After injuring my leg I'v been forced to make a big decision on the future of my walk on the Te Araroa trail down the length of New Zealand. Watch the video I recorded here on my Facebook page. It was a hard decision but the right decision to make. Thanks to everyone for … Continue reading Day 134 of #WalkNZ: Decision Day on the future of the walk
Failure
Day 126 of #WalkNZ: Injury in the Nelson Lakes
It's funny how long-distance walking undulates mentally as much as the mountains and hills that I hike along the Te Araroa trail. Last week, I was ecstatic that I'd completed eight days in New Zealand wilderness in the demanding Richmond Ranges in the South Island. This week, I have a dark cloud hanging over me … Continue reading Day 126 of #WalkNZ: Injury in the Nelson Lakes
Day 72 of #WalkNZ: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing – a day of ups and downs
I had originally planned to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, part of the Te Araroa trail, on Monday. But, you know how luck happens sometimes - the Mangatepopo campsite was full on Monday so Tuesday it had to be. Which is how I found myself walking up the side of a rather tall volcano in … Continue reading Day 72 of #WalkNZ: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing – a day of ups and downs
Almost a month into #WalkNZ: A review
According to the Te Araroa website, the 3,000km trail down the length of New Zealand can take 180 days at a "leisurely pace". This is the politically correct way of saying the trail will take 180 days for those people passed their prime, who haven't done enough training/aren't fit, and who have to take lots of rest … Continue reading Almost a month into #WalkNZ: A review
Video: Rest day thoughts
Sometimes our plans are highjacked, sometimes things happen that are outside our control. This is totally normal. How we respond to it is what counts. My video thoughts on my enforced rest days in Paihia two and a half weeks into #WalkNZ.
From the Experts: Tips on how to deal with the desire to give up
Ahead of #WalkNZ, when the reality was starting to sink in that I was about to start solo walking 3,000km down the length of New Zealand, I went on Twitter and asked the adventures and experts who had already been there, done that for their advice for when the going got tough and how to … Continue reading From the Experts: Tips on how to deal with the desire to give up
How much training is enough?
3,000km. Five to six months. Mountains, forests, knee-high mud, wet river crossings, kayaking, road walking. The legendary Te Araroa trail down the length of New Zealand. How much training is enough? I put my hands up – I think I’m not doing enough. At least when I was walking up Box Hill last weekend with … Continue reading How much training is enough?
Volcano number 15: The not-what-it-was-supposed-to-be volcano
“I guess I should be grateful that I’m actually on my way to see a volcano,” I thought as the ‘Yellow Bus’ hurtled through the Azorean countryside, passing fields of maize and languid dairy cows. It had almost been a no-volcano day after a caffeine-deficient, panic-fuelled morning. I’d arrived in the Azores – the volcanic … Continue reading Volcano number 15: The not-what-it-was-supposed-to-be volcano
Facing my fear of kayaking – and not letting it hold me back from achieving my dreams
I’ve always been a little trepidatious when it came to kayaking. Ever since high school when kayaking in the school swimming pool was a component of PE. Physical education, for a geeky teenager who could barely throw a ball to save herself, wasn’t great at the best of times, but the kayaking class was something … Continue reading Facing my fear of kayaking – and not letting it hold me back from achieving my dreams
This is what it’s like to live with self-doubt
I don’t need a bully. That nasty someone to belittle me, call me names, tell me I’m no good, that I’m stupid and ugly. Nope, I don’t need a bully – and yet I’m bullied every day. That’s because I’m my own bully; I’m my own worst enemy. Since my school days, I’ve barraged myself … Continue reading This is what it’s like to live with self-doubt