“Habit rules the unreflecting herd.”
I can’t believe that it’s been 6 months since I made the commitment to myself, on the other side of the world, to establish a regular exercise routine. The journey has involved learning a lot about myself and how my body works in different conditions. Now that my habit is in place I can’t imagine not exercising as much as I do! This week has been great for lovely walks – long may the gorgeous autumn weather continue.
Monday – 2 hour walk up the Mackenzie Track and down to Butterfly Creek. A beautifully peaceful bush walk with lots of bird life spotted.
Tuesday – 1 hour hilly walk going up the Mackenzie Track, Eastbourne and heading down onto the Muritai Park Track.
Wednesday and Thursday– rest days
Friday – 1 hour hilly walk going up the Mackenzie Track, Eastbourne and heading down onto the Muritai Park Track. I’ve started to do my core strengthening exercises again too. I’d basically let myself get lazy and they had slipped from my routine. I now do them as soon as I get up so no more forgetting!
Saturday – 2 half hour beach walks. The first with very inquisitive kids and the second a night walk. Wellington is a stunning city by night.
Sunday – 3 hour walk out to Pencarrow Lighthouse (New Zealand’s first lighthouse!) and around the corner to Kohangipiripiri Lake which was covered with black swans. The rain played with me by showering every now and then to keep me on my toes but didn’t pour down until I was home. Phew!
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“When we have practiced good actions awhile they become easy; when they are easy we take pleasure in them; when they please us we do them frequently; and then, by frequency of act they grow into habit.”
This week has been great for getting into a good exercise routine. House sitting where I am makes exercise so much easier as it’s a 5 minute walk until I am on a bush track or walking along a beautiful beach. You can’t ask for better than that!
View from Mackenzie Track over Wellington
Monday and Tuesday – rest days
Wednesday – 1 hour hilly walk going up the Mackenzie Track, Eastbourne and heading down onto the Muritai Park Track. A lovely bush and beach walk.
Thursday – same walk as yesterday but came back via the streets rather than the stony beach which meant the walk was only 45 mins.
Friday – same walk as Wednesday
Saturday – same walk as Thursday
Sunday – 45 minute walk along the beach to watch the sunset.
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This week was quite a relaxed week exercise wise as I got back into the swing of being in Wellington.
Monday – rest day
Tuesday – 1 hour hilly walk along the Mackenzie Track, Eastbourne. I was happy to discover that 5 mins from my door step are a mass of bush walks for me to explore.
Wednesday – rest day
Thursday – rest day
Friday – 1 and half hour walk along the stony beach. It was VERY windy so it felt like my walk was twice as long. It always makes me feel like a kid against when walking into a good head wind. I had a rather silly grin on my face the whole way J
Saturday – rock climbing with 6 years olds. Sounds easy but its more tiring than you would think! You have to keep a very close eye on the little monkeys as they move quicker than you think and it’s been awhile since I’ve been roped up and supporting someone as they climbed. I couldn’t let the kids have all the fun so I clambered up the wall too. Good fun and love abseiling down.
Sunday – 1 and half hour walk along beach. Sunny and calm. Everyone I met returned my smile which I loved.
I’m starting to get restless for a run so I think my running shoes will get a dusting off next week and I’ll be rediscovering if I still have my cross country running legs!
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“It is easy to assume a habit; but when you try to cast it off, it will take skin and all.”
Monday and Tuesday – rest days walking my nieces to school and getting prepared for my move from Auckland to Wellington.
Wednesday – rest day. Drove to Kaimanawa Forest Park and stayed at the DOC Urchin Campsite. It is a tiny site but was lucky enough to meet a couple of travelling Germans and 3 hunters from Whangarei who were down to see if they could find any deer. Great tales were shared by the campfire.
Thursday – 4 hour walk along the Urchin Track, Kaimanawa Forest Park. The track went up from the first step and didn’t stop until I hit the trig station at the top. A great walk through the bush accompanied by cheeky robins.
View of Mt Doom (Ngauruhoe) from the Urchin Track
Friday – 1 hour walk along Himatangi Beach. There wasn’t another soul on the windy beach.
Saturday – 1 hour walk exploring my new neighbour in Eastbourne, Wellington.
Sunday – 2 hour walk along the rocky shore around Eastbourne.
“First we make our habits, then our habits make us.”
Tuesday – Brown Hut to Perry Saddle Hut – 5 hours, 17km, 775m ascent
I had an early morning start to meet the shuttle that would take me the 3 and a half hours to the Brown Hut which was the start of the 80km Heaphy track.
A light drizzle at Brown Hut progressed into torrential rain during the day. We arrived at Perry Saddle Hut completely saturated – I sat on a bench outside and wrung out my socks. We were all cold, tired and relieved that the fire in the hut was already lit. The rain that day was a wet forecast 60-90mm. The huge wind gusts that started after we arrived weren’t forecast and were the worst the DOC ranger had seen at the hut. Not exactly the news that you want on the first day of a 4 day tramp!
Torrential rain at Perry Saddle Hut
Wednesday – Perry Saddle Hut to James Mackay Hut – 6.5 hours, 27km
The wind had softened by the morning but the rain had not. The ranger had the cheery news that the weather was supposed to improve that evening so we donned every piece of water proof clothing that we could find and, heads down, stepped out into the drenched scenery.
Trudging along in the wet we passed through bush which gave us some small relief from the rain and meant we could take a moment to push back our rain hoods and soak up the magnificent greenery that we were walking through. Beech trees and a carpet of moss gave the bush an eerie feel.
Our lunch thankfully coincided with the well equipped Saxon Hut where hot pot noodles were a welcome break to the wet walking we had done so far.
There was some nervous anticipation about the next part of the walk as 10 minutes down the trail we were to find out if the river levels had risen enough to make the track uncrossable. Luck was on our side (if you ignored the constant rain!) and even though our feet were not destined to stay dry we could continue walking.
The afternoon was full of swing bridges. I love a good swing bridge especially when it allows glimpse of the expanse of the valley beyond.
It was another sock wringing end to the day.
Where good boots go to die
Thursday – James Mackay Hut to Heaphy Hut – 6.5 hours, 21.5km, 710m descent
Today I was determined to look about more and raise my spirits against the rain by looking for beauty where ever I could find it. My best spot of the day were the tiny, brightly turquoise coloured toadstools. They looked as if pixies would happily use them for umbrellas.
I had my first taste of the notorious west coast sand flies today at our lunch stop at Lewis Hut. As soon as I put my pack down they arrived, silent and cunning and very persistent! Sitting outside wasn’t an option so we crowded into the Lewis Hut to enjoy lunch.
We had picked up our pace to avoid the weather that was coming down the valley and our arrival at Heaphy Hut was a pleasant surprise as it was sooner than expected. Coming around the corner to see the smoke coming out of the chimney was a heart warming sight. This was my favourite hut as the view from the window, past the sudden and violent rain showers, was the might of the Heaphy River and the pounding surf behind.
The rain decided to give us a break and I grabbed the chance to walk barefoot along the coarse sand and try to sneak up on some shags (New Zealand birds) to take photos. I never had a chance and they teased me by stepping away each time I got close.
I caught my first sunset of the tramp before the rain pounded once more down the valley and it was time for another cup of billy tea.
Swing bridge country
Friday – Heaphy Hut to Kohaihai Camping Ground – 5 hours, 16.5km
I was thrilled to start this day as it was the section of the tramp that I had been looking forward to most of all. Wild water to my right and wild land to the left; I couldn’t have been happier. The fact that we didn’t see rain all day dissolved away the memories of the previous 3 wet and windy days.
We set out early as 3 and half hours into the walk we need to do a crossing across the beach that was only to be attempted 2 hours either side of high tide. We reached the treacherous Crayfish Point and cautiously watched the waves to make sure that a beach crossing was the way to go. I was the first across and stepped straight up to my knees in sea foam. It was like walking through dirty blancmange. We rested after that section and realised that we had timed it perfectly as the tide was quickly coming in and the trampers behind us took the high track, which, I have to say, looked a lot trickier than the beach crossing!
The rest of the walk was spent in blissful sunshine with great conversation and talk of hot showers.
Bad weather has never looked so beautiful
Saturday and Sunday – these days were spent easing out my sore muscles by strolling through the Nelson markets, eating German sausages and award winning coffee ice cream. A tiki tour around some artisan stores (there are some very talented people in NZ!) finished off a fantastic week.
Habit quote – Aristotle – How to be excellant
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”