Adventure Blog Scotland | Snow » 2007

West Coast paradise

July 28, 2007 on 11:55 pm | In Snowboarding | No Comments

We have been in Wanaka since the start of July and were feeling a bit burnt out waiting for more snow to fall so we decided to take a trip to the West coast of New Zealand, a trip we have been looking forward to since we arrived. Like the west coast of Scotland the Westland of the South Island of New Zealand is well known for remote sandy beaches, stunning sea to mountian views and ancient mythology. I was curious to explore and compare as the West coast of Scotland, sepecially from Ullapool north is one of my favourite parts of Scotland.

It is a 2 hour drive from Wanaka to the West, similar to the drive time from Aviemore to say, Loch Inver. The drive takes you through some stunning scenery, along the side of Lake Hawea and then the far end of Lake Wanaka which is around 30 miles long. From the end of Lake Wanaka the road takes you through the Gates of Haast, a mountain pass which winds it’s way through the Haast mountains and meets the Haast river in the valley below on the way to the sea. To reach the interior lakes from the sea the native Maori used the rivers, often carrying their canoes over ridges to go from one river to the next as the land from the Gates of Haast to the sea is thick with rain forest full of dense jungle like vegetation.

It is easy to see why the fern is the national flower of New Zealand, as there are various types of fern everywhere here. From the very small to large, palm tree like ferns, the rain forest is full of them. I came accross an interesting tale concerning our very own Scottish Thistle while I was researching some of the mythology connected to Westland as it is known. Apparently a bold Scottish settler took some thistle seeds to New Zealand with him. His intentions were two fold as he thought this native flower would ward off home sickness but also deter any barefoot prowlers from entering his house at night when he slept. There are now Scottish Thistles all over New Zealand and the Maori name for them is exactly the same as the one for a Scotsman. Maybe they found the original seetlers a bit prickly! Maori healers boil the stems and roots of thistles and use the sap from this process to help heal cuts and wounds. I have yet to research if Scots healers do the same.

If the fern is the New Zealand thistle then the sand fly is up there with midgies in terms of annoying little west coast blighters go. When we got to Haast Beach, a very beautiful, long sandy beach, within ten mins we were inundated by swarms of biting black beasties. Sand flies are slightly larger than midgies but not as big as mosquitoes. Their bite is not so sore at first but later develops into an itchy lump. They were so irritating we wondered why no one had warned us about them and when we asked on our return why nobody had said anything we were met with a few “oh, yeah, we forgot to tell you about the sand flies.” Perhaps this happens a lot to tourists in Scotland too.

From Haast we headed up to Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier, both only a short distance from the coast and very beautiful. The snowy peaks were sharply contrasted by the bright green of the surrounding jungle. It was strange to see thich frost crystals on the evergreen ferns, the green and white an unusual combination in nature.

We saw a similar green and white combination when we took a walk to Munro Beach to try and find some penguins. We didn’t find any but we did find some beautiful green stone often next to the purest white quartz rock. The walk to Munroe beach took us through thich rain forest and gave us a feel for the inpenetrability of the jungle here. It is easy to see why the Maori poeple prefered to travel by water.

From Munro Beach it was time to travel back eastwards and back to the Mount Aspiring National Park. Coming back through the Gates of Haast the landscape changes from jungle to moorland, or tussock, as it is known here, a bit like when you leave the wooded areas around Ullapool to cross the heather moorland on the way back to the Cairngorm National Park. No wonder I feel quite at home here.

Lesley McKenna
http://www.chunkyknit.com
Professional snowboarder, film maker and ambassador for Visitscotland. All sorts of outdoor sports from skiing to mountain biking and now mixes her time on the Snowboard World Cup Tour with time in Scotland doing these sports.

Quarter the pipe, all of the fun

July 19, 2007 on 7:14 am | In Snowboarding | No Comments

Winter is well and truly under way here now. Many people have arrived to train and ride the snowpark resort for the season while a lot of other people wait for the next dump of snow so they can go and ski and board in the other resorts. The snow making at snowpark has been well worth it as they have by far the most amount of snow out of all the ski resorts around Wanaka. Snowpark kicked off the events for the season a few days ago with the Electric quarter pipe jam.

After much pushing of snow by the cats and a lot of shaping by the pipe cutter we arrived up at the park to the awsome sight of a well cut quarter pipe. For those of you who have never seen a quarter pipe before it resembles a 4 m high wall with a curved transition from flat to vertical that you can ride up and then out of the top of. It really is great fun.

As opposed to a half pipe, the quarter pipe is at right angles to the piste so you ride straight down the hill as fast as you dare then brace yourself for the transition, before flying out of the top as high as you can and performing a trick at the same time. If the qurter is well built then the vertical part just before the lip or top of the wall will direct you perfectly back into the transition. The quarter pipe at snowpark was indeed well made and did just that so there was a lot of great riding to be seen.

I rode most of the day with Kiwi local and fellow Olympian Juliane Bray. You can see our double tail grab action here in the picture. In the end local ripper Abby Lockart and fellow local James Hamilton won the honers of best riding throughout the day. We then celebrated the official opening of the New Zealand competition season at the bar up the mountain at snowpark, which reminded me a lot of a similar celebration up the mountain at Nevis Range many years ago. Good times.

I am now waiting eagerly for the half pipe proper to open sometime in the next few days so I can get my pipe training under way. I am also keen for another snowfall so we can get out into the back country. The forecast is looking good on the snow front and it looks like we should get a dump here in the next few days.

Winter Wonderland

July 10, 2007 on 10:51 am | In Snowboarding | 1 Comment

Matukituki Valley

It has been snowing heavily here for the past week and it now resembles a perfect winter wonderland. Strange to think that as it is snowing here my friends back home are enjoying the summer. We have been exploring the area around the Mount Aspiring National Park and Wanaka in the region of Otago on the South Island of New Zealand. Yesterday we took a drive up the Matukituki River past the base of Treble Cone Resort and the path to the Mt Aspiring Hut.

The road follows the river path which is in the bottom of a fairly narrow valley. The mountains rise steeply at each side of the valley and there are many waterfalls tumbling down to meet the main river. The river banks are lined with evergreen trees, including the native Manuka tree, and the green of these trees along with the deep blue of the river sharply contrasts the white of the rising peaks behind. The remaining autumnal trees add a spark of colour and the blue sky finishes off the stunning view.

There are not many people living in the Matukituki Valley. It is very very peaceful and reminds me a lot of the valleys of the north west of Scotland. Here too, the mountians rise sharply from the valley floor and the green of the trees is contrasted against the snow in winter and the heather in the summer and autumn. Before I left I had the fortunate pleasure of hiking up Suliven in Assynt in the Norht west of Scotland. Like the Matukituki valley, there are not many people living around Suliven and you get a real sense of remoteness and peacefulness. The similarities in landscape and atmosphere are striking.

As well as the similarities in the landscape and the general feel between this part of New Zealand and the Highlands of Scotland, there are many Scottish namesakes around. If I get too home sick, just along the road I can visit Lake Aviemore and Glen Orchie is also just around the Corner. We passed Glen Dhu on the way up the Matukituki and Mount Ben Nevis is on the other side of Lake Wanaka. you do not have to go far to find Scottish links and references.

Right now in Wanaka you do not have to go far to find Scottish people either! I have already met around 30 Scottish skiers and snowboarders here just for the season and many more who are here travelling for longer periods. Maybe the many Scottish place names are helping them to feel at home. It is a great atmosphere and I am sure it will add a lot to the competition days to have so many Scots competing.

The latest snowstorms have done wonders for all the ski areas and they are all now up and running. Snowpark has been making even more manmade so to add to the new natural snow and the pipe is almost ready. A few more international competitors have arrived in town, with more on the way and have began training for the big comps next month. I am sure they will not feel nearly as at home here as the Scottish crew though!

New Zealand Snowpark

July 1, 2007 on 3:55 pm | In Skiing | No Comments

Snow cannons at Snowpark, New Zealand

I have just traveled from Scotland to the other side of the world, landing in Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand about 7 days ago. It is definitely about 5 days as trying to put a definite number on the days would be impossible. I left Scotland on a Tuesday and after two twelve hour flights, arrived in New Zealand on a Thursday.

My brain has managed to get around the missing time way better than my body which is still very confused. As well as being day when it should be night and night when it should be day, meaning that cravings for spaghetti bolognaise breakfasts are not unusual, it is now approaching winter down here. The day before I left Scotland I was surfing at Sandend on the Moray coast. The weather was warm(ish), the sun was out, the beach was serene and I had a great time on my new long board. There was a real summer feel in the air added to even more by the smell of our bbq’in sausages, which we shared among our surf crew of 5 or 6 people.

Two(ish) days later and we found ourselves looking at the waves on the beach in New Brighton just north of Christchurch contemplating a quick morning surf. The only thing was, the temperature was now 2 degrees, there was snow on the ground and the beach was covered in frost. We decided to take a stroll instead, stopping on the way to buy some sausages to cook inside and eat for breakfast in front of the fire. It all felt very strange.

We spent a few days in Christchurch then got on the road down to Wanaka, our home for the next couple of months. We have come down here for the New Zealand snow season, to train and compete in the snowboard contests down here. There are two big ones, The Burton New Zealand Open and The New Zealand World Cup, both in August, as well as the Cardrona Games.

The majority of the international snowboard World Cup Riders are coming down for the contests and have started to arrive here this week. There will be some amazing riding and what looks like Olympic level fields so there is all to ride for.

We went up to the Snowpark resort this week to check out the conditions and get our snow feet back into action. They have an impressive set up there and have built all the features into the earth. They have numerous jumps and a two large half pipes all built into the ground so that when it gets cold enough they just have to make enough man made snow to cover the ground and they whole park is up and running.

The actual slope is only around 400m long so it just goes to chow what is possible in a small space if you can make snow. They also use the jumps and corners they have built into the earth as a bike park in the summer, with a downhill mountain biking track from the resort down to the valley floor.

It also goes to show what would be possible in Scotland with a bit of snow making!!! With a bit of luck all the jumps and pipe will be covered and open by next week and we can get our training under way.