The Catlins

Our time in Southland is sadly coming to an end, so we decided to take one last touring trip to The Catlins "at the edge of the inhabited world." The Catlins is a region near the southernmost point of New Zealand that boasts some unusual features, like yellow-eyed penguins, Hector dolphins and a 180-million year old Jurassic fossil forest.

Our plan was to follow the Catilins Heritage Trail on foot, running from point to point. But when we got  to the information site at the edge of the Heritage Trail we realized there would be miles and miles of gravel road between sites and a fair amount of traffic. Plan B was to drive to the sites and run from the parking lot to the site of interest. At the first stop, the lighthouse pictured below, we realized that we could see the destination from the parking lot. This was going to make for a long day of starting and stopping.

So we moved on to Plan C, which was to run on the Waipohatu Waterfall Track for a couple of hours, then decide how much energy we had left for tourist attractions.

Despite that fact that the region had had at least a week without significant rainfall, this track was very muddy. There were logs in the mud for large sections of the track, but even those were muddy and spongy.

We heard the waterfalls long before we saw them. My photographs of the upper falls do not do them justice.
They were tall and loud and the air sparkled with sunlight coming through the spray.
Definitely as impressive as any waterfalls we've seen during trips to Hawaii.

The lower falls, about 300 meters downstream from the upper falls were completely different
 from the upper falls, but equally spectacular.

Ruben couldn't resist getting in the pool beside the lower falls.

I got in, too. It was really cold, but it was a hot day and felt great!

Finishing the Waipohatu Waterfalls Track. 

After our run and refreshing dip, we decided we could  handle at least one more tourist site, the Petrified Forest.

This area was once forest surrounded by active volcanoes. Following a volcanic eruption, the lower parts of the trees were buried and turned to stone. The trunks that are lying flat were carried in by floodwater and partially buried. The petrification was so complete that the wood looks like wood, but feels like stone. We were there during low tide, so we could walk out among the fossilized stumps and logs and see the fern fossils.

 The sandflies were ferocious, so we didn't stay here too long. Lunch sounded like a better option. We drove to a town on the Heritage Trail called Niagra that appeared to be entirely composed of one cafe.

Most cafes have a menu board to order from as well as cold cases where pre-made sandwiches, meat pies, and "slices" are stored. This cafe in Niagra was a typical example, with that day's offerings written on the glass in magic marker. 

What was NOT typical is that on the edge of the counter were these three medals from the London Olympics! They were just sitting there where anybody's grubby mitts could get at them. I reached out my grubby mitts and touched the gold medal to see if it was real. It sure seemed to be!

This picture was on the wall near the medals. I took the photo hoping I would be able to look at it later to see whose medals these were, and for what, but I can't make it out. So good job, Olympians, whoever you are! 

I'm still kicking myself for missing a picture of R's Kiwi-style fried-egg hamburger, so I took pictures of today's lunch, a tasty lentil burger on foccacia for me and mince nachos for Ruben.

Athletics Southland 3000m Championships

The track group we've been working out with here in Gore hosted a track meet this past weekend and we participated in the co-ed adults 3000-meter race.

It was a perfect summer day in Gore. The track meet started at 1 pm with the 3,000-meter race gun time at 1:30. This made me crazy. I am a first-thing-in-the-morning racer. Otherwise I don't know what to do with myself and what to eat. I went out for a short run. Ruben went for a swim. 

There was a whole lot of standing around before and between the events.
R decided to use the time to stretch (see blue shirt in foreground). I just got antsy. 

Gayle warming up.

R and I were participating in the same event so we couldn't take any pictures during the race. R recreated his triumphant approach to the finish line for you, our loyal blog viewers:

The was professional timing at the race, complete with photo finish. The timing guys were nice enough to give us a printout of the finishes. The race winner is our coach, Ricky Gutsell (10:07; that's a 5:25-min mile). I am runner 9 (12:04; 6:28-min mile) and Ruben is runner 12 (13:11; 7:04-min mile).

 As I walked to the start line, Ricky came up beside me and pointed out a woman in a blue singlet. He told me I should let that woman be my pacemaker because she usually runs a pace that should be comfortable for me. If she's going too quick, he said, run faster. An excellent bit of coaching, that.

The coaching advice worked! I stuck to that lady like glue until the last 200 meters. She is runner 10 in the photo above, coming in at 12:39.

The track group

Holy S**t! Saint Gayle,

Just in case no one thought it possible, but G can ride a mountain bike. If there are certain parameters in place she will even consider it. The trail must be groomed, no Lance Armstrong efforts (doped nor clean) and a time limit.

G riding a mountain bike

G on a bike on a bridge

But she has limits...

G abusing her bike

Gayle fell off the bike after poorly shifting gears it it skipped on her on this very small hill. There was operator error involved, but she blamed the bike. In fact, she kicked it. I supported her with laughter and encouragement.

G abandoning her bike

I was able to convince her to go back down to pick it up and continue on our trip. She has often said It's not a bike ride when I have to push it.

G pushing her bike

Because Gayle's comfort is most important to me,  I carefully consulted the map and navigated us to a "short-cut," which add an extra hour or so...of fun...to our trip.

panoarama picture of lake Hayes

I heard some expletives on the way up the hill to the viewpoint above Lake Hayes.

G riding down

If it goes up, it must go down.

That's enough

But it goes back up sometimes. It was a steep hill. "Christie's Hill"

The team is broken

My years of crafting the right words to get the best out of an athlete paid off, I was able to convince her to remount. The promise of food and a run tomorrow helped, too.

Good coaching

The next day was a trail run to a ghost town called, Macetown. It called for careful navigation up the one road, but did I mention the 7 or so river crossings, some as high as our knees?

river crossing

It was mountain cold water too!

G happy?

our shoes filled with silt.

R working the uphill

still working the uphill

 The views are amazing!

great view of the dam and more road to run (right hand side)

another river crossing

Sand flies

However at the top at Macetown, the sand flies made the viewing short and we returned. The return trip was downhill, but still some effort.

a bridge?

At the end of 15 miles, the promise of food made the finding of the pedestrian trip with no river crossings on the way down, ok.

Food can be a motivator.