Grade Two White Water Kayak Course

$25 per night accommodation, unheard of in New Zealand.  But for anyone on Canoe & Kayak courses in Taupo you can stay at Bradshaw’s Lodge for $25 including cereal for breakfast.  They also have some cool looking apartments at the back that they look after on behalf of another company.  These apartments are new and would be great for anyone over the age of 30 years who wants to avoid the noise from the younger crowd at the Lodge.

Canoe & Kayak in Taupo are a great outfit, they definitely put the brand back on the map as far as I am concerned after my dealings with the Wellington store.

The first day we spent the morning drowning ourselves in the hot pools upside down in white water boats.  Then we took these boats to the river from the control bridge down to Reid’s Farm to learn further paddling and rescue techniques.

The next day and weekend were also spent in this section of the river, practising techniques and drowning ourselves.

Then we got to head to the Mokaha for our first taste of white water and rapids – it was fun, but freezing!

The third and final weekend was spent doing our assessment in the Mohaka for our swimming techniques and then in the Tongariro for some faster fuller rapids.  Now that was a fun day!

Needless to say the three of us passed – Phew!

Personalised Number Plates

Craig and I received a cool gift for Craig’s 40th birthday in January from his mum – personalised number plates for our cars!

Grant at Personalised Plates was fantastic to deal with, great sense of humour and ability to come up with plate options.

If you want to know what they are you will have to email me and ask

They actually take three weeks to be made, they are digitally printed in Australia and then made into plates back in New Zealand.  And as Grant says, ‘not by prison inmates’.

They look great on the cars.

Thanks Diane

xxx

Tineli Bikewear Rainbow Rage MTB Race 2009

It had to be done, even though it is considered a family ride, it really isn’t like that out there on the track, it is everyone for themselves!

Four of us ventured down to Blenheim on Friday for a early start on Saturday morning to ride 106km’s from St Arnaud to Hanmer Springs via private farm tracks.

The late arrival of portable toilets meant everyone was peeing and doing number twos in the trees.  The tree section was starting to smell like a toilet.  I wouldn’t want to be that farmer.  The toilets turned up 10minutes before the start of the race – pointless.

I had a gromet say I was a machine on the up hill to Iron Saddle as I bombed the hill passed everyone.  Pity I am not like that on the down hill!

I came 4th in my class, it should have been 3rd but I was such a girl on the down hill on the gravel and got passed near the end – Grr! There were about 650 entrants. Check out the Tineli Bikewear Rainbow Rage for results and information.

It was nice to have a plate full of food that had been prepared for riders after the event and a relaxing swim in the Hanmer Hot Springs.

Photo’s of us prior and after the race.  Then during the race.

Would I do it again?  I do not think so, too bumpy for this kid!   The experience was great but the butt ache from the continuous water ruts along the track are not worth a second look … or maybe they are from a 4WD as that is what you would need for a slightly more comfortable ride.

The scenery was beautiful, the dramatic hills lining the valley you rode up along side a fresh river that you could still drink from was worth the pain once.

Martinborough Fair

We are full as bulls, we have just spent the last one and a half hours eating our way around Martinborough’s Fair.  They hold two fairs each summer on the first Saturday of February and March in Martinborough’s square.

I had not been for a few years so it was a nice surprise to see how big it has grown with stalls now spreading down the streets from the main square.

As the new age is to have organic goods and the home grown and home made household items are all vogue it definitely explains why the fairs around New Zealand are growing.

It is worth visting even if only once to experience something truly New Zealand.  And on hot days the nearby river is full of families swimming after a long day walking around the fair sampling and buying goodies.

Wicked Weekend in Melbourne

It was a fabulous long weekend in Melbourne; just what the doctor ordered.

After what felt like a bad start with queues in the airport, delays on take off and a long flight the weekend completely spun around and it was go go go all the way.

We had a lovely dinner at Spaghetti Tree the first night; a traditional old Italian restaurant on Bourke Street in the CBD.

As we were staying at the Hilton on the Park I had a couple of runs in the nearby Fitzroy Gardens a few mornings which provided a nice change from my usual hilly route at home.  I did have to sprint around the paths a few times though to get my heart rate up.

The Melbourne Zoo is a must see attraction if you haven’t been before.  The highlights for me were the Butterfly House, the Frog’s, the Wombat sleeping on its back with its paws up in the air, the baby Orang-utans and the Tree Monkeys.  There were many more delights but these stood out to me as being a little different.  You need a good four hours to walk the whole complex.  It is a good idea to take in a picnic if you don’t mind dragging a trolley case behind you like most of the locals with children tended to do.

Then it was back to the Hilton for a quick rest before dinner and a show – Wicked!  The prequel to The Wizard of Oz; how the wicked witch came to be.  It was a brilliant stage show with a clever script and intricate costumes and stage sets.  I particularly liked the Emerald City and the green skin of the wicked witch.

We also ventured to the Queen Victoria Markets for brunch and a nosey around the deli and bakery stalls.

The free City Circle Tram is a must if you need to get from one side of Melbourne central to another.  There are numerous stops along the route.

One night found us sitting in the Treasury Gardens amongst other Japanese enthusiasts watching Japanese dances and martial artists perform whilst eating Japanese Cuisine.  (or in our case, delights from the market deli’s)

It was a 4:30am rise on Monday morning to head out for a hot air balloon ride over Melbourne with the original hot air balloon company in Melbourne, Balloon Sunrise.  It was magical!  The head pilot let off a helium filled balloon with a red light attached so we could watch and follow the wind directions.  For us it was to be a flight from north to south staying under 2000m to avoid a circling 747 400 that was waiting to land.

The view was stunning from far hills to the rising sun, the rowers in the river, the MCG, the dry parks, the old Victorian style homes and the water front boulevards to our landing spot in Albert Park where the F1 Grand Prix will be held.  We did a loop of the track in the van before we departed – very funny.

Apparently there is no motion sickness with ballooning; but I couldn’t tell you if there was or not as I had taken a Piahia Bomb prior to be safe.

All through the Sydney to Hobart race the sailors were all going on about Krispy Kreme Doughnuts so we had to try one – yucky!  Never again.

Chadstone shopping mall was quite a nice surprise as far as malls go with the high end fashion stores David Jones, Meyers etc all within it.  It was a pleasant experience with lovely cafes and deli’s.

Other malls you might want to check out for bargins are the DFO’s throughout Melbourne (and Australia) suburbs; great for sports gear.

Ah… another brilliant weekend.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Yes!  I have been dying to do the Tongariro Crossing walk for years but never been able to convince anyone to do it with me.

The whanau from Brisbane emailed saying that it was on the agenda for them when they visited New Zealand in February and did anyone want to come along.  I was in!

A quick four hour drive up to Howard’s Lodge at Whakapapa Village to meet the others and I was ready to go.

We had dinner at the newly painted Speights Bar – quiet place during the week, big meals, perfect for before and after a days hike.

Weather forecast was looking good the night before but when I woke up and saw the clouds and felt the rain I was a little disappointed.

This, however, did little to deter the hoards of other walkers who set off up the mountain for the day.  There were bus loads of people.

We started out at a very fast walk to get in front of a few slow pokes then as we hit the staircase our pace dropped off just a fraction.

I was horrified at how unprepared some of the walkers were, no warm clothing wearing street shoes thinking it was a friendly tarmac walk.

The view was nonexistent for majority of the morning all the way up to the saddle.

We decided to venture up Tongariro as it was only an extra 1.5 hours.  It was good to do but we could not see five metres in front of us.  The cloud was very thick and heavy.

We snapped off a few photos of us at the top with no view as a back drop and ducked back down the hill a little for shelter while we ate our lunch at 9:30am – breakfast seemed like hours ago.

As we cleared the top of the saddle again we felt the strong winds which I might add were helping blow the clouds away. Finally, we had a view of the mountain valley below us and stunning views of the three sulphur Emerald lakes in the crater.

For such a baron environment it was actually quite pretty.  Lots of colours and striking rock formations.

There was one lone rock to the side of track that had toilet written on it as when Jacqui and went for a pee behind it there was toilet paper and all sorts behind there – yucky!

We then found out later on once we had continued further up the track that everyone from both ends of the track would have seen our bare butts behind the rock.

One last scan of the scenery behind us then it was downhill to the car park where we were greeted by our pick up amongst a good hundred more other walkers waiting for their buses.

Back to the lodge for a quick shower and hot spa before the bus loads arrived back.

Another pub meal and bed after a nice long days walk.

Definitely need to get up there again soon to catch the views from atop of Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe.  Maybe running as part of my training for the Coast to Coast race 2010.

Craig’s 40th Birthday Bash 2009

We are all currently getting over a huge weekend for Craig’s 40th.

We had an influx of guests over the weeks prior and after, all of whom were very helpful and fun to have around.

The Kiwiana themed party was a hit with majority of guests getting into costume and having a good time.

A recently formed band Midnight Special were fantastic and are playing at a friends 50th birthday this weekend as well.  A very talented guitarist.

Throughout the night there was costume swapping and I hope that was all?!  Boys in netball skirts, mini’s and ball gowns was a bit of a worry.

The band finished at 2am and we continued dancing away until 4:30am, by then everyone was over tired and dreading getting up for the after match BBQ that day.

The chocolate cake by The Chocolate Cake Company was very yummy!  The only thing that was disappointing was their decorating skills, they could be a bit better, very rough.

It was the first time I have managed to relax and not run around cleaning everything.  There were enough people hanging out in the kitchen and house to assist.

I am still getting everything back to normal for the next influx of visitors but all in all I think he is a happy boy with his weekend where he was the king pin.

Brisbane Prior to the Delivery

Ern convinced me to change my flight ticket and spend my four extra days in Brisbane rather than hanging around Airlie Beach.

Wise move as I had loads more fun than I would have had up there. Drinking and hanging out at marina’s isn’t quite my thing.

We did a 17km trek up in the hills south of Brisbane crossing over the river numerous times.

The creatures were all out today, the leeches every few steps were creeping me out.  That is one creepy crawly I do not like.

Near the end two snakes were lying in the path, one that we had to scare away before we could pass by.

We also spotted a nice fat shiny black skink, very rare.  There were birds that cried like human babies, a weird noise to hear in the bush.

Overall a fantastic day in the bush with fun people.

The next day we cycled around the Redcliff peninsula, a quick way to site see and venture further.

Then a balmy day was spent relaxing by the pool, eating etc until my flight to Proserpine.

Where I arrived at a bar that was being stood up by a crowd of rowdy men that had been there for four hours already – my crew mates…

Welcome to Ocean Sailing.

We Are Off!!

Sitting in the CYC waiting for 1000hrs to roll around – that is when we hit the water to make our way through the hundreds of spectator boats to the start line.  As we pass by the committee boat we have to raise our storm sails for our last piece of compliance.  They are bright orange for the novices out there

We then jockey for the best position on the start line for a 1300hrs bang!

Merit has 28 vessels faster than it but we are third fastest in our category.  So, a finish in the top 30 will be good for the Telco team.  Merits fastest crossing is 52 hours and we have one of the crew from that trip three years ago, Wellsy.  Our crew is experienced, Watto has done 11 Hobart’s, Wellsy three and Eric one.  They have all known each other for years and have been enjoying catching up with each other over the last few weeks – that’s rum and beer.

Weather for this trip is a northerly for two days so we hope to make as much time over the water during this period before the southerly hits us.  Lets hope it doesn’t come early – cross your fingers.

The big boats, Maxi’s are all hoping for PB and Wild Oats XI is picking to beat its record from last year – that’s four in a row.

Well, out for now, some sailing to be done – I am sure there will be a team meeting at some stage now that the skipper has finally turned up.

Our team and boat is the rat bag looking crew of the marina - Scruffs from out back.

Here’s to the 64th Sydney to Hobart – cin cin

The marina is starting to fill up with media and spectators.  The crews are all eating their last cooked breakfast for a few days and having their last hot shower.

Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race 2008

Oh yeah!

Off to Whitsunday’s on Saturday to deliver the old Merit 60′ Volvo yacht to Sydney for the Sydney to Hobart race Boxing Day.

Ah ha!

Leave Whitsunday’s 7th December to reach South Port Yacht Club 15th December for the start of the preliminary race.  This is required for entry in to the main race.

Most of the professional crew join the boat here as we head down to Sydney, reaching port on the 20th December.

We have five days of practise and sponsorship commitments until Boxing day, 1PM – race day!

Our sponsor is Telcoinabox Merit, with a crew of 16, 8 being professional and the rest people like me and sponsors.

If you want to keep track of how well we are or aren’t sailing use the tracker on the Rolex Sydney Hobart site.

We plan on being in Hobart 29th December in time for a New Year’s party down under.