“School’s Out for Summer!” – as always I broke up for the holidays with this song bouncing around my head and a nice end to term with various staff meals out, the usual end of term sing alongs and Christmas quizzes. My proudest moment (!) was beating the Year 9s at a “Disney Princess” Kahoot! A nice touch was thinking I had a six week break but then checking the calendar I realised it was actually seven weeks off – awesome, a bonus week, time to plan some fun adventures. Em’s holidays were still up in the air but we had a five day block sorted before Christmas and lots of hot sunshine forecast so went for Kaikoura as not too far to drive. Another Top 10 Holiday Park to stay in, which though they lack any kind of scenery and are usually next to a noisy road they make up for it with special extras, such as this one had a nice swimming pool, toasty hot tub and the now essential jumping pillow. They have recently opened up some new mountain bike trails on Mount Fyffe so we thought we’d check them out the first day before the weather got too hot for biking. Turned out to be an absolute scorcher and far, far too hot for biking!!! Mount Fyffe (aka Mount Inferno) is very, very steep so after a very sweaty steep walk/bike push to Mount Fyffe Hut I bailed for the steep downhill and fun singletrack below. Em wisely opted to leave her bike at the edge of the woods and run the last bit to the hut, but she then cycled all the way back to town which looked brutal in the oppressive heat. The kids and I went for the popular swim/SUP combo which was a much more pleasant choice! The next day was even hotter so we went surfing at Mangamanau which again I loved but Em hated due to the rocky nature of the point break, she’s good enough to surf there but doubts her ability to commit to the waves and sits too far back to get any rides. Kaikoura has great surfing but not on the sandy beaches so not the most family friendly surf venue, though we did find a nice sandy beach in the afternoon closer to town for some body boarding and shallow SUP surfing, pretty much stepping onto the beach when the wave broke! After all that excitement it was time for a celebratory dinner of the local speciality of crayfish and chips. We also treated ourselves to an early Christmas present or two of wetsuits and boots. My wetsuit is over fifteen years old so nice to finally get a new one! Last day in Kaikoura and we had booked onto a whale watching trip hoping for some calm seas and plenty of large wildlife. On checking in they were very keen we all took travel sickness pills which was a worrying start and the 2m swell wasn’t great either. All seat pockets were full of vomit bags too, yikes! Kids were dosed to the max, I opted to take my chances without the pills and we set off. The staff were excellent with lots of good humour, interesting information about marine animals, and we shot across the water in our speedy boat listening for whales with a sound detector and not seeing much in truth except some large albatrosses and petrels. Ethan and Iona started to be sick and it was all going badly and then finally we found a whale and for ten minutes everything was great, enormous whale next to the boat and that special moment where it dives deep and shows of it’s gigantic tail. Sadly two hours in a boat and lots of ill children isn’t quite worth the ten minutes with the whale but it was a memorable experience whichever way you look at it, just one we won’t repeat in a hurry!
After all that time sat on a boat we needed some fresh air and finished the day hunting for seals on the peninsula, which is a scenic walk and you are pretty much guaranteed to get up close with lots of seals. Back to Christchurch a little bit sunburnt and still rocking from the boat trip but ready for Christmas celebrations and especially the presents, excitement levels had been building for a few weeks now! After so much sun on our mini trip it was quite a shock to have cold, wet days to follow but we enjoyed a good session at Uprising the local indoor bouldering wall and Christmas Eve we went for a laughably wet paddle on the River Avon through town. People must have thought us mad as we launched in torrential rain and sang Christmas songs all the way down the river to the excellent Margaret Mahy play park where luckily the sun finally decided to come out. Lots of colourful penguins have sprung up all over town and the kids enjoyed hunting these out along the way. Christmas Day was again wet in the morning but great weather for opening and appreciating presents and we got our traditional Christmas Day surf in the sunshine at Sumner after lunch which was a nice touch too, and far more pleasant than the usual UK winter surf in head to toe neoprene. Christmas Zoom chats with the family were most amusing too, especially the calendar Em and I had made featuring Sally and Christopher on each page, mostly from their visit and various sleepy Facetime screen grabs! Boxing Day we enjoyed hunting for Christmas trees at Bottle Lake forest and the kids were all biking like pros, downhill and up too, though always with a little bit of whining at times, wouldn’t be a proper bike ride without that!
Great news came through that Em’s work had too many people on the following week so she was offered an extra week of annual leave which meant three weeks holiday instead of two, we’ll take that! This did mean we had to make a plan in a hurry and set out the very next day for Mount Cook Village and the scenic Glentanner campsite, which was such a contrast with the noisy Kaikoura top 10 campsite, being quiet, spacious and having amazing views up the valley of Mount Cook and the Southern Alps. Having climbed Mount Cook fifteen years ago I was excited to get the mini team into the hills and we opted for the Sealy Tarns route which although short is super steep with 2000(!) steps leading you up to great views across the glacial lakes of the Hooker valley and the mighty Mount Sefton looming above you covered in hanging seracs which like to fall off occasionally. Em continued on up to Mueller Hut and Mount Ollivier and got even better views but we were both very proud of the little people for an ambitious expedition into the hills. I squeezed in some bouldering at Zurbriggens boulder and then we all had a well deserved scenic ice cream at the Hermitage Hotel to finish. What a start to the trip! We finished our Mount Cook mini trip with some excellent bouldering at the Pukaki boulders and a swim/SUP in our old friend Lake Wanaka on the way to Queenstown.
Having stayed in the heart of busy, noisy Queenstown last summer we definitely knew we wanted a bit more solitude this time, so opted for the DOC campsite at twelve mile creek west of town on the lake, totally off the grid despite only being you guessed it twelve miles from town. Long drop toilets, no showers or shelter made it a bit challenging when it rained (and boy did it rain!) but swimming in the lake each evening was magic and we just about managed to eat outside only having to use the tailgate of the car as shelter once or twice!
Plan for Queenstown was very much to check out some of the world famous mountain biking and we started with the highest one seeing as the weather looked set to get worse. I asked the guy at the ticket office whether he thought the biking was suitable for children and he said five year olds had done it before, it just depended on the skill level of the rider, well Iona is the bravest four year old I know so only one way to find out! Coronet Peak has a ski lift with bike attachment which takes you right to the summit of the mountain for great 360 degree views and an awesome blue (but airy) trail back to the ski centre, Ethan and I raced ahead and Em brought the girls down not far behind. Most impressive is none of the kids have suspension but they handle the rocky trails no problem. Em and I then both got our money’s worth (taking turns) by doing the excellent flowy Rude Rock, exciting Pack, Sack and Crack and old school Pack trail down into the remote Skippers Canyon. A scenic uphill up the impressive gravel Skippers Canyon Road brings you back to the ski road and a final flourish down the insanely fun Hot Rod which is like a roller coaster of berms and jumps, shame my suspension keeps losing pressure making it that bit more challenging. Some of the best biking we’ve done in New Zealand for sure, well worth hunting this link-up out if mountain biking is your thing!
The kids were super excited to get back on the gondola and go on the luge in town, Em much less so, she’s not a fan of the big commercial enterprise and with the Kepler Track in the pipeline she couldn’t run off into the hills to escape this time. The luge was a lot of fun though despite the crowds and Ethan was the deserved winner of most of the head to head races. The others got the gondola back down but I opted for some more biking starting with the fun Beeched As route which takes you up to a nice viewpoint. From there though things got worse as I started down the old school Fernhill loop which was super rooty and technical so I figured I’d climb back out and try and find an easier way down. No luck so I then had a tough, torturous, twisty root filled track which went on and on and eventually rejoined the bike park’s downhill descents. I jumped on the easiest trails I could find but my poor bike was now like a bone shaker and struggled its way down! Relieved to make it down in one piece I met the others on the beach for a badly needed swim in the lake and some great dancing, street performers and live music to entertain us. Was a shame to head back to camp on New Years Eve for a rainy dinner and not party into the night, Queenstown was buzzing with a party vibe.
Final day in Queenstown was dreadful weather, torrential rain on and off most of the day, but fortune favours the brave so we tried some biking anyway, Em and I took turns on the classic Moke Lake circuit which is much more my kind of thing, cross country style single track and scenic views in the (dense cloud covered) remote hills. The kids and I tried the Bob’s Cove coastal track from the campsite in full waterproofs but only made it about a mile before admitting defeat after sheltering under lots of trees. They gave it a try which was a commendable effort! The weather was telling us it was game over for Queenstown so I took the tent down in more torrential rain the next morning and we got the hell outta Dodge….
Not so hasty Harrisons, after trying the swimming pool in Queenstown which was suffering from a “Code Brown” closure we tried to drive to Te Anau only to find out the torrential rain had washed out two bridges so back to Queenstown we went, this time we decided enough was enough and it was time for some self catering, so managed to get the last cabin available in Arrowtown holiday park which was a great spot, and after finally getting in the excellent swimming pool we feasted on amazing pizza and pasta at the Italian restaurant. Nice to not feel like drowned rats again and get a decent night’s sleep in a proper bed!
Onto Te Anau again and with half the road open it was only a short delay to get us back on track and through to another Top 10 campsite in the heart of town, a stroll on the lake front and another hot tub and some planning for Em and I to run the famous Kepler Track over the next few days. Weather forecast slightly improved but far from perfect so I set out the following morning taking the 8.30am ferry across the lake to Brod Bay. The Kepler varies from 45km to 70km depending on whether you take advantage of water taxis and shuttles to the start and end so we wisely opted for the shortest option as the extra bit is running in the woods next to the lake for 25km. The ten minute ferry (five minute jog from the campsite) is a great start to a day in the hills as the lake is calm and gives you a brief moment of serenity before a big day ahead. The first hour is a slog uphill through the trees and then all of a sudden you pop out in the high alpine country and first reach Luxmore Hut which looks a great place to stay, will have to bring Ethan back up here sometime and stay the night. Onward and upward, and I opted to leave the super highway trail and go off-piste taking a fun scrambly ridge over a few peaks and up to the highest point on the regular trail, Mount Luxmore where I had a few jolly chats with various hikers. The weather was just about playing ball with mostly good views and clouds rolling in and out. Over to the left was a great view of the Jackson Peaks, an attractive looking horseshoe ridge which begged to be climbed. It looked grassy, how bad could it be? After the Forest Burn Shelter I reached a col where I did some scree running and an airy, loose traverse across unstable ground and I started wondering if this was a sensible move leaving such a well formed and well travelled route. The next kilometre was though waist deep tussocks and bushes with the occasional Spaniard Speargrass that you’ll know quickly if you brush against! I finally reached the horseshoe I’d been looking at to find the vegetation much thicker than it looked but pushed on anyhow as I’d got this far. The ridge got easier and more scenic as I gained height and though broken rock, it was a fun scramble with three peaks to pass along the way and I just beat the worsening weather back to the main track two hours later. I then passed all the walkers I’d met earlier who were surprised to see me again! The best bit of the normal track followed, a picture perfect ridge descent down to the Iris Burn Hut which sadly meant the end of the high alpine stuff and lots of wooded valley running to come. I took a “20 minute” diversion up to the impressive Iris Burn Falls and had a long swim and rest. This was a bad choice as my legs seized up from the cold water and I found running the 2km back to the hut very tough and had another long rest and feed at the hut. Although I’d done the hardest bit of the day the next 20km (mostly downhill!) was very, very tough and I shuffled along slowly down the valley, getting slower and slower and longing for the end. Finally I reached Lake Manapouri which is a beautiful spot for a second swim and soon after I reached the well positioned Moturau Hut and had a final feed, a chat to a bemused walker and psyched up for the last 5km to the car at Rainbow Bridge. I’d managed to charge my phone in the last hut so was saved by 80s disco tunes which made the last 5km surprisingly pleasant! Great feeling to cross Rainbow bridge after 10.5 hours of running, 50km (30 miles) and lots of hills and in retrospect the energy sapping vegetation, extra ridge and waterfall diversion were all foolish options but I definitely got my money’s worth! I’d missed dinnertime but Em had thoughtfully saved me some and she set about packing the bag for her go at the route….
Perfect morning for a run! 
Mount Luxmore beckons… 
Normal Kepler 
Harder variant! 
Back on main highway 
Perfect ridge running.. 
Iris Burn Falls 
Lake Manapouri 
I awoke the next day to the sound of rain drumming on the tent with some very dead legs for my trouble, Em wisely decided to delay her run another day so we had a rest day in Te Anau instead, we checked out the excellent local library and visitor centre and also did a Fiordland themed Escape Room which was all about blasting through the Homer Tunnel – the kids though scared at first got into it and we (just) made it out within an hour with a couple of helpful clues from the owner.
More dead legs followed (I really should train more for running these things, cycling doesn’t quite work!) and we got some decent weather finally and Em set off into the hills for her big day out. The mini team and I had planned to do a boat trip to the famous Te Anau glow worm caves and after a leisurely breakfast I figured we had plenty of time to squeeze in a bike loop round town and along the lake to catch our 10.15am ferry, about a third of the way round I started to panic as it looked very tight to make the ferry despite me pushing the kids frantically and getting Ethan to race ahead. I had the company on the phone holding the boat for us and we raced on, a shortcut through a long grass field backfired, we went to the wrong harbour and then we got there pouring with sweat 30s late to see our boat pulling out in front of us! Doh! A quick change of plan and we savoured the tourist delights of Te Anau instead starting with a water bike ride, moving onto the excellent mini golf and play park and finishing with a top quality scenic swim and SUP in nearby Lake Manapouri which is framed well by mountains. We then went to the end of the Kepler track and hung out on the amazing Rainbow Reach suspension bridge while waiting for Em to finish her big day out. 5pm came and went which was the planned go back to the campsite for dinner time, and I was remembering how trashed I was two days ago and how she’d appreciate the lift home rather than a hitch, so we waited a bit longer and sure enough at 5.20pm a very tired but relieved looking Emily appeared. Like me she’d loved the mountains but found the long 20km forestry section to finish pretty taxing. A first ultramarathon and a famous one at that surely deserves a slap up dinner so we found a great restaurant (Fat Duck Gastropub) opposite our campsite which was fully booked but we persuaded them to let us sit outside despite the imminent rain and we had a feast of seafood chowder, burgers and fish and chips and even beat the rain back to the tent.
Racing to the ferry! 
Missed it, but this will do instead! 
One lucky bonus of missing the unrefundable glow worm caves, was Em was now free to join us on the trip and with a short drive to the south coast ahead we did the tour in the morning before leaving. It was a really nice mix of boating across the lake and into the sounds, followed by a stunningly lit cave with walkways above waterfalls and a glow worm cave boat ride to finish, bit touristy for sure but worth doing all the same. We headed on south eager to see some nice beaches and get some surfing done after all this biking and running. A quick stop between showers at the historic Waiau suspension bridge which had an excellent (if a tad scary) long rope swing out over the river to entertain us all. Our first campsite on the south coast was at a rustic little place called Colac Bay and the campsite next to the pub is a relic from the 60s, run down, ramshackle and super old school, but in a great location near the beach. The first day was yet more sunshine and showers so we had a quick surf in the centre of the beach and then enjoyed the excellent bouldering in hidden rocky coves tucked away at the east end of the beach. A superb selection of boulder problems for all ages, with great views from the cliff tops, very reminiscent of the west coast of Scotland, which is just what we’ve been missing living in New Zealand….
Handy lunch spot! 
The weather continued to decline and the showers became high winds and steady rain so we opted for a rest day at Invercargill starting with the excellent transport museum where besides many cool old cars, Em especially enjoyed playing cops and robbers with Ethan! It brightened up in the afternoon so we headed down to Bluff to look for oysters and found an excellent forest and coastal walk from the very southern tip of the peninsula. A slap up dinner on the way back at the lovely Aparima restaurant at Riverton was a nice touch, enjoying mussels, more tasty chowder and great views across the estuary. Our last morning in Colac Bay we checked out nearby Cosy Nook which was a wind and wave lashed granite fishing village, but we didn’t hang around much longer than racing the tide getting on and off the rock islands with exciting big waves crashing in. A long drive east took us to the Catlins proper which is another level up of coastal scenery than Colac Bay, with rainforests spilling down over cliffs to big sandy beaches and caves. An afternoon spent on beautiful Papatowai Beach was time well spent and then we drove down to our next basic DOC campsite at Purakaunui Bay which I’d heard good things about but was still blown away by the view of remote camping by a perfect beach with massive cliffs at one end. After many days of rain we also had hints of the sun starting to return and this improved everyone’s mood immensely. Welcome to the Catlins!
Ethan spots a Kereru 
Papatowai beach all to ourselves!
Sadly the hints of sun were short lived and the first morning was yet more rain so we did the sensible thing and left the beach to hunt out “New Zealand’s Finest Waterfall” at Purakaunui Falls – this was underwhelming to say the least being far smaller than the impressive ones at say Milford Sound or on the Routeburn Track! It does manage to look beautiful in photos though so I’ll give it that. The hollow trees on the approach path were also a hit with the children. Although grey it had stopped raining enough for some surfing in the afternoon and the waves were great fun here, big and barrelly but just about surf-able on a longboard, the kids loved riding their boards down the river onto the beach. Great to have campfires again, play a little guitar (literally, it’s Sara’s Christmas present!) and eat al fresco on a picnic blanket every meal. Who needs showers, tables and chairs and flush toilets anyway?
The next day we headed over to nearby Jacks Bay and did the Jacks Blowhole Walk which was an impressively high hole in the ground but the walk itself keeps the views hidden most of the way. We had a great surf on the smaller waves on Jacks Bay and pretty cool having the whole beach to ourselves except for a giant sealion when we arrived. We drove back to camp and it was now super hot and sunny so of course we were all back in the water after plenty of naked running (for the children!!) on the beach first. Two surf sessions in a day always means tired, rubbery arms but big smiles on your face and we all slept very well that night after a final campfire and picnic dinner, magic!
Onto our final destination for the trip Dunedin and a trip to the Otago peninsula that we planned this time last year but a broken fan-belt in the car meant we had to miss out and do city stuff instead. A quick lumpy surf en route at a windy Kaka point and we rocked up at Portobello Holiday Park (which is a famous beach in Edinburgh!) right in the middle of the peninsula, a blissfully clean and quiet campsite and everyone enjoyed their first shower in four days! The good weather continued so we set out the next day keen to use the inflatable canoe for the first time on the trip and find some wildlife which the peninsula is famous for, after a couple of false starts due to locked gates and closed beaches (selfish penguins!) we launched a few km further south than planned and whizzed round to the very tip of Taiaroa Head where we found a ridiculous amount of seals, albatrosses, oystercatchers and many other interesting birds to look at, all sheltering under dramatic cliffs under the lighthouse. We enjoyed the wind and tide pushing us back and had a great picnic lunch and swim on a remote beach, if you’re going to only have one paddle on a trip (The Te Anau planned river one was cancelled due to the weather) you might as well make it a good one. We finished the day hunting penguins at the excellent Penguin Place, an informative talk and then we met lots of Yellow Eyed penguins up close in the reserve before heading out onto another remote beach to hunt for ones in the wild. The kids loved finding tiny blue eyed penguins nesting in small manmade boxes and though we never quite saw the penguins coming in from the sea we enjoyed following the trenches (to keep you hidden from animals) and saw yet more seals and sea lions.
The next day we fancied some more mountain biking so headed up Signal Hill just north of Dunedin and drove to the very top of the hill for a cracking descent of the well named 6km “Big Easy” – the kids and Em went down this and I enjoyed the Mrs, the Mistress and Maverick Mikes before cycling back up the Big Easy to the top to move the car to the bottom. Sadly the kids now think bike shuttles are the way forward and it will be hard to motivate them to cycle up hills again! Em went back up to try the harder trails and the kids and I did a couple of laps of the fun Butt track. A great trail centre ridiculously close to town, I met two guys who’d nipped up for a lap or two in their lunch break! The day’s heat had cranked up so we all needed a well deserved ice cream and swim/SUP in Macandrew Bay on the way back to camp…
Last day in Dunedin and with the haar rolled in yet again (Edinburgh place names and Edinburgh weather!), we assumed it would burn off in an hour or so and headed up into the hills to stretch our legs. Sandymount Loop has amazing coastal views apparently but walking in the dense cloud wasn’t quite what we were after! We could see the sun shining lower down on the beaches so after a quick lap to tick the summit we drove round and dropped down the very steep sand dunes onto pretty Sandfly Bay, which is another stunning beach, the match of the ones in the Catlins, lots of sea lions again and white sand with islands and cliffs. Surf looked pretty perfect too with offshore winds and a decent swell. Em headed out first and got out the back only to be chased out of the water by an angry giant sea lion who then went after two swimmers chasing them out of the water too! Scary stuff and Em passed the board to me, I nervously headed out further right near some other surfers and luckily didn’t come face to face with any angry sea creatures but did catch some epic rides, surfing doesn’t come any better with big long right handers peeling right across the bay. Em had another go but was spooked a bit by the close encounter. The walk out up the steep sand dunes was predictably very hard work especially with a rucksack full of heavy wetsuits and a 9foot long board but we got there in the end and Ethan even ran some sections!
Em 0 Sealion 1 
Dad Chad gets a good one. 
We were all very sad to leave the Otago Peninsula and head homewards but we maximised the journey home by stopping at the famous Moeraki Boulders and Elephant Rocks on the way to a night in Timaru to break the drive. The Moeraki boulders are like that waterfall in the Catlins – very, very overhyped and when you get there they are tiny, busy with tourists and hardly worth it, but they grew on us and they again do seem to look amazing in photos! Elephant Rocks was awesome bouldering though, perfect grassy landings and loads of fun problems to go at, Em and I took turns at trying to keep the children safe and enjoying the rock ourselves. Timaru seemed nice enough, we had a nice dinner out overlooking the beach and enjoyed the coastal walk round the headland to be treated to some massive waves slamming into the rocks, but overall the town reeks of massive industry and urban decay. $100 (£50) for a two bedroom cabin to enjoy the first night in a real bed in weeks is not to be sniffed at though!
So our three week trip had finally come to an end and in true Harrison style we had certainly maximised the adventures with some great surfing and biking on remote mountains and beaches. Christchurch isn’t a bad place to come back to either in sunny summer and I enjoyed a couple of daddy days off cycling the famous Wharfedale Track and two days later running the technical Torlesse Traverse with a Canadian friend Zack. Only 20km but super hilly with some airy loose rock pinnacles to scramble over in the middle. We’d pre-stashed bikes to enjoy an easy downhill cycle for the last two miles and the amazing Steak and Cheese pies and cold ginger beer in Darfield on the way home tasted amazing after a big 6 hour day in the hills. One week to go till school starts, hopefully time for one or two more adventures before then and that scary moment where I try and remember how to teach after 7 weeks off! Feeling sad about our friends and family in the UK suffering through another grim lockdown and bleak winter weather and hoping things improve for them soon too. Cheered to see another “Beast from the East” bringing sunny skiing pictures though and still plenty of good banter from all sides of the planet. Sorry I seem to have written such a long blog again, well done for reading this far and hopefully see you again soon, cheesy quote to finish – try and remember that life is one big adventure and only you can choose how to live it, seems to work for us anyway! We are so very privileged to be living in such a beautiful country as New Zealand, which is one giant outdoor playground and we definitely plan to keep making the most of it while we still can….Roll on the end of COVID-19 please in 2021…
Windy Wharfedale 
Em tries to shoot the pier! 
Storm brewing at New Brighton 
Looking up at the Torlesse Traverse 
On the traverse! 
Scenic ridge running 
Harrison Family Adventures Down Under 