Kodak Moments: Rob Roy Glacier Track

I have decided that is is unfortunate that we haven't done more hikes during our 15 months in New Zealand. There are few places that bikes can't take you and that hiking can, and those places I've now realized, are well worth it.

This past weekend we were in Queenstown (again) with some family, and Scott and his brother decided to cycle to Wanaka. You know, just up and over a mountain pass… a cruise-y 68 kilometers, no big deal. I drove the hour or so over, as cycle support of course. I totally would could should did not need to do that ride. It was a rest day.

Anyways, there's a hike I've been wanting to do just outside of Wanaka for some time. The Rob Roy Glacier Track is moderate level 10 kilometer hike through paddocks, then beech forest, and finally up to a valley below the hanging Rob Roy Glacier. Its located just at the entrance of Mt. Aspiring National Park, about 50km from Wanaka.

Without further ado, pictures:

Beech forest is the most wide-spread native forest remaining in New Zealand

Glacial water gets it's blue color from super fine sediment suspended in the water. The sediment is a fine "rock powder" that has formed from the rocks grinding together beneath the glacier. The color of water varies in vibrancy, and is enhanced by sunlight.

There were signs advising hikers not to stop on this bit of trail because of increased hazard of rock fall. So… whoops.

Trees growing out of canyon walls. Cool.

One of many, many waterfalls. Being blown away by the gentle summer breeze….

Scott and his brother, Craig. So excited to be hiking after their big ride.

A "hanging glacier" is a glacier that sits on a shelf, or cliff, above a valley.

Waterfall overload! 

I'd classify this hike as a "Can't Miss" if you're in the Wanaka area. I thought it was absolutely stunning, despite the rain and clouds. I can only imagine how spectacular it would be on a clear blue day.

And of course, since we were in Queenstown, we spent another day at the bike park. Below, Scott doing what he does best:

Kodak Moments: Recent bike photos

So it's been awhile since I've updated much on the bike front even though riding is a massive part of our everyday lives. It's almost so much so that it doesn't feel "noteworthy" to post about. That, and we really don't stop to take pictures on most rides. But I know the rules… Scott says a blog without pictures isn't worth reading.

We took a trip a few weeks ago to Nelson, NZ. I wrote heaps about Nelson last time we went. Anyhow, it's a 5 hour drive (map) so we stayed for the long weekend over Labour Day. It was fun to go back to our favorite places (i.e.: good pubs) and properly check out the mountain biking for the first time. There are some gnarly trails out there. But man, what a pretty place.

All the following photos are from the same 3000 ft climb that we did on the 3rd day. They're cell phone photos as we forgot the memory card in the camera. (This was a huge disappointment because on the first morning we saw lots of lambs, a massive kunekune pig, and a wallaby hugging a llama.)

Taking a break from climbing!

Taking another break from climbing!

Finally at the top!

Nelson was our first choice place to move to, so when we go back we often try to visualize ourselves living there. Although we can both still imagine living in Nelson, this was the first time we agreed that Christchurch may actually have a few better things about it than Nelson. Which is good- since we basically can't leave Christchurch right now!

Below: the weekend after our Nelson trip, Scott went with some friends to the west coast. They rode a bunch of ridiculously difficult, rooty, steep, wet trails. It was slow going because of the conditions, but he got a few photos, and his friend Richie put together this awesome video footage of all of their crashes!

To see riding/crash montage, click this!

While Scott was out on the rugged west coast, I had some nice mellow after work rides at home. A few photos from the trails behind our house:

The thistle that got my hand through my glove...

Oh, you don't think the last one is bike related? Psh, think again!

Kodak Moments: No Winter Blues Here!

We had a great weekend! One that really made us feel like, this is why we moved here. Saturday we went up to Mount Cheeseman and conquered the T-Bar tows on our snowboards. Unfortunately, I left the sim card out of my camera rendering it useless. But trust me, it was amusing. The mountain was beautiful, and so was the weather (if not a bit warm).

Sunday Scott & I went on separate but awesome bike rides. He and some guys tore up the Port Hills for several hours, until it got too dark for them to ride and they had to forfeit the last downhill run of the day and ride on the road. I did a nice loop with 1,560 feet of climbing and a fun, muddy descent. I rode my way to a few personal records on a couple different climbs. So that's always awesome. This time I brought the camera but still didn't use it.

We ended our perfect weekend by not working yesterday. Ha! Scott took a personal day and I had the day off, so we spent it with our 4-legged friend. We took her on a hike a few minutes from our house. We checked out a trail we'd never been on before, and saw some pretty sweet sights!

So we were just cruising along the beautiful coastline, expecting to eventually end up at some old military bunkers. And then this happened:

No way around (trust me, I looked)... so we went through. With no lights. 

Exactly what it looked like in there... you could always see the light at the end of the tunnel (ha!), but not much else. Sally didn't really know what to make of it all.

The lovely dog model doing what she does best. 

To my dismay, there was too much rockfall from the earthquake to continue on the trail, so we had to turn back and go through the tunnel again. Scott was more into it than Sally or I.

Beautiful winter day... about 60 degrees!

Why have we stopped?

Peering out from inside a bunker. This particular one was "manned" by 8 women during WWII. It is perched on a hill on the north side of the Lyttleton Harbour, and was the perfect place to watch for invading Japanese ships.

Compulsory duck photo. These are Paradise Ducks, endemic to New Zealand. They mate for life. Awwww.

Kodak Moments: Craigieburn

Here's a few photos from a ride last week in Craigieburn. You may recall that last time we came to ride bikes here, I forgot my bike shoes. This time I remembered all my gear, and it earned me about 2,500 feet of climbing, and then one incredible descent. As you can see in the pictures below, the tracks Craigieburn are pretty unique, and the mountains in the area are breathtaking. We're heading to a race in this area again next weekend, so stay tuned!

(I really like this one)

Kodak Moments

From Thursday: A wee bike ride in the hills above our neighborhood. And a glimpse into what motivated me to move here.