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Archives For 30/11/1999

Sounds good! Camping in the Marlborough Sounds

hchristophersdoc —  22/12/2011

By Herb Christophers, December 22nd, 2011

Between Picton and Nelson on State Highway 6 in the Rai Valley, a turn off to the north that looks relatively inconspicuous opens up a world of opportunity. For some people in the know, it is an annual summer pilgrimage to access the calm waters of Marlborough Sounds and to get on to the bushy tracks that link many of the less accessible beaches. No wonder the area is popular among those who enjoy time by the sea. It’s all about adventure around every corner and camping opportunities in some lesser known locations. Once you are off State Highway 6 heading north, a turn to the right takes you to Tennyson Inlet (following the main road takes you through Okiwi Bay and beyond to French Pass).

Nydia Lodge Jetty

Elaine Bay

Getting to Okiwi Bay and beyond to French Pass is a journey that many campers take. On the way, there are other less distant camping options. One particular place is Elaine Bay that faces into Tennyson Inlet. This is an ideal place to launch a boat or kayak into the calm waters of the inlet and to cruise around the wider Pelorus Sound.

Elaine Bay

From Elaine Bay to the south east is Penzance which is accessible via a 10km walking or mountain bike track that hugs the coastline around the steep hills.  The views are great out to Maud Island and beyond, and hint of potential adventure around every little bay in the inlet. You can get to Penzance the easy way by road too – it’s that earlier right turn after you leave State Highway 6 in Rai Valley.

Elaine Bay is a standard DOC campsite with water on tap, toilets and other basic facilities for 20 tent sites. Cheap at $6.00 adult ($1.50 child)/night.

View from Red Point near Elaine Bay. Maud Island in the background

Closer in

There are great paddling daytrips throughout the Sounds. There is always somewhere sheltered to paddle and the trip can be as easy or hard as you like, determined by the distances between stops. One option from Elaine Bay would be to paddle out into the sheltered part of Tennyson Inlet to Tawa Bay campsite and explore further down the inlet to Matai Bay or further into Duncan Bay at the head of the inlet.

Duncan Bay

There are campsites at Harvey Bay near Duncan Bay and Tawa Bay. Like Penzance,  Harvey and Duncan Bays are accessible by road.  Tawa Bay is only accessible by boat or kayak. If you decided to stay overnight, there are tent sites at $6.00 adult ($1.50 child)/night.

Further out

Those of you who are a bit more adventurous and well prepared for longer overnight camping trips can paddle out along the Tawhitinui Reach and turn into the entrance of Pelorus Sound. From here it’s a haul to Jacobs Bay campsite which has 8 tent sites tucked in out of the prevailing wind at the sheltered northern end of Fairy Bay Scenic Reserve. After some time in the boat it is a great way to stretch your legs by walking around Dillon Bell Point into Fairy Bay. There is water and a loo at Jacobs Bay campsite and if you don’t want to go for a walk, you can paddle around exploring the adjacent shoreline or just fish off the jetty.

Nydia Track start at Duncan Bay

Next day, it’s a relatively sheltered paddle to Nydia campsite at the head of the scenic bay with further opportunities for walking.  The Nydia Track winds its way from Pelorus Sound to Tennyson Inlet and passes through Nydia Bay. A walk up to Kaiuma or Nydia Saddles will be rewarded with views back into the bay or beyond.

The view of Tennyson Inlet from Opouri Saddle

This is a shared track so don’t be surprised to see mountain bikers taking advantage of the great scenery and riding opportunities.  There are 8 tent sites at Nydia Bay and because there is only boat access or people on foot or bike, you will feel a lot more isolated without vehicles nearby. The campsite is on one side of the bay and Nydia Lodge is opposite. The bookable DOC lodge is particularly popular with school groups who have the chance to get away from the rigors of school life for a bit of time in the outdoors. Sounds good?  Sounds great!

The view into Nydia Bay from the Kaiuma Saddle

If the weather is favourable a paddle out of Nydia Bay to scenic Pipi Beach on the Hikapu Reach is on the cards. Pipi Beach is a great place to stooge around in the kayak and explore on shore and watch the boat traffic coming and going from Kenepuru and Pelorus Sounds. There are four camp sites at Pipi Beach and it is at the heart of what it means to get away in the Sounds.

A return paddle north across Nydia Bay to Jacobs Bay will put you in a good place to get back to Elaine Bay the following day.

DOC manages about 40 camping opportunities in the Marlborough Sounds – many not accessible by road.  Much of the information about accessing these facilities is available on the DOC website, and Visitor Centres or i-Sites at Picton and Nelson can provide advice in person if you are looking for a bit of time on the water.

In Camping, Nelson/Marlborough, Recreation, Regions , , , , , , , , , ,
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La De DOC

 —  22/12/2011

Martinborough may only be a small town, but if you’re going to La De Da and you’ve got some time to spare, there are plenty of great activities to do… if you can pull yourself away from the vineyards.

250 steps to the top

Palliser Bay

If you haven’t planned for all of your days to involve wine and tasting it, perhaps a trip out to Palliser Bay might take your fancy. This place is one of the earliest Maori occupation sites in New Zealand, and is also the only fur seal colony in the North Island where breeding is well established. If you want to earn some cheese for that wine, or would like a little shapeshifting on your buns, there’s an old lighthouse 250 steps up a hill, with some great views of the coast.

Waiohine Gorge

Take a dip in the Gorge's swimming spots

If you’re thinking ‘I know that we’ve got only a little time, so like it or not, we’re gonna be drinking wine’, then the Waiohine Gorge has a number of short tracks suitable for quick, light exercise. There are also several good swimming pools in the river (which are popular for rafting, tubing and kayaking in) so after a splash, you can head back to Lullabye Lane feeling cool and refreshed. 

Pukaha Mount Bruce

Manukura - the world's first white kiwi


Visiting this place on State Highway 2 between Masterton and Eketahuna is a must. It’s the home of Manukura and Mauriora (the little white kiwi), tuatara, kaka, kokako and some very impressive eels! There’s also a pretty native bush track, with a picnic area at the top so you’ll be able to drink and laugh till you feel right.

Castlepoint Scenic Reserve

Don’t forget to pack a fishing rod—taking a trip out to Castlepoint is a popular place to dangle the line or pull the catch as one. If you’re into one-offs, then you’ll want to take note of the Castlepoint daisy shrub—named this because Castlepoint is the only place in the world it grows. Frequent visitors to the area include dolphins, fur seals and the odd small whale. The lighthouse here is also a drawcard. There are a few walks around the Scenic Reserve and a nice sheltered lagoon for swimming in.

Lay in the lagoon

In Kiwi, Native animals, Recreation, Regions , , , , ,
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Recreation, relaxation, and Rhythm and Vines

 —  21/12/2011

The drive

On the road again...

New Zealand music festivals and summer; it’s hard to imagine one without the other. Once Christmas is over, kiwi boys and girls across the country will be packing their perfect summer outfits, discussing music and snack options, and double checking they’ve got their tickets before heading to various festival locations to bring in the New Year. Whether they’re On the road again, going on their first Roady, or just enjoying The Ride, music lovers will use this time to plan, prepare for, and analyse what will be happening over the course of their summer holiday.

Here are some insider suggestions for those looking to dilute the sometimes heady mix of New Year vino and vibes with something more soothing for the soul.

Just what the doctor ordered...

Getting to Gizzy is not an easy journey. It can be a long, hot drive so stopping for breaks is important. If you’re coming from Napier, grab an ice-cream in Nuhaka and stop at the near-by Morere Hot Springs Reserve (about 40 minutes before Gisborne). Along with a relaxing spa, you can take a 20 minute shaded bush walk through the nikau palms, get your palm read, or buy a $3 healing stone necklace. Bargain! If you’re coming from Opotiki, the Waioeka Gorge has seven stops along the way, with an historical story at each. Make sure you pull over at the Monument swimming hole—it’s a lifesaver when the East Coast sun starts cranking up.

Cooks Cove Walkway

Idyllic

If Gisborne’s feeling a little crowded and you’re looking for a break, pack a picnic, a good sunhat and your togs and drive around the coast to Tologa Bay and the Cooks Cove Walkway. This track goes through farm land and is easy to complete, while still being a decent workout. From the top, the surrounding water is an electric dream blue and shines so bright, and once you reach the bottom you can swim, eat and play in the beautiful Cooks Cove bay.

When you get back to the car, you’ll be ready for another swim and an icecream; luckily, both the dairy and the Tolaga Bay wharf (which is super-fun to jump off) are just around the corner.

Makaretu Scenic Reserve (Rere rock slide and the Champagne pools)

Good old fashioned fun on the Rere rockslide

Often referred to as one of New Zealand’s best kept secrets, the Rere falls are both beautiful and entertaining. They are 50 kilometres out of Gisborne, on the Wharekopae road. You’ll need a boogie board, a rubber tube or something sturdy and inflatable. This natural waterslide is for the brave; you may need to mentally project positive all day to prepare, but after you’ve been down once, you’ll be running back up to the top again and again. If you’re feeling “blasé blasé from last night’s party”, then further down the road are the more tranquil Champagne pools. These are sun-heated, naturally formed rock pools that are perfect for relaxing and swimming in.

The Okitu Scenic Reserve Track and hill

Keep on pushing till you reach the top

Okitu Hill is one of the best places in Gizzy to watch the sunrise from. If you want to head away from town’s main beach, hit State Highway 35 for five minutes until you reach Okitu just past Wainui. There’s parking at the end of Moana Road. The climb to the top is sharp but short—the view is amazing, the kind that reminds you it’s a brand new day today. Over the road, the Reserve has a little track that takes you through a nice 20–30 minute walk in a bush that was developed especially to teach kiddies about bio-diversity and conservation. After that, take a ‘Wainui shower’ and cool off in the sea. This beach is best before the breeze arrives around midday.

Extend the holiday

Stopping for a scenic break on the Waikaremoana Great Walk

For those that plan on making a ‘do more exercise’ resolution, why not add a few days to the trip and do the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk. This takes three days, with five huts and campgrounds (complete with hot showers) along the way. While walking, you can catch up on all the New Years Eve gossip and unwind together, taking in the clean, clear, crisp scenery.

A pearler

If you’re after some relaxation and a great sunbathing spot, the Anaura Bay campground is like an endless summer haze. At only $15 a night, this place is a treat. You can even bring your dog.

In East Coast, Recreation, Walking/hiking/tramping , , , , , , ,
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New Zealand timelapse with Bong Bajo

 —  19/12/2011

Last week I came across this video—a beautiful compilation of footage from around New Zealand, featuring some spectacular scenery across public conservation land.

Check out New Zealand Timelapse Presentation and the interview with the film maker, Bong Bajo, below!

Interview with film maker Bong Bajo

Name: Bong Bajo (from the Philippines)

Kaikoura landscape

What inspired you to make this video?

I’m a photography enthusiast. My forte is landscape photography. I remember seeing great shots of New Zealand and, ever since, it has been my dream to capture New Zealands’s grandeur using my camera. And since I haven’t seen many timelapse videos of New Zealand, I decided to focus my photo shoot on capturing timelapse.

What was your favourite filming/photography location?

I’m into landscape photography, always in search of locations with great scenery. In New Zealand, Mount Cook National Park was the best location for me. There were lots of areas to shoot. I loved those huge moving clouds—the lenticular cloud over Mount Cook—and their change in colour after sunset. The alpenglow was also great. Actually, I regretted that I never had the chance to explore all locations. I’m definitely coming back.

Milford Sound

What part was the hardest to capture?

Tasman Sea on the West Coast was challenging. The Motukiekie formations area was a good spot for photography, but the ocean swell was crazy. For a few minutes, water was low, then all of a sudden it rose to waist deep. Very dangerous.

What do you hope Kiwis take away from your video?

You guys are blessed with an immense and very diverse landscape. You should be proud—show and share this to the whole world. Save them for future generations to enjoy.

Tasman Glacier

How long did this take you to make?

It was a 15-day trip. I wish I could’ve stayed longer.

It took me over a week to edit the timelapse video, including the photos.

Apart from the timelapse, was there much post production work?

Much work was done on converting photos into videos. Colours were already in the shots, although they were enhanced a bit, since I was shooting some scenes in RAW. The secret to shooting the right colors was to wait for them to come out naturally. This means waking up early in the morning to hike and catch sunrise colors. And shooting at sunset up until the twilight colors come out and disappear.

In timelapse photography, it’s important to get the photos right during the shoot, i.e. the right exposure and color, because it’s going to be hard editing each photo in post production after taking thousands of shots.

Kea Point

How did you create the star trail images?

The beauty of timelapse photography is that it can make slow moving objects appear to move faster. Stars do move (relative to the Earth – because of Earth’s rotation). In order to capture the movement, I took timed shots of the stars; one shot for every 30 seconds, for one to two hours. Then, I put each frame side-by-side in 30 frames per second. That makes the effect of moving stars in the video. For the still image of the star trails, I stacked all the shots using software from startrail.de. That put together all the shots of the stars in one frame.

Purakaunui Falls

At times the camera was panning at the same time as filming. How did you do this?

I wish I had dollies and cranes to make my camera move. However, I packed so much equipment (three cameras, five lenses, two tripods, and lots of accessories), that I didn’t have an extra hand for dollies. I only used tripods (non moving).

I created the panning and zooming effect in Adobe Premiere Pro. Since my raw material (photos) were shot in 12 to 18 megapixels, I could crop on them easily without losing the quality of 1080p HD (two megapixels per frame only), and move that frame in the photo as the video was being rendered. Imagine having a huge photo, cropping a frame on the left, and moving that frame to the right as the video is being rendered. That makes for the panning effect. Next time, I’ll bring a crane :).

Stars in timelapse

Thank you for this opportunity to share my experience in New Zealand. You say that New Zealand is “the land of the long white cloud” and indeed it is, as I experienced it. But, for me, it is also a land of immense and diverse landscapes. And there’s no exaggerating that. The timelapse presentation will show you why.

In National parks, Regions , , , , , , ,
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Farewell to Barry Lawrence, passionate conservation worker, advocate and friend

Department of Conservation —  16/12/2011

Every Friday Jobs at DOC will take you behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation.

Today we profile Programme Manager, Barry Lawrence, who died at home last Wednesday after a short battle with cancer. Never one to blow his own trumpet, we decided to do it for him…

Barry in the field with the mōhua he worked so hard to protect

An active member of the Wakatipu Environmental Society since the 1980s, two-term councillor with the Queenstown Lakes District Council, mayoral candidate, school teacher, dry stone dyker, shearer, DOC volunteer and most recently DOC Biodiversity Programme Manager, Barry’s contribution to the community and conservation over the last 30 years has been enormous.

As a councillor, he drew up the provisions of the 1995 District Plan controlling subdivision and protecting local landscape values. Out of the office he became a staunch protector of these values, spending countless voluntary hours preparing submissions and appearing at the Environment Court.

The importance of this work and the regard that Barry was held in was recognised in 2008, when he was awarded the Queen Service Medal for services ‘to local body affairs and the environment’.

Barry was a great teacher, shown here teaching colleagues how to mist net

The 1990s saw Barry unleash his passion for species and habitat protection, firstly by developing and staffing the first DOC volunteer mōhua and bat survey projects in the Dart and the Caples. Subsequently employed full time as Programme Manager Bio-Assets in 2002, Barry grew this work into much larger-scale pest tracking, trapping, treatment and bird monitoring programmes, the results of which we all enjoy today.

Barry and Ray Molloy at a local 1080 operation

Great examples of Barry’s relentless pursuit of restoring and maintaining the natural environment in the Wakatipu include protecting mōhua; saving bat habitat from development proposals in the Routeburn; getting a local power company to get on board with falcon research; demonstrating the importance of farm shrublands to falcon habitat; working with a local jet boat operator to fund research into black-fronted terns in the Dart and the Rees; and most recently developing a host of sites for kōwhai plantings.

Barry in his element – an evening filled with friends, stories, food and drink (and a giant haggis!)

In addition to all of Barry’s species and habitat protection, he also led the Area’s RMA advocacy work. With his considerable prior knowledge and skill in this field he was able to secure all manner of gains, large and small, through the process. The recent agreement with a Queenstown property developer to remove a 50 hectare block of mature wilding pines seeding the upper Shotover is a great example of Barry both seeing, and more importantly, seizing the opportunity.

A happy Barry – post beer and looking a bit woolly

Despite all of this work, it is many of Barry’s other more personal attributes that friends and family will remember him by – his ability to cut to the nub of complex issues (1080 being one), his big laugh, long hours in the field, a love of whiskey, beer, cider and Jimmies mutton pies, the DOC staff pig farming collective and his all together far too animated story telling (while driving) on dodgy trips up to Macetown, are just some of the many things we’ll all miss!

Put really simply, as Barry liked things put, he was good fun to be around. He is survived by his wife Pauline and daughters Rebecca and Meg and will be greatly missed.

Check out Barry on YouTube in this Shrublands Foodstore for NZ Falcon clip.

In Jobs at DOC, Otago , , , , , ,
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