Taranaki trip

“A 'Bummel',” I explained, “I should describe as a journey, long or short, without an end; the only thing regulating it being the necessity of getting back within a given time to the point from which one started.  Sometimes it is through busy streets, and sometimes through the fields and lanes; sometimes we can be spared for a few hours, and sometimes for a few days. But long or short, but here or there, our thoughts are ever on the running of the sand. We nod and smile to many as we pass; with some we stop and talk awhile; and with a few we walk a little way. We have been much interested, and often a little tired. But on the whole we have had a pleasant time, and are sorry when 'tis over.”

(Three Men on the Bummel, by Jerome K. Jerome)

From Wednesday 9th to Thursday 14th, we booked in for eight nights at an airbnb flat on a farm just out of New Plymouth.

Besides that, we had just three other arrangements regulating our activities for our nine days away.

The first arrangement was done quickly and easily.  On our drive down from Auckland, we briefly stopped off in Huntly to do a property inspection of an investment property we own there.  It was all good, and we were away again within 30 minutes.

In Taranaki, we missed our accommodation when we first drove past it, thinking it was just the barn.  But actually it was perfect for our needs -- peaceful, good sized, and ideally located between New Plymouth, Inglewood and Mt Taranaki.  The flat had a piano and music books, which the girls played; Miya learnt a couple of new songs during our stay.  Unfortunately the piano was really badly out of tune!

For most of Thursday we relaxed in the local peaceful environment, in preparation for our second arrangement.

Our second arrangement, which was also the original motivation for our trip, happened on Thursday afternoon and Friday.

The North Island children's athletics competition, The Colgate Games, was held over the weekend in Inglewood.  Mulan had signed up to compete in the long jump and 80m hurdles.  Miya decided not to compete.

On Thursday afternoon we drove to the track to pick up Mulan's competition gear and check out the conditions.

All of Mulan's events were on Friday, so we were up bright and early for the opening ceremony at 8am.

Mulan's competitions were an emotional up and down.  As always when competing, some things go well and some things not so well.  All we can do is prepare well and do our best on the day, then accept the results, whatever they are.

Mulan's long jump was at 11:30am, and she had an ideal warmup.  Her first jump was an okay 4.09m (her best is 4.44m).  Her second jump just didn't have the power and was only 3.54m.  Her third jump was awesomely powerful, and I reckon it was near 4.50m, but unfortunately with all that extra power she overstepped the board and it was a no-jump.  Sadly, this meant that her 4.09m jump was her best, and it put her in 24th place overall for the 13 girls (out of 40 competing).  (A good jump would have placed Mulan 14th overall.)

It was then a short break until Mulan's 80m hurdles at 1pm.  There were four heats, with the fastest 8 getting through to the finals.

We really didn't know what to expect with the hurdles.  Mulan had only raced the event three times previously, and had a PB of 15.36sec.  Since then we'd done a few hurdles training sessions, and with things going smoother every time we decided that a goal was to get under 15 seconds.  We also had a super-ambitious goal of getting a finalist ribbon.

Mulan's heat was fourth and last, and we could see that while some girls had excellent technique other were clearly there just to have a go.  Then Mulan ran her race (lane 7 in the yellow Takapuna top):

It was a great run for Mulan, and she got third, meaning that she had a chance of getting through to the finals.

Delightedly, her 14.96sec (into a strong 3.0 m/s head wind) was the sixth fastest time, and she was clearly through to the finals.

We then had to wait around until 5pm for the finals.

Unfortunately, Mulan's final didn't go quite as smoothly as the heat.  Right from the first hurdle the timing wasn't quite right and she wasn't able to get the smooth momentum that she'd got in the heat.  On the last hurdle she was a little off-balance and she clipped it and fell, grazing her knees.  She crossed the finish line 8th in a time of 16.10sec.  Interestingly, the 7th placegetter got 14.82sec; this meant that Mulan was still heading for a sub-15sec time up until the final hurdle.

Overall, a pretty awesome day.  A new PB and a North Island competition finalist is brilliant!  The results are all here.

While others were still competing on Saturday and Sunday, our competition was over and we did some exploring around the local area.

We spent Saturday wandering around New Plymouth.  The local playgrounds and beach had to be tried out.  Of course we did our traditional jump:

That evening, back at our flat, we were shocked and excited to see a flaming UFO heading straight for the mountain:

A moment later a second one followed the first.  Were they (a) meteors or (b) aliens crash-landing on the mountain?

On closer inspection we suspect it was (c) aeroplanes:

Sunday morning we visited Tupare, a house and gardens that was started in the 1930s and is now open to the public.

Our third and final arrangement was that we had booked to stay in the Department of Conservation hut, Pouakai Hut, on Mt Taranaki, on Monday night.

That meant that we had to do some walking, and we opted for the Pouakai Crossing.

Early Monday morning we parked our car at the Mangorei Road carpark, and our host family then drove us to the North Egmont Visitor Centre.

From there it was all on foot, with packs on our backs.  The advice was to take gear for a range of weather conditions, as well as food, water, cooking equipment and sleeping bags.  Miya carried 6-7 kg, Mama carried 10kg, Mulan 11-12kg, and I carried 16-17kg.  In total it took us around eight and a half hours to get to Pouakai Hut.  Mama, Miya and I all had moments on the track of being the slowest member; Mulan was speedy the whole way.

The walk was initially up Mt Taranaki part way, and then across the side for a bit.

We crossed a couple of slips, where signs advised us not to stop.  Miya's shorter legs meant this was the toughest section for her, climbing over the boulders.

It was very peaceful.  Throughout the day we met up with only three other groups of walkers until we got to the hut.

There's a turnoff to Holly Hut, another DOC hut.  We hadn't booked there, but by this time my feet and knees were pretty sore and I wondered aloud whether we should stay there instead of continuing on for a few more hours to Pouakai Hut.  (I think it's time to replace my 24-year-old tramping boots, which weigh in at about 1kg each and have very little support.)

So, I sat at the intersection with the bags while Mama and the girls walked the five minutes to the hut to check it out.  They voted no, let's continue, as they said it was abandoned except for flies.

If we'd opted for a bit more walking we could have continued along past Holly Hut another 30 minutes or so to the Bells Falls, which is supposed to be good viewing.

Instead we continued on our way to Pouakai Hut.  I swapped my boots for sandals, and was able to keep going.

Most notably we crossed the Ahukawakawa Swamp.

Then there was a bit more uphill, with some good views of the mountain, before we arrived at the hut at 7pm.  15 of us stayed in the 16-bed hut overnight.

After setting up our sleeping bags on four adjacent bunks, dinner was just-add-water-style, cooked on our little camping stove.

While the girls and I relaxed and prepared for bed, Mama, still energetic, walked to see the sunset at the number one scenic spot.

Next morning was misty, and I was up before the sun.  Gradually the sky lightened, but there was no sunrise.

After breakfast, we walked to the scenic spot that Mama visited earlier.  It was cloudier and slightly windier.

Then it was time to head back down the mountain and to our waiting car.

This time it was Mama's turn to struggle and be slower; her knees were a bit painful going down the steps.  It took us about three and a half hours from Pouakai Hut to our car.

Wednesday was mostly a rest and recovery day.  In the evening we had a picnic dinner at Pukekura Park, before enjoying the festival of lights.

On the way home to Auckland on Thursday, we stopped off briefly at the Three Sisters rocks.

Book review: To say nothing of the dog

I've read three notable novels lately -- all highly recommended.  (And a few short story collections -- not recommended.)

It all started, several weeks ago, with Connie Willis' 1997 book To Say Nothing of the Dog: Or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump.

Somehow, and I can't remember where, I read an enticing review of the book, and so I requested it from the library.

If it helps anything, this long-named book is a fun, futuristic, comedy-mystery-romance, time-traveling historical novel set (mostly) in Victorian England.  It's further complicated by two things (1) it takes most of the book to even find out what the Bishop's bird stump actually is, and (2) the main character is often an unreliable narrator.

But despite the complications, it's a very readable and thoroughly enjoyable story.

The basic plot is that in 2057 a wealthy American is pushing to rebuild Coventry Cathedral, bombed during the Second World War.  It's essential that every last detail of the Cathedral is exactly the same as it was on the night of the bombing, and this includes the Bishop's bird stump.

This is where the time travelling comes in, and for most of the story we're following Ned Henry, the unreliable narrator (dazed and confused by too many time travels), sent back to 1888 to return a cat, restore the timeline, track down the Bishop's bird stump, avoid the overbearing wealthy American, recover his mind, and romantically pair off the right people.

It's fun and funny all the way along, as we, like Ned, are trying to figure it out.

At one point Ned is boating along the Thames with a couple of other men, not to mention the dog.

Those more literary-minded than me will immediately click that this is an affectionate reference to Jerome K. Jerome's 1889 book Three Men in a Boat To Say Nothing of the Dog!  (Ned even bumps into Jerome, Harris, George and Montmorency along the way!)

This led me to get curious about Jerome's book, so after finishing Willis' book (yes, it all ends happily, with the timeline restored and the bird stump found -- but I'm not going to tell you what the bird stump is) I started on Jerome's book.

Three Men in a Boat is a bone-dry-witted social commentary in the form of a travel story/misadventure.  Jerome's numerous storytelling digressions are just as fun as the travels themselves, as he comments on the idiosyncrasies of Victorian middle classes.

As with any travel story, I found myself reading with a map alongside me, following their journey along the Thames.

The particular edition I borrowed from the library was also bundled with Jerome's follow-up story (1900), Three Men on the Bummel.

On the Bummel reintroduces us to the three men several years later (minus the dog, who sadly probably died of old age).  Jerome and Harris are now married with children, and desperate to get away from their families (their families are similarly desperate to get rid of them).

They, with George, take off to Germany for a bit of biking through the Black Forest.  Once again, their semi-competence frequently fails them, and they get into trouble (but always in a chipper, thoroughly-English way).  And once again, Jerome uses the travel format to take frequent narrative digressions to comment on English and European customs.

I finally finished On the Bummel a few days ago, coincidently while the family was on the bummel in Taranaki.

What does it mean to be on the bummel?  I'll get on to that next when I write about our little summer travels.

More rock climbing

Miya and I are continuing to rock climb a few times a week (two and a half months since we first started).

Yesterday, I completed my first yellow!!

Miya and I have got different climbing styles/strengths; she can do some climbs that I can't do, and vice versa.  She's got the finger strength and endurance, while I've got the arm reach and pullup strength.

Yesterday, Miya also completed a new green that I haven't yet done (I fell after just touching, but not securing, the top hold!).

The only reason Miya couldn't do the yellow one I did was that I had the long reach to the final hold at the top.  Miya's working on an extra heel hook, and is close but not quite there yet.

I think I'm right to say that Miya has completed six greens, while I've completed five greens and a yellow.

With climbing so often, Miya and I are starting to try activities and projects, rather than just turn up and climb:

1. Yesterday, we tried eliminating a limb and climbing with three limbs only.  We managed to do a blue without a leg/foot, and an orange without an arm/hand.  It was surprisingly scary, often off-balance and unsecured.
2. We're also doing more projecting.  We're currently working on a few tougher climbs (greens and yellows), breaking them down into sections and working on each section separately.  One activity we tried was to project a climb for 20 minutes, then project another climb for 20 minutes, then return to the first climb and make three attempts at it, then do the same for the second climb.
3. I'm starting to do a bit more on the campus board, working on pullups and finger strength.
4. We're sometimes doing circuits on an inclined wall.

We've booked Miya in for climbing classes in term 1.  I expect with advice from the experts she'll go beyond me very soon.

UPDATE 30/12/2020: Miya and I repeated our new climbs, this time on video.  Me doing a yellow:

And Miya on the green:

Mulan, Auckland recordholder

 We discovered today that Mulan's name is in the record-books!

Check out the Auckland Athletics senior records.  Scroll down to the bottom and there is Mulan's name, for the Under 14 Women triple jump.  9.32m on the 14th of November 2020.

AWESOME!!!

(And apparently Mulan is a woman now!)

Belmont Music Centre

 Yesterday was the final day of the year for Belmont Music Centre.

In the morning we had a concert, and a prizegiving, and a shared lunch.

Only I wasn't there as I was symptomatic and self-isolating.  My Covid-19 test came back negative the previous evening, but it's still best that symptomatic people self-isolate as much as possible.

So, Mama, Mulan and Miya enjoyed it without me, and from all reports it went very well.

Music Centres are for primary and intermediate school age children only, so this year Mulan was too old to be enrolled.  (She helped out in the String Band sometimes, but with a dislocated finger she can't play her cello at the moment.)

Miya, however, was very involved.  This year she enrolled in three instruments -- clarinet, trumpet and keyboard.  She played in the Jazz Band and also joined the String Band in the concert for one piece.

And a HUGE congratulations to Miya!!!  With all her work on so many instruments (she's also learnt recorder and violin for a few years), Miya was voted by the teachers as winner of the Senior Music Cup for Excellence.

Miya has enrolled for next year in trumpet and saxophone.  We've also arranged that she'll continue to have private lessons with the clarinet teacher.  She likes the clarinet (and the teacher is awesome!), but she'll be too advanced for the classes offered at BMC.

---

On a less important note, yesterday was also the final day for me as BMC Manager (yay!!)

I offered to do it a year ago, when no one else wanted to do it and BMC was in danger of closing.  But I didn't want to do it long-term, and we worked to find someone else to take on the job.

It's all sorted, and Chris Davis has now taken over as BMC Manager.  He's very capable, and I have every confidence that things will go well next year.

Mama and I are both volunteering on the parents committee, so we'll still be helping out to some extent.

(Haha -- we've been zooming in on the photo Blade Runner style, and seeing me looking strange in the cup reflections!)

Auckland athletics relays

 Besides the ballet, last weekend we were also busy with athletics.

Saturday morning we were at the Auckland Junior Relay Champs.

Mulan was in the Takapuna 13 Girls 4x100m and 4x200m relays, and they got third in both races.

We had to leave early after the 4x200m race, to get to the ballet rehearsal, so unfortunately Mulan couldn't join the field relay.  But I hear that the girls did extremely well and got second.

Ballet

Mulan and Miya's ballet finished for the year on Sunday.

Despite the Covid-interruptions, which meant lessons online in our dining room, things went extremely well.

First up, the girls had their exams a few months ago.

Both Mulan and Miya did the contemporary dance (NZAMD) exams, and both got Honours -- Mulan in Level 4 and Miya in Preparatory.

Mulan did the RAD Intermediate ballet exam, and got Distinction.

Miya's RAD Grade 4 exam was cancelled because of Covid, but the dance school, Rowe Dance, did in-house equivalent exams.

And then we had the show over the weekend, with the dress rehearsal on Saturday and two performances on Sunday.

This year they split each show into two separate parts.  The younger classes (of which Miya was one of the oldest) performed Peter Pan, while the older classes performed Les Sylphides.  All the contemporary dance classes were involved in Peter Pan.

What can I say?!  It was thoroughly enjoyable, and the kids all did amazingly well.  Miya was Tiger Lily, and really looked the part.  Mulan is now dancing en pointe, and the senior girls were all very impressive in their strength and elegance.

As always, the girls asked me to try to pick out what I liked best.  And as always it is so hard.  But if I had to pick one, I'd say Mulan's contemporary dance, in which they were the ocean in Peter Pan, was very beautiful.

Both girls got recognition at the prizegiving.  Mulan was congratulated for getting the second highest RAD exam mark in the School (actually third, as there were two first equals).  And Miya was awarded for her potential and work ethic dedication.

Sadly, the girls' dance school is closing.  Meaghan Rowe decided (understandably!) to devote more time to her young family, and has sold Rowe Dance to Mainly Dance Studios.  Apparently they're going to try to keep the existing Rowe Dance students and teachers together, but we'll see.  Mulan and Miya have decided that they will enrol at Mainly Dance next year, and see what happens.

Miya, however, had already decided to stop doing ballet next year, and will only do contemporary dance.  She's decided to focus more on her rock climbing, and we're also going to look into horse riding.