Martyr Fieldwork May 20-21

Plenty to do but with a keen field assistant and good weather forecast lined up, I was back to the Coast for some touch-up fieldwork before I start writing up a paper on the Martyr River section of the Alpine Fault. The focus of this trip was to measure and sample some of the previously elusive outcrops that require either a raft or rappel to access. Carrying an inflatable raft through the bush to the river certainly had its novelty. We rigged an anchor upstream of the pool so that I could be kept stationary against the cliff rather than at the mercy of the current. My humble research vessel, Martyr I, functioned surprisingly well and I was able to document a continuous 30m section through the Alpine Fault footwall. I was also able to row across to check another outcrop.

The river has changed greatly since the 10yr Southland flood of a month ago. Many of the easy crossings were gone, new rapids appeared, and pools moved. One of the planned rafting traverses now had a rapid at its head and was abandoned. Also some serious looks at the big slip outcrop persuaded me not to rappel down it again. I still had too many fresh memories of cascading rocks from a year ago and the slip did not look any more stable.

I also spent some time documenting the latest incarnation of the Martyr Alpine Fault exposure and rappelled down waterfalls to get a good sampling transect. I found a new outcrop a stone's throw from the road in a Jackson tributary, beautifully exposing the abrupt transition from footwall mylonites to Greenland Group gneisses. The evenings had an unnatural amount of moisture in the air, which despite the fine (but cold) weather, thoroughly soaked everything. Photos by Lara. Thanks to her.

Trotters Gorge May 15-16

I had plenty to do this weekend which kept me from straying too far, but I still managed to get away for a quick trip to Trotters Gorge, a conglomerate-cliffed valley about 45 minutes north of Dunedin. On the way we checked out a few erosional alcoves I hoped were more extensive caves. Alas, the entrances were all wider than they were deep. We spent the night at the University of Otago's Trotters Gorge Hut on a clearing in the middle of the valley. Although the scenery is marred by gorse, pine and eucalyptus stands and the region is not overly extensive, it is still a nice place with a landscape very different to anything else around. The hut is rustic to say the least, but was much enjoyed once the fire was set to rage.

Cascade Saddle May 8-9

I spent a nice weekend hiking up the West Matukituki Valley to do a classic tramp to Cascade Saddle, a trip I have wanted to do for ages. The trip made for a long weekend with the short days, but was still manageable. Apart from marshy paddock lands, with a little care the whole trip could be done with dry boots, which I thought was quite gentlemanly. The route is a couple hours walk up the river flats of the Matukituki valley before turning to steeply ascend the side of the glacial valley, occasionally clinging to tree roots and then tussock. Eventually bushline is reached which is really just over halfway in terms of elevation. This route climbs 1400m vertically in less than 3km to panoramic views over valley, saddle, glacier and mountain. Getting to the saddle then requires crossing an interesting glacial hanging valley and beautiful hummocky glacial topography dented with frozen tarns. En route we followed a stream to where it leaps hundreds of meters off the cliff and found an amazing hanging ledge with cliffs all around and spectacular views. Just before dusk we reached the saddle and found a great campsite sheltered from the wind only about 10m from the edge of the cliff with a convenient half-frozen tarn nearby. It was a beautifully sunny weekend, but weather ill-suited for photography.


Cascade Saddle, Dart Glacier & Mt. Aspiring
















Probably one of the most unusual views of Mt. Aspiring

The Catlins May 2

I awoke at the tender hour of 4 and set off in the moonlight for Nugget Point in the Catlins, the stretch of mostly uninhabited coast south of Dunedin, where I hoped to catch the sunrise. Leaving for a trip early in the morning is something I sorely miss from my childhood and something that I rarely get to do because so few of the trips are by myself (or with willing participants) these days. Apparently only duck hunters are awake this early on a Sunday as I confused and disappointed the officer who pulled me over. Sunrise could have been more spectacular if certain clouds were in certain other places, but it was still worth getting up for. I then stopped at Barr Falls (lame) and Purakaunui Falls, one of New Zealand's more famous waterfalls, before heading onto Cathedral Caves just past low tide. My time was limited by the tides so I rushed to survey the cave in a little more than an hour. Its length turned out to be quite respectable and it is one of the 20 longest sea caves in the world. I still need to fix up the sketch and maybe do some cross sections next time I am down that way. I then went on to McLean Falls where I was delighted to find not just one, but several, picturesque falls. The creek was flowing high from the recent rains which gave the falls a slight tinge of sediment and plant tannins. Although probably already too cold this season, the creek could make a worthwhile canyoning trip in the summer.


Nugget Point


Purakaunui Falls


Cathedral Caves




McLean Falls