Not Last [August 2011]

Every time a climbing competition came to our gym in Florida, I seemed to be working. It was one aspect of climbing I always wanted, but never had a previous opportunity, to experience. That is until my weekend belaying the first round of the New Zealand National Climbing competition when it came to Wanaka back in March. I had a blast belaying for the comp and getting to watch all of the climbers, and was even asked if I would be around to belay for the finals in Christchurch in August. Of course, 5 months is a lot of advanced planning for a where-the-wind-blows traveler, so I made no commitments at the time, and we left it as "we'll contact you and just know that we'd love to have you!" My time in Wanaka flew by and before I knew it, I received the email asking if I would be available to help again. The climbing club members who intended to go began their training rituals, and I decided that I'd quite like to participate if I were to head all the way to Christchurch for the comp!

Although it was unfortunate timing as I was nursing a back injury and hadn't been climbing super hard for a while, I decided to say yes to belaying, register to compete, and make plans to get to Christchurch. I trained as much as I could, did a bit of research to better understand the competition rules and scoring, and took the weekend off of work.

Goodbye Nelson, Hello Flying Kiwi #3

I spent three days in Nelson before I hopped back on the Flying Kiwi bus. It was great to be able to see my friends again (even though a few were a bit confused because I had said goodbyes in case I didn’t make it back) and have a bit of time to gather my thoughts in “solo-travel mode” before spending a week with a busload of people! I spent the days wandering town, swimming in the Maitai River (at my favorite swimming hole, of course), catching up online at the library and blogging. The evenings I spent with climber friends. We had our usual Thursday night climb followed by drinks at the Free House (complete with adorable puppy!)

That night it was decided that we would return the next night (where else would we go?) in “fancy dress,” just for fun! It’s always fun when you can get a whole group of people on board to dress up!

We looked pretty good for a bunch of climbers, so naturally had to have a modeling shoot.

News in Christchurch [composed 23 February 2011]

I have been tuned in to more media broadcasting in the past 24 hours than I ever have in the past several years; let alone during my time in NZ. The mining accident in Greymouth, the numerous cyclists killed way too close together, the aftershock on Boxing Day; all of these added together don’t begin to compare to the events of yesterday. I am not sure how to react. The attitudes around me are somber yet spirits are surprisingly high. I am in Kaiapoi, a suburb about a half an hour’s drive from center city Christchurch. I was meant to be staying in a backpackers downtown last night, a few blocks from the now collapsed cathedral.

Louise and I woke up yesterday morning to a beautiful sunrise from our noisy campsite located a bit too close to the highway and train tracks for a sound night’s sleep. Our plan was to drive about an hour up to Sawcut Gorge and hike the 3-5 hour track to see a fascinating piece of water-carved rock. By the time we arrived at the trailhead (12k off the main road on a narrow gravel driveway) it had started to drizzle. There were signs warning of flash floods in the case of heavy rains, which could be dangerous due to the numerous stream crossings. We weren’t sure what the weather was supposed to do, so started the hike to try and catch up with some folks working on the trail up ahead. I went ahead with my trusty keens (no need to take my shoes off for each crossing!) and when I caught up with the workers, was informed the weather forecast did not look promising. I went back to retrieve Louise and we bagged the hike, deciding it was not worth it due to the menacing clouds and wind.

The Holidays - A Webster Family Vacation

WARNING: MASSIVE UPDATE WITH HEAPS OF PICTURES!

Picking up where I left off back in December, my next topic is the Webster family vacation (less two or five). As I mentioned in my previous post, my sister and parents were on their way to meet me in Christchurch. They came for two weeks in total, and we got to see some key New Zealand sights while they were here. My brother, sister-in-law, and all three family dogs missed out on the trip, but it was nice to have at least part of my family here for the holidays! I know it's a lot of pictures but I divided it into a few sections, so you can always just look at part of it and come back later!

A NEW WAY TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS 

Our first day was spent in Christchurch where we walked around a bit, got some food, and saw some earthquake damage.