Hayden Bairstow's blog

A mid-week weekend down to Christchurch to see Metallica and partake in a spot of snowboarding. Christchurch turned on the weather (and the aftershocks).

It was Mum’s birthday last week, so I thought i’d take her out sailing on ExploreNZ’s Pride of Auckland. I’d never been out on it before either so it was good times all round.

It only snows a couple of times a season in Ohakune, so being down there when it happens is pretty damn awesome. Not to mention the powder up the mountain, Ruapehu turned it on.

A weekend at Ruapehu with two days in a washing machine. Rain washed away most of the snow but at least what was left was nice and soft.

A mid-winter weekend away at Whangamata on the Coromandel which felt more like spring than deep July winter.

The Tough Guy Challenge is a 12km run through mud, farmland, swamps, mud, cow shit, hills, barbed wire and more mud. It was raining, the wind was blowing and it was an awesome day all round.

1st trip to Ruapehu for the season even before the lifts had opened. We thought we’d hike up and get some turns in, unfortunately the rain that hit Whakapapa the days before we got there had other ideas and the cover was seriously lacking.

Musick Point in Howick, Auckland on a sunny day. It’s a pretty stealth part of Auckland considering how awesome the view is.

It was awesome to see a stage of Rally New Zealand back in the Auckland Domain after a decade plus.

A day at Tawharanui beach with some decent swell, 90 minutes drive north of Auckland. My favourite beach in New Zealand, there was some nice swell on the east coast so headed out with surfboards (and inflatable rafts) to get some. Whoever said you can’t swim in late April?