I didn't have much luck on the West Coast this trip. The winds are really tough on this side with the typical SW flow obviously creating stiff onshores for most spots. Looked at some amazing coastline along the road north and can imagine that with the right conditions there'd be many waves going off. I'd love to surf one of the rivermouths below the Glaciers and the sub-tropical rainforest that covers this section of the island. Next time....
I did end up surfing Cobden near Greymouth. The north side of the river has some brown water and some decent peaks somewhat like a Newport jetty wave. On the positive side, it was protected from the wind and the water was about 10 degrees warmer than the East Coast. Had a fun surf with a guy from Wales, (he seemed to think it was great), and a couple other locals recovering from their Christmas fun.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Big Bay Hut
Woke up early to bluebird skies and a light offshore breeze. I ran out through the flax down to the beach for my first clear view of the bay. It's absolutely huge. The beach is literally over 3 miles long between the two rivermouths. The south side of the bay stretches about 8 miles out from the beach and the north about 6. I quickly made up my porridge breakfast and coffee, packed up my gear for the day and headed through the forest to the swing bridge to cross the river. The path through was a muddy bog after the past two days of rain. I was shin deep in mud 20 feet up from the river! Another barely marked deer trail to get back to the beach where I had to cross a waist deep river anyways. It took me about an hour to go 2 km's. I still had about 5-6 km's to go....
I kept up a steady pace jumping from rock to rock, but soon saw the wind starting to come up from the west making my chances for a surf slim. I made it to Crayfish Rock and had a good look at the best wave in the bay. A great looking right point breaking mechanically over large boulders. Unfortunately, the wind had kicked in and was blowing out the head-high waves. Pretty difficult to be on it here when the wind can change direction 4 times in 20 minutes and the hut is a 2 1/2 hour walk from the break. Should've brought a tent.... I decided to have a little lunch and go fishing. It was a beautiful sunny day and somebody must have felt sorry about the waves being blown out so I actually caught not just one but two fish. I'm calling em blue cod but truth be told I'm not really sure what they were. I had to throw them back anyways cause they were definitely on the small side.
After another 1 1/2 hours tramping back along the north side of the bay I reached the rivermouth. The mouth itself was looking mighty ferocious so I walked up the river for a bit and found what looked to be a good spot to cross. I put my camera in my waterproof bag, stripped down to my speedos and started wading across. The glacial runoff was pretty chilly but luckily it was only waist deep keeping my backpack out of the water. The river was about 40 yards across at this point so I was able to make it across pretty quickly. I jogged up the beach to warm back up and then thought I'd better change back into some pants before heading back to the hut just in case someone had shown up. It had been 3 days since I'd seen another person. Talk about solitude... Luckily I had changed clothes because Philip from Germany had arrived. Really nice guy, crazy enough to attempt the Pyke River Route on his own. I've heard you sometimes have waist to chest deep river crossings when it's been dry. I can't imagine how Philip will find it on his own. I gave him an extra gas canister for his stove in case he had to wait for the water levels to drop somewhere. It was nice to have a little company that night.
I kept up a steady pace jumping from rock to rock, but soon saw the wind starting to come up from the west making my chances for a surf slim. I made it to Crayfish Rock and had a good look at the best wave in the bay. A great looking right point breaking mechanically over large boulders. Unfortunately, the wind had kicked in and was blowing out the head-high waves. Pretty difficult to be on it here when the wind can change direction 4 times in 20 minutes and the hut is a 2 1/2 hour walk from the break. Should've brought a tent.... I decided to have a little lunch and go fishing. It was a beautiful sunny day and somebody must have felt sorry about the waves being blown out so I actually caught not just one but two fish. I'm calling em blue cod but truth be told I'm not really sure what they were. I had to throw them back anyways cause they were definitely on the small side.
After another 1 1/2 hours tramping back along the north side of the bay I reached the rivermouth. The mouth itself was looking mighty ferocious so I walked up the river for a bit and found what looked to be a good spot to cross. I put my camera in my waterproof bag, stripped down to my speedos and started wading across. The glacial runoff was pretty chilly but luckily it was only waist deep keeping my backpack out of the water. The river was about 40 yards across at this point so I was able to make it across pretty quickly. I jogged up the beach to warm back up and then thought I'd better change back into some pants before heading back to the hut just in case someone had shown up. It had been 3 days since I'd seen another person. Talk about solitude... Luckily I had changed clothes because Philip from Germany had arrived. Really nice guy, crazy enough to attempt the Pyke River Route on his own. I've heard you sometimes have waist to chest deep river crossings when it's been dry. I can't imagine how Philip will find it on his own. I gave him an extra gas canister for his stove in case he had to wait for the water levels to drop somewhere. It was nice to have a little company that night.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Big Bay Hut
Woke up to pouring rain. The rain had been relentless for over 36 hours. The good thing about the rain is that it keeps the sandflies down. Sandflies are nasty, noiseless bloodsuckers who relentlessly attack any tiny bit of bare skin till they've left it covered in welts and have driven their victim halfway to insanity. If you don't normally cuss, spend ten minutes with a handful of sandflies and you will. Little F@#%ers!!!!
OK, back to Big Bay.... I slept in and recovered from the previous days hike in. Around lunchtime the rain stopped so I walked out to the beach and up to the rivermouth. About halfway there a giant circle opened up in the clouds above me showing beautiful blue skies for about 20 minutes. It soon closed up and started to pour rain again. It rained heavily through the afternoon, finally clearing around 9pm. Just in time to show off an incredible sunset.
OK, back to Big Bay.... I slept in and recovered from the previous days hike in. Around lunchtime the rain stopped so I walked out to the beach and up to the rivermouth. About halfway there a giant circle opened up in the clouds above me showing beautiful blue skies for about 20 minutes. It soon closed up and started to pour rain again. It rained heavily through the afternoon, finally clearing around 9pm. Just in time to show off an incredible sunset.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Martin's Bay to Big Bay
I left Martin's Bay Hut after a breakfast of porridge and coffee. Said my goodbye's to the Kiwi fishermen and started down the track in a light drizzle. The track to Long Reef is good but as soon as you start heading east into Big Bay it changes dramatically. At times there is no path and you have to push through the bush keeping an eye out for tiny orange triangles or buoy's people have tied to trees which mark the route. It got pretty stressful at times. It started to rain pretty heavily and I was climbing into and out of steep ravines, stepping into knee deep mud, all the time trying to keep an eye out for those damn triangles so I wouldn't wander off the route.
After a couple of hours of this I made it down to the beach which felt great. It wasn't a flat sandy beach though. It was a scramble over rocks, reefs,cobblestones and shells. I saw more abalone shells littering the beach than I've ever seen in my life! There was no shelter from the rain so I pushed on to Mackenzie Creek. I tried following the trail to the river crossing on the DOC map which was a mistake. I followed the trail till it disappeared into flax bush behind an estuary when my instinct had told me to stay on the beach. I ended up stumbling along deer trails for an extra half hour which zigzagged all over the place. Sometimes I was knee deep in mud, other times I had to crawl through the bush making sure my board wasn't getting dinged up... I finally thought I saw a clearing and made my way towards it only to find out I was on the edge of a creek with no bank to walk on. I was getting pretty fed up at this point and soaked to the bone by the rain, so I jumped into the waist deep freezing water, held my board on the surface to keep steady and waded about 50 yards downstream to the beach I could've walked right up if I'd listened to my instincts! Mackenzie Creek was nothing after that. I was feeling pretty cold so, now that I was finally on relatively flat ground I picked up the pace as best as I could against the northerly wind for the final 3 miles up the beach to Big Bay Hut.
Noticing a couple of buoy's tied to some sticks back from the beach I followed them over the sand dunes, through a forest of flax and finally found the hut a few hundred yards back from the ocean. It felt really good to make a fire, get dry, and change clothes. Pretty exciting day of tramping. I now know the difference in New Zealand between a track, (a well maintained walking trail) and a route, (general directions with next to zero maintenance, an overgrown deer track). The last time any work was done to clear the route to Big Bay was over five years ago.
After a couple of hours of this I made it down to the beach which felt great. It wasn't a flat sandy beach though. It was a scramble over rocks, reefs,cobblestones and shells. I saw more abalone shells littering the beach than I've ever seen in my life! There was no shelter from the rain so I pushed on to Mackenzie Creek. I tried following the trail to the river crossing on the DOC map which was a mistake. I followed the trail till it disappeared into flax bush behind an estuary when my instinct had told me to stay on the beach. I ended up stumbling along deer trails for an extra half hour which zigzagged all over the place. Sometimes I was knee deep in mud, other times I had to crawl through the bush making sure my board wasn't getting dinged up... I finally thought I saw a clearing and made my way towards it only to find out I was on the edge of a creek with no bank to walk on. I was getting pretty fed up at this point and soaked to the bone by the rain, so I jumped into the waist deep freezing water, held my board on the surface to keep steady and waded about 50 yards downstream to the beach I could've walked right up if I'd listened to my instincts! Mackenzie Creek was nothing after that. I was feeling pretty cold so, now that I was finally on relatively flat ground I picked up the pace as best as I could against the northerly wind for the final 3 miles up the beach to Big Bay Hut.
Noticing a couple of buoy's tied to some sticks back from the beach I followed them over the sand dunes, through a forest of flax and finally found the hut a few hundred yards back from the ocean. It felt really good to make a fire, get dry, and change clothes. Pretty exciting day of tramping. I now know the difference in New Zealand between a track, (a well maintained walking trail) and a route, (general directions with next to zero maintenance, an overgrown deer track). The last time any work was done to clear the route to Big Bay was over five years ago.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Martin's Bay
I somehow managed to get a ticket on a backload flight from Te Anau in to Martin's Bay Lodge. Only cost me $125 rather than the $1,000 if I'd chartered it myself!! I kissed Hedda goodbye on the grassy runway, strapped my board down the middle between the six seats and then we took off over Lake Te Anau. The Pilot kept us at a low altitude to try and avoid the worst of the turbulent weather. A mix of dark clouds and blue sky hovered over the mountains. We followed the road to Milford up the Eglington Valley. The pilot pointed out some areas of the river that are being overtaken by Didymo, an invasive algae someone introduced to New Zealand about 4 years ago. It is devastating to be seen from above, Once crystal clear waters are infected with brown colored algae that looks like dirty toilet paper.
We soon crossed the Divide and were on the West Coast side of the mountains, heading up the Hollyford Valley. Stunning snow capped peaks rise straight up on both sides of Lake Mackerrow. The lake is about 15 miles long stretching towards the Tasman sea. Dolphins actually swim up the lake and work together as a team to herd trout for a special feast at the head of the lake. The pilot flew us straight out over the sea at Martin's Bay which was whipped up from strong northerly winds and circled back to the landing strip. I tried to keep my salami and cheese sandwich lunch down. Although the grassy landing strip didn't look very long, he landed smoothly and rolled to a stop using up only about half of its entire length. I later found out that this bush pilot, Shaun, once circled above Martin's Bay on a socked in cloudy day for over half an hour before diving straight down through a hole that opened up in the clouds, rushed his passengers onboard and then shot straight back up before that same hole could close back up.
After unloading my gear and getting ready for the sandflies I hiked the 2 hours to the hut at the mouth of Martin's Bay. No one there so I grabbed a sandwich and headed up the track to Long Reef. There's a seal colony there with a population of a few hundred. It's actually one of New Zealands largest. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon so I spent it lazing on the rocks giving the seals plenty of space. Later on I poked around in some great tide pools. The rivermouth looks to have some potential with a shallow sandbar built up in the mouth. Unfortunately, the waves were pretty small. Back at the hut that night I ended up meeting a couple of local guys who went out on the reef for a few hours and came back with half a dozen Paua (NZ Abalone), more mussels than we could eat and a few fish. Lucky for me they shared their catch that night along with some great stories of life on the South Island.
We soon crossed the Divide and were on the West Coast side of the mountains, heading up the Hollyford Valley. Stunning snow capped peaks rise straight up on both sides of Lake Mackerrow. The lake is about 15 miles long stretching towards the Tasman sea. Dolphins actually swim up the lake and work together as a team to herd trout for a special feast at the head of the lake. The pilot flew us straight out over the sea at Martin's Bay which was whipped up from strong northerly winds and circled back to the landing strip. I tried to keep my salami and cheese sandwich lunch down. Although the grassy landing strip didn't look very long, he landed smoothly and rolled to a stop using up only about half of its entire length. I later found out that this bush pilot, Shaun, once circled above Martin's Bay on a socked in cloudy day for over half an hour before diving straight down through a hole that opened up in the clouds, rushed his passengers onboard and then shot straight back up before that same hole could close back up.
After unloading my gear and getting ready for the sandflies I hiked the 2 hours to the hut at the mouth of Martin's Bay. No one there so I grabbed a sandwich and headed up the track to Long Reef. There's a seal colony there with a population of a few hundred. It's actually one of New Zealands largest. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon so I spent it lazing on the rocks giving the seals plenty of space. Later on I poked around in some great tide pools. The rivermouth looks to have some potential with a shallow sandbar built up in the mouth. Unfortunately, the waves were pretty small. Back at the hut that night I ended up meeting a couple of local guys who went out on the reef for a few hours and came back with half a dozen Paua (NZ Abalone), more mussels than we could eat and a few fish. Lucky for me they shared their catch that night along with some great stories of life on the South Island.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Catlin's - South Island - New Zealand
Woke up to onshores at the little bay we'd camped at. Hedda and I stayed in the tent until the sun nearly had us sweating. Getting up and having a look at the surf I could see that the swell had dropped a bit and the wind was coming straight into the bay from the north. A neighbor of ours camping mentioned there might be a wave around the corner working and would we like to follow him around to see if it was? Kiwi hospitality at it's finest. We drove off down the dirt track, up and over a few hills, through a couple of gates entering a farmer's property, and finally through a couple of sheep fields to find a left firing down a point. Great waves all day!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
A Bay somewhere in the Catlin's
I heard about this spot from a guy up the coast in Oamaru. In New Zealand the locals are so incredibly cool. You occasionally read in the news about stories of locals beating people up for surfing "their spot" or stink eye's. They've never heard about it in NZ. I guess they've got so many waves and so few people they don't need to worry about crowds. This little bay had great little barrels in an amazing setting. There is no way I would've found the dirt track that leads to it if I hadn't been told about it from that guy. We camped here for a few days on a grassy paddock overlooking a creek that fed the sandbanks.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Best Fush and Chups Ever!!!
The lady that filled our gas tank sent us over to this takeaway that had the finest fish and chips in NZ. Award winning with a certificate from Crisco to prove it. Tasty lunch for Hedda and I!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Dunedin - South Island, New Zealand
Paddling out for my first surf here, I saw yellow eared penguins walking between their burrows on the hillside and out to the surf. It was pretty cool to see these guys in the wild. In Oamaru, Hedda and I had stood in the rain for almost an hour, looking down a 100 foot cliff with 20 other tourists just trying to catch a glimpse of the same penguins. I was virtually alone with them just a few feet away, watching them waddle into the surf next to me. Here I was, just another silly looking creature dressed in black, flopping around in the surf.
Once outside waiting for the next set, I saw a fur seal come flying down the line on the wave of the afternoon. I was ducking under the lip with him just a few feet away riding the wave. Fun. Kind of... After the wave finished he poked his head out of the water about ten feet away to announce his presence. He stared me down pretty good to let me know who was boss out here. I asked one of the local guys who was out if he was a regular and he told me yeah, the seal name is Jerry. Hi Jerry, nice to meet ya. The wild life here is amazing.
Summer in New Zealand
It's summer in the southern hemisphere, but you wouldn't know it in Dunedin. Listed below are a few of the item's I've had to pick up here.
2 pairs of wool socks
Long sleeve flannel shirt
Thermal underwear - bottoms and tops
Mitts
Short sleeve .5mm neoprene shirt to wear under my fullsuit - I'm still freezing out there!
We've been staying in a campground, (hot showers) and playing with penguins and fur seals. Surf has been pretty good on a couple of days.
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