2013 Queen's Birthday Ride - Canterbury

[ADVGD]

Some sections of the route still require me to finalise landowners’ permission however the route is planned and I will follow up with the finer details before the end of the month.

The ride will be over three days, all three days will offer a variety of riding but if you just wanted to do the Saturday and Sunday riding with an overnighter staying at a High Country hut this would work out well. The hut lined up for Saturday night is in a magic spot right up the headwaters of a High Country valley with a fantastic four-wheel-drive track in and out.

There are some river crossings involved however these are limited and to ensure there are no hold-ups with drowned bikes we will probably work as a team to get the bikes across. General riding terrain will be tarmac/gravel/4x4 tracks/riverbed work.

The terrain is not considered extreme however this is not a ride intended for newbies, you'll need to have a reasonable rider skill level, protective gear, toolkit, all the normal jazz and of course a reliable bike. I wouldn't call it big bike friendly however if you are a competent big bike rider and looking to work up a bit of a sweat, feel free to come along, just be aware I charge beer to push you out when you’re stuck!

Although the plan is to stay at DOC huts on both Saturday and Sunday night you'll need to bring sleeping gear in case:
a) the huts are full (doubtful as there are a few options nearby)
b) ship happens, we don't make it to the intended destination and need to set up camp somewhere

This is not a seamless organised ride, this is simply me heading out on the bike investigating some sections of an upcoming ride I am putting together so if you want to come along and check out some fantastic scenery on some fantastic terrain then feel free to bring your bike and sense of humour along.

If you're keen to join in, please post or PM me as this is not a “show up and ride” event, I will need to know numbers and know who is coming.

There will be a small cost to pay some station owners for access, I'll come back with the final amount however it won't break the bank

I'm just planting the seed for now to give people enough chance to plan, I'll follow up with more information, fuel stop distances, etc as it comes to hand…

Note: this ride is very weather/river flow dependent, if rivers are up it will render a majority of the route impassable.

Note: limited to max 10 riders

[ADVGD]

Here are some pics of sections of the route:

http://www.adventureguide.co.nz/articles/12/89/images/high-country-adv-ride-2.jpg

http://www.adventureguide.co.nz/articles/12/99/images/central-adv-ride-2011-67.jpg

http://www.adventureguide.co.nz/articles/12/99/images/central-adv-ride-2011-89.jpg

http://www.adventureguide.co.nz/articles/12/99/images/central-adv-ride-2011-77.jpg

http://www.adventureguide.co.nz/articles/12/99/images/central-adv-ride-2011-81.jpg

http://www.adventureguide.co.nz/articles/12/118/images/lawrence-river-5.jpg

http://www.adventureguide.co.nz/articles/12/283/images/2013-ride-fly-fish-trip-18.jpg

http://www.adventureguide.co.nz/articles/12/118/images/lawrence-river-26.jpg

[ADVGD]

6 riders in - 4 spots left...

[SE950]

im keen 99% cheers

[ADVGD]

im keen 99% cheers

7 riders in - 3 spots left...

[mattsdakar]

7 riders in - 3 spots left...

Hey Josh,
SE950 is Ian who I pm'd you about so think that makes 4spots left???
I have managed to get Saturday off now with a shift swap so I'm a starter for the whole weekend, yeehaa :clap:
Cheers Matt

[ADVGD]

Hey Josh,
SE950 is Ian who I pm'd you about so think that makes 4spots left???
I have managed to get Saturday off now with a shift swap so I'm a starter for the whole weekend, yeehaa :clap:
Cheers Matt

All good, so 4 spots left.

Great news on getting the Saturday off, now its just a case of crossing fingers for good weather and we'll be laughing

[ADVGD]

7 riders in - 3 spots left...

[ADVGD]

8 riders in - 2 spots left...

[SE950]

hi josh i have a friend whos keen, is there any spacers left, also r u fishing at night

[ADVGD]

hi josh i have a friend whos keen, is there any spacers left, also r u fishing at night

Giday mate, one of my other buddies is coming along so your mate makes it 10 so that's all locked in and all good to go.

With fishing season finished up until October I won't have my fishing gear with me, there are a couple of places we will pass by that are open all season but guessing we will be keeping the pace up to combat the short winter daylight hours.

I am having a mongrel of a time pinning down land/station owners, due to this the route may be slightly altered and we may be camping up near a river or lake that is open for fishing, I'll keep you posted

Cheers

[ADVGD]

Route update:

Max leg is approx 280km. Some of the terrain on that leg will be slow and tough going. Please PM me if you are unable to make the fuel range

Snow down to 700 through the divide. We will be at altitudes of around 950

I'll follow up by Tuesday night with the final route plan, final range for each leg, items to bring, cautions/safety issues, etc

[ADVGD]

PM's sent, route is looking bloody brilliant...

[mattsdakar]

Hey Josh,
Ian's mate Tim has had to pull out, has some health issues that have apparently flared up
Rgds Matt

[mattsdakar]

Snow not looking too bad at all at Tekapo, thought it may have been thicker on the ground

http://www.tekapotourism.co.nz/webcam.htm

[hilslamer]

Hey Josh,
Ian's mate Tim has had to pull out, has some health issues that have apparently flared up
Rgds Matt

Correction: If there is still a slot open, I feel good enough to do this....prepping bike tonight. Good for 280kms at a fill easy, will have warm clothes and sleeping bag.

Tips on food? Anyone bringing freeze dried/Jetboil/etc? I have all and will bring to share if needed.

PM'ing shortly...STOKED!!!

[hilslamer]

This message is to be more involved with the site so I can PM.

[hilslamer]

This message is to be more involved with the site so I can PM...again.

[hilslamer]

Does anyone know how many posts I need to have to PM?

[hilslamer]

Attempting to PM after this one...

[Transalper]

I'm mostly going to be using freeze dried food... add hot water and wait.
Food been an issue for me in the past but just tried this stuff and is good enough for me as a fussy bugger to eat without forcing it down.

Who you trying to PM?

[hilslamer]

I'm mostly going to be using freeze dried food... add hot water and wait.
Food been an issue for me in the past but just tried this stuff and is good enough for me as a fussy bugger to eat without forcing it down.

Who you trying to PM?

Sweet. How are you making hot water? I have a Jetboil, but is a little on the high-volume side to carry on a bike. I am certainly willing to share if I bring it, of course. I have plenty of meals that I stockpiled after a sale a while back so that won't be a problem, I just need to know how many to bring/what intervals we will need to support ourselves.

PM'ing solved; got enough posts to go through.

It's my birthday today/tonight so going out to dinner with the GF then back to finish bike prep.

[Transalper]

I'm copying ADVGD's move on cookers, we are using MSR Wisperlight's, don't know about others.
Still trying to fit stuff on the WR tonight myself.

Will txt ADVGD to make sure he see's the latest posts but he sent info pack/itinery emails a day or so ago.

Just remembered I need to get cash for access etc... off to get tea and do that now. Be checking back later too.

[mattsdakar]

Hey Hilslamer,
Check your pm's inbox and emails

[ADVGD]

Arrived in Chch. All on track this end, will see you all in the morning at the meet point.


Correction: If there is still a slot open, I feel good enough to do this

As long as you are up to it that's fine mate. Keep in mind this will be a test of bike and body, if you are not 100% it may not be wise/safe to attempt. Presuming Matt sent you the ride overview email, have a read of all the details and make sure you are comfortable with distances/requirements etc.

Cheers

[hilslamer]

As long as you are up to it that's fine mate. Keep in mind this will be a test of bike and body, if you are not 100% it may not be wise/safe to attempt.

All good, bike prep done and heading to bed now...meet SpgFld in the AM.

[ADVGD]

Keep in mind this will be a test of bike and body


I have an ElectroSport stator here (rated as a 40% increase) but have not fitted as the OEM is currently supplying all the power I need. A case of, don't fix it if it ain't broke

The irony... day #1 of a 3 day ride and my stator fails.

I have a brand new one in the garage... 500km away

All bike shops in Chch shut. Is there anyone in Chch that has a stator (new or secondhand) for sale so I can at least pickup on day 2 and day 3?

[andy mac]

Damn isn't life a bitch!

[NordieBoy]

Doh !

[Crim]

what happened?

did ya get a stator?

did ya get it fixed?

did ya rejoin the ride?

did the ride go ahead?

did ya get snowed on?

[ADVGD]

I was unable to source a stator so was unable to rejoin the team.

When any of the riders return home can you kindly check in to confirm all are home safe and well, cheers

[Crim]

you could have come and grabbed the KLR but she is unregistered and warranted at the moment (waiting to get my back fused) and taking that big lug up any gnarly terrain is like trying to get a camel across a tightrope - possible, but could just as easily be blood and guts (or is that just me with the riding skills of a dead goat??) :(
anyway - rotten luck, mate - bloody good of you to organise great rides for other people, though! :clap:

[ADVGD]

Update message for friends/family of the riders:

They have not yet reported that they are out as yet. By following the planned route (after I returned for mechanical repairs on Saturday) they will have made it up the Havelock River as the flows were relatively low, however, the rain on Saturday night would have pushed river levels too high to get back out. This is a typical situation with this valley that many riders/hunters/4X4 drivers etc experience; this is not life threatening and is of no need for alarm, just the nature of the way the river flows against bluffs that does not allow a shallow river exit. There are a number of huts with warm fires to seek refuge, I anticipate they will be tucked up in a warm hut waiting for rivers to recede for a safe exit.

For safety reassurance, in the ride prep document each rider had to bring (and did bring) :
- A tent
- Sleeping bag/gear
- Warm clothes
- Full spare change of warm clothes
- Two days spare food
- Cooking gear

I have spoken with a local contact (Fire rescue) with an intimate knowledge of the area they are in. Rivers are currently very high, the weather front that came through amplified and was far more severe than any forecast indicated and has taken many by surprise. He also commented they will naturally need to sit it out till waters recede and a hut is the best place to do this.

For safeties sake I have notified the Police/Search and Rescue. With their current situation (warm gear, sleeping gear, food and no medical conditions) there is no alarm however the normal procedure will be followed to ensure all members in the party and safe and return home as soon as possible.

I will update as news comes to hand.

[cooneyr]

Update message for friends/family of the riders:

They have not yet reported that they are out as yet. By following the planned route (after I returned for mechanical repairs on Saturday) they will have made it up the Havelock River as the flows were relatively low, however, the rain on Saturday night would have pushed river levels too high to get back out. This is a typical situation with this valley that many riders/hunters/4X4 drivers etc experience; this is not life threatening and is of no need for alarm, just the nature of the way the river flows against bluffs that does not allow a shallow river exit. There are a number of huts with warm fires to seek refuge, I anticipate they will be tucked up in a warm hut waiting for rivers to recede for a safe exit. . . .

. . . I have spoken with a local contact (Fire rescue) with an intimate knowledge of the area they are in. Rivers are currently very high, the weather front that came through amplified and was far more severe than any forecast indicated and has taken many by surprise. . . . .

Yikes Josh what have you done to the poor buggers! Sounds like the adventure of a lifetime! Why does all the fun stuff happen when I'm at home lol.

On more serious note rain is one thing. Hope the snow that went up eastern side of alps didnt get that far north.

Maybe the local clydes will get a work out when the time is right.

If there is anything I can do to help let me know.

Cheers R

[cynna]

damn thats not good to hear - hope they are not getting too wet

[NordieBoy]

Sounds like the start of the Erzberg Rodeo. Here's hoping they're safe.

[ADVGD]

I am confident they will be tucked up safely in a hut. They are equipped with warm clothing and extra food, this situation was planned for if it did play out. There are some smart heads in the group, they know the huts up the valley, they'll be doing the right things

The scrappy front that came through was forecast to push through by mid-Monday, however it intensified and hung around for an extra day. It is currently pushing North and clearing in the area where they are so the rivers will recede quickly, I anticipate they'll be out today safe and sound.

[Woodman]

Bugger, Spose its just a waiting game now.

How long does it take for the rivers to go down again?

[ADVGD]

Just been informed, as expected, the boys are waiting it out in a hut. All 6 are accounted for, all safe and sound.

Another hunting party is also waiting in the hut for the water to recede.

One hunting party in a more serious 4X4 managed to make it out and pass on the message they are all ok.

[Padmei]

Riiiiight the stator blew up just before you got to the part with a swollen river? Hmmmmm...... I spose you took their money before you left them?:devil2:


That area was on Country calendar last nite. Absolutely amazing country. They were following a high country muster where the farmer takes all their supplies over the Havelock river on a high wagon pulled by Clydesdales. Well worth a watch if you get a chance.
Poor buggers. A mate is down that way hunting - hope the weather gets better for them.

Just wondering- if you had to eat someone from your party would you choose the fattest or skinniest?

[Woodman]

Riiiiight the stator blew up just before you got to the part with a swollen river? Hmmmmm...... I spose you took their money before you left them?:devil2:


That area was on Country calendar last nite. Absolutely amazing country. They were following a high country muster where the farmer takes all their supplies over the Havelock river on a high wagon pulled by Clydesdales. Well worth a watch if you get a chance.
Poor buggers. A mate is down that way hunting - hope the weather gets better for them.

Just wondering- if you had to eat someone from your party would you choose the fattest or skinniest?

Always eat the skinny guy.


From a fat guy.:rolleyes:

[Crim]

Always eat the skinny guy.
From a fat guy.:rolleyes:

if I'm not there eat the fat guy - cos then he eats less and you may come out with one more - if I am there as above!

[cynna]

dont think there would be much meat on TA and he would need less food so i would save him for last. i would eat Matt first then ride out on the xr

[Woodman]

If everyone is of similar size then eat the DR riders first.

[ADVGD]

Update:

River flows have subsided from 430+ cumecs to around 200 cumecs, ideally it needs to subside to no more than 100 cumecs to exit. The lads will have to gather some more firewood for the night as they will most likely be coming out tomorrow morning. With the break in the weather, by tomorrow morning the flows will well and truly be fordable.

[Trials Rider]

Riiiiight the stator blew up just before you got to the part with a swollen river? Hmmmmm...... I spose you took their money before you left them?:devil2:


That area was on Country calendar last nite. Absolutely amazing country. They were following a high country muster where the farmer takes all their supplies over the Havelock river on a high wagon pulled by Clydesdales. Well worth a watch if you get a chance.
Poor buggers. A mate is down that way hunting - hope the weather gets better for them.

Just wondering- if you had to eat someone from your party would you choose the fattest or skinniest?

Yip sounds like a jack up to me, Josh the cunning bugger knows exactly when to bail out (well done bro)

(Just wondering- if you had to eat someone from your party would you choose the fattest or skinniest?) well fattest would take longer to cook but would probably taste better, skinniest would cook fast but probably a bit chewy:lol:

[Transalper]

Feck, I just got home.
We got stuck in the Growler Hut on Saturday night and got out this afternoon.
Will go into more detail later, about to have a milo then shower then unload the bike.
Haven't been this cold (riding out today) for a long time.

We're all out.

[NordieBoy]

A QBW ride, organized by Josh, river comes up, journey is delayed...

Wait a minute, I've got a feeling I've seen this movie before...

[bushy]

Great news you got out ok today without having to spend another night in the hut, judging by the earlier posts your party may have been minus one!

[JATZ]

A QBW ride, organized by Josh, river comes up, journey is delayed...

Wait a minute, I've got a feeling I've seen this movie before...

That's exactly what I was thinking :blip:

Good to hear every ones o.k.

I'd eat the fat one first, cause obviously the skinny one wouldn't eat much, leaving more for me :D

[pete-blen]

I'd eat the fat one first, cause obviously the skinny one wouldn't eat much, leaving more for me :D

But the skinny ones cook quicker... very important when yer starving....:drool:


Good to see everyone made it out safe....:clap:

[Woodman]

Good adventure ?

[Night Falcon]

boy o boy a real hardcore adventure with danger and everything...you blokes are ledgends! Full ride report and pictures please :yes:

[ADVGD]

After being brought up to speed I am gutted mechanicals did not let me complete the full ride. It was an adventure and a half, one hell of a future campfire story, no doubt the details and photos will follow.

Full credit to the riders for doing the right things and keeping safe.

Full credit also to Struan (XF650) and Graeme (graeme) who were straight on the phone and ready at the drop of a hat should we have needed to make a move to extract them. True ADV spirit, nice one guys :niceone:

[Transalper]

Now we've made it out it was a good Adventure, but imagine sitting in a hut with no TV, no internet or PC or even no radio and with the little bit scarey Alf in the mix.

There had been a break in the weather this morning and we were getting pretty fidgety so decided to go for a look. The Big River Trip was mentioned several times as was walking the bikes across the Mackley from the Denniston side... but shit some of it was way too swift.
Took a while to find a way through and it had started raining again by about 11am and most of us were soaked through for various reasons including swimming. We got past the bulk of crossings and rode up into more snow falling before the last few crossings and finally a station with back to basic gravel roads again about 3:something pm.
We made some good decisions and some bad but we're out safe and sound now.

Pics...
1 - Saturday 5pm (only two of us stopped at the Growler, others continued up the river). Lots of wind and lots of rain that night.
2 - Sunday 1pm waiting. Rest turn up back here later that day. Lots more wind and rain again during the day then a calm evening.
3 - Monday 3pm been snowing for a while but not much wind.
4 - same time as #3.

That's all I took, only had my phone to take them but there should be a few good ones from others.

[NordieBoy]

I'd much rather be at home knitting...

[Trials Rider]

I'd much rather be at home knitting...

Extreme knitting that is :2thumbsup, not standard knitting :no:

[andy mac]

We all like happy endings :clap: If someone had a Spot tracker you could have sent OK messages for us knitters at home.


Now we've made it out it was a good Adventure, but imagine sitting in a hut with no TV, no internet or PC or even no radio and with the little bit scarey Alf in the mix.
Bored, bored & bored would make you consider crossing rivers too soon. A transistor radio seems a good idea too.

Was Straun on standby for a jetboat rescue?

[ADVGD]

We all like happy endings :clap:

There was no other option than a happy/safe ending as this situation was prepared for. As it happened the absolute worst case scenario occurred but because all appropriate equipment/extra food supplies were taken, the outcome was a safe return.

This is a common occurrence in the High Country environment (any time of year), if you plan and prepare you'll safely return, if fail to do so it can be an entirely different story.

[ADVGD]

Just wondering- if you had to eat someone from your party would you choose the fattest or skinniest?

I don't discriminate between fat or skinny however I refuse to eat vegetarians... they taste like broccoli


Yip sounds like a jack up to me, Josh the cunning bugger knows exactly when to bail out (well done bro)

I have a switch under my dash that turns on alarm lights. In situations like this I simply flip the switch and say "Oh geeze guys, looks like I need to head back for mechanicals" ;)


A QBW ride, organized by Josh, river comes up, journey is delayed...

Wait a minute, I've got a feeling I've seen this movie before...

Seen the movie? You lived the movie, wet crutch and all!


That's exactly what I was thinking :blip:

Well it would have been rude if we didn't give your lad a birthday he'd remember!

[NordieBoy]

Well it would have been rude if we didn't give your lad a birthday he'd remember!
The game of pool wasn't that good...


Although the meal was quite something...

[SE950]

six men in a hut for three nights two days, survivor, bear grylls bring it on

[alfonz]

Gravel roads, river beds, deep water crossing, howling winds , heavy rain , snow.
Hard wooden floor to sleep on.
Good wood burner. Good food .good friendship, good laughs. Good ride loved it.
I would't be dead for quids
I would like to start and finish the ride at a later date.
.ive still got some spare rubber gloves. Handy things.

[hilslamer]

...for a ride report? Finally got pics edited and uploaded; slept all last night after arriving home and most of the day today due to the cold or pneumonia or whatever it was I caught up there.

Definitely one for the recordbooks, definitely one with a long list of do-again's and also some never-again's for me. I just made a list of gear that I will be upgrading or updating ASAP after this adventure, and I thought I was going in pretty well prepared.

I could not have asked for a better group of people to be stranded with or ride with in any case...stellar personalities, optimism all the way around, and despite a cough and really sore throat that prevented me from a lot of conversation I would have loved to participate in, some of the hardest laughs I have had in a long time!

[NordieBoy]

Who needs to do the Baja 1000 when there's one of Josh's rides in the offing...

[Trials Rider]

I have a switch under my dash that turns on alarm lights. In situations like this I simply flip the switch and say "Oh geeze guys, looks like I need to head back for mechanicals" ;)


Dam thats clever

[Transalper]

...for a ride report? Finally got pics edited and uploaded; ....

Here in this thread is as good as anywhere for a ride report, but where are your pics uploaded???

[ADVGD]

I had my camera and GoPro with me, had planned to start getting footage once we dropped into the Wilberfoce but didn't quite get there. This is the only decent photo I managed to get...

http://adventureguide.co.nz/public-images/adventure-riding/qb-trip-12.jpg

[mattsdakar]

I didn't get one bloody photo as camera got wet and decided not to work.

Certainly the most extreme ride I have been on, but great experience.

At the end of the day we were never in serious danger (just the bikes and Rusty!) we made a few bad decisions but also a lot of good ones, the key was patience to sit out the high water levels, if we were to do it again I would definitely be a starter - see my signature "Life begins where your comfort zone ends"!

Most vivid memory for me was Rusty and I abandoning our bikes on a island between two uncrossable very fast flowing braids and wading across arms locked only for Rusty to get sweep away. Picture pitch black, horizontal gale force rain and you mate being washed away in a waist deep torrent, panic stations!
Anyway he made land 100m downstream and between us we manage to reunite and trudge to the hut. Sleepless night spent listening to Alfies jokes and the howling wind, thunder crashing all the time wondering if the bikes would even be there in the morning. :sweatdrop

[SE950]

how do I put go-pro and camera photos on this site

[alfonz]

Se 950
To get photos on site point camera at a cavity and shoot .should work .if not get a glove and check the cavity. Lol :)

[NordieBoy]

Picture pitch black, horizontal gale force rain and you mate being washed away in a waist deep torrent, panic stations!

Is said mate skinny or fat?

:corn:

[Transalper]

how do I put go-pro and camera photos on this site

Way I do pictures is to get them on the PC then choose the ones I want to post (can only do 6 per post as attachments), resize them to about 1000 pixels across by whatever the vertical defaults to at that width and then save the resized picture with a medium Jpeg compression to get a file size under 100kb instead of the original picture with a huge file size and a resolution too big for the screen.
I use Photoshop Elements version 2 to do this, it cost me about $150 many years ago.
There are free programs to do similar but I haven't looked recently to see what they are.

Then when making a post here you have to click the 'manage attachments' button, another window pops up. Find the add files button in that and then 'select files' then navigate to the small picture files you made to post.
Select them and click upload.
A progress bar should appear for each picture and when finished uploading there hopefully will be a done button.

Guess given some time over the weekend I could make a youtube video showing how.

As for gopro videos I edit them down with another brought program and upload to youtube then link to them from Kb. The trimmed video is a much smaller file than the original recording as with the pictures when resized and compressed so they take a lot less time to upload too.


Other people sometimes upload their photos to another server like using photobucket.com (http://photobucket.com/) and then embed them or the whole album here using links created by those sites.

No idea if that's enough info but hope it's a start.

[SE950]

ill stick to riding me bike. this to me is like u doing supercross, thanks,u warm yet

[Transalper]

ill stick to riding me bike. this to me is like u doing supercross, thanks,u warm yet

Warmed up pretty quickly once home whit a warm milo then a very long shower.
My feet were the worst on the way out, going to try some of those sealskin socks as soon as the bank account recovers. Been after a pair since I first heard of them a while ago but now they are near the top of the list. Top half not as bad with towelling dry and changing to my dry clothes.
Actually got off and pushed the bike along the road once before Peal Forest to get the blood flowing and warm up, worked well but wish I'd stopped under a little bridge we went over, could have gone under and sheltered and heated up my last meal and filled the hottie. Think doing that would have got me home after dark but in better overall comfort.

Quite keen to see what you got with the cameras, could visit or just copy the memory cards.
I'll PM my number or something.

[hilslamer]

...feel human enough to get this typed up. Damn but whatever bug I caught over ~Sunday night has had me down for the count, glad we got out of there when we did or I would have really paid the price.



CHAPTER 1

I was a last-minute addition to the whole ride, based on SE950's invite and a round of left-leg sciatica that was slowly subsiding. In any case, with a lot of NSAIDs it cleared up about a day before, so I set about prepping and packing Friday(my 34th birthday, ironically - though I'm not a queen in any sense of the word...) night for an early morning departure:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-Z8ckJ95/0/M/IMG_0108-M.jpg


...and redezvous with the rest of the group in Springfield for fuel and final preparations:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-dqBnDZ5/0/M/IMG_0111-M.jpg


We had killer light underneath the clouds andon the mountains from the sunrise on the way up into Arthur's Pass:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-mJ7VCFL/0/M/IMG_0113-M.jpg


Headed off the tarmac over towards Lake Coleridge:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-RftRFLd/0/M/IMG_0114-M.jpg


....for a rendesvoux with Alfie at the turnoff for Mt Olympus:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-rnsRFhK/0/M/IMG_0116-M.jpg


Our fearless leader/ride organizer, ADVGD:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-DJKbjHc/0/M/IMG_0118-M.jpg


From there, we headed into Glenthorne Station where we payed the farmer a small fee for access. The road was a shingle-studded hoot, and I'm sure we all found ourselves sideways at least once whether we meant to or not:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-qZDH9BH/0/M/IMG_0119-M.jpg


ADVGD chats with one of the landowners:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-dWCZmqd/0/M/IMG_0121-M.jpg


...before heading into the fray of the Wilberforce river valley(note rainclouds gathering):
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-zJxSF5R/0/M/IMG_0123-M.jpg


Rain = rainbows, with the last of the sunlight we would see for the morning...looking due South down the Wilberforce:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-rwpMcFV/0/M/IMG_0126-M.jpg


After wandering around the Wilberforce riverbed and a tributary of it:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-G42B94R/0/M/IMG_0130-M.jpg


...we finally found a hut that ADVGD was looking for although the rain was getting incrementally more intense:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-GkQPPqR/0/M/IMG_0131-M.jpg

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-ZLPG7tr/0/M/IMG_0134-M.jpg


...it was occupied by hunters, though, so we warmed up a but and ate a spot of food and headed back towards the intended route:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-xQhtvmr/0/M/IMG_0133-M.jpg

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-gxLTJdw/0/M/IMG_0135-M.jpg


Enroute, ADVGD noticed via the voltmeter on his bike that the charging voltage seemed to be dropping fast - an abnormal behaviour. After some discussion, it was decided to head out to Windwhistle where Alfie had left his ute, so that ADVGD could run back to Chch to see about a replacement stator. As such, he gave us some general directions and plans and said that he'd be up to meet us at one of the huts up the Havelock river, with a route in via Erewhon Station:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-vLzjZT2/0/M/IMG_0138-M.jpg


A little short on fuel and playing it safe to kill time to see if he could catch up to us that day, we headed to Methven for fuel and "real" food:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-KDrtfWs/0/M/IMG_0140-M.jpg
It should be noted that there was much discussion about making a big, fun, afternoon-only loop back to Methven, to wait there at a warm pub/hotel rooms and see if ADVGD could catch up to ride with us the following two days. Hindsight being 20/20, with the weather forecast being what it was we would have been much smarter to do it this way. But, with out minds set on continuing the ride, we forged onward for Erewhon Station to pay the fee and head across the Clyde river and up the Havelock river valley.


Since the ride back into the hills had some dull moments, Alfie had to keep entertained:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-73bHC85/0/M/IMG_0142-M.jpg


Note more weather above the highest peaks:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-8rbJ9MN/0/M/IMG_0143-M.jpg


On arrival at Erewhon Station:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-M3BpsH8/0/M/IMG_0146-M.jpg

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-RVBSPmb/0/M/IMG_0145-M.jpg


...we chatted with the farmer about water levels, etc. I will never forget his advice to us: "...if the water looks or turns milky, turn around and get out of there." And in the same statement, he made some comment about "noise-polluting contraptions" as he lit off his tractor, which he had to shut off to talk to us...LOL...:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-LmpnTRF/0/M/IMG_0149-M.jpg


So, with full permission to cross his land and get ourselves into our own trouble, we headed towards the Clyde river to find a way across:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-BQHjg4v/0/M/IMG_0151-M.jpg

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-9T3sZC8/0/M/IMG_0152-M.jpg


Which there was, but not by a whole lot:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-Gxgfnd8/0/M/IMG_0154-M.jpg


Matt coaxes his XR through a deeper spot to get over the shelf of the near bank, while SE950 et al survey possibly easier routes across:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-PJVmGt3/0/M/IMG_0153-M.jpg


This was the deepest/main channel of the Clyde as we headed East across it to the Havelock, and while the photo makes it a little hard to tell, the water itself was pretty clear by my standards. Being a visitor to NZ, I sort of tried to read the Kiwi's take on the water, but none of them seemed to hesitate much so I figured I wasn't too far off the scale in my judgement. Looking at it all later, I realized that the Clyde would have gone milky a good while after the Havelock...especially with the approaching Norwester weather. Yet another lesson from this trip!

Looking up the Havelock, with weather clearly getting angrier(no rain, though, and dry riverbed still):
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-zNtLfjQ/0/M/IMG_0155-M.jpg


Looking back from that spot, East-ish toward Erewhon as a couple of our group traverse the riverbottom:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-CBLmhgQ/0/M/IMG_0156-M.jpg


Further up the Havelock, looking back towards the Clyde river valley/Havelock confluence:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-5hKg2wm/0/M/IMG_0158-M.jpg


Looking back down the Havelock itself now; you can see someon's headlight in there for scale:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-ZLRq3WP/0/M/IMG_0160-M.jpg


Looking across the river basin, Alfie has taken a tumble and is getting up:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-rJgLH7C/0/M/IMG_0161-M.jpg


By this point, there are ~4 of us out ahead of the other two, and we can't find where we expect the huts to be. We later found out we were farther up than we needed to be to get to the Growler hut. One hut(that we later found out has been destroyed by an avalanche) looked like it was up a tributary - so I rode up several only to find we were at least one tributary away. Looking up the tributary:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-kgJ79rk/0/M/IMG_0165-M.jpg


Eventually, we the four of us that made it up this far regroup and make it up to what we now know was, ironically, called Mistake Flats hut. We find it full of 4 hunters and pretty cozy anyway...and since we are still expecting two more riders, we obviously are too many for this hut. The hunters are unsure if anyone else it at the Curtis hut, so we decide to investigate across the Havelock River, due ~East from Mistake Flats:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-L2kSLpz/0/L/Havelock%20River%20Basin%20Map_1-L.jpg


Knowing that we will now be crossing multiple channels of the Havelock, I set off to find the shallowest way through ahead of the group...only to notice that the water has suddenly turned very milky, and it is hard to see the bottom in many places now.

[Transalper]

...
By this point, there are ~4 of us out ahead of the other two, and we can't find where we expect the huts to be. We later found out we were farther up than we needed to be to get to the Growler hut. ..

Eventually, we the four of us that made it up this far regroup and make it up to what we now know was, ironically, called Mistake Flats hut. We find it full of 4 hunters and pretty cozy anyway...and since we are still expecting two more riders, we obviously are too many for this hut. ...
Ironic you didn't go back to find and check on the missing two riders since we were now back there settled in safe and warm having tea at the Growler.

[hilslamer]

Ironic you didn't go back to find and check on the missing two riders since we were now back there settled in safe and warm having tea at the Growler.

:Oops:

I suggested that we regroup entirely at the Mistake Flats hut(as in, wait for you two to show up there before proceeding anywhere) a couple of times. At the time, we had apparently misunderstood the hunters in the Mistake Flats hut and it was my understanding that they thought that the Growler Hut was the one that had been destroyed by the avalanche. As we found out from Reuben at the Curtis hut, it was intact and by then it was way too late and dark to try and double back to check and see...we collectively assumed that you both had made the Growler hut and hoped for the best.

It was a great relief to see your bikes there when we found you there a day later. :cold:

[Transalper]

Spent some time wondering if we should leave most our gear at the Growler and go up unloaded to the next hut to see if you lot were there too, but decided it was safer to stay put, didn't really want to go any further up the valley at that time and then there was all that added wind the next day.
Was pretty sure you could hardly miss seeing the hut when coming back out but wasn't sure when that would be.
Bit of a relief to see ya arrive too.

[kwazulu natal]

twas an adventure ride alright.Wasn 't planning on the free ride down the river when Matt and I tried to cross on foot.Had a blast and hooked up with some wacky kiwi blokes and one crazzy american, till the next adv.

[hilslamer]

Chapter 2

In the process of finding the Mistake Flats hut, I realized that at the proper zoom level on my GPS, I could see the hut as a placemark. Well, duh...If I had known this all along, I would have been using the placemark for the Growler hut as a navigational destination. However, at this point, with rain falling and daylight waning fast(especially in the valley we were in) we had to make some decisions. With the Curtis hut seeming much closer and now with a placemark to navigate to, I headed off ahead of the group again to see about getting there. My intent was to backtrack to them when I found ways across...which I did, although when I got there I found that a young couple were staying there:

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-tWgBZM6/0/L/IMG_0174-L.jpg

His name was Reuben, and he was another Tar hunter that was waiting for the weather to clear to get some hunting in with his girlfriend Hana(sp? can't remember exactly...) and their dog, Bess. They had a Can-Am Outlander - a huge 4x4 quad with all the bells and whistles - along with a Nissan Safari that was set up real nice for fording. Surprised to see me pull up, he greeted me and I explained that there were several more on the way...and then found out there were only four bunks in this hut, but that it was a lot roomier inside. I asked if they were OK with us staying the night, and appologized for crashing their party...

I rode back down to run back across to the others to find that the river had risen a lot in just the last 30 minutes even, enough that I doubted getting back across the Northernmost channel. The water was now complete milk. I could see that they were working their way across, and we had maybe 30 minutes of daylight left...so I rode back up to the hut, and put my bike where I knew they would see the headlight, and started signalling. On, off, on, off...nothing back but occasional random winks of headlights sweeping through tight turns. When those stopped, it was getting so dark I could barely see even the Mistake Flats hut at all. Thanks, mom, for your terrible night vision...

By the time Reuben and I rode his quad back down there to look around, it was getting really dark. He said he could see people walking, but I couldn't see much of anything at all except the grey riverbottom and the skyline of peaks around us. After it got darker, he broke out an awesome LED spotlight and only then could I *barely* see the other three of my group approaching us on foot:

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-R3T8Ncp/0/L/IMG_0168-L.jpg


They had elected to leave their bikes out there, in light of the wind that was now howling steadily down the riverbottom. Matt and Rusty had tried to ride back to Mistake Flats, but Matt's bike drowned and at that point they were closer to Alfie and Curtis hut than Mistake flats. Alfie had drowned his bike between the two biggest channels, and so elected to leave it there and collectively they decided to head to Curtis hut on foot. As they approached with luggage in hand, it was obvious that they had locked arms and waded through all of the channels. Rusty, however, was soaked to the core - he had slipped and lost hold of the others and swam ~100(?) meters downstream in his riding gear! He managed to hold on to his Giant Loop bag, although it had been completely submerged as well. Reuben gave them all a ride back up to the Curtis Hut, while I rode my bike back up behind them.

Rusty was partially hypothermic from his unintended swim - but worse yet almost all of his riding gear, boots and also "dry" clothes and sleeping bag were totally saturated. Since Reuben and Hana already had the hut wicked warm, it was more than a welcome abode for the night. We learned that we had missed the Growler entirely because we followed the riverbottom and not the 4x4 track on the alluvial fans above it, and that it also had an airstrip nearby that was only obvious looking back down the riverbottom on it. Hot food was the first order of business:

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-ZmSgZ7F/0/L/IMG_0170-L.jpg


We concluded that the others must have found the Growler hut, and shacked up there. It was the only reason they would not have caught up to us by now, or at least ended up at the Mistake Flats hut - and we would have seen headlights somewhere throughout our debacle crossing the Havelock...but there was no way to confirm this. And, the weather was getting worse - the Curtis hut is way up on a hillside, and the cables lashed to each corner of the hut should have given some indication of the wind we would have all night long up there. We made dinners and laughed about the situation...Matt's WheatBix was now simply powdered wheat:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-nRk79PS/0/L/IMG_0176-L.jpg

...and Bess was really well behaved, given the tight quarters and people eating food all around her:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-Jb8Vhxf/0/L/IMG_0175-L.jpg

Situations like this always have a silver lining in some way. Alfie told us the story of his near-death electrical accident, Rusty wowed us with stories of South Africa, and we generally all got on very well despite each having about 1 cubic meter apiece to inhabit inside the hut. I felt bad that we had taken Reuben and Hana's hut that they had all to themselves prior to our arrival, but it was too late to do anything any different by the time night fell.

I don't know about everyone else, but I didn't sleep much that night. It rained all night long, at one point sleeted pretty good too, and the wind on the hut shook and shuddered it all night long. At times, gusts shook it hard enough that I could see the stuff we had hanging in the rafters swaying afterwards. It was a good place to be, honestly, out of the weather and with a hot woodstove - so sleep was really secondary.

***********

As the light flooded the valley between us and the Mistake Flats hut, we could see the bikes left out in the riverbottom - none were left standing. The good news was that they hadn't been washed away and tumbled down the riverbottom by floodwaters into balls of twisted metal. Based on the rainfall, that was my fear. Reuben had a spotting scope that we used to assess the situation from the Curtis hut before venturing out further that morning:

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-hsFg4h8/0/M/IMG_0180-M.jpg

Looking across at Mistake Flats hut, you can see small black blurs that are downed bikes laying in the foreground:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-2hwnX2P/0/M/IMG_0178-M.jpg

The clouds had cleared a lot above us and downstream:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-CjDvNcB/0/M/IMG_0181-M.jpg

...so at about ~10am I put boots, helmet and gloves on and rode down to the riverbottom to look at actual water levels. What I was not ready for down there, was the wind: it was so windy that the wind was picking up water from the river and dousing it across the rocks everywhere. Stopped with it to my back, I almost got blown off the bike several times. I would estimate it at ~30kph steady, with up to ~60kph gusts at irregular intervals. It was so windy that I could not ride across the riverbottom - only up and down it, with the wind to my back or in my face. If I tried to cross it, the wind would either knock me over or blow me so far downstream on the slippery wet rocks that I could not actually progress back up the river. It was like the opposite of tacking a sailboat into the wind, and combined with the rocks there, incredibly tricky. I managed to get the camera lense clean of water mist momentarily and get a shot up and down the river bottom:

Looking downstream at a "minor" channel:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-Vn9H9wd/0/M/IMG_0183-M.jpg

Looking upstream at a now "major" channel:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-gXRnbQD/0/M/IMG_0182-M.jpg

I rode down the river down to where the access 4x4 road for the Curtis hut meets the rest of the riverbottom, and deduced that getting back across there was not at all an option. The meant we needed to get back to the Southwest side of the Havelock and to follow that side back to the Growler to see if the others were there. Riding back to the spot, appeared as though the wide crossing that I had ridden across the main channel when the water was lower the evening before was probably the safest place to cross back again.

I returned with the news, and we decided to wait it out until 2pm and make a decision from there. The drowned bikes were unknowns, as was getting to them, as was getting my bike back across. By 2pm however, waether was getting worse again and rain was falling some more. In the end, Reuben gave those on foot a ride down to a shallower, wider spot I had crossed the evening before - which was now well over knee-high and with swift current:

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-J4w98x4/0/M/IMG_0185-M.jpg


They eventually ended up locking arms and wading across(sorry for blurriness; camera lense into the rain/wind):
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-V6wKDdz/0/M/IMG_0186-M.jpg


...with me attempting an against-current upstream path that ended in a stalled bike right in the middle of the flow. Big mistake. Reuben rode his quad in to try to rescue or assist, but despite being heavy and 4wd it was too buoyant and he couldn't maintain a position where I was. I started working my bike backwards with the current and towards the opposite shore while trying to hold the bike upright, eventually Alfie and Rusty waded out to me, arms locked, to help pull me to shore. I don't know where I would have gone without them at that point, but in any case I thanked them and was very glad to be across the deepest channel. I suppose I might have made it to the shelf of a shore, but getting a dead bike over it would have been a chore by myself.

After checking the airbox for water, draining, and some cranking and clearing, my bike refired. Thankfully. Miraculously, none of the bikes that had fallen over had either dripped all of their fuel out OR been too drowned that we couldn't get them refired as well. It meant that we had _well_ over an extra hour more that afternoon than I had planned to make it back to the Growler hut, and still a surplus of fuel. *Whew* Gettign to the other bikes and getting them started:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-59BJvs5/0/M/IMG_0187-M.jpg

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-Swg2TnR/0/M/IMG_0191-M.jpg


After several more crossings on running bikes, we worked our way back over to the Mistake Flats side:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-vkxwDtQ/0/M/IMG_0196-M.jpg


...and found the CORRECT 4x4 track that took us to the Growler hut. Riding back down this and downstream, you can clearly see the airstrip cleared off the slope adjacent to the hut(to the right of the airstrip in this photo) itself:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-pS6nkHr/0/M/IMG_0198-M.jpg

...if only we had known about the airstrip and looked back at the right time...

Arriving at the Growler hut, I saw Transalper's bike and then SE950's bike and was really glad to see them come out of the hut looking warm and dry. Four other Tar hunters were there, with much more stock-looking Nissan Safari's. Reuben and Hana had already loaded up and headed that way via the opposite riverbank and arrived ahead of us with the news we were on the way. If I could choose the scenery in a place to be stranded, this would be at the top of the list:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-wn6B5v9/0/M/IMG_0199-M.jpg


An obvious headcount revealed that although this hut had 6 bunks, we had ten people if Reuben and Hana decided to join us. Luck for us, it was by far the biggest hut in the valley, so floorspace meant four more wasn't too tight of a fit while we all waited for the floodwaters to recede. After taking a partial swim myself, and forging through the rain and wind most of the daylight hours, I was definitely ready for a warm stove and a meal. Meals were running a little low, though, and this would prove to be one of the more motivating factors for eventually leaving to find a way out despite the odds two days later.

[Night Falcon]

Epic !! :gob:

[Woodman]

Thanks for sharing, and very well written.

[pete-blen]

yer going to have to hang up yer boots after this one...
all other rides are going to seem a bit boreing...

[Transalper]

So very glad I followed Ian to the Growler and missed that chapter 2.
Once back home I mentioned to ADVGD that putting the Huts in as separate waypoints would help them stick out on the GPS screen a lot more, that would work for me especially at the more distant zoom levels as my user waypoints are set to display big in size and on far out zoom levels.

[ADVGD]

...
CHAPTER 1


Great pics and writeup Tim :niceone:


Once back home I mentioned to ADVGD that putting the Huts in as separate waypoints would help them stick out on the GPS screen a lot more, that would work for me especially at the more distant zoom levels as my user waypoints are set to display big in size and on far out zoom levels.

I'm surprised to see you post this comment Carl. Don't lose sight of the fact I locked in your Queens Birthday ride only to find out a month out from turning the key you dumped the entire route organisation onto me at one of the busiest and most hectic periods of my business. In spite of this I spent countless hours (many nights working past midnight) pinning down landholders and putting together that route. As mentioned on post #1 of this thread, this was a ride to inspect track connecting sections, the GPS files were never going to be exhaustive. In spite of that, even with my absence they were still adequate when accompanied with the ride overview document and route rundown on my departure for you all to continue on.

If you load decent GPS mapping software on your GPS and you'll have every hut in NZ at your fingertips.

[XF650]

Next time I jet boat the Havelock I must remember to follow you guys - it's normally a challenge to get up there.

[Transalper]

I'm surprised to see you post this comment Carl. Don't lose sight of the fact I locked in your Queens Birthday ride only to find out a month out from turning the key you dumped the entire route organisation onto me....

If you load decent GPS mapping software on your GPS and you'll have every hut in NZ at your fingertips.
Hey, looks like you took my last post as a dig at you or something similar, I'm sorry if you took it that way, I wasn't trying to blame you for anything. All I had on the table was a basic trip to Alexandra and a repeat of old ground. Don't think you would have got anything useful from trying to tie in with that.
I just felt that waypointing huts was a good suggestion for the future and for anyone else thinking of doing such a ride, I already have a lot of DOC camp sites downloaded in bulk and campable rest areas where I usually ride permanently on my GPS as user waypoints for the same reason as to make them easy to see from a distance.
When I zoom up a heap it appears the software I'm already using does have some of the huts included but they just don't stand out at the zoom levels I was looking at. Probably could stop and try using the find feature but I find that's awkward.

I thank you here and now for the ride and the effort it took in case it wasn't clear before.
As I think the others have indicated for themselves, I too would be a starter again in an instant.
Thanks.

[JATZ]

Epic !! :gob:

I think that sums it up nicely :D

[hilslamer]

Chapter 3

We were all cold, tired and hungry so I don't have a lot of pictures from the next ~12 hours(Sunday evening - Monday morning). For me, I was also getting further into fighting whatever virus I had, and my throat was getting really sore, so my goal was to warm up and dry out as fast as possible above all else. What I can say is that we were all realizing that we were going to be there at least an extra day and night based on the water levels and dropping temperature. Reuben and his girlfriend unloaded the quad and went out spotlighting after dark, while the rest of us had dinner and then sat up talking about anything interesting. Due to early darkness, bedtime seemed late but was probably like 8:00pm...LOL They got back late and posted up on the floor, leaving the dog to sleep in the ute cab. It rained steadily all night long, so much so that the entire 4x4 track in front of the hut was essentially a creek in the morning when we awoke.

I guess it should be stated here that there was some confusion as to our options of a way out that involved the least number of water crossings. We had come in via the riverbottom, but the hunters in the Growler hut rumored that there might be a way out via the Rangitata...the Rangitata starts where the Havelock and Clyde confluence, so technically we were already on the correct side of the Havelock to be on the correct(read: true right) side of the Rangitata. This fact would come to bear later on, but in the end we all got out on the same track - but not the way we all came in(supposedly...). What mislead us the most was that the track along the West bank of the Rangitata they mentioned knowing about and that we all ended up taking out, was not on any of our maps or in any of the GPS's we had along...I'm sure of this because we had plenty of time to study them all closely(and at all zoom levels...).

My suspicions about their lack of understanding of our situation were further confirmed when we(the motorbikers) started discussing food supplies and rationing plans: one of the hunters promptly proceeded to move all of their food out to their vehicles. They were cordial, and even friendly the first night we were there, but even amongst themselves didn't talk much and mostly sat in their bunks and read magazines or books.

Monday morning, two of the hunters drove down to the river due East from the hut, and came back shaking heads and declaring that they were "gonna be there a while." The rest of us read books and waited things out. Reuben left his quad unloaded, in the interest of letting the ute sit higher and keeping it less tipsy for water crossings, and after a quick breakfast left us the remainder of their bag of pre-cooked sausages and declared that they were going to make a stab at departing. In light of this, we all filled out a piece of paper with names, and contact addresses/emails/phone numbers to let wives/girlfriends/work contacts know we were stranded but OK and that we didn't know when we would be out exactly:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-QKbwH2c/0/M/IMG_0201-M.jpg


Over the next couple of hours of the morning, we found that Reuben's backcountry intuition had worked well for him; the temperature dropped swiftly and dramatically from ~10 deg C to -2 deg C, rain began falling heavily again, and eventually it began to snow:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-B8wZSjJ/0/M/IMG_0204-M.jpg


...and stick:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-S5M2cst/0/M/IMG_0205-M.jpg


...and snow harder:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-nLJkZdT/0/M/IMG_0206-M.jpg


...and stick together/on the ground:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-kXv3zRF/0/M/IMG_0209-M.jpg


Later that afternoon, the hunters from the Mistake Flats hut came by:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-JRg6Kmn/0/M/IMG_0210-M.jpg


...and were willing to try to find a way out as well. Only one of their vehicles had a snorkel of significance, and certainly neither were anywhere near as serious as Reuben's rig in terms of clearance or tires. Again, no mention from them of the Rangitata route out - and as we found later, their tracks following/over Reuben's at the crossing of the Clyde revealed that they had faught their way across all of the water channels. It continued to snow:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-3QV49g8/0/M/IMG_0212-M.jpg


...and snow:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-Qrs8hFd/0/M/IMG_0213-M.jpg


...and snow:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-B2gjWcG/0/M/IMG_0215-M.jpg


Restless, I sacrificed dry feet to step out of the hut for a shot up the Havelock gorge:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-6jS3Dnd/0/M/IMG_0216-M.jpg


That evening, we boiled the sausages on the woodstove for dinner...after fasting most of the day(except a couple of lollies and some pumpkin seeds my girlfriend made), a cheap nasty sausage tasted pretty damn good:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-LnT2qQv/0/M/IMG_0221-M.jpg


The others stayed as occupied as they could with a deck of cards someone had left in the hut:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-ZMKbTn6/0/M/IMG_0222-M.jpg


I layed down and tried as best as I could to sleep and rest, although with this many characters being this bored together in one place it was hard not to join in to the laughter if not he conversation. I was afraid to talk too much, as my throat was getting worse...it wasn't until late that evening that I realized that the snow was a blessing in disguise: I started scooping it up with my camp cup and using it to sooth my sore throat. I've never eaten so much snow in my life!


In an act that surprised me/us even further, the hunters hauled a bunch of delicious-looking food inside again and began to cook it up in grand fashion. Steak, potatos, peas, the works...and not one offer of any of it to any of us, in any form at all. Not even leftovers or drippings. In fact, they all ate it with headlamps on:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-NHNBnVk/0/L/IMG_0223-L.jpg


...even though there was plenty of light in the hut to eat by, they seemed to be spotlighting what we didn't have and they never offered to share. Perhaps it was just my perception because I was super hungry, but it seemed to me they were mocking us a bit at the very least. This suspicion was confirmed with some of the others later, so I wasn't alone.

IMO, inside jokes should stay inside to those that were there, but let's just say that Alfie's running joke(all weekend long) of offering free cavity searches with all manner of rubber gloves he had brought is definitely worth mentioning:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-H9jG3j7/0/M/IMG_0226-M.jpg


...maybe that was why the hunters all seemed so aloof? We may never know...I do know that between sickness, hunger and fear of free cavity searches, I slept terrible that night. When I did sleep, it was with terrible dreams and even Rusty mentioned in the morning that I was thrashing about most of the night. When I awoke, I immediately threw boots, helmet and rain gear on and went to survey the water levels. They were definitely down, although if the temp rose again, we would certainly see them surge as the snow melted. On return, we all elected to at least make a stab at getting out of there ASAP. The weather had cleared some, it wasn't raining, and I ate the last of my breakfast supplies while we all loaded up to try to head out:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-3Jwd8fw/0/M/IMG_0228-M.jpg

Alfie's bike needed bump-starting, but once we took care of that we were on our way for better or worse:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-9qfn7J3/0/M/IMG_0230-M.jpg


A fog immediately started settling into the Havelock river valley, although wind was still and rain was not present yet:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-ksGPkrB/0/M/IMG_0231-M.jpg


Looking back on the group from where we had came from, the fog chasing us out of there:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-2VB2nm6/0/M/IMG_0233-M.jpg

http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-VgpxwW8/0/M/IMG_0234-M.jpg


I guess now is when I should mention that I grew up in Arizona, USA...and very rarely do we get to ride in water - maybe once or twice a year at most. Even on rides I have done in Colorado and Idaho, water crossings are generally rare and far between. Certainly nothing like here in NZ, where you can't see the bottom and the depth is really hard to read. I think I did more water-crossing this weekend than I have in my entire riding career previously, combined. And to say that the current there was fast would also be an understatement. SE950 demonstrates:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-v9mP739/0/M/IMG_0237-M.jpg


Transalper surfs the waves on his little quarter-liter WR:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-WfLWnWD/0/M/IMG_0236-M.jpg


Trying to find ways across, I was ahead of the group and wheelied across a narrow, but deep channel and the current promptly took me down and most of the way under. Another major miscalculation, and another learning experience. I was able to right the bike before it gulped water and get footing to hold it there before it died, but I was in a fast flow that was well over the bottom of the airbox. The current had turned me almost 120 degrees around, so that I was on the downstream side of the bike holding it against the standing wave now upstream of it. I had fallen in to the water far enough that inside my helmet visor I watched the water momentarily fill and air escape, just like in a cartoon...LOL...and as a result I was pretty much soaked top and bottom now - I even had to squeeze the water out of my helmet liner.

Regardless, I thought at first that I could work it over to a shore but after a few minutes of fighting a buoyant bike and loose stones underneath my feet, I was only moving down the channel and not to either side. Initially, I motioned that I was OK to the others, but after a short while I couldn't feel my feet and started shivering and getting weaker. Matt rode across the channel at a safer spot much further up, and down the finger of shoreline nearest to me, and jumped in to help me get to the far shore...I thanked him heartily and got my bike started again(barely), but as I went to continue, he motioned me to help: his bike had sank axle-deep into quicksand where he had left it to help me! I helped him free it up and we all got going again, much less trusting of fast current and unreadable depth.


After countless channel crossings like above, we made it over to the Northeast side of the Havelock, just near the confluence of the Clyde....and met a stopping point. The final channel of the Havelock was really fast and easily thigh deep, ~10 meters across. We teamed one bike(Alfie's) across as a group, barely, with intent to send him for help if we could get him back across the Clyde as well. Unfortunately, the Clyde had gotten even milkier and swelled even further than the Havelock; even wading across as a group was really risky:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-X66nvCc/0/M/IMG_0240-M.jpg


At this point, we decided to abandon this effort and rest up again. It could have whipped up more wind or snow at anytime during this effort, which would really have put us all at risk. We had heard from Reuben that there was one more hut along the first part of the Rangitata...cold, tired and ready to rest again, we all headed cautiously back across the many of the same crossings all over again, single file, checking to see that each got across safely. No taking chances or striking out on our own this time.


No bikes drowned and no other problems arose...I almost got stuck in quicksand again, and we all had nervous moments, but in the end we made it over to where we could see the hut. Some of the others beat us there, as Transalper was really struggling across the last boulder-strewn floodplain and I went back to help him across:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-Z7Nn7dR/0/M/IMG_0241-M.jpg


(camera pointed into driving rain and wind, sorry) After a good rest, he and I made it to the hut where the others informed us that the way out along the Rangitata did indeed exist! Apparently the hunters we had stayed with the nights before had taken passed ahead of us, indicating that they had likely known about it all along. Excited and now with a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, we all headed up the hillside - cold, rain and wind be damned:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-mFXznrc/0/M/IMG_0242-M.jpg


This track proved to be one of the best view and some of the best riding of the entire weekend. Looking back up the Rangitata valley, towards the confluence of the Clyde and Havelock shrouded by fog:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-SBr2S8N/0/M/IMG_0243-M.jpg


...another:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-GkHNDFn/0/M/IMG_0246-M.jpg


Looking down the Rangitata, we would definitely have been stranded if not for this way out...Rusty stops for dry gloves:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-HwmdcdS/0/M/IMG_0245-M.jpg


We eventually caught up with the hunters, who played completely blind/dumb to the route out :rolleyes::
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-ZfmZB5f/0/M/IMG_0247-M.jpg


After stopping to suit up in high-speed/cold/rain gear(and getting chewed out by the hunters for "spitting shingle and tearing up public tracks"...while they drive 4x4's through the mud? LOL), we headed for Mayfield for a much-needed hot stove, brew and chips in Mayfield:
http://hilslamer.smugmug.com/NewZealand/2013-Queens-Birthday-Adventure/i-tXK4FQK/0/M/IMG_0248-M.jpg


After that, it was a long, cold hour and a half home. Rusty had no housekey, so after arriving home had to wait another hour and a half in we clothes and freezing temps outside his own hose to warm up. I got home stripped to my knickers in the garage, and took a 30 minute shower. I was in the early stages of hypothermia, mostly from my swim and cold feet earlier in the day, but also from the ride home and being sick to boot. Afterwards, I made some soup and after that, crashed on the couch. I had no choice but to take work off the following day, and by Thursday night had lost my voice completely...LOL.


To say it one more time: I could not have asked for a better crew to get lost, stranded, stuck, marooned and starve a bit with...everyone ultimately made the best of all of it, and we all came out with minimal injuries and really, no mechanical failures besides a couple of bent handguards, a busted throttle, and some dead/drowned GoPro cameras and mobile phones.

[pete-blen]

What a fantastic write up.....:yes:
Would have all been great apart from the :cold: bit...

[Transalper]

Agreed, that's a great write up with good pictures that really help re live the adventure.
Might have to save it for off line viewing into the future.
And thanks for helping me over that last 100 meters of lumpy, I could feel I was becoming more behind the bike instead of leading it by that stage, kind of see the fall over coming but not do much about it. It's a weird feeling.
Those 4x4ers at the Growler were pretty adamant the high road out past the Rangatata did not exist all right, think we were all relieved at the last hut on the way out when we were told it did exist and started right there with no more major water crossings (though there were a few more small ones).

[Woodman]

Very good again, the hunters sound like twats.

[pomgolian]

Great RR cant believe the attitude of those hunters (in regards to the track out which surely would have been safer if they knew about it), i was surprised about the group splitting up as its far safer crossing swollen rivers as a group. (As we found out when stuck at Scotties hut earlier this year) I edited this post as there are two sides to every story and some of their points are valid.

[Frodo]

Wow! Amazing story. Colebatch, eat yer heart out! This is Canterbury Extreme!
Glad you all made it back okay.

[DR Girl]

I hate sounding like a teenager but. . . . O M G !!!! :sick: You guys went through hell & back.
A MASSIVE EFFORT. You all are HARD CORE ADVENTURERS!! Well done.
An excellent ride report hilslamer & pics considering you had to pull your camera out in those conditions & you weren't well.
How are you feeling now ?

[ADVGD]

Chapter 3...

Great job on the writeup Tim, glad you enjoyed the terrain/route/trip


Hey, looks like you took my last post as a dig at you... I just felt that waypointing huts was a good suggestion for the future

Na, I didn't take is as a dig, just making sure we are on the same page mate. This was a ride to GPS log and inspect route conditions of linking track sections. I know where each and everyone of these huts are and intended to lead the group there, the GPS files supplied were a route indication only, not a finalised set.

The organised ride that I'm putting together will have an extensive set of GPS files supplied including full route, camping areas, huts, fuel stop options, mechanical repair contacts, food stops etc etc.

For interests sake, the route you covered is less than 15% of the final route. At this stage the final route will be over a period of 5 days riding. A good portion of the route will be of similar terrain, similar rivers to cross, and poses the same risks of having to spend time up valleys should river levels come up. I have ridden 95% of the route, there are just some linking sections and optional/challenge sections to GPS log and document.

I will be heading off to inspect the remainder of that route plus extra sections shortly and will let riders know via PM, cheers

[hilslamer]

An excellent ride report hilslamer & pics considering you had to pull your camera out in those conditions & you weren't well.
How are you feeling now ?
Thanks go to Canon and their trusty D20...google it, you will how well it is suited to this type of venture.

I'm getting better, thanks...lost my voice for two days last week, had to take time off of work to get the fever down, all that jazz. It was gonna happen whether I went riding or not, although swimming in glacial icewater probably didn't help it get better any sooner.



Great job on the writeup Tim, glad you enjoyed the terrain/route/trip


Thanks...with subject matter this good, it makes it easy to be motivated to do it!

More time riding next time, hopefully, but all of it is quality time in any case. I've been perusing your website quite a bit, and will be PMing you with a barrage of questions relating to this and other rides...

[clint640]

Great pics & story Hilslamer!

It looks like a cool area to do some exploring in.... in late summer when the rivers are low :sunny: My Sis now lives near Stavely so we are thinking basing ourselves there for next summer's SI trip as we haven't ridden much in that area.

Cheers
Clint

[NordieBoy]

Thanks go to Canon and their trusty D20...google it, you will how well it is suited to this type of venture.

I've got a D10, not the prettiest cameras ever made but the image quality is second to none.
Wish it had an auto type lens cap though.

I prefer my Olympus 1030 form factor but the image quality isn't near the Canon.

[hilslamer]

I've got a D10, not the prettiest cameras ever made but the image quality is second to none.
Wish it had an auto type lens cap though.

I prefer my Olympus 1030 form factor but the image quality isn't near the Canon.

The D20 is the best of both worlds...I had a D10, I know what you are talking about.

[GPS MAN]

Great job on the writeup Tim, glad you enjoyed the terrain/route/trip



Na, I didn't take is as a dig, just making sure we are on the same page mate. This was a ride to GPS log and inspect route conditions of linking track sections. I know where each and everyone of these huts are and intended to lead the group there, the GPS files supplied were a route indication only, not a finalised set.

The organised ride that I'm putting together will have an extensive set of GPS files supplied including full route, camping areas, huts, fuel stop options, mechanical repair contacts, food stops etc etc.

For interests sake, the route you covered is less than 15% of the final route. At this stage the final route will be over a period of 5 days riding. A good portion of the route will be of similar terrain, similar rivers to cross, and poses the same risks of having to spend time up valleys should river levels come up. I have ridden 95% of the route, there are just some linking sections and optional/challenge sections to GPS log and document.

I will be heading off to inspect the remainder of that route plus extra sections shortly and will let riders know via PM, cheers


Looking forward to this..might make the trip Down for this one!!!:yes:

Will stay posted.....

Wade

[NordieBoy]

The D20 is the best of both worlds...I had a D10, I know what you are talking about.

The D20 is very Olympus 1030SW like.

[Night Falcon]

Thanks for sharing your adventure. Astoundingly bad form shown by those hunters but you reap what you sow....looking at those river crossings its amazing you didn't have more drowned bikes!

[LankyBastard]

Fantastic write up, awesome read! Sounds like one hell of an adventure, again, shame about the hunter's attitude (apart from Reuben, who sounded like a champ)

It's write up's like these that helps motivate me to get my DRZ400 modded up and get out for some adventure!!

Thanks again :yes:

[mattsdakar]

Thanks for the awesome write up Tim,
Looking forward to catching up to get some copies of your photos, have to say really enjoyed hearing of your biking exploits in the USA and observing your awesome riding skills. Hadn't actually realised you were than sick, what a trouper, feeling really bad now for not insisting that you took my bunk over the floor :facepalm:
For those that haven't meet Tim before, you will find him working at Superior Motorcycles in town, stop in for a chat, I'm sure he can do you a deal :yes:

Hoping to bribe you with a few beers one night to pick your brains about my XR's suspension set up (Tim has competed in the Baja1000 twice, once on a XR650R) so he really knows what he is talking about.
I am still getting shit at work for being awol for a couple of shifts and almost being subject to a SAR mission which I am normally co-ordinating rather than participating in!

[ADVGD]

I've been perusing your website quite a bit, and will be PMing you with a barrage of questions relating to this and other rides...

Fire away...


It looks like a cool area to do some exploring in.... in late summer when the rivers are low :sunny: My Sis now lives near Stavely so we are thinking basing ourselves there for next summer's SI trip as we haven't ridden much in that area.

Giday Clint, not a fan of the cold there brother? :cold: Late summer is a lot warmer for sure but one of the reasons the ride will be run late autumn/early winter is that those rivers run lower and are fairly stable at that time, much of the water is locked up in snow/ice and has predominantly low flows for easy fording. Spring has huge snow melt flows and warm early/mid summer days can be the same with no show in hell of crossing some of the planned route. With all that said, no matter what season, if a storm rolls in some sections will be impassable.


I've got a D10, not the prettiest cameras ever made but the image quality is second to none.
Wish it had an auto type lens cap though.

It's hard to find the perfect adventure camera, much like finding the perfect adventure bike. I've tried (and killed) a number of cameras. Currently trying a Fuji F800 EXR. It cost me $419. I feel I paid about $419 too much :p


Looking forward to this..might make the trip Down for this one!!!:yes:

The ride will be roughly 10 months away, final dates will be confirmed later on. I'll reuse the same registering system as the DB1K website built for Ryan and will pop up a link when registrations are ready to roll. As you'd expect from the images posted, there will be one hell of a disclaimer to sign! I'll be using a rider nomination system for registrations to ensure only experienced riders can enter, more info to follow...


Thanks for sharing your adventure. Astoundingly bad form shown by those hunters but you reap what you sow....looking at those river crossings its amazing you didn't have more drowned bikes!

That was a little surprising to hear, most hunters I've spent time in huts with have been really good value but I suppose there is always the odd grumpy bugger. Their loss, they could have joined in for a good laugh and a good time.

[Chris6.]

I have been rained in at a few high country huts in my time but never with a group so under prepared and irritating as what you lot were. The four of us looked at the forecast and went in knowing we may not be able to get out for up to a week and supplied ourselves accordingly. Tims' accusation of not sharing food is quite correct. We may have been there until Friday if you look at the river flows for that week. Why should we go hungry because you people weren't aware / prepared for the country and conditions. A group of six (could have been seven) of you expecting to find bunks together in a hut up that valley on a long weekend was ridiculous. It is possibly the most heavily hunted valley on public land in the South Island. Tims' comment in this thread that he couldn't partake of some conversation is laughable. Mate you never came up for air. When you all left the hut, you made no attempt to replace firewood that was used or even to clean up after yourselves. This to the extent that one of your party left behind a bag with his wallet in it containing several hundred dollars! (which I might add was returned to him intact by the grumpy hunters!)
Finally, That track that we all got out on. The track is on private land (Mesopotamia Station) and none of us had ever used it before out of respect for the property owner Malcolm Prouting. When we got home I rang Malcolm and explained we had had to dig our way out across the first scree and use his track to get out of the riverbed. He now has a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label from me as a thankyou for crossing his land without permission.
You blokes have a lot to learn before you have any business spending time in the highcountry again.

[clint640]

Giday Clint, not a fan of the cold there brother? :cold: Late summer is a lot warmer for sure but one of the reasons the ride will be run late autumn/early winter is that those rivers run lower and are fairly stable at that time, much of the water is locked up in snow/ice and has predominantly low flows for easy fording. .

No worries with cold weather, I do organise the midwinter madness ride after all, but the combination of cold conditions & fording deep rivers I will leave to mad southerners :cold:

Looking at river flows around there anytime from mid March is probably nearly as good as later in the winter, & more stable weather, so thats when we'd be planning on heading down for the next trip. Your site is definitely going to come in handy.

Cheers
Clint

[NordieBoy]

You blokes have a lot to learn before you have any business spending time in the highcountry again.

So you would recommend participating in an organised ride with an experienced leader?

[ADVGD]

You blokes have a lot to learn before you have any business spending time in the highcountry again.

I completely agree with that statement, the High Country can bite if you don't give it respect and it is no place for the under-prepared.

I was the one that put this ride together, I have ridden/hunted/tramped this valley and basically every other valley down the Main Divide, I consider myself to be a knowledgeable outdoors-man, I have been riding/hunting/fishing in the remote outdoors since I was a very young fella; I highly prioritise safety.

Unfortunately I was forced to pull out on day due to a failing stator. This was a shame as I have sound knowledge of that valley, but, if you read the preparation document the riders were issued had you would be reassured that this was no cowboy ride, there were specific safety requirements with the most critical being:

- Full set of warm gear
- Second set of warm gear should you get wet
- Warm sleeping gear/bag
- A tent should the huts be full
- Food
- Two days spare food should rivers come up

The unfortunate truth is that it has recently come to my attention that some of these guys (offline) have put their hand up and sheepishly said "hey, I didn't take all that was requested". Make no mistake, that was very disappointing to hear because the finger gets pointed at me as the ride organiser and that's just not bloody fair on me. The requirements were clearly stated in the rider preparation document, and they were only partially followed. The splitting of the group and the decision to cross a swollen river were not the correct ones, but that being said, they did the right thing to seek the refuge of the hut and sit till water levels were of a safe level to cross.

I am disappointed I was not there to coordinate the group however I can assure you from the feedback I have received from the lads they have taken on-board some significant lessons. It is a shame that they had to be learned in this manner.

I will continue to put together this ride as this cannot tarnish the fact the intended route showcases some amazing New Zealand country, the terrain is fantastic and it will be a brilliant event. As mentioned above this will be a nomination entry event to filter out inexperienced riders and avoid similar issues. Due to unpreparedness of some riders there will only be a couple of riders to continue the final pre-runs with the strict rule of if you don't take what is on the rider preparation list, you will not be able to come. That may sound rough but what the hunter said above could not be more true, "you have no business being in the High Country if you are under-prepared". I’m not interested in being in the firing line for someone else’s decision to ignore safe preparation

[mattsdakar]

You blokes have a lot to learn before you have any business spending time in the highcountry again.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for your comments Chris, to reply to your parting shot above, yes I have a bit to learn yet, but doing trips like this is how we learn and next time I will certainly be drawing on a wider knowledge base. Given your lack of sympathy for our situation you were obviously born an expert hunter/bushman?

I didn't have a problem with you guys choosing not to converse with us, we were clearly having a lot more fun than you given the amount of banter and laughs, you guys were obviously a bunch of loners sharing a common interest and weren't there for the social aspect so good on you.
I had no issues with you not sharing your food and completely understand your reasoning for not sharing..no problem we weren't looking for hand outs, what I do have a problem with is you guys all playing dumb when we asked you specifically as to whether there was an alternative high route out of the valley to Messi. Several of us had noted on google earth photos what appeared to be a hightrack but either you or one of your mates (and my group will back me up on this) specifically said there is no other way out but along the river flats. There was no "Yes, there is a track but it's on private land" or there was no "Yes there is a track but we haven't been on it" We were told point blank that there was no alternative which was bullshit!

I'll be the first to admit I had barely taken in enough food for two full extra days (unlike my mates who were better stocked) as unlike a Nissan Safari, my motorcycle is rather limited for carrying kitchen sinks etc - lesson learnt.
I did make the choice to leave my tent at Windwhistle in Alfs truck contrary to Joshs packing list but in hindsight my tent would not have stood up to the gale forcewinds we experienced nor the torrential rain and as happened in reality the hut floor was always going to be utilised.
As for not cutting up firewood, I personally carried plenty of firewood inside for our collective use but given there was no wood source within miles apart from scrub I'm not sure how were to have transported firewood to the hut.
In relation to your shot at cleaning up before leaving, Carl had swept the hut to allow a clean space to sleep on the floor the night before but maybe next time all of you lot could have taken your muddy boots off before repeatedly entering the hut and spreading hunks of mud everywhere, it was noted that none of us wore footwear inside while you guys were tramping in an out boots and all over the area that three of us were sleeping in.

To Josh - sorry to hear that you feel the finger was being pointed at you, your instructions were very clear and the ride was well orgainsed any criticism of your plans is unjustified, we all made conscious decisions that in hindsight we would most likely do things different next time, you made it clear what gear should be carried and what your weather expectations were, I can not fault any of your advise/suggestions, at the end of the day the weather gods pulled a swifty, but hey none of us were in any real danger, we all learned from it and all had a bloody good time,
looking forward to the next one!

Let the bagging begin......

[Chris6.]

I've said all I feel I need to.