Patrick Lam

Thoughts and travels of Patrick Lam

Our First Great Walk: the Heaphy Track

Finally, part 1. Part 2: Pohatu Penguins. Part 3: Arthur’s Pass and the TranzAlpine. Part 3b: BreakFree on Cashel. All the pictures: gallery Introduction As soon as the Great Walks bookings opened after lockdown, we thought we would sign up for at least one, to see what they were like. At this point I can’t remember why, but we chose the Heaphy Track as our first Great Walk. This is the longest great walk at 82km, and we would be doing it in the middle of the “winter”, sharing the track with mountain bikes.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Saturday, September 5, 2020

The TranzAlpine and a day at Arthur's Pass

Here’s the third part of this South Island trip. Part 1: Heaphy Track. Part 2: penguins, Mount Sunday, and Christchurch. Part 3b: BreakFree on Cashel. On my list of “things to check for re-opening” was New Zealand railway trips. So when I saw that the TranzAlpine was re-opening for $75 winter fares, I talked MP into a trip from Christchurch. Like the Heaphy, this trip leaves you far away from where you started, and on the wrong side of the Southern Alps.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Saturday, August 22, 2020

Pohatu Penguins at Akaroa, Mount Sunday, and Christchurch

Our South Island trip had three distinct components, so it makes sense to post about them separately. This is part 2. Part 1: Heaphy Track. Part 3: Arthur’s Pass and the TranzAlpine. Part 3b: BreakFree on Cashel. Full galleries at https://gallery.patricklam.ca/index.php?/category/1227. July 10: French-themed day in Canterbury More pictures from July 10 After a big day on July 9th, finishing the Heaphy Track and getting to the suburbs of Christchurch, we were scheduled to go see penguins in Akaroa with Pohatu Penguins.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Friday, July 24, 2020

BreakFree on Cashel (Christchurch): A Review

tl;dr Exceeded expectations. Great value-for-money. Related Work See also Yotel: A Review, a stay in AMS Schiphol Yotel back in 2016 after a conference. Staying near the bus stop For our night between getting off the TranzAlpine round trip and taking the 7am-bus-then-ferry back to Wellington, we wanted a place close to the bus stop. The BreakFree was as close as you could get (3 minute walk), and also cheap, at C$63 (NZ$70) for an “Inner Urban Double”.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Moderate multi-pitch in New Zealand, March 11, 2020

On our previous trip to the South Island we stayed around Wanaka cragging and hiking. Although the Darrens were still washed out during our visit, The Remarkables feature some multipitch climbing. In particular, our borrowed Queenstown guidebook listed a dozen climbs above Lake Alta (aka Dimrill Dale). We’d go to Lake Alta and then up to Double Cone and find a moderate climb. To Lake Alta Alpine starts are well advised but difficult, especially after riverboarding the previous day, having dinner in Queenstown with Waterloo students on exchange, and getting back to our Frankton airbnb at 9pm.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Tuesday, April 21, 2020

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Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo; patrick.lam@uwaterloo.ca

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