Wednesday 27 January 2010

So here I am 4 days into living in New Zealand-what have we done?

Monday was hectic, we landed in the morning at 10:30 at Christchurch, made our way to our hostel, threw our bags down and then headed out for the day in search of a car and to prevent us falling asleep and worsening our jet lag.

We headed straight to the backpacker car mart, it is an interesting concept, you walk around a car warehouse, some of the car owners are there to promote the sale of their car and others have left the country and have paid the car mart to sell it for them. We aimed to pay no more for a car than what it would cost to rent for the duration of our stay, this way if we are unable to sell it before we leave then we haven't lost out, if we do sell then bingo, we get some money back.

Our Hot Wheels!

Anyway after looking around and test driving a real hippy van (which I would have preferred but it was outside of our budget) we settled on a wine red with odd mismatch paint job splodges on the body, 19 year old Toyota Previa!!! A people carrier! It is great though. It has been adapted for travellers and so the space behind the drivers seats is all bed! Curtains are around the windows which we let down at night, pegging up a towel across the back window, cooker, camp chairs etc are stored under the bed-what more could we want! That was Monday.
Tuesday was spent driving to Akaroa, a beautiful little coastal town just East of Christchurch, the town is so quaint and has a french influence due to earlier settlers being the French (although the British colonised it), they made it a large fishing and whaling port and now evidence of this is still visible, streets names are french as are the houses and restaurants, it really is a lovely place. Akaroa actually means Big harbour in Maori (New Zealands native tribe) and it really is, it has been formed by two now inactive volcanic craters becoming flooded and so the town is at the base of the steep sides of the volcano. Houses are nestled into the slope higher up and when we arrived, thick cloud hid the huge ridges and mountains of the craters but the water looked glorious-what a great training ground!

Akaroa
We wandered around asking locals for advice on where was best to swim for safety etc. Everyone was really helpful but the best way to do this would be to hire a Kayak and Aidan could then escort me across the harbour (3km) and feed me when necessary. One particular local was really helpful and supportive when he heard what I was training for, he gave us a really good rate on kayak hire and he got up extra early the next day to enable us to start early. I would like to thank Captain Hectors sea kayaks for this generosity!

My star supporter!

Knowing that I was off to do a long swim the next day I decided on a 1 hour acclimatisation swim within the local parts of the harbour. The water was fresh probably 14-16 degrees C. but it was so still and peaceful, I swam out to a nearby point and looked around at the awesome topography surrounding me, it really is stunning. When my hour was up, out I came shivering nicely but happy that i have had my first swim in New Zealand.

Moody sea and sky, mid morning

Wednesday started by getting into the water at 7:30 am, Aidan joined me for 1 hour and then he went off to get the kayak sorted whilst I swam around to him. Once the kayak was loaded up off off we went heading out across the harbour. The cloud was still laying low but I was hopeful that it would clear and the sun would come out. Half way across, the wind picked up and the swim became pretty bumpy, then we were hit with currents from the changing tides, it was slightly demoralising knowing that a 3 km swim took me 30 mins longer than normal (it took 1.5 hours). We got over to the far beach and had to swim along the coastline so that I could have my next feed with the kayak on the beach due to the strong winds. The sun had come out and I know Freda Streeter would tut at me for this confession but I stepped onto the beach and sat on the sand for a copuple of mins-oh it was bliss, the warmth of the sand and the sun, to have a quick swig of maxim, half a banana and to apply more vaseline to my rubbed and sore arm pits, then it was time to go again-oh it felt cold again! After a few strokes though I was well into it again and feeling warm and comfortable. As I followed the coastline every now and then I would have to dodge or become entangled in the extensive Kelp forest (a very important but threatened eco system) it was magical, I have to say that this is the first swim for a long time that I have really enjoyed. There are times in my life that I feel at one with nature and it is totally spirtually enhancing, this was one of those moments and it was completely topped off when 2 Hector dolphins swam by only 10 metres away! These dolphins are so rare that since this experience I have been told that getting a chance to swim with these are the same as getting a chance to sit with a panda bear! I feel very honoured that they gave me that chance even if seeing a black dorsal fin at first unnerved me! By about 5 hours I was beginning to tire-this always happens when I know the end is near, it is as if my body starts letting go as it knows that rest is near. Then I hit a current and worked hard to make head way and then finally at 6 hours I was able to leave the water! I am so glad that I have that swim under my belt as it is a great psychological lift as although I have been training hard with club swimming in London through the winter, not being able to do a long distance swim makes me wonder if I can do it again (it has been 7 weeks since my last which was in Gozo for a training weekend), now I know I can and so a few more before the big day!


Do you like my training ground?

Today (Thursday) we have driven down to Dunedin to see some friends. I had hoped to do 2 days back to back swims-I have decided against this as even with SPF 50 I am rather burnt so I have hunted down SPF 75. I am giving my skin a few days recovery and then back to it! My arms ache slightly but nothing too bad. Lets hope the sun keeps shining and the water temp keeps rising!

Monday 18 January 2010

Preparing to leave

I have less than a week before Aidan and I board the plane to New Zealand. I leave on Saturday and I am getting quite nervous but also very excited.

I have exactly 37 days to go before my tide opens up allowing me to have a chance at swimming the Cook Strait.

Before this Aidan and I are going to buy a camper van and drive around the south island making sure that we are near to good watering holes on my swimming days and then putting our hiking boots on during my non training days.

This blog will help you to follow me around New Zealand and see how I am getting on and how my training is going.

I am really looking forward to getting back into the open water and to swim some good long distances again as psychologically it will help me to relax, to know that I can swim 6 hours at ease will be a huge boost to my confidence.

I am not going to lie-i am nervous about the Sharks but i do tend to veer on the philosophical side of life and that is 'when your time is up, it is up, there is nothing you can do to change it so live life to the full and quit worrying about the tomorrow'.

I'm going to ensure my safety during training by having Aidan as my support, sometimes he will sit on the beach and give me my hourly feeds and other times he will be kayaking beside me. When i feel cold and frustrated I will remind myself that he is there to help and that I should bite my tongue if I feel any need to shout and throw a tantrum! maybe the fishes will hear it instead-I have been known to growl rather loudly into the water at times!

So I've ordered my money today, packing will probably happen Saturday morning if I stick to my usual reputation of being last minute.com but keep checking the blog and I will keep you posted!