Exercise

I wanted to talk about exercise. From those who knew me in Makarska, you may have thought that I was obsessive about exercise – I was certainly an oddity in the village because I was out exercising 6 days out of 7. Odder than odd was the fact that I ran (in public) and even more odd, I rowed!

New Zealanders are a sporty physical lot. We run and gym, we yoga, surf, tramp, skate and ride. There was a government programme a few years ago which encouraged people to ‘get up and push ‘go’ ‘, with the aim being that everyone tried to do 4 thirty minute sets of exercise each week – even if it was just going for a walk. People are encouraged to walk to work or even just to walk to the next bus or train stop. If you ride a bike to work every few months there are free breakfasts for bike riders in the city square.

Of course the aim behind the political encouragement isn’t because they want you to feel good – the government is not so much a good Samaritan as a watcher of costs of running the health system. Overweight people have heart issues, diabetes issues, depression issues, all of which cost the health system in the long run. Better to try and ‘nip it in the bud’ so to speak, and if there is an off-spin from that which means that people feel better about themselves, then all the better!

In my group of friends, everyone exercises. My rowing group is made up of 18 women, of which 10 of them have had their 60th birthday – and they are not ready to stop rowing yet. They wade through the mud and the stones to carry the boat into the river, they laugh if they slip into the mud. I guess the endorphins from the exercise keep them going but the endorphins from the laughing has just as much to do with it!

I’ve just been down to stay at our beach house for a week, and every morning there is a continual flow of people running or walking or cycling along the road that wends its way along the beachfront. Everyone is doing it!

And the other fascinating thing that I didn’t realize was a particular NZ cultural thing, was that every person that you pass in the morning calls out to say good morning. I did the same thing when I was out walking in Makarska, and didn’t realize for a while how wrong I had it. Kiwis speak to strangers when they are out exercising or walking, so, naturally I did the same thing in Makarska. People must have thought that I was odd!

To take the exercising thing to new heights at the beach, three of the local 70 year olds have created an amazing track through the bush (recimo, forest, suma) and there are some fool hardy idiots (like myself) who run the track … I love it! I love the exhilaration of barreling through the trees, twisting between trees and skipping over rocks! I love the colours and the smells in the bush... And then straight into the sea for a swim – although the temperature doesn’t ever reach the lovely warmth of the Adriatic.. It takes your breath way, but what a wonderful way to start the day!

I can’t imagine not exercising every day. I can’t imagine the feeling of not pushing my body to the limit, not feeling fit and strong. I can’t imagine not feeling comfortable in a pair of shorts! And I have all of those older women in the rowing team as role models. They have the 'use it or lose it' mentallity. Actually, I have my mother as a role model too – she is 84 and three days a week she walks with a walking group, although she laughs and says that she is one of the young ones – how can I stop when she is still going strong!

Oh, and as a bit of a bonus, here are some photos of our beach...

The Christmas End of Year Work Thing

I’m slowly disconnecting from my house! Even the lawns are looking in desperate need of a cut – this is not like me at all!! Yes, I sold my house and have to be out by the end of January 2012. It’s almost (almost!) liberating, and there is almost (almost!) a sense of adventure in the air. I’m not sure where I will be living from February – I may be renting with a friend, or may be drifting around for a while between family. My furniture will probably be in storage for a while, while I decide what to do.

Today I looked at an old rundown place – a tiny two bedroom 56m2 cottage in desperate need of a rebuild and a makeover. And I am feeling (almost) brave enough to do it. It will mean about 6 months of building and construction work (I may disappear to Makarska while they do it..). I’m going to get my ex husband to take a look at it – he’s a man with a vision and big dose of practicality- and he will soon tell me if I am crazy even thinking about this.

But briefly to something that is slightly more interesting.

On Wednesday, we shut the office doors at 11 in the morning and all piled onto a bus –an excursion! The original plan was to take the company boat, but it was too windy, the sea was too rough - and we were heading out to the Hauraki Gulf to Kawau Island¸a beautiful paradise about 50 minutes away by boat.

So – onto the bus – plates of sandwiches, seafood and other bits of deliciousness were handed around to keep up our sustenance for the 40 minutes trip – then we piled back off again and onto two water taxis - 15 minutes later and we were in Moores Bay.

Check out the little be beach houses along the shores...

My boss and another couple of investors own the land in this bay and are doing an ‘eco development’ there. The houses have to be designed to specific requirements – low to minimize the impact on the environment, colours to blend in with the bush – there will be a sophisticated recycling and sewage system - and there are to be no machines/ cars/ motorbikes that will create a noise above a certain level that will create a nuisance to other owners. At this point there are are only a few cabins built for accommodation.

The island was home to Governor Grey - one of New Zealand’s earliest Governor Generals. The story goes that he had a mansion (still called Mansion House) on the other side of the island but in Moores Bay there was a little cottage which housed a certain young woman, whose company the Governor sought out on a regular basis …..

my boss has renovated and renamed the cottage, and it stands now as the ‘clubhouse’ for residents to use for parties and barbeques.

We drank cocktails and champagne – some just sat in the sun, some kayaked, played volleyball or touch football. We had a beautiful lunch with sumptuous salads (you see? salads are a thing here),

a few more cocktails…. I went for a bike ride and found a beautiful mossy glade… and then we all piled back in the water taxis to be back in the city for 7. It was a beautiful day, good company, good food and wine, and a nice way to round off the year – a way to relax with the bosses, and a way for them to thank us for our support during what has been a difficult year in the tail of the recession.

And that’s another kiwi thing – the institution of the Christmas Work Function!