“On a Mish” #250 Back with the Bros. Te Anau / Manapouri. 20.2.2021. With social media the world is getting smaller, and time apart from family and friends is less of a burden than in days before the internet. For all of the issues it had, 2020 seemed to fly by and spending most of the year up in Christchurch kept me away from my home and mates down south. Zoom and Facebook have made it possible for us to catch up via a screen, and while it is a great form of communication it isn’t the same as some good old campfire yarns. With a massive amount of help from my parents (so much that it will make another full, possibly multi part story!) I have returned home to Te Anau, and the fresh Fiordland air has never smelt so good…
After a few days hanging out mostly at home in the garden I needed a change, and after a couple of calls a plan was hatched with the fellas to all meet up at Mavora Lakes for a couple of nights camping and exploring. First port of call was looking at the forecast, and there aren’t many like the one I read during the week. Nothing but sunshine and light wind for every day of the weekend and beyond. Now pumped for a mish I collected my gear, and then began the task of reviving my cars that had sat unused for the last 8 months or so. I loaded my gear into my old car and had it going in no time, so in the afternoon sun I set sail for the Mavora Lakes. On the way out of town I realised I should check the pressure in the tyres, and as I did this at the petrol station I could hear a very distinctive hissing sound. I immediately realised my car was overheating big time, and wasn’t going to survive the trip to Mavora. Plan B was to take my good car to Mossburn, meet up with the fellas, transfer my gear and go in one of their cars. Unfortunately the battery in my car was flat, and a jumpstart was out of the question due to my other vehicle having its own issues. A plan C was concocted, and now everyone was coming to visit me at my home in Te Anau. We still managed to have a yarn around the campfire, but instead of being at the Mavora Lakes, we were camping in my backyard.
Early-ish the next day we were up making an epic feast to fuel us for the day ahead. After a warm-up at the skatepark we headed south towards Lake Manapouri for a rather mysterious hiking mission. We took the Supply Bay Road into Fiordland National Park, and then stopped at a very unassuming parking spot just off the road. From here we followed the well marked but seldom traveled track to Post Office Rock on the eastern shore of Lake Manapouri. We got off to a great start, spotting a couple of deer only ten meters away from us as we left the road and entered the forest. The track was rough, and in places we had to retrace our steps after taking a wrong turn. Eventually we popped out of the forest, and on to a small beach on Lake Manapouri. The view was incredible and was a real reminder of how special this part of the world really is. After a quick swim in the cool water of the lake we headed back to the car, then back into town. We finished our day where we started, back at the skatepark, and we didn’t realise how entertaining the final part of the day was going to be. Within ten minutes I saw one dude take a slam on his skateboard which ended up knocking out chunks of his front teeth. Next it was our turn, and in spectacular fashion Mark (not me) decided to see if he could make his bike fly (it didn’t), and he slipped out on the landing possibly breaking his collarbone. Ahhh good times. We didn’t spend a huge amount of time together, but we managed to cram in a camping trip, a couple of shreds at the skatepark, and some massive feeds.
