Month: August 2025

Hat Hill 2025

| flynny101

23-08-2025

Kylie, Hywaida and meeeeeeeeeeee

Despite just getting back from Blue Lake hot on the heals of New Zealand we were feeling like we hadn’t been too active this winter. I hadn’t really been riding and Kylie was missing regular trips to the climbing gym and we were both missing canyoning.

We briefly considered a simple Empress run then I thought to myself, I haven’t done Hat Hill in like forever.

Hey Kylie, says I, I haven’t done Hat Hill in like forever.

Me neither, says Kylie.

So we put a last minute call out and H joins us.

Driving into Blackheath, Um, Does anyone know where we are going? say I

A quick check on Ozultimates to confirm the car park and we are off.

We had considered abseiling in via one of the side canyons but there had been a crap load of ran through the week and since we hadn’t done it in like forever we decided to stick with the standard trip as a reccie for later adventures.

We are expecting the water levels to be up and were prepared to abort the trip if it was too high.

The walk in is short and easy we get to the start of the first section now dramas

The water was a bit pushy, making the down climb a bit tricky

The first section is a nice little teaser, the walls close in then pretty much open out.

But it’s pretty creek walking in between the canyon sections

We take the time to explore up the side canyon on the right making plans for future trips before heading down stream
The high water made some features a bit harder to negotiate than usual.
We scope out the entry to the middle section and carefully consider it before committing.
A still from Kylie’s Video. Might not look like much but personally I would be reluctant to try it any higher. If you needed to reverse out for any reason it would be problematic

There is a lot of tree fall which would also create dangerous hazards in high water. the calmer bits between, though were noice.

The lower section was as pretty as ever with multiple side waterfalls
the infamous double arch waterfall in a side canyon

Making our way back up to the exit through the lower section was surprisingly hard work. The extra water flow and deep sand working like resistance training on every step.

And back at the exit there was nothing left but to have lunch then haul out.

It’s a different world out there.

How many worlds are in your world? Andy Anderson

back

Great Ocean Road

| flynny101

Doesn’t really need words but we road tripped out of Melbourne and made our first stop in The Great Otways NP for waterfalls and old growth Gondwana forests.

Glowworms. Always chasing glowworms

And then we cruise on down the road turning left at every opportunity to look at big rocks sticking out of the southern ocean.

We spend the night at Warrnambool and then make our way back on the slightly less travel inland route to check out the amzing geology of Victorias extinct volcanos and salt lakes

Back to Road Trips

New Zealand South island Road Trip 2025 – Moeraki Boulders

| flynny101

From Elephant rocks we make our way to the East Coast.

There’s one more geological marvel we want to see.

But before we get there we stop at a PDS to empty the grey water out of van and top up fresh water.

While there and another van pulls up and out jumps Debby Downer wanting a chat.

Moeraki Boulders? Says him after asking where we are heading. That’s a big lot of disappointment. nothing there, just rocks on a beach…

And he proceeds to launch into a general whinge about the world, life, and modern times intermingled with a racist rant or two. I curse at how slow the grey water tank drains and opt to just pretend it’s finished so I can move on quicker…

So what are the Moeraki Boulders?

Well old racist Karen was sort of right, they are rocks on a beach.

But not just any rocks, they are concretions, Septarian Concretions to be exact. Similar to the ones we saw in the cave tour only bigger. Much bigger.

What the hell are Septarian Concretions?

I’m glad you ask.

They are nodules of rock, typically spherical, usually formed in cabanate rich mudstone. They often “grow” around something, a crab claw or dinosaur bone for example, so often contain fossils in their centre.

So basically as dumbed down as I needed it explained to me, a bit of organic matter is engulfed in mud and a rock “crystal” grows around it before the mud/sand is rockyfied itself.

Time move son and the softer mudstone or sandstone is eroded from around the harder nodule leaving behind big marbles.

And if that’s not impressive enough to make you want to check them out. Well they are on a spectacular stretch of beach.

And, well

Just look at them!

There are other, similar concretions 20km south at Shag Point (Teheheh, Shag!) that contain plesiosaur fossils but we are heading north…

And that end’s our New Zealand adventure, for this time. The following day is spent making our way back up to Christchurch, we’ve a plane to catch.

All in all we had a great trip. To recap here’s a list of links to all the awesome stuff we got to see and do.

Rafting through the most amazing Glowworm cave

Checking out Pancake Rocks

The beautiful Hokitika Gorge

Dinner and more glowworms at Sunset Point

A mind blowing walk on the Franz Josef Glacier

West coast sunset at Bruce Bay

The Waterfalls of Haast Pass

The Omarama Clay Cliffs

The proglacial Lakes of Aoraki

Stunning Lakes

the Elephant rocks

And finally the Moeraki boulders.

Along the way we took advantage of clear dark skies to do a bit of Milkyway photography

Back to Road trips

New Zealand South Island Road Trip 2025 – Elephant Rocks

| flynny101

From Lake Pukaki we back-track and little and head east. There is something we want to check out on the East Coast. On the way we spot tourist signs and make the occasional diversion to check them out.

One of the more interesting ones was Elephant Rocks near Duntroon.

Once again these are just in old mates paddock and it’s a honour system donation to enter.

What are they?

Well they are big rocks sticking out of the grass.

More specifically they are the disected remnants of the Otekaike Limestone formation sitting over Oligocene Koloamu Greensand.

That is. Big limestone rocks sticking out of the grass.

The site was used as a filming location for the film version of that famous fantasy book that was filmed in New Zealand.

No, not that one! The Chronicles of Narnia.

The rocks look nothing like Elephants, nor witches, lions or wardrobes.

But they are pretty cool.

From here the plan is to push through to the east coast

New Zealand South Island Road Trip 2025 – Lakes

| flynny101

From Aoraki we head down the valley to Lake Pukaki.

One of the larger freedom camps we’ve come across to date, we set the van up with tremendous views across the expansive lake.

The reflections off the snow capped mountains made great photos with a grand view of the sun set.

This also gives me an idea. I do a few calculations and check a few things and work out that in the wee hours of the morning the Milkyway should be splayed out horizontally above the mountains.

Now I just need to decide if I really want to interrupt my sleep to crawl out of a nice warm bed and stand in the cold….

Milky over the lake with a truck passing over the spillway.
Another hour and it might have presented as more of an arch over the mountains but it was 2:30am and -6ºC. I wasn’t hanging around.

Lake Pukaki was just one of the amazing lakes we drove past / stopped at / were amazed by.

This might sound naive but the size and amount of lakes caught me by surprise. I mean, I knew the rivers and creek systems were a lot higher flow but kinda just assumed they tumbled off the mountains and flowed into the ocean. Coming from the driest habitable continent on earth the shear amount of lakes contained by our little cousin across the ditch, and their size, blew me away.

Below is a random collection of photos of just some of the ones we stopped at for photos.

Anyhoo after the epic nightscape shoot we sleep in a little then head to Elephant Rocks.