Mt Taranaki looked beautiful in the golden dawn light, its 2,500m high volcanic cone brilliant against the morning’s clear sky. I hadn’t done enough training really for the 1,600m ascent of the New Zealand volcano but it had been on my bucket list for years. Reaching the summit would mark it as volcano number 30 … Continue reading Volcano number 30 – Mt Taranaki
Mt Taranaki
Is that the impending sense of failure?
It was inevitable but I’ve hit another bump in the road in this #40by40 quest to climb 40 volcanoes by the age of 40, and failing to climb Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Taranaki during my recent trip to New Zealand has really been playing on my mind. In my last blog on extreme planning and … Continue reading Is that the impending sense of failure?
Planning isn’t everything
Yip, I admit it, I’m a control freak. I love planning and I love making to-do lists. And the recent month-long trip to New Zealand was no exception – I had a detailed calendar of our movements, a spreadsheet, and an A4-page to-do list to make sure all logistics and bookings were sorted. It worked … Continue reading Planning isn’t everything
Volcano number 7: The successful New Zealand volcano
Finally, a day of sunshine! I almost couldn’t believe it – I had to pinch myself to make sure – but there it was, crisp blue sky and a white-gold orb coating my immediate world in warm rays of sunshine. No rain to be seen; not even a cloud. It was rejoice-worthy. The majestic-ness of … Continue reading Volcano number 7: The successful New Zealand volcano
Another epic weather fail
The rain on the tent sounded like an army chucking thousands of buckets of water over it. It had sounded like that all night; a constant drumming as the torrential rain pelted the tree above us, which jettisoned the water directly onto our tent. To say it was wet was an understatement. We’d completed the … Continue reading Another epic weather fail
Here’s the plan for the trip to New Zealand
So, the next lot of volcanoes in my #40by40 quest have now been lined up as I head off back home to New Zealand for a month in a little over two weeks’ time. Woohoo can’t wait! The original plan had been to fit in five volcanoes but trying to also fit in a friend’s … Continue reading Here’s the plan for the trip to New Zealand