Bike Touring and Travelling in NZ  (summer 2022/23)

Our November  / December journey began with a boat journey across Lake Wakatipu on the steamship Earnslaw. Our destination for the day was Mavora Lakes on the Around the Mtn Cycle Trail

The wind was against us and then with us which made for some tough and great riding. As we climbed Von Hill we encountered two other groups going down and they were happy to here that they would have a tail wind for this ride to the Earnslaw 

          

      

The wind blew us down to Mavora Lakes  on great gravel roads (45kms hr on the Garmin at times) but it also bought in overnight rain I forgot to tell Brandi it was one of the worst places for sandflies and after a evening of rain they were out in force as we packed the tent up

But the rain had cleared and we had a great tail wind on the roads and then on the Trail to Mossburn for coffee and lunch. After lunch we sailed in the wind at 40kms hour plus (25miles an hour) the 20kms to Lumsden.

                          

           

The camp ground is basically empty and after set up we have dinner in the kitchen  (town pretty dead in the afternoon and even the pub appears closed)

But again the wind bought in another bout of rain and it poured down - more so in the backcountry but lots on us and about two Brandi wakes to find herself floating a bit on her mattress and we abandon the tent with everything wrapped in the sleeping pads for the dry kitchen where we spend the rest of the night 

On return to the tent the next morning it’s still basically dry inside except for a small puddle in one corner

After drying out at the road side laundry down town we roll out of Lumsden to do battle with the wind. A flooded raging Waiau River has left flood waters across the trail in one spot but we pass this with no problem and continue towards  our destination of Kingston on the southern end of Lake Wakatipu. But its’ still too windy to camp and we press on, seeking a sheltered spot but this was not to be found so we head for Queenstown - another 40kms added on to the day - 106kms in total.

For Brandi it was only her third riding day but she is always strong.

We did miss however our ride over into the Nevis Valley as the rain had all the rivers running at flood level and the Upper Nevis has multiple river crossings.

After a rest day in Cromwell we head into the Nevis. After finding a nice place to park the camper on Duffers Saddle we drop into he Nevis Valley and ride up valley to Lower Nevis and the first ford - it’s still deep so it had been wise perhaps not to ride it a couple days ago.. 

This remote back country valley is bordered by high mountain ranges from either side - to the west the Remarkables and Hector Mountains (7,000plus ft / 2133 meters) and to the east the Old Woman Range (5,700 ft / 1739 meters)

The Valley was first used as a trail route by earlier Maori (Nga Tahu) and in the 1860’s Early European settlers farmed the valley. Then, October 1862, saw miners from the Dunstan goldfield discover gold, leading to the Nevis Valley Gold Rush which continued through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  

Saved by the remoteness of this valley, the remains of numerous stone buildings from the gold mining days offer a fascinating insight into the perseverance and ingenuity of early pioneers. The relics include everything from the cemetery and settlement buildings through to a woolshed and the first ski hut.

The valley is high and the info boards talk off deep winter snow back in the 1870’s when the goldminers were basically trapped in the valley for the winter. Even in these times the back of the Remarkables in Schoolhouse Creek still has a lot of snow and promises some great ski touring in the future

          

So we head out back to the van but it sits on top  of Duffers Saddle @ 1223 meters- (the highest road in NZ)  Even with fresh legs the climb out of the Nevis is still hard. It’s just under 600 meters (1900ft) of climbing but the sunset from the saddle in the camper is great. 

So we head north in camper with the aim of riding every other day. 

A stop at Lake Benmore enables some riding on the Alps to Ocean Trail - for me north around Lake Benmore  and Brandi gos south following the Waitaki River and Lake Aviemore.

Travelling north we cross the Canterbury plains and onto the volcanic outcrops of the Banks Peninsula.  Over the hills to Akaroa (a small town that plays on being a bit French by calling the some of roads by french names ‘Rue Jollie /  Rue Benoit /  Le Lievre Lane, bur they are mixed in with Smith Street and Selwyn Ave)  but it does have a very nice free camp spot right on the edge of town. 

The first European sighting of the peninsula was on 17 February 1770  when Captain Cook described the land as "of a circular figure ... of a very broken uneven surface”  HE CERTAINLY GOT THIS PART RIGHT The peninsula is extremely hill and a day of riding up onto the Summit road  showed just how hilly it is  Big climbs up onto the rolling tops and big descents back down to sea level. - sure made for a fun day out.

                  

A second ride on the northern side on the Port Levy road reveals the same result - climb up sleepily and enjoy a fast descent back down to sea level. 

Back in the camper we head north

At Amberley (north of Christchurch) a small evening ride took us to beach where local farmers were 'torpedo fishing' with 25 lines a km off shore - for anything including elephant fish

Others were fishing with a drone taking one hook a km out

Inland at Oxford and about 6 km north is the turn-off to Lees Valley. The road winds through a steep gorge to Lees Valley - very nice gravel riding road  - up and down hills with the Ashley River twisting and turning far below. An out and back ride for us.

We cross Arthurs Pass - one of only three passes across the Southern Alps.  From Hokitika we spend a day on the Wilderness Trail before returning back over the pass to enjoy an evening of Gin Tasting in Oxford. A very enjoyable evening

         

And so to Hamner - a mountain bike and spa centre. We ride both ends of the St James Trail and a evening in the forest tracks of the Hamner Forest From here its a small camper ride over the Jacks Pass into the Clarence which gives us access to two days of riding (bike packing) into Molesworth Station. 

(Molesworth Station is a high country cattle station. It is located behind the Inland Kaikoura Mountain range in the South Island's Marlborough District. It is New Zealand's largest farm, at over 1,800 square kilometres (440,000 acres)^[1] 

and  supports the country's biggest herd of cattle) 

After riding we drive back through Molesworth to Blenheim and discover the first of 4 small town velodromes that I did not known existed - in Blenheim and the Temuka, Waimate and Mosgiel 

        

Heading south from Blenheim down the eastern coast of the South Island we find great riding on the seaward side of the Kaikoura’s - up to top of Pubi Pubi Valley road - a good uphill climb and descent back to Kaikoura for a Bean Me Up coffee

 

                

                                    Yellands Winery

 

In Waimate a ride on the  Edition Zero “Snack’ course - 85 km mixed gravel and tar ride  reveals the fantastic gravel roads of inland Canterbury. We passed on the “Mains" ride - 233 kms   Go back and get that one next year

Now it’s beach time - the phone records us deep in the Great Southern Ocean - sounds romantic.  It might be if the water and the air temps were 10 degrees higher, but the sound of crashing waves rings behind me and a glance out the window of the camper shows just how close to the water we are camped . High enough to be be just out of the Tsunami zone - perhaps.

         

We spend our time at the small coastal town of Brighton Beach - one small shop and one cafe. It’s enough with he city of Dunedin just 20 mins away.

Our typical day went like this. The rising sun at 0500 rising out of the ocean wakes us but it’s still to early to get out of bed. Just a quick site up - have a look at the sky and waves and time for a few more zzz’s.

By 7 -7.30 though it’s time to move. Roll up the bed, use our onboard bathroom, fire up the camper, through the surf board and boogie board back inside and drive the 10mins to the grass car park beside the surf pavilion.

 

                  

Wet suits on and stroll down the 50 of sand to the water. Company today - no. No one in the water and no sign of our mate the sea lion - yet.  Almost very day in the qtr a sea lion or two comes to visit. Sometimes to clear the beach later in the day of the ‘day trippers’ or sometimes to play in the shallow water. 

We pay due respect as we are in the terrain but mostly we stay in the water. If they  come and say hello - that’s fine. they are known to nibble occasionally but they are not normally aggressive.

By 9 we are normally joined by one or two other locals but its’ our coffee time - so we retreat to the van, coffee pot on while we get changed and have an expresso with our muesli and fruit - or maybe some toasted Gluten free bread from pan ora bakery who make some of the best bread in the world.

After breakfast it’s time to catch up on emails, house bookings in the apartment or simply sit in the sun (sometimes with down jackets on) and relax.

Another classic day at the beach.

           

Geoff and Brandi 

That's it for the moment even though there are many other stories to tell.

Riding the great divide route from Canada to Colorado, ski touring from Treble Cone to Coronet Peak on the Mahu-Whenua Traverse and racing bikes in the Levi Leipheimer's GranFondo Bike Ride

Be Safe Adventuring

The missing continent it took 375 years to find

 
The missing continent it took 375 years to find

It was 1642 and Abel Tasman was on a mission. The experienced Dutch sailor, who sported a flamboyant moustache, bushy goatee and penchant for rough justice – he later tried to hang some of his crew on a drunken whim – was confident of the existence of a vast continent in the southern hemisphere, and determined to find it.

At the time, this portion of the globe was still largely mysterious to Europeans, but they had an unshakeable belief that there must be a large land mass there – pre-emptively named Terra Australis – to balance out their own continent in the North. The fixation dated back to Ancient Roman times, but only now was it going to be tested.

And so, on 14 August, Tasman set sail from his company's base in Jakarta, Indonesia, with two small ships and headed west, then south, then east, eventually ending up at the South Island of New Zealand. His first encounter with the local Māori people did not go well: on day two, several paddled out on a canoe, and rammed a small boat that was passing messages between the Dutch ships. Four Europeans died. Later, the Europeans fired a cannon at 11 more canoes – it’s not known what happened to their targets.

And that was the end of his mission – Tasman named the fateful location Moordenaers (Murderers) Bay, with little sense of irony, and sailed home several weeks later without even having set foot on this new land. While he believed that he had indeed discovered the great southern continent, evidently, it was hardly the commercial utopia he had envisaged. He did not return.
(By this time, Australia was already known about, but the Europeans thought it was not the legendary continent they were looking for. Later, it was named after Terra Australis when they changed their minds).
Little did Tasman know, he was right all along. There was a missing continent.
 

 

In 2017, a group of geologists hit the headlines when they announced their discovery of Zealandia –Te Riu-a-Māui in the Māori language. A vast continent of 1.89 million sq miles (4.9 million sq km) it is around six times the size of Madagascar.

Though the world's encyclopaedias, maps and search engines had been adamant that there are just seven continents for some time, the team confidently informed the world that this was wrong. There are eight after all – and the latest addition breaks all the records, as the smallest, thinnest, and youngest in the world. The catch is that 94% of it is underwater, with just a handful of islands, such as New Zealand, thrusting out from its oceanic depths. It had been hiding in plain sight all along.
"This is an example of how something very obvious can take a while to uncover," says Andy Tulloch, a geologist at the New Zealand Crown Research Institute GNS Science, who was part of the team that discovered Zealandia.

But this is just the beginning. Four years on and the continent is as enigmatic as ever, its secrets jealously guarded beneath 6,560 ft (2km) of water. How was it formed? What used to live there? And how long has it been underwater?

A laborious discovery
In fact, Zealandia has always been difficult to study.
More than a century after Tasman discovered New Zealand in 1642, the British map-maker James Cook was sent on a scientific voyage to the southern hemisphere. His official instructions were to observe the passing of Venus between the Earth and the Sun, in order to calculate how far away the Sun is.
Possibly due to a quirk of geology, the enigmatic kiwi bird’s closest relative hails from Madagascar (Credit: Alamy)

But he also carried with him a sealed envelope, which he was instructed to open when he had completed the first task. This contained a top-secret mission to discover the southern continent – which he arguably sailed straight over, before reaching New Zealand.

The first real clues of Zealandia's existence were gathered by the Scottish naturalist Sir James Hector, who attended a voyage to survey a series of islands off the southern coast of New Zealand in 1895. After studying their geology, he concluded that New Zealand is "the remnant of a mountain-chain that formed the crest of a great continental area that stretched far to the south and east, and which is now submerged…". 

Despite this early breakthrough, the knowledge of a possible Zealandia remained obscure, and very little happened until the 1960s. "Things happen pretty slowly in this field," says Nick Mortimer, a geologist at GNS Science who led the 2017 study.

 

Satellite data can be used to visualise the continent of Zealandia, which appears as a pale blue upside-down triangle to the east of Australia (Credit: GNS Science)

Then in the 1960s, geologists finally agreed on a definition of what a continent is – broadly, a geological area with a high elevation, wide variety of rocks, and a thick crust. It also has to be big. "You just can't be a tiny piece," says Mortimer. This gave geologists something to work with – if they could collect the evidence, they could prove that the eighth continent was real.

Still, the mission stalled – discovering a continent is tricky and expensive, and Mortimer points out that there was no urgency. Then in 1995, the American geophysicist Bruce Luyendyk again described the region as a continent and suggested calling it Zealandia. From there, Tulloch describes its discovery as an exponential curve.


Around the same time, the "United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea" came into force, and finally provided some serious motivation. It states that countries can extend their legal territories beyond their Exclusive Economic Zone, which reaches 200 nautical miles (370km) out from their coastlines, to claim their "extended continental shelf" – with all the mineral riches and oil this encompasses.
If New Zealand could prove that it was part of a larger continent, it could increase its territory by six times. Suddenly there was an abundance of funding for trips to survey the area, and the evidence gradually built up. With every rock sample that was collected, the case for Zealandia improved.

The final flourish came from satellite data, which can be used to track tiny variations in the Earth's gravity across different parts of the crust to map the seafloor. With this technology, Zealandia is clearly visible as a misshapen mass almost as large as Australia.

When the continent was finally unveiled to the world, it unlocked one of the most sizeable maritime territories in the world. "It is kind of cool," says Mortimer, "If you think about it, every continent on the planet has different countries on it, [but] there are only three territories on Zealandia."
In addition to New Zealand, the continent encompasses the island of New Caledonia – a French colony famous for its dazzling lagoons – and the tiny Australian territories of Lord Howe Island and Ball's Pyramid. The latter was described by one 18th-Century explorer as appearing "not to be larger than a boat."

A mysterious stretching
Zealandia was originally part of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, which was formed about 550 million years ago and essentially lumped together all the land in the southern hemisphere. It occupied a corner on the eastern side, where it bordered several others, including half of West Antarctica and all of eastern Australia.

Then around 105 million years ago, "due to a process which we don't completely understand yet, Zealandia started to be pulled away", says Tulloch.

Continental crust is usually around 40km deep – significantly thicker than oceanic crust, which tends to be around 10km. As it was strained, Zealandia ended up being stretched so much that its crust now only extends 20km (12.4 miles) down. Eventually, the wafter-thin continent sank – though not quite to the level of normal oceanic crust – and disappeared under the sea.
Despite being thin and submerged, geologists know that Zealandia is a continent because of the kinds of rocks found there. Continental crust tends to be made up of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks – like granite, schist and limestone, while the ocean floor is usually just made of igneous ones such as basalt.

When the supercontinent of Gondwana broke up, fragments drifted all across the globe. Many of its ancient plants still live in the Australian Dorrigo forest (Credit: Getty Images)
But there are still many unknowns. The unusual origins of the eighth continent make it particularly intriguing to geologists, and more than a little baffling. For example, it's still not clear how Zealandia managed to stay together when it's so thin and not disintegrate into tiny micro-continents.
Another mystery is exactly when Zealandia ended up underwater – and whether it has ever, in fact, consisted of dry land. The parts that are currently above sea level are ridges that formed as the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates crumpled together. Tulloch says opinion is split as to whether it was always submerged apart from a few small islands, or once entirely dry land.
This also raises the question of what lived there.

With its mild climate and 39 million-sq-mile (101 million-sq-km) range, Gondwana itself was home to a vast array of flora and fauna, including the first four-limbed land animals and later, an abundance of the largest to ever live – the titanosaurs. So, could the rocks of Zealandia be studded with their preserved remains?

A debate about dinosaurs
Fossilised land animals are rare in the southern hemisphere, but the remains of several were found in New Zealand in the 1990s, including the rib bone of a giant, long-tailed, long-necked dinosaur (a sauropod), a beaky herbivorous dinosaur (a hypsilophodont) and an armoured dinosaur (an ankylosaur). Then in 2006, the foot bone of a large carnivore, possibly a kind of allosaur, was discovered in the Chatham Islands, about 500 miles (800km) east of the South Island. Crucially, the fossils all date to after the continent of Zealandia split from Gondwana.

However, this doesn't necessarily mean there were dinosaurs roaming over the majority of Zealandia – these islands may have been sanctuaries while the rest was drowned, as it is now. "There's a long debate about this, about whether it's possible to have land animals without continuous land – and whether without it, they would have been snuffed out," says Sutherland.

The plot thickens with one of New Zealand's weirdest and most beloved inhabitants, the kiwi – a dumpy, flightless bird with whiskers and hair-like feathers. Oddly, its closest relative is not thought to be the Moa, which is part of the same group – the ratites – and lived on the same island until its extinction 500 years ago, but the even-more giant elephant bird, which stalked the forests of Madagascar until as recently as 800 years ago.

The finding has led scientists to believe that both birds evolved from a common ancestor that lived on Gondwana. It took 130 million years to fully break up, but when it did, it left behind fragments which have since been scattered all across the globe, forming South America, Africa, Madagascar, Antarctica, Australia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Subcontinent, and Zealandia.

This, in turn, suggests that at least part of now-submerged Zealandia has remained above sea level the whole time. Except around 25 million years ago the entire continent – even possibly the entirety of New Zealand – is thought to have been plunged underwater. "It was thought that all the plants and animals must have colonised afterwards," says Sutherland. So what happened?

New Zealand is one of the highest points of Zealandia, after being pushed up by the movement of tectonic plates (Credit: Alamy)

Though it's not possible to collect fossils from the seafloor of Zealandia directly, scientists have been plumbing its depths by drilling. "Actually the most helpful and distinctive fossils are the ones which form in the very shallow seas," says Sutherland. "Because they leave a record – there are zillions and zillions of tiny, tiny little fossils that are very distinctive."

In 2017, a team undertook the most extensive surveys of the region so far, and drilled more than 4,101ft (1,250m) into the seabed at six different sites. The cores that they collected contained pollen from land plants, as well as spores and the shells of organisms that lived in warm, shallow seas.
"If you have water, which is only you know, 10m (33ft) deep or something like this, then there's a good chance that there was land around as well," says Sutherland, who explains that the pollen and spores also hint at the possibility that Zealandia was not quite as submerged as was thought.

A (literal) twist
Another lingering mystery can be found in Zealandia's shape.
"If you look at a geological map of New Zealand, there are two things that really stand out," says Sutherland. One of these is Alpine Fault, a plate boundary that runs along the South Island and is so significant, it can be seen from space.

The red band of rock – the Median Batholith – should travel all the way down Zealandia in a diagonal line, but instead it has been twisted out of shape (Credit: GNS Science)

The second is that the geology of New Zealand – as well as that of the wider continent – is oddly bent. Both are split in two by a horizontal line, which is where the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates meet. At this exact point, it looks like someone has taken the lower half and twisted it away, so that not only do the previously-continuous ribbons of rock no longer line up, but they are almost at right angles.
An easy explanation for this is that the tectonic plates moved, and somehow deformed them out of shape. But exactly how or when this happened is still totally unresolved.

"There are various interpretations, but this is quite a large unknown thing," says Tulloch.
Sutherland explains that the continent is unlikely to give up all its secrets anytime soon. "It's quite hard to make discoveries, when everything is 2km (1.2 miles) underwater, and the layers that you need to sample are 500m (1,640ft) beneath the seabed as well," he says. "It's really challenging to go out and explore a continent like that. So, it just takes a lot of time, money and effort to go out and ships and survey regions."

If nothing else, the world's eighth continent surely shows that – nearly 400 years after Tasman's quest – there is still plenty to be discovered.
 

Zaria Gorvett is a senior journalist for BBC Future. Twitter: @ZariaGorvett

The Birth of Mountain Culture

 

The Birth of Mountain Culture

 

 

 

As much as the first ascent of the Matterhorn changed mountaineering, it also changed mountain culture. Whymper’s book about his first ascent, Scrambles Amongst the Alps, published in 1871, became a worldwide bestseller, and tourists began to flock to Switzerland in summer. The vast majority were not climbers, they simply wanted to journey up the valleys to see these extraordinary peaks and often hired local shepherds and hunters to guide them. With the advent of alpine skiing in the early 20th century, tourists began traveling to Switzerland in winter, giving the country a year-round tourism industry.

Long before the world became consumed with Everest, mountain lovers were obsessed with the Matterhorn. At only 14,690 feet (4,477 meters), it’s a runt compared to the super peaks of the Himalaya (barely half as tall as Everest). It isn’t even close to claiming the title as Europe’s tallest mountain, a title claimed by Mount Elbrus in the Russian Caucasus at 18,510 feet (5,642 meters).
It isn’t even the tallest Alp—Mont Blanc is nearly a thousand feet taller and was climbed as early as 1786, owing to its gently sloping incline, which doesn’t require refined technical climbing skills.

Conversely, the Matterhorn rises as an unforgivingly steep pyramid with four ridges and four walls. To climb it you must actually climb—gripping miniscule ripples of rock with your fingertips, placing your feet on the thinnest of ledges

The rock is a crumbling gneiss that, combined with the severe angle of incline, forces you to constantly maintain perfect balance, prepared for a hand- or foothold to give way at any moment. It is a mountain that demands climbing competence, courage, and mental stamina.

Because of these factors, climbing historians consider the first ascent of the Matterhorn the beginning of modern mountaineering. And just like Everest, the story of its first ascent is a plot thick with ego and ambition, passion and betrayal, bravery and death.

 

 

 

Race to the Summit

In the mid-1800s, two capable, deeply ambitious men were desperate to become the first to stand on the summit of the Matterhorn: Jean-Antoine Carrel and Edward Whymper.   

Carrel had grown up at the base of the Italian side of the Matterhorn. Like his father, Carrel was a professional hunter of the chamois and had spent his youth exploring every valley and ridgeline of the region’s rugged terrain, including the flanks of the Matterhorn.   

In 1860, after serving in his region’s military during Italy’s Second War of Independence against Austria, Carrel returned to his home and “his mountain” filled with patriotic ardor and determined to climb the peak. He made his first serious attempt that summer, reaching a height of 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) on what is now known as the Italian Ridge.

Meanwhile, Whymper, an Englishman, also had followed in his father’s professional footsteps and become an artist and wood engraver. In the summer of 1860, when he was 20 years old, Whymper was commissioned by a London publisher to make sketches of the great peaks of the Alps in Switzerland, Italy, and France. It was during this trip when he began to learn mountaineering. He made several first ascents, and he came under the spell of the Matterhorn. From that summer onward, he, too, was determined to become the first to climb that awe-inspiring peak.

The following the summer, in 1861, Whymper tried to hire Carrel as his guide to climb the Matterhorn. “Jean-Antoine…was the finest rock climber I have ever seen,” wrote Whymper later. “He was the only man who persistently refused to accept defeat, and who continued to believe, in spite of all discouragements, that the great mountain was not inaccessible.”
But Carrel was not interested in sharing the certain fame that would be bestowed on the first person to summit the famous peak.  “Carrel saw the Matterhorn as a possession belonging to him by right and the attempts of others to win it as an encroachment on his own territory.”

During the ensuing years Whymper made eight unsuccessful attempts to climb the Matterhorn, and on several occasions tried to hire Carrel as his guide.

Finally, in the second week of July in 1865, Whymper encountered Carrel on the trail and once again asked him to be his guide. Carrel declined. Unbeknownst to Whymper, Carrel was quietly mounting his own attempt on the Matterhorn with an Italian team. When Whymper learned that Carrel was trying to steal a march on him he wrote that he felt “bamboozled and humbugged.”

Determined not to lose the peak to his rival, Whymper managed to cobble together an unwieldy team of seven men of varying experience: Zermatt mountain guides Peter Taugwalder and his son Peter Jr., an accomplished French mountain guide named Michel Croz, an English chaplain Charles Hudson who had much mountain experience, and two novices—18-year-old Lord Francis Douglas and Douglas Hadow, a 19-year-old Londoner.
 

Instead of attempting the Italian Ridge, they chose a route from the village of Zermatt on the Swiss side, following the Hörnli Ridge. They camped at 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) at Schwarzsee on July 13 and were climbing before dawn the next morning. By 9:55 am they were at nearly 14,000 feet but by then a layer of snow had filled the crevices and thin film of ice had formed over the rock.

Croz, as the most capable and confident in perilous alpine conditions, took the lead. After four more hours of careful, technical climbing, the team was nearing the summit and back on relatively easy terrain. Overwhelmed with excitement, Croz and Whymper detached from the ropes, leaving the others behind. “Then Croz and I, dashing away, ran a neck-and-neck race, which ended in a dead heat,” wrote Whymper.

 

 “At 1:40 pm the world was at our feet, and the Matterhorn was conquered. Hurrah!”

But the Matterhorn has two summits: the higher Swiss summit to the east is 14,690 feet, and the Italian summit, to the west, is just four feet lower, at 14,686. So, just to make sure they were indeed the first to the top, the two men crossed over to the Italian summit. When they peered down over the edge, 600 feet below, they spotted Carrel and his team and yelled down to their rivals. Carrel was so distraught he immediately turned around and began descending. (He would return three days later to make the first ascent of the Italian Ridge.)

At that moment, standing on the summit of the most difficult peak ever climbed, Whymper graciously wrote later of Carrel: “He was the man, of all those who attempted the ascent of the Matterhorn, who most deserved to be the first upon the summit.”

 

A Tragic Fall

Whymper’s team remained on the summit for an hour, and Whymper used the time to sketch the panorama of surrounding peaks.

Then the team roped themselves together, and the guide Michel Croz led the descent. At some point, the least experienced climber, Douglas Hadow, who was in second position, slipped and knocked Croz off his feet. Suddenly both men were tumbling through the air. Hudson and then Lord Francis Douglas were instantly plucked off the mountain. Four men were now falling. Whymper and the two Taugwalders clung to the mountain with all their strength, hoping to catch their teammates, but the rope snapped. The four men fell to their deaths.

The three survivors were so traumatized they could not move for more than half an hour. The Taugwalders wept with despair, the younger sobbing, “We are lost! We are lost!”

Eventually they began to descend, carefully and full of fear. Somehow they managed to keep moving until after dark, finally bivouacking on a thin ledge.

Stumbling back down in Zermatt the next day, the men told their tragic story, but the shock was too great for the small mountain community. Rumors started and Taugwalder Sr. and Whymper were accused of cutting the rope. The Swiss authorities began an inquest that lasted three days. Each man was interviewed at length. In the end, Whymper and Taugwalder were exonerated, but the controversy continued.

The Times of London denounced the ascent and deplored “the utter uselessness” of the sport of mountaineering. Queen Victoria considered outlawing the climbing of mountains. European newspapers published denunciatory editorials by writers who had never set foot on any mountain, let alone the Matterhorn.

For some people, however, spectacular deaths of a supposedly heroic nature seem to have a bizarre magnetism—think Everest—particularly for those who have never witnessed the horror of such events. In Whymper's wake, people from all over Europe suddenly wanted to climb the Matterhorn. In 1871 an English adventuress named Lucy Walker became the first woman to summit the mountain. In 1881, 23-year-old Teddy Roosevelt climbed it. In 1911, the Matterhorn's last remaining unconquered ridge, the Furggen, was ascended, and 20 years later, the north and south faces were climbed.

NZ Lockdown

Lockdown

Denver airport is quiet. No queues in security - just move through - of course at a social distance from everyone, but still with mask on until security asks - 'please pull your mask down'.

I’m asked to go back through - must be looking specious i guess and then patted down as well. But then released to continue the process of picking up the red bag and green ski race helmet and briefcase. And then to the gate

The plane duly pulls up and a scattering of people get off.  So far it looks like we will not have a lot going over to LA. But the numbers slowly build as I sit in the window - mask on - back to everyone  A engineer pulls up with clip board and goes under the plane  - hmmm  - perhaps jut routine but he is there a while, and then n announcement.
‘Due to some maintenance issues our departure will be slightly delayed’

After a while he disappears and it's sometime before he comes back with a ‘motherboard’ in hand and disappears under the plane to emerge in just a minute or two. At the same time we get a boarding announcement.  Now we are 1hr 30mins late and the connection for me in LAX is going to be tight - but not much I can do about that

I though that I would get a row to myself or at least an empty seat but that is not the case and I sit the entire journey with my nose against the window - looking for clean air through my face mask.

Of course i’m near the back and yet I have to sit patiently while the whole plane gets of 15 by 15

So now with at least two terminals to cross to get to Air New Zealand in Tom Bradley I need to run / hustle my way.  Some where during this hustle I realise that one wheel on my red trolley is not actually working and i’m dragging weed on one side. Damm - nothing to do but put my head down and keep the momentum going - glad i have merino on as soon i develop a sweat and this will help keep the odour down to a manageable level

Finally - be assured it’s a long way (felt like 2kms - but probably only 1.5kms) I turn into the wing, but of course ANZ gate is the very last one so it’s not quite over.

Just a scattering of people at the end so I think that loading is just about done - but I’m reassured by one guy that they have only called babes and grannies.   ‘Watch the bag for a minute will you, I need to go to the loo’  ’No problem’

Jacket and shirt off and i wander back leisurely to the loo and begin the cool down process.  I return - mutter thanks and we board. I’m still rather hot so once i get close to the seat I put the red 1/2 wheel trolley in the rack and put my briefcase on the seat two up from the allocated seat.  A steward comes pass and “don’t worry I will take my seat - just cooling down after a long run between terminal’s He turns and goes back down the cabin and returns a few seconds later with a bottle of water  - thats Air New Zealand service  from a senior flight attendant

Actually the all seem like senior staff, as I am approached a short while later by another staff member - Mr Hunt ‘ Wold you like to join us up Front’   Well no that is not what she said - just what I was dreaming she would say.
“Your bag - we can’t find it right now”  ‘Don’t worry about - I won’t need it for two weeks’ but we are somewhat delayed departing and I think it is my bag that is the problem. (it made it on the flight)

‘Doors are shut’ - great - now I can occupy a empty row without fear of a late walk up.

A couple glasses of wine and a movie and a half and before you know it we are in NZ


Arrival NZ July 15th
Pick up the ski bag and  a normal departure but soon things change. Prior to the passport control we are meet by airport security and they direct one at a time through a temp screening - push that thing into my ear and - yep - you seem fine. Are you sick? Have you been with anyone who is sick? Are you feeling ok?
Actually the same questions get asked every day.

Passport control and out too met by armed police and directed to the bus line. Yes Mr Hunt - we have your name here. You will be going to the Mecure Grand (sounds fancy)  Please go out and board you bus. “Rear entry only please - we will load your bags”

Off we go into town and park up outside.  Hotel staff clear the foot path and swing the barriers against the nose and tail of the bus so we cannot get away, and by being at the front I depart first into the carport where we pass through two stations, our names are checked off again, and a key issued. “What would you like for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next two days ?”- a quick scan of a standard ‘isolation printed menu’ make the choices, then the next station and  and temp taken with more questions about health Are you ok, how are you feeling, do you have any underlying sickness. We have doctors and nurses in the hotel if you need u.  .

Finally I am released,  bags delivered into elevator and up to the 11th floor. Drag that ski bag into the room - push it under a bench near the window and just sit for a moment before scouting the room, calling Brandi and having a shower and change of clothes.

Now - how do I get a flat white?  Breakfast and coffee duly arrive and day one in isolation begins


First things first - need to get that bike delivered Yep - Megan is onto it and says she will have it here Thursday morning. Perfect
Cycling shorts - which are still hanging in Steamboat.  Search the net and find that Tinelli - a NZ brand out of Nelson seem like the best option. After ordering I call to make sure.

They arrive the next morning with a nice little  note from Tinelli
Welcome back to New Zealand Geoff.  Enjoy your stay in Auckland and let ius know if you need any more cycling kit to get you through.  Team Tinelli

Wednesday passes quickly . A round of calls to family, some TV scouting and soon it’s time for bed.  I had resisted all day lying done but had nodded off a couple time s reading a book


Saturday already
Tour de frances stage 20 - which yr not sure but second yr that Froome won / BC News and breakfast. Curried eggs and Croissant -and a flat white ordered prior
Back to the story writing  / diary

 
 
Well a couple coffee’s each day / busy with real estate agent calls and emails selling Brighton, which involves going down to the front desk “could you print this please” and then bring the paper work up and sign it and then down again and “please scan this back to my email address’ and then I send it on to the agent.

But had to do a couple pages again as we discovered a line in Clause 9.1.b where there was a 15 instead of a 5 - so repeat the process with the front desk.
They have been very nice about it.

I was told on arrival that I could go for a walk each second day as long as I sign up - so Thursday I’m in - 10.30. but it’s raining and blowing (flooding up north) but away we go.  1 allowed at once. Gather in the drive-thru - suitably distant and then onto the bus. I try to be apart but of course a family chooses to sit right behind me - ahhh.

A short drive around the block - happened by the road blockages and diversions / building projects in downtown Auckland and onto Queens Wharf - which is actually just spitting distance behind the hotel.  We are escorted out of the bus onto the wharf - in the wind and rain and allocated 100meters of wharf. High barbed wire fence ne side and the Waitimata in the other. (well there was not actually any barbs - but it wasa 8-10foot high security fence)

‘How long do we have?” “45mins”    Ok - so I don’t need the exercise that I am going to get walking up and down 100meters so to the end and stand on the spot - looking this way and that at the scene. Into the wind and then with my back to it. (I am of course going to get a hour on the bike inside later)  The others - half of them at least , pound their way up and down, getting some forced air in their lungs.

A family with three small kids take it easy with the little ones plying splash in the puddles.

45 mins later - our guard who has been standing in a sheltered guard box lashed to the fence - waves - time up, and we return to the bus (passing other prisoners locked in their own 100 meter space)

Wet and blown back to the room to change clothes / check the email and see what is on the big screen

The door bell rings  - ahh - it lunch time. Vege lasagne. Not too bad - probably the best so far.

So Thursday disappears. Not with out calling my beautiful wife still in Colorado (6hrs ahead and a day behind)









Friday Highlights
Confirmation of the house sale in Brighton
Another 50 mins on the bike
News of Atlanta Major and Governor fighting over the use of masks
More Covid in Victoria with Queensland shutting the borders
And a call from Airbnb confirming they will help with two Australian clients booked into my apartment in September. They help with cancelling the clients (by our mutual agreement) and this frees up my house for Kiwi bookings through Sept.
Live rugby on TV while i’m on the bike which helps pass the time (heavy hill climbing section during half time break gave me a good work out - mangled to push over 250 watts for about 20secs, before winding back down to 180, then 150 which is my standard wattage during the ride.  Did that a couple times so tired when i got off the bike











While I was talking on the phone to Brandi, I received a call from the front desk (thought it was groceries I ordered so excuse my self and went down to pick it up)  After security inspection I am allowed to take the package.
Strange - Countdown have put the groceries in a box, but to my surprise when i get upstairs and open the box it’s fill of flowers and a little rabbit
My lovely wife in Colorado has sent me flowers - it’s amazing. Now - how do I put them in water - a rubbish bin lined in plastic - mmm - thats not going to work - so the jug sitting in the shelf has now become a vase holder and I have this fantastic bouquet of flowers - tulips, roses, snap dragons and ferns sitting on the desk  Thanks darling Brandi
Got two books with me and just about finished one before I got here but now struggle for a few pages at night before tiredness sets in. Perhaps the two books and one magazine might be enough ??  We will see.

Saturday passes
It’s only Monday and i have no idea what happened on Saturday.
Watched some rugby later in the day
Got tested for Covid -19 - probably the most important part of the day
They called just as I had received my coffee, so I asked that I could come down when i finished rather than right now. Fine So drink kt eh coffee and report downstairs - whoops forgot my passport and pen

Check in at the first desk. Yep that’s you  Fine - just wait around the corner. There are three no four others there so I socially distance myself from them (remember I’m still good at that having just come from the US.

A nurse runs in and out getting names and lining us up. Mine you we are the last of the batch so no one behind us.
‘Geoff please’  The room is a ex small conference room. Three fully PPE equipped nurses - one seated with paper work and two testing.
Sit down here please - now we would like you to just look straight ahead and hold still
The nurse is standing to the side and she reaches and inserts a long testing ‘swab’ ‘stick’ down my right nostril - almost into my throat - and then counts to ten as she turns the swab around.
Thanks your done.
I get up and leave but pause to take a photo (they agreed ad turned their backs)

What happened to the rest of the day - god knows, but a knock on my door reminds me that I got my temp checked again (as they do every day around 1000 or so (handheld device against the forehead.

Sunday
Sleep in - till 0730 at least - not waking up so early. Had decided that I would have a relaxing day and not do to much work - newsletter writing etc
Saturday had been a day of getting the June newsletter out ( I know - it’s July but better late than never

So a Coconut Porridge breakfast / coffee / a chapter or two of the second book and then a couple hours later a ride for a solid hour at a steady 130 increasing to 150 watts (23 odd kms) lunch, another chapter, and a highlight
- a smoke on the smoking deck Level Two - well of course I don’t smoke but standing in the sun and wind for twenty minutes looking down on the ‘free people’

Brandi points out what some of the ’cycling mates’ are doing in Steamboat. A ride that Brandi and I had talked about. I did the second half p to Lynx Pass soon after rI got my Salsa gravel bike. A bit jealous.
https://www.strava.com/activities/3782171705

Monday
Tax’s day

Spent all day working on taking the numbers from the bank feed / figuring out the spend / allocating it / and then  ……. . .. . .  well didn’t get to that point

Did enjoy a period outside on Queens Wharf for a walk - well stand in the sun and then back to work

didn’t get to ride until  4.30 and spent a hour or so riding and watch the Dirty Kanza - two versions of it

Dinner - tv and bed

Tuesday
Flowers smell good on my desk this morning

Bringing New Zealand to you

Bringing New Zealand to you

People the world over are saying .... ‘I wish I could be in New Zealand right now’. That might be hard for a while but marketing expert Geoff Ross has a plan to take our products to the world and lift our recession-hit economy.

Awareness of our country is at an all-time high. We are seen to have ‘got it right’. We are seen as safe and there is a cleanliness and honesty to our image and the products from here.

We are trusted. Our Prime Minister’s leadership has grabbed headlines worldwide. People have a renewed respect for us.

Brand awareness is one thing — translating this into brand preference and brand CHOICE is harder - but there is a huge opportunity to market our natural products to the world right now and boost our economy.

Agriculture has become more important than ever as an earner of income for New Zealand. BNZ Economist Doug Steel predicts primary industries will move from 54 percent of our export earnings to over 70 percent. Milk, meat, wool, fish and shellfish, wine, honey, fruit, wood, vegetables, craft beer, grain, etc. will feed people the world over. They will provide New Zealanders with jobs and a way of life that allows us to keep growing, farming, fishing, and making in the way we always have — which, for the most part, is with our hands and an eye on tomorrow.

A small lift to the existing earnings - will be a material gain for our economy. Agricultural supply chains are already open and value can be achieved relatively quickly by building greater demand.

New Zealand’s biggest marketing tool right now is social media. We need to use it in a strategic, dynamic way. Like it or loathe it, the use of digital connections and platforms has increased hugely and is unlikely to drop back. New Zealanders across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat send our messages to more than a billion people (estimate from Facebook New Zealand - covering all social media channels) outside of this country. Our people, our companies, brands, celebrities and media outlets have a huge worldwide audience already. From Jacinda and Taika to Tourism NZ and NZTE, from All Birds to the All Blacks, from you and I, to Dan Carter and Lorde - New Zealand has a billion plus people for us to talk to .

And then if we can get some of the mega influencers out there in the world giving us a hand, people like Nigella Lawson to Kim K and Ronaldo to Oprah ...That one billion audience number becomes three billion and more.

The hole left by tourism this year is likely to be in order of $19 billion. If we as New Zealanders can get our 1 billion friends/followers to buy just $19 more (at cost value) of their favourite New Zealand product at some point this year, we can fill that hole.

Let’s capitalise on the prevailing worldview we are lucky enough to have gained or earned of ‘I wish I could be in New Zealand right now’ with a campaign of….’Bringing New Zealand to you’.

We all want to Help.

Having been “All in this together,” patriotism is at a high. Most of us want to do something to help. Help our neighbour, help a local business and ultimately help our country. There are 3.6 million Facebook users in New Zealand, 2.4 million Instagram users, 2.2 million LinkedIn, 4.6 million regular users of Google. We are all proud of what we have here. We think it is a pretty special place and we like to tell our mates overseas that - in our humble kiwi welcoming kind of way.

Here is what I think we should do.
A partnership between New Zealand’s primary produce brands, the Government, online media and you.

New Zealanders start it - You, me, Jacinda, Taika, Karen Walker, Al Brown, Dan Carter, Lorde, Silver Fern Farms, Icebreaker, Rhys Darby, Flight of the Conchords, Beauden Barrett, King Salmon, Lewis Road, Whittakers, Villa Maria , Heilala Vanilla and so on, on our social media accounts, to our mates overseas.

We share our pictures of cooking a bit of fresh fish, opening a wine, popping some honey in our tea, marinating some salmon, putting a lamb cutlet on the barbecue, pulling on a merino sweater, putting kiwifruit on a dessert. All with the line ‘Bringing New Zealand to you’ E.g. Jacinda and Clarke are cooking a piece of snapper ...’ Come fishing over here when you can — but for now we’re bringing New Zealand to you ‘. Lorde is placing a dollop of Manuka honey in her tea ... ‘This stuff is my favourite flavour of New Zealand. Give it a try ...’ We’re Bringing New Zealand to you’ . A mate of mine who is a dairy farmer from the Waikato walking past his open pasture with dairy cows ...’Yeah well , we can probably bring some of this New Zealand to you‘.

Then, we engage the likes of Nigella & co. who are paid to add their own versions, using slices of New Zealand available to them in their own hometowns, from their local supermarkets/online stores e.g. Nigella ‘these NZ Lamb Cutlets I just picked up from Tescos are perfect ...’ with ‘Bringing New Zealand to you’. We build a list of New Zealand’s exporting brands, the products they wish to profile and the markets they wish to build. We match our influencers, with the right products, in the right markets, with the right call to action and assist with the relevant amount of support from our social media partner and paid media channels.

Social media platforms help push the key message further. I’ve spoken to Facebook and Instagram worldwide and they are keen to pitch in.

We as New Zealanders continue to feed it to our one billion-plus audience.  (Kea alone has 500,000 kiwis off shore, all with followers around the world).

How do we pay for it? My suggestion is brands like Fonterra, Silver Fern, NZ Merino, Sanford, Comvita, Villa Maria, Alliance, Synlait, King Salmon, Tallys, Zespri, NZ Apples, and the like put in a share of the budget relative to their export earnings percentage. We identify a trial sum such as $10 million which brands contribute to, in proportion to their export earnings. Government agencies match this to create a total of $20 million. Facebook and Instagram support with advertising space in-kind, targeting assistance, boosting, campaign management and measurement .

The $20 million in funds is managed by an existing government agency such as NZTE and or Tourism NZ who have a marketing arm we could utilise and a digital marketing agency. The funds are managed and used with our social media partners Facebook and Instagram who provide time on a cash and also an in-kind basis.

I see it as a 12-month campaign, with the bulk of the activity initiated in the first three months. We keep posting our proud slices of New Zealand as Kiwis. And we keep adding to it, and building it.

We have been fortunate to be in an enviable position in today’s world — we now need to leverage it.

Geoff Ross
Geoff Ross is executive chairman of Moa group, a brewing and hospitality business and with his family are merino sheep farming at Lake Hawea Station. He is a trustee of Pure Advantage and was founder and CEO of 42 Below, and has had a long career in marketing and advertising.

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