I felt Douglas' report of Get2Go put my brief statement about the Kepler to shame really, so here's a longer report to bore you all.

Today was Kepler Challenge day.

I was a pretty nervous, as hadn't done enough training & have had a tight calf all week.

I felt rubbish by the time I got to Luxmore Hut, and was seriously considering pulling out.

But I carried on, and once past the next feed station at Forest Burn felt a bit better. Quite pleased I carried on as I finished in 8:38, 29 minutes quicker than my previous time, and after only about 8 weeks of real training.

(Full results available here )

A couple of weeks ago, a Taiwanese film company were making an eco-doco about how New Zealand manages the apparently contradictory demands of tourism and conservation. They enlisted the help of Trips and Tramps, and I was their guide for a day on the Kepler Track. I didn't realise until we started that I was also going to be on film, explaining how we get involved in conservation tasks, etc., and how we present that sort of thing to visitors. Steve (the boss) spent the next two days with them too.