So yesterday it was off to the ‘Heights Of Winter’ – a 12 hour orienteering event. It a rogaine you’re given a map with lots of checkpoints dotted all over it each of which has a score (10,20,30 ->100 points) associated with it. Checkpoints which are further away / more awkward / require good navigation – are worth more points.

So L->R Me, Franklin, Andy and Kirsty

headed off to do the best we could! I must admit, I was beginning to wonder after about the first 10 minutes when we were struggling up this matagauri infested steep slope…

..whether I had the staying distance. Well, not really, I’m a masochist at heart, but I will be picking thorns out of my hands for weeks. Matagauri is the fairly innocuous looking grey shrubs in that picture. It’s a very tough, very spikey bush. And a lot of the course (I thought ;) was covered in the stuff. Still, more of an incentive to move quickly and get to the top.

Or something.

Still, it was lots of fun cruising around the course. You can see our initial plan on this map (dark blue thin line – only as far as 52 as we were going to see how we were doing!)), and also the route we took (sky-blue line)

As you can see, we looped back through the start. If you were seriously competing in the event that would be suicide.. but I felt a gazillion (or two) times better after getting serious quantities of bread + soup into me.

There were some nice views along the way though

And at the end we all got a hearty meal! which always tastes so great after hiking for 12 hours.

They had these ‘funky gizmotrons‘ (technical term) for keeping track of which points you’d visited. Each team had a sort of magnetic (I guess) penny-sized object, and at each checkpoint held some sort of RF? writer up to it,?! no idea, but it encoded the time at which you’d visited the checkpoint. It was all very quick and very clever. So at the end of the event, after you’d handed back in the gizmotron, there was an instant readout of each of the points you’d visited (and the times you’d got there). I really thought it was super clever. This particular system designed by a local guy… I believe there are similar systems – but it would be great for adventure racing teams etc.. real potential there.

So yes, thanks (though I wasn’t saying it at the time ;) hehe, to Andy and Kirsty for the invite…

So a few other interesting things (if you’ve made it this far!)

Store Wars is a really funny little flash animation. All about fruit ‘n veg wars between Organic Foods and Evil Supermarket Clones (he’s more chemical than potato now Luke ;) Chewbacca is a cauliflower… honestly.. it’s really funny!!

On a mostly sadder note – very odd (and not suitable for mum…) is postsecret.blogspot.com. People send in postcards to an address with a secret on them. And he puts the cards on the internet. Mostly quite sad though.

On a far happier note – organised the wine + glasses for my mulled wine party on Friday week. Co-incidently (not) the day my friend Lorcan arrives from Ireland. It’s going to be an excellent party (I hope). Also – on Wednesday an college friend – Emma Bartlete) is going to be in town.. twill be fun to catch up over a pint or two. And then on Thursday morning fly up to Auckland for a work function – same as last year. Got quite hammered on really excellent wine (and accompanying food). Though I think it’ll be tamer this year. And then taking a couple of days off and heading up to Northlands to explore that part of the country. Only major area I’ve not visited of NZ yet (other than Dunedin). Though there’s still so much to see and do.

At the weekend Mhairi and I managed to get off to Rotorua, to do a little bit of climbing, and we also to see The Motorcycle Diaries about Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara travelling about with his friend Alberto Granado – which made him the man he became. Good film.

On the way we made my first trip to a driving range.

Got a bucket of 100 golf balls and off we went.. I was pleasantly surprised every time the ball flew nicely.. which it did a bit actually. I think Mhairi was surprised. I don’t think it’ll ever be a game I get into – but it is something I could do from time to time – on a nice hot summers day (with no wind!!)

In fact,on Tuesday, Danny – the brother of Dean (one the members of Mhairis adventure racing team) and I went out for a round of golf.

155 strokes later I was finished on the 18th hole! Definitely happy with my first attempt.

And then Wed back down to ChCh. Flew out from Auckland.. I stupidly didn’t check if it was possible to fly into Whakatane… it is.. and only costs $5 more. Would have saved a nice 8 hour driving round trip for mb (thanks so much for the lift!)

It was great being up on the N.Island, really had a great time, and it was lovely to be warm again – and to see the sun! ChCh has been quite cold of late.

Came back to a very nice surprise though – and this (to me) is a classic example of how different NZ is. I came back to quite a few bills – and a letter from the IRD (inland revenue department). My heart sank. Until I opened the letter. They – the tax department – had written to me (without any prompting) telling me that they wanted to cut me a cheque for $440 .. if that was ok with me… Today I called up – and their totally automated telephone system (one of those ones you can talk to) took me through the process – and a cheque is on the way. Whole process of calling up -> hanging up took about 1 minute. Maybe I’m missing something.. but does it happen in other countries where the tax department writes you a letter to tell you that they owe you money – and make it so simple that it takes 1 minute to get the cash?!

I know, another pro-nz rave.. but there you go. I’m a resident now, have to be true to the cause.

During the week Mhairi works as a tennis coach by day

for the local tennis club. Lucky people to have such a great coach methinks. It was horrific. I went along one evening, and had a knock up against a 10 year old. Alec I think was her name. Fortunately we didn’t play any sets.. I don’t think my ego could have taken the crushing defeat. Amazing…. I’ll definitely be sticking to squash!

And by evening, or quite a few of them, she works with a fun bunch of workmates (and regulars) in the local Irish Bar – ‘The Craic’)

I’m not entirely sure how she managed to get the job, but that’s a pic of Mhairi and her boss Tony.

One evening – the night the Lions were beaten 19:13 by the NZ Maori team, we headed out for a going away party for Mikey – one of the guys who worked in the craic – but is now moving on to manage a country club!

He and the other guy in that pic Peter Paul said they’d dress up in the garb of their countrymen for the party.. and they did come as typical locals.. a nice new lions top vs ripped poly pro and Marino sweaters + jeans..

Great party.. even had a pool table. I’m totally getting one of them if I ever get a house with enough space. And a table-tennis table that I can put on top.. sweet!

So headed up to the N.Island for a week. As I am leaving NZ in August (though looks like just for about 6 months and then back again for another 6 or so..) I have quite a lot of work to do in order to hand over all my work to another company. I’m probably repeating myself here.. but hey.. indulge me ;)

So – I kinda had all this documentation to get done. And I kinda suggested that it didn’t really make any difference where I did it.. In fact, I suggested it might be better if I could do it free from distractions.. well.. a few anyway ;)

So this ..

was my office for the week… a mobile, a laptop, a stunning view from Jims house (a friend of Ms. Brown that she’s currently living with) and my trusty mp3 player.

perfect.

Well, it’s the queens birthday weekend – a bank holiday weekend. Last year it was off with Steve & Yvonne and Warrick and Michelle to Mt. Cook to do some rock climbing. This year, it was again denizons of the ‘Worzal Gummage Mansion’ (as Dave Aubrey has dubbed the house), off on another trip.

This time it was North – up through Lewis pass to go hiking to Lake Christabel.

We left on Saturday evening, and stayed the nights at a place called Sylvia Flats, just about 8km short of Maruia Springs. At Sylvia flats there are natural hotpools,

and there ended up being 10 of us soaking in the hot pools (nicely candlelit – with the stars coming out). A lovely way to spend the evening.

The next morning – Aroha, Luke, Esther and I were going to walk in a harder way – up over the mountains and down to the hut. As there’d been quite a lot of snow recently, and we weren’t quite happy enough with the conditions – we elected to walk into the hut the normal way (along the river valley). Not the most exciting of walks.. but it was pretty. Lots of cute birds.. ;)

And some pretty spectacular reflections in the lake – if only it had been blue skies. It’s a funny place really, there was a (massive) landslide – oh – a few hundred (at least) years ago – and it totally blocked off the valley – and formed this massive lake. The river itself has lots of logs all over the place. Warrick pointed out that the reason they’ve not been washed out (as they usually wood be ;)) was because the stream is fed by an underground outlet from the lake, so it doesn’t flood.

Then it was onto the hut. I was quite ready to be there when we arrived – I’ve not been finding the tramping as easy as I used to!! Dunno why. There were 6 others there.. coupled to our 8 (in a 10 bunk hut).. it was a good thing we’d brought two tents! It was funny, there were 14 of us – and I was the only non kiwi there. This is pretty unusual really – certainly never happened to me before. And I kinda liked it :) Maybe I am going native.

The hut book (which went back to the early 80s) had a pretty funny page in it – some ppl were complaining about the state of the track – and others were slagging them off..

Played cards in the evening – Beany – a favourite of Warricks. It was funny, I just won the last time we played (a year ago) and did again, by 5 points.. It’s a good game – quite like gin-rummi – except that anyone can play at any time.. fun game.

This pic of most of the group was taken at the lake on the walk out.

(L->R Warrick,Guy,Esther,Sue,Aroha and Luke)

It was great that we had pretty good weather on the way out – the sun through the mossy trees was spectacular. I’m afriad this pic does it absolutely no justice at all!

Another soak in the hotpools – and then back to ChCh. A fun weekend all in all.