Castle Hill

Castle Hill

As an escape from being an “accompanying person” (and to avoid distracting my wife from a demanding role at her conference in Chch), I drove up into the Canterbury high country.  Castle Hill is popular with rock climbers, for good reason.

wpid5543-Castle-Hill-3113.jpgEven though the temperature was quite cool, with a cold SE wind, up here there were  warm and sheltered spots.  Like this one where folk were bouldering:

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The next morning, around dawn, it was a different story (-4 C).

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Looking west, the sky was dramatic:

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Just 10 minutes later it was transformed:

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Lots of interesting formations and outcrops

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The bulls had woken up in the frosty paddock way down below

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The wild rosehips were lit up

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and the formations across the other side were looking spectacular

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(I met a group of 4 keen photographers who had spent the night in a tent on the hill.  Well, half a night. They had been up until 0230 photographing the milky way, stopping only when the moon came up.  Astrophotography is getting really popular these days!)

When I got back to my car, I met a small group of students from Hurunui College.  They’d been helping to tag kiwis up at Arthur’s Pass.  They raced off to see the rocks close up.  It was still around -2 C at that time, so look what they were wearing!  The young don’t feel the cold the way I do.

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Finally, to give you a feel for the country around here, I’ll include a couple of shots from nearby Mt Cheeseman skifield carpark, taken later that morning.  It’s Big Country!

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