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)

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, the student's profession is the pick of the crop as far as the recession is concerned. Why? Well, I'm not going to earn any more or less, student loans are still interest free so the rates are of no concern and I'll come out into the job market skilled up and ready to go. Only problem is if there's no job market to go into when I'm finished. Yes, minor point but I'm not one to fret.

I just found a mint site for nzers wanting to be proactive in reducing personal carbon emissions and get a bit more social cooperation going. Look at www.jayride.co.nz and browse around. You can click on your from/to location in NZ and it'll give you all the rides offered, some are good for commuting around the city and there's a few long hauls. Generally people are giving some really decent deals with trips from Auckland to Wellington for $30 and some rides are even free or negotiable. Obviously you gotta stay safe and use a bit of common sense but it's a creative and workable solution for beating the pricey pump.

Be Greener.

Last moments captured

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.

Me & my little big bro

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

Tongariro Crossing. One year later

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 crater - spot me on the other side of the crater rim photo.

Sliding down the scree of Ngarahoe I managed to give myself a gash on the volcanic rock and a few bruises to show my effort! From there on I ran most of the track, up to the Tongariro summit then to the end of the Ketetahi end of the track. My knees were not to happy with the downhill descent but the rush was worth it. The weather turned out to be amazing; even though gale force winds and rain was expected it was only low cloud and calm.

Next to come: another ruapehu summit and round the mountain track - watch this space.

Christmas and all that craziness....

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 injuries I've had this year. It's going to be wild and I'm looking forward to the challenge.

I leave you with this thought from Bono (thanks to Uncle Steve):

“a child born in straw poverty, in shit and straw … a child …the poetry … unknowable love, unknowable power, describes itself as the most vulnerable… love , needs to find form, intimacy needs to be whispered. To me it makes sense. It’s actually logical. It’s pure logic. Love has to become an action or something concrete. It would have to happen. There must be an incarnation. Love must be made flesh.”

Photos and stories will be rampant at the end of february when I return.

Peace.

a bit of rock hugging... and climbing

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

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 slopes with our crampons on tightly (possibly too tight after rubbing raw ankles!) and the snow began to melt as our sweat dripped down heavy after reaching the top of... the first lift!



















To cut a long story short after 4 hours we scrambled over the rim of the crater, taking a slightly steeper route than the norm but in good spirits as we took in the most beautiful view and moon-walked across the thick snow inside the crater. We enjoyed a chilled speights and cook up for lunch by the crater lake and boarded down just in time to catch a stunning sunset with Mt Taranaki in the background. It had to be one of the best days of my life, magnificent mountains and the weather was perfecto :) I'm considering climbing Mt Taranaki next, once I've recovered some sleep after a chilly night in my car. If you have done Taranaki have you got any tips for the amateur walker like me?

Deep South Travels

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 glistening reflective Lake Wanaka and the surrounding peaks. If you've never visited Wanaka it is a MUST!

Click my flickr badge on the right side for more photos. We couldn't resist a jump off the Kawerau Bridge in Queenstown so we took the plunge and bungy jumped with a water touch, it was freakin' awesome, Nathanael let out the loudest man-scream I've ever heard and I didn't want the jump to finish it was that good!

the Tongariro crossing, another NZ masterpiece

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 levelled out as we crossed the South Crater below Ngauruhoe. There was a bite to the wind but the sun was still shining so it didn't bite too hard!

We took the side track up to the Tongariro summit along some dodgy shifty shint (I think thats the name for that gravel!). We made it in half the allowed time so we stopped for lunch at the top taking in the magnificent views. Trying out our navigation skills we made our own tracks to the North Crater where we made some very strange undiginfied bird and ape sounds to explore the acoustics of the crater which echoed.

It was such a good walk I would really encourage anyone to do it, you can take your time and still do it in a day although you need to pick a clear day if you want to appreciate the views we got to see.

The photos show a few of us on the walk. The station wagon is a demonstration of how I can compact into a boot packed full of gear within 20cm squared, well it felt like that!









Click on the photos for a big 100% size image. soak up those sun rays, feel the wind biting your fingers

Goodbyes

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 on the chessboard he made (did you take that heavy thing on the plane?)

Over a month ago we decided we would go for a pre-work surf on a tuesday morning and Cameron could use his new board. We left at some crazy hour (4.30am) and headed out to Piha. It was windy as hell and the rain was thundering down on the van, we kept driving! We got there to discover that it was still pitch black and a real storm had been whipped up, so we decided to wait till there was some light. Once we got out to the surf well, there wasn't any! Its the flattest I've ever seen Piha ever! I went for a swim in the rain and didn't even bother taking my board out... it was all worth it though just for the randomness of it all!

oh summer.

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 diving on New Years morning and saw a sting ray and some beatiful fish, God didn't leave beauty and originality out of any bit of creation. Here's a few photos from the coromandel. 1. me underwater 2. pohutakawa 3. Jo and I amongst it all.
I've got 4 days left to make the most of my summer freedom before I head off to initial officer training in Waiouru for 7 weeks of a completely different lifestyle!

Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Tramp

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 attempted to rock hop but after a couple of crossings and slips on the rocks most of us just walked straight through the water and walked on in squelching boots.

The new hut was 5* accomodation, better than my flat for sure! Theres a 4minute walk to the glow worms and I made the most of the cool river for chilling my beers. Breakfast was quite an event as we tried to cook pancakes on a sticky frypan.. we resorted to pancake stodge, it has the consistency of mashed potatoes but tastes like pancakes!

It took us 6hours including a lunch break at the top of the 106m falls to get back to the road, it was an overgrown track at parts with a lot of variety in plants and scenery. For more photos of our group gone bush click on my flicker badge on the right sidebar

After the dump

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 digging their cars out from under the snow. 2 days later I was back in Auckland's West coast going for a winter dip in the bay, can't get away from the cold...