Exploring Eastern Auckland - Sun 24th Feb

With Gina on enforced rest for a knee injury we were down to 3... and in the awful weather over the weekend we were all wishing we could join Gina!! But instead we set off to explore some of the Eastern side of Auckland in the wind and damp! Setting off from Andres we headed back towards town... following a scenic boardwalkway around Hobson Bay... quite grateful for the fact that Andre was not able to venture off this walkway as the area was very very muddy....! From here we persuaded Andre to follow high tide routes only... heading down to Tamaki Drive through another park or two. Along our walk along Tamaki Drive we commented on how much busier it would be in a few weeks when we do Round the Bays... we spoke too soon! At the end of St Helliers Bay we walked upon the Childrens Weetbix Triathlon... all the kids putting their best efforts into the swimming cycling and running- really impressive to see so many children taking part and enjoying themselves.


From there we headed up the hill to Glover Park... if there had been less mist and cloud the views would have been fantastic! From there we took a lovely walk southwards through Churchill Park, which was mostly farmland fields which were scattered with cows or horses.


Passing through this park and on towards Point England we walked along the coast... which as time went on and some of the cloud started clearing showed increasingly more of what should have been some very impressive views out to the Bucklands Beach Peninsular.


With weary feet and hungry stomaches we called in our support crew.... the EVER FANTASTIC LORRAINE! She came to our rescue with food and drinks, and after a little discussion we called it a day!

Approximately 20-25kms achieved...

...in 4.5 hours....

Top effort from Avril who walked for 2.5hours to the starting point of the walk!

Walking Auckland... from North to South to West! Sat 16th Feb 08

Long Bay to Devonport (23km)
Starting at 8am we were joined by loads of supporters and enthusiastic walkers which helped make this walk go extremely quickly! Passing along the coastline of the north shore was just spectacular...every beach or cove a different and beautiful sight... all with rewarding views out over the eastern coast and Rangitoto Island. We managed this in 4 hours with just enough time to get the 12:15 ferry across to downtown Auckland.








Downtown to Onehunga (16km)
2 stops along this stretch the first being in the Domain for a well earned lunch stop! After the Domain we were on our own... all our walking supporters were worn out in the first 25kms...or so we think! Across to Onehunga...stopping to enjoy the views across Auckland from the tops of both Mt Eden and One Tree Hill. A rewarding late afternoon break for pasta and pancakes before the final stretch towards home on the western coast...




Onehunga to Green Bay (approx. 15km)
The final stretch 'homeward' bound... along the hilly coastal paths of Hillsborough...a tough walk up and down hills for the final stretch, but walking through green shrubbery and looking out over the Manakau Harbours magical views and surprising rainbows helped keep us distracted from our increasingly weary legs and feet!

It becomes quite unecessary to say how extremely long day the days walking really was... starting out at 8am and only getting to our finish at 8:30pm with only 3 short breaks along the way...

Over half our target of 100km in 12.5 hours... what a fantastic effort TEAM!!

Walking Auckland... thank you Support crew!

This walk would have been incredibly difficult if it had not been for all our amazing support crew, so before we start with a description of our walks... a very big THANKYOU to everyone!


Mark(Avrils Dad) - Thank you for the early climb out of bed and the big collection from around Auckland of the team... and then the drop off in Long Bay... and also for cooking a bbq for us at the end of the day when we finally made it to Green Bay!
Finnuala(Avrils Mum) - Thank you so much for the delicious quiche for lunch... it went down a treat and a huge order is coming your way for April! Also thank you for the yummy food at the end of the day!
Trevor(Ginas Dad) - Thank you so much for meeting us in Long bay before our walk to collect our second pair of shoes (you are a very brave person!) and for meeting us in the Domain with lunch and the supplies... it was fantastic walking without having to carry it all for a change!
Adam(Ginas boyfriend) - Thank you for your encouragement and food and water supplies in both the Domain and Onehunga, and for saving Andre from a very long walk back to town at the end of the day!
Lorraine(Andres wife)- Our top pancake chef!! Thank you so much for your food and drink supplies in both the Domain and Onehunga as well! Next time you cook pancakes, we promise to provide a bigger gas supply!
Matt(Mariskas fiance)- It was absolutely awesome to sit under that easyup tent and on real chairs in Onehunga, it saved us from a terrible wind! And helped protect the little gas we had for those pancakes! Thank you too for the fabulous food and drink supplies.
Gayle and Matt(Avrils sister and brother-in-law)- You guys are amazing, to have joined us and walked a full 25km without complaint... you truly threw youreslves into the task of 'understanding how we will feel at the rest stops'... hope the blisters heal quickly! Also thanks for your food contributions at the end of the day and for coming to meet us at the end... to walk us to our final stop. PS we are all looking forward to bbqs at your house on the beach on the North Shore ;-) - you know the one!
Craig & Paul- Thank you for joining us on the walk from Long Bay all the way to Hauraki Corner... it was great to have your company... the distractions of extra people to chat to always help the walk go by quicker!
Janine- It was great to have you along to join us for the walk from Milford to Devonport... as above the extra company and a new person to chat to really helped time fly by... sorry we deserted you so quickly in Devonport for the ferry... then again... why are we sorry when you left us to go to the food and wine festival in Devonport?! ;-)

I think that covers everyone... and thats just for one days walk of 55km...
YOU ARE ALL AWESOME AND WE COULD NOT BE DOING THIS WITHOUT YOU AND YOUR SUPPORT....

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Thank you Paul!

Below is a copy of an email that landed in Avrils email inbox from a complete stranger... we were all really touched by your very encouraging and supportive words Paul...

Its encouragement like this that keeps us going with the training... many of us are starting to feel tired and feeling the strain of the many long walks and weekday training in between our work schedules.. It helps keep us focussed on why we are doing this... so thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement.

Hi,

I am based in Plymouth, UK, and I just came accross your bit about Trailwalker on Map My Run.

I have been to NZ and visited Taupo on 4 separate occasions to do some serious walking, however the weather beat me every time. I would love to do the walk you are about to challenge yourselves with, but it's a long way just to get to the start!

I completed the UK Trailwalker over the South Downs in Southern England with 3 others in 2003, and I can honestly say it was very tough but worth every effort. I have also run a few marathons and they are not as hard physically/mentally as your challenge.

If I can give a tip to you all, it is this. During the walk you will require some other skills, other than walking and fitness. I'm sure along the 100k not all of you will be feeling 100% and some of you, may become stronger leaders, stronger motivators or you may feel physically stronger than another team member. During the walk tiredness and sleep deprivation will play with your personality and your normal happy positive outlook, so bare that in mind when you start and look out for each other all the way to the end. Remember, you must all finish as a team and you are only as fast as the slowest person.

I just wanted to wish you all the very best and hope you all enjoy the challenge. I hope you also get to raise all the money you are hoping for.

Best wishes

Paul

Andre's 50 km walk... on holidays... without the girls!!

Well, Andre was on holiday, yet again, leaving the girls to train by themselves. But he was not slacking as his holiday included the 50km long Abel Tasman walk. It was tough, but someone had to do it. Just so he would not over-do the training, the tramp was spread over 5 days and 4 nights. And he was gratefull to be accompanied by one of the excellent Oxfam support crew - Lorraine!

Trailwalker Training Weekend in Taupo- 9th & 10th Feb

The girls headed off to Taupo alone again... this time they upped the ante and completed nearly 60km over the weekend!! WELL DONE GIRLS! It's all looking good for the big event in 7 weeks time!

After work on Friday, Gina, Mariska and Avril headed off to Taupo to go get a sneak peek at some of the actual trail that we will be walking in April. What a great surprise... we walked the longest and what we had been told the toughest sections, and found them to be not as steep or difficult as we had been expecting! On Saturday we completed a good portion of the walk in brilliant sunshine that we may end up doing in the dark, a section of this trailing up through farming land- rolling hills scattered with cows and magnificent views! It then continued around the edge of a mountain before trailing down through a blackberry lined (YUM!) walkway towards the magificent Lake Taupo and.... eventually through to the finish line.

We also were pleasantly surprised by the walk from Taupo town through to Huka Falls- our choice to extend the 30km walk to a 45 km walk for the day. This section was a spectacular walkway that rolled gently up and down along the rivers edge as we slowly made our way to the powerful Huka Falls. Needless to say it was a relief and a luxury to get back to our backpackers to take off our shoes and enjoy a hot shower- much needed after 9.5 hours of walking though the day!

Sunday we found harder to get moving- sore legs, tired bodies and blistered feet were all trying to persuade us to stay in our beds, but we didnt! We did a lovely 14km long walk, through farmland meandering along sheep tracks amongst a beautiful moss covered tree forest. It was fortunately fairly sheltered which we were grateful for when the rain started and continued for about 2 hours! After this we called it a weekend and headed back to Auckland... ready for a good rest and some of the home luxuries we had missed in the hostel. A very big THANK YOU to Gina this time, for all her driving... its tough to drive after a days work, but even tougher to drive after a sleepless weekend and very long walks... it was really appreciated by both Mariska and Avril.

Night Walking attempt by the girls! -Friday 1 Feb 08

After a hectic week back at work we all felt we needed a break from walking... unfortunately that wont help with our training much so isnt much of an option! Since Andre has taken off on holidays AGAIN the girls were left to their own devices and plans on what to do! It was decided that a day off over the weekend would be an awesome 'treat' so we planned 2 days of walking... Friday evening and Saturday- just so we could have Sunday off!! Our plan on Friday was to do the long coast to coast walk to Onehunga from work in town(see previous entry).... COMBINED with a rather hilly stretch of coastal walkways along the west coast back to Avrils house in Green Bay. Avril having tried this before knew it would take at least 4-5 hours.... hmmm a brave attempt after a full weeks work! Knowing we would not be able to set off until after 4pm... we armed ourselves with torches, snacks and plenty of water! The coast to coast walkway(starting from the Auckland Hospital) only took 2 hours... a huge improvement on the first time we did this...proof we are getting stronger and faster!
The coastal walk was a lovely change... walking along bush trails... with regular glimpses of fantastic sea views- we were treated with a fantastic sunset view over the Maukau Harbour. This trail isnt the easiest to walk, with plenty of up and down tracks, and once it started getting darker we found ourselves slowing down! Hard work! Walking through the bush with no night sky light was incredibly dark... and incredibly different to day walking!

It was a relief to get back to Avrils house about 10pm! Needless to say we were starving and in desperate need of some food!

A special thank you to Adam who came and collected Gina and Mariska from Avrils... sorry we kept you waiting!