Wellington City Christmas with the Hambrooks.
And a few days on Somes Island - less than 4 square kilometres.
I needed to run. Far and Farther. To feel a bit wild. So, after scouring a map and coming up with a basic plan, Tom dropped me at Owhiro Bay. I had spied an access which I reckoned I could hit by running around the beach; and would then take me up to the Makara Mountain Bike park, where I could run into town back to Sarah's place. Plan B was a far more sensible shorter run around the beach and up through the wind turbines.
Tom: "It's nearly 5pm - I think you'd better take the sensible option."
Really - we've been together for 18 years and he thought I'd hear anything other than "be a girls blouse, go the easy road". Challenge laid - hell or high water I was not cutting this short.
It took me over an hour of beach running to regret that decision. Beach running on shin deep soft sand filling my shoes. Scenery was stunning though. As per usual with navigation - it's tricky to work out quite where you are. Funny that. So when I hit a couple of houses and a big "No Trespassers" sign, I kept running. But not much further and I stopped to talk to a 'local' who told me all I could get to if I kept going north was Taranaki. So I turned around and followed some divers - figuring they must have driven in somehow. After jumping the fence not far from the "No Trespassers" sign (can I pretend I didn't see that?) they got in their ramshackle car and I hit them up for information. "Do I go this way to Newtown?". Four big blokes in wetsuits and swannies looked at me and their jaws dropped in unison to hit their chests.
"In the city?"
"Yes"
"It's a long way"
"That's OK".
"Yeah, it's that way."
And off I went. Cell phone flat. Late. Knowing Tom would start getting grouchy VERY soon. A long painful run where I was too stressed to be able to rest. Eventually I arrived in Makara, and knocked on the door at the cattery. It takes a special person to live with so many cats. The stench of stale cigarette smoke and urine hit me as soon as the door was opened, but I was able to borrow the phone to ring for my rescuers.
