I've been a bit lazy with my blog recently. Sorry! So, to summarise the rest of my New Zealand trip: I headed all the way up to Kaikoura (North of Christchurch) for a few days; met some cool girls (I now have a friend in Vancouver Island - bonus!); saw some huge sperm whales, and a school of dusky dolphins. Then back to Christchurch to fly home.

My flight arrived in London 6 hours late due to a dodgy door on my plane, so I missed my flight to Glasgow :( Eventually managed to buy myself a new ticket and fly home, being charged excessively for excess baggage. My paddles took another 2.5 weeks to make it home, but were just in time for a trip up North to Roybridge where I met up with the ICCC folks.

There was muchos water, and I got to try out my new Burn (boat), which I was very pleased with. I also purchased a new drysuit, and have realised how much discomfort I was in before I bought it! But, my adventures and travels are over for now as I head to work in Edinburgh on Monday! It's about time I started paying off my debts...

Cheers to everyone who became a part of my travels over the last few months. I had an amazing time and can't wait until I next get a similar opportunity again. Good luck to everyone who is still out there, and hopefully we'll meet again some time!

Take care folks, Claire x

The weather's been all over the place in the last week. I met Pete in Queenstown and we headed up to start the Routeburn last Wednesday. There was over 150mm of rain in the first 24 hours we were on the track. I've never been so wet, and spent the afternoon modelling bin bags as my waterproofs had proved particularyl useless! It had rained so much, there was a waterfall across one of the footbridges making it impassable. We woke up in a damp tent the next morning, to find two inches of snow on the ground. Unfortunately the snow was much deeper up on the pass and we were sent back to Queenstown :(

After a particularly touristy day at Milford Sound, we decided to trust the weather would hold and headed to the Rees-Dart track. We had four days of almost complete sunshine, with rain only at night, and only a bit of cloud as we reached the highest point on the walk - Rees Saddle. It was a fantastic walk, with spectacular views all the way. The only downside were the sandflies. I'm so glad the weather held, making my last walk in New Zealand my favourite one.

Managed to catch up with new and old friends in Queenstown before heading up to Christchurch. Planning a couple of days in Kaikoura, before my flight home on Sunday. I can't believe my travelling's coming to an end!

It's been a while since my last post, and I've been to so many places and seen so many things! Where do I start?

Well, sadly 'Team International' is no longer. Sandy's back in Oz, I'm down in Wanaka, and Paula's back in Murchison. Who knows where Kirstin and Erin are!? Maybe in Murchison too?

We did have a first all female high water raft descent of the Lower Shotover though (according to Ailsa!). Kirstin, Erin, Paula and I blagged it on a raft guide training run down the river after the client trips were cancelled due to high water levels. It was awesome. Paula and I had never been rafting before, but under the expert guidance of Ailsa, we ran all the rapids sweetly, and much more stylishly than the boys.

After a couple of days hanging around Queenstown, failing to go kayaking, Kirstin, Erin and I headed down to the Catlins Coast and saw penguins! They were sooo cute!

And now I'm in Wanaka, after catching a lift with a vineyard owner. Went walking with a lovely Dutch couple today and saw the Rob Roy glacier, which was pretty impressive! Especially when chunks started falling off it!

I've just had an awesome day. Walked in for well over an hour up a really boggy track with my heavy boat, then paddled the Toaroha with Sandy, Kirstin, Gwyn, Robin and Rich. The water was amazingly clear, and blue. It was grade III/IV boulder gardens all the way down - great fun. There's something really satisfying about doing a walk-in. Not sure my back agrees though!

It's raining really heavily at the moment. I'm hoping the rivers won't be too high tomorrow! :)

Just finished two days paddling with Mick H. I've learnt more than I ever knew about kayaking, and am feeling so much better about my paddling. There are some strokes that I've got to really work on, but I know where I'm going now, and it's always good to know what you're trying to do, even if you can't quite do it yet. I also have a new and improved roll, which is much stronger, if I do it right! Mick doesn't teach much any more, so Paula and I feel extremely privileged that he chose to teach us himself, rather than get one of his other instructors to take us. He's a fantastic teacher, and a joy to watch on the water, as he effortlessly glides across the river, making us feel so inefficient. He's got so many stories to tell too, and his blunt, no-nonsense way of expressing himself ensures that you know when you've done something wrong, but also makes you feel so good when you do something right! My head's brimming full of tips and thoughts - I've never been so eager to get to a pool session to drill everything in! Also decided that I might dabble with slalom a bit when I get home, to try and tighten up my technique. Ooh, too much to think about. Anyway, I'm in Hokitika at Sandy and Kirsten's place, and we're just about to go and paddle the Toaraha. It's a 50 min walk in, I hope I survive it! The Huka's pretty heavy....see you folks later!

Well, I've managed to finish my beanie! How cool do I look! Very much appreciating it as the weather's looking set to be a bit grey and wet for a couple of days. Also paddled the Glenroy river with Mick Hopkinson, owner of the kayak school and a few others. Was really continuous and quite tiring both mentally and physically. Unfortunately had an annoying swim as I was pushed against a rock, and bashed my head a bit (but not too badly - don't worry!). So felt a bit down about that and have spent the last few days really trying to work on my technique on the Lower Matakitaki, which is a great technical boulder gardeny river. Also paddled the Maruia with some Outward Bound instructors including Jane, a friend of Bruno's (who I stayed with in Wellington). She's pictured here paddling one of the harder rapids on a very chilled out, scenic river. She's a beginner to kayaking, but is doing fantastically well. I was impressed!
Spent Saturday walking up Mount Haast with Paula, Kirsten, Sandy and Paula's friend from Christchurch, Ben. It was very Lord of the Rings like, with great scenery. Mountains as far as you could see in almost all directions. Nice. Anyway, better go, the rivers are calling!

Well, it's been raining - a lot. Some things we've been doing during the rain involve:
1) learning to crochet. Paula and I are making beanies (or that's the theory) thanks to some expert advice from Sandy
2) Watching sheap shearing! The local pub landlady took Kirsten and I to her husbands farm to watch sheap shearing as Kirsten wanted to see a sheep being shorn! Was quite amusing. She was very proud of her farm (understandably). She's got a massive farm and lots of sheep and cows. She also showed us her enormous bulls!
3) Paddling a big brown massive river in flood! Mick and the NZ kayak school team turned up at the campsite this morning and said 'Follow us, we're doing the Matiri!' It was huge, and pretty scary. Mick (the owner of the kayak school) came up to us at the beginning and said 'The only rule of flood paddling is - don't swim!' I was terrified as I put on the water, but relaxed once I was on. One guy, Sam, did swim, as he bashed into a rock, but thankfully boat and person were both recovered in tact. I'm so glad I got on in the end. It has been raining loads, but looks set to ease up soon, so hopefully we'll get some good runs in as the rivers drop a little.

Well, been in Murchison for six days now, and I've been paddling for six days! Sweet! Picked up my dark green Huka from the kayak school, where it had been dropped off the day before, met up with Paula and jumped on a river! An easy one to start
(Doctor's Creek section of the Buller), just the two of us. Felt weird as a random guy I'd just met drove off with Paula's car, leaving us at the top of the river! Was good fun though, took a bit of getting used to the big volume and round hull of my boat, but it floats, and that's all that matters! It's in pretty good nick too and only cost $660.

We seemed to meet all the boaters in Murchison on the first night, as we were invited to a barbecue at Ben and Cheesy's house - both of them work at the kayak school. So that was cool! Also met up with a Canadian, called Kirsten (who's louder than Paula!) and an Australian girl, Sandy. They're both lovely, and we've been mainly paddling with them since Wednesday. We're discussing trying to sort a heli-trip for the four of us for sometime in the next two weeks. Should be fun!

Paddled pretty much all the sections of the Buller by Thursday. Some interesting rapids. One of the pictures shows Sam, one of the NZ boat slaves (as they're called) on the Granity Creek section of the Buller. Some boily rapids, and medium-largish volume.

Went to look at Maruia falls too. Stood at the top and could feel my stomach squirming from staring for too long. Don't fancy running it myself. Think it's about 10 m.

Friday and Saturday we paddled the lower Matakitaki which is quite an Alpine river. Nice boulder gardens, and a bit more technical and fun than the Buller, but much less volume.

Hey folks! Back from the Abel Tasman National park, where I did the coast track in 2 days in the rain :(

It's a beautiful place, and I'd love to go back and explore it properly one day, when I'm not soaked to the skin! Sea kayaking there looks fun too, but the weather was too dodgy, so they weren't letting anyone out unguided. The sea is an amazing green colour, and really clear.

Met a sea kayak guide at the campsite who was quite cute, in an elf-like way, and he was running around in stripey thermal leggings, as all kiwi's seem to do! I worked my magic on him, as I sat and ate my pathetic dinner, until he brought over a quarter of a pavlova with whipped cream and kiwi fruit! I think he felt sorry for me, camping in the rain, with blistered feet and no luxurious food like them. He was a guide from Kaiteriteri kayaks, and he seemed to have brought more pots, pans, plates and cutlery than I own with him. As well as loads of tasty food! That's what you pay the $300 for then!

The second day was the worst, it didn't stop raining all day, and my waterproofs didn't seem particularly waterproof, as I got soaked to the skin. I've never been that wet getting off a river before! Even after a swim! My feet were soaked, and I was carrying far too much - I hate wet tents! So I'm now nursing my poor blistered feet. Also ended up having to walk an extra 10km because the tide was against me on the second day, and I had to take the long ways round. So 25km the first day, and 35km the next.

I think it's time for a break from walking, to let my feet recover. Bring on the white water!