Back to the Scene of the Crime

Like most criminals, the temptation to return to the scenes of a heinous deed was just too tempting. Not that it was a conscious decision mind you. What on earth am I taking about? Nonsense as usual but let me explain.  

When we were looking, a few months ago now, for somewhere to go for the Labour Day weekend (or Bank Holiday weekend if you prefer) we had a few criteria against which any potential destination would be measured.

Firstly, it had to be reasonably reachable for a weekend. Quite obvious, but it did rule out a trip to Cape Reinga in the north or East Cape to the errrr….. well East. This destination, whilst a large chunk of the distance could be covered by air, was just too far flung to reasonably get there and back in a weekend. We could, just about, have got to Sydney but we’d recently been there and the thought of international travel for a quick getaway didn’t appeal. And there is also the next criteria….

…it had to be relaxing. A weekend in the busy city of Sydney would certainly not be relaxing and we’d return to work more tired than we were when we left, especially when factoring the two hour time difference. Nope, Sydney was out. So somewhere relaxing would have to be in New Zealand and fit the final criteria….

With a marathon fast approaching, or at least it would be by the time this particular weekend rolled around, wherever we ended up had to have somewhere where a reasonable length run could be accommodated. With four weeks to go, this would need to be around 30km. And preferably off-road to mimic the marathon route that I would be running.

There really was only one place that we knew fit the three criteria. Abel Tasman National Park is an hour flight then short drive from Auckland, is definitely a relaxing place and has a walking track that is 60km long. The added bonus is that there are water taxis that shuttle people up and down the coast to different points on the track. Marahau is the closest settlement to the park, being only 1km outside the entrance, so having decided upon the location, the accommodation was simple. It had to be Ocean View Chalets. We’d been before, knew they were ideally situated and very comfortable.

As we drove up the gravel track to the chalets, nestled in the bush on the side of a hill overlooking the sea, we got a pang of familiarity. This doubled when we were shown to our accommodation for the next few days. It was exactly the same chalet we’d stayed in on our holiday to New Zealand for Christmas 2014. We dispensed with the tour of the property and quickly settled down for the afternoon.

But why the scene of the crime? Well it was here, back in December 2014, when we…well ok I…. first mooted the possibility of us coming to New Zealand to live. I remember it distinctly - we were walking back from a trip into the National Park and heading up the gravel driveway when I first suggested the possibility. Then, after a glass of wine or two, I did a little bit of research into the ins and outs and discovered that our profession was on the long term skills shortage list. Engineering was in short supply so it wouldn’t be a problem. And there it was left whilst we enjoyed the rest of our holiday.

Maybe it was the lovely warm summer sun or the sheer heart stopping beauty of this place, but having had those initial thoughts I didn’t think that we would, just seven short months later, be packing the contents of our house into a container and shipping it off half way around the world. I certainly didn’t think that I would be sat in the same chair, coffee in hand, looking out to sea and writing a blog about life in New Zealand. What an adventure!

Well that’s enough reminiscing for one morning. The marathon won’t run itself, mores the pity, so I’ve got a 30k run to do. Now where was that number for the water taxi….

 

A Fantastic Day!

I've always resented having to work on my birthday. I did, for a while at least, try and avoid working at all by taking the day off (hey! I heard that!) but after a while I came to realise that taking a day off in October was not great timing, weather wise at least, and I was better off saving it for more favourable conditions.

That changed when we moved to New Zealand - my Autumnal birthday magically swapping for a Springtime celebration. In some ways, that made it worse. This year it looked like the sun shining bit was going to be a stretch - we've had a really wet start to Spring this year - but there's not a cloud in the sky.

So far, by luck of the calendar, my birthdays have fallen on a weekend but that was only going to last short while.  My first birthday in NZ was a Saturday, and we spent the day on Waiheke Island sampling the local wines from several vineyards whilst soaking up the early sunshine. Last year it was a Sunday and we spent the day sipping a beer or two on the quayside whilst trying to avoid getting too sunburnt. A trend was definitely emerging.

But now I am faced with the prospect of working on my birthday AND the sun is shining......

....well maybe working is a bit misleading. Yes, I am getting paid and technically I am in work, but I am about to jump on my bike and cycle around some of Auckland's newly built cycle paths. I suppose getting paid to cycle in the sunshine not only makes me very fortunate but it's also the closest I will come to being a professional cyclist. But without the hassle of having to shave my legs.

When it was suggested to me, without solicitation I must add, I was initially apprehensive. Could I really afford the time when I knew I had numerous reports to complete? Wouldn't it be better is a more junior team member went in my place? And then there was the problem of which bike to take. The client team would be on their e-bikes. Should I take my slow but sturdy mountain bike or my quick but less robust road bike? And then there was the issue of what to wear. A dress shirt and trousers would be appropriate for a client meeting but not great for spending a morning in the saddle. Problems, problems. It would better if I just politely declined. What on earth was I thinking?

It does give me a bit of a dilemma though. How on earth can I top this? Hhmmm, next year my birthday will be on a Wednesday.... Maybe I can convince my employer that what he really needs is for someone to check out the running routes through the city? Maybe a good beach inspection is needed? Or perhaps we really need someone to make an assessment of the transport links to the local bars? Actually, don't they have a lot of cycle paths in Belgium? I hear Bruges is lovely at this time of year.....




Sitting Ducks

A colleague of mine once compared living in Auckland to being on an air craft carrier. Not, I hasten to add, because we are all armed and ready to kick-off at anyone who looks at us sideways, but because we are in the middle of the ocean and surrounded by nothing much but water.

And not just any water either. The South Pacific is a steaming, fizzing cauldron of currents which give rise to torrential rain, wind and occasionally very impressive, but equally frightening, tropical cyclones. 

And all New Zealand, can do is sit and watch and wonder if the swirling mass of low pressure is coming our way. I'd imagine that it's a bit like witnessing Godzilla arrive at the city boundary and watch, helplessly, as it begins its slow but certain stomp towards you. Not that I have ever witnessed a Godzilla of course. 

On the plus side, it makes weather forecasting, in the short to medium term at least, a breeze. Pardon the pun. Want to know what the weather will be doing today? No problem, just look at the rainfall radar and see what's coming. Pretty much whatever is predicted to come this way will inevitably turn up. A bit like a drunk mate who turns up at every party - no one invited him but everyone knew he was coming. Sooner or later. Auckland does have the Waitakere Ranges to shield it from the worst of the rain, but when it comes in such volume it makes little difference. They are hardly the Pennines. 

The flip side of this, of course, is that once settled weather turns up there is very little to disrupt that pattern. The result is, thankfully, long periods of unbroken sunshine and warm weather. But at the moment....well the South Pacific is very angry. Mostly at Australia which is having a torrid time, but it has been continuously damp here in Auckland for some time. How damp? Well last night Auckland had 85mm of rainfall. Pretty soggy I can tell you.

At least it's warm. With temperatures hanging around 15 degrees it makes walking in the rain almost a pleasure. Yes, you will still get wet but not cold, and it saves on having to get a shower in the morning. It's exactly this sort of weather that has resulted in us having to have our house washed. Yup, you read that correctly. The warm and humid weather is great for moss and over the past two years our white house has slowly turned green. It didn't look great but it did add an extra layer of insulation. Not quite the green Eco house that we had in mind though.

There is never a dull moment when you are afloat in the southern seas. And it looks like the superstorm that has been ravaging Australia is going to pay us a visit. Great. With another wet week forecast I'm seriously considering swapping my shirt and trousers for a wet suit, flippers and snorkelling mask for my walk to work.

With all this water around, it would be quite easy to start to feel a little vulnerable - if I stopped to think about it that is. But at the end of the day, well, it's only weather isn't it and it will pass. No, it's the tsunamis that you should worry about......