Wow, what a busy week it feels like it’s been! Clearing garden rubbish, work, rowing, and a trip to Auckland and back!
We started the week with clearance: hired a skip to rid ourselves of the mounds of garden rubbish in order to make space for a third car: we’re expecting a visitor for the next month, the final member of team MARBEL. 
Thing is just before this skip was delivered I instructed them to NOT block the garage with it. Harrumph! Well, at least the thing was only here for three days and was collected the day we weren’t here!
This week has been a stunning week’s weather, so I took the opportunity to go for a solo row on the river, and couldn’t have chosen a better day for it to be honest. It was a beautiful row, way up river. I passed a waka on the way back. (Traditional Maori canoe with six members seated. In it, each with one paddle.) 
I was minding my own business, rowing away and I heard voices. I looked up and saw the waka on the other side of the river. Thought they were talking to each other, so I carried on. They started waving their oars above their heads. I realised they were talking to me, and wouldn’t stop till I responded. There was no way that I could do that in a single, I would fall in! So I waved back with one hand, which satisfied them and they carried on!
On Friday I went to Auckland (and back) to meet with my tutor and finish the last of my personal trainer course. A flipping long day, starting with an up at 3:30am to Drive to Dunedin, then a flight via Wellington, to Auckland, followed. By a shuttle to north shore. Loooong! It was a shame that I only got a glimpse of Central Auckland, but I got all my coursework finished, which was the point of the journey. I always love flying over our beautiful Islands, the scenery is always stunning. I had 45 minutes to spare before the return shuttle so I walked to Lake Takepuna. Shame I didn’t have time to walk to the beach, it has a famously stunning beach.
After a quiet day recovering, it was off to Lake Hayes for an open water swim ‘race’ this morning. 2.4km across the lake and back, and it was a stunning day.
Glass like still surface meant it was like swimming in an output door swimming pool, I could keep one eye in, no waves, and on each side when I breathed I could see mountains. I wished it would go on for ever! Despite an impromptu stop before the turn (my darned wet suit came undone!) I came in under my expected time, which was still way slower than the rest of the field! No matter, it was the most enjoyable open water swim I have ever experienced.
Straight from there to pick up Ben at the airport, who’s here for a month, and is our third team member for challenge Wanaka. anew Zealand certainly put the weather on for him today – 32 degrees in Invercargill! Whistle stop tour of Invercargill, back for tea and phew, the end of another week!
Melanie Magowan 