#peakbragging Day 4 Skyline Walkway

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I awoke on Day 4 to high cloud – perfect for tackling the Skyline Walk and its three peaks.

I’ve wanted to do the Skyline Walk for ages, but was worried that I didn’t have the required fitness. While it’s only 11km long, the Wellington City Council website labels it strenuous. Additionally, since I was using public transport for access, I’d have to add on an extra kilometre on either end. But I figured it was perfect weather (high cloud blocking out sun, but not views, with light winds), I could take it at my own pace, and there were always plenty of places to leave the trail and head home.

I was still a bit nervous. Continue reading →

#peakbragging Days 1-3

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Wellington is a city of hills. Many, many hills. These hills and the wind are the defining features of our capital city and, while other people may complain about them, I’m quite fond of both. The hills are a way of locating yourself, both in the city itself and the wider region. For me, this is almost more than physical, a way of knowing I’m home. The hills are also immensely pretty.

To explore these hills a bit more (and to make sure I got out of the house and appreciated the ridiculous summery weather we’re having), I challenged myself to conquer all twelve peaks listed on the Wellington City Council’s peak bragging website before I went back to work on January 8. Continue reading →

Yarnalong: Quicksilver & Matters of the Heart

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Knitting: Quicksilver by Melanie Berg in Habu Textiles XS-45 20/3 Bamboo

I started this shawl in April of last year. It’s what I knit when I’m between other projects, but more and more I think I should just finish the darned thing. I’m not a huge fan of knitting with bamboo, but the drape it has is amazing.

Reading: Matters of the Heart by Angela Wanhalla

This is a history of intimate relations between Māori and Pākehā, from the early 1800s through to the 1970s. It’s a very tricky topic over a truly ambitious time frame, but Wanhalla is doing an admirable job at the moment (I’m about halfway through).

I did get rather outraged in the chapter about missionaries, who seemingly charged up and down the country, telling everyone they had to have a ‘regular marriage’. It all seemed so absurd, that a few words and the ‘right’ ceremony by the ‘right’ person was the only way to live a decent life. Thankfully that’s all in the past – right?

See what everyone else is knitting and reading over on the original Yarnalong.

At The Beach

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Being summer and all, you’d think this was a post about going to the beach. But this is Wellington. Between December first and last weekend, we’ve had about five days of summer and Saturday was no exception – dark, rainy and cold.

Fortunately, The Dowse Art Museum had the antidote: the ‘At The Beach’ exhibition from the New Zealand Fashion Museum. The NZFM is an online museum, which also has exhibitions at museums and other venues, in addition to its website. Continue reading →

Yarnalong: Waits & The Sword

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Knitting: Waits by Bristol Ivy in Cleckheaton Superfine Merino

I am absolutely churning through Waits helped by watching all of The Night Manager over the weekend and through using it as a bribe to keep studying. I have a Google Chrome extension called ‘Strict Workflow’ which cuts off access to all fun websites for 25 minutes and then gives you five minutes has a reward – except I’ve been knitting instead. I swear I’ve been more productive. Continue reading →