The pace of life on Golden Bay was put into proper perspective by this line of cows that stretched all the way back to the pine trees in the background...after about 10 minutes, a farmer on a motorcycle kindly rescued us from this imposing bovine roadblock and we continued on our merry way.

Jeff Dunbar > New Zealand - S Island

The pace of life on Golden Bay was put into proper perspective by this line of cows that stretched all the way back to the pine trees in the background...after about 10 minutes, a farmer on a motorcycle kindly rescued us from this imposing bovine roadblock and we continued on our merry way.

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I thought this sign was really funny, UNTIL...(see next picture)

So our new kiwi friend Kevin (a very experienced ice-climber) set up a toprope and we all gave it a go. Kevin was the only one who reached the top, but after cutting our teath on this amazing feature, Natalie and I were instantly hooked on ice-climbing.

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Jeff Dunbar

Oct 7, 2007

“The pace of life on Golden Bay was put into proper perspective by this line of cows that stretched all the way back to the pine trees in the background...after about 10 minutes, a farmer on a motorcycle kindly rescued us from this imposing bovine roadblock and we continued on our merry way.”

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Nearby Photos

A big battle scene from The Chronicles of Narnia was shot here.

Once again, we had this place to ourselves...

Looking straight down at the coolest 5.8 climb in NZ: Headbanger's Arete (grade 17) at the main cliff of Hospital Flat in Wanaka.

On our next visit to the glacier (my 3rd), Natalie and I were accompanied by our kiwi climber friend Ruth.

The trunk of the Franz Josef glacier, as seen from our helicopter window. Note the ocean is visible in the background.

Nope, not Castle Hill. This is the lesser-known, but equally as scenic boulder field at Elephant Rocks in the South Canterbury region. For a sense of scale, I'm the little spec walking out of the shaddow on the right side of this photo.

Huge waterfalls and frequent landslides were no bother for the kiwis who built the road through Arthur's Pass. This engineering marvel snakes east to west, straight through the heart of the Southern Alps in the middle of the South Island.

This is the grand plateau below Mt. Tasman and Mt. Cook. In the bottom left/center, atop the rocky outcrop, sits an alpine hut with a red roof. Every year, hundreds of climbers use it as basecamp for alpine ascents of Mt. Cook (left) and Mt. Tasman (right).

The Abel Tasman Coast Track is loaded with pristine beaches along its entire length (51 kilometers). We only hiked about 10 kilometers of the track as a day trip, but we were not disappointed with the scenery...

This place was like Arches National Park by the sea...

There were arches everywhere you looked...

Natalie celebrates our arrival on one of the most rugged and desolate beaches we've seen yet in New Zealand, near Farewell Spit on the ocean side of Golden Bay.

I'm the tiny blue dot walking away from the camera...

The local marine mammals seemed to enjoy the sun as much as we did on the Abel Tasman Coast Track. This fella weighed at least 300lbs and we ate lunch right next to him (fortunately he wasn't hungry).

The granite sea cliffs of Seperation Point on the border of Tasman Bay and Golden Bay.

More pristine beachfront property at Abel Tasman National Park.

The hot pools at Welcome Flat were pure bliss at the end of our 11 mile walk up the Copland Valley. On the sage advice of several kiwi friends, we packed in a nice bottle of wine to enjoy while we soaked away the pain of the trail.

Back on the NZ mainland, we stopped at this remote beach on our way to Dunedin to observe a petrified forest by the sea (only visible at low tide). The lumps you see here are petrified tree stumps.

Natalie took this killer shot of the snow and the ocean at the helicopter landing site at the top of the Franz Josef Glacier.

The main attraction at Moereki Beach is the cluster of bizarre globe-shaped boulders at the far end of the beach. For eons, these boulders grew like pearls from small mineral deposits in the otherwise sandy soil.

And these tiny Stewart Island Robins followed us everywhere we went (they litterally foraged for food in our footsteps).

Great Walk #2: The Abel Tasman Coast Track near Nelson. We had this place to ourselves, but in the high season this beach and many others along the track are swarming with hikers, kaykers, fishermen, motorboaters, etc...

The Otago Penninsula protects Dunedin from rough weather from Antarctica. In 2006, several gigantic icebergs broke off from Antarctica and floated right past this spot.

One quickly begins to feel rather insignificant in a place like this...

Some of these boulders are eroding faster than others...

This thing is about the size of a small medieval castle...

I thought this sign was really funny, UNTIL...(see next picture)

The pace of life on Golden Bay was put into proper perspective by this line of cows that stretched all the way back to the pine trees in the background...after about 10 minutes, a farmer on a motorcycle kindly rescued us from this imposing bovine roadblock and we continued on our merry way.

So our new kiwi friend Kevin (a very experienced ice-climber) set up a toprope and we all gave it a go. Kevin was the only one who reached the top, but after cutting our teath on this amazing feature, Natalie and I were instantly hooked on ice-climbing.

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Glacier ice is awesome.

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Natalie in a state of puff jacket-induced bliss after yet another cold night of sleeping in the car.

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Petrified tree trunks on the beach. Wierd.

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Dr. Seuss would've loved this place...

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And then a week later Kevin and I came back with a professional photographer so he could LEAD this line on pre-placed ice screws. As seen here, I tried unsuccessfully to follow him... (photo by Petr Hlavacek)

The mountains of Fiordland National Park are not the tallest in NZ, but they are extremely steep and rugged. There's heaps of world-class alpine rock and ice climbing here. Oh, and there's a severely overhung wall with a bunch of NZ's finest 5.13 sport climbs too if you're into that sort of thing... (Natalie and I couldn't be bothered)

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