The freedom of getting off the Highway, and into the “backblocks”…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are in the South Island of New Zealand, heading back to Hanmer Springs after a futile attempt at a Picnic at Lake Tennyson (a sudden change in the mountain weather got the better of us, we decided to quit before we got hypothermia).

Then Himself, Kiwi friend and I had a nice climb up a local hill. I would love to repeat this  in the area again when the wind is less ferocious and when I can drag the kids a wee way to up enjoy the view as well. (it will help enormously that Little Mr. will conveniently grow longer legs in the next year or two before our next return visit).

Now we start the drive back to Hanmer Springs and since  I’m on “gate duty” I pop in and out of the car to open and close the gate but also grab some photos whilst I’m out. We stop a few places on the way back too… and this is a photo montage of the journey back…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Yes, yes,  more photos of this area… how many is a photo too many?  there’s only one answer to that: For me,  homesick back here in the Netherlands, it’s simple…there are never enough.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It’s a testament to the fickleness of mountains that the weather improved amazingly as we drove out…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

alpine flowers…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

… and back at Hanmer in the Valley below here, we arrive back at the house to hear that here, the temps have been sweltering  all day, there has been barely a cloud in the sky and everyone has been taking refuge in the shade.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Friends in Hanmer have been totally oblivious to the conditions in the mountains further in… it just goes to prove that you should never underestimate mountains and mountain weather. Mother Nature  can and does quite happily throw spanners in the works whenever she feels like it.  I for one, am not going to argue with her.

Hey Nederland… THIS is what a REAL Hill looks like…!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

South Island, New Zealand. We are on the Arglins Road that connects Lake Tennyson to Hanmer Springs via the Molesworth and St James Stations.

We’ve tried to have a picnic at Lake Tennyson but the mountain weather had other ideas and our efforts resulted in a retreat into the van as the wind gusts grew and the temperatures fell.

When the wind gusts started bringing rain we admitted defeat and left the Lake.

On the bigger shingle (gravel) road Himself looks longingly at the low peaks close by… we start to chat about a walk. Our Pacific Island guests are still recovering from the freezing temperatures at Lake Tennyson so are most happy to babysit the kids in the van whilst we do some walking. I know that with my lung condition and asthma, and still recovering from the chest infection I am getting over will mean that realistically I’ll never make the top, but I’m keen to find out how far I might get. (to the base of the big rocky outcrop on the right as it turns out).

Himself, Kiwi friend and I head out…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It starts out fairly flat but after a bit we find ourselves puffing as the incline gets steadily steeper. We are close to the ridge line on one side and as the mountain undulates we find ourselves in pockets of wind that have us steadying ourselves so that we don’t fall over, every now and again the windgusts are full of rain blowing over from the deep clouds in the valleys further in.

After a while I need to stop, I’ve gotten about as high as I can manage comfortably. I take some photos and then pass my camera to my Kiwi friend to take further…

Himself and Kiwi friend head upwards. After a while they are so far away that I’m having trouble to spot them in between the rocks and low scrub. Eventually I loose sight of them altogether. I kick myself for not having the second camera on me and then realise I do have it.. back in the van.

After I’ve caught my breath I head down to the van, collect the other camera and then start back up again, I don’t get quite as high up as the first time, but get some good shots of Himself and Friend coming back down, Friend is wearing a skirt and although she has a thick jacket on the wind is so gusty up here that the skirt is being whipped up everywhere. Himself has offered to walk ahead so that Friend doesn’t have to worry about keeping both balance and decency in order.

He’s a fast walker anyway and soon through the zoom I capture him picking his way carefully though the rough rocky terrain, and as it eases out into less rocky parts, striding quickly towards me, he’s puffed and catches his breath.

They got about three quarters of the way up but it was getting so windy, steep and rocky that they decided that it was getting past what they could manage and then they also saw that the last stretch was going to require a lot more time as the rock got looser. A hike is one thing but mountaineering is another and they knew when to quit.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Friend has taken some photos on my camera from where they got to…

I’m just below this rocky outcrop on the left…

(photograph © Kiwidutch Friend)

Friend climbs higher..

(photograph © Kiwidutch Friend)

Down the valley…

(photograph © Kiwidutch friend)

Up the valley…

(photograph © Kiwidutch Friend)

Three of us have had a burst of fresh air and we head back to the car, amazingly sheltered from most of the wind and standing in a patch of sunlight. Fickle mountains.

I used to hike a lot when I was in New Zealand, guess what, you aren’t finding amazing views like these in The Netherlands. Oodles of History.. yes, Height… no, not unless it’s in mostly negative numbers.

When I next dream of mountains you won’t need three guesses to figure out where I’ve traveled to in my dreams…

Lake Tennyson and a far from Poetic Picnic…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We have taken the Arglins Road into Molesworth Station, the largest Station in New Zealand, we are not actually going straight though the station but skirting up the side between Molesworth and St James Station because we are headed for Lake Tennyson.

We aim to have a picnic there but as we get further up the valley it’s clear the the weather is deteriorating and there is a stiff wind picking up.

Soon we are at the Lake Tennyson turnoff and it’s a short ride from there to the lake.

Himself and I get out of the car first, the sun is at best intermittent and the wind is gusty and biting. So much for the tee-shirt and shorts weather we left behind in Hanmer, we pile everyone into their jerseys and windjackets and start laying out the picnic things.

The wind has whipped the lake up into choppy white caps in places and the kids test the water, it’s ice cold and they rush back to the car as quick as they can for some warmth. We have four visitors with us, three adults and one extra child and two of the adults are from the  Central Pacific close to the Equator so they definitely aren’t used to these kind of temperatures. After a very brief walk outside they huddle back into the van and Himself and I deliver picnic goodies to them there.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We were planning to stay here for the afternoon but it’s clear that today the mountain weather has had the last word and it’s a good example of the fact that weather in the Alps can change by the hour and that people come unprepared at their peril. The warm clothing that was packed with a giggle by the kids in Hanmer is now most welcome and they aren’t laughing about bringing it all with us now.

After about half an hour the wind fills with raindrops and even though it’s not raining in the true sense of the word we are now getting wet from the gusts.

There are a few die-hard fishermen on the edge of the lake but even they start packing up as it becomes clear that the weathers only getting worse here not better.

By now even Himself and I are feeling the cold and retreat into the van with hot tea from the thermos to thaw out. Our other Kiwi visitor helps us with the clearing up and repacking the van, and we head back out onto the track to make our way back to the “main road”.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

One of the surrounding hills… the bare rock slips are called “scree slides” .. more on those in  a post not too far away…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The tiny “building” on the right of the next photo is a DOC (Department of Conservation) Toilet facility…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A lonely bolder in the tussock..

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

As we get back out of this valley and into the main one, the weather miraculously starts to clear again… it’s still overcast and patchy but what a difference already from Lake Tennyson.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Suddenly the conversation turns to the peaks that surround us… Himself, our Kiwi friend and I start taking about taking a small hike…

Another adventure looms…

The pull of the hills draws me into the High Country…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I was born in the hills and grew up in either the shadow of, or within eyeball range of New Zealand’s South Island Southern Alps…  and now I live in what is probably the flattest country in the world.

To say that I have withdrawal symtoms for my beloved mountains is an understatement.  At the back of Hanmer Springs  is the Acheron road that leads first to the Ski Field, then on to Molesworth and St. James Stations.

Molesworth is New Zealands biggest Station at 180, 476 hectares (approx. 500, 000 acres, or over 700 square miles) .

The Molesworth Road is only open to the public for  part of the year, from 28 December to 5 April, and from 7.00am to 7.00pm but the road may be closed  at times without warning due to weather conditions or fire danger, so it pays to check their website for updates if you are intending to take the road.

Other information from the Molesworth website is “The Rainbow-Hanmer Road linking St Arnaud (gateway to Nelson Lakes National Park) and Hanmer is only suitable for four-wheel drive vehicles. This is a wilderness driving experience and travellers must be self-sufficient and prepared for sudden weather changes. Allow at least three hours to drive from Hanmer to State Highway 63 at the St Arnaud end.“

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

“Travel through Molesworth is at your own risk. There is no cellphone coverage. Automobile Association breakdown services and some vehicle insurance policies do not apply. Fill your fuel tank before setting out and carry a good quality spare tyre.”

“Molesworth endures a continental climate of extremes. Hot and generally dry summers are followed by harsh winters. Snow may fall at any time of the year, sometimes covering the entire property for up to eight weeks in the winter.“

Knowing that the weather in the mountains can be very unpredictable, we pack spare clothes, water,  a large picnic lunch,  check our 4 wheel drive van’s tyres and oil and in the bright Hanmer sunshine we set out…

Here is our journey into the hills… and our journey as we head towards Lake Tennyson…

We leave the Hanmer Basin behind and the road climbs steeply (first photo) from then on in the scenery  and the road gets rougher…  and more beautiful…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

New Zealand has many different types of scenery, this is off-the-beaten-track rugged sort…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Wild ponies?…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Since Himself is driving, I’m the designated Gate Opener ( and closer..)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The “paddock” is kilometers long… tussock grasses are some of the only plants that can handle the variation of heat and cold up here.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Many people have mistaken tussock at a distance for sheep LOL…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Another Gate…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are almost at Lake Tennyson, the wind is increasing and it’s almost 10 C degrees cooler than back in Hanmer, some clouds are brewing in the Alps… we will have to see what the weather is like further in…

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/nelson-marlborough/south-marlborough/molesworth-station/features/

Stay tuned.