Settling in!

Well, another week has passed, work is going really well, and I'm making lots of friends. The most exciting news of all is that I've brought a car! A lovely shiny Toyota Caldina, the most expensive thing I've ever brought. I feel all grown up to have a proper car, its huge so will fit plenty of gear (and friends!) in it, and there's room to sleep in it, fully stretched out, with the back seats down. So this is the key to my freedom, and the start of my NZ adventures. I also move into a new house tommorrow, with Nick and Amelia. Nick is a fire fighter, and Amelia (his girlfriend) works for the police. They live in Merivale, a lovely suburb close to the city, with plenty of nice shops, cafes and bars. So fingers crossed, it should be fun! I'm sad to leave Vera's though, everyone has been so good to me and its really helped me to settle in to life in NZ. I'll still be seeing lots of them though, me and James climb together, and we all have plans for trips to Mt Cook village and a Kayak trip to Abel Tasman National Park in summer. Plus I'll still pop round for coffee and a catch up as much as possible. I'll miss it here lots, but I feel that moving into a place of my own will be a good step towards putting down some roots and making new friends. So a big weekend for me, making my first steps towards independence (again!). Now I just want all my stuff to be shipped over, so that I can make my new room homely and comfortable. I'm missing the folks at home lots, so the sooner I settle in the better. Apart from that, I'm having the most fantastic time, I feel so happy to be in NZ! Miss you guys at home though! xx

Trans-Alpine Train

22nd August 2009.

Me, Rebecca, James and Gary set off a 8am to catch the trans-alpine train. Bit of an early start for a non-work day really, but I was very excited about the day ahead. Its basically a train trip across the Southern Alps, via Arthurs Pass, to Greymouth on the west coast, from Christchurch, on the east coast. The scenery was amazing, a great opportunity to sit back and take in the views, without running the risk of crashing the car! We crossed the cantebury plains and climbed into the mountains, with our picnic of Brie and crackers, very civilised!

Four and a half hours later we arrived in Greymouth. We only had an hour in Greymouth, but the sun was shinning, so we sat in a pub garden and enjoyed a cold beer.

More beers on the way back set us up nicely for a night out in Christchurch, me, James and Becks went out, and a couple of people from work joined us, as well as a couple of James' friends from work. So met some new people, and had a great night out.

My First NZ Sumit! (just a baby one though!)

Me and Sarah had made some big plans for some alpine climbing this weekend, however the weather was not on our side, and avalanche risk too great (see Mum, safety first!). We decided to do a small peak named Mount Thomas, just 45 mins drive away. It was rainy and grey in Christchurch, so we packed our waterproofs (and sadly left our crampons and ice-axes behind). We went with Carolyn, one of Sarah's friends, who is breaking herself back into hiking gently, following ankle problems. We set off in light rain, and followed the trail through beautiful forest up to a col, where we branched off up a gentle, rounded ridgeline to the summit. As we approached the final Kilometer, the trees fell away to open hillside, with patches of snow. The cloud disipated, and we had sunshine! We had climbed above the cloud, and were in bright blue sky with warm sun. We talked about how amazing it is that you can set off in poor conditions, and have no idea of what awaits you at the top of the hill. So many times you might decide not to climb that day, and miss out on such a treat. Just that small hill of 1026m had completely different weather to the valley below it. We had lunch on the summit, and left just as the cloud began to reach us. We walked back down into the mist. The way back down was quick, but my boots were playing up again (actually, I think its my feet that are the problem!), so I actually walked some of the descent in bare feet. The gorse and stones became too much though, and on went the boots for the last bit. All in all, a fab day, and a new friend too! Back home for a glass of wine :-)

Bouldering at Castle Hill

8th August 2009. I went bouldering at Castle Hill with Hamish, a guy from work who was living at Vera's until at little while ago. His partner Paddy and their three year old son Oscar came along, and had many adventures amongst the boulders, being secret agents and hunting dragons! It was a beautiful day, blue sky, and really warm. Castle hill is a hillside littered with boulders so its a really great place to chill for the day, with the snow covered Southern Alps as a back drop. The rock is like nothing I've climbed on before, rounded and smooth, with very little friction. Fun? Surely not then? But it was briliant! Never one to shy away from a challenge I tackled a few problems, while Hamish waited patiently for me to get it together, man up, and make the moves! I had a few trademark moments of "this is scary, get me out of here!" (bit silly really, was only a couple of meters up!), and I didn't quite manage to hide the fear in my voice through a particularly smooth, exposed top out, but it was great fun, and I managed a few good problems. Loss of control in what was supposed to be a climb down, but ended up as a sack-of-potatoes-being-thrown-off-the-top-of-a-boulder type move has left me with a sore bum and Hamish with the lesson learned that Angela is never really in control, so expect the unexpected! It was a fantastic day. Hamish is a great climber, and made everything look so graceful and easy, so I was appreciative of his instruction, he did some great problems, that I wouldn't even try. But hey, he does have a few years more experience than me, I live in hope! That night I went out with James, Vera's son, and we met up with his brother, his brothers' girlfriend and some of their mates, my first night out in Christchurch! It was great, but I was in bed by one as had to be at work for 06.30 the next morning! Boo!

Yesterday I met up with a girl called Sarah, who is looking for a climbing partner too. She climbs a lot with her boyfirend Brett who is a trad climber, but is wants to do lots of alpine stuff. So obviously I jumped at the chance. We seem to be about the same level, and have similar aspirations so its looking good! So we decided to head into the hills. We went to a farmers market at lyttleton, then walked back over the hills to their house. Walking over the hills the views were stunning. One way you have the bays and then the ocean, the other way you could see across the plains of Christchurch to the beautiful Southern Alps, stunning! After lunch the three of us set off to Repaki Crag for some climbing. The weather was fantastic, I actually ended up climbing in my sports bra, as it was so warm! (Better weather than the UK summer even?! - sorry guys!). It was spectacular. A great day, finished off nicely with fish and chips. It was a great start to my NZ climbing career. I led a fairly easy grade 12 climb (with some encouragement to do a mantel finish, relying on my old enemy the cam!) and seconded a 12 and a 17. It was fun climbing, with interesting rock, and plenty of protection, I still need to work on getting braver though!
All in all, a fab day!