Fishing in Kaikoura

We spent Friday afternoon catching some fish on a fishing charter. Later we had an awesome fish fry and enjoyed some crayfish as well. The crew from home went on the dolphin encounter in the morning and had great time (aside from the sea sickness) getting really close to some Dusky dolphins!

Nelson Lakes and Abel Tasman

While I was at a conference/travelling in New Orleans, Brad was kayaking and hiking with our good friends Janet, Robbi & Dwayne. They spent a few days near the Nelson Lakes (hiking around Lake Rotoiti) and then went to Abel Tasman National Park for some ocean kayaking.

Lake Daniells

Sheep in high visibility jacket (because he hangs out right next to the highway)

This is a beautiful little lake in the Lewis Pass area about 3 hrs from Christchurch. The walk in is only 2-3 hours and it's very flat- it is popular with families with a nice big hut at the end. We didn't stay at the hut because it was quite busy- and ended up walking further around the lake to find a nice little campsite on the shore. This lake is actually really nice for swimming- which seems to be a rare find- most lakes seem to be quite cold (glacier fed).

Hurunui

Another day on the Hurunui. Unfortunately there are plans to dam this river in the near future.

Sawcut Gorge

Murchison
After New Years, Brad and took a trip to Murchison where I went kayaking and Brad went fly fishing. We had a great time- but didn't get any pictures. (Forgot the camera....) In any case, Brad managed to catch a couple fish when he was with the guide- however the guide made him put them back. Apparently there aren't that many trout...
Sawcut Gorge
This was the first trip I have lead for the tramping club. (I was supposed to do it last January- but ended up getting sick a few days before the trip). It was a beautiful hike- and being near Blenheim, the weather is notoriously sunnier and drier than elsewhere on the island. It certainly was last weekend. The gorge itself is as narrow as 2m and as deep as 150 m in some places. The Waima river which is followed en route has several beautiful little pools perfect for swimming.

Waikuku Beach

The weather has been great lately (and unfortunately it may start to become rainy when we go on our 2 day trip to Murchison on Sunday). But we made it to the beach- Waikuku beach- just 30 minutes from our house but outside of Christchurch. It's a very quiet beach- and very long. We also got wetsuits so the water feels warmer (it's about 14 C right now).

West Coast and Heaphy Track

Nikau Palm forest-the only palm species endemic to NZ

Feeding the eels

NZ Fur Seals

The eels sensed we were there- they showed up and started crawling out of the river!

view from holiday house

Endangered Giant Carniverous Land Snail (Powelliphanta)

This past week we took our Christmas vacation early to beat the rush. We went northwest to Golden Bay and rented a holiday home there for 2 nights and spent a day in the area seeing the sights. The highlights were kayaking and feeding the eels. Some of these eels are 100 years old. One of the first owners of this piece of land used to throw her kitchen scraps into the river (in the 1920's). She saw the eels ate it and she started feeding them on purpose and eventually a group of about 10 of them became quite tame. When New Zealand eels decide it is time for them to breed- their noses grow long and eyes get large and they swim out to sea as far as Tonga- then breed and die and their offspring finds their way back to the freshwater rivers of New Zealand. It is a process that is not understood very well- but it seems pretty amazing.
The purpose of the trip was a four day hike- the Heaphy track- New Zealand's longest Great Walk. The track starts in the beech forest and transitions briefly to an alpine environment, and then to a tropical nikau palm forest along the beach. It was beautiful!
On the way home we stopped to see the pancake rocks and a seal colony.