walking

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Woodville to Wharite Peak (and back)

Date: 1 September 2018
Distance: 28km (14km one way)
Time: 4:22 (approx)

At the start of the walk at the i-Site – just the two of us.
Not sure whether to wear a windproof jacket or a warm jacket, Gerry stopped to swop his top layers.
The sea of orange shirts up ahead.
Wharite Peak covered in a thick cloud.
Soon the orange snake were behind us, as well as ahead of us.
Young and old came out to support.
Early on the gravel road the gradient was still manageable.
Until we started to climb considerably.
The windfarm remains quite a sight from up here.
Up, up, up.
The snow-covered Mt Ruapehu in the hazy distance.
Almost there!
Finally at the trig.
Running downhill is so much easier.
Tracey in the middle, only a few hundred metres from the top.
Going down is fun, until afterwards when your quads are minced.
A narrow bridge we all had to cross on the way out of town, which was insanely busy.

We recently found out about a young Palmerston North woman by the name of Tracey, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a couple of years ago. She received a grant from the Mastering Mountains charitable trust to walk the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, and is currently in training by Massey Sport and Exercise student Arbie Hong. In an attempt to raise money for the MS charity, as well as creating awareness about the illness, she organised the Woodville to Wharite Peak walk. Not only did she organise the walk, but also participated to see how she would manage and ended up walking the full 14km up to the peak in only 3.5 hours. With Woodville at about 92 metres above sea level and Wharite Peak at 920 metres, it is a tough uphill and no easy feat. Continue reading →

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On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me …

The Big Christmas Feast – A Greatest Virtual Run Challenge, raising money for kids on the spectrum

Date: 1-12 December 2017
Distance: 200km
Previous GVR: 2017

My middle name is procrastination. And Gerry’s first, middle and last names are procrastination. Maybe it is just a severe case of student syndrome? But, it only took us until well into the first of December, the day the challenge started, before finally entering. It might just be a classic case of an already out-of-hand hectic life, with work, this time of year, and all that jazz that the fun things in life tend to be ignored and end up falling by the wayside. Luckily we had two minutes of sanity to quickly enter. Continue reading →

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Stride for Syria

Date: 2 July 2017
Distance: 7.6km (+4km)
Time: 47:31 (30:00)

Setting up.
This is Manawatu.
Our beautiful river walkway.
Palmerston North Girls High School handling registration.
Palmerston North Boys High did all the talking and even had a band playing. How cool is that!
Participants getting ready.
Cool World Vision wrist bands were handed out to participants.
Unfortunately only a small field for this event.
Going round the bend – a very familiar part of the Super 7s event.
A few puddles to jump, if you can.
Gerry turning at the far end of Waitoetoe Park.
PNBHS manning the aid station – great job!
A nice off-road section.
Downstream from the bridge, the Bridle Track received a new layer of grit shortly before the Palmy marathon.

A week out from our half marathon, we had to fit in a last “cutback long-run” and decided to throw the Palmerston North Boys High School and Palmerston North Girls High School’s event into the mix.

The Stride for Syria intended to raise funds for the Syrian Refugee Crisis. It is labeled as “the most urgent humanitarian crisis of our time” after six years of ongoing fighting and conflict in Syria. According to the brochure that was handed out at the event, 470 000 people have been killed, and more than 4.8 million have fled the country, while 6.1 million have been displaced. That is nearly three times the population of New Zealand that is either dead, misplaced or having to flee for their lives. Continue reading →

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A tail in three parts – Pouakai Crossing

Date: 9 June 2017
Distance: Depending on the source, 18.4km or 19km

Walking up the Razorback Ridge.
Boomerang Slip.
Gerry at Dieffenbach cliffs.
Time for a break and warm coffee.
Gerry crossing a slip.
The red water of the Kokowai Stream.
Signs at either side of Boomerang Slip, cautioning hikers to cross the slip one at a time.
Gerry making his way across the Boomerang Slip.
Ahukawakawa Swamp/Wetlands in the valley below.
Holly Hut.

Since Lonely Planet named Taranaki “the second best region in the world to visit”, while highlighting the Pouakai Crossing as “one of two unmissable attractions”, I’ve been keen to see what all the fuss was about.

Mt Taranaki in Egmont National Park has always been on the to-do list. We’ve only done short walks in the area, and “knocking off the bastard” remains on the to-do list. Continue reading →

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Atene Skyline Track

Date: 28 January 2017
Distance: 13km + 2.5km (approx)
Time: 5:20 + 25 min

Reference: Wilderness Magazine (online).
The obligatory pre-event selfie. Happy to finally have made it out to this track.
Slips caused damage to the track.
Taking a breather after starting the track with a fairly steady climb.
Lots of gorse in some areas lower down.
A random out-house out in the sticks. 🙂
We saw and heard quite a few mountain goats.
The views from the viewpoint was well worth the short detour.
One for Palmy Rocks!
The original river bed of hundreds of years ago with Puketapu hill to the right.
Safety signage where damage was caused to the track.
Kanuka trees like I’ve never seen before.
Kanukas a few times my circumference.
Walking in the shade of the trees most of the way.
A fallen tree and other debris on the track, especially after strong winds this past week.
Kidney ferns.
Sheer drop-offs – difficult to show on a photograph.
Bluffs along the way, makes for some scary walking in places.
Another slip.
A stick-figure decided to hitch a ride.
The campsite in a clearing at about the halfway point.
Lots of ferns along the way.
A little jog. That didn’t last long.
At Taumata trig, the highest point on the track at 572m (DOC) or 563m (nzwalksinfo.co.nz).
Kanuka threatening to completely overgrow the path.
Suffering from acrophobia? Don’t look down!
On the narrow ridge, all the way around.
Framed! Gerry trying to find Strava on his phone.
Even though you’re surrounded by bush, there’s lovely views all around.
Trying to figure out what tree this giant is.
Taupiri trig.
The constant ups and downs along the ridge can be quite tiring.
Whanganui River in the distance down below.
More fallen trees blocking the path.
Hundreds of stairs as you make your way back down to the road level. The gradient is a lot steeper towards the southern end of the track, which would make a reverse trip very challenging.
Steps to nowhere.
At the southern end of the track, but still about 2.5km from the car.
Hard to believe such a short walk can take so long.

For our weekend “long-run” we decided to fast-pack the Atene Skyline Track. It’s been on our to-do list for quite a while now, but with work, other commitments and not the best season so far weather wise, we haven’t got around to it. The intention was to run-bits-walk-bits, but with the changeable weather we thought it best to carry at least a day pack, with some wet and cold weather clothing. Still light enough to jog with, but totally unnecessary as the one good day of the summer so far was bestowed upon us for the walk. Sunny, no wind and warm enough, it was perfect conditions for a walk in the forest. Which is exactly what we ended up doing. So apart from about twenty metres of jogging, we walked the whole way just enjoying the outing and life in general. Continue reading →