The what?

‘ Peak to Peak 2013’ is an attempt at a 1300km traverse from the highest point of the North Island of New Zealand (Tahurangi/Mt Ruapehu) to the highest point in the South Island of New Zealand (Aoraki/Mt Cook). The journey to be undertaken completely by human power and will include climbing, kayaking and cycling through/across and up some of New Zealand’s most rugged and beautiful terrain. Using crampons, kayaks and bicycles.

Route map – click to enlarge.

The when?

November 29, 2013 -> December 28, 2013

The why?

Why are we doing this? Mainly for fun 🙂

Some other less important reasons are:

–  I have long wanted to do a trip which combined some of the disciplines I enjoy in the outdoors, (climbing/ kayaking/ cycling and trekking).

–  Over the years I am becoming more and more interested in human powered expeditions. I have traveled extensively around the the planet in my working life.  However I get so much more enjoyment from human powered adventures, sleeping outdoors and ‘bumping into’ locals than I do from jetting around in aircraft and staying in luxury hotels.

–  It’s nice to put together a trip which should be a fantastic adventure but will not break out bank accounts.

The how?

‘Peak to Peak 2013’ will involve a non-stop human-powered adventure-journey comprising:

1. Climbing to the summit of Mt Ruapehu (2797m above sea-level) in the central North Island of New Zealand

On Mt Ruapehu with the summit (Tahurangi) clearly visible above my head. This is the highest point of the North Island of New Zealand at 2797m.

2. Cycling 60km from Ruapehu to Taumaranui.

Cycle touring in New Zealand

3. Paddling inflatable kayaks 240km from Taumaranui down the Whanganui river to the coastal town of Whanganui.

Paddling the Whanganui river – New Zealand’s third longest river. Photo: richardtullochwriter.com

3. Cycle 200km from Whanganui to Makara beach in Wellington

4. Sea kayak 60km across the Cook Strait, all the way into Picton in the South Island of New Zealand. The Cook Strait can be one of the worlds roughest stretches of water.

A ferry does battle in the Cook Strait in rough weather. Photo: Straithipping.co.nz

5. Cycle 700km from Picton to Mt Cook National Park

6. Climb New Zealand’s highest mountain – Aoraki/Mt Cook (3750m above sea-level). Our route to the summit will depend on the conditions and how much energy and time we have remaining.

Climbing Aoraki/Mt Cook

The journey will be completed without support vehicles and on a shoe-string budget.   We have arranged a little help from some friends and family to get the bicycles and kayaks into the right positions in the North Island section.

The who?

The 2-man team will comprise Alan Silva and Grant ‘Axe’ Rawlinson. At the start of the trip we will be joined by Jim Morrow, Robert Mills and Jack Rawlinson to climb Mt Ruapehu. We will attempt the paddle across the Cook Strait with Tim Taylor. The rest of the trip we will travel as independently as possible.

Grant ‘Axe’ Rawlinson and Alan Silva having fun hanging out on a freezing cold bivvy at 3AM on the West Ridge of Malte Brun in the New Zealand Southern Alps.

Follow our progress?

If you are interested to follow our progress then we will be carrying a SPOT GPS tracker which you can monitor our positions during the trip in near-real time (It updates every 10 – 15 mins).  Don’t worry – we will not be hounding you with requests for donations and sponsorship!

You can follow our progress by:

1. Signing up to this blog with your email address. To do this navigate to the home page by clicking here and sign up with your email address in the box on the left hand side of this page.

OR

2. Checking this website regularly to follow the SPOT GPS realtime map and check for trip update reports and photo’s.

OR

3. You can follow me on FACEBOOK or TWITTER.