So last weekend the group of people I run around with decided that we wanted to climb Mount Fyffe. Mount Fyffe is a peak outside of the ocean town of Kaikora. On Friday, the guys rented a 10 passenger diesel van and at 5pm, we were off and running!
The drive north was pretty basic, nothing spectacular. We mostly played games until half way through (1.5 hours) and the rest was sleeping. The game of the trip was most definitely “Hey Cow”. Bascially when you see some sort of farm animal grazing or doing whatever they do by the side of the road, you open your window and shout “Hey Cow” outside as loud as possible. Usually the animal looks up at you to see what’s up, and depending on what animal it was that looked up determines point value. Scoring is as follows....
Cow: 1 point
Sheep: ½ points (they’re really stupid and will actually fall over each other trying to run away)
Horse: 2 points (they’re smarter than afore mentioned animals, so if they look that means you tricked them)
People: 5 points (same as above)
Around 9 pm we rolled up right outside of Kiakora to a campsite. We weren’t sure what the pricing was for the campsite, where to register, or if there were any other sites around. We just played it safe and set up camp with the plan to skip town in the morning.
The site itself was alright as far as pull up sites go, but it was right on the edge of a rocky shore. It was low tide when we got there, and the tidal pools were spectacular. There were a ton of cool little animals swimming around. Sweet little starfish, some red, orange, other with stripes, there were also pāua, snails, tiny crabs, sea squirts and some tiny fish. For a few hours we just stood around talking, enjoying some wine, and star gazing. I’m sure that I’ve already stated a few times, but the sky is so dark here. You could see the milky way, shooting stars, the southern cross, Orion, it was just really cool.
That night I got to use my new tent! It’s a sweet little 5 kg 2 person tent called “Frank”. Best tent ever!
The next morning we woke up and were packing the car when this guy in a car drove up, said good morning, and asked for the money from staying at the site. That’s when we realized the paper receipt on the windshield. Mind you that the time was about 7:45 and people had been awake since 6. No one saw or heard the guy put the paper on the car. Creepy... Well the site ended up costing us 10 per person and there were 10 of us. Easy come easy go?
After that we continued on to the city where we found out some more specific directions and headed off. Surrounding the town were these great mountains with snow on them, it was really surreal standing there with the ocean to my right and all around me these mountains. I know that they aren’t really all that tall, some of them reaching a over a mile. But compared to what I’m used to back in PA, these were pretty intimidating. I was really excited to tackle what I considered my first real tramp.
Shortly after I was standing in the town looking into the distance at the range, I was there at the foot of the trail looking up at the range. The trail started off steep and there was no sign of it slowing up. I was really worried. In my pack I had food for 3 days, sleeping bag, pad, tent, 6 litres of water and clothing, so it was a little bit heavy. Despite feeling like I was carrying a small child up a 45 degree incline, the views were spectacular and I couldn’t help but be amazed every time I stopped (which was pretty much every 10 minutes, no lie). I think that one of my favourite things about this trail was that each view was progressively more and more beautiful, but each vista was unique in its own way. The trail from the car park to the hut was about 3.5 miles along a 4 wheeler trail. Originally this tramp was to be an over pass over Mount Fyffe for cars, but eventually they figured out that it was completely ineffective cost wise and just turned it into what it is today.
The hut was great. It was right on the saddle before you started the final assent to the summit. It had a wonderful view of Kiakora, the bay, mountains and surrounding plain. The hut itself had a front ‘room’ area where you could hang your coats and stack your packs. Inside there were 10 bunks, a tiny table and a wood stove. We all took a short break, dumped our stuff and set off for the 3 miles to the summit.
I didn’t even plan on keeping up with the group considering that a few took off running up the trail. But instead I enjoyed the views with Grace. As we were going around a tiny peak, we heard someone shout and of course Grace and I looked up to see Kelsey, Emily and Nicole standing above us. Apparently they shouted “Hey Cow”. Nicely done ladies, 10 points to you.
There was this one saddle that was right before the summit that was at the elevation of 1500 meters that I swear was right out of The Two Towers when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimili are running. It was spectacular and completely unreal. I kept having to remind myself that I was really here and not just looking at pictures or sitting in an IMAX theatre.
Finally we made it to the summit, only a half hour after the runners got there. Making it to my first summit was one of the most amazing feelings. I honestly didn’t think that I was going to make it at the beginning of the tramp, I thought that I was going to have to turn around and get a room at the youth hostel while everyone else continued on. But my friends were amazing and kept me going. Finally getting to the top, realizing where I was and how far I had come was crazy. It was like jumping off that cliff a few weeks ago. If you had told me a few years ago that I would be climbing a 1602 meter mountain, I don’t think I would have believed you. But I was there, standing at the top with a breeze that smelled like Maine swirling around me while I looked down to the sea and back to the mountains.
The way back down of course was cake, and when we got there we found that we had bunk mates. They were three winemakers on their weekend off. A girl from Napa Valley California and two guys from Italy, they were all about 25. It was really neat to hear their stories about travelling around making wine for the past couple of years and their plans for the future while we all sat around making dinner. That is the other really cool part about tramping in New Zealand. Because the DOC provides huts, you get the unique opportunity to meet other people who are completing the same tramp as you are.
After playing cards and teaching the Italians how to play Egyptian Rat Screw, the sun was setting and we all went out for a little walk down the trail to get a good view. The colours were amazing, but what else did I expect? Thus far the landscapes and vistas had been absolutely breathtaking. But little did I know how much more amazing they would get.
Once again there were amazing stars to look at when the clouds would clear. That night on the saddle was a bit windy though. Myself and a few others volunteered to sleep outside because there weren’t enough beds to go around. It was pretty windy, and a few times Emily and I thought that something was trying to get into the tent. Another cool thing about NZ is there is nothing that wants to eat you, or anything you may have. In fact, stuff that lives here wants to stay away from you. Outstanding.
That morning everyone planned to hike back up to the summit at 5:30 am to see the sunrise. I was certain that I had pulled a muscle in my inner thigh because I couldn’t really walk without limping, so I passed. I certainly had a great view from the hut and didn’t want to push myself to much more. Around 7, Nicole and Grace came back saying that they were perfectly happy staying at the hut as well. I was glad to have the company. Like I said earlier, NZ has amazing colours and views, and this applied to the sunrise tenfold. The clouds and how the sun’s morning rays reflected up were indescribable. The pictures only begin to be able to capture the views. One difficult balance to find while tramping is the line between taking pictures to remember the views and then just sitting there and enjoying them for what they’re worth because you know that no matter how good the camera or photographer (with the exception I’m sure of Ansel Adams) a picture will never capture the feelings, depth and sheer enormity and beauty of the scene.
And for one second, going back to Ansle Adams, boy do I wish that man made it to the land of long white cloud. There is no knowing what landscape and natural photography would be like today if he had come here even with a dozen rolls of film. Sigh, only in dreams.
After a relaxing breakfast we said goodbye to our wine maker friends as they continued on and we packed our bags. The plan was to do good by Robert Frost’s suggestion of taking the road less travled and taking the trail known as Spaniard’s Spur straight down the saddle by our hut. And by straight down, I hardly mean switch backs but it seemed like they just threw a ball and made a trail based on the ball’s path. It was really, really steep. The guys leading though saw a wild boar which would have been sweet to see for sure. It was really cool to come down the side of the mountain rather than the spine, you get a different perspective of course. It was like being enveloped by the valley and travelling into a completely different place that I was in yesterday.
After we got down into the valley, we followed the river which should have taken us to our car park. Not that it didn’t... it did. It just took us longer than expected. It was quite an adventure. River beds in New Zealand are quite different from those in PA. Instead of a bottom comprised of silt and gravel, these are braided rivers along a broad plain littered with boulders of varying sizes. It can be difficult for sure trying to traverse the rocks, but a ton of fun for sure. The first few river crossings we made were with the intent of keeping our feet dry. This meant spending time trying to find boulders to jump across. Some of you I’m sure are familiar with my ability, or lack there-of, of jumping. My stubby legs are not conducive for leaping, jumping, bounding or any combination of both feet leaving the ground at once. So we got to this one that had two pretty significant jumps to reach the other side over a pretty swift current. I was terrified. But this was pretty much the only game in town. Stephan was awesome though, and somehow I was able to throw my pack for him to catch. Then I leaped for the rock. He was standing there to balance me, but I just latched on like a cat thrown into the bath tub. Scariest moment of my young life? No, but top 14 at least. This is the point I almost lost my camera, so I put it deep in my pack which is why there is a sever lack of pictures at this point.
For a bit we were fine on the side of the river that we were on, but of course all good things must come to an end, or at least a semi-sheer rock face that conveniently has no large boulders in close proximity. But thankfully the guys, Jon and Geoff in particular, love nothing more than to scramble up rock faces like mountain goats. So... up and over the rock face we went, with our packs, and no ropes, and a river below us. Oh the adventures that I have no idea are coming. I love them.
After that, the next 10 river crossings we came to, we said forget it, and just straight up walked through them. This was a weird feeling having water trapped in water proof shoes. Kinda like a water bed for your feet....
Finally, 5 hours after we left the hut almost to the minute, we finally got back to our car. Most ridiculous hike back every. But awesome in every sense.
So, weekend in summary. New Zealand has awesome views and provides a seemingly countless number of adventures.
Click here for more pictures!
