nigeyboygoeswalkabout

Ok folks so its been quite a while since my last update, which can mean only one thing......yes, I have a woman in my life! No I'm not hallucinating, no I didn't make her in the lab and no I didn't buy her in Asia as some of you cheeky little monkeys are probably thinking ;-) Well it all seems like a long time ago so I better start at the beginning. Don't worry I won't bore you and divuldge everything in one go, but I will probably enhance my version of events with artistic license.

I arrived at Makarora early in the morning ready to leave my intention form at the DOC office before heading off to do the 3 day Gillespie pass hike. However, the gods conspired against me and the Universe sided with them....the DOC office was closed that day due to staff shortage so I couldn't leave a record of my intentions, but more importantly I also couldn't get a map, and the map was looking increasingly necessary as the weather was really starting to close in. I talked to a couple of hikers who were about to start despite the rain and they assured me that the sun was due to make an appearance by midday. A glance at the sky suggested their forecast was a victory of hope over reality so I decided to wait and see what tomorrow would bring. But as they say, every cloud has its silver lining and later that evening I met a young and somewhat enigmatic Canadian guy called Nick and an American girl called Cara. As we played pool later that evening I realised Nick, who was only 18, had possibly already achieved enlightenement, but if I'm honest I was far more impresssed by Cara's stance at the table and the decisive manner in which she handled her cue ;-)
The following morning brought a beautiful day and a good forecast for the duration of the hike. For once I was on time and I contemplated the day ahead as I waited outside the DOC office where we had all agreed to meet,......an hour later they turned up, which might have been considered rude ......if the clocks hadn't gone back that night :-! Nigeyboy time in reverse for once.

I ended up walking with John, a Kiwi from Invercargill who although physically unassuming was a pretty hard core mountaineer. John, who was off to climb Mt Dreadfull (I think the name kinda says it all) set a pace just shy of a greyhound in full flight, but still managed to keep me ammused with his tails of being caught in avalanches etc. In fact, by the time we got to the Young hut I was starting to suspect that the mountain rescue service probably had an entire team dedicated to him alone and I made a mental note not to follow him beyond the snowline.




At the Young hut we decided to cool off in the beautiful mountain stream, which seemed like a great idea until you actually climbed in. However as it meant I got to see Cara with her kit off the mind numbing pain was worth enduring.... at least long enough for this photo opportunity anyway ;-)
If you look closely you'll see that I'm not actually smilling but grimacing in pain. Now then, do you think that's the because of the ice cold water or the firm grip of Cara's hidden hand as she wispered " Don't get too comfortable big fella"



Later that evening another Canadian Guy called Mike, who had been on the Milford kayaking trip with me turned up, so the four of us did the rest of the hike together.

Sunrise looking out from the Young Hut









The second day saw us ascend over Gillespies pass with its stunning panoramic views before descending into the magical Siberia valley.


Cara and Nick at the top of Gillespies pass











New Zealand is unusual to those of us from the UK because many of its valleys are also totally wild and uninhabited and as I walked down the Siberia valley I kept expecting to see little Laura Ingles from The Little House on the Prairie running thru the long grass ;-)

After a 3hour sunbathing session in the meadow we arrived at Siberia hut in the late afternoon/early evening. I strategically, but casually ;-) selected the bunk next to Cara and then after dinner we all headed outside to look at the stars. Normally this would have been a good opportunity to impress Cara with my knowledge of the stars, except as we were in the southern hemisphere, I only recognised about half a dozen or so of the constellations and I had to keep looking at these upside down for them to make sense, Dohhh.

The third day saw John turn up at the Siberia hut with more tails of adventure. His crampon strap broke half way up an ice face and he had to perform an emergency repair with gaffa tape whilst hanging by his single ice axe. After breakfast we walked down the Wilkin valley where we were due to get picked up by a jet boat which would take us back to Makarora and hopefully provide some thrills and spills on the way. Sorry Juliet, but as you can see I had to cut my own hair and it ended up a little shorter than anticipated :-0. As a result of this haircut and my combat trousers and unbeknownst to me till much later, Nick and Cara had nicknamed me the "Aryan commando" ........obviously just the kind of impression I was trying to make with her ;-)


Following the walk we decided to relax with a beer or two!













As we all had such a great time on the track we decided to travel together up to fox glacier and do the Copland track, well at least as far as the hot pools anyway (a days walk each way). Now then, as the Optimistic lady isn't exactly a huge car I wasn't sure whether we'd all fit but luckily the others are all a bit shorter than me so leg room wasn't a problem!

That night we headed out to Gillespies beach were we cooked dinner on the beach then watched the sunset. Poor Mike was so worn out by all of this he broke the golden rule and fell asleep in the hostel lounge.........................




NEVER FALL ASLEEP IN THE HOSTEL LOUNGE!!!!!