One Girl's World

Mt Taranaki Easter trip

2009-04-13T15:47:00.010+12:00

Just back in Auckland after a weekend with friends climbing Mt Taranaki. The weather was perfect and with a drop of snow and little wind we hiked up to the summit successfully... See these views. Fell in love with the 'naki' and I'm already planning my next hike around the mountain this winter. We discovered the fastest way down was sliding on our arses, bliss. We made a whole day of it, eating

A quote from Nelson Mandela

2009-04-07T10:38:00.004+12:00

A quote that has been on my mind this week:“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing

Invisible children update

2009-03-31T10:39:00.003+13:00

Just watched a moving 30 minute movie which is a follow up of the invisible children movie released a few years ago. It follows the efforts of people and leaders all over, trying to free thousands of child soldiers in Uganda. Its a genuine project that is gaining momentum and hearts around the world. Click below to watch the movie and follow it:

Falling at 200km per hour

2009-03-30T16:21:00.002+13:00

Yesterday I scored a deal and took to the skies over Taupo in a miniature plane. I did a sky dive from 15000 feet and it was one of the most exhilarating yet peaceful experiences of my life. 60 seconds of freefall that seemed to go so fast yet so slow. It was the most beautiful day with only a few clouds so I could see from Mt Taranaki to Mt Ruapehu to Napier on the East coast... incredible!

Linear

2009-03-05T13:15:00.004+13:00

I just bought the new U2 album 'No Line on the Horizon' - Deluxe edition from itunes. It was released worldwide this week. It sure lives up to U2's standards and comes with a 58minute video with their feature 'Linear'. It's a biker's paradise, I haven't even finished watching it all and it has already taken me to another place... speaking of bikes, I just passed my restricted motorcycle licence.

Back to normalcy or is normality (the dictionary says normalcy is viewed as an uneducated american's alternative to normality... I'm not too fussed)

2009-02-28T10:39:00.006+13:00

Once again, it's been a while since I wrote. New Year's resolution: Keep up to date on this thing. With a new imac in tow that'll be much easier than my nomadic life of the summer. I spent my summer in Waiouru doing a bit of work/training in the Army on a couple courses, all good fun. I'm back into the swing of study now, ahh the blissful freedom of a student's life. In my opinion this year,

This is worth a mention

2008-10-03T18:13:00.003+13:00

“It is extraordinary to me that you can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can’t find $25 billion to save 25,000 children who die every day of preventable treatable disease and hunger.” -BonoWhere are the 1st worlds' priorities these days? I know this quote may sound simplistic and the Wall Street bailout will also help thousands of families from losing a bunch of money

Last moments captured

2008-09-07T13:49:00.014+12:00

On my last day in Edinburgh I got to meet up with some good kiwi friends, Craig & Linda. This photo has the Edinburgh castle in the background. It's an enormous castle that is able to be seen all over the city.

Edinburgh in 3 days

2008-09-05T06:32:00.007+12:00

I've done a fair amount of walking with my brother around the city of Edinburgh over the last couple of days. I'm off to check out some of what Scotland has to offer in way of laughs at a comedy night now. Here's a couple photos from our wandering. This was from the top of Arthur's Seat overlooking the city. Nathanael climbing all thats left of an old chapel halfway up Arthur's Seat. Amongst

Me & my little big bro

2008-09-01T19:55:00.003+12:00

A precious moment from yesterday... he's trying not to look like he's straining carrying me!

Dubai suprise

2008-08-31T04:27:00.004+12:00

I was meant to have an hour stopover in Dubai at midnight for the plane to refuel...3hrs later I was sent off to a lavish hotel for the remainder of the night and to wait until the aircraft engineers could find a bit of the plane they were missing - who knows what bit or when it fell off! I had an experience I could never afford myself as we were given buffet meals at the Arabian Park Hotel and a

medals for the kiwis

2008-08-21T08:47:00.002+12:00

I must say I got a bit of a suprise this morning when I looked at the medals per capita table in the NZ Herald. NZ is ranked 2nd behind Slovenia! Now, I'm guessing Slovenia is one of those countries to rake them in with some tiny gymnast girls that look half their age but thats still impressive for Slovenia. We have 9 medals all up at this stage and a few more prospectives... I will be watching

the things we come up with

2008-07-14T17:18:00.002+12:00

Cup stacking. At first I thought it was a 'cool party trick' some friend of mine had come up with but no, this is serious, competitive and a world-wide phenomenon!Unbelievable - it really astounds me the things that humans find to do for entertainment and to prove our skills in the most obscure activities. I'm not sure if it was some bored waiter that came up with this sport but it is taking over

Dictator Hunter

2008-05-22T23:31:00.002+12:00

I went out tonight with a friend and watched a couple of Human Rights Festival Films. As a pleasant surprise following the films there was a panel discussion with an Auckland Uni lecturer in Human Rights and a promiment engineer originally from Mali. The film was amateur in terms of the camera work and narrative but the story itself (in doco style) is intriguing... about a man committed to

Material things

2008-04-23T17:48:00.003+12:00

This is a cute little clip from Oxfam to remind us about how much STUFF we really need and the effect it has on the rest of the planet... dedicated to all my fellow hoarders out there. Be human

100km later

2008-04-09T19:22:00.003+12:00

I took part in the Oxfam 100km Trailwalker fundraising event in the weekend. Good fun, challenge and the scenery was absolutely stunning... We took 21.43 hours, ran a bit and hobbled a bit too after the knee pains kicked in at 80k!

Tongariro Crossing. One year later

2008-03-30T17:22:00.003+13:00

Less than a year after my previous shot at the Tongariro Crossing I decided I was overdue for another walk of the famous crossing. This time I went with a group of 17 although we all split up into our various paces... Tackling the scree up Ngarahoe was an adventure in itself, I discovered there was a faster route up the solid rocks - duh Anna! The view was fantastic, I ran the round rim of the

Earth Hour

2008-03-27T20:03:00.003+13:00

I heard about this sacred Earth hour and think it's a pretty cool idea, 1 hour doesn't achieve an awful lot when I think about it but at the same time it makes some sort of statement that we are aware of how we're treating the planet and it's in the little things like turning off our lights where we can affect our environment collectively. 29.03.08 at 8pm Local TimeTurn off your lights. Do what

Stop Cluster BOMBS

2008-03-09T15:29:00.003+13:00

There's not a whole lot more to say than stop them! They indiscriminately destroy the lives of civilians and should be banned everywhere for ever. There's a good NZ site with a bit of education about their use and the NZ cluster munitions coalition. Click here to have a look.

Graduating

2008-02-21T12:35:00.008+13:00

I've just arrived back in Auckland after 7 weeks in Waiouru, a tropical holiday park in the centre of NZ... more like a desolate desert at altitude with no shortage of tussocks. Overall I had a great time, it was a fantastic group of people and I'm already missing it in a way. Graduation day consisted of a formal parade followed by a dinner and then the 'pinning of the pips' which is where I

Christmas and all that craziness....

2007-12-26T14:48:00.000+13:00

Firstly, I say the obligatory "Merry Christmas" to all my friends and whanau who have tuned into my blog over the year (as scarce as it has been). This will be my last post before I head off to kaikoura for a New Years family reunion then straight to Waiouru for the NZ Army TF Commissioning course. It'll be tough and I'm hoping my body doesn't pack out because its always a possibility with the

swimming in circles

2007-11-30T21:50:00.000+13:00

After a few injuries setting me back in my running ambitions I decided to take up swimming and a couple of weeks ago I thought the Auckland harbour swim would be a great little challenge. I didn't think it was such a great idea as I got into the water at Stanley bay but I gave it a go anyway! I swam in large zigzags across the harbour (it was meant to be straight but i was slightly disorientated)

Pinnacles

2007-10-24T15:09:00.000+13:00

I've heard about this tramp so many times and being the tramper I am it was criminal to not do it so on Sunday of labour weekend I latched onto a group going down from Auckland and did it. Apart from all the Aucklanders everywhere it was beautiful. It was incredibly windy up the top, we were clinging to the rocks to stay on - all good fun. In my view it was a bit of a tame tramp - short distance

Can't plug this enough

2007-10-17T19:06:00.000+13:00

If you haven't seen the dvd: invisible children then I would recommend you watch it before anything else - It'll open up your heart and mind to the real stories of thousands of kids in Uganda. I have cried everytime I've seen it and I'm not a movie crying kind of girl (honest).If you can't borrow it then get it here.

a bit of rock hugging... and climbing

2007-09-14T10:45:00.000+12:00

Saturday I hitched a ride with a few friends down to Wharepapa South for some climbing. I'm new to the rock climbing scene as I'm usually at indoor walls so it was fun to learn the ropes, haha im sorry, of setting up a climb outside. We climbed a few crags at Froggatt Edge and Bayleys Road. I'm busting to get back there and learn how to lead climb.

Ruapehu magic

2007-09-07T14:41:00.000+12:00

Thursday 0530 alarm buzzes, we drove down to the Mountain in anticipation as the sun rose to reveal the clearest blue sky yet this winter. Richard and I arrived at the end of the Bruce road at the base of the Whakapapa ski field around 11am. We changed into our gears feeling the heat of the sun would prevent the need for jackets and gloves... The air was so crisp and we began heading up the ski

diamonds

2007-09-05T13:46:00.000+12:00

I just watched the music video to a kanye west tune I've got on cd and its pretty powerful - watch Diamonds from Sierra Leone on youtube . Its on a similar theme to the film that came out last year - Blood Diamond. If you haven't seen that movie it's a must, great acting and so real it will cut you.I haven't been blogging much lately. Not that I haven't had stuff to blog on because I've been

Deep South Travels

2007-07-20T09:54:00.000+12:00

It's taken some time I know but I've finally got the photos form my South Island trip uploaded. 2 weeks ago my brother and I drove down all the way to Wanaka (and Dunedin) via National Park, Wellington, Blenheim and Christchurch. It was really nice spending some bro-sis time together after a few years and we discovered a new passion together - wine tasting. Here's a few photos featuring a

bed appreciation

2007-06-18T10:40:00.000+12:00

I want to post a big shout out of thanks: "THANKS" to all the wonderful friends who gifted money , time and muscle to the making and moving of my bed. Special mention to the builders and designers - Dave & Cam. It was a gift from a number of friends for my 22nd birthday and I love it! In fact I sleep on it every night I love it that much. Photo will follow as soon as I find where I packed my

the Tongariro crossing, another NZ masterpiece

2007-05-21T22:25:00.000+12:00

Last weekend 6 of us drove down to National Park to hike the Tongariro Crossing. On the Thursday before the weekend there were gale-force winds and rain, we took the risk and the morning we arrived at the start of the tramp it was clear skies as far as the eye could see. We could even see Mt Taranaki from the summit! The walk climbed up some steep rocks in the first couple of hours and then

Goodbyes

2007-05-17T08:28:00.000+12:00

I hate goodbyes. On Saturday I drove out to the airport to say goodbye to Cameron who flew to Japan to live and travel with his girlfriend, Michelle. I know they are going to have the time of their life travelling around Europe and elsewhere together. Here's a few photos of Cam I just uploaded... - Cameron going for a 'surf', read on for the full story... - Dave and Cameron - Cameron playing

The life and times

2007-04-17T09:13:00.000+12:00

Ahh, to be a student. I rewarded myself with a wee sleep in this morning. What for? Err. I've made it to Tuesday, thats a feat in itself surely? I'm really not that lazy!I spent the weekend at the Navy base in Devonport watching JOIST (Junior Officers Inter Service Tournament)- I think thats what it stands for anyways. It was great to catch up with my fellow officer cadets from Waiouru training

Tuesday afternoon

2007-04-03T17:01:00.000+12:00

I'm liking Daughtry today: have a listen

Pancakes

2007-03-15T08:49:00.000+13:00

It's morning. I've just cooked myself some of my best pancakes yet, I put cinnamon in the mixture as my special ingredient... adds a bit of spice. sorry i had to :oAs part of my morning routine I've been catching up on the world news on http://news.bbc.co.uk/. I'm disheartened to read about the Zimbabwe protest that got ugly, the opposition leader has been beaten up by the national police, what a

A new part of my life

2007-02-28T13:50:00.000+13:00

I've just returned from 6 weeks in sunny Waiouru, it was sunny too... sometimes too sunny as the DPM top I wore would be sticking to the sweat on my back, charming I know. I've just completed my initial offier training which has taught me the basics of the nz army soldiering skills. It was an intense time and there were days running up some big hill that I didn't know if I would make it to the

oh summer.

2007-01-03T11:12:00.001+13:00

Happy New Year readers! When the sun has decided to display it's glory i have been there with bells on... and I have the photos to prove it (go to my flicker badge for more). I spent New Years Eve at Hahei beach, raindancing on the beach and 4-wheel driving with friends through tracks around Tairua. What an wild experience, we took the angle-meter off the scale on the truck! I did a spot more

clockwork orange

2006-12-11T17:35:00.000+13:00

I started reading clockwork orange today and I'm a third of the way through already because its riveting. Anthony Burgess has invented tonned of words and his own grammar structure so the first few pages are nothing but confusing but once I got the hang of the style I can see the brilliant-ness of his writing. It's incredibly violent but still a crafty piece which I'm enjoying - will keep you

Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Tramp

2006-11-28T10:04:00.000+13:00

I'm 2 days back from tramping through the Kaimais and still feeling stiff in my calves, they know they've done some solid work up those steep climbs over tree roots and sloshing through knee deep mud. 10 of us set out from Auckland on Saturday morning and took the tramline along the river for a 3 hour stroll to the Waitawheta hut. It was easy grade with 6 river crossings which added some fun, we

U2 rocking Auckland

2006-11-27T10:21:00.000+13:00

Wow. U2 blew me over. What a powerful, spiritual experience friday night was. Mt Smart at Ericson stadium in Auckland, Aotearoa was host to the band of the century all the way from Ireland. My group managed to get into the front section where we stood about 3 metres from the stage where the Edge was playing. I loved the way the band made their own songs local by changing words to talk about

quick movie review

2006-11-19T09:59:00.000+13:00

I'm not in a wordy mood but here's my ratings on dvds and movies I have watched in the last few months: I"ve linked them to their official sites so you can watch the trailers and read up about them and see if the film might be in your interest.Enigma ***Nacho Libre **Jackass 2 **The Zookeeper ***Phonebooth ****V for Vendetta *****Tears of the Sun ***Basic *****Coffee and Cigarettes ***Pulp

counting down to vertigo

2006-11-19T09:43:00.001+13:00

5 days to go until the band of the century play at Ericson stadium and I am AMPING! As we try our best at guessing what the playlist will look like I'm wondering what the queue into the stadium for General Admission Tickets is going to look like, there's a lot of space on a rugby field that big, I could be standing 5 metres away or 50. Anyhow, wherever I'm standing with a bunch of friends this is

"V"

2006-11-15T15:29:00.000+13:00

I watched V for Vendetta for the second time last night with my flatmate. It was even better the second time because I could pay more attention to words that V spoke quickly and intelligently. I would really recommend this if you're in the mood for a more thought provoking movie although the storyline and action is good enough in itself.This politically loaded thriller protests the place of a

Nooma

2006-10-17T13:05:00.000+13:00

Despite the crazy name which I don't quite get- NOOMA is the new black in the emerging church. I have so far only seen a few of the dvds but I just discovered I can watch them online too, on a tiny windows media screen on the nooma.com website.001 Rain is my favourite. It is raw and honest, unafraid to acknowledge the mysteries of life and God. It spoke to my heart, with the story of how my God

Liberty and heaven

2006-10-12T20:33:00.000+13:00

It's been a while I know, but you can let your breath go and read on, I'm still in blogland.Today in my philosophy tutorial we were discussing John S. Mill and his theories on the rights and liberties that we hold according to his utilitarian principles. We started discussing true events that have happened and what right does anyone else have to interfer with someone's liberty to, say... harm

My new fad

2006-09-06T16:31:00.000+12:00

For some of you this comes as no shock at all yet I think I have managed to suprise myself somehow in my enthusiasm for my new fad: running. I've always convinced myself that I'm not a distance runner (and i still don't think that) so I've always done the 15minute run then given up more out of boredom than exhaustion but things are changing and with the help of some running partners I'm

Winter Sunset

2006-07-31T10:45:00.000+12:00

I forgot it was cold as the sun claimed the blue sky and I drove out to Muriwai with Michelle for a taste of the perfect swell. My personal photographer took a bunch of amazing photos in the setting sun. It's evenings like these that I feel alive and that little bit more in touch with the creator of this wonderland...

After the dump

2006-07-10T10:52:00.000+12:00

I spent a few days down in Turangi with a good friend. The mission: to relax, destress and fun. We arrived on Thursday afternoon just in time for the half metre dumping of snow that stranded punters up the mountain overnight! Thanks to our laziness we spent the afternoon in the thermal pools and instead spent the next day at the mountain just in time to enjoy the nights dumping and watch families

Winter nights on the couch

2006-06-28T22:47:00.000+12:00

Yes, I admit I have sucumbed to the laziness of winter evenings in a freezing flat and I ave resigned myself many a time to the couch with a glass of warming red wine and a dvd. Trying to make the most of my movieshack unlimited subscription that I accidently paid for!So here's a few star ratings for the films I have watched. out of 5 click the name for a

Taranaki Coast

2006-06-04T00:39:00.000+12:00

I took this at a Christian Surfers Easter Camp in Taranaki this year. I just uploaded it onto my computer and am using it as my desktop, I like the silohoute of the couple with a guitar through the mesh.How do you spell silohoute?? Thats a tricky one...

the things I like

2006-06-04T00:29:00.000+12:00

Just thinking about what I'm loving in life these last few weeks.Snowpatrol's new album (Eyes open)Surfing in crisp clear and cold winter waterWatching a DVD snuggled under blankets on the couchOil painting on my bedroom floor listening to Sigur RosDriving home in the early morning hours after a good night outChocolate self saucing puddingDreaming of adventures I could do as soon as exams are

Global Night Commute

2006-05-26T09:20:00.000+12:00

Finally, New Zealand is getting to take part in our own Global Night Commute - an event to raise awareness and protest the state of children in Uganda who walk miles everynight to avoid being kidnapped by the Lords Resistance Army where they are either killed or turned into soldiers.... it's not on - if you agree come to the GNC! Heres the details:AOTEA SQUARE 7PM27th May (Saturday)AGENDA:1)

Deep blue

2006-05-19T08:36:00.000+12:00

Wow. who made this planet, because I think they deserve a bit more credit!Last night I watched Deep Blue; a dvd best watched on a big screen with surround sound because the massive size of the creatures and seas and mountains as well as the intricite detail of the organisms in the sea will blow you away! It was crazy, I watched a nature documentary for goodness sake but it was the best movie I

Making it fair

2006-05-09T16:07:00.000+12:00

It's fairtrade fortnight - why it's a fortnight and not a week or a month I do not know but I do know that Fairtrade coffee is good quality coffee, you are not substituting quality of your espresso to give 3rd worlders a decent deal, so everyone wins. Drink Fairtrade only - Zigana and Scarborough Fair Medium Roast Espresso blends would be my recommendations. Drink, Drink, Drink up. (The Coffee I

A brand new start

2006-05-02T21:56:00.000+12:00

Welcome back to my blog folks, I seemed to have dropped off the end of blogland after my host server shutdown, sigh... so it's time to start again with a new address. Away with the squaremelon and onto the sunny skies of the 'cyber-beach.blogspot.com'Cyber-beach refers to my love of the beach, I love so much about it, the crashing waves, hot sand, sharp rocks, beautiful views, relaxed culture,

Running Free

2006-04-18T22:17:00.000+12:00

It's times like this last week when I wish that somehow my day couldelongate by another 3 hours - time enough to get everything done andstill get 8 hours sleep! The end is in sight though with a 4 day weekuntil easter, I'm going on a surf camp in taranaki… my treat after allthis madness.My friend emailed me this morning about this developing movementcalled "Parkour" or Free Running, I did a

Invisible Children

2006-04-04T19:20:00.000+12:00

Last year my friend from California sent me a dvd. I watched this dvdnumerous times and showed it to a friend - it opened up my eyes (andcompassion) to something I was otherwise completely oblivious to…. theinvisible children of Uganda. The film is still in rough cut and shows3 american guys who travel to Rwanda and end up in Uganda uncovering