Port Hills Fire, Christchurch 2024 16 February 2024/ByMark/Life, Photography On Wednesday 14th February 2024, Valentine’s Day, a fire broke out on the Port Hills above Christchurch. The next morning I left early, on a commute from Rangiora to Christchurch, with the smoke growing larger in my windscreen as I approached the city. It didn’t take long before you could see lines of fire, with flames flaring higher than the trees at time. I arrove at work at sunrise, around 6:50 am, and watched the first of the helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft return to fight the fire. The panorama s ..read more

Photos Stuck Syncing in Lightroom Classic? Here’s the Fix ByMark/InPhotography/Published on21 November 2023 I use a slightly complicated system of photo management whereby I offload my photos from my camera to Lightroom CC, which then syncs to a catalog in Lightroom Classic. All too often, I end up with photos that are stuck syncing in Lightroom Classic. No matter how long I wait, the blue icon spins with an “# photos syncing” message in the top right corner. Unfortunately, it appears that these photos will continue to be stuck and not sync correctly unless you take action to fix the issu ..read more

30 June 2023/Mark/Hiking Gear, Reviews Review of the Picture Takashima Jacket Considering a light-to-midweight insulated jacket for mild-to-cold weather hiking that also allows you to walk from the mountains to the bar while maintaining style? Read on to see why I’ve replaced my Icebreaker MerinoLOFT and my Patagonia Nano Puff with the Picture Takashima. I’ve been a Patagonia fanboy for a while now, but on a drive to broaden my horizons I’m always on the lookout for other ethical outdoor clothing brands. While browsing Christchurch’s Bivouac store, I noticed a single cloth ..read more

Macpac Waterproof Pack Cover Sizing 13 November 2021/Mark/Hiking Gear, Reviews As my new 44L Osprey Talon backpack didn’t come with an inbuilt raincover, I naively bought the Macpac 50L “medium” rain cover as I assumed it was safer to go too large rather than too small, and when it comes to backpacks I figured 44L is about medium. Apparently not; the raincover was huge. I could use the drawstring to bring it down to size but there seemed to be a lot of excess fabric which could be a pain in high winds and the folds could collect rain. So I ended up buying the next size down – the 3 ..read more

Mt Thomas A Loop Walk in North Canterbury Mount Thomas Walk in North Canterbury Published ByMark/Posted inHiking, Walks in Waimakariri/18 July 2021 A steep but rewarding climb to the top of Mount Thomas (1,023m) in North Canterbury, Waimakariri District, with an option to loop back to the car via a gully or along a ridge. The more adventurous could add an extra loop, with a stay at Bob’s Camp Bivouac and/or Pinchgut Hut. After a short gravel drive (no 4WD required) from the main road, and from a carpark at the Wooded Gully Campsite (with toilet facilities, a sink, picnic tables ..read more

Māori Rock Art Waikari, North Canterbury, Hurunui District Māori Rock Art Walk at Waikari Published By Mark/Posted in Hiking, Walks in Hurunui /20 June 2021 A 1.5-hour ‘out and back’ across hilly farmland that takes you to a site of Māori rock art. Waikari town itself features some nice cafés, outdoor picnic tables, a toilet block, and a few other interesting sites. A relatively short drive from Christchurch, this 90 minute return walk takes you to a limestone outcrop with a large overhang, under which you’ll find some historic Māori rock art. The site is also known as ‘Wek ..read more

Flood Damage Kairaki Beach, Canterbury Flood Damage at Kairaki Beach, Kaiapoi Published ByMark/Posted inPhotography/7 June 2021 May/June 2021 saw a huge amount of rain cause extensive flooding around the Cantebury area. After checking out damage to the Glentui Loop Track, the family and I went out to Kairaki Beach at the mouth of the Waimakariri River. Usually full of 4WDs and people fishing, the beach is covered in brown branches and other dead vegetation, all washed-up from Canterbury’s floods. Video Showing Kairaki Beach Following the Floods Photos of Kairaki Beach at t ..read more

Best Family Friendly Waterfalls of Mid-South Island New Zealand 6 January 2023/Mark/Hiking, Walks in Hurunui, Walks in Selwyn In October my family and I travelled from Christchurch to Hanmer Springs and then across to the West Coast through Lewis Pass before returning via Arthur’s Pass. I found myself visiting a fair few waterfalls of Canterbury and the West Coast, many just a short walk from the road, so I thought I’d list some of the best ‘family friendly’ waterfalls of the mid-South Island of New Zealand here. There are plenty more that are worthy of a mention, but these are just a few ..read more

Why I chose a Garmin 66i inReach GPS device 23 April 2022/Mark/Hiking Gear Let me pre-face this by saying I’m comfortable with technology and already own a Garmin Instinct Solar GPS watch. I’ve long used my watch in conjunction with my cell phone to provide me with a little reassurance when it comes to hiking in New Zealand. Loading a route onto my watch lets me know not just whether I’m on the right track, but – more usefully to me given I’m mostly on well marked routes anyway – it also tells me how far I have to go, letting me know what time I’ll be back at the car at my current pace. M ..read more

How to add NZ topo maps to a Garmin GPS device (for free) 9 April 2022/Mark/Hiking, Hiking Gear I recently bought a Garmin GPSMAP 66i gps device. I love the outdoors, I love gadgets (particularly those linked to survival), and I mostly hike solo or with my 7 year old, so having something that my wife could track when I have no phone signal – not to mention a two-way SOS communication – was a no-brainer for me. Like many New Zealanders, one concern I had on choosing this Garmin was the support for New Zealand maps. The device came with NZ ‘TopoActive’ maps pre-installed, but they’re not pa ..read more