Arnold & Crooked

These are rivers near the north west coast of the south island. This was a trip with the whitewater canoe club. The club is quite impressive- friendly, organized and a lot of support for novice paddlers. These rivers were beautiful and the trips down them were exhilarating. I still have a lot to learn- but so far I am really enjoying this sport. I've been amazed by what even beginners can do- and it is nice to see the scenery from the river (rather than the usual- from land).

Inland Pack Track

This limestone overhang was our campsite- dry even in the rain!

It was Show weekend (a long weekend) and I headed to the west coast with the tramping club. It was amazing! We had someone from the caving club with us- so we went to some amazing caves we would never have known about. One of them had millions of glowworms- far more than the commercial caves I've been to. We also saw wild goats, green eels, and cave wetas (wetas are huge insects endemic to New Zealand).

Hurunui- first attempt

I say first attempt cause it probably won't be the last time I paddle on that river. It was great fun! We did the same leg of river 3 times- first with utter fear, then just a little fear, then no fear at all. So it feels good to conquer your fears. The water wasn't as cold as I thought it would be either- though one of the instructors did give me her bright pink dishwashing gloves which helped a lot! The rapids were intense in some spots (or so they seemed to us beginners). I didn't take these pictures- I didn't even bring my camera- I was too focused on not tipping- but we all still did anyways- several times!

Kayaking the Otukaikino

Whitewater kayaking is extremely popular in New Zealand and there are many rivers here which are perfect for it. I spent much of this weekend paddling on the Otukaikino river as part of a whitewater kayaking course. The Otukaikino is just a small river- but it was good for practicing essentials. Next weekend is the Hurunui River- a big river. It is cold and fast with almost nothing but rapids- should be interesting!

Huntsbury Track

Spring has sprung! It was 25 degrees today. There are some amazing mountain biking/walking tracks in the south part of Christhurch- 360 degree views!

Mt Fyffe

Mount Fyffe is in the Kaikoura Range. There are very nice views all the way up. Unfortunately it was cloudy at the top- but the views were still not bad! It's spring- but oddly we got some snow at the top. But 100 m lower- it was sunny!

Seafest

Seafest is a festival in Kaikoura. There is seafood, wineries, other food stands, and micro breweries, with live music going on in the middle. We were helping out a friend who owns a micro brewery to sell beer. It was fun to be and the serving side of the spectrum for this event and people watch all day. Lots of people dress up in costumes too. (Funny that Kiwis don't celebrate Halloween but get dressed up in costumes for every single festival).