Let's see how the mind and the body feel today. Sunday morning and I’m up and on the road well before sunrise. The farm is also awake as they have a huge day, the scanning of all the ewes!! For all of the city folk reading my Blog, this exercise is to ascertain whether the ewe is expecting a single lamb, twins or even quads. Then they are are placed in the allocated paddocks. (Hope that makes sense?) They have about three thousand ewes to scan today. I did offer my yard skills at dinner last night but was declined so instead, I head to my running mission mentally wishing them all the best.

It was cold, it was going to rain and there was a very strong South Westerly blowing. I arrived just on sunrise and got my pack sorted, raincoat jammed in as well, gloves and hat on and before I had too long to think about it all, I was off! This is how the track goes: three kilometres uphill, then three kilometres downhill towards the hut, then flat for another kilometre to and along the beach, then a further two kilometres up, up and up, before a last kilometre of running and then rock clambering to the Point. I sit behind the lighthouse, sheltering from a very cold wind, looking at the whitecaps from the south and all over Golden Bay. To the north, it’s sheltered and calm. Today, it is seriously named Separation Point for a very good reason! Along the track, there were again lots of fantails and the crazy wekas that always bring a smile to my face. The seals are still lazing about and a couple quickly head to the water’s edge and observe me from a distance. Unlike other days, today they didn’t slip into the water, it seemed rather, as if they were more safely placed for a quick getaway. As for the shags, well, they were facing into the wind and not moving. The conditions were obviously not to their liking.

I sat for a while and got my breath back, looked out to sea and thought how totally blessed I am to be able to do this trail, to be fit and healthy, and perhaps, ever so slightly crazy! But, because of the wind, I was quickly getting cold, so I climbed back up the steep cliff and headed for home, determined that along the way today, I would take images of the beautiful, blustery side of the Point. It is, indeed, a beautiful track. A track that few others were out enjoying today, and the second half of my trip seemed to be over all too quickly. As I sat, I drank and ate some well-deserved food, and I chatted with two wonderful ladies who were just finishing a similar run to me but they were then jumping on their bikes to pedal all the way back to Takaka (a distance of some twenty-five kilometres!). Needless to say I felt more than a little bit lazy.

Soon I was in back in remote control, driving home, chasing rainbows. Each time I stopped to try and get a good picture, the rainbow would fade, although it did appear again over Separation Point as I looked back from far across the bay. There was no sighting of snow today because dark, grey-blue clouds covered the hilltops. To me, they looked like snow clouds. Tomorrow, perhaps we’ll see if I was correct. Back at the farm I needed to get firewood, food, and both the kayaks back up on Cuzzie again, so I was busy until the sun set. Then, as always, I was happy to get back inside to a blazing fire and a long, hot shower. Would you believe that this nutbar is going to repeat it all again tomorrow? Maybe even with a quick outing in Louise, always supposing I can find a calm bay, away from the winds!

My smiles today:
Day 2 of my 20km challenge done!
A healthy, fit body.
A cottage in which to rest my weary head each night.
Friendly locals.
Chasing rainbows.
Also, thanks to a couple of locals for my dinner tonight.

My thoughts today:
The older I get, the better I understand that it's okay to live a life that others don't understand.

Until tomorrow, it’s “goodnight” from Red. Ma Te Wa.