Lahinch

Just before Christmas I headed off to visit my brother in Lahinch. Twas a glorius day and got a couple of nice shots.



Reflections on Lough Derg - just passed Ballina and Killaloe on the way to Ennis from the Limerick road. It was a random spot just off the road which grabbed my eye.




Sun setting over Lahinch - taken somewhere between Doolin and Lahinch on the back road.

Cold Damp Glendo

Very few of us braved the coldness of last Sunday of Glendalough. The day was most certainly short lived. Conditions weren't bad - but the sun never came out, the skies were dull and it just felt baltic.

Christmas Cheer

I'm an attempt at being festive and joining the Christmas spirit - we drank lots of mulled wine and decorated the house... well the boys did - I laughed a lot and got my camera at the ready...




Funky psycho-dellic lights now line the stairway to the rest of the house...

Susan and Simon

Congratulations Sue and Simon!! and what a lovely wedding. Great to see old and new friends gathering around to celebrate their marriage. In weather that has been typical of the last few weeks - it rained pretty much the entire day but that didn't put a dampener on things.



It gave a great start to Christmas celebrations - mince pies, mulled wine, christmas trees and carol singers.

Can't Believe its December...

.... and only 18 days till Christmas. My time back in Ireland seems to be flying by. I am still not sure what to make of being back home - happy, sad or indifferent. Its certainly taking some getting used to.

Presently, I am working with SFI (Science Foundation Ireland) sources potential reviewers for various research grants in the Maths/Computational field. Its certainly filling my time and paying my bills and quite interesting. It has given me a little insight into what the Foundation does and how it works. Its a really nice work atmosphere.

I couldn't believe the Irish Times on Monday when I saw this photogragh. Is this an effect of global warming or a once off? None-the-less - a wave you might expect off the coast of Hawaii - but Ireland? At least they are shark infested waters :)


Photograph: Mickey Smith
South African Duncan Scott catching a wave that was estimated to tower eight times his height off Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, on Saturday morning

Eco-Dublin?

Is Dublin turning eco? Since arriving back in Dublin I've noticed the mass of new eco-taxis cycling around. I think its great.

Back in Ireland

I can't believe it, I have been back in Ireland now for 3 weeks. Time has flown. Somethings have changed, some stayed the same. The M50 / Red Cow / N7 eternal mess. Crazy Dublin traffic. Lots of people braking lights. New Buildings, old friends :)

Its good to be back - I've missed friends and family - but I won't deny it - its strange and unsettling. What is the way forward from here? Nothing feels quite right but then again I don't know what is right... the eternal battle that goes on in Carole's mind.

Onto more interesting things, I managed to get out to Glendo for a days bouldering last weekend and a trip out West this weekend, for a quick surf. The surf, however, really can't be actually constituted as surf. More swimmming with board in ripples. But so what, its November, its Ireland and we're were in the sea. Smiles all round.







Julie-ann was over from the UK and well seeing as we were over on the West - we had to take here to visit Ailladie - and what a treat, a glorius sunset.

Goodbye Wanaka, Goodbye New Zealand

I went to New Zealand expecting a magical place and I certainly got that. However it was not in the way I anticipated. I expected Europe (great accessible snow and sport climbing) what I got was a remoteness, small ski fields and un-travelled climbs.

With a population of about a million (roughly) on the south island, an island much the same size as Ireland, it is soon evident how sparsely populated the island is and how remote you can get. While snowboarding in Europe, if you don't actually live underneath the lift station, then you make use of the (generally) free shuttle bus to the lift, which is maybe a 20 min drive. Whereas here in New Zealand, no one lives close to the lift. Everyday, we drove the 40km trip to get to Cardrona or Treble Cone our closest two ski resorts, half of which was on an unsealed road, the edges of which were barely marked with posts, twisting and turning its way up a mountain.

Will I miss Wanaka? Yes!! Will I come back to Wanaka and New Zealand? Definitely! But my reasons for returning wouldn't be solely for climbing and snowboarding as they were on this trip. I would come for the remoteness, the sense of adventure, the scenery, the mountains not for the fresh tracks or a new grade.

48 hours

5am - Up, breakfast, drive to airport
6am - Check in
7am - Fly to Auckland
820am - Arrive in Auckland Airport
9am - Bus into Auckland City
1030am - Sort out Passport with General consulate of Ireland.
12noon - Meet a friend for Lunch
330pm - Bus back to airport
5pm - Check in
7pm - Fly to LA - Grrr no proper movies, the system was very dodgy, you settle back into a film only to get about 30 seconds in and it would start skipping and blacking out, this continued throughout the film and every subsequent film on the journey, it was very frustrating and made for a very long journey.
1030am (630am nztime) - Arrive in LA
1130noon (730am nztime) - Queueing in Customs
1230pm (830am nztime) - Still in Customs
130pm (930am nztime) - Queueing at Check in
2pm (10am nztime) - Queueing at Departures
3pm (11am nztime) - Queueing at the Gate
330pm (1130 nztime) - Fly to Heathrow - and the worst turbulance I have ever experienced.
9am (9pm nztime) - Getting close to Heathrow
930am (930pm nztime) - Circling Heathrow
930am (930pm nztime) - Still Circling Heathrow
1015am (1015pm nztime) - Landed Bump, Now Run, got a flight to catch and well its Heathrow.
1045am (1045pm nztime) - Queueing at Passport Control
1050am (1050pm nztime) - at check in - too late for flight - booked on to next one.
12 noon (12 nztime) - sitting waiting for flight
1pm (1am nztime) - still waiting
140pm (140am nztime) - finally boarding
250pm (250am nztime) - touch down in Ireland
3pm (3am nztime) - why won't they let us out of the plane
310pm (310am nztime) - ah the pilot came on to let us know - that (how typical) the walkway is a metre short of the plane and they can't work out what to do
315pm (315am nztime) - finally they decide to let us off the back of the plane - the old fashioned way using a staircase :) who'd have thought???
4pm (4am nztime) met my parents at arrivals:)
6pm (6am nztime) drove in the gate to Stoneacre (home sweet home)

48 hours of travelling door to door - 49 hours since I got up in New Zealand with probably only 3 hours sleep - I tired yesterday. I some how managed to stay up till about 1030. Thinking I'd sleep right through, I settled down into bed exhausted, but to my disgust I woke at 430am not to return to sleep. GRRRR... Jet lag has set in.

My little travel companions

Hedgehog and Kiwi

What a final Week !

Kaikoura

Two very sleepy girls headed north from Christchurch in search o the whale watching (apparently) paradise and cray fish heaven township of Kaikoura. But after a long week in Christchurch neither of us were up to much and chilled out for the evening in the campsite. The next day we went for a very pleasant walk along the peninsula, the rain only threatenly a number of times. But eventually we succumbed to getting wet and the sun came out. What luck?



Renwick Wine Tasting

From Kaikoura, we headed north again to Bleinheim in search on vine yards and great wines. We drove through the town of Bleimheim and were bitterly disappointed at the clinically manicured streets. The town had no character. We continued. In the guidebook, we noted a little campsite/hostel about 10 km away in a the town of Renwick, we'd try there. It was fantastic. Watson's Way was run by an elderly couple. It had charming surrounds set beneath the orange and lemon trees.
They even provided breakfast for the guests. Freshly made jams and perserves, what more could one ask for. The rented bikes, so we teamed up with another irish girl (Ciara) and her canadian friend (Kyra) and cycled around the vineyards sampling some of Marlboroughs finest wines, champagnes and spirits.

We landed our our feet in the last vineyards as one of the wine makers was there and a little bored. So after tasting 5 or 6 of his wines, he decided to bring us on a tour - for the next hour we wandered through the wine making rooms, sampling from the barrels. It was a great treat. After the tour we helped him finish off the remaining opened bottles of wine and as a parting gift he let us chose a bottle of wine to bring home. Naturally one of the best bottles (second best actually- the best was limited edition and well he wasn't going to give us that) of wine was in our minds the tastiest and so that was ours to keep. What an end to a fun filled day.


Paynes Ford

From Renick we headed north again, along the coast road to Picton, through Marlborough sounds, which was spectacular. We had beautiful homemade icecream in Picton. We drove through Nelson to Moteuka (what appeared to be a fantastically neon town) and on to Takaka where we pitched camp in Hang Dog for the next few days. Our aim was to walk and climb for the next few days. So up early the next morning (not really) and ready for a few nice easy climbs. Then the rain came, so into the Abel Tasman for some walking. We found a lovely walk along the coast.
Up bright and early again the next morning, ready to attack the world - when I decided to look for my passport. I hadn't seen in it a few days. Searched the car, no where to be found. Ooo oh. I rang the campsite Watsons Way and all the places i could think of between there and here. No one had seen it. Not good.

I went into the police station to report it missing and they kindly put me in touch with the irish consulate. Who said unless I can get to Auckland by 5om this evening, there was no was I was flying on Monday. Not good. More ringing and double checking. Took the car apart. Definitely not there. This is not good. Rang qantas to find out could they change my flights. The girl was great and sorted it out for me.. but laughed and yup you can't fly on Monday.





Murchism
Since there wasn't anything more I could do about passport. We drove down to Murchism to see Patrick before I left. He was down for the long weekend with a gang of paddlers. We chilled out, went for coffee and generally relaxed as they paddled and then drove to Silvia Flats to chill out (some more) in the natural hot springs with a case of wine. What a way to end a trip !

Henryetta the Hedgehog

Poor little baby Henryetta was found lost in the garden. He was very tame but confused. Not phased in the slightest by my taking photographs...

Reflections in a Puddle

You don't need grand lakes to get a nice reflections.. I found this small puddle.. and it turned out quite nice.

Daffodils in October

It just doesn't seem right - but still beautiful.

Night Shift

I worked (as far as I can remember) my first ever night shift last night. I am a zombie today. Three 12 hours days, two 8 hour days, a night shift, and one 3 hour day all in aid of the local election. All I can say is - what a week...

Work Work Work

Up in Christchurch this week, working with local elections. Data entry, scanning, etc is the order of the day. It funny been back in front of a computer. I'd forgotten how tiring it is. It was a 12 hour day.

Bumper Stickers

Heading West In a Nutshell, Rain, Rain, Rain, and guess what more Rain...

Myself, Orla and Ruby (our car) accompanied by Mike and Bubbles (Mike's campervan) left Wanaka for a our little road trip out West and up to Coast. First stop was Makarora were we camped for the night in Cameron Flats. We did all the touristy things, Blue Pools, Haast Pass View Point, Davis Flat walk, Fantail Falls, Thunder Falls, Pleasant Flat, Roaring Billy, Neils Beach & Jacksons Bay. Ruby even bumped into Bubbles. Apparently the handbrake is a tad loose. When we came back from one of the walks we found her nicely nestled into the back of bubbles. Thanks goodness it was Mikes van and no one elses :) Jacksons Bay and Neil's beach was interesting to say the least. We decided to drive to the beach to see if it might be a nice camp spot and what a fridge we got. Its white bait season and what looked to be a trailer park of redneck white bait fishermen had taken up camp just before the beach - scary sight. They even had a scare crow - although I think it was ment to be a scare human not a scare crow. Quick turn around, foot to the floor and we were outta there.





On Tuesday we awoke to pouring rain, not just drizzel anymore. Properly raining. We drove to Haast and then on Moeraki Lake, where we hid out in the van. When eventually the rain seemed to brake we walked to Monro beach. Unfortunately, the rain didn't break and we got soaked. We searched for Penguins, none to be found. Just rain, lots of rain.





The forecast was sunshine on Wednesday so we headed to Fox Glacier and trekked around that for the morning, Lake Matterson in the afternoon, and finally down to Gillespie's beach for a glorious sunset and a great campsite. Guess what, I was awoken plenty of times during the night the sound of ... you guess it ... pouring rain.



Thursday was a bit of a wash out quite literally. It rained from morning to night - and rain like I haven't seen in a long time. It rained heavy, then lightened then got worse and worse and worse and then the wind picked up, then we had debris. Then we had to cross those one way bridges, the very special bridges that are not only one way but also have trains using the same one way bridge. Let me tell they are scary. But add gale for winds and then you are in for some interesting times.
We spent the night in Noah's Ark backpackers... we felt we needed to be in doors and away from the rain for just one night. On Friday it cleared into only occasional showers to we headed for a 11 KM walk along the sea front on the out skirts of Greymouth, from there we drove to Reefton, and did a lovely hike from their on Saturday morning (he he in the drizzel :) the sun did pop its head out for the second half of the walk, making it really spectacular. We drove to Mururia Springs to try out the natural (though commercial) springs. Very relaxing. It cleared into a lovely evening. We built a camp fire, baked potatoes over it & toasted marshmallows. An hour after going to bed, the skies opened and it poured all night long and into the morning. We packed up and headed to Christchurch... once we got over the Lewis passed it cleared.



Despite rain, we had a great week. I think the rain only enhanced the fun. Ooooo, arghhhh!! and everything was very pretty and green :)

Packing life into boxes

Its that time of year again. I move out of Wanaka tomorrow. The season has ended, the snow on the way out. Spring is here, the flowers are blossoming. It is time to pack the car and get on the road again - where will the dusty road lead... first stop Haast.

Feeding the Ducks.

The ducks swarm as you near the lake - in anticipation of break. Whilst sitting there watching the hundreds of ducks, two guys came down close to us with a whole sliced pan. They kindly gave us a couple of slices. It was a ducks Christmas.

Spring Boarding

so to speak...

Crunch in the morning, slush in the evening. The snow is rapidly melting. But to our pleasant surprise we got a sprinkling of snow a couple of days ago. What a treat that was. The ski resorts were ever so happy. As the much of the brown coloured slopes were once again turned to a snowy white (funnily enough).

Day in TC !!

I think I have had my last day in Treble Cone today. Maybe, I will squeeze one in next week. What a great day!! Loads of hiking to find some fresh lines and soft snow. It was great.

My time in Wanaka is rapidly coming to an end - 6 more working days left. Then it is on the road again, at least for a while. I wonder what I will get up to :)

Photos

I've put up a bunch of photos up on my flickr website from the last couple of weeks/months in New Zealand.

Back to Work

Back to work in Cardrona and I am down to my last 6 days of work. YAY :) The season is definitely on the way out. Snow is melting before our eyes. Punters are NOT arriving in droves anymore. The slopes are quiet. Its spring skiing - chunky crunchy slopes in the morning - slush in the evening. Boarding in tshirts.... time to have some fun :)

Carrot Juice is Murder

Just listen to it - its hilarious. Thanks Daire, I got a giggle from it.

Carrot Juice is Murder

Week in Christchurch

So, I spent a week in Christchurch, completely unexpected, except for the circumstances, it was nice being in a city again and some where different. I spent the last 3 days catching up with Patrick Davey. It was great to finally spend some time with him. Had a few lovely evenings. Christchurch is in bloom at the moment. Its springtime and it certainly shows. Weeping willows line the quaint little river (however I've told that they are not actually weeping or willows, but they do look like them and I can't remember the correct name). Even the gorse is in bloom. It certainly is a pretty array of colours. I wandered around Christchurch in a bit of a daze. I couldn't understand how I was meant to go back to Wanaka and snowboard when I was wearing shorts and a tshirt. It just seemed wrong.

Funny Signposts

They love their quirky signposts :)




Ok, so this one isn't terribly funny at first - but then I had to stop to take the photo :)

Cardrona Games

Last week, the ski resort have been hosting the Cardrona Games. Competitions involving all types of skiing and boarding were held everyday, but by far the most eventful was the Skidoo and the motorbike jumping. It was amazing.

Sean's Little Accident

I won't go into details as it is not my place. But just to let people at home know - Sean had a snowboarding accident on Friday. He smacked his head against a rock quite hard. Somehow he managed to snowboard down to ski patrol where he was given immediate first aid. They then sent him to Twizel for a check up, who sent him to Timaru for a CT scan, which showed a crack in his skull. They helicoptored him up to Christchurch where he was operated on on Saturday morning. Myself and Orla played a bit of a cat and mouse game trying to catch up with him, and finally found in the emergency room in Christchurch. The operation was successful and he is now the proud owner of 10 pieces of titanium in his head and a very fetching haircut.

On behalf of Sean, we like to thank ski patrol in Ohau and all the doctors and nurses in Twizel, Timaru and Christchurch, helicoptors and ambulances, who have taken wonderful care of him. He was given immediate and precautionary care and very quickly figured out the extent of his injury. Considering his family were on the other side of the world, they were very forthcoming with myself and Orla.

First Powder Day :)

As we sat on the bus this morning in the rain listening to the radio, we hoped of good things at the mountain. It had rained down low all night long and was still raining. Cardrona was on hold. The staff vans were not moving. What will the mountain look like? Will the wild predictions be right - or will we have another 2cm of fresh powder.

After about half an hour we were on the way up the hill, smiles came across all faces, when we realised it had snowed down quite low. Walking out to the lift I was almost knee deep in powder. Now, I am not that tall but none the less there was about 20cm at least of powder at the base. We were in for a fun day. Lots of digging of ramps and shovelling of snow, raking, flipping chairs, sweeping magic carpets - we finally had the beginners slopes open. Time to get the other lifts open. Scottie skidooed me up to my station - the top of captains. All was not plain sailing though. Not sure how it happening - but one minute we're cruising along Sean's way. The next minute we're lying in the snow. The skidoo beside us on its side in the snow. No one was hurt - so we had a laugh - pushed it right again. The it was onwards and upwards to Captains.

I had a fairly cruisy day up there, the mountain was not at all packed - and we got lots of powder runs in at lunch.

My Goggles :(

Let me remember for a just one second :( Its so sad - this is what my goggles used to look like - weren't they pretty.