Classic Castle Hill

Flock Hill

If you don't plan, things will still happen. Amazing. We have been staying at the Craigeburn camp ground which is just 10 minutes drive from the boulder fields, less if you are going to Flock. We've met all sorts of characters here at the camp but it wasn't until my friend Justin Wood arrived that we met Derek Thatcher and the strongmen of Castle Hill. We met the boys at the Flock Hill parking and zoomed up to the boulders. It was still early, 9 am maybe, and there was slippery frost covering the ground. People kept disappearing into the tall grass with a yelp and someone would yell, "Boom-agata!" Which to me sounds like a line from a Tribe Called Quest rhyme.

Lady Killer v3

We warmed up on a beautiful slabby, runnel problem and on many others whose names I know not. There is no formal guide for Flock Hill. But that's why we have Derek. There is something to be said however for heading up there without a clue because there are so many boulders, moderate problems, easy obvious warm-ups, and projects to be cleaned so fresh eyes are appreciated here!


Justin working on an FA.

The vibe was buoyant. The guys were sending their long standing projects, cleaning new ones, and sending those too. It was impressive and it set the scene for our trip here.

Pete "The Radness" on Mullet Arete v6


My project Mobeous v8


Even Ava was inspired!


Zac on Vapor Trail

James Morris working a project just before getting the second ascent of Derek Thatcher's Vapor Trail v10.

Captain Contact
Justin's 10th v8 of the day, his first day in Castle Hill.

The sun set behind the mountains and we were still climbing, the flash from Kyle's camera gave us just enough light to see the holds.


We descended the hill as the stars woke up. Sliding into thorny plants and falling over rocks, it would have been very helpful if we had brought our head lamps! We found ourselves running downhill trying to descend the 25 minute trek to flat land before we hit total darkness for the remaining 20 minute walk. When can we go to Flock Hill next!

Hokitika

Our impetus for journeying to Hokitika and the west coast was a shoot Kyle had for Canoe and Kayak Magazine. He was commissioned to do portraits of two bad ass Kiwi kayakers:

Graham Charles


AND


Paul Caffyn


Both of whose kayaking endeavors are well worth a Google.

It felt great to leave a place feeling like we saw all the good stuff (though naively). Hokitika is a small town south of Greymouth and is the bounty center for the New Zealand Greenstone (jade) known as pounamu. The river that empties into the ocean at Hokitika carries with it huge chunks of pounamu that local carvers turn into beautiful jewlery pieces and other carved works of art. The greenstone is rare and the art is an age old practice of the Maori. We met up with a local carver at Te Waipounamu and he gave us the full tour. During which Ava picked up a pounamu necklace and threw it at the carver, who later gave it to her as a gift. Kyle and I picked piece for each other and have not removed them since.

Cultural experience, check.

After downing some delicious fish and chips we headed to Hokitika Gorge to see the fabled majestic turquoise river.

It was so ravishing that I wanted to leap off the 40 foot high swing bridge into its swirling waters.

The hues of blue were not so mesmerizing as to block out the apocolyptic swarms of sand flies that bite on any area of exposed skin.

We escaped them by staying on the bridge - apparently they are afraid of heights.

Before dusk we took a trip to the ocean.

We taunted the sea gulls.

We stacked rocks,

and played with the waves.

Wh is pronounced as F

We arrived in Whangamata with the Billabong Pro Surf Contest in full swing. Bummed to see the crowds, but inspired by the surfers, we decided to stay on the beach to have a splash.

Ava and I discovered about 50 or so hermit crabs that had washed up on the beach. One of which was particullarly ready to leave it's shell and we picked it up just as it jumped ship!!! This odd sight was accompanied by small, brown, round starfish and little clear blobs that looked like legless jellies. No one could tell us why this sudden appearance of shellfish and sea life had made their way to the exposed sand.





This is a portrait of Kyle's surf buddy and our campground neighbor Ben. In the morning Ben and his girlfriend Lindsay took us to one of their favorite spots with the promise of smaller crowds and good waves. The place was Paunui Bar



I took this photo of one of the boys surfing at Paunui Bar.




The next day we went out searching for hidden rocks along the beach. After descending a steep and slippery trail we came upon a perfect beach break, hidden from sight, with four friends playing in the waves. As we passed quietly by (not wanting to bum out the locals) one of them had only enough time to do a 180 then leap off his board onto the sandy beach just next to me. We looked at each other and as he gave out a huge laugh, I knew we were cool to play on the rocks surrounding them.



On our way to Lake Taupo we stopped in Rotorua, the capital of thermal activity in New Zealand. The entire city smells like sulfur due to all of the boiling mud pools and hot geysers the city is built around. It is also the Maori cultural hub. This is a park we visited in the middle of town.Ava is our avid bug hunter. She even gives them kisses when she says goodbye.

The Airstrip

We were able to meet up with Waikato Region local Bevan Jenkins who came out of his office midday to give us the lowdown on the region. (Thank you Bevan!) We were destined for "The Airstrip" bouldering area which is situated on the Stubbs' farm near the Waitomo Caves. A unique point about bouldering on the north island is that most of it is on farmland under private ownership so permission must be obtained.
After contacting the owner, we arrived in time to find him elbow deep in lamb guts after having to slaughter the 6 month old due to a broken leg. A special occasion for a poor farmer, a special occasion for three grocery shoppers.
After a long walk around the property, we set out for a short evening bouldering session. In order to reach the climbs we had to carefully meander our way through adolescent bulls and sheep.
We arrived with the setting sun on the rock, perfect grassy landings, and smeary open-handed climbs. Unfortunately only the most classic problems of the area were over 10 feet tall but each one was well worth it.
"Wazzup" V8


That evening we parked our little red van on a hill overlooking the hilly region. As sheep filled in around us we nested in for a good nights sleep.
The next morning we visited Grot View Cave which is a large overhanging limestone roof with many fun climbs on it. I was able to peace out the classic thirteen move V7 "Franks Route" first try which left an entire day for falling off smeary sloping problems!


I continued my climbing day solo while Kyle and Ava ventured through yet another patch of sheep (which Ava happily chased away) towards a wetter part of the property.




We plan to head back to the region soon to check out the glow worm caves ad I suspect we'll probably be doing some more climbing while we're there!

Auckland: Be Forewarned

We arrived in the Auckland Int'l Airport itching to get going on our trip. After talking our way out of paying extra fees for our oversized and overweight baggage (Voodoo crash pad and camera gear respectively) we arrived to face unforeseen adversity. After all our research we neglected to learn about New Zealand's harsh laws on incoming plants, food, and even dirt.
I had no idea I had a banana in my climbing bag which was in my crash pad. Even at 5am the customs officials took me aside like a criminal, held up the banana and asked, "What is this?" I thought to myself, "You're nuts, it's a banana, duh." But I politely and with a bit of innocence replied, "A banana?" And my fate was sealed. I was fined $200NZ , no arguing.
That being our introduction to Kiwi's, all the experiences since have been very cordial and sweet. We nestled in to our apartment in the middle of the Central Business District (CBD) with a view of the entire city and the harbor out our windows and balcony. It was beautiful and very reminiscent of Vancouver, BC. In any case, Kyle took this photo out of our bedroom window while it was raining. It is of the Sky Needle which you can take tours of tethered to its outer rim wearing bright orange suits and harnesses.

Little Red Van

Kyle did months of fishing on the web to find the right home for us. He found a 1982 Toyota Hiace that would be our home during our four and a half month trip through the beautiful and hilly country of New Zealand. We discovered that New Zealand has more models of camper vans than anywhere else in the world, but ours is still the perfect one for us. It runs on normal gas and LPG (liquid petroleum gas) and has plug ins for electric and water.