987654321...0 - Part Deux

Day of Departure (DOD)

DOD -9. The surf roadtrip.



It was a Monday, Wilson and I packed a whole bunch of surfboards, some food, wetsuits, sun cream, etc.. and set off North for the beaches of Raglan and Piha - which i'd visited the week before. Some swell was supposed to be hitting the beaches of West coast of the North Island and so the two of us decided to go find it. Raglan was again found to be somewhat more akin to a lake than an epic break so we continued North to Piha, and it's Lion Rock. Wilson's parents have a beach house, also termed 'bach', out there. Joined by one of his mates, Richard, we had a nice bbqed bit of beef and some beers to finish off a long day of ... driving.

DOD -8. Piha, and localism.



The next day, we woke up in Piha, determined to get some surfing in. So we had a look at the beach and sure enough, some waves were there, accompagnied by about 30 surfers. Undeterred by the crowd we jumped in and tried to find waves of our own. That's when I found out how to act like an aggressive local. It goes as follows:

If someone you don't know tries to catch a wave on which you have right of way. You catch it, rip the crap out of it, paddle back to the unlucky surfer and with an arm around his shoulder you say:

local - 'you like Piha?'

me - 'eh? what?'

local - 'you like surfin' Piha?'

me - 'err, yep'

local - 'well don't do that again!...'

and then you paddle away, with the sun reflecting off the numerous tattoos on your back. This is localism. Localism is used to describe almost all beaches in the world in so far as you have to respect the locals or they get aggressive.

Well, in my defence, I didn't do anything (I never do ;) but i would've liked to catch that wave...). Anyway, after deciding the conditions weren't that amazing, we set off South again to Raglan, determined to find some waves to surf in that legendary spot.

DOD -7 Flat Raglan, Epic Ruapoke.
We returned to Raglan, stayed with Wilson's grandmother, cooked her a nice meal, and had another look at the waves. No mucho going on, so we hung around the surf shops until eventually, Wilson decided to spend a bunch of dollars on a longboard. After our heavy investment his shop, the owner told us about a spot down the coast which would be 'pumpin'.. Ruapoke.


Flat Raglan, Ruapoke beach and a happy surfer.

After a 30 minute ride on a dusty, rocky, sinuous track, we spotted the good lookin waves on a desert beach and the rest is history. The best surf session I've had... ever. Baskin in the glory of the session, we could finally return, victorious to New Plymouth, where the surf had been good but not 'that good'.



DOD -6 Thursday was quite uneventful, went for a run. A surf, then a few quiet drinks in celebration of Tom's return from another set of interviews in UK. The drinks lasted til quite late for those of us who weren't working the next day.

DOD -5 Woke up next morning feeling a little worse for wear, went for a 7 am run with Shands (my replacement in the house) as planned. To show him the Huatoke walkway, which is a nice track that follows an eponymous stream uphill for about 40 minutes. Needless to say I wasn't really up to it, and so after providing directions, I turned back halfway, wondering how the next day's big run would go. In the evening, I had an entertaining dinner with Deon and Alete (the Gouws daughter and son-in-law), who gave me some good Marathon training tips. They were also running the next day as preparation for the Rotorua Marathon in a few months time.

DOD -4 The half-marathon
Billy Conolly argues that there is no such thing as a Half Marathon, it's either a Marathon or it isn't. I'd probably have to agree. I ran the second half of the Moutain to Surf Marathon as part of a relay team (of 2).

I'd forgotten to pick up the race pack the day before, so set off without a bib or race number, but ultimately felt pretty good throughout the race and finished in 1h37min59sec or 1h37. Deon and Alete had unfortunately slept in and did not make the race on time, but kindly met me at the finish, which was a wonderful surprise. John Atkinson, a surgical registrar who i'd been on a long run with, finished in 3h55min. A useful target then...

In the evening, we had a 'sancos is leaving bbq' at our house on Hine St. It lasted til late, it was good times, and a nice way to say goodbye to some of the people I'd met over the past 4 months. I also invited Pepe, a Spanish guy, who was keen to buy Simon - the van. No transaction took place in the state we were in so we made a plan to meet the next day.

DOD -3 Chill, golf, cow's bday, camping
The next day was predictably slow, especially while Olly and I spent about 3 hours with Pepe as he proceeded to check every single little part of the van, from the mudguards to the ventilation at the back of the van. I supposed he did it correctly but it seemed to take forever, especially given my relatively low asking price. After all that he agreed to buy the van... once his driver's license arrived from Spain - which could be the next day or in two weeks time... Moving on swiftly.
In the evening, the Hine St crew were invited to a hearty meal at Lonestar which serves disgustingly large portions of delicious Western-style food. After which we took Simon and another car for a camping trip to a beach a little ways south of NP. The plan was to be there, when, in the morning, the waves would be perfect. But it turns out the waiting, making a fire, playing guitar and talking was way more fun than than the actual surf in the morning.




DOD -2 Taranaki Anniversary Day
We woke up to find average conditions at sea, so we made a breakfast on the fire. Bacon, eggs, toast and beans, with some brewed coffee as well. It was a true test of ingenuity, but we all ate something in the end.



We then went all the way back to NP via most beaches, where we ended up surfing one of the town breaks, Fitzroy Beach. The waves were quite big and difficult to get to. But Idris managed to get some awesome pictures, mainly because he's got a new awesome camera, a Canon Digital SLR that could make anything look like a picture from a magazine.



The round was most notable for erratic play by all involved but, somewhere in the 56 strokes I took, I managed to chip in for a par at one stage.
The house then had a very jovial 'last supper' at the house, which expectedly ended with some late conversations and 'just-one-more' beers.




DOD -1
We woke up the next morning, very woozy headed. I dragged myself out of bed, and went to the tax office to try to reclaim some taxes. Then met up with Pepe to see if driver's license had arrived. Nope. So moved on to the very important task of packing the surfboards for travel. This was mostly done by Tom and Idris in the end, as they 'expertly' put as much bubble wrap around the boards as possible and taped the whole thing up together. Caught the plane to Auckland, which took all of 35 minutes. Left some luggage at the aiport and stayed with the Gouws who cooked me a feast and helped me make some sense of my time in Enzed.

DOD -0
Got up at 4:45 am, caught the taxi to the airport, didn't have to pay a dime to add the surfboards to my luggage, and then spent about 36 hours traveling (on schedule) to get back to London. This included about 8 hours in a t-shirt, trousers and jandals in the fridge, also known as Hong Kong Airport, where everything seems to cost hundreds of dollars - HK dollars.

DOD +2
Well i'm in the flat in London, saw Holly yesterday, who's been doing work experience at the Great Ormond St Children's Hopistal during her spring break. Stayed up all of yesterday to right my body clock, but woke up at 3 am, took half a diazepam or something, and woke up at 1 in the afternoon today...

10...987654321...0

The past ten days have predictably flown by as another road trip, a few parties, a few surf sessions (including the best one of my life at Ruapuke, near Raglan), and a spot of golf have all served to speed up the end of my trip in NZ.

I'm now in Auckland, with the Gouws, who are kindly sheltering me again. A shuttle will hopefully pick me up tomorrow at 05:15 AM and take me the airport.

Yup, not the longest update, but i'm pretty exhausted after the past week, so will fill in the gaps later this week from the end of the London Wintertime ...

Oh and I almost forgot to mention the Half-Marathon last Saturday, 1h38mins. I'm pretty stoked, hopefully can repeat a similar performance in a couple of weeks. Twice.

Ten Days til Departure....

Today is St David's Day, the Welsh National Day. Yesterday, France beat Wales in Paris. Good times. St David's Day is also on the 1st of March, 10 days before my return flight to London. So, with a certain feeling of helplessness as time flies right by, I have tried to accomplish a few things on my 'enzed bucket list'.

Last Monday, I tried to climb Mt Taranaki, buyoed by the visit of Kiren from Dunedin, who'd hired a guide for the occasion. Unfortunately, the weather was not agreable to our goal that day, so we climbed a smaller 'mountain' and went surfing.

Paritutu Rock, 153 m. Not quite the 2513m of Mt Taranaki.

The next day, Tuesday, after dropping Kiren off at the airport, I decided to go on a short roadtrip with Simon - the van - and a surfboard. I drove North along the Tasman Sea, then inland across a mountain range, then continued through some plains, then into Auckland. There I stayed with Lauren, a friend from earlier in my Enzed travels, until I got in contact with the Gouws.

While I had been meaning to see them when I first arrived in Auckland, I had managed to stay out of Auckland during most of my stay in Enzed. When I did finally meet the Gouws, on Wednesday, at their home in St Heliers, I realised my visit was long overdue. Warm and hospitable, Hester, Dawie, and David - their son visiting from Stellenbosch - were wonderful hosts, providing food, shelter, conversation and instructive careers advice. Friends visited. Tick.

It turns out their daughter and son-in-law are planning to run the same half-marathon as me in New Plymouth on the 7th March.

With Dawie's careful directions, I also managed to drive to Piha, a famous surf break on the west coast of Auckland. Piha is famous for being one of the most dangerous beaches in NZ. It is the location of a grueling lifesaving challenge where the candidates have to swim out at for about 500 yards, then try to make it back against the current. Apparently it has brought many an experienced lifeguard to tears. It also has crumbling cliffs, powerful rip currents, the Lion rock - which divides the beach - and, most importantly, consistently big waves...

Piha, from above. The rock in the middle is called Lion Rock and is a Mauri sanctuary. I surfed on the left side of it.

So, after a quick consult with the lifeguard, I set out. I managed to catch a few waves, which was good. I also managed to get caught on the wrong side of the break and tossed onto the sand underwater, which was not so good. But, after getting back to shore to lick my wounds, I felt a little proud to have surfed - and survived - Piha. Tick.

After a lovely dinner and good rest back at the Gouws, I set off back to New Plymouth on the Thurday, via Raglan - another famous surf spot. It is most famous for featuring in the classic surf movie 'The Endless Summer' in which the protagonist surf a wave for a good 2 minutes in perfect conditions. I got there and it just like the movie... except it was flat as. No waves at all. So after a few curly fries at the local dinner, I set off back home to the 'Naki and planned for the next day.

On Friday, I got up at 6am and got ready. Gathered all my gear, my backpack. Idris, a Welsh doctor at the hospital - also known as the King of Banoffee Pie, arrived at the house and we set off in the darkness of the early morning. As we arrived at the base camp, we looked up and realised this was going to be the day.



The day we would climb Mt Taranaki. The wind was blowing from the East - which meant less wet clouds. The sun was rising and the top of the mountain appeared to us, as dawn was passing on. After 3 months of longful glances toward the everpresent volcanoe, it looked as if the conditions and opportunity finally were there for a successful ascent. And so set off, we went up, quite quickly, and the view from the top was wicked - you can see the other North Island Volcanoes, and even the South Island. After enjoying a couple of hours on the snowy crater at the summit, we went back down through the clouds and to reality. So I have finally climbed the Moutain. Tick.

After a few more house parties and some healthy socialising, Sunday has arrived and the week has again flown by. 10 days left, but I can finally look up at Mt Taranaki and know I've been to the top and admired the view from atop. Dawie and Hester have kindly invited me to stay with them the evening before I leave next week and so I shall see them again before I leave. Another surf trip is on the cards this week, back to Raglan, with hopefully a little more swell so I can add it to the - short - list of surf spots I've 'surfed'.

Stats
Longest run this week - 17km and it felt ok, which bodes well for the upcoming race.
Waves caught at Piha - 3.
Waves caught at Raglan - 0.
Time to summit Mt. Taranaki - 3 hours.
Time to summit Paritutu Rock - 15 minutes
Days since I arrived in New Zealand - 85.
Days left in New Zealand - 10.
Days til the Marathon ... 22.

Things to do before I leave Enzed -
Run the Half-Marathon and meet up with the Gouws daughter and son-in-law.
Surf - Taranaki and Raglan.
Find a way to bring my boards back to Europe without spending a fortune...
Tie up loose ends...

The boards

The boards - i've mainly been using the one on the right... which isn't mine.

The blue swallow, the 6'2 thruster, and the 7'0 fun board which belongs to Hamish, and the 6'1 slacker posing in front.

<-- A better picture of the boards without someone blocking the view.

Post-work

So last week finished on Wednesday for me. Three months (just about) of work have gone by really quickly. Conclusions? I want to do more - eventually. It's a privilege to practice medicine anywhere in the world. Working as a house surgeon, or first year doctor, is not challenging anymore. Time for some focused direction, as ever.

Anyway, so having successfully negotiated my yearly 3 month work stint - could this be the start of something? -, I have been using my new resources to full extent.

I slept most of Thursday, because I could. Between a couple of parties, I nipped for a run on the saturday morning with the Marathon Clinic of Pukekura Park. After a few weeks out for work and cold reasons, I was a little surprised when, to the question "how long is this one going to be?", the answer I got was:

- 35 kilometers or roughly 3 and a half hours. This is the big one.

- gulp -

Well I ran it - 33km in 3h15 - for better or for worse. The next day my right foot woke up feeling a little sore. Trying my best to put my underworked medical mind under wraps, I've been resting it and taking ibuprofen. I figure it's likely plantar fasciitis which is inflammation of the soft tissues of the sole of the foot. Apparently it's one of the 'Big 5' common running injuries, but it's really just a pain in the .. foot. Xav has apparently done about the same but no news of any limping.

Nevermind, though, because I've been compensating my self-enforced break from running with an added verve for surfing. This verve was in part, inspired by a movie called 'Bustin down the door' about how a bunch of talented aussie and south african surfers - who are know legends - tried to the local surf scene on the North Shore of Hawaii. Apparently it's also a book, and I recommend getting your hands on either or both.

Shaun Tomson

Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholomew

So yesterday, Idris and I, both free for the day, went down the coast of the peninsula to find the break which most suited the weather conditions. We were in search of the best waves. Although we took about an hour to settle on a spot, a place called Kumara Patch provided some of the best surf I've been lucky enough to experience.

Kumaras and Kumara Patch - not my pics.

This surf break is not as easily accessible as most. It takes a 30 minute drive to arrive at the end of a small dirt road by the sea. At which point, one puts on a wetsuit, picks up one's board and anything else one may not want to walk 30 minutes back for. That's because, it's a bit of a trot along the beach - about a mile - to the actual break. In fact, from the 'car park', one can barely see how the waves are breaking, so the trek is always a gamble of sorts. On this occasion, luck was very much on our side as the 'patch' gave us some wonderful peeling waves. At one point the wind was so still the waves were glassy without a single ripple, as they broke left around the point. Primo.

Glassy wave - sort of like that, but not quite.

After 4 hours of paddling and actually catching the odd ride - I think I may be improving -, my body was spent... but my mind was up for another session at Back beach to catch up with my housemates who'd been sur...- err -working all day.

Still riding a surf high, I even got up at 6 am the next day for another session. After that however, I properly crashed out for a few hours on one of the 'sofas' in the lounge which is just a glorified mattress laid out on the floor.

Actually back to work this week as I have two more locum ED shifts. I'll then be truly unemployed and 'free'...

Other things I've done of late, in no particular order of interest or importance:

- watched a game of Twenty20 cricket at Pukekura park, the home side unfortunately lost.

- renewed the vehicle registration for Simon.

- bought some wetsuit glue to repair a few wholes.

- spoke to a surfboard shaper of my designs for shaping a board, he tried his best to put me off.

- played mixed beach netball, what a silly game, you can't touch anybody!

- played mixed touch rugby, what an awesome game, you can touch anybody!

- dressed up as a ninja for a fancy dress party.

- took the Blue Swallow to the surfboard shaper, to get a few dinks fixed.

Sweet as, bros...

Terror in Taradise

So it's now raining in Taranaki - maybe a slight jinx from the last post. Surf is still up and down every couple of days. I haven't done much running as I've been malingering with this head cold. The main bit of news around these parts, however, has been the return of a local celebrity.

I was first told about her when I first arrived. This was immediately preceeding my first surf session in New Plymouth and I immediately dismissed it as a joke. A few months later - i have been here about 10 weeks now - the story has been lent a little further credance.

This week, locals fishing off a sea kayak in the Port of New Plymouth spotted a Great White shark. A great white, in Taranaki. Estimated at a mere 6 metres, it was assuredly spotted by the locals and the news has spread like wildfire. So this is the return of the Great White Shark, dubbed the 'Taranaki Terror' by the Taranaki Daily News.

a Great White Shark (below), not THE Taranaki Terror

First spotted a few years ago, when it harassed people fishing in a dingy, this sea monster has remained elusive despite attempts made by local shark enthusiasts - marine biologists - to find and meet this creature by air, sea, or 'cleverly' dropping bits of bait in the water. While no photographic record of Double T seems to exist, it has returned each year to pray on the local seal colony at the Sugarloaf Islands near the Port of Taranaki.

The Sugar Loaf Islands - you can climb to the top of the tallest one and look around for miles of sea, beaches, the sun setting to the west... and the local powerplant, the port with it's thousands of containers.

The local media have obviously lept onto it, to change from the local routine of domestic violence stories, alcoholic excesses and juvenile delinquence - albeit by a 10 year old who took his mother's car for a 100km joy ride. It certainly has added a little spice to Taradise - Paradise with a T instead of a P so it sounds like ... I didn't make this up.

Box Jellyfish, Saltwater Crocodiles and Great White sharks all add a little adventure to the beaches of Australia, plus they also have snakes and spiders...

So it's not only Australia - with it's Great Whites, Box Jellyfish, and Saltwater Crocodiles - that has the monopoly on lethal sea creatures. The Taranaki Terror appears to be so in name only, however, and the last documented shark attack around the peninsula dates back to the 1960's. Sadly, in other news this week, a search is still ongoing for a fisherman who's boat was found drifting in the Port of Taranaki last week.

The newspapers haven't linked the two together but... this isn't Jaws , and there isn't going to be a big hunt as Great White sharks are a protected species. Here's hoping they find the guy alive and the shark goes away.

I'm still going surfing... and running - a little safer perhaps?

Cold, is it?

Apparently in Europe, it's pretty cold at the moment. - sniff -

Snow in London, Cornwall, Geneva, Paris...

Over here, the weather has been pretty amazing. Clear skies, warm evenings. Rain does fall at times, but just a little. Enough to keep the countryside a nice shade of green. Shorts, T-shirt and Jandals are the main uniform. If you're wondering what Jandals are, well... They are JA-panese sa-NDALS. Also known as Thongs in Oz, Tongues to French-speakers and Flipflops to most Brits. - sniff - Kiwis seem to have a knack for renaming all sorts of things in their own vernacular style. You may not recognise the expressions but you find the pictures familiar...

Chilly bin

Jandals

Handles

Capsicum

Stubbies - the short shorts - more people wear these than you would imagine.

Other colloquial expressions include:

'Good on ya' - exclamation - good for you, well done, great, super...

'Choice', 'Primo' - adjectives - great, super, perfect...

and the proverbial ...

'Sweet As' ... (insert nothing) ... - a ubiquitously-used unfinised similee which pretty much suits all weathers...

After an epic weekend on-call last week, while it was freezing cold in Europe, and wonderfully temperate here, I caught a cold. - sniff - So, as I was laid down by this heavy cold front, the swell picked up and Olly was dragged me out for surf at a spot called Graveyards. Managed to catch a choice wave. The biggest I'd ever caught, easily twice as tall as me, barrelling, etc... well that's how it felt. Actually it felt... sweet as... Didn't catch much after that, and my cold felt quite a lot worse the next day. The sacrifices we make for a primo wave. Good on ya i hear you think.

I went to work til the end of the week, severely handicapped by this cold. - sniff - On saturday, I removed myself from my bed and dressed up as a robber to hit the biggest house party of the year so far at Mill Road. It was a fancy dress party, in case your wondering. Primo.

The casual burglar, the smurfette - who also repainted the house blue -, and the 'ironic' geeky doctor

Sunday was spent - recovering - playing softball and reading a good little book called A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov. A gripping account of the experiences of young doctors practicing in remote hospitals in the Russian countryside around the time of the Russian Revolution. Not exactly topical but quite riveting nonetheless.

Monday and Tuesday I've had off, and tomorrow, I get to start three ED (Emergency Room) shifts - 4pm til 2am - as they needed someone to fill in. Should be exciting, as it's been about 2 years since I last worked in Emergency Medicine. - sniff - Plus, it'll be over Waitangi Day, the commemoration of the Treaty of Waitangi, when most people get mashed and then smashed, then go to ED with their mates to get stitched up. Sweet as.

- sniff, sniff - Where's that hankerchief gone ...