Carol's Catch-Up: May 2023

A wonderful time in New Zealand's South Island

It has been a wonderful few months for me since we last caught up, and I have been very blessed with holidays and family fun.

First, my husband and I set off in March for a month in New Zealand and we had a fantastic time. We survived over 260kms of hiking, as well as enjoyed the New Zealand cuisine and countryside. We flew into Queenstown, coming right up the valley with the mountains on either side - an impressive sight that really set the mood for the adventure that was ahead of us. During the first week we completed a five-day hike in Fiordland, doing parts of the Kepler, Milford, Routeburn and Holyford tracks, and the scenery was magnificent. At Milford it poured with rain the whole day we were there, but we still managed to hike, as well as visit a multitude of waterfalls by boat.
Our main hike, and the biggest challenge for me, was the three-day Humpridge Track. I was a little apprehensive about the first day - a 14km uphill climb and an 800m change in elevation - which I knew was going to be extremely steep and very hard, but we made it!

Brent and I were slow and steady at the back of the group but we didn’t mind, and we just kept plugging away until we made it to the top - and the view was spectacular. It was also where our lodge was for the night, so it was well worth the effort to get there! This (image, right) is me celebrating at the top!
The next day our track meandered downhill and we experienced lots of mud and water all the way along, which was tricky and presented a different set of challenges. At one point my walking poles sunk into mud and got stuck, and I ended up stumbling and doing a faceplant into the bushes where I was able to study the local flora a little closer than I was expecting! The third day was a lot more enjoyable and relaxed as we wandered along the beach for quite a few long stretches.
We’ve been to New Zealand many times but this was a new area for us to explore and we loved it down there. We will be returning to the South Island again soon as there are more walks we want to do, more towns to explore, and more mountains we want to climb in this beautiful region.

We came home from New Zealand on Easter Saturday evening and 12 hours later we had all the family over for our annual Easter Sunday lunch and Egg Hunt. Sadly though, for the first time in our family’s history, we had to cancel the outdoor hunt due to the rain - the Easter Bunny hadn’t been able to hide the eggs, and the kids weren’t willing to get wet to find them anyway! The wet weather and lack of excitement from the hunt meant that it didn’t quite feel like Easter. All the family contributed different mains while Trudi put together the desserts - the spread of food was delicious, so at least that was the same! We still had plenty of Easter eggs to go around too, so nobody went without.

We are heading into the cooler months now so we really have to dig deep and think about how and when we are going to exercise when we don’t really feel like it. Perhaps you could consider buying one of our DVD bundles and invite a neighbour over to exercise together. Or is it time to take out an online membership with us so you can exercise from home and don't have to think about going outside on those cold mornings?

If you are planning your own holiday soon, consider taking one of our DVD’s with you or your ipad with our online workouts, so that you can continue doing your exercises. Throw in a resistance band and you can have a great strength workout without your bag going overweight! If you have any questions about how you can exercise on holidays, or which workouts are right for you, please always feel free to get in touch with me via our Contact page.

Keep up the good exercise.


Yours in fitness,
Carol

Want to get ready for your next overseas adventure?
Start exercising with us today!