Fun Times in S.A

St Arnaurd that is. Spent four days down in Nelson Lakes National Park with a couple of mates from my work. The aim of the trip was to do the Traverse-Sabine track (an 80 k track), but due to some issues we didn't get as far as we hoped.

We headed on the first day to John Tait hut, and ended up camping on the flat after one of the swing bridges. It was three guys to a small to person tent. The rain then decided to bucket down on us that evening, so we decided to head back to one of the huts (lakehead hut) to repack and reorganise ourselves. Peter, one of our party decided it was a good idea to go for a dip and ended up getting his pack soaked through. So we decided to dry off at Lakehead hut for the afternoon so we could dry off.

We met up with a number of interesting people. A brilliant young man from the Chezch Republic who was quiet but very nice. Michael, a bird watcher from the states, Melina (from Belgium) and Sabrina (from Germany.) We ended up spending time getting to know this motley crew of fellow travellers. Playing Uno, Scum and other cardgames with them. It was a good time for getting to know some interesting people.

We then headed off the next morning for the Bushline hut with my two mates, and Melina and Sabrina. The plan of attack was to cross the river. This managed to be an adventurous experience for the Crew, and needless to say, peters sleeping bag got wet through again.

We then decided to stop at the Coldwater hut and dry our clothes, our packs, and ourselves. Me, my mate Greg, Melina and Sabrina headed off to the swingbridge. This was a fun time of talking about our respective lifes, discussing our passions and where we were heading in our lives.

We arrived back at the coldwater hut. Where we had dinner and met up with two teachers, these teachers were a real crack up and were taking the Micky out of each other the entire time. We played more cards and hung out with Melina and Sabrina.

The next morning we headed back out to St Arnaud for a good feed and our trip back to nelson. We farewelled the girls - who went up to bushline hut for New Years eve.

If this last year has taught me anything - it is to try new things. I have not done much tramping and want to do more, get fitter and continue to grow my self awareness and reliance.

Photos to come on monday....

Adventures in the South Island

I have been taking a bit of a break down in the South Island, spending four days in Nelson, and three nights in Kaikoura. Yesterday I went whale watching and today I went Dolphin watching. Yesterday I managed to see three Sprem Whales. These whales are the largest of the tooth whale family and are the fourth largest whale species on the planet. They are bigger in length than a Brontosaurus. They are the largest predator on the planet.

The Highlight of my trip was getting to see the acrobatic Dusky dolphin today. On our tour we managed to meet a pod of 15o or so Dusky Dolpins. I managed to catch a few good shots of these awesome creatures on my trip.

For me the highlight of the trip was seeing the dolphins. I have been fascinated with Dolphin and Whales all my life. This is the first (and maybe only) time I have been able to see these animals up-close. Still havn't been swimming with dolphins, but maybe next time.

Karori Santuary Visit

Yesterday we went down to the Karori Wildlife Santaury, braving the Wellington sun in the hunt for some native endangered birds. If you have not been to Karori Wildlife Santaury I suggest that you go. The best days to go are calm days when there are only a few people in the Santaury. The entrance fee is relatively expensive, costing 12 dollars. The Santaury has the only mainland wild populations of Tuatara, Hihi, and Saddleback. All these magnificent animals have been extinct in the Wellington region for over 100 years. The Santuary also has loads of history contained in it. It has a mine shaft for the abandoned morning star Gold mine, which was used during the gold rushes of the 1800s. The reason it was abandoned was the returns were poor. The lakes within the Sanctuary used to be used as sources of water (the lower dam until 1997) but they were decommissioned as open water sources are not hygienic enough and they are both located on a fault line which makes them a large earthquake risk.

The ancient Tauratara - New Zealands living Dinosaur

We have only been able to go three times since the opening of this wonderful resource in Wellington, but yesterday was the best day yet. We managed to see every imaginable species that is awake during the day and that should have been sleeping. We were walking along in the bush and herd this cacophony of bird sounds at one point, not realising that the were walking into a very unusual yet fascinating situation. What we found were a bellbird, a hihi, and a black robin bird calling to warn the rest of the bush that a Morpork was awake and was on the prowl. So we got to see these birds all calling and close up. The most impressive thing was seeing the male Hihi pick a fight with the morpork and frighten the poor thing off! We also got to see the elusive yet beautiful Kaka which up until that point we had only heard or seen flying in the distance (we had the priviledge of seeing a group of five of the birds come and have a feed at one of the feeding stations.)

The Hihi or stichbird - they are so colourful and noisy!

The North Island Kaka

I’m very much a nature lover; I could spend my whole life in the Karori sanctuary and wouldn’t get bored. When I look at the beauty of these Birds and hear their calls it makes me want to worship God more than ever. God put his love into creating these beautiful creatures, for his enjoyment but also for our enjoyment. They point to a magnificent creator. I thank God that he put the dream into the hearts of men to set up the Karori Wildlife sanctuary for the enjoyment of so many people, its great to see these strange and magnificent creatures living in the wild once again. The awesome thing about the Santuary is that we have a recovery in our local hardier bird life such as the Tui which are now flourishing by the thousands (though some people seem to not like being woken up by their calls during the morning!) There is also the possibility of seeing Kaka in some areas if you are lucky, but this is only possible if you live near large trees such as the rata or pines because they are high canopy birds.

Dear God, when I look at your creation, the beauty of the splendour, it makes me want to worship you. The deep red of the wings of the Kaka, its splendid movement show the intricacy and love you put into its creation. The call of the Hihi, sharp and screechy crys out that you are Lord, a lord of love and salvation. All creation crys out for your restoration. The Tuataras are ancient, but you are the ancient of days. We thank you for the love you have poured out in your creation. Lord we worship you because you are wonderful, beautiful even beyond the beauty of creation, you cannot be described. You formed this world, created it, made it to show your splendour, and we can only fall down and worship you, because you are God.