Challenging Waters

As I set off on day one the weather was absolutely brilliant

Seaward Road Ford - see this on the map

Crossing the Tekapo River was certainly challenging. While the hydro lakes are low and haven't been spilled in a long time, there was plenty of snow melt making its way into the river and raising levels.

The Ohau River crossing was also well up and a bit of a challenge

Stopping to set an AdventureToken at Kellands Pond, a very cool little spot. You can view this on the map.

It was a very casual day on the bike. There were lots of stops along the way to peer into streams and rivers looking for trout. A few stops were also made to set some new AdventureTokens. Nearing the end of the day I made my way to a campsite up a pretty impressive valley

This was the first time I'd used the recently purchased BlackWolf UL 2 Adventure Tent

This was the first time I'd used the recently purchased BlackWolf UL 2 Adventure Tent. In some of my recent trips I've been using the Hilleberg Enan 1 man tent. The BlackWolf UL 2 is a really great tent, it’s super light and super quick to pitch, but it has a very small footprint. It is great for weekend trips but is a tad cramped for multi-day camping trips like this. It has oodles of room inside which made this trip a bit more comfy.

The views up the valley from camp weren't too shabby, nor was the fresh mountain drinking water.

While it dropped below zero overnight and it was a pretty cold start to the morning, unzipping the tent exposed beautiful blue skies and it didn't take too long for the day to warm up. Brilliant!

The view over to the Omarama Clay Cliffs from SH8. You can view this on the map

Some of the many rock stacks along SH8 just south of Omarama

Definitely the worst parking job I saw on this trip

Heading into the old Lindis Pass Hotel. You can view this on the map

Lonely Lindis Tree - view this on the map

One of the overly-friendly birds while stopping for a bite to eat and a coffee at Tarras. Turn your head and these cheeky little fellas will be into your food in a flash

Rocky Point Confluence - view this on the map

Another casual day on the bike was had. It was nice to have ample time to get to the destination and have lots of stops along the way. The final destination was my cousin’s house in Kingston

The run of good weather came to an end in spectacular fashion. A fairly savage front pushed through dumping rain exactly where we want to head. The photo here is a river that is normally crystal clear and very small, however it was pretty much bank to bank and chocolate brown

This chap's holiday was rudely cut short due to a broken axle. He managed to get it sorted fairly quick though as he was gone by the time we came out a couple of days later

This was the river we intended to cross, but there was no chance. It was well above chest height so we opted for plan B and headed elsewhere to setup camp for the night.

The next morning all the nearby rivers had barely cleared since the day before. Sight-fishing was certainly out the window and our concern was that the fish would be tucked away waiting for the river to clear rather than be out feeding. With the first couple of blind casts over likely water I managed to hook up to the first brown of the season, a fairly decent sized jack to boot. This luck was short lived however as only two more fish came to the net that day. While the fishing was tough, it was certainly an enjoyable day being waterside.

Towards the end of the day, just as we were about to head back, we had a chat with these guys who were stuck on the other side of the river and couldn't get their quads back across. Later that evening they did manage to cross but it was a sketchy crossing and they ended up drowning one of their quads

The next day bought fairly iffy weather again but we made the most of it with a nudge along a lake shoreline. It was another tough day of fishing but two fish were bought to the net, this is Glen playing a feisty brown

Glen patiently watching over the beat of a resident brown while one of the day's rare calm patches provided a glassy surface and allowed us to sight fish

The next day we were off with far better weather on our side

One of the first missions was to check out the headwaters of a nearby river. Although this was running clear, fish numbers weren't worth pulling out the fishing gear so we were off to the next destination

With reasonable fish numbers and water clarity that allowed for some sight fishing, we managed to bring a few good fish to the net. Nothing of any great size but it was challenging fishing and brilliant fun

Glen playing a brown that took a nymph just over the channel drop-off

This wee fella was in great condition

Glen with a healthy brown that put up a valiant fight for its size

After some great riding and some challenging fishing, I said goodbye to Glen and started to make my way back home. The Nevis had opened just days before so it was a good excuse to take this route

I shot up to have a look at Old Woman Range but there were still a number of snowdrifts around every corner which meant I could only get so far. After a few more photos in the area it was time to make a B-line for home