Big Weekends
Sunday November 1, 2015
For Labour Weekend last week, my schoolmates and I made our way to Queenstown to do the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand's nine great walks. Leaving Wellington on the Friday, at an absurdly early hour and in grey, dreary skies, I took the 90 minute flight to the South Island where I was greeted with a somewhat chilly breeze but glorious blue skies and snow capped peaks around the city. I met Tom at the backpackers and we did our grocery shopping for the hike, as well as grabbing some Fergburger, naturally. We met Mat in the afternoon and got some pizza from The Cow on Cow Lane, and retired for the night.
Will, Richard and Tanya arrived in the morning and after sorting out our belongings, we headed into town to get some hut passes from DOC. However, they advised us that there were increased avalanche warnings for the Routeburn, and for a moment we were almost uncertain about whether we should continue. Some reassurance from the transport company gave us the confidence to stick to the Routeburn instead of doing the Greenstone/Caples and we were off to Glenorchy to begin the hike.
The first day takes you from the end of Routeburn Road in Glenorchy to the Routeburn Flats Hut over 90 minutes and 6.5km. The walk is through forest over several rivers and streamlets, finishing at a wide grassy expanse in the middle of a valley. Another 90 minutes and 2.3km up a steep incline leads you to the Routeburn Falls Hut, our accommodation for the first night. We're lucky that the flushing toilets are operational as we are technically outside the Great Walk season, and we take a break, cook up a stir-fry for dinner, and relax for the night by playing some games of Love Letter. It's a nervous time for us as we have no way of finding out the result of the All Blacks vs South Africa semi-final the next day...
Thankfully, the roaming DOC Ranger comes to our rescue and radios for the score. Success! 20 - 18 to the All Blacks. Satisfied, we continue our second day of the Routeburn. The track today leads us from the Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Harris and the Harris Saddle, the highest point of the track, then down to the Lake Mackenzie Hut for a total of 5 hours walking. The walk to Harris Saddle is steep and rocky, with patches of snow and ice blocking some parts of the path. The scenery is breathtaking - the vastness of the Routeburn Valley, the serenity of Lake Harris as it sits at the foot of snow-capped mountains, the colours and vibrancy of the terrain and flora around us. We stop for lunch at the Harris Saddle and decide to climb Conical Hill, but quickly abandon the idea about 200m up the mountainside as it is too icy to continue. We continue on through the Hollyford Valley to Lake Mackenzie and stop for the night at the huts there. Dinner that night is pasta with bacon and kransky sausages. It is a cold night because the sky is crystal clear, but unfortunately the moon is near full so it is too bright to do some proper stargazing. Nevertheless, the Dutch and French visitors are impressed with my astronomy ramblings as I show them Scorpio, Sagittarius, Saturn and the Southern Cross in full glory.
Our final day takes us from the Lake Mackenzie Huts to the Howden Hut, Key Summit and the Divide - the end of the Routeburn Track sits on the road from Te Anau to Milford Sound. The walk to Howden Hut takes us three hours over 8.6km through mostly bush, but through some avalanche risk areas. On the way, we pass by the Earland Falls (174m) and see a kea and a kereru! From Howden Hut, it is a short but very steep climb to the base of Key Summit, a side track which offers views of the Darran Mountains and Hollyford Valley, and we stop for lunch at a sheltered location away from the strong winds. It is only a short hour and 3.4km to the Divide, and just like that, we've completed the Routeburn Track.
I cannot describe just how spectacular the scenery is. Every photo is postcard quality. We were so fortunate with the weather too - forecasts had said there were going to be heavy showers over the track for the second and third day, increasing the chance of avalanches, but there were none - just calm breezes and blue skies - at most, cloudy patches. My legs were quite iffy at times, but we could have easily taken it slower. It is a well worthwhile hike and it is not hard to see why it's been labelled a Great Walk.
I was back at work on the Wednesday, still a little broken after the big walk, but the week was short and soon it was Friday. There were some sudden surprises to battle late in the afternoon, but thankfully that resolved itself quickly and we were able to relax with a rocking 2.5 hour karaoke session at K Zone! Saturday was pretty busy too, with badminton in the morning and Chloe and Fraser's barbeque in the afternoon. I was feeling sorry for myself after gym (do not go to the gym after drinking) and didn't feel like cooking, so I met Navi, her friend Michael, Jordan and Tim at Tequila Joe's for food, and happened to bump into Phil and Alanna there too. It was a good night, and we decided to leave early (11pm) because I would be getting up early for the big game the next day.
And what a game it was. At 4.30am I was somewhat dazed and incapable of functioning properly, but I managed to get into the car and drive to D4 on Featherston Street with Will and Alanna. The bar was packed full of supporters in black, and what a rousing atmosphere. The chills down the spine as the New Zealand Anthem was played, that solidarity as we watched the All Blacks doing the haka - so full of raw emotion for some of these guys who are playing for the last time in the black jersey. There was jubilation and fist pumping and cheering as we scored first blood, then there was Dan Carter's bulls-eye penalty kicking and Ma'a Nonu's amazing try, but the feeling of joy subsided as the Australians clawed back while Ben Smith was sinbinned. The gap is down to 4 points and the score is 21 - 17 to the All Blacks, a very unsafe margin.
But like a godsend, Dan Carter punts the most beautiful drop goal in the 70th minute, sailing right through the center of the posts and giving us a 7 point lead. Soon after, a penalty kick off Carter's magic boot puts us at a safe 10 point lead with 7 minutes to go. Not content with this, the All Blacks hit the nail in the coffin of the Australians with a converted try from Beauden Barret in the final stages of the match, giving New Zealand a 34 - 17 victory over our adversaries, and with it, the Rugby World Cup for 2015. We are the first nation to have the cup for three times and the first to successfully defend it. What a game. D4 erupts into deafening roar of celebration and we're jumping in the air and singing Queen's We Are The Champions. There is rapturous applause during the medal ceremony for the All Blacks who retire on the highest possible accolade for their sport, for the captain, Richie McCawesome, and for the man of the match, Dan Carter. They've done the country proud.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:06am on Sunday November 1, 2015 :: 0 comments :: 
Back to a Grumpy Reality
Tuesday April 1, 2014
After my amazing bungy experience last Thursday, we continued a run of awesome activities around Queenstown with some horse riding up in Glenorchy, doing the Ride of the Rings route with Dart Stables. We visited various Lord of the Rings filming locations and learned about the history of the area - "Paradise", as it's known. Again, the scenery was absolutely stunning, seeing mountain, forest, river and sky around us as our horses trotted merrily through Mt Aspiring National Park.
In the afternoon, we did the Shotover Jet and went up the Queenstown Gondola and did some luging. On Saturday, we walked around the Queenstown Gardens and the peninsula by the Hilton Queenstown too, but because we had flights in the afternoon, it was a pretty casual and relaxed day. We got our last fix of Ferg Burgers and departed for the airport.
Queenstown was awesome. It was a short but incredible holiday, packed with fantastic sights and heaps of fun, adrenaline-pumping activities. The weather was amazing, and the only disappointment was the no-show of aurora. After a ninety minute flight, I was back in Wellington - perhaps the most notable aspect was being able to see Mt Taranaki from the plane as we were descending into Wellington Airport!
And even back in Wellington, I was busy - I caught up with Kiel very briefly at the Rogue and Vagabond before heading to Motel for Jen's birthday. On Sunday I was at church for an awesome sermon on hospitality, and the Chocolate Frog in Miramar for their famous Steak and Hollandaise, and finally to Evans Bay for Campbell and Linda's engagement party.
Yesterday, I received one of the best presents ever - Sarah brought back a Grumpy Cat plushie from San Francisco for me. It overlooks my desk, holding my Robot Unicorn Attack 2 Rainbow Flag (also from San Francisco) and pouring scorn on all those who come to my desk.
I also caught up with Andrew for a big meal at Ozeki before his big trip to Papua New Guinea. It was a tiring Monday but a bit of sake and some good conversations with cool people helped take my mind off things.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:29am on Tuesday April 1, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway
Thursday March 27, 2014
Last Friday, I played "Let it Go" (because I really can't get enough of that song) live, at work, on a keyboard, with one of my colleagues who had had some opera training. It went down pretty well I thought, certainly the live element and atmosphere made it so special. Would probably not do that again.
I was at yum cha with Wei on Saturday and music at church on Sunday (where I played Let it Go, again, during the offering, and it totally went down well with everyone who knew the song!) On Monday we were at Crazy Horse for some amazing steaks and finally on Tuesday it was time to head to Queenstown.
I saw the GDC contingent at Wellington Airport on my way out and had a quick chat to them before scampering off to the gate. It was a fine sunny day as I left Wellington, and all was fine until the pilot announced that the winds were too strong to land in Queenstown, and instead we had to land in Invercargill and take a bus for two hours.
Whee.
It was a mildly pleasant drive, apart from the lady and two babies behind me, but it was around 2pm when I finally reached Queenstown Airport and met up with my auntie and cousin. We spent the rest of the day wandering around town, getting some Ferg Burgers and Movenpick and checking out the lake. We had a pretty big day the next day...
We took a day trip to Milford Sound as part of this Jucy Cruise company. After a long wait for the coach to arrive, we went on our way to Te Anau, then Milford via some spectacular sights and fantastic scenery along the way. The cruise itself was amazing, just being able to appreciate the beauty of the Sounds as you're floating by. We were on the foredeck as the captain pulled right up against a waterfall - exhilarating! The gush of cold spray and the force of the water soon dissipated as the sun blazed down on the boat. It's true - every picture you take is a postcard picture. It was 9pm when we finally got back to Queenstown, but what a day.
While yesterday was more laid back and scenic, today was more adrenaline pumping, as I took my first bungy jump at the original bungy at the Kawarau Suspension Bridge. It was a bit windy and chilly as I stood on the edge of the platform, nervous as hell as I gawked at my surroundings. I didn't have my glasses on so it was kinda good that I couldn't focus on exactly how far down it was. The guys manning the equipment there were awesome though, I spoke to them about my job and tried to sell Robot Unicorn Attack 2 to them. Eventually I waddled my way to the edge and they counted down...but I hesitated when he reached zero! I took a deep breath and gracefully fell forward, arms wide open like a majestic eagle.
The jump is over so quickly. You don't really have the time to process what's going on. As I lay on the catchment boat, I replayed the last minute in my head and tried to remember what had just happened. It was awesome though, the slight free fall you get and the adrenaline rush of it all - I'd probably do it again. My bravery spurred my cousin on to go or her first bungy jump, so congrats to her as well for having the guts!
We spent the rest of the day enjoying the wine and cheese of the Gibbston Valley before heading up to Wanaka. We went to Puzzling World and conquered the maze, had a walk by the lake and finally headed back to Queenstown for some dinner.
It's been a long day but tomorrow will be even longer!
Posted by Jeremy at 11:22am on Thursday March 27, 2014 :: 0 comments ::