So on the 11th we got asked if we wanted to go Heli Biking at Kirwans Track just up by Reefton on the 12th. It’s not generally something we had to think about, so an instant yes was given.

Having previously done the Croesus Track by Helicopter and buckling my wheel half way down while trying to overtake a mate while making race car noises (Some people would call that Karma) and having to pretty much walk the rest of the way out, I was pretty keen to make the most of this trip.

The track was pretty awesome, with only minor unridable bits due to logs across the track or wash outs, and only very minor uphill. I managed to destroy my largest chain ring in a minor off I had and replace two rear tubes, but aside from that it was awesome. Would definitely plan to do this again during Summer.

Kirwans Track

So I got my Motorbike Licence, surely this will only speed up the chances of an explosive death, but hey, it’s all in good fun eh? The main point of this post is to do with mucking around with a GPX veiwer for future JetSki/MTB adventures, so getting straight to the point:

Cape Foulwind – 16th of Aug

Seems to work pretty well. Created using this plugin here. I’d also experimented with GPX Flash which is the same, but Flash based. Had a few problems though, mainly the developer is German, and the English translation doesn’t seem work on the Flash file, secondly it didn’t work out speed, where this one does.

So I’ve made a couple more proper vids now, one of Charming Creek, and one of Cape Foulwind Walkway. I still have a bit more tweaking to do, and I really need to mount the camera on the handle bars.

Also, I can’t beleive how much awesomer Vimeo’s interface is compared to Youtube. Hopefully they’re going to be around for a long time to come, cause their site is awesome.

Cape Foulwind:

Pretty quick vid, a blast around the Seal Colony. Can’t get to extreme as a lot of tourists.

Charming Creek:

Long, admittantly boring vid. Needs more cowbell/action. Cool tunnel shots though. They actually were that dark, that’s not just the camera :P

So after much stuffing around over the space of a couple of years, I finally purchased a Helmet Cam, the GoPro Motorsports HERO Expansion off TradeMe.

All and all, pretty much what I expected. Not the best video/sound quality in the world, but I’ll take it places I wouldn’t take a thousand+ dollar camera.

Here’s a couple of clips I’ve made. First one was a thrash through the Millenium Walkway with the camera on my helmet, where half way through I realised I hadn’t started the recording yet, and I also had it pointed down too much:

Second one was with it mounted as far back as possible on the bike, again, I didn’t realise my leg would be in the way, heh. I think tomorrow I’ll go for on the handle bars somehow:

Very awesome piece of kit, now I just need to get my JetSki working so I can test it in the River/Ocean

Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor would be my current all time favourite Band/Person at the moment, so when found out they were having a concert in New Zealand, there was no way in hell I was missing out. They’ve since played in Auckland, and there have been some HD videos stuck up online from their Aussie concerts.

Below is The Fragile, my favourite NIN song.

You can find more of their offical HD vids here: Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.

Jumping of a log blind folded trying to grab onto something is still scary as, even with a harness.

On Saturday I drove to Christchurch to goto one of my best primary school mate’s bachelor party, as the crazy bugger is getting married this weekend. With not quite knowing what to expect, I can definitely say I had an awesome time, with awesome people.

The highlight was The Roxx, an indoor climbing centre which is conveniently owned by Jonny’s younger brother Phil’s father in law. It was amazing. It’s split into two sections, ‘Clip and Climb’ and their real rock climb section. We were based in the Clip and Climb section, and the name doesn’t take too much working out, it was fitted out with automatic belay machines, so you would walk up to what you wanted to do, clip, and climb!

Many a grazed foot/knee/elbow later, we were munted, and time for our next activity.

All this fun had got me thinking however. My Great Grandmother was the first New Zealand woman up Mount Cook, and I couldn’t remember her name, a quick google search revealed it however, with a whole lot of other information which I had been told in drips and drabs over my past, so I’m going to post it here;

Peter Graham was born at Three Mile Beach, Okarito, south Westland, New Zealand, on 27 April 1878; his brother Alexander (Alec) Carter Graham was born there on 5 September 1881. They were the fifth and sixth children of Isabella Kathleen Ford (formerly Garland, Newberry) and her husband, David Millar Graham. Isabella was nurse and midwife to much of south Westland and David was a ferryman, a goldminer and then a baker.

Although Isabella was just over five feet tall, her six sons grew to over six feet. She shared her love of literature by reading to the family, and taught kindness by example. Peter and Alec attended Okarito School, a three-mile beach and boulder scramble away, then worked at goldmining and other ventures, and cleared land for farming at Waiho (Franz Josef Glacier). After David Graham died in 1900 the family moved to Waiho, and when their brothers left the area Peter and Alec took over the farm. Isabella Graham became postmistress, ran a store, took in paying guests, and was nurse and friend to all. She died in 1918.

Peter and Alec enjoyed climbing on Franz Josef Glacier, and were taken deeper into the mountains by miner and explorer Arthur Woodham, a close family friend. Expeditions with Dr Ebenezer Teichelmann and the Reverend H. E. Newton, initially up the Fox Glacier, led them to take up careers in climbing and guiding.

In 1903 the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts employed Peter Graham as assistant guide at the Hermitage Hotel, Mt Cook, and from 1906 to 1922 he was chief guide. Stressing enjoyment as well as safety, he made 13 ascents of the high peak of Mt Cook, including six of the first eight ascents, the first traverse, a new route, and the first grand traverse of all three peaks. On this last climb and many others, often with Alec, he guided Australian-born Freda Du Faur as she defied convention to pioneer women’s climbing in New Zealand. These climbs, and his numerous other first ascents and new routes, were made from relatively low camps, with hemp ropes and no crampons, and with clients to care for; many climbs were marathons of step-cutting on steep ice. In 1924 Peter led the first ascent of Fiordland’s Mt Tutoko and in 1931, with Alec, he climbed Mt Sefton from the west.

Peter Graham was not only one of New Zealand’s finest-ever climbers; he also built and maintained huts and tracks, advised hotel guests on outdoor activities, and informed them about mountain plants ( Ranunculus grahamii is one of three named after him). Early in his career with the Tourist Department, during winter closures of the Hermitage, he gained administrative experience at head office, Wellington, and worked as a ranger at Rotorua. On 1 October 1913 in Wellington he married Elizabeth Muriel Pringle, an accomplished piano player and teacher. They were to have four children. Muriel was the first New Zealand-born woman known to have climbed Mt Cook, ascending with Peter in December 1915.

Meanwhile, Alec Graham remained at Waiho, developing guiding and climbing facilities with the same insistence on enjoyment and safety. His speciality differed from that of Peter; swagging heavy loads, often including Teichelmann’s full-plate camera, he led exploring and climbing trips in the Cook, Waiatoto, Rakaia, Wanganui and Matukituki river valleys. He also made major ascents on Mt Cook, Mt Tasman and other peaks in the central alps, many with his brother. Among his pioneering climbs were first ascents of Mt La Perouse and Mt Aspiring. In his 50s he guided in the Copland, Cook and Arawata river valleys. He also took numerous parties on easier Copland Pass and Franz Josef Glacier trips.

Adept at making people comfortable in camp and encouraging them over difficult terrain, and equally at home in bushed gorges and on steep rock and ice, Alec Graham was perhaps New Zealand’s most versatile mountaineer. As guides the brothers were very similar: strong, of remarkable stamina, always gentle and considerate to clients and trainee guides alike. Both rescued many after mountain accidents; neither had an accident himself.

In 1911 Alec Graham bought the small hotel at Waiho together with Jim and Rose Graham, his brother and sister-in-law. Assisted by their other brothers David and Jack, Alec and Jim winched the building by hand up a river terrace to a flood-free site and added a second storey. The family atmosphere created by Rose as hostess and Alec as guide gave the Franz Josef Glacier Hotel a unique character.

During the First World War, from August 1917, Alec served as a stretcher-bearer in France and in October he was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry. Subsequently wounded and twice evacuated to England, on 22 January 1919 in London he married Louisa Lydia Woodham, Arthur Woodham’s niece. The couple were to have four children.

Jim Graham died in 1921 and in 1922 Peter resigned from the Hermitage and he and Muriel moved to Waiho. Their ease with guests and his administrative skills complemented the abilities of Alec and Rose. Together they ran the Franz Josef Glacier Hotel for nearly 25 years, their hospitality and their guiding services renowned throughout and beyond New Zealand. Their hotel also served as post office and community and first-aid centre. The brothers helped to build the Anglican St James’ Church, constructed a hydroelectric station to supply the village and the hotel, and through their involvement with Air Travel New Zealand encouraged air services in south Westland.

Although from the late 1930s Peter Graham was increasingly hampered by a painful hip, he continued to act as administrator and host. In 1934 Alec gained the certificate in marine engineering necessary to operate their tourist launch. In 1947 the Grahams sold the hotel to the government but spent their retirement at Franz Josef Glacier. Peter was appointed MBE for services to mountaineering in 1956.

Alec Graham died in Greymouth hospital on 12 July 1957, survived by three daughters and a son; Louisa had died the previous year. Peter Graham’s wife, Muriel, died days after Alec, and Peter died at home, pen in hand while writing his memoirs, on 7 April 1961. He was survived by two sons and a daughter.

If they had trademe back in those days, they’d all be getting A++++ feedbacks from me. Good shit.

I am absolutely gutted I didn’t take my video camera, or even a still camera with me on the weekend, so if anyone is interested in some pxt quality photos, check here.

Cheers to The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography for the above spiel.

"WHAT IS THAT ON YOUR HEAD oh it's just your hair..."

I could go on and on about the time I had at Wilfoods, but I’ll summarize and get onto the real story. It was wet and cold the first night. We got wet and cold, but we still managed to get out and have a good time. It was hot on Saturday, but the ground was still wet. We went to Greymouth so Tomma could get his herbal feed and got McDonalds, and Millsy tried every bit of clothing and exercise equipment and bed at the Warehouse. We went back to the Festival, which sucked (They sold us beef and told us it was Kangaroo) and then went back to the camp site to drink more, and went out in town. Fuss bought down his fireworks, so when he got back to camp, he set them off. It was awesome. We woke up on Sunday, packed up, and everyone went their separate ways…

It was about 1pm on Sunday when I got home, and went straight to bed. I felt like shit, and rightly so, I had been operating on hardly any sleep, and I had slept in a partly damp tent for the past couple of nights, along with drinking stupid amounts, and taking herbals, which never seem to sit right in your stomach the next day, but oh no, it was much worse than that. At about 7pm I awoke in a cold sweat, thinking I had got the flu, again, not such a stupid thing to think, considering the aforementioned shitty conditions, I eventually got back to sleep, not realising the full extent of my illness to till the next day…

I awoke at 6am, and immediately ran to the toilet. I shat. I shat big time. Somewhere along the line I had contracted some form of food poisoning. The amount of shit food I had eaten over the past 96 hours, it would be merely impossible to pin point where I got it from. There were the dodgy people with BBQ’s on the side of the street on both nights, and you’re always in a drunken hungry stupor so of course they looked like delicate three course meals. There were the dodgy feeds at Wildfoods. Snails? Beef/Kangaroo? Who knows, what I do know is anything that I did have inside me was now a brown runny paste coming out of my anus at rather a rate of knots.

I was not impressed.

I rang work and told them I wouldn’t be coming in for the day, I could almost hear him thinking in his head “You piss crook Mondayitis wanker” – And who could blame him? I went back to bed. The next day was pretty much the same, dehydration mixed with chronic diarreha, mixed with unbelievable gut pains, headaches and joint pains. Imagine the worst possible flu you’ve ever had, but shitting yourself violently every 45 minutes.

I eventually got into the doctors on Thursday. He basically said I have some form of food poisoning, most probably “Campylobacter Enteritis” and that if I still had diarreha they could take a stool sample and find out where I got it from. He then went to his cupboard and got a little bottle and a plastic biohazard bag “The bottle has a little scoop attached to the lid” he said as he handed it to me with what almost looked like a smirk on his face.

No thanks.

I took the bag and human pooper scooper and paid my $18 and was out of there. I already had the shits and had been off work for a week, I wasn’t about to scoop some stool off my buttocks and drop it into the hospital, at that stage I was well and truly over finding out where abouts I had got it from.

I didn’t take a camera to the festival, hell, I didn’t take any camera at all, but Fuss did, his pictures are here, and they’re only of us at the campsite.