Team Training in earnest

Now that all members of Team Tiger are in the country we are starting our team training in earnest. (a little later than we should according to the training guide, but never mind) We have all been staying over at Waihi Beach in blissful summer weather and in between enjoying the sand, surf and holiday food aplenty we have been doing some training. Amy and Nancy started first with a walk across to Owakawa Bay accompanied by Anne. We tried to continue our walk up to the William Wright Falls at the end of the bay but after the sixth creek crossing we got a bit discouraged and returned before actually seeing the falls. However, next day we walked from Waihi Beach to Bowentown with encouragement from companions Lu and Lynne and then continued from Anzac Bay over the top of the hill to Shelley Beach. Gorgeous scenery. We have made a pact to stop to look at any beautiful scenery on the trailwalker, so that we don’t fall in a hole by mistake.

Annike and Andrew finally arrived on Thursday night but the team meeting was very brief as Tiger Amy had to return to Hamilton. Friday saw a commitment to undertake another walk to Owakawa Bay, but this time with the walk along the beach to begin with. Again, the scenery was stunning and we made a pact to return to the Flat White Cafe at the end of our trek. This was sufficient to keep us going for the 15 kms there and back. The going got very rough after Owakawa Bay, with the track to Homanga Bay being overgrown by flax and long grasses.Andrew was very keen to invest in a machete at this point but we discouraged him on the principle that legs with machete slashes don’t walk far. There were some steep bits to the track which certainly slowed Nancy down but we all got home in relatively good shape and enjoyed our smoothies and iced coffee from the Flat White Cafe. Tips learned on the trek: Have hat tied on so it doesn’t blow away. Take more water than you think you will need. Changes of socks for trailwalker essential as 15km makes them very smelly. Our walking poles are proving very useful over hilly ground.