Today has been another hot day, although there were a few drops first thing as we ate our breakfast outside! Much as we both would have liked to climb Ben Lomond (around 1700m) behind Queenstown, there wasn't time due to scheduled afternoon activities. So, we walked up to a small summit using the Millenium walkway. Once through the dark pine woods, we emerged to views across Lake Wakatipu, over to the gondola with Ben Lomond behind, and to mountains surrounding us. ...And only three other people all morning (high season?)!
A full afternoon has been had on a rafting trip on the Shotover river, which started with a scary bus ride over the Skipper's canyon road. Single track, this dirt road has precipitous drops below which is a downhill mountain bike track. Having survived this, the rafting was a pleasure. We were one of nine rafts on the 2-hour, 14km section. The river was clear and blue, at the bottom of a steep-sided canyon most of the way. The first half involved practicing the techniques that would be required, then the second half saw us on grade 3-4 rapids with names such as 'the squeeze', 'the toilet', etc. In places there was only just space to get a raft through the rocks on either side and we got wet several times. At the end was a 170m tunnel, with a rapid that caused one of the other rafts a problem, when it got stuck!Since then, we've eaten great fish and chips at PJ's, and driven north for over an hour, with more glaciers coming into view.
Looking forward to using the hot tub here when we finish - so, no more from us until monday evening!
Icebergs disintegrated noisily on the lake below us. Then it was back to camp and up a 500 metre Alpine 
Saturday dawned overcast but the weather improved all day. 'Silver Bullet', our hire car, was thoroughly tested on the Summit Road to Akoroa. Hundreds of mountain and road bikers were out, seeking the thrills and views from the rim of the volcano that makes up Banks Peninsula, despite the low cloud. Our destination was the French-influenced village of Akoroa on a harbour, which we reached at lunchtime, having scared ourselves on the dirt road leading to Pidgeon Bay, with its precipitous drop on the climb up!
But after reaching the lane (pictured above) that turns into a quiet road to Middleton, Sue and Phil took over with their plan. The main road was quiet and the farm lane was ok, but as we wound our way around the beautifully landscaped Mount Pleasant Farm, and down to Smerill with the expansive view shown below, Sue began to limp. Quite Badly. So Phil turned back to retrieve their transport and I had my rather pathetic little map to guide the rest of us to Elton for lunch.
We set off into a deep bog, foolishly ignoring a bemused looking Graham who had been here before and knew a way around it. But we, not he, were on the path. Richard heroically dislodged a bucket of sheep feed that had metamorphosed into a dam. We could now walk through the bog, rather than wade through a lake.
The ridge was superb – short sections of scrambling, broad grassy shoulders, a narrow col, requiring great care due to steep rocky slopes either side, huge drops down into the adjacent cwms, and constant ascent and descent. The only prints besides ours in the virgin snow were those of a fox, which, amazingly, continued along the whole ridge. Early on, two showers narrowly missed us, but donning waterproof trousers was enough to encourage the sun to come out, reflecting the verglas on the rocks.
The obelisk provided shelter from the brisk wind for a morning tea stop and the walls on our final summit of Garnedd-goch (700m) formed a wind break for lunch. From here, Caernarfon Castle stood out clearly, Anglesey was nearly all in view, and the sunshine reflected off the sea.
A pathless descent through deep heather, crossing a stream above an attractive waterfall, brought us to the valley by Braichydinas. Immediately before the road, brambles caught both my ankles, causing a tumble – all would have been fine if there hadn’t been a rock beneath my shins…. They were not inspected in situ but stung for the remainder of the walk. Not a pretty sight when we’ll be wearing shorts in less than two week’s time! Anyway, my thoughts were soon diverted because the helicopters that had been buzzing around all day now flew low through our valley – they might have been helpful if my injuries had been worse! Were the three of them on exercise?
As dusk fell, we drained the flask and finished off an excellent batch of Martin's homemade fudge, before ambling off on what we thought would be a simple descent to the cars.....!
As the light started to fade, the fun began! The path marked on the map took a direct line through the narrowest part of forest, but somehow, we missed it. Initially, it was easy to walk down the trees between the rows, on soft needles. However, it soon became trickier, with fallen trees, holes and brambles underfoot and tightly packed trees. John’s practice in Panama at jungle bashing proved useful and we were very relieved when a forestry track appeared. Weaving through the forest, we finally exited it, in rain, minus a pair of gloves, about 2 km from the car park. In the dark and rain, we tramped along the narrow gauge railway track, enjoying John’s tales of his neighbour and their escaping bull!
To me, this looked like a strange natural rock form, but it turns out to have been deliberately left behind by the quarrying activities hereabouts. This was the site of an ancient cairn, destroyed by the quarrying. Perhaps the ‘Old Man’ was left in memory of the cairn.
We soon passed under the main line railway; it occurred to me how little space this takes up compared with the wide swathe of a motorway. The railway sits neatly next to the Macclesfield Canal, beside which we tramped happily up to Congleton, encountering many other walkers, cyclists and fishermen on this scenic section of canal. The cyclists were in fact walking, which is a measure of the state of the towpath after recent wet weather.
A convenient picnic table in Congleton provided a good lunch spot where we were joined by three friendly swans. We then continued through Congleton, a fine railway viaduct soon coming into view. Despite the frost enduring all day in the shade, the warm sun had encouraged Mallards to get very frisky, and the Great Tits were also exhibiting amorous tendencies.
By the time we got back to the car around 4pm, the light was fading. It had been an excellent start to the year, despite a bit of mist, with easier conditions than our previous two outings during this holiday period.
Llyn Ogwen - 314 metres – 10.20 (P&D Parking £3, free in lay-by 5 minutes up the main road to Capel, and elsewhere)
