To quote Hillary - We knocked the 'b@#tard off!!

Hi All!
Well...it's all over! We did it! 100km in 24hrs 45mins.
It wasn't exactly your average walk in the park, in fact there were some very challenging moments...in the dark....freezing cold.....across quite rough terrain......and up and down hills........... BUT, I don't think any of us would have missed a moment of it!
The weather was perfect - sunny with some gentle breezes during the day, and fine yet crisp through the night. Our support team was absolutely fantastic...in fact we can't thank Kevin and Sam and Jan and Polisi enough for the wonderful job that they did for us. It's not an easy job, being the support crew. It's freezing cold during the night. There's heaps of waiting around. Your walkers can sometimes throw you with strange requests! BUT our team were amazing! Always happy, positive and encouraging, with loads of hugs, sustenance and awesome care. We couldn't have done it without them!
Just a few of the highlights and lower points to give you a brief insight into the event as it was for us. The event started with a hiss and a roar, after a wonerful karakia for protection and waiata from the local tangata whenua. Unfortunately for us a minor technical hitch with Brent and his beloved GPS caused our initial gameplan to go awry. We were keeping to our supposed 5kph (according to the GPS) but were being passed by members of 'over-eaters anonymous' and 'age concern' which became a source of major frustration particulalry for those of us with a somewhat competitive spirit. Thankfully this was remedied at our first checkpoint and things improved immensley over the rest of the course.
The scenery was absolutely spectacular! Our course took us over the Huka Falls (not bound or in a barrel thanx!!), through the Craters of the Lake, over rugged farmlands and through forest and native bush. We are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful country with no fear of poisonous snakes, spiders or other nasties!!
We started passing other teams (or in our terms 'collecting scalps') in the second leg and set our target at a modest 50. By the time we had completed our 24hrs and 45mins we had collected a total of 146 scalps - I think I'd call that a highlight!
Leg 3, was probably the most fun with Rambo (Rames) at the front for the first time ever. He put on such a burst of pace and amused us with his antics so completely that we knocked a full 30mins off our estimated time, charging past teams in front of us with his trademark 'Beep!Beep!' and cheeky grin! The downside of this being that we caught our support team 'on the hop' and arrived at the checkpoint before them. The wait time allowed Brent to 'cool his heels' so to speak in the chilling waters of the Lake, which proved to be most therapeutic in more ways than one!!
From here on (approx 6pm) it was all in darkness till the final few hours. With headlamps and ALL of our thermal gear on for the below zero temperatures, (and looking extremely attractive!), we navigated the next 5 legs of the course.
Interestingly, and after much 'contemplation' our resident 'mountain goat' Kathryn, came to the emphatic conclusion that she no longer liked hills in any way shape or form. This was re-iterated over the course of the remaining legs in quite colourful detail to all and any who would listen, much to the amusement of the rest of the team.
At one point after crossing the Huka Falls for a second time we were welcomed into the checkpoint by a group of young maori lads performing a rousing haka. We had just emerged from the bush when they started and it was an amazinlgy moving occassion, in low light, with their breath coming out in clouds of steam - awesome stuff.
We were amazed to see the number of single walkers or pairs on the track, particularly after the longest leg of 19kms, where they had been left behind by their team members. We felt that it was majorly important for morale (and safety) for us to remain together as the 'fab four' throughout and this proved to be a strength. The terrain covered in the darkness of the night was not gentle in any way. These legs, although generally shorter, had some of the most challenging climbs and downhills, on ground that was rutted by animal tracks and erosion, making the opportunity for injury, particularly by the light of only a headlamp, remarkably high.
There were many competitiors that we passed, who looked like the walking wounded, definitely the worse for wear, be it blisters, sprains, or gorse prickles in their bottoms from unfortunate toileting experiences in the dark (true story).
For me personally however, the last leg was the toughest. 'Someone' or 'Sometwo' - (who shall remain nameless but are not female) decided that it would be decidedly possible for us to break 25hours if we ploughed on at breakneck speeds towards the end!! Determined not to limp despite my one and only heel blister (about the size of a golf ball!) and with Kathryn just about blue in the face from 'holding on' as we passed a number of public toilets, we barrelled our way towards the finish, still collecting scalps. One of the said scalps was heard to cry 'where the hell did they come from?!' as we sped past in our customary, cheery manner.
To say that crossing the line was a 'relief' was probably an understatement (particularly for Kathryn - Ha! Ain't those portaloos grand!!) and also somewhat emotional. I'd have to admit to holding back the tears on seeing the face of my brother and the other supporters as we came down to the finish. We actually crossed the line in 24hrs 45mins (and I've seen the pictures to prove it!), but it took another few minutes to hug everyone and then realise that we hadn't yet checked in so our official time on the Oxfam website is 24hrs 48mins.
All this elation at finishing was perfectly topped off by the wonderful Baz and Jude, who had driven all the way down from Auckland to meet us at the end of the trailwalk and cook us all up the most wonderful breakfast of eggs, bacon, fried potato and sausages to go with our celebratory beverages. Sam got his guitar out and we sang a few numbers to add to the festivities. A suitably awesome finish to an awesome event.
You may well think that this would be the end of the excitement......but no! On the way back home in our luxurious campervan we stopped in at the BP in Kawerau. Brent, Rames and i were sound asleep in the back when all of a sudden we were jerked awake by the campervan coming to an abrupt halt. Next thing this complete stranger popped her head up over the back and said 'did you know you were moving!!' The campervan's handbrake was faulty and the van was in such a hurry to get home that it had started rolling away off the forecourt towards the buildings, all by itself while the rest of us slept blissfully unuaware in the back!! The woman who saved us had also competed in the Oxfam and had apparently sprinted across the forecourt , opened the door and managed to get her hand on the foot brake. The funniest thing however was the look on Kevin's face from inside the shop as he tried to work out why the hell that woman was parking his truck there!!! Ha!
As teams go...i'd have to say i couldn't have picked a better one (support team and Baz and Jude included). We had a very happy, positive energy, which made for a great overall experience.

Injuries - 0, blisters - 1, aches and pains - countless, enjoyment of the experience - priceless!

Photos to folllow thanks to the wonderful Polisi who ensured we were all 'smiling for the camera'.

no more training ........ just 3 days to go!!!

Kia ora koutou! We are well and truly on the downward slope to the start line now - only 3 days to go and the excitement in the air is palpable! The whole team including our wonderful support crew met for a meal together on Good Friday to iron out the last bits of admin and our final training walk was a jaunty 25km on Easter Sunday. All of us have now invested in Nordic Poles, which may make you look like a bit of a dork when striding about the streets of Auckland but certainly make a huge difference in reducing the strain on leg joints! I have been religiously doing my stretching and strengthening exercises for a strained calf/achilles and the progress made has been good - last physio appointment on Friday morning.
We expect to leave Auckland about 1pm and (thanks to Kathryn) have a place to stay at 5mile Bay on arrival in Taupo. Registrations and briefings close at 9pm on Friday night so we should be there well before that. Our start time is at 7am on Saturday morning, the second wave of starters.
Sincere thanks to all of those people who have sponsored us already - it's a fabulous cause and we really appreciate your support. For those of you who have been thinking about it, it's not too late! We have raised 72% of our total so far, thats about $1800, but still need another $700 to make the total required.
If you would like to folllow our progress during the trailwalk, we have signed up to use TWACK with which we can send SMS messages from our mobiles to our Oxfam page. So to see where we are just logon to the Oxfam Trailwalker HOME page (http://www.oxfam.org.nz/oxfam_trailwalker/) and enter LOOSE COVERZ (with a Z not an S) in the space on the left hand side where it says 'FIND A TEAM'
For any of you who may have had a 'windfall' of late or just be feeling mighty generous, we also have about $1300 worth of costs in vehicle hirage, petrol etc. If this sounds like you, please send your donations to 03-0228-0315180-000 and if you would put your name in the particulars and OXFAM in the reference we woudl be most grateful.
AND THEN.........no, it's OK, I'm not going to ask for any else, other than your prayers and good wishes for our team on the day!

Arohanui
'the team'

PS - if you get the Central Leader there's an article about our team on page 2, Friday 2nd April.
PPS - Don't forget to circle April 24th on your calendars for our 100km celebration party!!!