Category: Walking
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YES! EVEN IN THE RAIN!
Nothing But Rain and More Rain! Deliveries and Downpours #smilingontheinside – Wednesday 28 May 2025 Getting Motorhome Ready We pick up our new (to us) motorhome soon. Our lounge is starting to look a bit like Steptoe’s Yard with stuff. As kids, we grew up on bright orange Melamine crockery when we went camping. I…
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The End of an Era: Reflections on a 30-Year Spruce
Thirty Years of Secrets Felled #smilingontheinside – Monday 26 May 2025 How many secrets has this Spruce heard over the years…? I always wonder that – how many secrets a tree has been privy to during its lifetime. People who’ve passed by talking. Lovers who’ve sat under it, dreaming. People gossiping about people they shouldn’t…
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A DOUBLE-LAKE WEEKEND
A Fleet of Model Boats – What a Lovely Surprise! One Weekend – Two Lakes – Two Walks #smilingontheinside – Sunday 25 May 2025 I always #smileontheinside when Alan’s able to join me on a walk when I know he’s pushed for time before he heads off to work. Maybe, just maybe, he always smilesontheinside…
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EXPLORING AFIELD – MENTAL CHALLENGE ZONE TERRITORY
Kainui Lake Walkway Another “Way” Gem in the Wonderful Waikato – #smilingontheinside – Saturday 24 May 2025 The last time I was on this pathway was as a starter in one of the Huntly Half Marathons. On a date I can’t remember – 2009…? 2010…? thereabouts… a long time ago! Being one of a pack…
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How Today’s Walk Helped Restore My Mental Equilibrium
Steps: Week 2 Completed = 1,008 climbed Morning of Constant Interruptions and Blips It didn’t matter what I started yesterday morning, I kept getting interrupted and/or things just didn’t go as I’d planned: broken HTML code… corrupted files… blah, blah, blah. And what didn’t help was I couldn’t see the sun. At all! The skies…
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CHARTWELL PARK WALKWAY
Feeling #blessed – Alan able to join me Chartwell Park – Queenwood – Hamilton City #smilingontheinside – Thursday 22 May 2025 What a treat to have Alan join me for a walk that went beyond the usual block-circuit stroll we usually just seem to manage! Though yesterday’s walk wasn’t particularly long – just a couple…
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STEPPING UP: BLUE SKIES AND CHANGING PLANS
#smilingontheinside – 21 May 2025 Making Progress on the Steps Yesterday marked Week 2, Day 2 of my Step Climbing fitness programme on the 84-step connection between Beerescourt Road and Ann Street. The plan is simple: increase one flight each week. Until I get to 12 flights. Yikes! The numbers tell their own story –…
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THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT!
An Easy Way to Find and Explore “Ways” Lots of “Ways”: Walking and Cycling I’m blessed to live in a city that has approximately 104km total, combined distance of formed and (mostly) cared for “ways” – for walking and cycling – in Hamilton City, New Zealand. They weave up, down, over and around the Waikato…
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Not Quite A Breeze But Almost
How High Is 84 Steps…? What Does 84 Steps Look Like In Real Height…? #smilingontheinside – Monday 19 May 2025 See that plastic shrink-wrapped house in the top left – on the skyline …? That’s how high 84 steps is in real world huffing and puffing terms. When I get to the top of the…
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Joining a “Movement”
New Skill Required As Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame might say: I did a thing! I’ve invested in some trekking (or walking) poles, trusting that – if I use them correctly – they’ll enable me to do my stair climbing without groaning each step because of knee pain. That’s the plan! New Neural Pathways…
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STEP CLIMBING – WEEK ONE – DONE!
I sure have felt my knees this week Self Promise Honoured I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself with my efforts this week. Yes! I know – it’s just and only one week. But I did it! I promised myself I’d climb the steps that link Beerescourt Road and Ann Street three times each on Monday,…
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Pretending I’m A Karate Ninja
Spider Web Doilies I felt like a bit of a karate ninja this morning out on my walk – using my arms and hands to clear spiders’ webs and threads as I walked between trees and lampposts or trees and fences – anywhere a spider’s thread could span. The last thing I wanted to do…
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STAIRCLIMBING – ROUTINE OR FLASH IN THE PAN…?
The Journey to CV Fitness Back in iPod Days That was the last time I made any concerted effort to climb these steps. They were my training steps to climb the Hakarimata Steps – a DOC Reserve in Ngaruawahia – all 1,349 of them. These are what I refer to as the Ann Street Steps…
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Happy Mother’s Day!
A Morning Walk at Taitua Arboretum I didn’t get to spend Mother’s Day with my mum this year – sadly… unfortunately… but I will get to see her in a couple of weeks. We spoke on the phone… my sisters and I bought her a voucher so she can buy a beautiful windchime she’s had…
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Chilly Morning Walks: Finding Beauty in Nature
Julie shares her 1,345th consecutive daily walk on a beautiful day in Waikato, choosing to forgo a jacket for a faster pace. She admired a much-loved garden, capturing surprising, Monet-like photographs. Her experiences highlight joy in chilly walks, appreciation for gardeners, and the delight of discovering beauty in everyday moments.
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The Funniest Thing!
A Two Walk Day This dog arrived by this letterbox maybe a month ago. It just suddenly appeared. One morning walk there was nothing at the letterbox and the next, this statue. The funniest thing happened on my second walk that made me laugh out loud yesterday. Two dogs were being taken for a walk…
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Yes! Even in the rain!
Consecutive Daily Walk No. 1,340 Even though it was pouring down with rain on my morning walk yesterday, I still got to smileontheinside… in a surprise way! It was absolutely chucking it down with quite a stiff breeze. When it’s windy and wet at the same time, it’s highly probably, likely, your legs get soaked…
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Spooky, Eerie and Mysterious Fog
The Mighty Waikato Shrouded in Fog I live about 5-10 mins walk away from the Mighty Waikato River in Hamilton, New Zealand. I’m blessed! I realise not everyone can go for a morning walk in beautiful, natural surroundings; some people can’t stretch their eyes because they live in a concrete jungle full of high rise…
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Rugging Up in the Mornings
Long Sleeves Required It’s starting to get back to that time of the year – when a few more layers are required on my morning walks. We live in a nice suburb which is geographically across the road from a very nice suburb. When I cross the road I sometimes see women out walking wearing…
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Lacey Doilies – aka Spider’s Web
Spiders’ Webs in Autumn – Stunning! I was surprised when I went outside this morning as the Wonderful Waikato was blanketed with a light misty fog. It lifted as Alan and I walked, so wasn’t particularly pea soup. I don’t mind foggy mornings s’long as they don’t hang around for very long. Those that block…
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