Here's to a very exciting decade ahead

"Come, come," said Venables. "I really can't go along with this modern playing down of th evil as something that doesn't really exist. There is evil. And evil is powerful. Sometimes more powerful than good. It's there. It has to be recognised - and fought. Otherwise..." he spread out his hands. "We go down to darkness."
- The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

About a month ago someone (oooo, that was me, pick me!) had a very important birthday (well, all birthdays are important, but some are more important and exciting than others). And what do birthdays always call for (well, in my world anyway)?

Why yes, that is a dirty concrete floor. Thank you for noticing.

CAKE! The chocolate cake from Bhakti Cookti Bookti in fact. It was so ridiculously rich and chocolatey that we had to eat it with ice cream lite licks hokey pokey is the BEST!). Not exactly surprising considering it basically has an entire large block of chocolate in the icing!

After the usual wintery Wednesday Night run (basically a group of us meet up on a Wednesday night to go running in the Port Hills together) M and I tempted everyone back to where we were staying to help devour the cake. Cake is pretty much the perfect post-run food right?

The cake is filled with delicious jam as well as copious amounts of chocolate icing. Yum!

In case anyone was concerned (although I can't see why) M and I did actually eat some real dinner which even included vegetables!

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie and Olympic rowing. Perfect!

Since I've been gone...

In the thick of that season there were few things more magical than ice - the blocks that emerged, impossibly, from the back of a wagon, steaming not with heat but with cold, the unmistakeable stomp of the iceman conquering the stairwell, gleaming blocks of ice piled on his broad back like enormous melting diamonds.
- Wickett's Remedy by Myla Goldberg

So I appear to have been gone from here for quite some time. Oh dear!

Since I’ve gone so long I thought I would give you a little insight into some of the things that appear to have gotten in the way of blogging lately. Basically, life in the south has been filled with many adventures.

There has been lots of running. I like running, especially in the hills. One day I will take the camera with me and show you all where I run every week. It's so beautiful here! And with more tracks slowly opening up again (after being closed for SO long because of earthquake/rockfall danger) there are more places you can safely go.

There has also been heaps of riding, especially since M bought himself a mountain bike and I upgraded. The best part about where we live is that you can go mountain biking straight from home without having to drive anywhere and there a lovely big hills to ride up and along on your road bike. I can't wait for summer and not needing to defrost after a ride though!

Anyway, below is just a little snapshot of some of my favourite adventures we've had so far (i.e. the ones where we have taken a camera!)...

Oceania Mountain Bike Orienteering in Central Otago Back at the start of the year, when it was warm and summery (which seems like a lifetime ago since now buried in winter and the weather outside today is particularly unpleasant) we had several days of mountain bike orienteering in Central Otago. It was fabulous (mostly) and I seem to have become addicted to mountain biking since returning home.

Sprint the Bay 2012 There has been plenty of orienteering happening this year to distract me and Sprint the Bay was one of the events we traveled to. Basically it is 3 days of sprint orienteering on various maps around the Hawke's Bay region. There was a nice big group of us from Southerly Storm up there to represent the South Island.

Exploring the West Coast I'd never been to the West Coast of the South Island so M and I went to check out a bit of it. We stayed in the cutest little house right on the coast at Granity and explored a lot of the historic mining sites near by. The highlight was exploring Denniston and getting to see the incline used to cart the coal down from the plateau. It has to be seen to be believed. It was also the first real test of my new bike. I think we're becoming very good friends!

Orienteering Nationals 2012 Easter equals the National Orienteering Champs and this year it was up in Auckland so I got to have a little trip home at the same time. 4 days and 4 very different maps and getting to see people I hadn't seen in a long time made for a lot of fun (and lots of sand in our shoes and socks).

Mountain biking at Craigieburn We spent ANZAC Day with friends riding in the glorious sunshine at Craigieburn. Beech forest and incredible views made this a pretty cool day, even if the riding was rather scary in places. Hooning along the Hogs Back track down into Castle Hill at the end was an awesome way to finish a long day in the saddle.

TWALK TWALK...THE event of the year. 24 hours of madness in the wilderness with a bunch of friends whilst wearing silly costumes cannot really be beaten. As an added bonus, our team won!

Exploring the Mackenzie Country What does one do when there is a long weekend? One goes on an adventure of course! For Queens Birthday we took our bikes for a few days of riding based out of Tekapo. Arriving in the late afternoon we had a beautiful ride along the Richmond Trail above Lake Tekapo as the sun was slowly setting. We got back to the car just before dark! Another day we rode up (and up and up) to the Omarama Saddle and pushed up the Saddle Ridge track even further where it was freezing and there was snow across the tops. We were far too cold to take pictures by that stage!

Snow Day! Of course, what is winter without a snow day! I didn't believe snow was coming but that morning it was pouring with rain at our house so I dressed up in my wet weather gear and rode my old mountain bike to work. The closer I got the colder it got and the rain started to turn into ice and then snow flakes. By the time I reached work I was riding through snow drifts. It wasn't long before we were all sent home again! That night was the regular Wednesday night run in the hills and it was crazy because we didn't even need headlights as the snow seemed to light up the sky.

Riding in Rotorua Last month we flew up to Rotorua for a few of days of riding in the Whakarewarewa Forest. The first couple of days we competed in a weekend of mountain bike orienteering events but we stayed extra days to explore the forest. It's like mountain bike heaven in there! Some of these adventures have not been so fun though. M and I have just recently returned to our flat after nearly 2 months living out of boxes at friends’ houses while EQC (the earthquake commission) “redecorated” it. That was not fun. Sigh. But now we are home and slowly unpacking again. I really should get a move on with that since I have some very exciting visitors arriving this weekend and it would be nice if the house looked somewhat, well, less like boxes and chaos.

There have also been lots of adventures in the kitchen but that is a story for next time...

Keeping out the predators

"You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart instead."
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

As I said in my last post, I had a friend come visit me for the weekend...after picking M up from the airport we thought we'd go roam the supermarket because that's what people do on a Thursday night right? Amongst other random buys (chocolate was the essential reason for the supermarket trip) I discovered this packet of chips in the International isle. I mean, how could you possibly pass up a flavour of chips called Mrs H.S. Ball's Chutney? What could possibly be more appealing?!


We ate them all on the car ride home. Of course, this might indicate that they were delicious or something. Rather they were weirdly sweet (well, they were chutney flavoured after all) but awfully addictive...if that makes any sense.

We went out for breakfast but I didn't take my camera which was pretty slack but in my defense we actually weren't planning on breakfast (well, we were...just not right then). Because neither of us checked out the address of our morning destination carefully enough we had to postpone morning plans till later and go eat before I turned into a monster. So we went to Raw Power since we were in town and I had their tofu scramble. It's really good...but clearly camera-shy because every time I've had it my camera has, well, not been there. Oh, and we may have had a giant melting moment cookie as well but that might just be a rumour.

I do, however, have a photo of lunch...which isn't exactly pretty but still tasted good. I suspect that after biking out to Kumeu most things would have tasted quite good though.


We had to retreat to a bus stop to hide from the wind and rain. Typical Auckland (there was blue sky in the morning, then it rained, then it was blue sky again...repeat until you get exhausted...but the weather never does).


And then we biked home again...

We were up at my beach house the next day (after arriving late at night from basking in the Waiwera Hot Pools until we turned all wrinkly) and for breakfast I made us both the Banana Flapjacks from Vegan Brunch. They turned out really delicious (between the 2 of us we easily polished off the whole batch) but I really need a non-stick frypan because I was wrestling with the old cast iron one which was determined to destroy all remnants of a good mood. Luckily I'd given M prior warning that I was likely to turn into a monster when it came time to try and turn them over so he didn't panic when I started cursing.


Served with peanut butter (well, mine was anyway), blueberries, soy yogurt and golden syrup. Quite awesome.

Fuel before heading up over the hill to the reserve for running drills...


This is a muesli bar from my local bakery. They are awesome (the bakery specifically but also this muesli bar)...heaps of vegan options and if you are avoiding wheat or gluten, well you have quite a few choices too.

I attempted to climb the predator fence in an attempt to get out of doing the drills but M was having none of it...


...okay, who am I kidding?! You don't have to drag me out for any adventures (as for the predator fence, Tawharanui Reserve is a penninsula protected by what they call the predator fence to keep, well, predators out...turns out it keeps humans out too if you don't cross at the proper gates so I guess that makes us predators as well)!




By the time we got back it was after 4pm and we hadn't even had lunch! Emergency refueling was called for before I either passed out or turned into the monster from hell (is this a recurring theme for this post?)...


A big bowl of stir-fried veggies and tofu sausages mixed in with a packet of curry/soup (it tried to claim it was both which was a bit confusing) and served with spelt toast smeared with my Mum's kumara and sundried tomato hummus. Oh, and a bottle of Phoenix Cola. Can't go wrong.

And then it was time (well, after lazing on the couch and watching the news about the earthquake in M's hometown which was a bit scary) to head back home which is always a bit sad. I'd like to stay up at my beach house forever.

Oh goodness me!

"The chances of finding out what's really going on in the universe are so remote, the only thing to do is hang the sense of it and keep yourself occupied. Look at me, I design fjords. I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
"And are you?"
"No, that's where it all falls apart I'm afraid."
"Pity, it sounded like quite a nice lifestyle otherwise."
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Life is amazing. Hell, even when it's tough it's still pretty amazing. Here are some cool things and great food in my life recently...

Ginger crunch.


Even better is getting home from a long day at work to find a parcel sitting outside my bedroom door...a parcel containing my favourite ginger crunch all the way from Soul Food in Christchurch. Awesome!

Riding my bikes.


This is my new road bike (I've called her Ellie...interesting to note that my mountain bike is definitely male in my eyes but my road bike is a female)!!! She's shiny and fast!


And here's my mountain bike. He's strong and dependable...and is about to go on his first overseas adventure! I will admit there were times in the past when I was quite ready to throw him off the top of a cliff but these days we are quite good mates!

Hot soup on a cold day.


This is one of the many vegan soups (Tuscan bean and vegetable to be exact) from the coffee shop across the road, Agnes Curran. They make all their soups and are now consciously thinking about the ingredients they use and let me know when they're vegan. Plus the staff there always make me laugh (I don't drink coffee but my boss does and I'm the one to go get it...they know me very well!).

Running at Tawharanui.


Waikauri Bay is my favourite place and over the hill is Tawharanui Regional Park which I've been exploring all my life. Running over there never gets old. Even better is sharing the experience with a friend and we even had beautiful weather...in the middle of winter!

Chocolate (I mean, how could it not be part of an awesome life)!!!


That (above) is a Decadent Date from She Chocolat in Christchurch (D bought me a whole bag as a present). It's described as a fresh organic medjool date hand stuffed with a gianduja filling and coated in the finest Belgian chocolate. Delicious!

New running shoes (I don't know how fond I am of the bright pink colour of my new Mizunos though but I love Wiggle!). Even better is getting new off road shoes and wearing them in (because I can't handle them being clean for long)! Below are my new Inov-8 Roclite 285s 'cause my old ones are starting the slow trip to falling apart.


The only thing that makes that experience even cooler is testing them out in the Waitakere Ranges.


It is like paradise (but the weather is very temperamental out there so I'm always weary of taking my camera out with me...maybe next time).

Eating lunch with A at Kokako and catching up on all the gossip and drama of his life...makes for a truly entertaining experience! It's just along from my gym so A is a bit of a celebrity whenever we go too!


Plus the food there is good. Above we have the tofu scramble with their awesome veggie booster juice and below is the beans on toast (which isn't really beans on toast at all since they put the beans next to the toast but I can forgive them!).


As I was writing this I realised it could actually go on and on which is incredibly heartening!

But one of the best things? Awesome friends coming to visit...I'm counting down the hours till I head out to the airport tonight!

Yet another goodbye...

Quinn's appetite was as outstanding as his equipment. He enjoyed dessert so much, he came back for seconds.
- All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

...which can also be known as Monday in Christchurch.

Leaving Christchurch is always hard. When I come home I find that I end up feeling quite lonely and sad.

But before I had to leave I met up with my friend M and we went for a little run in the mud and the drizzle around Halswell Quarry with the aid of an orienteering map (and perhaps we may have ventured on to some private land but what no one saw, no one knows about right?).

Running, of course, makes you feel a bit hungry so we ventured into town for a spot of lunch at my favourite cafe, Soul Food. M is quite indecisive and I want everything so we decided to get the vegan BLT (which is extremely yummy...probably the vegan aioli that really does it for me)...


...and the vegan lentil and brown rice burger (which is very filling and healthy-tasting although not in a bad way in case you were of the opinion that healthy-tasting and delicious couldn't go hand in hand)...


...and split them. It was a good decision.


They also have 2 sweet vegan options. The first one is the fruit muffin which is really soft and delicious and the creamy stuff on the top is very nice.


The second is the ginger crunch which I had on Thursday night as well at Govinda's. Soul Food and Govinda's are actually run by the same people which is fortunate because that means you have 2 separate places you can get this most awesome ginger crunch. But as I said on a previous post, I am doing my best to replicate it!


Again, so that neither of us got jealous, we split both choices but the ginger crunch bet the muffin hands down. There really was no contest.


And then it was time to go home which was very sad. But it's okay because I will be back down that way very soon (and thank god for skype, email and all that jazz)!

Adventuring to favourite places

"So now," he thought, "somebody else will have to do something, and I hope they will do it soon, because if they don't I shall have to swim, which I can't, so I hope they do it soon." And then he gave a very long sigh and said, "I wish Pooh were here. It's so much more friendly with two."
- Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne

Hello!!

In the past week I got to hang out in 3 of my favourite places ever as well as having some cool adventures. I had last week off work so on the Monday I cruised up to my mate's farm at Slater Road (one of my favourite places) to help out on the farm, rake some mountain bike tracks in their huge private park and get some biking and kayaking coaching. Paddling up through the mangroves was so awesome especially when we had to bash our way through in parts!

Of course, I can't go up there without going running with Jess so we had our own little adventure on the Tuesday afternoon. It was supposed to be a short run but time seems to melt away in the forest.


Here's Jess inside afterwards...the ultimate training companion and boy can she go fast when she wants to!


To prove I am capable of relaxing, the following morning The Chef and I headed off to my beach house at Waikauri Bay which is quite possibly my favourite place in the whole world. I have many awesome memories of endless summers playing in the waves and exploring the hills. Pretty much all we did was eat, read, wander along the beach and round the rocks and laze about.

Anyway, on the drive up we stopped off at the Black Dog Cafe in Matakana for lunch. I got this warmed roast vegetable salad which was really nice but not exactly filling.


Dinner more than made up for a light lunch (although we did demolish a packet of pita crisps) with tofu sausages topped with fried onion and mushrooms alongside steamed broccoli and kumara chips. I think I ate my weight in kumara chips that night!


The following morning we ate the leftover kumara chips covered in maple syrup. I had no idea this would be such a good combination but I am definitely going to have it again soon!

I had leftover waffle mixture in my freezer from the dessert party so brought that up with us for breakfast the next day. While I was in charge of the waffles, The Chef cooked up some caramelised apple and feijoas in maple syrup.


Throughout the course of the day we managed to polish off over a kilogram of feijoas. Well, the bag had to be finished so it was up to us to eat them all! I love feijoa season!

Lunch of champions...falafel, fresh bread with hummus and a mega salad.


The Chef thought he'd eat his portion as a sandwich. Um, yeah...watching him try to wrap his mouth around this mammoth monster was hilarious!

But I can never relax for too long and Thursday night I was off to the airport and flying down South to Otago for the National Orienteering Champs. This is my first year running in the elite grade for all races so I was pretty excited...but pretty nervous.

The first race was the sprint event in Roxburgh. Ah, not my finest moment after a bad route choice ending up in thick scrub down a valley. But I did pull out some good splits for the last few controls which was good since you were visible to all the spectators on the hill for that final section!

The second day was the middle distance event in Bannockburn which was just out of Cromwell. Heaps of cliffs, some killer climbs and more scrub for me to get caught in!


The long distance event was just out of Alexandra at Earnscleugh Station and it was bitterly cold, very exposed, quite steep, very rocky, extremely fast terrain and (for us running the elite women's grade) a very long course. Oh, and a nasty barbed wire, outrigger fence. Below is the final stretch to the finish and boy was I glad to make it that far!


I'm not normally a fan of the relay event 'cause it always feels like so much pressure...if you stuff up or manage to mispunch or something then you let your whole team down but I was so looking forward to this one 'cause it was being held in Naesby which is another very special place to me. Oh, and I was in an awesome relay team with a couple of great mates out to have fun. We decided not to take it too seriously and wore our race numbers sideways just to be a bit different.


Here's the start of the relay which is always chaos. Lucky I was second-leg runner.

So after all that adventuring I was actually quite glad to arrive home to Auckland and it gave me its usual greeting by pouring down with rain! It's good to be home.

Sore feet and good food

The tragedy of Melusina, whatever language tells it, whatever tune it sings, is that a man will always promise more than he can do to a woman he cannot understand.
- The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Oh man, where to begin!! Right, how about nachos? This was me proving to The Chef that they can indeed be (fairly) healthy and yet still delicious (as I recall he went back for seconds).


I was even awesome enough to cook my own beans for once! About time since Mum had given me a bag of dried organic kidney beans for Christmas and they've been sitting in the pantry ever since.

On the Saturday I competed in The Dual off-road half marathon which (for anyone who knows the area) goes from Home Bay on Motutapu Island to Rangitoto Island and then back again with lots of big hills and epic rock sections.


Above is Home Bay and the final part of the hill you come tearing down (well, sort of since your legs feel a bit like jelly about now and my feet were killing me after the hellish rock sections).


This is Rangitoto Island from the ferry on the way home again. Rangitoto is the most recent volcanic cone in Auckland (there are something like 49 volcanic areas in the region) and the biggest. It's surface is all rough scoria rock with native bush somehow growing amongst it all. You run almost to the top before descending down a narrow, rocky track that flattens out at the bottom and winds around the edge of the island (for a grueling 6km) before heading back up and over Motutapu again to the finish.

This was my second time competing in this race and it went a whole lot better than last year! I was a bit more prepared for the section of hell (I think I passed at least 20 people somewhere amongst all that rock) and had an awesome run managing to get in the top 10 women despite still having a lingering cold and taking it easy. I guess it helps that I like hills and uneven terrain.

And because obviously I felt like I hadn't run up enough hills, on the Sunday we had orienteering out on one of the steepest maps we have in our area!


Quite spectacular and I almost wished I'd taken my camera out on the course (this is the view from the event centre.

Anyway, now I've bored you completely with sport we can return to food! I met my darling cousin D for lunch on Friday and after dithering all morning about where I wanted to eat we decided to go to Raw Power.


I wasn't feeling all that hungry so got a salad from the salad bar. They have a collection of different salads to pick from and you basically just fill up your bowl with what ever you want. Clearly I overdosed a little on the peanuts but it was delicious all the same, especially the pearl barley salad (which I think you can just see poking out on the left).


D got me a melting moment cookie too which was sitting there tempting me the whole time I was eating my salad so it had to be devoured straight away! SO good (but a little rich...sometimes I wonder what is happening to my tastebuds these days!).

Right, I have to race off and start packing for another adventure!