Archive for October, 2009

The phrase ‘never again’ is currently going through my head a lot. Still another tick in ‘Firsts’  column. Hutt City Triathlon……Done.

Now I am off to the golf course to go round the clubhouse and sidle up to everyone and go ‘What me? What did I do this morning? Oh you know just did a cheeky triathlon’.

As before, click on any of the images below to start the slideshow.

Looking Good (and not wearing blue hoodie for a change)

The bank holiday weekend started in the usual British fashion, which of course means I spent the whole build up to going away fretting about what the traffic was going to be like getting out of Wellington on the Friday night.  I think I consulted the whole of the 29^th floor of the office block that I work in as to their opinion of when would be the best time to leave. “Hello John, listen, I know we haven’t spoken since I joined 6 months ago but I was wondering, what would be the best time to leave when planning to travel on the Friday before Labour Day?………. Hi I am Paul by the way!” You see my concern comes from the fact that there is only 2 roads out of Wellington; 1 going the way we wanted to go and the other going over the Rimutakas to Martinborough (This is slightly worrying of course when you consider that we are on a major fault line and you begin asking yourself the question what if they both disappear/crack in a earthquake and we need to evacuate. Saying that I am not sure how much of a relief it would be if they announced they were going to build a 3rd).  Anyway, as it turns out I needn’t have worried, because I had overlooked the fact that very few people actually live in New Zealand and of course the roads were largely fine.

As mentioned in my earlier blog entry this Labour weekend was going to be spent in the Rangitikei region of New Zealand.  I have driven through this region several times before and largely ignored it as I had been travelling to the more ‘well known’ areas of the North Island.  However, as I have said before on many an occasion and will probably again many times, “This part of New Zealand is simply stunning”. Rolling hills, unspoiled landscape, endless supplies of fresh air and the impressive Rangitikei River carving its way through the land takes your breath away and leaves myself asking the question ‘Why did I ignore all this on those other times?”

Walk to the waterfall

We arrived at the Bach (cottage) we were staying at around 8.30pm after we had stopped at the Kebab house in Bulls (as mentioned in early blog entry). The rest of our group was already there and had been greeted by the owner before we arrived. Apparently the owner had laughed when one of the group had asked whether we might be getting a key to lock the house when we were out. Apparently you just leave the doors unlocked round here. The Bach was great and we spent most of Friday evening drinking and playing “Apples 2 Apples”, a game in which I managed to repeatedly make people laugh just by giving the answer ‘Danny De Vito’ to every question. Some crowds are easier than others.

So on to Saturday and the start of our planned activities. We were headed for River Valley where some people were planning to go white water rafting. OK so the following is going to require some explanation. River Valley offers 2 different types of rafting, a Grade 5 White Water Rafting experience and a Grade 2/3 rafting experience.

Here is the description of a grade 5 Rafting experience from the River Valley website.

Grade 5: “Very powerful rapids with very confused and broken water, large drops, violent and fast currents, abrupt turns, difficult powerful stoppers and fast boiling eddies; with numerous obstacles in the main current. Complex, precise and powerful sequential manoeuvring is required. A definite risk to personal safety exists.”

Bit frightening but not that bad until you consider the only grade above it is Grade 6 and this is its description from Wikipedia.

Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous as to be effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill Level: Successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill)

Ok, then. Next one up equals death. Being the daredevil/courageous character that I am, there was clearly only one option for me. The Grade 2/3 scenic raft it was.

Not for one second do I regret not doing the grade 5. The scenic rafting was superb. Between 6/7 hours was spent on the river, climbing up waterfalls or trying to cross strong currents on foot (something Shona was pathetic at!). The rapids weren’t very fierce at all, and for most of the day Rick and I shared a 2 man Kayak separate from the rest of the group who were in larger rafts accompanied by a River guide. I am not skilled enough to do justice to describing the scenery and how picturesque it was. If you want to know what it is like watch the end of the first Lord of the rings film, where Frodo and Samwise are in a canoe, and you will know because it was filmed on the same stretch of river. It was a really good day, topped by Rick getting stung up his nose by something which he had never heard of before, which makes him feel even more like Ray Mears. It was an Onga Onga which apparently, if it stings you enough, will kill you – see here.

View from the 12th tee

Day 2 was spent at Rangitira Golf Club, which is set next to the Rangitikei River and the last 12 holes are probably the most scenic I have played. Fun day had by all, the manager wasn’t too worried about us carrying a crate of beer round with us all day which made for a very relaxing time. The round was interrupted by Rupert as he averaged more than one piss a hole. Rick and I won the match play 2 & 1 and I shot a 14 over Par 86. We liked it so much that we went back on the way home on Monday and this time let the girls play, who had been horse riding the day before and missed out on a trip round the course. Definitely recommend this course to any golf fans, once you get past the first 6 holes which are pretty ordinary the rest of the course is magnificent. Highlight is getting a cable car from the 18^th to the clubhouse.

Tomorrow will see another first for me as I am competing in a triathlon. You did read that right it said triathlon. If I make it through, I will put up some pictures.

After a period with a severe lack of travel, this weekend will see us once again board the metallic pink Honda Accord EX and hit the road to Rangitikei. On the agenda is a cheeky bit of White water rafting followed by a leisurely round of golf. There is a group of 12 of us going up there, 10 ex pats an Argentinean and an Aussie. We are staying here http://www.bookabach.co.nz/cf_RentalSearch/dsp_listing.cfm?bachId=8064 . Looks stressful doesn’t it.

I am really looking forward to the golf. Here is the link to the golf courses website http://www.rangatiragolf.co.nz/rangatira-golf-course-info.php . You need to get a cable car from the 18th back up to the club house.

Good news, I smashed the old 5km PB this week by over a minute and it is now standing at 25.36.

So I am beginning to think that I am taking too much for granted! Since I last blogged we have been to another All Blacks game, attended a barbecue for ex pats in New Zealand and competed in the Karori Golf Club Championships (Knocked out in the first round – I just can’t get a break, the golfing gods seem to have it in for me!). However, none of the above compelled me enough to write a blog entry. This of course proves what I have known all along that I am lazy, but also that I am becoming blasé about some of the things which 6 months ago I would have gotten all excited about. This is just a note to myself that I am going to nip this in the bud and once again become completely giddy at the prospect of doing new and exciting things whilst here in New Zealand.

My main news is that I have begun participating in a weekly 5km race around the harbour. I have been running for 5 weeks and have set 4 personal bests, bang! Running for fun has never been my idea of well….fun! However I am enjoying this while it lasts, and you have an incentive of a free beer once you have completed the course which keeps you going. The run is organised by ‘The Welllington Scottish Athletics Club’ and the weekly results are posted on their website here http://www.scottishathletics.org.nz .This week’s results are here http://www.scottishathletics.org.nz/Brooks5k13Oct2009.html . As you can see I am by no means keeping up with the competitive runners, but I am not last either! The second week I showed up one of the other male competitors came up to me and said that he didn’t care what time he got as long as he beat me. Sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it! I haven’t beaten him yet but wait…just wait until I do. Wellington, with its winds isn’t ideal for running as you can imagine. Yesterday, it was particularly bad and at points it felt like you were treading water, so to notch another PB felt good and reward for my training last week which saw me notch up 22km. Still on track for 2012.

In other news, we are just about seeing off the end of winter and looking forward to the start of summer. However, last week it felt like it just wouldn’t stop raining and it is still raining as I am typing this blog entry. This is a pain as Rick Astley and I have recently purchased a couple of fishing rods and we are keen to enter a new ‘Hunter Gatherer’ period of our time here in New Zealand. I think Rick is hoping to move away from the comparisons with Rick Astley and become more like another famous ginger haired celebrity, Ray Mears. Speaking of ginger haired related stories, every morning I get the same bus into work. A couple of stops after I get on the bus a mother gets on with her 3 sons, all of varying ages and heights, nothing unusual there except for the fact that they all have ginger hair. Every day I find myself thinking ‘Well at least she hasn’t stopped trying to have a normal haired child!’ You have to admire that don’t you?

Moving on. Another highlight of my bus journey into work is when the bus passes the Wellington night shelter. Now, I understand that this is a refuge for people less fortunate than myself and I am by no means poking fun at them, I am merely painting a picture of the character of this city. You should understand however that unfortunately I still have the sense of humour of an immature 12 year old and still quite often make myself laugh by asking Shona to ‘pull my finger’, so I can’t help but find this stuff humorous. For instance, as the bus was passing last week a pot bellied chap was stood out the front of the shelter (located on a busy main thoroughfare) the with his legs shoulder width apart in just a shell suit top and a tight pair of Y-fronts saluting the rush hour traffic as it passed by him. On a separate occasion I saw a man stood outside the shelter wearing a pair of jeans, with a pair of pink novelty boxer shorts pulled over the top, he was obviously having an argument with his imaginary friend. His arms were flailing around wildly, and in my mind the argument went something like this (minus any swear words).

Man: ‘I am Super Man’.

Imaginary Friend: ‘I do protest! For I am Super Man’

Man: ‘Look! Now just look here! I am clearly Super Man, I have gone to the trouble to put my novelty underwear on the outside of my trousers, therefore man equals super vis a’ vie Super Man’

Methamphetamine has a lot to answer for!

Another character who always boards the bus at the night shelter stop is a rather large, threatening looking lady who has very few teeth remaining (a common sign of meth abuse). The kind of person who, if they board the bus and you have a spare seat next to you, makes you inevitably shift uncomfortably, hoping they won’t sit next to you as they are clearly intimidating. However, this lady has the honour of twice in one week lifting my spirits and reinforcing my own whole hearted faith in human kindness (What’s that Paul? You are just like an onion aren’t you….so many layers? Well let me tell you the story first, but of course you are damn right!). Anyway, the first time I remember noticing her on the bus was when she got on the bus and found a seat opposite a man with his very young son. She was holding a lunch for the day provided by the shelter which included a small bunch of grapes. The young boy who was clearly not as intimidated by the lady as everyone else on the bus, began pointing his finger at the bunch of grapes and with his finger aloft repeatedly said ‘Gwapes, gwapes, gwapes, gwapes’. You could sense the tension amongst the fellow commuters as they imagined what type of scene was about to be played out in front of them. ‘Was this lady going to snap and lift this child up and eat him, as she looked like the kind of woman who had used this punishment on other children who had dared to speak to her in the past? Or if not that drastic was she going to unleash a tirade of profanities at the poor defenceless child, as this is what is expected from such a menacing looking woman, isn’t it?’ There was an audible sigh of relief however when a toothless grin appeared on the woman’s face and she put her hand into her bag of grapes and said, ‘I’ll just take off a few for myself and then you can have the rest’ and she passed the grapes to the young boy.

I can’t remember the second incident but I do know it finished with another toothless grin. She still gets on the bus, and most days will have a very enjoyable, jovial conversation with herself. Although it isn’t with herself because I know I am listening.

Once again I apologise for the lack of activity on the Blog. October and November promise to be busy blogging months as we have trips to Martinborough, Christchurch and Rangitikei (White water rafting) planned. I am especially looking forward to the Martinborough trip as it is for a wine festival, see here .

Shona is fine by the way and just about to finish her busy season at work. It’s like my homie Jay-Z keeps telling me ‘I got 99 problems, but the ***** ain’t one’. True.

To finish I thought I would let you know that I have discovered that I have a new super power. Last Saturday I correctly predicted that we would be experiencing an earthquake in Wellington a full 5 seconds before a 4.8 magnitude quake hit the capital. This completely freaked out the friends we were with (Rick has come up with the name Vibrator Man!). However, I do now have to come up with a super hero costume for my new found powers. I am thinking of wearing novelty pink boxer shorts over the top of some jeans. I hear it is popular amongst other Wellingtonian super heroes.