- Articles
- Ride Reports
- Sunshine, Snow and Everything In-between
Spring Trip 2014
After finally reaching a completion point in a software project and winding up an eight year milestone, it was time to take a long overdue break. With it being the start of November and mid Spring the weather was naturally forecast to be volatile and scrappy. Regardless, there would still be many good days in amongst the wet and windy days and the plan was to chase the sun where possible.
With that said, the bike was packed and I was off for the start of the trip...
Leg 1....
Heading south was first on the cards, the weather was scrappy every which way with a big southerly front was pushing in, but there was a little reprieve in the centre of the island. Photo of Arthurs Pass looking north from the top of Porters Pass
Reference Link : SH73 - Arthurs Pass
The majority of the first day was spent GPS logging back roads and campsites for the RemoteMoto website
I had never visited this lake before and had planned just to have a look for a later date due to it getting long in the day. The fine weather and calm conditions got the better of me and out came the fly gear
Not too long after hitting the water came success, not a trophy by any means but it was in absolute magic condition. Lifted for a quick photo, then set on his way
After a great day mixed with both riding and a spot of fishing it was off to setup camp. I had resigned myself to wake to rain with regard to the gale force southerly winds and intimidating looking clouds fast approaching
Leg 2
Much to my surprise the weather held out right through till the morning just long enough for me to pack up and head off before the rain started. Once I dropped out from the hills I met blue sky and had a great breakfast at Staveley Cafe. The day was then spent exploring back roads and rivers while making my way further south
Ain't that pretty ;)
A good portion of the day was logging roads in the vicinity of Lake Opuha
Heading to a potential night's accommodation was brought to a halt. I poked my nose up to see if the Southerly front had come over into the Macaulay Valley. Sure enough it had meaning it would be far too dangerous to cross the river to get up there. With being a fan of staying alive I decided to have a comfortable night in a cabin
The night's accommodation
Leg 3...
Heavy rain and strong wind all night was not all that inviting to go jump on the bike the next morning, but I had a plan to fish water fed predominantly by spring creeks that would hopefully not be too affected by the rain
Arriving at the destination the clouds almost opened up on my approval. Thanks Mr Cloud Controller =)
The target rivers were slightly coloured but still fishable
Some walking between sections was needed but on a day like today ya couldn't complain
The tail of this glide was filled with bobbing heads of surface feeding rainbows, it wasn't too long before the first came to the net
Yehaa =) The other two fish pulled from this tail were also around the 2 and a 1/2 pound mark
A stretch of water that screamed of holding fish...
...sure enough it did
A beautiful rainbow jack
Followed by a rainbow hen. As the day wound up it couldn't have been any more successful. A great pocket of weather, a few fish lost but around eight came to the net. A simply fantastic day; sure beats the office!
Often times I am asked how I clean my gear and stop the spread of didymo as I move between waterways. I have setup my pannier to soak all my gear in a didymo killing solution, then drain bungs on the bottom are released to let the water out.
Leg 4...
Packing up the tent on another magic morning it was off deep down south to fish an area I have wanted to fish for a long time
Along the way nearly all the rivers were blown out from the heavy rain
Lindis Pass had not only received rain it also had a dusting of snow
Reference Link : SH8
Chilly
Reference Link : SH8
Not long after this shot on SH6 the clouds got dark and released generous amounts of rain and hail. On the positive side it gave me a chance to test how waterproof the new Klim Latitude Jacket is. It passed the test and kept me dry and warm
Reference Link : SH6 - Wanaka to Invercargill
Getting late in the day I opted for a Motel to shower up, charge batteries before heading off camping for 4 days
Leg 5...
Making my way into Milford Sound, I took the time to explore all the little side roads down to the rivers that I normally ride past; some of them very scenic
I must have eaten too much for tea last night because my Airhawk cushion gave way
No probs, a bit of UV cure Aquaseal and we were fixed and good to go in 10 seconds
Lake Gunn
Reference Link : SH94 - Te Anau to Milford Sound
At one of the stops a kea tried to steal my front wheel, luckily I had done the wheel nut up tight enough so he couldn't get it off
Heading into Hollyford Road, this slip from Roaring Creek was something else. This photo does not do it justice, thousands of tons of rocks and boulders metres high had swallowed the road
Views over the Hollyford River at the end of Hollyford Road
Upper reaches of the Hollyford River
Heading into Milford
Amazing views of water bleeding from the rock face between Mount Moir and Mount Belle
Homer Tunnel
Homer Tunnel's exit point from Mount Moir. Easy to see why the road goes through it and not over it
At the end of road, Milford's jaw dropping sights continued to be hard to capture on camera. The boat bottom left in this photo gives some indication
After a great ride and some grub at the Blue Duck Cafe it was time to head out and find a more non-touristy location to setup camp for the next three days
As evening was setting in I thought I'd have a quick flick on the river by camp. This turned out to be very successful. I spotted three beaut browns just 200 metres from camp, very pattern selective but I managed to bring two of the three to the net. Both decided to go flying down this rapid and have me chase after them, how rude!
This was the larger of the two, a cracking 5 pound brown in great nick
Leg 6...
An epic trip was planned for today, a big walk up a valley very few frequent. The alarm sang at 5:30 and with just 3 degrees in the air on went a few base layers. There was a basic "marked" route up the valley which started out better than expected however it got pretty technical after about an hour
On many tracks you have to climb around slips and guts so it is common to climb quite some height above the water. The climbs got steeper, many sections over 45 degrees using hands, knees and feet to get up
This track was getting insane, it was climbing higher and higher (as per photo looking down to the river). I made the decision to drop down to the river to see how navigable the riverbed was.
After getting bluffed twice in some sketchy terrain I finally made it down to the riverbed. It wasn't easy working my way upstream from the valley floor and some of the river crossings were bouldery, deep and swift requiring some careful planning. It did however beat the continual slog of climbing up the ridges and guts
The magic views and fishing potential were sure worth the effort
As for the fishing, well it was outstanding. There were numerous rainbows, all seemed take to large scruffy stonefly patterns and gave great battles
Time for a cuppa
Battling another rainbow
Nearly every pool held at least one fish, nothing of trophy size but all in great nick
Another rainbow being released and heading back home
To navigate the valley up the riverbed a few bluffs had to be climbed over, this one carpeted in thick moss
After about 10 hours on the hooves it was time to wind up the day and head back to camp before dark, I certainly didn't want to tackle the route out by headlight! All in all it was a magic day with numerous fish coming to the net
Giants of the forest, this photo does not do justice to their majesty
Leg 7...
With a massive day on the legs yesterday the plan was for a fairly casual walk and stalk. The day could not have put on better weather, it was only around 4 degrees but set to get warmer
I had a quick look at my GPS to check the upcoming river structure and noticed a small lake around 1.5km away on the other side of the river tucked out of the way. Small lakes like this can often be gems that hold fish that very few know about, but just as often they may not hold fish at all. I couldn't resist, I had to have a look
It was a long, slow swampy walk in to find it. Once found, it was picturesque, no doubt, but too shallow to hold fish
I followed the outlet out to where it met the river with hope it may hold a fish or two but alas, not a fish to be seen
Where the outlet met the river
Although being early on in the trip I still hadn't yet caught a biggin. So from here I decided to set a challenge to walk and stalk up the river and only pull the rod out once I had spotted a good sized fish
I walked past a number of smaller fish that would have been good fun, but I kept on walking
Where the tree had fallen into the water was a beautiful 6ish pound fish feeding. There would have been no way to keep it away from the snags however so it would have more than likely ended in a bust off; I kept on walking.
Perseverance and patience paid off. It took another 3 km of slowly walking and stalking but I found this beauty! It was sitting in the cuff of slack water actively feeding. A number of fly changes were made and I had to go down to a size #16 for success, but the result was this beauty! The long walk back to camp was well justified
Leg 8
After a few successful days with great weather it was time to pack up camp and head off to a motel to shower, charge batteries etc
I stopped in to see a trout aquarium with some decent sized fellas in there
A nice hot shower and a comfy bed
Leg 9
This day was firstly spent having a look up a river, one I'd never fished before
Being the weekend there was a high number of fishermen on the river so I thought I'd carry on to Walter Peak for a coffee. On the way I noticed a small brown feeding up this clear stream, so the plan was to grab a coffee then walk this stream from the lake confluence up
The TSS Earnslaw
Walter Peak
The wind was pretty fierce on the lake front but up the stream it was pretty well sheltered
As promising as the stream looked and as interesting as it was to walk up it didn't hold any fish other than the small brown spotted from the bridge. The plan for the rest remainder of the day was to head into a hut and setup for a few days
Von Road
Reference Link : Von Road
Reaching the hut to be the base for a few days
This is a frequent breakfast for riding and camping, before each trip I make up and vacuum pack lots of muesli from crushed cashew nuts, brazil nuts, dried kiwi fruit, bananas, blueberries, cranberries and currants then top with a honey and cinnamon apple pulp. It tastes pretty good and is a fast way to get a breakfast in and get on your way
This day was spent on nearby water fishing. It was by far the coldest day of the trip, strong winds rolled in thick clouds threatening to rain
The wind was so intense the lake edge was pretty much unfishable so I decided to head to the lower section of a river that had a gorgy section most likely to be sheltered
I have fished the upper section of this river which does hold fish however I had not fished the lower section as it is very turbulent rushy water and reputed to not hold fish. With few other options available I thought I'd have look anyways
Reputations held true, even some of the stable looking pools were void of trout
After walking about 4 km of the river there were no fish spotted but the rain held out and it was an enjoyable day on the hooves with magic views up the surrounding valleys
Back to base and a nice warm fire was a sweet way to wind up the day
Overnight some nasty weather rolled in bringing snow with it. None settled right at the hut but did settle about 100 metres up
A fresh dusting on the nearby ranges
The weather was not looking flash at all. If rain set in up the valley it can rise Lake levels to be unable to get out so the decision was made to head out while I could and aim to find the sun elsewhere
Leg 10
The weather was looking scrappy every which way over the South Island, regardless it was off down south to check out some tracks and rivers.
There were numerous wether bombs along the way unleashing hail, rain and sleet. There were periodic breaks though, enough to carry on for a sniff around a few new places
All the rivers however were well and truly blown out and far from ideal for fishing
After reaching Tuatapere (the most south-west town in the South Island) I was held captive for two days in a motel by insane rain, hail and gale force winds. The time was spent adding content to the RemoteMoto website and planning further routes
Leg 11
The volatile spring weather continued to bring waves of southerly fronts delivering more rain, hail and strong winds. The plan was to use a friends crib in the Catlins as a base in the hope the weather would provide few good days amongst the wet and windy days. I stayed there for six days and managed to milk a couple of days of reasonable weather. Basically all the rivers were in flood and unfishable, I did however managed to get in a days fish up one of the smaller rivers not so affected by the rain and landed a couple of decent fish
One of the DOC (pest trappers) swing bridges
A feisty brown trout, one of the few taken on a dry fly
Leg 12
With more fronts and rain forecast I thought this would be a good a time as any to swing by my base to change tyres, oil etc etc. I enjoy trying out new tyres, for the next leg on went a GoldenTyre GT333
I waited a few days for the weather to clear, a great move as when I did head off I got some of the best weather of the trip. Lots of sun, warmth and minimal wind, sweet!!
A camp spot with great views. Over the next three days a number of rivers and tributaries were explored and fished. In some sections there was a lot of walking between fish, but it was well worth the effort as I hooked into a number of good sized fish. I did however set a record for the number of fish lost over a period of three days, although are few small and medium sized fish came to the net, I lost some absolute beauties due to hooks pulling free.
Scaling loose rocky faces to access one of the rivers
One of the small tributaries
Leg 13
After some magic days in the High Country, increasing winds marked the sign of the forecasted front with heavy rain moving in. The plan was to head out, push through the front and make my way over to the West Coast
Heading into rain, lots and lots of rain =)
After checking into a holiday park, a few days were spent exploring new rivers. Some of the rivers did hold fish, some didn�t, but all of them were absolute stunners.
Emerging mayflies
Some of the access roads to the rivers were fairly sketchy, I sunk an hour of time and a gallon of sweat to get the bike out of this bog, the nearby logs were a great help to use as leavers as the bike sank so deep into the mud I was unable to lift it out
Toward the end of this leg another front came in dumping huge amounts of rain, this torrent was a small crystal clear stream just a few hours ago
Leg 14
The next leg was further south down the West Coast via a few back roads
Camping up in a DOC campsite for a few nights while checking out some nearby rivers
A few fish came to the net, none of substantial size but all with beautiful markings
A misty morning start from a campsite further down south
Some of the rivers in this area were outstanding, stunning emerald green pools
As another front rolled in it was quite timely to swing past base for some mechanical repairs, my voltage was dropping by the day and the suspect was the stator
Checking out a recently reopened valley track
No chance of progressing further up the valley, the heavy rain had brought river levels up too far but the track was great and will definitely be revisited on another leg
Once back to base and I pulled the stator out, it was fairly well fried and in need of replacement