Summer returns - and so does the hiking

A glorious April weekend loomed, so, temporarily spouseless, three of us decided to celebrate with a two-day hike in the Graubünden, selected from many on the very useful wandersite.ch website. With snow still at around 1600m we chose a low route, the first day following the Burgenweg Domleschg, and the second the "Via Spluga".
The Burgenweg, famous, as its name suggests, for its proliferation of castles, was a gentle start to our hiking year, a three and a half hour wander through pretty villages, blossom-covered trees and flowered fields. We took a couple of detours upwards to stretch the limbs, and to continue our habit of getting "lost" on our hikes. And then we arrived in Thusis, to the welcoming and very comfortable Hotel Weiss Kreuz, in time for a beer or two on the sun-drenched terrace.
Our helpful hostess next morning explained that there were in fact two routes we could take to our next destination, and the two vertigo-sufferers in the group, paling merely at the photo of the famous Traversiner-Steg, opted for the easier western route through the Viamala gorge, on a narrow road between touring cliffs far above the Hinterrhein, famed for its Verlorene Loch, a tunnel cut through the rock in the early 19th century which opened up the trade route. We spotted the 60 metre long Traversiner-Steg from across the gorge and agreed that, for Rebecca at least, it would have been an impossibility. I'm tempted to try it next time - another test for the vertigo that seems to be improving slightly with age.
The rest of our walk followed the Via Spluga, through the pretty village of Zillis, famed for the 153 wooden paintings on its ceiling, depicting life in the middle ages. We ate our nuts and chocolate beside a pond broiling with tadpoles, and then made our way towards Andeer, crossing the covered wooden bridge leading into the village, stopping to buy cheese from a farm, and finally to the thermal pool, where we luxuriated in the warm waters and the stunning vistas.
We'll be back later in the summer, I think, to continue the hike across the Splügenpass and into Italy.

Turning 60 in Muriwai

The party was at Muriwai, at our friend Bo's amazing place, on one of those glorious late summer days that New Zealand does so well. But I'd been practising (the party thing, that is) since I arrived in New Zealand several weeks before. Sixty seemed such a milestone that it was impossible to let it pass unnoticed.
So daughter Sarah and I made a long-overdue pilgrimage to the South Island, visiting the whanau in Christchurch and Culverden, seat of the family for a number of generations, but now home to only one farming cousin. In the years since I was last there (not so long ago) an extraordinary transformation has taken place. So much so that, gazing out of the plane window as we flew over the Canterbury plains, I didn't recognise the farmland I grew up on. Those dry pastures that used to nourish thousands of sheep and grow crops that varied according to the vagaries of the infamous nor'westers have turned into lush green dairy farms; and the once rushing, tumbling, beautiful Hurunui river, which waters those monstrous farms, is little more than a stream. I guess it's progress, in a rather regrettable way...
Dinner with old school and university friends in Christchurch, parties with the cousins, it was a busy time in the south. And then we headed up to Wellington, and another gathering representative of another decade. What fun we had in the capital city during those wild 80s - and what fun we had reminiscing during a lengthy and raucous dinner party.

And then back to Auckland, and an unforgettable birthday party, Gary bringing all his producer skills to bear on a production that I at least won't quickly forget.
The day began with a hike, 15 of us taking the stunning Te Henga trail from Bethells Beach to Muriwai: an 8km meander along bush-covered cliffs with views down to hidden coves and rocky outcrops and the wild waters that separate us from our Australian neighbours.
A few beers and a civilised rush for the showers later, and the party began, the other, less-exercised guests arriving in time for sundowners. And in what a setting! A magic carpet-land, courtesy of Ellie and Phil and Talk of Turkey Carpets, on which we lounged drinking delicious cocktails of Gary's invention, and eating the first round of a vegetarian feast which continued through the evening, a couple of local musicians serenading us with saxophone and guitar.

Dinner continued upstairs as night fell and then we danced, our DJ working through the decades. Champagne and speeches - and the cake! Gary totally excelled with this one - or rather, the City Cake Company did, under his direction. My all-time favourite, their gin and lemon cake (they remembered it, eight years on from those days when we were retail neighbours in Mt Eden Village - indicative of their good memories, or the amount I used to eat?!) And iced in lime-green, naturally, topped with a cyclist struggling through the Swiss alps. It hurt to have to cut through that amazing picture! This was Gary's homage to the circuit of Switzerland that three of us hiker/cyclists are planning, to celebrate a total of 160 years of birthdays.
An incredible evening - thank you Bo and Gary. And the party continued next day, with Malcolm and Hayley's famous Mexican breakfast and more friends who hadn't been able to make it the night before.
And back in Switzerland, yet another party with the girls - turning 60 has been a huge amount of fun!