0.) Sleeping in a snow cave .

Desmond Downs February 1, 2010

I dug these pictures out from September 2005 . I had listened to people's advice and done a snow-craft course in preparation for a climb up Ruapehu .
These pictures were taken with my canon S70 back then .
This time I intended on sleeping in a snow cave on top for the night and maybe capturing a sunrise . I started walking from the top of the Bruce road carpark . I left a notice on the side window of my car " I'm sleeping in a snow cave on top of Rauapehu, if this sign is still here on 15/09/2005 .... I want to be cremated " .

That's Egmont in the distance - my next climb maybe ?

I keep a tarpaulin on my pack , it is folded over and sewn up like a large bag in case things get nasty and I need shelter in a hurry ....

The ''fun' coming down started the next day , more on that later ....

I saw this red sign and wandered over to see what it said ..... " danger - cliff"

Strange place to put a tent !

This ridge has actually caught me again recently - I start climbing , head for the ridge going up , and it goes straight down again after a while ...

The weather was starting to look 'iffy'

but after 3 1/2 hours I was on top ! That ridge was where I was going to build my cave ....

Things were looking a little dull for a while .. that small spot in the middle is two people ....

Then I saw these two skiers who had climbed to the top to ski back down , the nutters had all this hot gear on , jackets etc....

So I asked them to take a snap for me .... you can see I've made a decent sheath for the machette , it's useful for cutting blocks of snow .

I wandered around for a while taking snapshots here and there ....

and noticed a line of 'dots' at the end of that hill ..

So I headed towards it and stopped to admire the 'flowers'

When I got to the hill I had chosen I suddenly saw no need to waste energy building my own snow cave ....

Welcome to Hotel snowcave !

Of course the entrance needs to be lower than the floor to keep heat in but they could have made this a bit lower - I fixed it later after having some rest ....

Whoever slept on this side had a green bedroll because half of it was still stuck to the snow .

Possibly another two people fitted on this side .....

I soon made it a little more 'homey' ....

Now here's the crazy part , last time I slept in a 'snow mound' [ that's another story that I managed to live through ] , I got very cold because I never had enough insulation under me . This time I folded the tarp under me , put down my mattress , climbed into the bivy bag in my -30 sleeping bag , with my jacket on ....... in 10 minutes I was so hot I threw it all off and rolled onto the snow to cool down - it was about 2 degrees celcius at that stage !

It was a rather uneventful night [ thankfully ] , had to leave the sleeping bag unzipped to prevent overheating [ 0 degrees inside ] , at 3 am woke up and finally pulled the zip up because I was getting cold - stared at the roof and wondered how many tons were above my head and what chance I would have if it collapsed on me ....
6 am woke up .

I wandered around for a while snapping pictures ....

and I can feel my pulse speeding up as I view this picture again .... and it's been nearly 4 years now .....

I should have posted this in the morning , now it's going to take a while to get to sleep tonight

I walked up to the edge and looked down the slope .....

Mistake no.1 . I had bought some cheap crampons on trademe , they kept jumping off so I had strapped them to the top of my pack .
I decided it was too much hassle to put them on anyway so I would just dig my heels in as I walked down - easy .
But the snow had melted and refrozen overnight and it was all ice . I struggled for a while and then decided to put my snowcraft training to use [ not really ] and dug the tip of the ice axe in , leaned on it , and slowly pulled it out so I could do a 'self arrest' and slide down using the tip as a brake [ that was mistake no.2 by the way ] .
It lasted about 5 seconds - I took off like a bullet , lost control , ramped through the air and swung my ice axe into the side - it got ripped out of my hand because I have a weak grip - and for that same reason I had had a safety strap fitted .
So there I was dangling on the slope by my wrist .
I decided to kick into the ice to get a foothold - it worked for a while and I started making my way down - then the ice got really thick and my left boot wasn't properly tightened [ #3 ?] so 6 months later my bruised toenail finally fell out .
After a bit more struggling somehow one clip on top of my pack came undone and the crampons hung in front of my face - I thought "damn ! , how do I do them up again " . I put my hand on top and somehow touched the other clip which came undone and they both fell in front of my face .
I thought ''great , it's too much to put them back so I'll throw them down the slope and pick them up at the bottom later " .
Then it occurred to me that if I had them on I wouldn't be in this mess .
In 5 minutes I had cut a platform , put the crampons on and was walking down backwards kicking my spikes into the ice - easy .
this is the angle of the slope .....

And that's looking back up the slope .....

So I carried on walking back to the car taking pictures ... realized I would have slid all the way down here

might have stopped here ....

definitely would have stopped here if I got this far ....

looked at this sign .....

and thought that I could only go alone because for some reason nobody wants to go on these trips with me !

When I got home I downloaded the pictures and as I started going through them the shock started to sink in and I started shaking when I saw where I would have ended up if I never had that safety strap - imagine the damage to my camera !

Someone suggested I have a few drinks and I told them I don't drink alcohol . So they suggested some 'calming medicine' from the pharmacy and I told them I wanted to face my fear - I don't want to have to rely on something to calm my nerves or I won't have conquered my fear .
Now I'm ready for round two - but this time I have some decent crampons [ and a D90 !] .

And that's the story that earned me the title "The mad South African " a few years ago - coined by another South African mind you !

10 .) Photovan does Rotorua

Desmond Downs February 1, 2010

January 2010 :

Tuesday morning I left for a really 'touristy' holiday for a change , no mountain climbing or sleeping in snow caves - I went to Rotorua , or should I say 'Rotten-rua' due to the thermal activity and associated smell .

I'm still getting used to the idea of going on holiday during 'holiday season' !
First I headed for Blue Lake because I wanted to camp there for some relaxation - normally there are 4 or 5 other people there ... not this time !

I took a walk around the camping ground and decided it was too crowded and spoke to the receptionist who told me about another lake with less people called "Rerewhakaaitu" [ don't lose your false teeth trying to say that ] so I headed off [ still sorting through pictures :smile: ]

There was an amusing sign there though ....

After a while I got to the unpronounceable campsite , not much compared to the scenery I am used to but at least it wasn't infested with tourists [ wait a bit , I'm also one of those !] . I decided to stay there for the night .

" No fireworks " ? I'll be careful what I eat ok ?

I decided to go for a walk on the edge of the lake .

One good thing about patchy clouds is that it can turn the same scene into a pleasant variety of scenes .... the incoming road ....

Then I went past this old Maori canoe ...

And headed for the gardens

Past this statue

and toward the old bath-house

There's something to look at just about everywhere you go in Rotorua ....

Hmmm , a wedding expo coming up ....

I decided to go into that big building that I've only walked past before and it turned out to be a museum of the 'old bath-house' .
I watched a 20 minute movie of its history which was actually quite well presented , they told some interesting stories and included the old legends of why there was thermal activity - something about monsters being locked in the earth ....

I shot a lot of these at around iso 3200 with the D90 . I wished I had my D40 with the 35mm 1.8 lens on it actually .

[ One thing I forgot to mention , during that film , when they start talking about volcanic eruptions , try not to jump too high when all the motorized seats start moving ]

There were a variety of baths there ...

The water may have been a bit hot in some though !

Then I ventured down to the basement for some dark pictures at iso 3200 .

After leaving the basement ....

I headed for the lookout on the roof ...

And then I photographed one more 'shadow' and left

past these statues ....

On my walk back to camp I was contemplating what I would do on my last day there .... the boat was out of the question [ I get very sea-sick ] .

then there was the option of helicopter tours - I'd never been in a helicopter

This guy wasn't too sure of their mascot though ....

crazy tourists everywhere still .....

and then there was the option of the gondola .....

and as you can see from the last image the next day I went and booked a helicopter flight for 12:45 and headed off up the gondola to check out the action there and get some scenery .
There is a large swing at the top that cranks its passengers up very high and then releases them at quite a speed ....

Then I saw this lady and said to her "you've got to let me get a picture of that shirt for the photography forums" and she agreed .

And no thread about Rotorua is complete without pictures of 'the luge' which is good fun ! .....

Before I got in the helicopter I saw good reason not to take my camera in the jet boat ride !

Now the helicopter trip - it lasted 15 minutes but it was small and the ride was bumpy .

The video ....

The pictures ....

On our return there was some more decent scenery ....

and surprisingly I noticed something I had never seen in this city , behind the old bath-house museum I had gone through earlier . A large patch of thermal activity ....

so after we landed I decided to go and investigate it .

As usual there were well prepared walkways with warning signs wherever there was dangerous thermal activity .

Anyway I'll post the last few pictures now - I think that should do for now !

There were other activities to consider - maybe next time ....

And a young pukeko to end it all ....

2.) Photovan does East Coast

Desmond Downs January 24, 2010

In December 2007 The photovan went for its first 'major' tour of a few days . I chose the East Coast and this is where it began ....

[Those sixes are all eights by now actually ]

I went through Rotorua on my way and stopped to photograph some of the lakes along the way .

Hinehopu bay ....

There are plenty of scenic bays on the East coast ...

This is "Hawaii'

All the way to Te Araroa , 21 km down the road is the worlds most easterly lighthouse . I had about 1/4 of a tank of fuel left and had seen no fuel stations for 100km . This place had some locked pumps .....

After going into a shop to get someone to unlock the fuel pumps I took a few images around the town .

"Shaggy " the horse wandered across a field ...

The road to the lighthouse ... looking through a dirty windscreen .....

700 steps up to the lighthouse for a decent view !

and then the steps back down again .....

On the way back I stopped to get some shots of this horse who turned to show me his good side

And looking back toward the lighthouse and island

This is believed to be the worlds largest Pohutukawa tree , maybe 350 years old , 21.2 meteres high and 40 meter trunk at its widest point ...

I camped that night in Te Araroa camp site - the owner doesn't have locks on his doors apparently

The photovan in action !

The night sky .....

The early morning beach ....

Walking back to the campsite from the beach ....

On the road again .....

Te Puia springs .....

Tokomaru bay had some interesting old buildings . This one had a sign asking for contributions for upkeep "if you want to photograph this building " , ok I did crop this picture and do a shadows adjustment ...

More old buildings ...

Manganuka track campsite - I would have stayed there if someone hadn't lit an annoying fire that smoked me out .....

Another possible option for an overnight stay ....

Not good enough so I drove back to Opotiki about 25 km further and back up the way I had driven the first day to find a decent campsite . I drove another 40km and decided to turn around and head toward Whakatane , I was getting very tired but wanted a place with decent scenery . OK , view from the beach , the people on the beachfront were packed like sardines but luckily there was a quiet spot around the back ....

From the hill next to the campsite ....

The sunset wasn't looking too promising so I played around with filters ....

That's mount Tarawera ..... just did a drive-by this time .

I stopped in at Rotorua and photographed some of the thermal activity on the side of the road . I'm pretty sure that place is going to blow up one day - it was only 120 years ago that Tarawera exploded

And that's how the photovan's first major tour went , and this is how it ended ...

Ruapuke , Raglan , New Zealand .

Desmond Downs January 22, 2010

December 1 2007 .
I took the photovan for a sleepover at Ruapuke , Papanui point , New Zealand .
The gate has a box next to it so you can deposit $1 to help the farmer put stones down on the road for all the people who use it . It isn't much of a road ...

But it is a popular fishing spot where people can fish from 20 meters above the sea ....

There have been a few drownings there from people fishing lower down - every now and then a rouge wave comes along and washes them off ....

The 'locals'

This was where I parked the first night -quite a view .....

In the distance is mount Egmont or 'Taranaki'

In the morning I had to get back across this field . The only problem was that there was now dew on the grass and the photovan is not a 4 wheel drive !

I spent a while sliding backwards down that bank until I took a walk around and found a place on the left , quite close to a 100m cliff , where I could drive in a circle and pick up enough speed to ramp up the bank - without sliding down the other side .
On my way back I came up against a slip on the road and had to take another way round to get home but the scenery was worth it .

That was the photovan's first adventure - more to come !

Desmond Downs January 22, 2010

22/1/2010 :

In October 2007 I was going to buy a Nikon D300 but realized that for the same price I could get a D40 and this van ....... [ the D40 turned out to be a good choice as well ! ]
[ 10/03/2010 - another 'photovan' in NSW ]

This was going to be my "photovan" for touring and photographing New Zealand , but first it would need some 'enhancing' ..... There was already a wooden floor so I added a lino .

Then the necessary items had to be located in an efficient manner . A computer desk and a large toolbox for locking away expensive gear . The outside of the van wasn't going to change much for a reason [ besides removing the signwriting ] , very conveniently it will stay shabby looking because there's no sense advertising the possibility of expensive gear inside !

The van has gone through many changes and modifications , including an awning that folds out from the platform on the roof and doubles as a place to take photos from when I need more height . [10/04/2009 ]

In the above picture the mattress was my bed on the floor but it was a nuisance having to clear the floor each time I wanted to sleep so I changed the system to include a board that goes over the passenger seat so the bed is always ready - without having to clear a space each night ! note the spare battery on the floor behind the seat ] .

The cooker eventually found a place on the computer desk

and this was recently upgraded to include a sliding table that still needs a leg to be added ..... The top inverter at the back is a 'normal' inverter and the one below is the same power output but since it is a "pure sinewave' inverter it costs 5 times as much . If you use a plain inverter it can damage electronic circuits in something like a camera battery charger that needs a proper power supply with a pure sinewave . the cheap 'square wave' inverters can 'confuse' the electronic circuits and they will either not charge at all or fry themselves . The cheap inverter does run a laptop ok however .

The left side recently became a set of storage bins for food and cooking gear ...

The inverters are 'necessary' to run the laptop .

The spare batteries , one behind the drivers seat and one at the back , are charged from the van's charging system - there is a switch next to the drivers seat that connects the extra batteries to the charging system once I get moving and the engine is running . I do this manually - I'm an auto electrician so there's no way I'm going to spend time wiring it up properly without getting paid !!
Every inch of the van is finding a use , a rechargeable torch is plugged in to the cigarette lighter socket [ one of 16 in total fitted to the van ] and the solar powered 'bug zapper' is also strapped down .