I thought I’d pop in and tell/show you a bit of my trip today – it was amazing, exhausting, and I learnt a lot about myself and what I am capable of.

I was gone for 10 days – 2 of which were pretty much just travel, 7 of which were full of pretty full-on physical activity, and 1 of which was a bit of a cruisy day (and boy, did we need that!).

Wanderlust

I don’t think I’ve ever been quite this sore before.

The trip started with 4 days of intense yoga – not to mention the dancing, swimming, and walking – which were pretty exhausting… but also exhilarating. This was the Wanderlust Yoga Festival in New Zealand – Lake Taupo.

I fell a little bit in love with a few new yoga teachers (including Cameron Shayne of Budokon, Duncan Peak of Power Living, Nikki Ralston of the Ralston Method, and Tiffany Cruikshank of Yoga Medicine), learnt a lot of new asanas (including a few fancy-looking ones) and dived deeper into my yoga practice.

I learnt these two poses thanks to Tiffany Cruikshank – and I had never been anywhere NEAR side-crow pose before. It’s amazing what the right teaching can help you achieve.

I also loved hanging out with my BYF (Best Yoga Friend) Renee – a.k.a. inversions girl.

Lake Waikaremoana – more Wandering…

I haven’t done an overnight hike since… well… since I was a teenager. I’ve done a ton of day-hiking, but that is a different kettle of fish from carrying 3 days worth of food + all your other stuff on your back for 46km.

It was an amazing experience – with some very tough moments, and some amazing ones. It was the Lake Waikaremoana walk on the NZ North Island, which I did with Renee, and my new friend Euey (Renee’s BBF – Best Bushwalking Friend – yes, we like our acronyms.).

On the first day, we walked up and down a mountain, which was crowned by an amazing forest, like something out of Lord of the Rings (there’s a reason they shot those movies here).

The rest of the hike was around the lakeside, as well as up and down small hills between inlets.

Of course, Renee and I couldn’t resist a little bit of yoga…

And I couldn’t resist hugging at least one amazing tree.

Napier Etc.

After 4 days of yoga, and 3 days of hiking… I really just wanted to sit down for a little while 😀

Thankfully, we had made our way to Napier – on the East Coast – after we finished our hike, and woke up by the sea. I did get up and do a little yoga first thing to stretch out those sore muscles, but the rest of the day was eating, strolling and relaxing – and included a few hours in the car to get down to the West Coast near Wellington for our flight out the next day.

If you’re ever in Napier, you MUST go here for breakfast. Delish!

When we got to the West Coast, we had the rare treat (as East Coast Aussies) of seeing the sun set over the ocean.

It was a fabulous trip, and reminded me why I love yoga, walking… and New Zealand. I’ll be back over there in the not-too-distant future, methinks.

It was also a challenge – it helped me learn how far I can actually push myself physically, and that I’m capable of much more than I thought I was. That’s a pretty priceless realisation to have.

(The majority of these photos were taken by Renee H. – the rest were taken by me.)

P.S. Nick and I are working hard to get all of your orders made and shipped by the end of this week – THANK YOU to everyone who placed an order while I was gone 🙂