Let's take a walk...

One of the enticing aspects of New Zealand for the huge number of backpackers it gets all year round is its scenery. Nearly everywhere you go in the country, the view is worthy of being the front of a postcard or the setting for a film; as Peter Jackson saw fit. My travels through the Land of the Long White Cloud had so far consisted of making my way down through the North Island, going through towns with their own unique attraction to explore. Waitomo had the Glow worm caves that had me abseiling into the depths to wade through ice cold water, and float on rubber rings to stare agog at luminesant maggots that made me feel I was floating through space. Rotorua, famous for its volcanic geysers and sulphuric smell, gave me the opportunity to try White Water rafting which has now got me hooked and searching for the next set of raging rapids.

But I wanted to see more of New Zealand than your usual adrenaline junkie fix that the country has also become renowned for. These activites, fun and a good of an experience as they may be, can also become distracting from what the real part of NZ is all about. So that's when I made the decision of taking on a three day hike through Tongariro National Park, located on the North Island near Taupo. This was also the location of the omninously named, (thanks to a certain film) Mount Doom. Before this hike, the most intense walks I had partaken in included the holding of shopping bags or a hurried stride to work due to a nonexistent alarm. This hike was going to be a completely new challenge for me, but that was what I was here for and I couldn't wait to do it.

The first of the three days the walk was 9 and half hours long to our first hut located on the other side of the volcanoes; Tongariro, Ngauruhoe (Doom) and Ruapehu. The three days basically took us round all three with overnight stops to break it up. I found the first day the easiest. I felt quite energised and enthusiastic for the trek ahead, feeling more like I was on a brisk walk than a hike. The only point where I thought to myself, 'Why?! Why am I doing this?' is when I had to climb up 'The Devil's Staircase'. The name says it all, even by the most expert of hikers. The further you climbed, the longer the staircase seemed to become like a cruel game played by the path.The steepness didn't help either. The staircase had me grumbling and cursing to myself each step I went, with my friend and fellow hiker, Matt telling me 'You're not going to like this' from way up ahead when he spies the next set of stairs going into the distance. Thankfully I persisted and pushed myself and got to the other side. After that, inclines didn't seem so bad and I took them all in my stride.
The view from the top of one of the craters was astounding. I was standing ontop of a volcano and I could see across the whole park. In front of me were the Emerald Lakes, a trio of bodies of water that were a beautiful turqoiuse green.

 Turning 360, there are mountain ranges as far as the eye could see and I felt on top of the world. I thought I had seen the most amazing view of the day; but that was until I reached our first hut of the hike. The scenery that greeted me made the 9 hour walk totally worth it. For the whole evening, I watched the world around me change as the sun went down and a full moon rose. It was the perfect moment for a timelapse film, and I just sat outside the hut (wearing three layers mind!) watching it all in front of me.

The second day proved a little more difficult. In order for us to reach the summit of Tongariro, we had to make our way back up the incline we struggled to come down the previous day. The slope was made up of rocks which made walking up the side akin to that of walking in porridge. Unfortuantly, when we were making our way back down it, I slipped and twisted my knee. This accident became my burden for the rest of the day. Wearing my cousins size 5 shoes on my size 6 feet didnt help my feet or my mood, but I trudge on nonetheless.  The terrain in New Zealand changes sporadically and can leave you feeling a little bewildered. At one point we were walking through desert like areas and out of nowhere, a huge forest appears with a huge river flowing through it. It was so surreal, but gave the hike an extra adventurous feel. I felt like an explorer finding new lands.

The whole hike gave me an appetite to take on more walks. I felt accomplished and it gave me an insight on what I could be missing if I didn't push myself to use my own two feet to get out in the world beyond brick walls and civilization. Despite my twisted knee, I loved every minute of the hike. It's definitely prepared me  for more to come on the South Island, which I've heard is even more breathtaking.

If I had a boat

Taking a walk on the wild side

I was very lucky to have one of my closest university friends, Sherif,  fly over to visit me as a surprise a couple of weeks ago. It was so lovely to see someone from home, having been away now for 5 months. It took me at least an hour to get over the shock of seeing him in the flesh rather than catching up through the universe of Facebook or Skype which I use as a somewhat connection to life back home.

So, after he came back from two weeks of throwing himself out of a plane/into a canyon in Queenstown, he came and stayed with me before going back to Blighty. With a long flight ahead of him, we both agreed that taking it easy was the way to go. What did we decide to do? Take a four hour walk around the Bay. I know a four hour walk doesn't sound like the most logical thing to do in terms of relaxation, but in a country as beautiful as New Zealand it's hard not to dig out the walking boots, or in my terms, Converse.

Taking a walk is probably the one of the most refreshing and relaxing of outdoor activities. There's a lot more to it than just putting one foot in front of the other. It's taking in the scenery around you, feeling the warm sunshine bask on your skin, feeling your heart pound against your chest as you tackle a monster of a hill and exploring new parts of a place you would never otherwise see. I'm currently staying near one of New Zealand's many beaches; Long Bay , which provides a trek down to the other side of its rolling hills. From Long Bay beach alone you can see mountains that are situated on a different part of the island, and Rangitoto, a dormant volcano lying not too far from the mainland against the turqoise of the Pacific. Not too shabby as far as scenery goes, especially one that's 10 minutes away from my doorstop.

Long Bay

View from the top of the Bay

After walking up quite a few inclines and over a couple of stiles,  we ended up on a completely different beach, scattered with rocks (some of which I promptly tripped over), with a view over to the other part of the island where I could see the bare trunks of the edge of a logging forest, and masts of boats lining the horizon. It had such a peaceful feel to it, secluded from any type of traffic. Walking along our newly found stoney (and slippery!) beach, we came across trees that had fallen from the tops of the cliff edge now lying skeletal, grey with branches reaching like fingers forlornly to the water, as if it had been its last desperate act. It was an interesting and sad thing to see, all these trees uprooted all along the beach having fallen to their demise due to the cliffs eroding away.

Part of the tree graveyard

Uprooted Pine tree

We kept going until a marshy spot of ground made us come to a halt. Now, me being the amateur interpid explorer declared that the mud didn't look as viscous at first impressions and it sure wasn't going to put a stop to our adventure. So, on we went and sure enough with each footstep, our shoes and balance became victims to both my judgement and the mud. I don't think Sherif's TOMS will ever fully recover. We went back up to where we had walked down to the beach but unforntuantly, a boundary sign declared the end of the walk and the start of someone's private land.

The Dreaded Marsh Land

Sherif's sunken footprint

But a walk like this is an experience to add to the wonderful moments I have. I can look back on it  and think of it as a time where I got see another part of the Bay and  where I laughed so much I couldn't walk. It was really nice to share it with a friend most of all, to have someone to talk to and share ideas, and laughter. I have always loved being outside, out of the house and away from any distractions. Sometimes it can be easy to forget that the Internet Explorer isn't the only place where you can discover and learn things. As Christopher McCandless wrote on his ill-fated, soul searching trip as depicted in the film Into the Wild, 'The freedom and simple beauty is too good to pass up...'

Happy on our adventure

like a hole in the head

100 things

Recently, I've been thinking to myself about what I want to do in life. Big subject, I know. But for me, and those who know me, I've always been focused on my future career, a path with which has caused me some frustration and confusion as time as gone on. I have ideas of what I want to do, and I've grown up thinking that the way to go was a straight 'school, sixth form, uni,' kinda deal.Then that's it. It would be time to go straight onto that all important first step of my professional life. How wrong and naive I was. As part of what the media have dubbed 'The Lost Generation'due to the continually rolling recession, my path to my dream future job , like many other people I know, is a case of wandering with your arms out in front of you in thick cloud rather than being able to see it in the horizon. Even an aspiration such as living in your own place out of university is seemingly hard now. So I did what quite a lot of young people are doing now. I went travelling. A dear friend of mine wisely told me that life is about living for the moment, and it's something that has stayed with me. I've been so caught up worrying what's going to happen for me in a year or two time, that I forgot to take in what's happening right now and what moments I would like to live in and have to look back on. So I decided to compile a list of things that I would like to do in my life at some point. Some of the things may seem a little silly, but it's things I want to do or try. Yes, a job is still important to me and obviously I will need one to fund some of my ambitions and who knows what will happen in my future.But whatever it is, I've now learnt to be quite happy that I don't know what my future holds, and to appreciate moments more. So this is what I would like to see happen in my life. I plan to have 100 things down, but am only half way done so far. I'm sure I'll add more as time goes on.

1. Walk through Central Park during Autumn
2. Own an old film camera and use a darkroom again
3. Live in my own apartment
4. Go to Berlin
5. See Bon Iver in concert
6. White water rafting
7.See the Northen Lights
8. Get married (which won't happen for a long time though!)
9. Have an article or short story published
10. Live in Bristol
11. See my friends from camp again
12. Climb a mountain
13. Do something sponsered for charity
14. Meet Ewan McGregor (If only!)
15. Own my own cat
16. Read all of the 100 greatest novels of all time (according to The Guardian)
17. Take a photography course
18. Go to the Isle of Skye.
19. Go snowboarding again with my cousin Dani
20. Learn how to make jewellery
 21. Grow my hair really long (I've been prone to having it cut short due to impatience)
22. Volunteer at home
23. Volunteer abroad
24. Own a bike with a basket
25. Be a bridesmaid (I had a chance once but couldn't because of my A Levels being on during the time of the wedding)
26. Watch every single Alfred Hitchcock film
27. Bake at least one of the each dessert ( Lemon meringue is off the list)
28. Get another tattoo
29. Slow dance with a loved one (I'm a romantic fool)
30. Go sailing
31. Go to the Rose Theatre and watch a Shakespeare play
32. Learn Origami
33. Go whale watching
34. Own a pair of Dr.Martins
35. Grow my own watermelons on my parents allotment
36. Go away somewhere with Laura, my closest friend from university 
37. Learn how to blow glass
38. Go for a walk on a beach on a winter's day
39. Backpack across Europe
40. Go to St David's with my friends for another camping trip
41. Star gaze on a beach
42. Go hiking
43. Improve my guitar playing skills
44. Go to the Relentless Freeze Festival in London
45. Be a 'morning person'
46. Go to a Vivian Maier photography exhibition
47. Go Ice skating (albeit I am terrible considering I can't even walk properly on pavement as it is)
48. Sky-dive (I'm reluctantly putting this on the list as I'm a bit scared of heights, but it's definitely something I would like to experience)
49.Go backstage at a gig/concert
50. Keep surfing
51. Go scuba diving again
52. Spin a globe and go to the country my finger lands on (if circumstantially possible)
53. Go to a fashion show
54.Visit English heritage sights
55. Crowd Surf at a gig or festival
56. Go to a music festival abroad (Bennicassim, Coachella)
57. Learn how to wakeboard
58. Go on a night out with all my sixth form friends. (It's hard now everyone is doing their own thing)
59. Take an art class
60. 

Touch, Pause, Engage! RWC 2011

Most people grow up in a sports orientated family. Football, cricket, baseball. Children continue their support of a family favoured team when their older, playing the sport or going to matches with a member of family sharing great sporting moments, celebrating ,or commiserating, together. For me, the sport is rugby. My Dad has always watched the sport and also grew up playing it, as well as my Mum. So, it was hard not to try rugby out which I did when I was 15 and from which I continued to play at both my home club and university,up until this year. I don't look like the 'typical' rugby player, but women's rugby has actually grown in popularity over the past couple of years. Therefore, in my opinion, this means that the stereotypical image of female rugby player is getting more and more vague as women of different shapes and sizes give the sport a try. Every time I've told someone that I've played the sport, they are always surprised but then there is always a 'good for you' element in their exclamation. Women in sport is something that I applaud, particularly in rugby that is predominantly known as a 'man's game'. For me, I'd swap 'high heels and make up' for a pair of rugby boots and mud any day.

But it's not just the fact that I've played rugby that interests me in the sport. The drama and spectacle surrounding rugby competitions makes it an intriguing game to watch. I've been there on the pitch with the feeling of being so nervous you feel sick and your heart pounding so hard in your chest as you face your opposition waiting for the referee to blow the whistle. It feels like time slows, a Wild West movie style moment where you stand staring your opposite player down frozen to the floor. But there's such a burst of adrenaline when you start playing you forget all about your nerves and it feels great being part of a team and working hard together to win a game. There's obviously injuries involved in rugby, I've had my fair share! A broken nose, a now permanent bulgy finger (thanks to my ignorance of not listening to my cousins advice of seeing a doctor as she thought it was broken), and I've had so many stud marks and bruises of spectacular colours from being tackled or hit by a flying studded boot. But that's just part of it. Watching a game gives you a similar kind of feeling to being one of the players. You feel part of it all the way. The power and endurance the players go through on the pitch keeps you on the edge of your seat, as you will your team to push on to keep up the effort and get the ball over the try line (which usually consists of holding onto the edge of the couch and screaming at the TV. We've all been there whatever sport we watch!)

So it was just my luck that my trip to New Zealand conicided with the country playing host to the biggest of Rugby competitions; Rugby World Cup 2011. Rugby in New Zealand is what football is to the UK. It's the main sport of the nation, with the All Blacks being the country's beloved team. New Zealand is one very much to preserving their traditions, in particular the Maori culture displayed in the Haka , the Maori war dance the All Blacks perform before each of their games. You can feel a sense of pride amongst the rugby fans before the match begins just from this one part of showmanship. Before the RWC had even begun, there were flash dance Hakas cropping up in the cities of NZ in the anticipation to the competition beginning. The All Blacks won their first match against Tonga, with the knowledge that New Zealand is backing them 100 per cent. You can't walk down a street without seeing an All Black flag in a window or on a car.

                       Above: Flash Haka, Below: All Blacks show they're not to be messed with



My aunt, cousin and I managed to go to a Rugby World Cup match at the closest stadium to where I'm staying; North Harbour. Despite being an England supporter, I went to go and watch Australia Vs Italy because being part of the atmosphere is so exciting and definitely not one to miss. I was seated amongst a sea of golds and blues, face painted in the Australian flag supporting the team from 'across the ditch' as the Kiwis say.

North Harbour Stadium, NZ

My cousin Bex and I facially showing our support to the Australian Wallabies

At half time, the score was 6-6 a result of seemingly lacklustered game play from both sides. Australia are amongst the the favourites, England, South Africa and France,  to win the World cup, but it seems to me that all the favourites are off to a shaky start as one of my friends calls it.Underdog teams in the likes of Romania and Japan have even shown that they are not ones to be underestimated as seen in the Romania's game against Scotland who only upped the ante in the last 10 minutes of the second half. Japan's efforts were also definitely not to be sniffed at. This was similar in England's disappointing show, confusingly wearing an all black kit and then only going on to win against Argentina by 13 points to 9 with unconvincing effort. The New Zealand teams style of play obviously didn't rub off from their poorly made black kit.

Australia eventually woke up and went on to win against Italy, much to my delight, winning 32-6 by scoring 4 tries in the second half. But what I love about attending rugby matches is the fact you get to sit with fans of the opposition and there are no animosity or feelings of tension. Everyone is there to watch their team play and to enjoy the atmosphere. While I was at the match there were at least 5 Mexican waves, and each side sang their teams songs. It's pretty comical how the crowd becomes this automatic in-sync sound machine, sharing the cringes at a hard tackle (oooohhhh! That's gotta hurt..) or acknowledging good game play even if it was from the other side (yeah, ok, that was a pretty good try).

Italy fans

Australia and Italy

 The World Cup ends on the 23rd of October, and who knows who will be in the final judging by the fight back from the underdogs. I'm backing England all the way, but I'll still enjoy watching great play from other teams who also deserve to go on and win the cup.

Me next to the Cup!