Broken River

 One of our aims for this ski season was to explore some different slopes and not just stick to Mt Hutt.  We therefore decided that Broken River was the club field for us and booked a 2 day lift pass an accommodation on the mountain.  Saturday dawned bright and sunny with the alarm going early to allow to collect our skis from Methven and then proceed towards Arthurs Pass.  Turning off the main road we were expecting a narrow but easy 12km to the car park and so breezed past the sign suggesting the road was unsuitable for camper vans,, our decision to go to BR made primarily based on where we thought we would be able to get to in Gorden.  The first 11km were relatively OK (ignoring some of Amy's comments on the steeper, icier bits) and then we came across a sign saying chains must be fitted to all 2WD vehicles.  Someone was chaining up the road grader and thought we would be fine so the chains were fitted and we attacked the final 1000m stretch that was made up of entirely of hairpin bends navigating a near vertical gradient.  I won't pretend to being completely relaxed as we made the ascent, our chained up drive wheels spinning in a desperate bid for traction, but we made the car park in one piece without the engine overheating or sliding off the road.

The next excitement was a trip up to the ticket office in a glorified enclosed coal hopper on tracks that was only converted to carry people a year ago.  It felt a little like being in a Bond film and half expected Jaws to jump on the roof and start biting through the tracks.  We collected our tickets and nutcracker for the rope tows, dumped our bags at the lodge and walked the 10 minutes uphill to reach the first lift.  A short refresher from a member of ski patrol made sure there were no accidents on the first ride up and we made the day lodge in 1 piece.  The great thing about being a club field is that the atmosphere is very friendly and the day lodge had a fully equipped kitchen and BBQ.  It was a great place to sit and let the sun get a little higher to warm the slopes which were seriously icy after a clear night.  As it was only 1 slope really softened up but I still enjoyed the day immensely.  Amy found the going a little harder, especially after an exhausting week at work (it is calving season after all), and so headed back down to the lodge early for a little snooze.

That evening in the lodge was good fun with plenty of regulars staying to provide some lively conversation to go with the excellent 3 course meal we were served.  The heating made sure we were warmer up the mountain than we had been at home for some time with a bottle of wine providing extra perceived warmth for good measure.  Soon enough Sunday was upon us and we again hit the slopes, a little more refreshed this time.  The club was hosting a boarder-cross competition and it was fun to watch the competitors hearling themselves over the jumps while trying to avoid being wiped out by their opposition.  the day was another beauty and this time more of the slopes softened up nicely to allow a few more routes to be tried.  Both our legs started to feel lead-filled come mid afternoon which meant we were not too late home after a pleasant drive back to Ashvegus.  It was definitely a great first overnight club experience and hopefully there will be more to come

A First Seasons Fish

With the start of the season soon upon us (well, a month away but I'm getting excited already!) I thought it would be good to review the fishing year just gone, my first as a fly-fisherman, or any form of fisherman in fact. OK, I had a rod of some sort when I was very little and did actually catch one fish but that was many moons ago and no memory lingered of the actual how to go about catching fish. Embracing the outdoor lifestyle as soon as we arrived in NZ, I thought where better to learn a new skill and, having thought about taking up the sport in the past, where better place to learn and what better excuse needed than the possibility of visiting some spectacular scenery and hopefully hook a few trout in the process?

We all have to start somewhere and as I did not have the luxury of a network of friends who already fished to show me the nuts and bolts, I signed up for a weekend course to learn the basics of theory and fly casting. Not put off and with the words of advice to use the new skills within the month echoing in my head the necessary kit was procured and I hit the park next door and the Ashburton River to practice my casting over the winter in anticipation of October 1^st.

Now it is all very well to be able to vaguely cast a fly, actually hitting the river is a different prospect entirely. Thankfully I was very kindly invited to join a couple of guys on opening day (who I also joined on several subsequent trips), who even gave me first cast of the day to a fish sighted little over 50m from the car. Getting ready to make that cast was near on terrifying, not wanting to make a complete hash of things and spook the fish or knot my line on the first attempt. It was with relief then that with trembling hands, my bead head nymph gently plopped into the water, although somewhat wide of the target. Several casts later, struggling to cast across the wind, it was time to move on as our quarry gently finned away. There was not long to wait for another opportunity as my turn came round again and the indicator obligingly plunged from view. Fish on After a brief battle a 2 1/4lb brown came to the net, result! Things were to get even better when towards the end of the day a 6 ½ lb hen was landed. I certainly can’t complain if a little beginners luck helped provide such a successful first outing, with more than a little help from some more experienced companions.

It would be fair to say that it was me who had become hooked and looking back at my record of the whole season managed to squeeze in plenty of afternoons, evenings and full days on the water in locations as varied as South Canterbury, the MacKenzie region and the west coast. Not all were successful but it was seldom longer than a few trips before a fish or two were fooled, generally after spooking plenty of others in the process. That has been the biggest challenge, spotting the fish in the first place as opposed to fishing the water blind. It is easy enough to spot a fish after it has spotted you and is making its escape. A little harder is getting there first and not disturbing a fish while it is happily feeding away. I imagine it is this hard earned skill that really makes the exceptional trout stalkers stand out from the crowd and can only hope that things slowly get a little easier. Practice makes perfect and all that!

Inevitably there were plenty of first along the way: first fish on a fly, first on a dry and first on a self-tie. First in the dark, first brown, first rainbow. Just need to get my first from a lake, first on a wet, first on a terrestrial…..there is plenty to aim for (first trophy maybe?!).

There are also several highlights and special moments to go with those first two fish. Most of my fishing has been done solo so I have to rely on memory to go with only the few photos taken. A weekend trip to famous waters where I arrived in time for a prolific rise on nightfall and claimed a lovely 4lb’er. The subsequent day in torrential rain but not another soul on the water where plenty were seen, most spooked but a couple of good ones brought to the net and released. The challenge of catching dinner for the group on the Tekapo and succeeding with a tasty 4lb rainbow. The only fish taken for the pot, coming from a well stocked river should not be a problem. Heading to the backcountry after generously being given permission to access over private land and spending a few days in idyllic wilderness with only the sandfies for company, of which there were many and I was the one on the menu.

The side-hobby that has developed as a result of this new fishing obsession is fly tying. There are plenty of worse ways to spend the evening that sat in front of a vice, producing the vital ingredient to tempt the fish. While it won’t really save much compared to buying those flies tied by the experts, there is undoubtedly something satisfying about catching a fish with one of your own concoctions and while there are exceptions to every rule, the general consensus is that presentation is more important than form anyway, which may explain why I have snagged a few with my meagre offerings. I’ve been sticking mostly to nymphs so far but will have to think about trying a few more dry fly creations.

So what are the stats so far? Well, I did not record every evening trip to the river for an hour or so (of which most were blanks with nothing caught), but for those days I did record I made 28 trips in total ranging from an hour to full days and caught 43 fish at an average of a little under 2 lb. Ignoring the tiny fish that bravely intercepted nymphs that would have doubled their weight if eaten, the fish numbers fall to 27 at an average of 2.8 lb. No monsters and no days where every cast resulted in a hook up but a little effort goes a long way and there were plenty of rewards along the way to keep interest up. I can’t wait for next season to start so I can continue this new past time, acquire even more “essential” gear (trademe has already privided a new vest!) and maybe catch a few more trout in the process. I hope to tackle a few different areas close to home as well as returning to several familiar locations for another go at fooling the local population. Who knows what will happen but I’m sure it will be fun!

A New Abode and Winter Hits

After looking around approximately half of the houses in the Ashburton district, 95% which were major renovation projects with excessive price tags or just plain old dumps, we settled (or more accurately Amy fell in love) on a 4 year old townhouse. It was a little over budget but despite my best efforts to swing the favour towards an older house on a section (plot) twice the size double glazing won out in the end! And so it was that after a little to-ing and fro-ing a price was agreed, I had a little lie down in a darkened room, and we signed on the dotted line. All that was left to do was arrange insurance, sort out the mortgage, get a builders report (there have been some earthquakes after all!) and check all the paperwork was kosher. Everything is now falling into place and all being well we move out of our small, cold unit on 16th September...exciting!

In between house hunting, there was still plenty of time for some fun as we returned to Little Mount Peal on Sunday morning. The forcast was for snow flurries early on that would clear by lunch. This was spot on and the sun came out as we cleared the bush line however it became clear as we neared the top that although the summit did not appear snow covered, the track had turned into an ice flow. The last 50m of the 1000m climb was slightly hair raising to say the least but we soon made the comfort of the shelter to have a reviving brew! Slightly more relaxing was another jaunt up Mount Alford, a mere 600m or so. We walked up a little later in the day and were treated to some fantastic light as the sun lowered and we looked towards Mount Hutt.



The other big news is that snow has arrived in Ashburton. We missed out a month ago on the snow that blanketed the whole of the south island but this time the whole of NZ has been affected and after yesterdays dusting we woke up to half a foot of the white stuff. As this is the first snow in town for 6 years, which the locals still speak of in whispers due to all the power cuts that resulted, Amy and I had a little walk to the river before work to enjoy the spectacle and take a few pics. Things come to a standstill here just as much as back in the UK. Yesterday half of town was closed and school canceled so I imagine we may be the only ones "working" in the whole of Ashburton. The major benefit is the fact that the ski fields may actually have a few pistes open after what has been a terrible start to the season. I went up to Mt Hutt for the day with friends and while the main pistes were open due to the snow makers working overtime, off-piste there was not even a sprinkling to cover the rocky terrain.

As it has taken me so long to post this, we did make it up the hill and I can attest that it was the best days skiing we have had to date at My Hutt although we took things a little more easy that some of the bigger days last year, managing only 12 runs and 5589 vertical metres. The sun was out, the powder was there, all the lifts were working and the potato wedges were tasty! All skied out, we went up to the Ashburton lakes for a sandwich and short walk on the Sunday. We had intended to walk up the appropriately named Mt Sunday but dared go no further than Lake Clearwater as the roads were getting more and more covered in deep snow.

Homeward Bound

Rather unbelievably it has already been 3 whole weeks since we arrived back in NZ after a month spent back in Blighty. We flew up to Auckland for the weekend, our onward flight booked for Monday morning, to spend some time in the largest city in NZ, housing around 1/4 of the entire population. Our hotel was right in the heart of the CBD, surrounded by the skyscrapers which accommodate the bankers and big businesses. Down at street level there were plenty of tourist shops alongside the high-brow clothing boutiques of which we had little interest in. With Amy still lame from her foot squashing incident, we took things a little easy and after a brief stroll headed back for a read and sit down. The Crusaders of Canterbury were then playing the local Blues in the Super 15 Rugby and so we headed down to a bar to find a big screen and watched a thrilling match that ended with our team in front, much to the disappointment of most of those around us. With a whole day to fill on Sunday we caught the ferry for the brief splash across the harbour to Devonport, a small village made up predominantly of cafes and art shops. It is also where one of the many old volcanoes can be found. It has long since been eroded down to little more than a stub but does still afford some elevation to provide a spectacular view across the water to the city centre. It may be winter but with the sun out and sky blue we were in luck. A little nap was in order when we were back in our room before it was time to head up the Sky Tower for dinner in the revolving restaurant. It may have been pricey but the view was superb and food tasty so worth the booking on our last night in country.

Monday morning dawned with the alarm going early only for us to turn on the news and hear how the ash cloud from a volcano in Chile was disrupting flights. Quantus had canceled all flights in and out of the city though Air NZ were still flying as normal, electing to fly lower to avoid the ash. As for Royal Brunei we would just have to find out when we got to the airport. thankfully the check in was open and we soon made it through the formalities to begin the long journey home. Around 30 hours later, a 2 hour break in both Brunei and Dubai, we arrived in London town (after a mere 2 year absence) relatively fresh having set our watches to London time on setting foot on the plane. We then hot footed it to Paddington to meet Amelie and collect a key to the flat where we were being put up for the next few days, Russ being in France on a work trip. Their flat is within touching distance of the South Bank and so after a cup of tea and much needed shower we headed out to stretch our legs making a circuit that took in Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge and St Pauls while at the same time taking no longer than a leisurely hour. The following three and a half days were spent running through a tight schedule trying to catch up with as many city dwellers as possible while still having fun. It was great, we eat well, drunk lots and relaxed as we entered holiday mode. The first pint of proper English beer was especially excited and got me thinking about home brew once back in NZ. Russ got back Friday and so I stayed in town for an extra couple of days to hear about all the imminent wedding plans and play playstation while Amy headed back to the New Forest and home.

A short 2 hour train journey on Sunday evening took me to Taunton where I was whisked to the Heights by Dad. 5 days were then spent relaxing with remarkably few jobs to do for the impending wedding, apart from trying to put the finishing touches to my speech. A round of golf with Dad did nothing to settle his nerves and my laughing as two successive drives found their way into the Bristol Channel did little to help. Of course the course does suit a left hander better, especially with the wind being so strong, as well as my clubs being more modern! Exmoor was looking fantastic and there is nothing in NZ where we are to compair to the lush fields, ancient villages and narrow, twisting country lanes. Amy traveled up on Thursday and we then headed to Cornwall for the weekend. After a delicious meal with Uncle Rich and Carolyn, we headed to Bude on Saturday, the light dimming and drizzle becoming heavier the closer we got to the coast. Still there were plenty of friends already there to lift the gloom. Special mention though has to go to Tim for sharing his birthday celebrations with our reunion get together along with Jack and Barney who ended up hiring taxi all the way from Exeter! It was dry enough in the evening to fire up the BBQ, though when did rain ever stop the British cooking outdoors!? Sunday was a different story, the sun was out, surf pounding, though I did not end up hiring any kit, rather spending the time playing football and catching up with people who had travelled far and wide for the weekend.

Amy and I headed back to our respective parents and the week soon passed. The bride and groom arrived Wednesday, ushers and Amy Thursday and the final flurry of activity ranging from suit collection, hair cuts, flower arranging and reception decoration meant Saturday was soon upon us. The church in Selworthy must be one of the most attractive in the country, both in terms of building and location, perched on a hillside overlooking Dunkery Beacon and the start of Exmoor. The sun was out for the big occasion and things could not have gone better. Both Russ and Amelie remembered their lines and no-one appeared out of the blue to give a reason why they could not be married and so it was that after 45 minutes they left the church as husband and wife. The reception was held in the converted Tythe barn in Dunster and after a lovely meal it was time for the speeches. Plenty of people had already commented to me by this stage that it would be hard to beat the speech Russ gave at our wedding a couple of years earlier which did little to settle the nerves. All in all I think mine went down reasonably well though perhaps the Belgium contingent were a little bemused by some of the jokes! The band then ensured the merriment continued long into the night with there being plenty of sore heads the following morning for the big clear up.

The last week of our visit was spent in the New Forest with Amys parents, visiting neighbouring friends and enjoying the end of the holiday. It's amazing how quickly a month passes and we were soon back on a plane to New Zealand (via Dubai and a 12 hour stop over in Brunei). The killer was the 5 hour wait in Aukland for our connectio to Christchurch when all we wanted was to be at home. We eventually arrived at 8:30pm and were back at work the following morning at 8am. The following weeks were then spent house hunting as having decided to stay in Ashburton for a little while longer we were eager to move out of our small, cold unit and into something a little more comfortable.

An Accidental Week and Weekend Getaway

A weekend on call is supposed to be a time for catching up on chores and hoping that nothing too serious needs doing. It did not start all that well with a dog being run over early Saturday and needing its hip put back in, nothing too serious and the rest of the day was quiet. Amy decided she wanted to stir things up a little on the Sunday though, as on her way to a pre-arranged call thought is would be far more exciting to try a little bit of off road driving. After coming to a stop upside-down in an irrigation ditch (thankfully empty unlike a month earlier) she managed to crawl out and knew the first farmer who passed by. The truck was a complete write-off but thankfully Amy had nothing more serious than a little whiplash, a bruised sternum and an ear bashing about driving too fast on gravel roads! Not content with 1 incident, Amy decided she liked the local hospital so much that on Wednesday arranged for herself to be squashed by a cow, dislocating her big toe and badly bruising the rest of her foot. After 3 hours spent pushing her to various hospital departments we made it home just in tome to wolf down a McDonalds, have a shower and make it to the local production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat just minutes before curtain up. It was a great production and surprisingly professional considering the cast were all amateurs from the local area with the Events Centre being a fantastic venue. Something different for Ashvegus anyway!

With Friday off after the weekend worked we headed down to Oamaru, Amy hobbling around on crutches, where we had a lazy lunch, saw some yellow eyed penguins and stayed with Ben and Becky for dinner and wine. We all then jumped in the truck to get to Dunedin on Saturday morning where we were meeting Jude who had made her way up from Invercargil way. With plenty of gossip and catching up to be done we did not end up more than a few hundred metres from out motel, right by the Octagon in the heart of the city. Apart from simply eating and drinking we did make it to the Speights Brewery for a tour of the building followed by a 30 minute tasting session. Our guide had said that it would be the tastiest medal, their best seller, you would taste due to its freshness and that was certainly the case being cleaner and crisper than the bottled variety or that found in pubs. It certainly started us off nicely before a good meal and some cocktails later.

Come Sunday we were only good for a relatively late breakfast out before heading to the peninsular for a look around in the fabulous sunshine. We ended up again at Sandfly Bay and again saw many seals and sea lions. Little wonder then why we went back! In the right weather the Otago peninsular has to be one of the most attractive areas of coastal landscape, and we were seeing it in the right weather. We polished off a hearty lunch in Portebello before reluctantly heading back north and home. In 2 weeks time we will be on the plane back to the UK for a 4 week visit. We have another on call weekend to negotiate first, hopefully it won't be so eventful!