July 22, 2010
Bridge Hill Panorama
Posted by conor at 11:41 AM
February 15, 2010
Weekend activities
Ruairi had a trip to Clip N Climb with his friend Cara from kindy (including deciding he wanted to jump the Leap of Faith!), and we had to run to keep up with the kids on their bikes on a "stroll" round Hansen park!
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Posted by conor at 8:11 AM
February 8, 2010
Ildica at Castle Hill
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| Ildica at Castle Hill |
Posted by conor at 8:32 AM
Bealey River
Fantastic short tramp up the Bealey River, Arthurs Pass National Park, with Shane, Bernadette, Lauren & Ella. Crystal clear water (albeit cold), warm rocks for rock-hopping, hot sun, good company, what more could you want?
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Posted by conor at 8:24 AM
February 1, 2010
Brighton Kites
The New Brighton Kite Day couldn't have been luckier with the weather; mostly cloudless, steady sea-breeze (not too cold), and an amazing array of kites on show too.
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Posted by conor at 9:50 AM
January 29, 2010
Woolshed Creek Tramp
The kids first "proper" overnight tramp to Woolshed Creek Hut on the Mt. Somers Sub-alpine walkway in south Canterbury. We brought along a couple of extra Sherpas who seemed to enjoy the experience too. Had a little bit of everything, sun, wind, cloud, including a reminder of a) how wet the inside of a cloud is, and b) how quickly the weather can change in the mountains. 5 kms each way, plus 400m of ascent, and the kids did brilliantly, especially Ruairi whose legs are somewhat shorter than everybody else's.
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Posted by conor at 9:41 AM
January 22, 2010
Kawarau Bungy
We stopped for lunch at Kawarau Bungy on the way between Te Anau & Tekapo, and watched a few “bungers” (?). The kids were very interested and soon considered themselves expert at identifying potential “dunkers”. Evie seems slightly open to the idea of doing one, so we said we’d give her a bungy jump for her 10th birthday!
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Posted by conor at 9:23 AM
January 21, 2010
Summer Holiday Part III
A quick overnight at Tekapo en-route from Te Anau to Mesopotamia.
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Posted by conor at 12:38 PM
January 14, 2010
Summer Holiday Part II
Better luck second time round; the weather in Te Anau itself was much more friendly, although one didn't have to step much closer to Fiordland to see a lot of heavy rain clouds. Lots more stuff to see and do, including a Karearea (NZ Falcon, which I’ve only ever seen one other of, and this one was much bigger and more impressive) in the beech forest at the end of the Kepler Track, fantail parents feeding a just-fledged fantail chick on a branch, and the Te Ana-au Glow-worm Caves.
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Posted by conor at 10:35 AM
January 13, 2010
Craig Mc's 40th @ Mesopotamia Station
Had a very enjoyable weekend on Mesopotamia Station at the head of the Rangitata River helping Craig McLean celebrate his 40th birthday in some style.
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Posted by conor at 8:26 AM
January 12, 2010
Summer Holiday Part I
This year, we planned a tiki-tour down to the Catlins at the south end of the South Island via Dunedin to see our friends Ken & Elly. However, the weather in the Catlins was so miserable (and forecast to remain so) and the campsite so exposed, that we bailed early, and headed to Te Anau instead. Not that the kids seemed to mind. They had a ball camping, regardless of the weather!
Here’s Kakanui, Dunedin & the Taieri Gorge Railway, and the Catlins.
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Posted by conor at 1:13 PM
November 16, 2009
Quack
A small family of Paradise Ducks were enjoying a paddock pond near Castle Hill Rocks at the weekend.
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Posted by conor at 2:30 PM
November 10, 2009
Bunny rustling and other Farmyard adventures in Geraldine
Had a superb weekend down at The Farmyard near Geraldine with the Keohane, Dadds & McKinnon families. 20 degree days, quiet campsite, dips in the Geraldine outdoor pool, starry nights, good company, happy kids, donkey & quad-bike rides, bunnies & guinea pigs to pet, marshmallows to toast…
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Some photos courtesy of Trevor Keohane.
Posted by conor at 8:58 AM
October 27, 2009
Wander at Diamond Harbour
Had a great walk on Saturday with some families from the Trimble Social Club around Diamond Harbour after getting the little ferry across from Lyttelton. Beautiful day, and of course, the kids were stoked with an ice-cream at the end.
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Posted by conor at 1:23 PM
September 13, 2009
Sunset at Lake Ellesmere
We had the last field trip of my University of Canterbury landscape photography course to view the sun setting over Lake Ellesmere, and the photo gods obliged. The conditions could not have been better.
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Posted by conor at 7:12 PM
September 6, 2009
Photography overload!
Last minute decision to head to “Daffodil Day” at Otahuna House, Tai Tapu to check out the gardens there, and basically enjoy some beautiful spring sunshine.
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Posted by conor at 10:17 PM
Landscape Photography on the Peninsula
I spent a great day out photographing on Banks Peninsula on another Canterbury University course, tutored by Paul Daly (who among other things shoots for NZ Geographic, a magazine which we avidly subscribe to). Another great opportunity to indulge myself with my camera. My newly acquired 10-22mm lens absolutely rocks.
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Posted by conor at 10:04 PM
August 24, 2009
Nature red in tooth and claw
Who'd have thought a "meer" meerkat would have been literally the most bloodthirsty looking animal we'd have seen at Orana Park after our bike ride at McLeans Island?
Posted by conor at 1:56 PM
On yer bike
We all had a blast at the McLean's Island Reserve mountain-bike track. The track is in excellent condition, well graded & maintained, dry with some excellent berms on the corners.
Posted by conor at 10:29 AM
July 27, 2009
Bob Marley & The Wailers at Porters
Dorje grew some dreads for the day and headed to Porters with Trevor, Marcus (Mr. Stylish) & myself for a great day out in the snow. Loads of sun, little wind, some great snow on & off piste, and some fantastic views from the top towards Lake Coleridge, the Wilberforce & Rakaia watersheds, and further afield.
Posted by conor at 9:56 AM
July 20, 2009
First ski lesson for Evie
Evie and I took an exploratory trip up to Porters ski field yesterday to check it out and for Evie to have a ski lesson and see what she thought. She got a bit frustrated with her skis not doing what they were told a couple of times, and there was a very biting wind blowing but, all in all, a very successful first day, starting at 6.30am with "Dad, Dad, wake up, it's time to go, and I'm already in my ski clothes..."
Posted by conor at 9:54 AM
June 3, 2009
Mt. Sunday on a Monday (& other Lake Clearwater adventures)
Yet another stunning Queen's Birthday long weekend in the high country, staying in a small bach (no electricity with long drop, etc) at Lake Clearwater. -5 degrees overnight, single figure temperatures during the day, but the sun and cloudless blue skies on 2 out of the 3 days more than countered it. Mt. Sunday was the location for Edoras in the “Lord Of The Rings” movies, and proved to be a very enjoyable walk for everybody with the excitement of an unexpected river crossing or two to be made on the way to the summit (for some reason the kids refused to take their turn at carrying others across the river!), and stunning views up towards Mt D’Archaic and other peaks in the headwaters of the Rangitata River.
Posted by conor at 11:53 AM
April 14, 2009
Tramping at Montgomery Reserve
Had a great day tramp on Easter Monday at Montgomery Reserve, near Hilltop on Banks Peninsula. It could be considered the kids first “proper” tramp with their own rucksacks, some challenging scrambling for little legs up a rocky path, and the satisfaction of an obvious summit with great views over Akaroa Harbour and Banks Peninsula. No pleas to get carried, hearty appetites at the top, and plenty of tiredness by the end of the day!
Posted by conor at 4:41 PM
November 11, 2008
The Farmyard, Geraldine
Had a great weekend camping at The Farmyard near Geraldine, South Canterbury with Trevor & Marcus & families. The craic was mighty. Safe place for the kids, donkey rides to be had, lambs & kids to be bottle-fed, quadbikes to ride, rabbits to pet, marshmallows (or should I say, "marshmellows") to toast...
Posted by conor at 1:15 PM
April 7, 2008
Late (great!) summer holiday
This year's holiday (well, summer holiday, since we've already got a holiday to the UK in August lined up too), was a bit of a tour round the South Island culminating in the Warbirds over Wanaka airshow at Easter. We started off by heading up to Golden Bay for nearly a week at Ligar Bay (same bay as last summer), which was great, and got us in a relaxed mood for the rest of the holiday. Then we spent a week camping down the West Coast, staying at Westport and Fox Glacier. Great weather for the Coast, and I was pleased to be able to get down to Lake Matheson to get some nice photos of Aoraki & Tasman reflected in the still waters of the lake - a beautiful spot. Then it was on through Haast Pass to Lake Hawea near Wanaka where we had rented a large house on the waterfront for 10 days. Among other things, Ildica & I had a great overnight in Brewster Hut, high above Haast Pass, with some beautiful weather, and a scramble up to the top of 2154m high Mt. Armstrong, where we had great views north to Aoraki, and south to Mt. Aspiring.
Posted by conor at 4:00 PM
February 18, 2008
Beautiful Castle Hill (again)
Spent an overnight at Castle Hill again, leaving Christchurch in torrential rain (long overdue) to find the rain had stopped in the mountains an hour and a half away. The next day dawned beautifully clear and calm, and with an extremely photogenic "pond" in place at Kura Tawhiti (Castle Hill) Conservation area. I've also got a new lens for my camera (a Canon 55-250mm IS lens nominally for the Warbirds over Wanaka air festival we're going to at Easter), so it was an excuse to practise with it - great for long range candids of the kids for a start!
Posted by conor at 12:22 PM
February 8, 2008
2 days on the Casey-Binser Track
For the first time since before Evie was born, Ildica & I got to do an overnight tramp, courtesy of some great childminding by Granny & Grandad Boyd. The Casey-Binser Track is a loop over two passes in the eastern regions of Arthurs Pass National Park, with a night in Casey Hut, near the confluence of Casey Stream and the Poulter River.
Posted by conor at 9:46 AM
January 5, 2008
Christmas 2007
Nice to have 2 weeks off to spend with the family, doing a range of things, like fighting a bush fire on Quail Island, 3 days in Arthur's Pass (including a day's tramping without the kids for Ildica & I!), doing the Gondola Walk, etc. Oh yeah, and seeing the kids getting excited unwrapping presents!
Posted by conor at 9:45 PM
October 30, 2007
Glenrock with Dorje et al
Just back from another weekend up at Glenrock with Dorje, Keryn, Tashi, and their friends Richard, Liz & Caitlin. We stayed in the other house available at Glenrock which again was very comfortable. We had a stunning day out on Sunday, finally getting to the top of "mighty" Double Hill (with Evie walking the whole way up and down!), this time getting to appreciate the expansive views up the Rakaia.
Posted by conor at 1:16 PM
October 24, 2007
Quick trip to Quail Island
An active and enjoyable Labour Day long weekend culminated in a quick trip to Quail Island in Lyttelton Harbour (we also went to Lauren's 4th birthday party, Willowbank, and up in the Gondola). Beautiful sunny days over the weekend, although it was cool out on the island.
Posted by conor at 1:07 PM
October 9, 2007
Glenrock Station with Bernadette, Shane, Lauren and Ella
Just back from a weekend up staying at Glenrock Lodge. Glenrock Station is a working high-country farm with a couple of very comfortable cottages available for rent. It was a wild and windy weekend, with gale-force winds and torrential rain on the way in on Friday afternoon, and a deafeningly impressive 6 hour thunderstorm on Saturday night (where the shockwaves from the thunder rumbling up and down the valley continually rattled the windows and indeed the whole cottage). However, both days were blue and sunny, if still windy, and we had a very relaxing weekend with a couple of wanders round the farm, and up the valley, plus getting to feed a couple of well-fed lambs and calves. And we won't mention the rugby (watched over breakfast on Sky in the cottage), since the shock loss for the All Blacks is obviously a National Tragedy... ;-)
Posted by conor at 12:44 PM
August 29, 2007
Lunar Eclipse, 28th August 2007
Well, it was worth the wait. Not having seen an eclipse before (that I can remember anyway), I only really started getting interested in today's eclipse late last week, and then the weather yesterday afternoon turned threatening. I ended up driving about 25kms each way up over the Port Hills towards Godley Head to even see the moon, and then it clouded over and started raining before the eclipse even started! However, by the time I was as good as back home, the clouds rolled back to ultimately reveal this:
Posted by conor at 11:16 AM
August 13, 2007
Day trip to Double Hill
We hummed and hawwed about the weather forecast, but ended up taking a quick day trip up the Rakaia River valley to Double Hill, which is noted as a 2 hour walk with panoramic views of a couple of the big valleys in the Canterbury headwaters. Didn't quite make it to the top, since the kids were just having too good a time using all their energy talking nonsense to each other and laughing non-stop, but enjoyable day out never the less. If you've got Google Earth (and if you haven't, why not?), here's a small GE file highlighting a few of the photos (and locations). We also drove past Glenrock Station which has accomodation we intend to go back and check out in the future.
Posted by conor at 2:16 PM
July 15, 2007
Chilly wander at Orton Bradley Park
Headed out to get some fresh air on a chilly winters day at Orton Bradley Park across the other side of Lyttleton Harbour from Christchurch with Owen, Emily & Madeline (Nicki & Liam are in Canada for her brother's wedding). The kids had a great time throwing stones or splashing sticks in the stream, plus heaving on the old mill wheel there. Home via the cafe in Governor's Bay for a coffee/fluffy.
Posted by conor at 10:18 PM
June 19, 2007
Back up to Castle Hill for our 3rd weekend away in a row
Off after work again on Friday up to Castle Hill village, on our own this time.
It was another cold weekend, with a dusting of snow falling to about 900m on Saturday night, and a cold fog filling Castle Hill basin, with hard frosts of about -6 degrees again.
We headed up to Arthurs Pass on Saturday, and walked with the kids up to Punchbowl Falls. DOC have put in a fairly substantial walkway all the way to a new viewing platform below the falls themselves, although it was a gloomy and overcast day up there for viewing.
On Sunday, I got up at 6.15am and felt my way in the fog up first the Mt. Cheeseman ski field road and then the Broken River ski field road until I popped out above the murk to watch the sun rise. Took the rest of the family back to the same spot later on in the morning to explore on a lovely, crisp, windless morning. We headed back to Kura Tawhiti (Castle Hill rocks) on the way back home to do some scrambling.
Posted by conor at 2:30 PM
June 15, 2007
Enjoyable weekend at Castle Hill with Trevor, Della, Cara & Little/Big Conor
We borrowed Bernadette & Shane's bach at Castle Hill village, and invited the Keohane family to come and join us.Winter has definitely arrived temperature-wise down here, although very dry, so no snow about. Hard frosts in the mornings (-7 or -8 degrees), indeed the air temperature on Saturday up there didn't get much above freezing. All the kids had a good time playing/scrambling about among the Castle Hill boulders on Sunday afternoon as well. I took a few photos which I've enjoyed experimenting with in Photoshop to make a bit more dramatic.
I also tried taking a few more star trail photos with limited success this week. In fact on one abortive attempt I left the camera out for an hour, and when I came back, both the front of the lens and the camera were covered with a hard frost!
Posted by conor at 12:26 PM
June 8, 2007
Superb weekend away
First weekend in June in New Zealand is a public holiday to "celebrate" our illustrious Queen's Birthday. We headed up to a cottage on Lake Heron Station, a high-country farm 2 hours drive directly west of Christchurch.
Cold, crisp, mostly calm, early winter days in some stunning scenery. We all had a great time. Here's a selection of images from the album.
Posted by conor at 2:41 PM
May 29, 2007
Ex-QUBMC friend summits on Everest
Dr. Roger McMorrow, who I climbed with during my time in Queens Mountaineering Club, summitted Everest on May 24th 2007, as part of the Caudwell Extreme Everest research expedition. I've lost touch with Roger in the intervening years, but it sounds like he's going from strength to strength in the fields of expeditioning and mountain medicine. Congratulations to Roger and the rest of his team; he's gone a long way since his first trip to Chamonix with the rest of the QUBMC crew in 1995 (I think it was).It would appear that the standard of his mountain research has improved as well: during that trip, he was interested in seeing at what temperature water boiled on his campstove high up on Mt Blanc; what he failed to check before he started his experiment was that the zip thermometer he had only had a temperature range up to about 40 degrees!
Posted by conor at 2:29 PM
May 21, 2007
Visiting Ken & Elly in Dunedin
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