I took advantage of a hopeful window in the weather forecast to run out to the West Coast to do a bit of fieldwork. I found winter fieldwork to have its trade-offs: the rivers are low, but the tops are covered in snow; the weather is cold and the days are short, but there are no sandflies or humidity. The snowy drive through Central Otago was ominous, but cleared up once we got further west. Overall, the weather was quite suitable.
The first day was spent slogging up a creek which quickly turned to a thick and steep bush bash to reach the tops. The stunted vegetation growing on the iron-rich mantle rocks near bushline were particularly thick and unpleasant. I found yet another key outcrop that will require rappelling into a wet waterfall. The second day found me rappelling off a 60m landslide scarp with ricocheting rocks raining all around me. It was incredibly nerve-wrecking (one of those ideas much better on paper)- all it would take is for one of those rocks to hit me or nick the rope at high speed. Somehow I managed to take numerous measurements, 6 samples, and not drop anything. Unfortunately, the outcrop was good enough that I might have to consider returning for another go. I found the Martyr River Alpine Fault outcrop to have improved in several ways in the last two months and the low river level helped me to piece together some new interpretations. I managed to get a great oriented sample of the Australian-Pacific plate boundary! The last day we pushed to gain and cross Red Spur to reach the Livingstone Fault outcrop which was covered in snow. Stunning panoramic views of the Jackson and Cascade Rivers and of the Tasman Sea...until the fog and rain rolled in. The days are so short that I didn't have enough time to get to where I knew there would be outcrop, but I amazingly managed to find an outcrop and plenty of float in the mossy cloud forest. Thanks to fieldy Megan, who was a good sport throughout the whole trip.
Above: I rappelled off the landslide with hanging wall mylonites
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| Some interpretation |
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| Monkey Puzzle Gorge |
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| Cascade River from Red Spur |
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| Livingstone Fault Zone (trees like Caples terrane rocks not Dun Mountain Ophiolite |
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| Somehow I managed to find an outcrop in this! |
