So Michelle and I have been using our stand up paddleboards (SUP) in our spare time and love it. We manage to get out on the weekends and in the evenings. I’m loving riding my bike in the morning and then paddling around in the avro. It’s a bit more balanced lifestyle, compared to just being on the bike all the time.
We purchased these inflatable paddle boards (Red Paddle Co.), which I know sounds suspect but are really good. Michelle researched them online, but I was very skeptical until I saw one when we were down in Raglan. To be honest if you saw them blown up you wouldn’t realize they were inflatable. They are made of heavy PVC and are incredibly strong. It only takes 5-8mins to blow up. We purchased both a 10ft and 11 ft board.
They are perfect for us! You can rip around a shoreline and surf them in small swells.. pretty sick! They come in a bag you can wear as a back pack and with a pump. The size of them is perfect for a city dweller – you can pack them into the bag and store them in a closet. I don’t have to worry strapping them down on the car when we head out, or theft from the top of my car if I want to do a shop after paddling. The paddle is adjustable so friends can give it a go without having to buy a paddle to fit them.
I would highly recommend these to anyone! We love them and you would too! It’s gotten us out to new bays and beaches around Auckland. When pumping them up I get an odd look from most passer by, but once we hit the water with them people are mostly impressed. It’s a great product… go get one and enjoy the sun, sand and surf.
On my way back from Canada in August I made a list of things I wanted to do in the following year. One of the things was to read 15 books – now to me, that is A LOT of books! I didn’t specify whether it was to the end of 2011 or a year from that date, but ive been burning through books trying to get 15 books before the end of 2011!
To be honest I don’t think I’ve ready 15 books in the last 15 years of my life. Yah, yah I know it’s a shame. But I am a now a born again reader ahah believe it Mom! So far I’ve read 11 books…I have 28 days to get through 4 books (unlikely, but you never know.)
Life: Keith Richard’s Autobiography – Amazing. The man should be dead, but has somehow come away from decades of drug and alcohol abuse almost unscathed.
A Sting in the Tale – Good read: Humourus New Zealand bush and hunting stories from ‘good kiwi bastards’.
127 Hours – Average book. I thought the guy is a bit of douche. If you are going out for a big hike, don’t be a dick – tell someone or write a note. It may save your arm.
Adventures in Doubtful Sound – Read this on the flight back to NZ. Stories from a young Canadian kid growing up in Doubtful Sound way up inNorthern BC. Very entertaining/fun read!
Scar Tissue – Really good read, but I do think there is a lot of bullshit in it. He should be dead.
Marching Powder – Totally recommend this book – best one I have read so far! A guy is caught smuggling drugs in Boliva, gets sent to prison where the prisoners have to buy their cells, they can come and go throughout the day, the best cocaine in the country is produced in the jail, he runs a walking tour inside the jail for tourist. Read this book!
Into the Wild – Loved this book. Read the book, watch the movie and then buy the soundtrack!
Into Thin Air – Exciting read about an Everest expidition that goes wrong.
Heaven is for Real - Cool book about a child who has a near death experince and has out of body experiences. Def makes you think about what happens after you kick it.
The tracks in the morning were closed since it rained last night, which didn’t really bother me. After riding a full day prior a half day up the hill was sounding pretty good. The morning consisted of eating day old Indian for breakie, cleaning and checking my bike and finishing my book. Nice chill way to start the day – let the body rest before thrashing it again!
At 11:30am we headed into Queenstown to grab a lunch at Bob’s Weigh – my favorite café in Queenstown. You will also get a good coffee and feed at Bob’s! All fuelled up off to the skyline to huss some tracks.
We got out first ride in around 12:30 and managed to get 12 runs in throughout the half-day. Same as the other days; we rode everything. I did manage to have a pretty good crash on Rock Garden. Somehow I went over the bars and head first into the ground. I was pretty lucky not to hurt my neck and am now considering getting one of those neck braces for riding DH – probably a smart move. Our plan was too meet up with a mate at 5pm who was willing to show us a bit of the Fern Hill Loop. You can access it from the trails with a bit of pushing the bike. We met at the bottom of the track at 5pm and hit up a couple of runs together. There were 4 of us, which was pretty sweet. On a couple of tracks we all broke off and headed different routes which pretty cool seeing all these guys rolling together and then all of sudden they flick off in different directions – it reminded me of a bike movie. We waited until the last run up the skyline to head up the Fern Hill Loop. This way we would have an extended day of riding, which is always good!
The push up was about half-hour and being that it was the end of the day it felt like an hour. There was even a river crossing in the middle. The track was steep, rooty & rocky – similar to craigieburn. It was all native bush so lots of beach trees, which means a tonne of roots and slippery ness. Walking up it and seeing what I would be riding back down left a happy/nervous feeling in my gut – it will be fun but there is potential for a good crash ehehe. The thing with roots is they can spit your bike out from underneath you very easily. To ride them you want lots of speed and to be light on the bike so you sort of just skip a long the top of them. Fun eh! After the exhausting push up we had a bit of a breather taking in the amazing view and then it was time to ride. Helmet on, goggles in place, drop in and start hussing. All the apprehension that I felt walking up was instantly gone. My bike was just skipping a long the tops of the roots and the suspension was getting a full work out as I tried to keep up with my mates. A couple of times the back of my bike went sideways, but I always managed to stay on it and keep rolling. Exhilarating! What an amazing trail. I think it is better then some in the park. Definitely worth the push up.
Once back at the car it was time for a beer and then we headed off to Fergburger for a feed. This time I got the Cod Burger… good as! Definitely give it a go! After the feed it was back home for a couple more beers and then bed. Another exhausting, but epic day!
I was able to attend the Canada vs Tonga game early in the week and it was the best international sporting event I have ever been too. It reminded me of the Vancouver Olympics when Canada beat the USA in hockey, but better because Im in a foreign country. I flew back into Auckland from a work trip in Wellington and Christchurch and my mate picked me up at the airport and we headed on our way to Whangarei. It was me, my mate and his partner plus a random Canadian that joined us for our roadie. That made for 3 Canadians and a kiwi; good mix!
Whangarei is about 2 hours north of Auckland and they had some bevies chilled and ready to go in the car. FYI – it is legal to drink in a vehicle, just not the driver. This made for a fun ride down! We checked into our motel and had a cab waiting to take us to the game. 15 minutes later we were amongst a sea of red. Not just the maple leaf, but also Tonga whose flag fly’s the same colours.
This little girl offered to paint a maple leadf on my face... how could you say no to that!
We had enough time to each grab a 4 pack of beer and then it was time for the national anthems. We did our country proud singing a long, even the local beside us commented on our patriotism. A little girl beside painted our faces with the red and white!
It wasn’t supposed to be a close game, Canada wasn’t supposed to pose much of a threat. But that is the great thing about sport, on game day anyone can win. Canada was much smaller than Tonga, but it didn’t matter. We battled the entire game and pulled off a major upset and then the celebrations began. It was full of cheering, high fiving, hugging, flag waving and many renditions of O’Canada. We walked down to the Thirsty Prawn where the Canadian celebrations were just kicking off. To be honest all I remember is hanging out with more Canadians than I have since I moved to NZ. It was great. The atmosphere was electric and friendly. We got on the piss BIG TIME! After celebrating there for a couple hours we needed a feed and hit up the local eatery in Whangarei.
Once back at the hotel it was a beer, food and bed! Woke up the next morning to a headache, but it came with a smile. We won, had an epic night and had the entire day to make our way back to Auckland. The party didn’t end there…
What do you the next day after a huge win for Canada at the RWC? You get back on it! We cracked some morning beers and let the day come to us. We had to check out by 10am and we were 3 beers deep by this time. My mates partner was driving us back so it was party time once again. We had a case left to drink, a couple girl liquor drinks and a big jug of Sangria to get through and did we ever. On the trip home we stopped off at the beach had a swim, drank couple more beers and then went for a wee hike to a waterfall. Not bad eh! Soon as the booze ran out, night-night. Woke up in Auckland, where I took a nap for another couple hours, then got up and had dinner and back to bed. BENDER!
Here is a gem of a story about the game that game to forefront 2 days later. Michelle has a friend whose partner is Canadian. He has mate over from Canada and they are touring NZ going to all of the Canada games and a couple others. They invited us over to watch the All Blacks VS Japan game. NOTE: I had never met these other Canadians before. I was joking before going over to michelle that I could have met/seen them at the Canada VS Tonga game and wouldn’t have remember as I was a bit boozed. So walk over to their place, meet the other Canadians and watch the game. Cool people and we talked about how great the game was and all of the red and white the Thirsty Prawn. The next day I get a txt from said Canadians saying that he has pictures of me and him partying. Neither of us remember this. Fu*k’n crazy-ass night.
Work has been great! I just got back from a trip down to Wellington and Christchurch. Any time you get out of the office is nice.Wellingtonwas pretty average, grey, windy and cold – the usual for Welly.Christchurchthough was bluebird skies, sunny and fairly warm. The flight down was impressive and looking back I wish I had my camera. The mountains were stunning. After the dumping of snow we had earlier in the month they are all covered and looking amazing. The best I’ve ever seen them. Super scenic.
September is looking good for work travel too! I’ve got heaps on the go and spring starts, so no complaints here. I’m off , to Wellington and Christchurch again. I’m loving it! Just found out that I will be heading to Queenstown mid September, so I have tacked a couple days on that trip to do some riding!
I maybe getting to GoldenBayfor some back country riding near the end of the month.. fingers crossed! It all depends on timing and funds!
The Rugby World Cup is only a week or so away and I’ve just scored some tickets too the Canada Vs Tonga game.Ill be going with another Canadian and a couple of Kiwis. STOKED!!! Life is good.
It is not too often you get experience something that happens once in 72 years and today was one of those days! What happened? Well it snowed in Auckland. It hasn’t snowed in Auckland in 72 years. It’s not unusual for the south island and the mountain in the north island to get snow, but for it to reach this far north is pretty crazy.
The bitterly cold polar blast that is hit both north and south islands has closed roads, schools, airports and cut power to thousands. The snow has made some roads impassable and down south people are being asked to stay home and stay off of the roads.
Met service believes that more snow could fall over the next couple of days. The snow is not sticking around in Auckland as the ground isn’t that cold, so it wont accumulate. But it is still quite the event. People on Queen St are kind of just looking upward at the snow, wondering wtf! I love it.
Now you can’t really compare the ‘snow storm’ to anything Canada has, but to a kiwi this is a full blown winter storm. Pretty funny to read about and I am just glad I am not on the roads. I know how Canadians drive after the first snow storm of the year (terribly – you would think they didn’t see snow every year!) so I can’t imagine how a kiwi would drive. Yikes.
Not only did a 7.1 earthquake hit Christchurch, but a few hours later a sky diving plane carrying 9 people; 4 tourists and 5 sky dive instructors went down and there were no survivors. This is devastating to NZ Skydive as it is a small community and the loss is felt by everyone. Supposedly there were a group of tourists who let the 4 other travelers go ahead of them as they wanted to jump together. Talk about lucky – I would be going to get a lottery ticket if I were them. There is no word on what caused the plane to go down. What a crazy weekend in New Zealand!
