Audacious Freedom Live anywhere. Travel everywhere.

Writing poetry is one thing, publishing it for the world to see and comment on is completely another. Daunting is a word that springs to mind, so does overwhelming and intimidating. But when I read the prize that the initiator of the challenge, Jim (author of Holes in my Soles blog) put forward I knew I just had to give it a go. The prize? A round the world trip, hitchhiking at my own expense! Just got to win this one!!

A quad bike adventure

In single file we drove

Along an old dirt track

Exhilarated and excited

Deeper into the wild

Accelerating up steep paths

Further from the known

Invigorated by the wind

Enlivened by the views

Snow capped mountains

Wellington harbour

Seashore and mountain streams

Bumbling lambs at play

This is New Zealand at its best

If you are in Wellington and want to have a fantastic but really difference experience then have a look at these guy’s website. No problem if you are visiting without transport – they will even pick you up. Already planning our next trip which will be an overnighter!

It sounded like a truck drove into my house last night. Actually it felt like it too. After struggling to ‘sensible’ wakefulness I realised that it was just the roaring of the wind. Yes it is still windy and we have gale force warnings in place once again. Therefore with the sleepless nights catching up on my mood I decided to continue my game of coming up with as many benefits as possible as to why the wind is good!

Character building
This is my area of biggest challenge – character building. I would prefer to go without this benefit, however, it is an opportunity to grow and develop the skills required to remain positive.

Resistance training
Exercising takes on a new dimension during the spring winds. Over the next two months the wind increases resistance and builds stamina. Walking, cycling or running into wind gusts of 115km and hour upwards develops fitness and strong muscles.

Breath capacity
It is challenging for the lungs when doing resistance training to the library with the strength of the full frontal wind taking your breath away. It is quite an eerie feeling to struggle for breath but it does increase lung capacity which is all good for long distance endurance training.

Raking of leaves
The guy who cuts our grass loves the wind. When it is windy he doesn’t have to pick up the grass as he mows – the wind whips the grass away. It saves him time and energy. Another bonus there are no leaves to rake up!

Cooler temperatures
Just in case we may want to complain about the sweltering heat and the hike in electricity costs due to using constantly using an air conditioner the wind comes to save the day by lowering the temperatures. (Sorry guys this does mean we have to use heating but at least we are not withering in high uncomfortable temperatures!)

Well aired house
There is no need to open the windows on a gale force day. The wind will find a way in through the floorboards, doors or any other place not draught proofed. This brings fresh air into the house, removes stale air which ensures that you are more awake and energetic.

After two days of thinking why the wind is beneficial I think I have come up with some reasonable suggestions. There is of course the obvious one of generating power and energy (we have lots of wind farms) however, I wanted to think of the benefits as they directly relate to my day to day experience of living in beautiful but windy Wellington.

Three days of gale force winds – spring has started in earnest. Windswept, hair rearranged, zigzagging across the road, giving up the notion of trying to walk in a straight line or looking elegant I finally made it to shelter. Relief flooded through me as my ears enjoyed the stillness inside the building. This is Wellington. This is Spring. Only another two months of this!

So to keep positive I decided to think of as many reasons as possible why the living in a windy city is beneficial.  And as the wind is battering my house making me feel like I am on a ship in rough seas I came up with this list which brought a smile to my face.

Here is my list – for those who live in windy areas please feel free to add some more, I need the encouragement!

Benefits of Wind

Patience
Driving a long the motorway it was interesting to note that every time we came to a big 40 ton truck with a trailer swaying in the wind a small traffic jam would form. Cars were reluctant to overtake. Therefore it is an opportunity to develop patience and build character!

Hairstyles
I love the idea that for the next two months there is no such thing as a bad hair day. With the wind as your stylist what could give you more natural, unique looks? This saves on time – no lengthy morning preparations with the added bonus of a new style a couple of times a day and reduced number of visits to the hairdresser for hair styling.

Rhythmic Beat
The stronger the wind the more intense the music it produces with a full range of musical sounds which combine together into a sophisticated symphony that I am sure some people are able to appreciate and acquire a taste for!

Rocked to sleep
Depending on where you are and how exposed your house is, you will be able to enjoy the rhythmic rocking of the house. In certain wind strengths you can even enjoy your bed moving in sync with the wind.

Straight lines
Walking in a straight line as a test of being sober is put on hold for the months of spring because nobody seems to be able to walk in a straight line at the moment!

I think this is a good list to start with showing the many wonderful benefits of living within the only capital city, Wellington, based within the Roaring 40s zone. And even though I am feeling more positive and upbeat I can’t help allowing a thought slip in every now and then of lying on a Samoan beach with sun, heat and NO WIND!

New Zealand is a land of contrast. A land of beauty and sereneness. A land of violent geothermal activity. Every new city or country has things that visitors need to understand, appreciate and adapt to.

This can be as challenging as learning to cross a road in China or India or getting to grips with geothermal adrenaline experiences. I am not talking about one off activities that have your pulse racing for a short while. I am talking about people who knowing live with ‘danger’ every day.

It is a land that has bred people that are true adrenaline ‘junkies’.

Earthquakes and Fault lines

When you move to Wellington you don’t ponder on the fact that it lies on the collision zone between two great tectonic plates. Instead you contemplate the life style you will have, the beauty you will live in and the friendly people. Wellingtonians are aware and prepared, they know where they live, they know where the faults run and they get on with enjoying life to the full.

Me, on the other hand, I took a book out the library that pointed out tectonic activity. This was a fascinating book that took me on tours showing me the effects and impacts that fault lines and earthquakes have had on Wellington’s landscape. River gorges that have shifted 2km to the east, land that has been raised, sea beds that are now streets and fault lines that are bumps in the road.

You get used to living on a collision course, even with the reminders which occasionally can get the pulse racing and the heart thumping. Eventually, you don’t even think about it anymore. You work out your emergency kit, your emergency plan and your escape route. And in a strange way come to enjoy the sensation of not knowing…

Rumbling Volcanoes

Skiing and snowboarding can be an adrenaline activity in itself. But when you live in an area where the closest ski resort is on an active volcano this takes it to another level. The North Islands ski resort is on Mt Ruapehu – made famous by its appearance in the Lord of the Rings. For most part Mt Ruapehu is a calm and peaceful natured volcano but every now and then it vents its displeasure. During the late 90’s skiers experienced the energetic force of Mt Ruapehu and even beginner skiers suddenly became pros in their haste to evacuate the mountain.

Don’t let this stop you from hitting the slopes in winter for skiing or in summer for walking. Scientists are on full alert and constantly monitoring the volcanoes moods. The last eruption which occurred in 2007, everyone was kept informed of what was going on, the potential problems and dangers. On the day that it erupted the roads were closed and people evacuated, so when the torrent of hot water and mud burst through the 7m high soft rock there was minimal damage. Two weeks later the all clear was given and the Kiwis and tourists were back playing on their favourite mountain.

I have never experienced anything dramatic except the scenery. Yet, there is something deliciously exciting playing on an active volcano which seems so serene and innocent.

Geo-thermal activity

When it comes to daily adrenaline ‘junky’ living, the people of Rotorua win the prize. Hissing mud pools, geysers and thermal springs have attracted people to this district since the 1800s. This attraction birthed a city built on volcanic activity. You are constantly reminded of this activity by the scent of sulphur that lingers, campsites offering natural under floor heating, mud that is boiling and air vents along the road for steam to escape.

On our first trip there we visited Whakarewarewa, a traditional Maori village built amongst 500 hot springs. The children grow up playing between boiling mud and steaming streams. The Maori have learnt how to live in harmony with their unique habitat using the hot pools to relax and bath in, the steam to cook food, the heat to keep their homes warm. They also live with constant uncertainty. The night before we visited one family’s kitchen disappeared during the night when a steam vent opened up, two days before part of a village road disappeared and in its place was a bubbling mud pool.

On my second trip to Rotorua, I discovered that having steam vents and holes opening up were not unique to the Maori Village but also to the surrounding suburbs. I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like sitting on your lawn one day and the next there is a gaping, steaming hole; or walking down a road one day and the next day it has been swallowed by melting sulphuric mud.

This is the height of true adrenaline living!

New Zealand allows you to experience nature’s awesome power, it brings geography to life. It gives you a new appreciation for life, for beauty and sense of being.

It was still dark. I wasn’t sure what woke me I just knew something was wrong. Then it struck me – there was a sliding door banging. Ah, that’s okay then I could go back to sleep. Except… we didn’t have a sliding door! As I realised the walls were shaking my husband asked, ‘is this an earthquake’? Still being asleep the words rolled around in my head like a dream. Earthquake, was this an earthquake?

Suddenly the adrenaline kicked in – did we have enough water, where were our emergency supplies, was the torch where it should be and could I reach my clothes? After all I was in my pyjamas and didn’t want to be running round the street in them.

Eventually, I answered my husband – yes, it was an earthquake shaking our house. After identifying the problem and waiting for the house to stop moving we cuddle up and went back to sleep. My last dozing thought was we have become quite blasé to these tremors.

In case of emergency – tell me in the morning!

Over the last five years we have experienced three or four tremors that have woken us up. The first time it happened we had no idea what was going on. We lay awake wide-eyed for hours while our hearts came back from their adrenaline trip. Something out of the ordinary had happened but we were completely unable to place it. Since we have identified the ‘whack’ noise that wakes us up is the result of an earthquake jarring the house, we have been able to calm down quicker and go back to sleep.

My reaction to stressful situations has always intrigued me. In my head I think I will react one way and yet often I react completely different. The longest tremor I have experience in Wellington lasted 2 minutes and I never even stopped ironing. In my innocence of being new to Wellington I assumed it was the wind blowing the house and making the glasses rattle. And if you think that is farfetched –then you need to live in Wellington when it is throwing 140km winds at you! It was only the next day I realised it had been an earthquake 30km underground about 20km from my house.

The shock of finding out what happened

After experiencing an earth tremor I always check two websites – the civil defence website and the NZ earthquake website. These keep us up to date on any emergency preparations we need to take and what earthquakes occurred in the last 24 hours. All I was expecting to find as I opened the sites was the location and size of the earthquake we had felt. It took me a while to comprehend what I was reading. Christchurch, the biggest city on the South Island was hit by a 7.4 on the Richter scale. This was large enough to cause damage to buildings. There were no fatalities but there were serious injuries and people needed to be rescued from under the rubble and from holes that had opened up.

I stared at the pictures in shock. The tremor we had felt had brought buildings down, but we had turned over and gone back to sleep completely unaware of the damage that tremor had caused.

This has raised a lot of questions for me. At what point do you take cover? Are my emergency supplies up to scratch and can I be self sufficient if we have no power for any length of time?

‘Be prepared’ is good advice to live by!

*Photos come from NZ newsboards. For more photos check them out.