Slope Point
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 1 Aug 2014 22:57
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Slope Point – the Southernmost
Tip of Mainland New Zealand
 1 As we approached, the brave trees should have given us fair
warning................
2 Bear couldn’t open his door as the
wind was holding it firmly closed.
3 I couldn’t shut my jacket as my
scarf was causing me bodily harm.
4 This was us twenty minutes walk
from the cliff edge.
5 We saw the state the only other
people here came back in, fought to get in their car, drive away with nary a
look left or right.
 Let’s do
it. Fair enough, lead on. Slope Point is the most southerly point of New Zealand’s
South Island.
 This has not been put on. Bear
had to take his glasses off, his retaining string flew over his head and the
glass caught the wind and vertical disappearance occurred. Safely recovered and
stowed in his pocket. He held my camera for me. Despite its incredible weight it
too went vertical. I am now considering this venture as
folly. Listen, we’re here now, lets get to the end of this field and
reconsider. It doesn’t look far after all.
 We got halfway across the sheep
field, no wonder lamb shank hasn’t got much fat on it
from these parts, even they have to lean into the wind. We could see
Stewart Island in the
distance. Not sure about crossing in a small
ferry. Not sure about those who fear flying doing it in a small
airplane. What the picture cannot show is the condition of the sea, there were
plumes coming off the tightly packed white horses, only seen in severe gale
conditions. It is so windy the sea almost looks flat. Oh I forgot to put some
more numbers above.
6 This area has over three hundred
days a year of storm warnings.
7 Hardy people take on living in this
sort of area, only fifty eight live in a four mile radius from this
point.
 We made it to the end of the field.
Bear used the fence posts to support him to near the edge. I took this shot of
a wave bouncing back from the cliff.
 This is angry
business. The noise was deafening. I stood braced, my back to the wind,
legs set akimbo – the wind actually moved me a few inches forward. There were a
few bad words blown away forever and at that point we made our way back away
from the edge.
 Speak for
yourself, this is my limit.
 The must see AA signpost at Slope Point shows the distance
to the Equator and the South Pole.  The route back to the main road looks simple enough. Very wet underfoot, so much so that following my leader I had severe ingress of muddy, freezing water in my Crocs. Oh why, oh why didn’t I put my welligogs on........ There were several stops to rebalance, several giggles as one of us blew off course. Never have I been so pleased to fight with a door in my life. Now I know we were right not to bring Beez down here. Later we would look up the weather for Slope Point – average wind
speed thirty eight miles per hour gusting to fifty six miles per hour with
occasional greater speeds.
 Looking back was a great sight.
ALL IN ALL AN EXTREME TRAMPING
EXPERIENCE
THE MOST AMAZING
WIND |