From Lake Tekapo we headed south to Mt. Cook (NZ's largest peak). Neither Tomasz (my polish travel partner) or myself could care less about mountaineering, so we opted to play on some of the roadside crags in the area for a few days. The pick of the litter was Sabastapol Bluffs, which are a group of greywhacke cliffs ranging from 15- 200 meters in height. Though some of the routes are protected with natural gear (trad), most have no cracks so they are all bolted. The rock was impecable quality and the views were to die for.
From Mt Cook, we headed further south to Wanaka, which is a quirky little mountain village located next to a beautiful lake. Of course, there is also heaps of good climbing there. The weather was not always on our side, so we had a few rest days (or half rest days) but the climbing we did get in was great. The rock in Wanaka is Shist, which makes it very similar to the climbing in Rumney, NH. I felt right at home crimping away on bad holds and sharp cracks.
From Wanaka, we headed to the Darrans. The Darrans is NZ's only "world class" climbing destination... though as it turns out... it is more a mountaneering destination due to the long, uphill hikes to get to the solid rock. There are a few cool roadside sport crags which offer amazing rock with great views... so we concentrated most of our week long trip at those types of areas.
Two of the other days were very memorable- The first day that really stands out was a reast day. We headed into Milford (the local "town") to do a bit of sight seeing. As that Milford is part of "Fiordland", we decided to due a boat tour to see some of the fiords and check out the Tasman sea. By a stroke of luck, we met a gal who needed a lift from the hut we were staying at into Milford. By an even bigger stroke of luck... she worked for the boat company. After a wee bit of flirting (not really THAT much, she practically offered of her own accord), she hooked us up with two free passes for a 2 hour boat cruise which included a 45 minute stop at "Milford Deep." Milford deep is a "first of its kind" aquarium.... though rather than looking into tanks, you walk down a spiral staircase into a large room 30 or 40 feet under the water, which has huge windos 360 degrees around the walls. It was really cool.
The second adventure was.... well, more adventuresome. As that we were in NZ's mountaneering capital, we decided to try to bag on BIG route. We opted for the Boen- Allen corner, which is a beautiful 8 pitch (1200 foot) wall of granite situatied ontop of a 4000 foot ridge. We did the hike in sweet. We did the climb sweet. Then the bad weather came in and we were forsed to spend the night under a boulder with nothing but our climbing gear, 2 tins of sardines and a bit of water. We didn't die. Actually.... although I would never have signed up for it.... it was actually quite fun.

Hope all is well in the world.... luvs ya all!

WOW!!!! Ok.... once more, WOW! The South Island is pretty rad. I've been averaging 5-6 days of climbing per week since I got down here. My mate Tomasz met up with me and Monica (the Swiss gal) in Christchurch and the adventure got underway. Thankfully, Tomasz has a car.... though it is a bit cramped.
The first order of buisiness was bumming around the Christchurch crags a bit. Although there is nothing real tall... there is loads of fun little crags to play on (both sport and trad). While in C'church we managed to find availible couches to crash on at the house of Anna Dwyer (no relation to Cristin.... that they know of), who is a friend of Tomasz. She is a strong climber, a fiery red head, a Chalky Digits model (climbing/ outdoor clothing line in NZ) and geneally an all around cool cat. She actually ended up tagging along with us for a few days of the trip.... wow, as if the car wasn't tight already!!!!
Next on the list was a bit more time at Castle Hill basin and Mt Somers, which is an alpine crag requiring a 3+ hour hike in (thankfully there is an alpine club hut at the base of the cliffs to camp at). The rock at Mt Somers was cloumnar basalt. It offered both amazing trad lines (quite a few of which I simply soloed!) and some cool sport climbs as well. The views were outstanding at the hut was actually quite cozy as well. Our base camp for this leg of the adventure was Cristin's house in Methven. Due to the 3 days we were at Mt Somers, we thought it was best to stash any unwanted gear at her place to reduce the chance of the car getting broken into. It was great to catch up with Cris and she and Anna had great fun trying to sort out if they were related (if nothing else, both of their fathers are named Michael Fransis Dwyer.... weird!).
Just recently, Monica has left the group due to the fact that she wanted to do a bit more sight seeing (as opposed to climbing every day!) as well as the fact that she had already made plans to meet up with some German fella mid month. As much as I enjoyed her company, it is definitely easier just dealing with 2 guys in the car. We may try to meet up a bit further along in the trip... but who knows.
The past two days were spent doing some amazing multi-pitch climbs at the base of Mt Cook (NZ tallest peak). The rock was amazing, the views were extrodinary, the camping was free and the weather was.... windy but good. Tomasz and I are currently having a rest day at a health spa in Lake Tekapo. For $8 we got a sauna, hotpools, (much needed) showers and free internet! Life is good. We haven't really decided which direction to head yet... but I'm sutre it will be fun regardless. I'll be sure to post up next time I can.

Keep living the dream. Get out there and have your own adventure... even if it's just a walk in the park! Loves to the lot of ya!!!