Day 91: Lake Eyre, Aussie Camels and an Aussie Film

Saturday 5th March

Leaving William Creek

Lake Eyre

Ghan Railway 

Scotsman Stuart

Tom Cruz & Bluebird

Beltanan Station

Petting farm and Camels

Pool, dinner, and Red Dog

Distance: 351km

Total Distance:

An optional extra for this morning was to fly over Lake Eyre. We were getting it at a much cheaper rate than the general public and so 9/12 of the group went. I didn't however as I'm a boring sod when it comes to things like that. Flying over it and seeing pictures of it are about equal to me. I'd much rather be standing on it. Even if I only see a small fraction it makes me see and feel more to have these wonders under my feet or on the same eye level as me. Hence I just saw the pictures and waited until later.

We left William Creek and followed what was once the Ghan Railway south. This railway was supposed to connect the southern coast through the desert to the north. It took them 50 years to get half way. So it didn't really work out and it wasn't until a more modern line was completed just over 10 years ago that the first trains went through Australia. Now these are nearly all tourist trains. The old, narrow, disused railway still sits in the desert, collecting dust, as a dirt roadway passed alongside it. 

We were heading first to the southern shores of Lake Eyre. At 15metres below sea level this is the last remnant of the inland sea. Much of the time it is a giant match. Of mud topped with salt. This is what we found where we parked up. I hoped out with the Germans to take a walk in the blistering heat. I've heard and read about these sorts of place many times. This lake was planned to be used by a British team trying to beat the world land speed record attempt using a car called "Bluebird". It's odd to stand on it. The salt crust stretches out beyond the horizon. Foot prints can remain for years, until there's enough rain to fill it again. So I wrote my name in it!

We passed a few more old monuments. An old station on the railway used as accommodation for those who looked after the line. A stone man for Scottish explorer John McDouall Stuart, first man to make it over the Australian deserts. His exploration enabled a telegraph line to run from Adelaide to Darwin meaning messages to the UK took 12 hours instead of 3-4 months. There was an outdoor art gallery made of bits of scrap welded together. And at Maree the pub was host to the Tom Cruz museum- a man who was the local postman for the outback, keeping folks in touch even through appalling conditions. Sounds like he was one hell of a mechanic and survivor. They still have his old truck on a plinth in the town square.

Finally we made it to the Beltanan Station, another immense farm of cattle, sheep, and...Camels! There was a wee petting zoo which I left the rest to look over. I hate to be the one in a group not entirely enthused about calves and lambs. I've seen several thousand of each, at least. But I haven't seen many camels. Hence I headed straight for them. Had a good chat to the couple who look after them. Good camel chat. They're phenomenal animals in every way-husbandry, socially, anatomically, physiologically. They got big carrots as a treat, using their three lips to grasp them before chewing. 

The next morning, at sunrise, 5 of us would get to ride the camels around part of the station. They're very different to horse to ride, swaying side ways as both feet on one side at a time are moved. 

That evening we ate a mix of chicken, lamb, and goat with various salads. Afterwards we sat in the pool and watched the Australian film "Red Dog" projected against the shed wall. The film's wonderful, about a dog found in the red desert who comes to live in an isolated mining community, eventually being loved and owned by everyone. It based on a true story from the 1970s- the dog is an Australian hero of the time, keeping the miners sane and travelling far. It's worth watching, especially if you want to know about life out in these lonely places amidst the desert.

Day 50: Travelling problems to Lake Tekapo

Sunday 24th January 

A screw up by the Kiwi Office leaves me desperately trying to leave for Lake Tekapo.

Distance: Bus, 256km, Walk, 6km

Total Distance:  5775km

A couple of weeks ago I rang the Kiwi Experience office to organise my buses for the rest of the trip. Normally this is a relatively straight forward affair, me giving them dates and them answering "yes". Easy.

Instead this time I got

"That should be fine"

"Erm...does that mean I'm on the bus or not?"

"Yes, you should be fine and all set"

"But what does 'should' mean? There's a list for the bus, am I on it or not?"

"Well... We're sorting out a lot of people's itineraries at the moment."

"So, do I need to call back later?"

"No, you should be on the bus, that should be fine."

THAT MAKES NO SENSE!!!

There are lists on each bus for who should be there. This normally limits the numbers on the bus to the number of seats and stops random people getting on. A sensible, simple system. That today got ignored.

I had to get up early to get from my hostel, down through the streets of little Queenstown, and out to where the bus was waiting. There I was met by a horde of 18-25s, looking slightly confused and worried, as 3 different Kiwi Buses waited. On of these was going to Milford Sound, but the other two were both for Lake Tekapo.

I jumped on the first bus, giving my name and handing over my ticket.

"Your not on the list... Can you see your name on the list"

She was right I wasn't on the list.

There were a few of us, as it turned out, all promised seats that weren't there. But we had two buses when usually there would be one. Surely there were loads of seats? Ah, but at the other end we'd each need a bed. Kiwi promises everyone on the bus a bed for the first night of every stop. With this many people the hostel was booked out beyond capacity.

"I can let you on if you have accommodation organised for this evening."

So began 5 minutes of panicked googling and calling hostels. The third had a spare bed! Saved! I informed the driver.

"Sweet. Now we just have to make sure you can leave for Christchurch."

"Oh, no worries, I have accommodation booked there already."

"That's fine but there's only one bus leaving Lake Tekapo tomorrow and it's not smaller than this one."

Who the heck as organising this circus?!?

At the first stop, along with a few other orphaned travellers, called the office to find out where in the system we were. No where, apparently. Thankfully, by good fortune, we were all able to find seats on the buses we wanted.

Crisis over, time for Tekapo.

The sky above Lake Tekapo is said to be the second darkest in the world. As such it is advertised as the perfect place to see stars, planets, and the Milky Way. Canterbury university has a telescope on top of Mount John by the lake for international research and pays some of the bills by showing the universe to tourists.

As ever, the weather came into play, however. The sky was white that afternoon, threatening rain and not shifting. During the afternoon I climbed Mt John. The view was spectacular (standard New Zealand) showing the great, wide, glacial valley, deep blue lake at its centre, huge mountains surrounding. Off to the south these mountains were becoming engulfed by the clouds and impressive amounts of rain. Reaching the circuit around the top of Mt John I was hit by the winds the township was sheltered from. Yet a scrap of blue sky wasn't to be seen. Star gazing was off for tonight. 

Day 28: Full bus from Franz to Wanaka

Monday 2nd January 

Bus to Wanaka via Fox Glacier, Dolphins, a reflective lake, and Blue Lagoon

Distance: bus, 278km

Total Distance: 4357km

We were all due to get up early for the bus. My dorm mates got up especially early, however, probably because of the very nice guy from Sheffield who has asthma couldn't stop snoring and none of us were really sleeping anyway.  Didn't matter, we had 4 hours on the bus to catch up on sleep.

There were more people for the bus than seats. Oops, someone in the office had mucked up. I was last on the list, but there were 4 who had been subsequently added. 3 crazy Australians and a German who's birthday it was. Well, we couldn't leave them behind! The German took the courier's seat at the front by the driver. One Ozzie sat next to him on the step coming down from the aisle. And at my feet, in the central aisle, the other two Ozzies found a comfortable place to lie down and sleep off their hang overs.

We drove out of Franz towards Fox Glacier. Our driver made a "wrong" turn, ending up on a gravel track between two farms, giving us all spectacular views on the Fox Glacier.

Returning to the correct route we got to a lake so flat it, on a good day, gives a perfect mirror image of the mountains beyond. The drizzle set in as we got there- not enough to ruin the day, just enough to make our reflections hazy. 

As we got further along the coast we passed a cove where two guys were enjoying the uneven weather with a spot of surfing. Someone noticed a couple of fins. We parked up. There in the waves were a family of dolphins. Hector's Dolphins, one of the world's rarest with only an estimated 175 left. We must have seen most of them! They were playing in the waves, or swimming as a group further out. We saw little but their tiny black dorsal fins, but enough to make the bus excited.

The Blue Lagoon is formed as melted glacier water runs down from the mountains and enters an old waterfall pool just before joining the river. The is now a bridge above the pool. A short walk took us down to where a large group of Germans and Brits were throwing themselves off the perfectly good swing bridge and into the freezing cold, refreshing, waters below. Our crazy Ozzies joined them, but even they said, whilst good to do once, not again. Not ever again.

The landscape changed dramatically as we passed over from the western Southern Alps to the eastern Southen Alps. We left Jurassic Park behind and finally emerged in Rohan of Middle-Earth, aka the Scottish Highlands on steroids. Gone were the rainforests produced by the rain coming off the Tasman Sea, replaced by scrubby grasslands of sheep, rocks, and lakes.

We made it to Wanaka, the town by Lake Wanaka. A beautiful place which advertises itself as "The World's First Protected Lifestyle Reserve"...which goes on to sound like a game reserve for the middle classes, or the village from Hot Fuzz. There's a few communities in New Zealand that feel, to me, like that's what they want- and you can't blame them. If I lived in some where this beautiful, with so few tourists, and especially with the raucous Queenstown next door, I'd want to keep it as it is.

Some how there were people I knew here from the Bay of Islands and other parts of my trip, so we went out together for an evening meal and drink. It's amazing how often one meets the same people time and again here!

Why we were so tired on Monday

Well, Victoria, this is 155km of why:

18 of us from the practice (with various friends, family, and unlucky people we found to "help") ran around the Great Lake at the center of the North Island.

You see that altitude blip at about 130km? Yeh, that up hill section was mine. No, someone else got the down hill.

This is an annual event, with people running around the lake as a team. There are also teams competing as composite teams, walking some legs and running others, or teams can do the length of the lake. Oh, and for the very silly there's always the option to do it all by yourself. Just 1 of those this year. There are a vast array of teams, some participants older than 80, some from local schools, some running as families, some from a company. There were a number of vet and farm related teams running, and we were one of them.

Composite teams start earlier, and length of the lake later, but our event started at 2am, with fellow member of the Farm Vet Dept, Jordan, team organiser, running 14.4km in the pitch black. He was followed by:

Leg 2: Jess - 14.1km

Leg 3: Emma T (Admin) - 10.1km

Leg 4: Vicki - 8.3km

Leg 5: Monica (SA Nurse)- 10.1km

Leg 6: Bex (Farm Tech)- 8.4km

Leg 7: Isaac - 5.5km

Leg 8: Kristina (Farm Vet)- 7.0km

Leg 9: Harley  - 6.8km - I wasn't there- who replaced Charlotte's Harley? He wasn't able to run, but still came to support.

Leg 10: Charlotte (Farm Vet)- 6.9km

Leg 11: Mel - 10.9km

Leg 12: Emma C (proper runner) - 10.2km

And then I arrived!

Yes, my mini-team of 3 had decided to have a restful night at home, sacrificing supporting our friends to ensure good health and adequate energy to get through our sections.

I met Michelle Bloomfield (Lab Tech & pro-supporter) in Halcombe, as well as my fellow runners:
Leg 13: Gary - 8.6km - Michelle's husband to be, farm manager & great guy

Leg 14: Harley T - 7.4km "Dangerous" - Emma T's 16yo son - built for speed, probably for the best on this section with narrow verges.

We all traveled up together, meeting up with everyone else at the check point between Mel and Emma C's legs.

Once there the day filled out into being a jumbled routine of getting in & out of the car to cheer on our team mates, and anyone else running nearby. There were over 200 teams competing, so the road was full of team cars working their way around the lake, supporting everyone through each arduous step. 

This routine was eventually broken for me by:

Leg 15: Will (Farm Vet) - 6.1km

"Run/walk on the right hand side of the road. Flat for 2km to Hatepe then a steep hard climb up the famous Hatepe hill for 2.7km. Flat to finish."

Flat 2km, easy, I even managed to pass a number of people, and managed to not get run over by a tanker on a narrow bridge. This bit was rather pleasant over all, surrounded by exotic forests, running along the road next to the lake. 

It was Hatepe Hill (roughly:"HAH-teh-PEA") that was the killer. Elevation of 140m over 2.7km didn't sound like much when it was suggested, but when I drove up it on the way to Rotorua a fortnight previous I got the idea as my ute struggled to do 80km/h. I saw 1 guy pass me and try to run up it- he was nearly passing out by the top. Instead everyone else power walked it. This was fine by me, as a keen hiker and ex-Scout. All those years of climbing hills and being taught to march came to the fore, and I made steady progress walking up the rugged verge, the trees falling away to be replaced by scrub and brush. A single, superbly fit walker stormed past me- I had a steady, breathless word with him, tried to keep up, then lost him and left behind. 

The best sight throughout was the three cars of the team suddenly appearing by the roadside, Charlotte's Harley offering a gulp of water to keep me going. At first I felt like I should be running with them all watching, but knew it would only hasten my demise- everyone keenly tells you to walk this section. Their support was phenomenal and much appreciated, reminding me of what needed to be done, and telling me I was doing well. It was enough to give me the energy to continue keeping up with two other power walkers- I didn't mind not catching them, but so long as I wasn't falling behind.

Eventually the lip was in sight. At this tipping point I met one of the heros of the race. There were a number of teams of walkers with members who were considerably over weight. Yet they were here steadily making their way around the lake. We never found out if this was part of some program they were all on, but they were doing very well, making an exceptional effort.

I offered words of encouragement as I passed him, then attempted to begin running my last 1.4km. I passed the super-fit walker who had over taken me on the hill, both of us offering congratulations on the other's progress. And then a stitch. The calves already burned from the first 2km, the thighs from the hill. Those who I'd being trying to keep up with on the hill were still ahead of me, also having made a short run. All 3 of us slowed, however, trying to not collapse. Then the marching kicked in. 200m march, the steady drum beat from Scouts pounding in my head, 100m running to make up distance. I vaguely remember team members parked up with more support, offering a gulp of water I could only half keep down. It was enough to get me to run 300m. Great redwoods began to encroach from the distance towards the roads. I over took those I had seen ahead of me on the hill, as they slowed to a steady walk. As the trees finally came up to the roadside, offering cool shade to us, I saw my finish line. I ran the final 300m into the marked area filled with cars and supporters. And finally met Sam with a high five, passing on the labour to him.

Leg 16: Sam - 8.0km - and the steep downhill I'd created. Was going to do it in his farm boots, but Gary convinced him to use his trainers, and got an excellent time.

Leg 17: Alex (Admin) - 4.7km - including hill, Alex had done no training but hammered it out.

Finally, Leg 18: Maggie (SA Nurse) - 7.5km - Our superb team manager took on the final stretch.

We dropped off Harley at the last 1km, so he could run with Maggie and offer support, whilst the rest of us took a short cut to the finish line.

The last 100m were across the local park, and we ran this together, the majority of the team present to support the final finish.

We're still waiting for the official time, but we recon it took 14 hours in total this year- 45 minutes off last year's time!

Some more links for those interested in finding out more:

Official site:  http://www.eventpromotions.co.nz/events/taupo-great-lake-relay/course-information/

Course description:  http://www.eventpromotions.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Course-Description-Great-Lake-Relay-2013-NEW.pdf

Course map:  http://nz.mapometer.com/running/route_3975530.html%20

Afterwards there was prize giving (fastest time was 9 hours!), lots of fatty food, and beers. A member of the Equine Department allowed us use of their wee holiday home, and a short night of team shots and silly banter commenced. I was introduced to Purple Goanna by Gary- a purple vodka & mixer drink containing caffeine that was popular in the 90's. With sore legs, and prepared for sore heads, we slowly wandered off to bed, to rest up for the next day...

When we went WATER-SKIING!

Sam (who's Alex's BF) had brought his boat with him (a number of people here have boats, for fishing or fun), and so we went out onto the lake.

First there was Biscuiting- the name given to holding onto a rubber ring whilst its pulled by the speed boat, as one tries not to die. I was a bit taller than everyone else, so my legs dangled off the back of the Biscuit, enabling me to use my knees as stabilisers, but causing significant bruises on my knees.

Afterwards we tried water-skiing. Tried. I got as far as managing to get up, but still with knees bent. Others were much better than me, especially Emma C and Emma T.

After all this there was the final journey all the way home, which I slept through.

In addition to all this excitement, Kristina and Jordan, along with their partners Isaac and Vicki, had left us all, deciding that the Foo Fighters concert in Auckland would be preferable to the prize giving (no doubt about that, they were right, though it meant they had a very long weekend)

And Tim Scotland, who we'd left to hold the fort was looking after both the farm and small animals.

So that's why we were all a little jaded on Monday. I still had to go out PD-ing though, and got covered in cow sh*t