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Rock Climbing

The Hand

Jim's hand. Nonsuch, E1 5b, Rivelin Edge. Peak District

Mark WatsonNovember 17, 2010

Thanks for visiting the blog of Mark Watson & Highlux Photography. Here, you can find the full account of our Alaska to Patagonia (2016–2020, 2022–2023) bikepacking journey, as well as our New Zealand adventures.

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Recent Posts

Tramping Browning Pass and Hokitika Saddle to Sir Robert Hut April 23, 2024
Three out of Three: Racing the 2024 Tour Te Waipounamu Bikepacking Ultra March 1, 2024
Bikepacking Packing List for the Andes, South America (Updated 2023/24) December 17, 2023

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I do enjoy a bit of characterful back country sign

I do enjoy a bit of characterful back country signage. I grew up guided by signs like this on my early tramps - signwork that's somehow complimentary (if not awkwardly at times) to its environment and reflective of it, rather than intrusive and homogenous.

#kahuranginationalpark #signpost #trampingtrack #backcountrysigns #gordonspyramid #typography #semiotics

Kahurangi National Park 🌿 These shots are from

Kahurangi National Park 🌿
These shots are from a cruisy, short (2 night) tramp starting/finishing in the Cobb Valley back in early January. We walked into Balloon Hut via Lake Peel along with a bout of heavy rain. Then the next day to the amazing Gridiron Rock Shelter (photo 1) with a side trip up Gordon's Pyramid for views of Mt Arthur on the way. Day three back to the Cobb via the Upper Takaka and Bullock Track.

#trampingnewzealand #hikinginnewzealand #trampnz #explorenewzealand #tramping #kahuranginationalpark #gridironrockshelter #gordonspyramid

To avoid the inevitable lack of appetite and palat

To avoid the inevitable lack of appetite and palate fatigue during bikepacking races I carry a mix of sweet and savoury food in @revelatedesigns Mountain Feed Bags, which also work great for carrying drinks and bigger food items like pies and bakery treats 😋. Here's a few of my tips for eating well during events.
#ridewithrevelate #revelatedesigns #bikepackingtips #bikepackingbags

With the Great Southern Brevet out of the way (and

With the Great Southern Brevet out of the way (and the inevitable 3-4 weeks it takes me to recover from those things) my next summer goal was to fit in a trip to the Darran Mountains; my first in two years.

If you're not familiar with 'the Darrans', they're the range of mostly diorite (granitic) peaks you drive through on the Milford Road, between The Divide and Piopiotahi/Milford Sound. The Darran Mountains hem in the north side of the highway, and to the south lie the Earl and Wick Mountains. Climbers tend to refer to all the peaks within a few hours of either side of the road as 'the Darrans'.

It's my favourite place to climb in New Zealand. The hard, fine grained rock is amazing to climb on, as well as being varied in style. There's a lifetime's worth of peaks and routes just within a day's walk of the climbers' base at Homer Hut, let alone the adventure that awaits when you venture into the central part of the range, where just getting there demands a head for exposure, a nose for route finding and a dash of commitment.

While my last two trips have traversed the central region, this one was mostly Homer-based, with one overnight trip up to Moirs Mate & Mates Little Brother, with a bivvy on top of the latter.

Routes climbed: Lucky Strike (7p, 20), Mechanical Failure (4p, 23), Pipe Dreams (10p, 21), Eureka (4p, 20), East Ridge of Mt Talbot (4p 17 + long scramble/solo).
Routes bailed off: Gypsy Heart (too cold ❄️), Vindaloo (too hot 🔥)

#rockclimbingnewzealand #darranmountains #fiordlandnationalpark #thedarrans #moirsmate #cleddauvalley #milfordroad #newzealandclimbing #gertrudevalley #southlandnz

Alpine rock climbing adventures in the Darran Moun

Alpine rock climbing adventures in the Darran Mountains, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand.
I had a great week there in early March with Liam Dangerfield.

Routes climbed: Lucky Strike (7p, 20), Mechanical Failure (4p, 23), Pipe Dreams (10p, 21), Eureka (4p, 20), and the East Ridge of Mt Talbot 🗻 Failed on Vindaloo (4p, 22, sandbag 🤔) and made a mess of my leg.

We also had a fantastic bivvy on the summit of Mates Little Brother.

ℹ️ All these routes are in the new @nz_alpine_club Darran Mountains Rock guide just launched last week.

#darranmountains #alpinerock #nzclimbing #rockclimbing #fiordlandnationalpark #climbingrocks

I've camped above the treeline in many places arou

I've camped above the treeline in many places around the world. But in the Southern Alps, the tussocks, tarns, tone of the land and the densely forested ranges make 'tops' camping a distinctly New Zealand experience.

Sometimes it starts with spotting some tarns on a map. With the seed for a potential campsite sown, you walk all day, perhaps from the glacial blue of a river, up through the bush on an impossibly steep spur. A tussle with subalpine scrub earns you easier travel on fine screes of schist and basins of golden grass.

Valleys lost in dark shadow and warming light around you signal the end of the day. The tarns are spotted. Tents pitched. Water collected. There's no other humans in sight - maybe not even within a day's walk. If you've timed it right you can wander, unburdened, perhaps with a camera in hand, and take it all in as the sun sinks into the Tasman.

Photos taken for @mountainjourneysnz during a guides training weekend - Central Westland, NZ.

#campingadventures #campingtrip #trampingnewzealand #trampingnz #purenewzealand #explorenewzealand #centralwestland #southernalps #exploreonfoot

Otso Fenrir Stainless / Great Southern Brevet Bike

This set of images (I'll post a couple more sets)

This set of images (I'll post a couple more sets) is from a @mountainjourneysnz guides' training weekend that I photographed during autumn 2024. Owner and chief guide Rob Frost got me onboard to document both the beautiful landscapes that Mountain Journeys undertakes its trips in, and also the type of terrain that these tops and trans-alpine trips cover, as well as the experience in general. Hanging out in the hills with this group of people for a weekend was a pleasure, and we got pretty lucky with the weather! 🌞🌑

Location: Waitaha Valley to Karnbach Ridge, Central Westland

Mountain Journeys specialise in guided off-track trans-alpine tramping in the Southern Alps.

#mountainjourneys #trampingnewzealand
#trampingnz #centralwestland #karnbachridge #newzealandnatural #newzealandpics

At 11:19am on Thursday, after a 325km final push t

At 11:19am on Thursday, after a 325km final push to Tekapo, I finished my first Great Southern Brevet in 5 days, 1hr, 49 min.

The GSB has been around since 2012, but this year was finally my chance to have a crack at it. After @tourtewaipounamu , no other NZ bikepacking event inspires me the way that GSB does.

The prominent inland ranges of Otago and Southland defined this course, with the 1108km/18000m elevation circuit taking in Black Forest Station, Little Omarama Saddle, Thomsons Gorge, Pisa Range, Old Woman Range, Nevis Valley, Old Man Range, Rough Ridge, Rock & Pillar Range, Danseys Pass and Hakataramea Pass. Any one of these is a worthy, if not classic, mountain bike/bikepacking route, but to link them all together in one go is to see the best dirt road high country riding on offer in NZ. The diversity is such that at times I was back in Argentina, or on the Peru Divide once again.

But linking these ranges means exposing yourself to whatever weather is the order of the day, which this year involved the worst conditions I've been in on a bike on the Pisa, as four of us were hit by a brief but intense rain and snow storm on the summit; then there were squalls and snow drifts on the Old Woman Range and gale winds on the Old Man and Rock & Pillar Ranges. It rained often too. I slept between 3-4 hours each night, except the last, tried to stop as little as possible each day, but at the same time tried to look after my body at the resupply opportunities in small towns.

In this event I only had two days where I felt good all day: day 1 & day 4. The rest were a struggle with energy flow. At times I hated it, but ground on, but there were moments, hours and those two days where I was right where I wanted to be and was loving it. You have to take the bad with the good in these things and just focus on constantly moving forward, no matter how slow you think you are going. It's the definition of type 2 fun. It always amazes me how you can tolerate and manage pain and exhaustion for days, and then a few hours after it's all over declare that it was 'the best thing ever!'

Thanks to Matt Hughes and others for bringing this event together 🙏

Heading from Port Levy to Pigeon Bay to bag a few

Heading from Port Levy to Pigeon Bay to bag a few more dead end peninsula roads. Our project for the spring & summer is to ride every road that we haven't previously explored - and despite a good few years of riding out there, it's quite a lot of roads and they're mostly out-and-backs from high ridges to the sea, or from sea level up lonely valleys.📍#explorebybicycle #bankspeninsula #cyclingmotivation

A beautiful spring Sunday exploring more of Banks

A beautiful spring Sunday exploring more of Banks Peninsula. This spring we're aiming to ride the rest of the roads we haven't checked out yet. Most of these are big descents on dead end roads, but so often the trip's worth it with some remote Banks Peninsula sights, history and rugged coastline to see. This time is was Stony Bay, from Akaroa.

#bankspeninsula #explorebybicycle #cyclingnewzealand #canterburynz

📢 Don't forget to enter the draw to win a @biga

📢 Don't forget to enter the draw to win a @bigagnes_ Rapide SL sleeping mat and a copy of the Bikepacking & Off-road Cycle Touring Guide e-book!

Head over our feed post 'Bikepacking Giveaway' to enter.

🚴 To enter:
1. Follow both: @highluxphoto & @gearshopnz
2. Tag at least one friend in the comments. 1 tag is 1 entry; you may enter multiple times but a different account must be tagged each time.

For 3 extra entries, share this post to your Instagram story. You must tag @highluxphoto and @gearshopnz in the Instagram story for your extra entries to count.

The prize consists of 1 Rapide SL Sleeping Mat Regular and the Bikepacking & Off-Road Cycle Touring Guide (e-book). The total is valued at $500.

This competition starts on the 23rd of August 2024 at 4.30pm and closes on the 09/09/24 at 10 pm NZT and one winner will be notified within two days of closing. Keep an eye on your DMs,

The giveaway is open to anyone living in New Zealand.

The prize can’t be exchanged.

This giveaway is organised by Gearshop, please contact 0800 432 774, if any problems.

This competition is not in any way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Instagram or Facebook.

#bikepacking
#biketocamp
#explorebybicycle
#bikepacknewzealand
#bikepackinglife

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© 2025 Highlux Photography. Mark Watson

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Alaska to Patagonia
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