Hike the Hunuas

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks” – John Muir

In the quest to experience as much as possible from life and from this beautiful country that I now call home, I’m on a one-woman mission to get outdoors as much as possible and explore some of the more ‘out of the way’ areas of New Zealand.

This weekend, I decided to take a 20km hike through the Hunua Ranges, which lie just to the east of Auckland, and which is the largest native forest in the region.

January Update: The 2,018km in 2018 challenge…

“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men, gang aft a-gley” – Robert Burns

The end of January is already upon us, and I’m sad to report a woefully lame start to the 2,018km in 2018 challenge.

Trekking the Tongariro

“Be happy for this moment, this moment is your life” – Marcus Aurellius

So recently I ticked off one of my ‘NZ Bucket List’ items by completing the Tongariro Crossing with a couple of friends.

There’s been a lot of unsettled weather here on the North Island these last few weeks, and so we really lucked out with the weather, enjoying a clear day and views all the way to Mount Taranaki in the West, and uninterrupted views of Mount Ngauruhoe (aka Mount Doom LOTR fans).

The 2,018 Challenge

“Only those who risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go.”
— T.S. Elliot

So in December I finished the 12 Runs of Christmas challenge in aid of children with autism. While I didn’t break any records, I realised that despite having a few lazy days, I’m pretty good at achieving what I need to achieve, if I’m given a deadline.

In fact this is nothing new. I know I’m a terrible procrastinator, and I work best under pressure, so sometimes those deadlines need to be self imposed.

So with this in mind, and with the New Year, I need a new exercise challenge. And this is why I’ve decided that I’m going to aim to run 2,018 kms over the course of 2018 – for no reason other than the numbers fit, and I like to have something to aim for.

Any ultra-runners out there will be thinking that this nothing, but to me, having a goal should focus my energies.

I’ll have to start small and build my way up, and I’ll probably kill myself in the process, but I’ll keep this blog updated monthly on my progress anyway.

The 12 Runs of Christmas (part 2)

“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” – John Bingham

It’s done! I completed the 12 Runs for Christmas Challenge today, covering 42kms in 12 days. Well, actually over seven days, as on three days last week I deemed it too hot to run, and over the weekend I decided to go paddle boarding and then to drink cocktails with a friend, so not much no actual running took place.