New Zealand Weekly Update #46

Last updated on September 9, 2023

04th of September until 10th of September 2023

Approximate reading time: 7 minutes

Lets get it started

Good morning folks, another week done. Another week of working. Of doing some activities. Of doing some sports (more than planned haha). And of feeling way better, with my body and my mind. It is kind of interesting how salutary physical training can be. How effective to get rid of unnecessary stuff in your mind. How a single run can help you to get back a clear view. And how nature affects us in such a positive way. Well, all our team members are back in the game, we had a great week in the shop. I already said it a couple of times but without the great team at OCULA it would never be possible to work back in optics. But most of the days, it is fun, it is useful and it makes a difference. And in the end, it is still my way to stay in New Zealand, even though the last couple of weeks have been pretty rough and demanding. Challenging. But this island is worth it. And there is so much more to explore.

Back to nature

Monday, day off. And the weather forecast was great. And I was able to finally pick up my car from the garage. It was quite a high bill (1300 NZD), new water pump. New rocker cover. New WoF (like TÜV in Germany). And so far the car is reliable, it is driving smoothly and I am able to explore the area a little bit. So after I picked up my car, I made my way to Boundary Creek, which is about 40 minutes away from Wanaka. A quite unknown hike, not busy at all and it can be done in 3-4 hours.

The first section is more like a 4-wheel-drive road, which winds its way up the path. After about 3km and some breaks in between (since I could still feel that my body is not back at its old power), the way leads to the right and into an impressive valley, with a small water stream in its middle. And so I just followed the pathway. Into the valley. And the way became more and more small, hard to see, hard to walk. Stones. Steep slopes. Narrow path with lots of trees. So it felt more like climbing and crawling and I was not sure if I am still on the way (and I was not, since there was no way anymore). After about 7km, I stopped at a big stone and had a break. A little nap. Some tea. And silence around me. And I just enjoyed the time, the nature and the view. I recharged my mental batteries. Filled them up. New Zealands nature is something really special. And afterwards, I climbed and crawled my way back to the pathway, back to my car. And back to Wanaka. Back home.

Talking about sports and nature, I went to the pool on wednesday, since the weather was pretty bad and windy. And instead of going to the lake with my kayak, I went for some swimming. The pools are also part of the Recreational Center here in Wanaka, where you can also go for table tennis, Pickle Ball, basketball and much more. And I adjusted my former plan (40 lanes of 25m each) pretty quickly. And ended up swimming 100 lanes in 75 minutes. With some sore muscles afterwards, but with a great feeling of being tired and calm.

And since the weather was much better on friday, I went back on the lake with my kayak, finally. The water was clear, smooth and silent. No wind. The sunset ahead. Colorful sky. And just me in the middle of the lake. Just a great way to end your day, to have soem activity after work and to enjoy some quality time with myself, with nature and with Wanaka. Having a kayak is still a game changer and in summer time, I will definitly go back on the lake for an overnight kayak adventure on one of the islands.

Walk on

Years ago, I ripped off my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) while playing handball. This just happend before I moved to a new town with my girlfriend at that time. So without being aware of the damage, I moved all the stuff. We set up the furniture in the new flat. And I went straight to work. For months. Walking like a penguin. And after a check-up, I got the news that I have to go for a surgery. On my knee. Which was quite a shock. Because since then I never had any accidents, surgeries or anything else.
But there was no other option, since I wanted to be fit and able to do sports. I woke up after the surgery and my whole leg was covered in bandages, splints and I was not able to move it. I was not able to bend it. Tubes came out of my knee, filled with blood. And I had to stay in bed for a couple of days. And then, while trying to stand up for the first time with the physiotherapist, I almost went unconcious, my face was pale and it was a huge effort to stand up. And for the next couple of months, I had to learn how to walk again. With pain. With setbacks. With day by day trying and moving on. With crutches. Sore muscles. And for the first time in my life I realized how amazing it is to be able to walk. To run. To use your legs to move. To go whereever you want to. Without even thinking about the process of walking. Without being aware of how important and great is it. To be able to walk. To run. To hike. And how fast something can take away this ability and gift from us. And how hard it can be to get back.

And then, back in 2013, it happened again. Left leg. ACL. Ripped off. Same procedure again. Same pain again. Same surgery again. It felt like a throwback again. And again, I became aware of the gift of walking. I became aware of how important it is to be able to walk. And how salutary it can be to just have a small walk outside. Or to hike. Or to run. And I’ve met people on my camino last year, which had no legs anymore or just one leg. And they refuse to give up. They refuse to throw in the towel. They keep moving. Either with crutches and an artifical leg. Or with a wheelchair and support. And I became aware of, that even though I knew about the importance of our health, we sometimes just take it for granted. We forget about how important it is to us. How fast things could change. And of that I want to be more aware of the times I am healhty and able to go for sports, for adventures and activities. Because non of us is immortal. So lets enjoy the times we are healthy as best as possible.

What else to say?

Time is rushing. I am back in New Zealand for four weeks already. And spring is ahead. Days are getting longer. Warmer. More powerful and beautiful. And it will be quite demanding working on the retail floor while it is warm and beautiful outside. And not wokring back in the canyons with stunning nature around me. Since I miss it. I miss the energy and the adventure. But this is the current situation and it will not be like that forever 🙂
Have a great weekend guys, enjoy your time off. Enjoy the nature around you. Enjoy the people around you. And enjoy being healhty as much as possible.
Speak you next week.

Your DingyInternational
Felix