The Not-So-Patient Patient

For someone who loves being active, my worst nightmare is sustaining an injury. At the end of October I was booked up for a week away which included a 4-day hike amongst the Southern Alps. It’s been about 2 years since I’ve done an overnight hike, and when I booked the trip I was immensely excited at the thought of getting back into hiking again, and exploring a part of New Zealand that I haven’t been to before. Unfortunately, after over a month of finding sitting and bending painful and uncomfortable thanks to a compressed spinal disc, I’m coming to terms with the fact that the trip isn’t going to happen. 3 weeks into my treatment, I’ve had a big improvement thankfully, but not enough to make the trip a reality this year. I’m gutted.

Spending a lot of time lying down these days, I’ve passed a lot of hours perusing the internet, and find myself getting jealous of all the traveller’s bucket lists that I’ve come across. When I think about it, I don’t have one. Or at least, not in the truest sense, but since moving to New Zealand, I’ve mentally grown an ever increasing list of things I want do in this country. This is the closest I ever plan to form a bucket list, but given that I’m having to cancel my hiking trip, I have a lot of time on my hands to mull over all the things that I want to make happen, as well as sitting in awe watching the stunning television programme Wild About New Zealand. Watch this space…

• Visit Stewart Island
• Hike the 10 Great Walks (Lake Waikaremoana, Tongariro Northern Circuit, Whanganui Journey, Abel Tasman Coast Track, Heaphy Track, Kepler Track, Milford Track, Routeburn Track, Rakiura Track, Paparoa Track)
• Cycle the Otago Rail trail
• Ride the Mountain to Sea cycle trail
• Visit Fiordland National Park
• See the Catlins
• Visit Napier & Hawke’s Bay
• Hike the many trails around Cape Reinga
• Visit the Chatham Islands
• Go caving through Cave Stream in Canterbury
• See a kiwi in the wild
• See a tuatara in the wild
• Hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing
• See the giant Maori face at Lake Taupo
• Walk through the Redwood forests near Rotorua
• Drive the coast road round Coromandel
• Hike through the Waitakere range
• Walk the sands of Farewell Spit
• Abseil into Harwood’s hole
• See some yellow-eyed penguins in the wild
• Walk the Hooker Valley Track
• See the Milky Way
• See the Aurora Australis (Southern lights)
• Visit Nelson Lakes National Park
• Climb Avalanche Peak
• Heli-hike Fox/Franj-Josef glacier
• Visit Mt Maunganui
• Boat up the Dart river
• Hike the Queen Charlotte Track
• Go to Kapiti Island
• See Punehu Falls
• See Owharoa Falls
• Visit Quail Island
• Go to Karangahake Gorge
• See Mt Taranaki
• Discover Orakei Korako
• Climb the lighthouse steps at Cape Palliser
• Walk round Lake Mangamahoe
• See Sutherland Falls
• Visit Lake Matheson
• Go to Hobbiton
• Visit the tree church in Ohaupo
• See tunnel beach near Dunedin
• Climb Ben Lomond
• Visit the crystal clear waters of Te Waikoropupu Springs
• See the Putangirua Pinnacles in Aorangi Forest Park
• See Oparara Arch
• Visit Te Waihou Blue Springs
• Visit Motatapu Gorge
• Walk through the Labyrinth Rocks walkway
• See Whale Bay
• Visit New Chum’s beach
• See Bridal Veil Falls near Raglan
• Visit Tiritiri Matangi island in the Hauraki Gulf
• See Rere falls
• Visit Cape Kidnappers
• Visit Castlepoint lighthouse
• Walk the Hump Ridge Track
• Visit Orokonui EcoSanctuary
• Visit Rotoroa Island
• Walk the Te Araroa track – a 120 day tramp from the northern tip of the North Island to the southern tip of the South Island. Very much a pipe dream, but something to daydream about anyway!

Edit: I am excited to get my hiking trip rescheduled for early 2014. Fingers crossed I stay injury free!