To hold myself ‘run accountable’, photo-blogged EVERY day of my 2 week journey in New Zealand.  Reward?  Would see more than your average tourist – each morning: new run, brand new area.  Last day in New Zealand?  Kirikiriroa Marathon.

March 5 (CO time): Auckland Airport – 4 miles

16 hour flight from Los Angeles, 19 hour time difference – meant I left Friday night but didn’t arrive in Auckland ‘til Sunday morning.  Yikes, where did Saturday go?  EVERY day’s a run day but my first run in New Zealand would be on Colorado time 🙂  Restroom stall change-of-clothes, packing service watched my luggage, then logged 4 miles on NZ’s North Island.

Mount Eden (Auckland)

March 5 (NZ time): Grand Millennium, Auckland – 6.2 miles

City tour, quick hike up Mount Eden, rode to the top of Auckland’s Sky Tower.  Finished Day One with a 10K treadmill trot at the hotel gym (running on NZ time now).

March 6: The Redwoods, Rotorua – 12 miles

3 tour stops: Waitomo [subterranean cavern illuminated by THOUSANDS of tiny glowworms], Agrodome (sheep shearing demo) & Te Puia [traditional meeting house & Māori Haka].

10 minutes from The Redwoods, my first amazing NZ run (first of several).  Massive trees, tropical vegetation & cicadas – the forest sang (12 mile FUN run).

March 7: ‘Geyser Run’, Rotorua – 8 miles

my first MORNING run in New Zealand (finally time-zone acclimated).  Logged 8 miles of geysers before a half-day bike tour & late afternoon flight to South Island.

March 8: Burnside Park, Christchurch – 3 miles

Short pre-dawn run ‘round Christchurch’s Burnside Park.  Run highlights: rugby field, lawn bowling, morning sunrise.  Later jetboat’d on the Waimakariri River.

March 9: ‘City Park Run’, Christchurch – 10 miles

2^nd double-digit run in NZ, 2^nd time I got lost – neither long runs were planned.  One left when I should’ve turned right, long morning on Christchurch city streets.  Run highlights: EIGHT city parks, morning sunrise.  Rental car pickup.  Drove across the Southern Alps, detouring in the afternoon to walk a swinging bridge over Hokitika Gorge.

March 10: ‘Glacier Run’, Franz Josef Village – 7 miles

Day 7’s highlight WAS my morning run.  Half-mile out of town, crossed the Waiho River via Bailey Bridge, to a dirt access road.  Pre-dawn trail run thru giant ferns & tropical vegetation, down to a murky silt-choked river.  Rock hopped across, spun ‘round & glacier gawked — Franz Josef straight ahead/high above.  Popped over boulders, trekked UP, UP, UP.  Waterfall-played on the return to town.

Run NZ – Franz Josef Glacier