KERREMcIVOR
A
t thestartofthisyear,mymate
NivaRetimanuandI decided
torunNewPlymouth’sCape
EgmontHalfMarathon.Wewantedto
getawayfora weekendwithourother
runningfriendsandhavinga goalto
focusonwouldmaketrainingeasier.
Orsowethought.Allofa sudden
it wasJulyandwe’dforgottentotrain.
Therewasnowaywecouldrun 10
kilometres,farless 21 ofthem.Niva
andI hada chatwiththeotherthree
membersofourgroupandwe
decidedtogoonthetripanyway.
Andsoit happenedthatoneFriday
afternoonsawfiveofusgatheredat
theairport.Theweekendweather
forecastwasawful,butwedidn’tcare.
We’dpickupsuppliesin townbefore
headingouttoourbeautifulbachin
Oakura,a beachsettlementabout 15
minutesfromNewPlymouth.Wehad
eachotherforcompanyandbeach
walksarejustasmuchfunin therain.
Andwewerefine.Theweather,in
fact,wasgorgeousonSaturday,so
SandraandI couldgoforourbooked
surfinglessonafterall.Thewonderfully
namedDaisyDayhadusin thewater
foranhouratFitzroyBeachand
althoughwedidn’tsomuchsurfasflail
aroundin thewater,beingpummelled
byourboards,it wasexhilaratingand
marvellousanda fabulousworkout.
Plus,webothmanagedtogetonto
ourfeetontheboards– albeitvery
unsteady,wobblyfeet.
Theothergirlsthoughtwewere
madandwentshoppingwhilewewere
in thewater,butSandraandI vowedto
continuesurfinglessonsthroughthe
wintersobysummerwe’dbeableto
catchandridewaves,elegantlyand
fluidly,allthewaytoshore.Admittedly,
theywouldbelittlebreakerwavesthat
theseven-year-oldlearnersareriding,
buttheywouldbewavesand we
would be riding them.Aftera bitetoeatatoneofthe
manyexcellentcafés,wewereoff
towalktheCoastalWalkway,which
reallyis thejewelin NewPlymouth’s
crown.It wasfabuloustoseesomany
peoplemakingthemostofthe
pathwaythatstretchesforkilometres
aroundtheTaranakicoastline.Bike
riders,skateboarders,peoplein
wheelchairs,youngones,teenagers,
families,oldies– thelocalsclearly
lovehavingthistreasureastheir
playgroundandtheymakethemost
ofit. Wewalkedwhileoneofthe
othergirlsbikedandcontrarytothe
forecast,it continuedtobea glorious,
sunnyday.
A coupleofhours’walkinglater,it
waslovelytosettleintoourbeautiful
waterfrontbachforthenight.We
organisednibbles,openedthebottles
ofwineandthenthefiveofus
practisedforthedaythattalking
becomesanOlympicsport.Talk?
Wedidn’tstop.Confidencesshared,
dreamsrevealed,plansmade.There
reallyis nothingquitelikethe
companyofgoodfriends.
Theseaairmeantthatwewereall
in bedearly.ThenonSunday,the
stormfinallyarrivedsoit wasa dayfor
themuseumandtheLenLyeGallery,
thendrinksandTVonthecouchfor
halftheteam,anda briskwalkin the
windandrainforSandraandme.
Thenit wastimetoheadback
home.Thewholetripwasjusta quick
48 hours,butI feltutterlyrejuvenated
fromspendingtimewithgoodfriends,
laughingformostofthosehoursand
finallybeingabletoexplorea
magnificentpartofthecountry.
We’vedecidedwe’llcomebackin
summer– andwe’vealsodecidedthat
wedefinitelydon’tneedtoruna half
marathontojustifya weekendaway
together.Spendingtimewithone
another is reason enough.New Zealand Woman’s Weekly 77
TO PLAN
THEHALFMARATHONDIDN’THAPPEN,
BUT THE EXTRA FUN TIMES DIDNot running
shortBLONDE