Windy Wellington

I recently diverted from my standard fly in fly out arrangement to Auckland and had a work week in Wellington. While exhausting (as training always is due to the preparation and time away from 'real' work while conducting sessions with trainees), I made the best of the situation by grabbing moments where possible.

From the frosty flight with stunning views of snow-topped mountains into the windiest city the world, I was taken around the southern hemisphere's largest roundabout (it house a cricket pitch and stadium) to the tiny little office in the backstreets of the outskirts of Wellington city. Not realising how close the office was to the hotel, I spent a freezing half hour in the night air at the end of the day waiting for a cab - it turns out Wellingtonians don't work past five. And when I say five, I mean they start packing up at 1650 and the key is turned in the lock (no security passes or 24 hour access available) promptly at 1700.

In the chaos that is inevitable when working abroad, I did manage to sneak out to watch the sun rise (praise be to a 0745 dawn as I managed to do a solid three hours of work before escaping). I took a not so quick hike to the top of Mount Victoria. Though I somehow got lost (and had to take a call about a failed software release at the summit) it was SO worth it.

The hour and forty minute sweat-inducing hike up to the top of an extinct volcano was undone in nine minutes with a very swift run back to the hotel.

I have to admit that I was not expecting much from the windy city. I had heard rumours about the wind and cold; about how miserable it was and to be prepared. I was so impressed. The city is pretty and clean, there are funky cafes dotted around the coastal town, they have random acts of art in the form of sculpture and paintings all over the foreshore and the sun shone. Every day! I could see it through the office window and I am delighted that I was lucky enough to experience it rising up on a frigid winter morning with sweat pouring off me after having run up what turned out to be an extreme rated mountain bike track. Not the walking track I was meant to navigate to at all, let's be honest. Designed for downhill adrenaline runs on a jacked up BMX, it was a challenging run to say the least. The sprint back on the ACTUAL track was much kinder on my heart and my knees.

Thank you Wellington for the timely reminder that you always have to make the best of a situation. With a little bit of effort I managed to make a memorable occasion of a stress-filled, over burdened work schedule. I will never forget the heaving mess I was when I answered my phone from the top of that mountain - one of the most invigorating experiences of my life!