So my fiance Mark only went and self-published an e-book on our experience sailing around the coast of Great Britain earlier this year. It's titled - A Voyage Around Britain in a small Yacht: A true and honest log of two everyday people sailing around the UK. I'm incredibly excited and proud! Of course I'm biased … Continue reading What’s it like to sail around Great Britain in a 28-foot boat?
Planning, training, skills
Learning to sail – the baptism-by-fire way
I can count on one hand the number of times I have been on a sailboat – and that’s with chopping two of my fingers off. I know nothing about boats. I can’t remember port from starboard, stern from bow, gybe from tact (opps I mean tack). I have no idea if I get seasick. … Continue reading Learning to sail – the baptism-by-fire way
Answers to your questions on the North Island section of the Te Araroa Trail
101 days. 1,688km walked. And with that I reached Island Bay, the bottom of New Zealand's North Island on the Te Araroa trail and my #WalkNZ adventure. Here are the answers to questions I've been asked about what the journey has been like so far. What has the North Island section of the Te Araroa … Continue reading Answers to your questions on the North Island section of the Te Araroa Trail
FAQs about #WalkNZ
You’re doing what? Yip, here's everything you need to know about #WalkNZ - the answers to the most frequently asked questions about my epic walk down the length of New Zealand. What are you doing? I’m solo walking the 3,000km Te Araroa trail down the length of New Zealand, starting at Cape Reinga at the … Continue reading FAQs about #WalkNZ
Thank you to all my supporters
Just a massive massive thank you to everyone who is believing in me and supporting me in the lead up to my #WalkNZ adventure. Your kindness, your words of encouragement and your generosity to the mental health charities I’m fundraising for – Mind and The Mental Health Foundation of NZ – mean so much to … Continue reading Thank you to all my supporters
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 17: The easy-yet-hard volcano
I regretted it the moment the hill started to steepen. It was already hot and muggy, and within minutes of climbing through tropical rainforest to the crater lake lookout, I felt like I was slowly being steamed alive. Today was supposed to be the easy walk. A nice and gentle three-hour stroll around Lagoa das … Continue reading Volcano number 17: The easy-yet-hard volcano
Volcano number 16: The sublime crater lake volcano
The Yellow Bus’ door closed and it accelerated off before I could figure out if that was the stop I needed. I looked at the brochure and my map amid high-speed twists and turns. Yeah, I probably should have got off at that stop, I realised. Oh well, final stop it was then – the … Continue reading Volcano number 16: The sublime crater lake volcano
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
Countdown: My mindset ahead of #WalkNZ
So, it’s just over six weeks until I leave London heading to New Zealand for #WalkNZ. I’m still excited but the fear and stress is starting to kick in. My to-do list appears to be growing rather than shrinking, training is virtually non-existent, and don’t even talk to me about my four-page-long kit list (clearly … Continue reading Countdown: My mindset ahead of #WalkNZ