Kaumira Canyon Feb 27

I finally got around to returning to Kaumira to do a full descent of the canyon after a retreat from the upper canyon back in the cold and dark months. It was an absolutely glorious day for canyoning; a hot day with a warm breeze that, despite the sunlight rarely reaching the canyon floor, was the warmest canyoning I have done in New Zealand. We took our time, which was preferred given the wonderful weather, which allowed us to scout jumps and slides that we probably would not have done otherwise. As well as being significantly warmer than my last trip to Kaumira, the water level was much lower such that the full force of the waterfalls could be skirted if wanted. I greatly enjoyed the rappel down the waterfall with the arch- it is quite a unique view from the top with the water swirling its way down. The highlight was probably the two back-to-back waterfalls with a beautiful plunge pool more than 10m across. I did a great 8m jump from the top falls into the bottomless pool. In all we did 6 rappels, two slides and several jumps. It is quite a decent canyon given its accessibility and location and one I would do again.

We ended the day by grabbing my favorite fish and chips in Otago, driving to one of my favorite beaches nearby and having the most amazing panoramic view as the near-full moon rose and the sun set, igniting the clouds and sea and cliffs and reflections in ever-shifting vibrance. If that comes across as being over-romanticized, it's because it was. A great end to a wonderful day.

Pounawea Feb 8-11

Off again after less than 24 hours in Dunedin to help teach a structural geology field trip along the relatively unpopulated Catlins coast. The weather was quite agreeable and the students seemed keen, both crucial to an enjoyable trip. The rocks exposed along the shore are the same as some outcropping in my field area hundreds of kilometers away, only here they are much less deformed. The field trip is well-planned around accessing the rocks exposed at low tide, such that classroom lectures are held during high tides. I limped my way around after a recent injury but luckily we never really covered to great a distance. For the third-year students taking the course, this trip is essentially a prelude to the longer, more involved Swinburn field camp that starts the day after their return.

Swinburn Feb 12-21

Swinburn. The infamous area of complexity and rite of passage to Otago geology students. Few other New Zealanders would have even heard of this quiet place in Central Otago, quiet at least until the sheep dogs bark at daybreak. It is a landscape of tussock and matagouri and dramatic clouds. At this time of year the area is essentially the closest New Zealand gets to a desert with hot sunburnt days and cool or frosty nights. As we are essentially mapping a station (farm), there are constantly barbed wire fences to cross and plenty of sheep and cows to go around. Most disappointingly, dried cow pies frequently look like rocks from a distance.

Camp is on a nearby station and the students stake their work spots in the wool shed, constructing desks out of whatever they find lying around the place. One night we had to share the shed with the sheep...which was warmer. Amenities are rustic to say the least.

The area makes for a great exercise as there are sedimentary, metamorphic and volcanic rocks to map, often in confusing relationships due to folds, landslides, paleo-topography and hidden faults. As in all good mapping exercises, outcrop is patchy enough to ensure that no one really knows what is going on.

A typical field day had us heading off to the field about 8am, returning to camp at 6pm, a refreshing swim/clean in the Kyeburn, eating dinner as the sun set on the Kakanui Mountains, and working hard in the woolshed until after midnight. The swim was typically the high point of the day, particularly on the warmer days. We ate well and eating dinner while watching the light fade on the Kakanuis was a bit of decadence.

Helping teach this course was hard work at times. It involved running around the field area trying to find elusive students in the midday sun, then endless questions and long nights such that a sleep deficit is gradually built up until the last night when many students pull an all-nighter to finish in time for the 8am deadline on the last day.

Above: Hard at work in the woolshed

No. 8 wire

Camp

Auckland Feb 4-6

A few pleasant days were spent in the big city helping with an education abroad orientation of which I was a student in a past year. Aside from the near constant deja vu and realization that I am not as young as I used to be, it was a great experience and I was glad to be able to help. Fortunately, I had a good amount of free time to explore the City of Sails. I spent half a day on Rangitoto Island, a 600 year old volcanic island just offshore. As soil development is still limited, vegetation has yet to fully overtake the island's fresh black volcanic scoria. I walked to the top for commanding views of Auckland, the Hauraki Gulf and its islands and explored some of the lava tube caves on the island. The last day I went to Tirtiri Matangi Island where I saw an abundance of rare native birds and went for a delightful swim through sea caves in the warm, near-tropical waters. I also jumped about 10m from a rock arch.

I am not, and don't expect to ever be, a city person. That said Auckland is one of the nicer cities I have been in. I found a little more than half of the population to be wonderfully friendly and helpful. Unfortunately the other half was equally indifferent, rude or self-focused. Nevertheless, the diversity of peoples was refreshing.

City of Sails

Lava tube cave

Auckland from Rangitoto Island

Cascade Fieldwork Jan 26-Feb 1

I was in Dunedin just long enough to do laundry, catch up on emails, and say hello to flatmates less they forget who I am. With a healthy weather outlook for the West Coast at a time which suited both my and my advisor's schedules, we were off.

Our pilot was notably young but also obviously inexperienced in that he actually gave us a safety briefing, the first pilot in NZ I have had do this. We had a pleasant helicopter flight following the Fault from Haast to our camp next to the middle reach of the Cascade River. Here several slices of a wide assortment of fault-bounded rocks intersect the Alpine Fault with the result that there are in fact several strands of the Fault. Because of the varied basement rocks, the Cascade River has the most diverse range of rock types in all of New Zealand.

Because of the great weather and long days we were able to be very productive, checking all creeks, but one, along a 5km stretch of the Cascade. The creeks varied significantly- some had great outcrops, some had waterfalls to climb or bypass, some were drowned in fresh slip detritus or downed trees, some had unpleasantries like stinging nettles or overabundant spider webs, some were wholly devoid of outcrop. The Cascade River was lower than I had ever seen it which prompted us to cross it and spend half a day checking out McKay Creek. McKay was impressively gorged right from the start so we did not make it very far upstream despite some fun bouldering traverses I did.

Each morning we awoke to the dawn chorus of New Zealand bird song along with the delicate pitter-patter of sandflies on our tents. The sandflies were noteworthy, rarely giving us a break, especially when engaged in tasks like cooking. Only one day did we awake to poor weather and suffer some rain, but it pleasantly broke for a pleasant afternoon. Our food rations fared spectacularly, but my aluminum foil was gone the first day as many of the samples I took have little structural integrity.

Fieldwork has been going well. Despite there being much left to do, gaps are starting to be filled and targeted studies are starting to be realized. The last day was spent at the Martyr River with more geologists in tow. The Martyr Alpine Fault outcrop has changed dramatically sometime in the last two months. I have more work to do there before the outcrop deteriorates further. Thanks to Virginia.

Above: A recently active trace of the Alpine Fault in Saddle Creek showing NW-side up displacement. Cataclastic fault rocks are juxtaposed against river gravels.

Alpine Fault geomorphology in the lower Cascade

Cascade Camp

Southern counterpart of the Red Hills near Nelson offset 480km