to campus to turn essays in!

       In conclusion, the trip was truly an experience of a lifetime. Not only was it great to spend so much quality time with my dad, but the places we went, the experiences we had, the people we met, and the things we saw were all amazing and life-changing. I am so very blessed to have had such a fantastic Easter break, and such a loving father with whom to enjoy the trip!