Walking before the walk (Posted 8 April 2012, 07:10pm)
Dunedin, New Zealand

Quoin Cliff.


I was asked recently if I am training for my walk. I am still working full time and I still haven't bought a lot of my equipment, so it would be difficult to train with an accurate pack weight and for the length of time I will be walking each day. My training will be the first few weeks on the trail. I do however walk often, without a backpack and purely for enjoyment rather than with training in mind.

There are a lot of walks on the Otago Peninsula near where I live and with a childhood friend I have been trying to tick them off before heading overseas. Today we walked to Quoin Cliff which has stunning views over Pipikaretu and Ryans beaches. Carefully peering over the edge of the cliff down to Ryans beach we could see seals moving across the rocks and the remains of the Hananui II which was shipwrecked there in 1943. It was a clear afternoon and in the distance we could see back along the Peninsula to Harbour Cone and across to Karitane in the north.

I am realizing there are many wonderful places right here on my doorstep that I seldom visit. I love visiting other places but it is good to be reminded that there is exploring to be done from home too.

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