A Glitch in the System

After a prolific year and a monumental summer exploring the mountains around Nelson and Taranaki…

Road tripping down the North Island…

Running to the summit plateau of Mt Ruapehu…

Battling the misty Tararuas to claim Mt Hector…

Soloing Nelson Lakes’ Travers-Sabine circuit in a weekend…

Surveying the mighty peaks of Arthurs Pass…

Going Syme to Syme around Mt Taranaki…

… my adventure streak has finally ended. 

While barefoot running along the slippery Okura coastline, my toes lodged into the sand and I suffered a painful, twisted landing. As I fell, my knee twisted and wrenched delivering a double shot of hyperplantarflexion to my left foot. I lay writhing in a salty puddle, hoping I could walk it off…

Only Okura? Never under-estimate the Okura. 400m past this point, and it was all over.

Luckily, this was a fundraising walk for the AUTC Oxfam Trailwalker team, and I had the choice of 40 trampers to carry me the 3km back to the Stillwater carpark. Exhausting work just hanging on while my limp foot began to stiffen and swell; I was glad we weren’t any further from the road. [Yes, a gentle reminder about safety in the outdoors…]

Despite life in crutches being hard work and often frustrating, there’s still plenty of adventure to be had. Inability to run doesn’t mean I’ll get fat – climbing the hill from Britomart to University makes for a huge upper torso workout, by the end of the day my shoulders are burning under the stress.  

One of the many skills to be mastered on crutches

There is never a “convenient” time to be injured; it was likely to happen sooner or later. In my mind, it is better to be injured now while studying in Auckland than while ploughing through the mountains of the South Island.

The 24 hour adventure race in Northern Coromandel involves sea-kayaking, mountain-biking, running, and navigation. As well as a few mystery activities! Which will remain a mystery for now…

I’ll be postponing my entry to the world of adventure racing – this weekend’s “Jurrassic Arc” 24-hour adventure race in Northern Coromandel will go on without me, but with Edward Lawley stepping in its a relief that the team isn’t affected. Go team Celebrate the Day!

New Balance MT110 – only available in USA. Time to make a truce with your mates in the states.

An extra kick to the guts, my much anticipated pair of New Balance MT110 trail running shoes arrived from BOULDER, COLORADO the day after the injury. New Balance is getting excruciatingly close to creating the perfect shoe – partly designed by Anton Krupicka himself. Sporting a 4mm heel drop, nicely balanced tread pattern, more durable side mesh, and weighing only 230grams, these shoes are ace. At least I’ll be able to crutch around in style.

Abel Tasman

In my penultimate South Island trip of the summer, I decided to visit Abel Tasman National Park. After all, it would be a crime to live only 1 hour from the golden shores of Marahau without dipping my toes in the sand.

I jogged into the National park expecting beautiful beaches and sea-side relaxation – but once again, I succeeded in making the easiest of the ‘Great Walks’, into a rip-roaring adventure with uncertainty lying around each corner.

I started out with a couple from Wellington as they began their 3-day northern hike, but within twenty minutes, I was bored and my eyes were drawn away from the trail-highway, to the seductive coastline. I strode along a dozen beaches while hundreds of holiday-makers sailed, swam, and sand-castled. Meanwhile I revelled at being off the beaten track once again, boulder hopping around the rocky coastline and occasionally squeezing through tight caves.

Eating nectarines in the shade of the cool forest at Watering Cove campsite was excellent, the air smelt like summer. Golden.

After a leisurely trip north, I ducked my head into Anchorage hut – lifting my Hut Bagging total to over a half century. Though on most hot days of summer the hut would be the last place I’d want to stay, a sleeping bag on the beach would be all you need for a great night sleeping under the stars.

Each clearing through the cool forest revealed a new hidden bay waiting to be explored. Judging by the huge number of kayaks at each cove, the sea-borne travellers were getting the best of it.

 Dirt-crete: thousands of tourists pound and compress this trail into a fast, yet exceptionally hard running surface.

 Seals and White-faced Heron were rampant along the coast, hissing and inhaling violently as I burst into their territory. Threatened, as I cut the line between them and their offspring, I sent the oily creatures flapping into the ocean … safety, for us both. Meanwhile, I managed to capture our mutual fear as we dodged and darted each other along the narrow strip of traversable terrain.

I present to you, In the Hall of the Seal King.

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

The sunset was a mere reminder of the epic-ness had that day. Wood-fired pizza with a band of Dutchmen, couldn’t be better!