We had been promising the boys that we were going to take them camping in the truck for a while but our weekends have been fairly full of late. The first weekend in November however was free and we committed to go camping on the Saturday night.
The plan was to 4WD up a river valley off to the East of Lyndon Rd to a spot we had been previously. This was to be our first camping outing in the truck and it surprised us how much gear we needed to take even for just one night away. Good thing for roof racks; we were loaded and ready to go.
We got to the spot where we had planned to camp but the wind was such that it was blowing the water out of the nearby stream, too windy (and cold) for us. We headed back down the river with a couple of other options to try but not before we decided to go and do some exploring to spots we hadn’t yet been.
It was a lucky decision as we found an awesome spot; great views to the Mt Hutt range, the Rakaia river, a glimpse of Lake Coleridge and then north up the Lyndon Rd valley.
I would have to say this may well be my new favourite spot!! There was a couple of little tarns close by, all full due to the recent wet weather. They even had a couple of swans on them, til they decided they didn’t want to hang around with us there. Ryan shot off down to one of the tarns for a look and he timed it perfectly for a small water spout to blow up and then promptly blow over him!!! He didn’t know what to make of it so he called it the VST (Very Strange Thing). Unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough with the camera to capture it on film.
There was a fair bit of gusty wind around and there looked to be some storm clouds rolling in from the West over Lake Coleridge. We still thought we would be alright and pitched the tent neatly beside the Landcruiser which was doing a great job as a wind break. Isaac was a great help getting the tent up.
Once we had the tent up, we started to think if this was indeed a good idea. It wouldn’t be a very comfortable night if we got caught by the high winds and cold temps. Much to the displeasure of the boys, we made the call to ditch the idea of camping the night and instead elected to have our dinner there and then head on home for the night.
Dinner was exquisite sausages, bread and tomato sauce with a side of potato chips for good measure. All washed down with a cider (for Jolie and I at least!!).
It was a good decision to not stay, as once the truck was packed up, the rain started to come down and wind certainly didn’t ease up.
Still it was a good adventure and a good lesson for the boys (if they were paying any attention) about making good decisions in the wilderness. We will most certainly be back to that location again, hopefully this time with better weather.
Wilderness Kiwis 