Rock, relaxation and good times at Paynes...
The House of Mojo In pictures
So as we discovered at the Bay, there is a big difference when you're car camping, you can bring lots of shit and big tents. None of these little 2 person tents, no sirree, having 3 of us (mini-mojo member Paige was to arrive later with umpteem clothes in hand) Shane brought his big tent down. The red shed found us untold tent decoractions, not the least of which was the Welcome matt (bloody great for wiping your feet on), the prayer rug (a $39.95 special) and the lanterns come mosquito stoners filled with Citronella oil... and the mattresses, the jury is out on these puppies with lighter member of the team proclaiming the best camp sleep ever (again $39.95) whilst the heavier member kept squashing them.... I'll put my vote in as $39.95 well spent.
Within a day or two the artisan got bored, and a trip to the hardware store netted some spray cans. Contrary to popular belief the tent stayed waterproof with the Mojo branding applied, and well I'm sure people appreciated the smiley face on the dull rainy days.. looked kinda cool all lit up at night. However tents aren't so resiliant to big ass branches falling on them, the wind came and one big ass branch fell on the front flap axing a pole and making one helluva noise middle of the night.
Now theres one thing with going large on the tent front, you get neighbours real quick.. and sure enough we made friends with lots of new people in camp. The Christchurch YMCA crew pitched down beside the house of mojo and within no time we're having communal dinners and chilling out ...
Then someone over under the trees put up a tarp. Not wanting to be outdone an even bigger tarp was produced from the Chch crew and the rigging effort that would put Team NZ to shame (our sail stayed up till the end) was carried out. Protection from the sun, a great chill zone.. world domination was in order.
Buzz provided some reading material which rendered some nice tarp-art, lit up at night it we were accused of being well dodgy but Jessica and Grace did come from Ralph so were clothed (however scantily)... good thing Buzz was buying the mags and not Evil Ed I guess ;)
The Rock In pictures 1 In pictures 2
Well anyone would think we were here to climb or something, and I guess they would be right. The first day of climbing netted Team Mojo's most number of sends in one day, with 9 climbs done between Little Lost Wall and the North End. For those that haven't been to Paynes the rock is FANTASTIC... awesome friction and features, every route is different, it's just oh so good. After our first day of sending was out the road we started on some harder stuff with a bash at Lost Souls (21).. dogged the hell out of it, and then got to the 3rd bolt and came off rather glad I'd bought that helmet. Whoops. Alisa was working Burly But Sensitive at the Globe Wall so we tagged along to see what it was all about. Fantastic little number, Shane got it 2nd go, I took a few more and was well stoked, the first 22 for Team Mojo. Alisa was battling through it and wouldn't give up.. became known as the grotto of despair. Connie was getting all worked up on Redlining it to the Max (23).
Then came Electricorp Production (22) which took a solid number of attempts and is one fantastic climb, gently overhanging and real go for it type climbing. Worked it for a couple of days and saw some of the most ingenious rests on the ledge by Shane, Buzz, Connie.. After I could recount the whole sequence of the climb whilst drunk on New Years I knew it was going to go. Buzz got this member of Team Mojo amped up on New Years Day and after only a couple of hours sleep and a hangover I got it and was wellll stoked. Then I got a dirty ole bee sting for my effort at the top.
The globe wall saw lots of sending, and lots of frustration. DanP was feeling the love on his project Feeling Lucky Punk... heaps of commitment saw some sending there. Mope kept pushing up his grades, good to see young man, with a nice send of Papageno (27). Steve Conn was spotted sporting a harness at one stage which my sources have informed me is rarer than the proverbial hens teeth. The trotter clan was spotted on many routes. Amino Pro (23) got some serious traffic from Buzz and Connie.
Then Mikal introduced us to Darling Buds of May (23) awesome little arete climb, we got on it a couple of times then the rains came down putting it off limits for a little while, untill a couple of days before we left and we just went for it.. after lots of falling, Shane used his getting angry formula for sending which did the trick, super stoked, but I hit the wall. An hour or two rest and the magic sending fuel of peanut butter on bread, some encouragement from Mikal I got it clean.. super stoked mojo member 2.
Carny Folk In pictures
At Hangdog theres a special blend of Pyromaniacs and Carny Folk (coined by Fiona), so I let loose on the camera. Now what would Christmas day be without some Fire Staffs, Kero and a couple of nutters... Pictures speak thousands of words so I'll let the pictures do the talking here.
New Years saw a lot of fireworks, fire staffs, limbo stick, and a bit of drunken mayhem with the Bolivian band laying down the music for the event. What a way to see the new year in :) Unfortunately for some New Years day was too painful and a very substantial bet was laid down for a full year of sobriety by one of the mojo crew.
As a show of flexibility the ole ski pole trick came out, now again, pictures speak a thousand words, so check them out - a number of flashes were made a bit of dirty dogging tactics but most people managed to do it. Jon came out with the harder grade variant the backwards style which sorted out the flexible from the inflexible...
The ever present slacklines were setup round camp, a lot of good times to be had, including one exceptionally painfull looking nutbreaker.
Out and About In pictures
Outside of camp there was plenty to see and do, the obiligatory Wholemeal Cafe experience (more than once, with some horrendous efforts being put in to see how much sugar could be consumed in one sitting).
Naturally with the 30 + temperatures the water hole got to see a lot of action, with Acid Test getting heaps of traffic, a new swing had been setup since last year giving punters the chance for some big bomb action. and Kendra mixed it up a little with some Kayaking action.
On Xmas day we decided to do the Rameka track, now this was some pretty fun fat tyred madness, thanks to Dave we got dropped off on the Takaka Hill at the start of the gravel track, rode up to the start and then went for it, wow... very technical tight single track for I guess an hour or so, then opening up to a supreme downhill.. probably 800m elevation drop in what seems like no time.. got upto some hairy speeds and definitely worked the brakes. Mondo fun, didn't do the rest day any favours tho :)
Now on the don't do list, is don't try walking to the eel farm. You won't make it... Mikal and I set off for a little walk one night to take some photos and check out the eels. Well 3 hours later we returned to camp, Jon was there 'Yeah so you tried getting to the tame eels aye.. we tried last year.. didn't make it' (the next day we found out we turned back just before the eel farm - gutting)
Next on the don't do list is don't get a mohawk by a girl with DT's, actually some would say don't get a Mohawk full stop and I'd tend to agree with them.
The people
In the last couple of days I decided to list out all the people I knew or met on this trip, thinking I might make 50 I was well impressed to get almost into 3 didgits... so in no particular order heres a big shout out to all those on this trip... have a safe, cranking and happy new years everyone.
Buzz, Andy, Adam & Alisa, Buttercup, your Honarary Mojo Memberships are in the mail ;) Soto, Ken, Max, Tai and all the lads under the trees... keep cranking it fellas. Chris, don't stop throwing fire man. Kendra, didn't get to say goodbye - have a wicked time on your travels. Simon M, where didya disappear to ? ... send me that photo. Dusty, Mel, Talon, and Sunny - Paige didn't get to say goodbye, hope you see this. The northern crew John, Josh, Craig, Mope, Morgan, Annika, Mikal, Fiona, Regan, Imogen, Jo 1, Jo 2, Sarah, Simon, Greg, Kymbo, MattiP, Matt, Martyn, Andrew, Steph, Dan, Jim keep on pulling down. Matt, thanks for 'Taking one for the Team'. Dan and Chris, good to see the sendage, the love returned to Globe. Amy, April, Brett, Terezka, Tim, see you on the travels north
Sal and Aaron, I'll be down south soon I hope. Got to see some more of that South Island Rock. Rob the south african - good beta till the 3rd bolt :) Rob the Irish dude - great fire tricks. Derek, Sharon, Nikki, Nick, Dave, Jose, Lauren, Miranda, Helena, Tony, Gomez, Seb, Mayan, Derek, Paul, Steve (I'll be down to those mantles soon), and everyone else who've I've missed - have a great one ! till the next adventures !
Last but not least, a very big shout out to the crew of Hangdog Camp, a very big thanks !!!!!!!!! Definite two thumbs up with a round of applause thrown in for good measure.
The Journey Home In pictures
16 hrs Nelson to Auckland... thats one long drive.
Famous Last Words
As a side note I'm now writing this supremely hungover after our flat reunion. If you ever hear the words "chop chop czech styles" start running. Fast.
Photography :
Evil Ed, Buttercup, MojoMan, Martin.
So as we discovered at the Bay, there is a big difference when you're car camping, you can bring lots of shit and big tents. None of these little 2 person tents, no sirree, having 3 of us (mini-mojo member Paige was to arrive later with umpteem clothes in hand) Shane brought his big tent down. The red shed found us untold tent decoractions, not the least of which was the Welcome matt (bloody great for wiping your feet on), the prayer rug (a $39.95 special) and the lanterns come mosquito stoners filled with Citronella oil... and the mattresses, the jury is out on these puppies with lighter member of the team proclaiming the best camp sleep ever (again $39.95) whilst the heavier member kept squashing them.... I'll put my vote in as $39.95 well spent.
Within a day or two the artisan got bored, and a trip to the hardware store netted some spray cans. Contrary to popular belief the tent stayed waterproof with the Mojo branding applied, and well I'm sure people appreciated the smiley face on the dull rainy days.. looked kinda cool all lit up at night. However tents aren't so resiliant to big ass branches falling on them, the wind came and one big ass branch fell on the front flap axing a pole and making one helluva noise middle of the night.
Now theres one thing with going large on the tent front, you get neighbours real quick.. and sure enough we made friends with lots of new people in camp. The Christchurch YMCA crew pitched down beside the house of mojo and within no time we're having communal dinners and chilling out ...
Then someone over under the trees put up a tarp. Not wanting to be outdone an even bigger tarp was produced from the Chch crew and the rigging effort that would put Team NZ to shame (our sail stayed up till the end) was carried out. Protection from the sun, a great chill zone.. world domination was in order.
Buzz provided some reading material which rendered some nice tarp-art, lit up at night it we were accused of being well dodgy but Jessica and Grace did come from Ralph so were clothed (however scantily)... good thing Buzz was buying the mags and not Evil Ed I guess ;)
The Rock In pictures 1 In pictures 2
Well anyone would think we were here to climb or something, and I guess they would be right. The first day of climbing netted Team Mojo's most number of sends in one day, with 9 climbs done between Little Lost Wall and the North End. For those that haven't been to Paynes the rock is FANTASTIC... awesome friction and features, every route is different, it's just oh so good. After our first day of sending was out the road we started on some harder stuff with a bash at Lost Souls (21).. dogged the hell out of it, and then got to the 3rd bolt and came off rather glad I'd bought that helmet. Whoops. Alisa was working Burly But Sensitive at the Globe Wall so we tagged along to see what it was all about. Fantastic little number, Shane got it 2nd go, I took a few more and was well stoked, the first 22 for Team Mojo. Alisa was battling through it and wouldn't give up.. became known as the grotto of despair. Connie was getting all worked up on Redlining it to the Max (23).
Then came Electricorp Production (22) which took a solid number of attempts and is one fantastic climb, gently overhanging and real go for it type climbing. Worked it for a couple of days and saw some of the most ingenious rests on the ledge by Shane, Buzz, Connie.. After I could recount the whole sequence of the climb whilst drunk on New Years I knew it was going to go. Buzz got this member of Team Mojo amped up on New Years Day and after only a couple of hours sleep and a hangover I got it and was wellll stoked. Then I got a dirty ole bee sting for my effort at the top.
The globe wall saw lots of sending, and lots of frustration. DanP was feeling the love on his project Feeling Lucky Punk... heaps of commitment saw some sending there. Mope kept pushing up his grades, good to see young man, with a nice send of Papageno (27). Steve Conn was spotted sporting a harness at one stage which my sources have informed me is rarer than the proverbial hens teeth. The trotter clan was spotted on many routes. Amino Pro (23) got some serious traffic from Buzz and Connie.
Then Mikal introduced us to Darling Buds of May (23) awesome little arete climb, we got on it a couple of times then the rains came down putting it off limits for a little while, untill a couple of days before we left and we just went for it.. after lots of falling, Shane used his getting angry formula for sending which did the trick, super stoked, but I hit the wall. An hour or two rest and the magic sending fuel of peanut butter on bread, some encouragement from Mikal I got it clean.. super stoked mojo member 2.
Carny Folk In pictures
At Hangdog theres a special blend of Pyromaniacs and Carny Folk (coined by Fiona), so I let loose on the camera. Now what would Christmas day be without some Fire Staffs, Kero and a couple of nutters... Pictures speak thousands of words so I'll let the pictures do the talking here.
New Years saw a lot of fireworks, fire staffs, limbo stick, and a bit of drunken mayhem with the Bolivian band laying down the music for the event. What a way to see the new year in :) Unfortunately for some New Years day was too painful and a very substantial bet was laid down for a full year of sobriety by one of the mojo crew.
As a show of flexibility the ole ski pole trick came out, now again, pictures speak a thousand words, so check them out - a number of flashes were made a bit of dirty dogging tactics but most people managed to do it. Jon came out with the harder grade variant the backwards style which sorted out the flexible from the inflexible...
The ever present slacklines were setup round camp, a lot of good times to be had, including one exceptionally painfull looking nutbreaker.
Out and About In pictures
Outside of camp there was plenty to see and do, the obiligatory Wholemeal Cafe experience (more than once, with some horrendous efforts being put in to see how much sugar could be consumed in one sitting).
Naturally with the 30 + temperatures the water hole got to see a lot of action, with Acid Test getting heaps of traffic, a new swing had been setup since last year giving punters the chance for some big bomb action. and Kendra mixed it up a little with some Kayaking action.
On Xmas day we decided to do the Rameka track, now this was some pretty fun fat tyred madness, thanks to Dave we got dropped off on the Takaka Hill at the start of the gravel track, rode up to the start and then went for it, wow... very technical tight single track for I guess an hour or so, then opening up to a supreme downhill.. probably 800m elevation drop in what seems like no time.. got upto some hairy speeds and definitely worked the brakes. Mondo fun, didn't do the rest day any favours tho :)
Now on the don't do list, is don't try walking to the eel farm. You won't make it... Mikal and I set off for a little walk one night to take some photos and check out the eels. Well 3 hours later we returned to camp, Jon was there 'Yeah so you tried getting to the tame eels aye.. we tried last year.. didn't make it' (the next day we found out we turned back just before the eel farm - gutting)
Next on the don't do list is don't get a mohawk by a girl with DT's, actually some would say don't get a Mohawk full stop and I'd tend to agree with them.
The people
In the last couple of days I decided to list out all the people I knew or met on this trip, thinking I might make 50 I was well impressed to get almost into 3 didgits... so in no particular order heres a big shout out to all those on this trip... have a safe, cranking and happy new years everyone.
Buzz, Andy, Adam & Alisa, Buttercup, your Honarary Mojo Memberships are in the mail ;) Soto, Ken, Max, Tai and all the lads under the trees... keep cranking it fellas. Chris, don't stop throwing fire man. Kendra, didn't get to say goodbye - have a wicked time on your travels. Simon M, where didya disappear to ? ... send me that photo. Dusty, Mel, Talon, and Sunny - Paige didn't get to say goodbye, hope you see this. The northern crew John, Josh, Craig, Mope, Morgan, Annika, Mikal, Fiona, Regan, Imogen, Jo 1, Jo 2, Sarah, Simon, Greg, Kymbo, MattiP, Matt, Martyn, Andrew, Steph, Dan, Jim keep on pulling down. Matt, thanks for 'Taking one for the Team'. Dan and Chris, good to see the sendage, the love returned to Globe. Amy, April, Brett, Terezka, Tim, see you on the travels north
Sal and Aaron, I'll be down south soon I hope. Got to see some more of that South Island Rock. Rob the south african - good beta till the 3rd bolt :) Rob the Irish dude - great fire tricks. Derek, Sharon, Nikki, Nick, Dave, Jose, Lauren, Miranda, Helena, Tony, Gomez, Seb, Mayan, Derek, Paul, Steve (I'll be down to those mantles soon), and everyone else who've I've missed - have a great one ! till the next adventures !
Last but not least, a very big shout out to the crew of Hangdog Camp, a very big thanks !!!!!!!!! Definite two thumbs up with a round of applause thrown in for good measure.
The Journey Home In pictures
16 hrs Nelson to Auckland... thats one long drive.
Famous Last Words
As a side note I'm now writing this supremely hungover after our flat reunion. If you ever hear the words "chop chop czech styles" start running. Fast.
Photography :
Evil Ed, Buttercup, MojoMan, Martin.