Friday 13 March 2015
Oamaru - Kurow - Ahuriri River - Lake Pukaki - Aoraki (Mt Cook)
Exit the Shag.....North to Waianakarua rd, to follow coast route to Kakanui then Oamaru, a large coastal town, our first stop after Kaitki beach, Camp for a night at the Oamaru Port, forgot to weigh down the camp, and while we were kicking back enjoying a feed and vino, a couple of backpackers informed us of our situation back home, a gusty southerly roared through, and collected the tent....... ended up chasing the tent a few metres across the road and nearly into the pacific, that put a damper on dinner ill tell ya!............lesson, always secure and weigh down camp no matter how the weather looks , things change quick in NZ. Meet a truckload of backpackers, mainly from Germany....most having the year of to travel between Uni Studies.....Aoraki(Mt Cook) in our sights cycle NW to Kurow, Via Weston, Whitestone, Enfield, Queensflat, Duntroon and Waikaura, nice ride along the Delta.....Kurow for a night,
Cycle next day..... Bypass Omarama, Hats town, to a free camp on the Ahuriri river, right on the edge of a cascading stream, wonderfull night with the sound of a flowing stream...........
late start next morning and head towards Twizel.....stop to top up on water at the salmon farm..and head towards Lake Pukaki, cross paths with Lewis and Elka and camp together on the lakes edge, stunning vista here and the colour of the lake is out of this world....Fluro Turquoise body of water rolling out to (Aoraki) Mt Cook and the Alps ...Fine company and dining as usual with Lewis and Elka.....Ill miss these guys, we've had a connection since we met, I have a feeling this will be our last meet on this tour, look forward to sampling there wine cellars in Germany one day...Wont forget there happy spirit, kindness and smiles.....till then you two butterflies....Claudia and I, have to make the call, Christchurch or sit out the bad weather impending, by the lake, and do a lap to Cook village and get a couple of small hikes in,............ the latter of course!
What a Squeeze, after another day and night of cold wind and rain....we awake to the front moving on and the sun, and the lake and Cook in all its glory.....Pack up camp...cycle back to twizel, and broke the tours purity and stowed the bikes , made up a swag, for a night, bussed it to Cook village..Setup camp that arvo...and get a 3 hour hike in to Tasman Lakes, right beneath Cook....Icebergs with parts of the mountain intact...some of the grommets, swam out 30 m to the bergs for the sake of it and i sat there for an hour, thinking about it.....I think i had my share of Icy water in the Awatare...but this lake was colder.....I'm getting soft!
next morning exit camp to do the Mueller hut hike and back, Six hours, Mueller Hut, at 1800m has a 360Deg View of sheer rock faces, glaciel saddles, and Cook. at the time we spent there the glaciers were avalancheing into the valley....thunder echo.....
had to fast track return leg, to get the bus.....so back to Twizel same day regroup the bikes, ride out 50klms, to a new camp on lake Pukaki....Glad there were no bandits that night cause i was out like a hibernating bear.
In Hindsight was well worth the effort as it was definitely one of the highlights of this tour. We love you mother earth.
Cycle next day..... Bypass Omarama, Hats town, to a free camp on the Ahuriri river, right on the edge of a cascading stream, wonderfull night with the sound of a flowing stream...........
late start next morning and head towards Twizel.....stop to top up on water at the salmon farm..and head towards Lake Pukaki, cross paths with Lewis and Elka and camp together on the lakes edge, stunning vista here and the colour of the lake is out of this world....Fluro Turquoise body of water rolling out to (Aoraki) Mt Cook and the Alps ...Fine company and dining as usual with Lewis and Elka.....Ill miss these guys, we've had a connection since we met, I have a feeling this will be our last meet on this tour, look forward to sampling there wine cellars in Germany one day...Wont forget there happy spirit, kindness and smiles.....till then you two butterflies....Claudia and I, have to make the call, Christchurch or sit out the bad weather impending, by the lake, and do a lap to Cook village and get a couple of small hikes in,............ the latter of course!
What a Squeeze, after another day and night of cold wind and rain....we awake to the front moving on and the sun, and the lake and Cook in all its glory.....Pack up camp...cycle back to twizel, and broke the tours purity and stowed the bikes , made up a swag, for a night, bussed it to Cook village..Setup camp that arvo...and get a 3 hour hike in to Tasman Lakes, right beneath Cook....Icebergs with parts of the mountain intact...some of the grommets, swam out 30 m to the bergs for the sake of it and i sat there for an hour, thinking about it.....I think i had my share of Icy water in the Awatare...but this lake was colder.....I'm getting soft!
next morning exit camp to do the Mueller hut hike and back, Six hours, Mueller Hut, at 1800m has a 360Deg View of sheer rock faces, glaciel saddles, and Cook. at the time we spent there the glaciers were avalancheing into the valley....thunder echo.....
had to fast track return leg, to get the bus.....so back to Twizel same day regroup the bikes, ride out 50klms, to a new camp on lake Pukaki....Glad there were no bandits that night cause i was out like a hibernating bear.
In Hindsight was well worth the effort as it was definitely one of the highlights of this tour. We love you mother earth.
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