beginsattheendofyourcomfortzone

[beginsattheendofyourcomfortzone]

This years Christmas Swim…

Little bit different ;-)

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First attempt at surfing…. 

Something else I’m gonna need a lot more practice at!

[beginsattheendofyourcomfortzone]

This years Christmas Swim...

Little bit different ;-)

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IMG 0145 from Matt Webb on Vimeo.

Last years Christmas swim.......

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Happy New Year.... It's gonna be AWESOME! ;-)

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Nanny State Parenting

An Education: A father/daughter trip of discovery from Mountain Hardwear on Vimeo.

. Thought I’d share a brief example of what I was talking about a couple of weeks ago…. 11 Years Old: "Life is sweet"!!!

[beginsattheendofyourcomfortzone]

The Chimp Paradox A Christmas present I gave to a few people, The Chimp Paradox is a really worth while read. I read a lot of psychology books as I think it's really important to understand how we work and how we think, and while far from the most complete, it is definitely the simplest to follow. Dr Peters breaks down the complex working of our minds to three basic areas - the computer, human, and chimp - and discusses how the interaction between these areas influences our decision making, our responses and our behaviour. It borders a little too much on a self help book for my liking but it's a great start to understanding how we think, it might even help you to control your emotions and make better decisions, something I still believe in!

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Really hard being away from everyone though, not just because of these pictures from my bro, Scotland at its beautiful best! Missing you all terribly, I hope everyone's having a wonderful time. Merry Christmas to all xxxx

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First Christmas outside of Scotland for 26 years! It's been over 30 degrees, it's so different! Unfortunately thunderstorms on Christmas Day so no lunch on the beach, full Turkey and all the trimmings instead.... Amazing. Thank you guys so, so much for looking after me xxxx

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[beginsattheendofyourcomfortzone]

Leaving New Zealand

Unfortunately the time has come for me to leave New Zealand. I've only been in Wanaka for a few months, but it feels like home. The people I have met have become very close friends. I've had some of the best experiences of my life. There is a lot of NZ that I haven't seen, a lot I haven't done. But what I have done is to experience life here, and that is what has been so rewarding. I've been lonely, cold, wet, tired, emotional and exhausted, it's been brilliant! I've gained clarity on what's important to me and been very happy. Six months ago I didn't know who I wanted to be or what I wanted to do. I had lost faith in the people I used to aspire to be like. I looked upward in organisations and in society to so called role models and I didn't see any. The cars and houses, suits and ties, jobs and titles that had once interested me no longer did, nor did the behaviours, or the 'lessons' being passed down. I was learning little and doing even less, certainly from a work perspective, and given that filled so much of my time and had been such a focus that was of real significance. I asked myself what I wanted to achieve and I didn't know, what I wanted to be doing, and I couldn't answer. Don't get me wrong I was very privileged and very happy, but I was on a treadmill. I was changing and 'developing' as certain people wanted me to but not in the way I wanted to. I was going through the motions, doing what I should have been doing. I never ever want to be on a 'treadmill' again. I never want to do what I SHOULD do again. I want to do what I COULD be doing! I want to challenge myself and the people around me constantly. I want to push myself every day. I want to experience new places, embrace new and different people, and have as many unique experiences as possible. Challenge is what ads value to my life, adds satisfaction, makes me happy. It is what I will seek - challenge, and adventure. In that respect I am much closer to the person I used to be and I'm very happy about that. I want to surround myself with people who appreciate that, not who want to change it. Of course I want to develop, to learn and grow, but my drive, determination and confidence are who I am and what made me strong, I want to fuel those, not quell them, it's great to have them back. New Zealand, and Wanaka in particular has provided me the stimulus for the clarity that I previously lacked. The landscape, the toys, and the adventures have been a huge part of it of course, but so have the people. I have met more people in the last three months that I admire, look up to, have learnt from, and consider role models than I came across in the last three years in London - when you consider that Wanaka has a population of around 7 thousand compared to London's 12 million that is saying something. Many of them haven't donned a suit or dress since their wedding day, they don't have Swiss watches, or drive classic cars, they don't have great wealth, high powered jobs or huge influence. In fact for the majority of them their mountain bikes cost more than their cars, their clothes are purchased purely for function, and a watch is largely unnecessary for what can it tell you that the sun or the starts can't! No these are people of real substance, that have done incredible things, from climbing Everest, Skiing down Mount Cook, winning adventure races, Mountain biking across continents, building houses, fixing cars, creating businesses, running events, and helping people. Ego is simply not a part of their make up! Don't get me wrong, they are all fiercely competitive, but it is not about wealth or power, status or influence. It is about quality of life, for themselves, and for their families. Equally though I know how the world works. I know what it takes to succeed. I know how many doors money, position, and reputation open, and close! I couldn't find a piece of land, build a cabin, and just be. I still love extravagance, glamour, exclusivity! As well as challenging myself physically and emotionally I want to challenge myself intellectually. There are still huge aspects of the business world I enjoy (I still can't watch Suits without wishing I was in it) and it opens up so many fantastic opportunities. So I know what's required - all of it! I just need to make it happen! So that's why the time has come to leave New Zealand. It's so I can create for myself a life of challenge, of adventure, of pain, of fear, of extravagance, of happiness. It's so I can achieve all the goals I previously posted, and the many more of added since. Comfort is the enemy, as soon as I'm comfortable it's time to move, time to change. Time is the one and only commodity that really matters, it is the only one we can not create more of, I will utilise every second if it. I feel a great sense of satisfaction right now, a satisfaction that is bought about by this clarity. Right now I am on the right path, content and happy. In the medium term it may only be for an adventure or two, in the long term it may be more permanent, but I will most definitely be back in New Zealand, and in Wanaka, it is the most wonderful place. For now, HAPPY CHRISTMAS from Sydney baby ;-)

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Wanaka Golf Course

I very, very rarely play golf golf these days, but with that setting, and that many beers (nine I think) it’s still a pretty enjoyable past time :-)

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Jet Boating & Siberia Valley

In 1953 a New Zealander called Bill Hamilton invented the first operational Jet Boat. The vast landscape and huge mountains make travel across much of New Zealand incredibly difficult and time consuming, but with countless rivers there was an opportunity to shorten journeys drastically. Standard boats weren’t capable of traveling over the shallow rocky areas that most flow over so Bill set out to create something that could manage it. In doing so he opened up much if the country side and jet boats became as useful as helicopters for getting people in and out of the remotest areas. Today Jet boats can travel pretty comfortably in six inches of water, and really gunning it can often get away with closer to three, and while there are obviously a lot of adventure companies that run shirt excursions, this is wanaka, so there’s one in most driveways!!!

Simon and I launched his boat into Lake Wanaka early in the afternoon before heading north up the Makarora, and then West up the Wilkin river. The sun was shining and the air calm as we floated over the clear blue snow melt waters. The speed, power and manoeuvrability of the boat is incredible, turning on a sixpence, and then lurching forward at the slightest touch of the accelerator. As always the area we were in was a vast expanse of space, mountains, rivers and valleys as far as the eye could see and not a person in sight. For a couple of hours we headed up the Wilkin, crossing trout infested pools, and powering over rocky rapids. Always able to see the bottom through the clearest water I’ve ever seen, we could also see the rocks at the bottom, but judging the depth was far harder than you’d imagine, a real problem for jet boaters. While they can travel in three inches of water there is little margin for error, and when it goes wrong, it goes seriously wrong. Beaching the boat is an obvious risk, but can generally be resolved with some brut strength providing you don’t mind getting wet, certain rocks however are capable of splitting the hull in two, hence the name ‘can openers’, and the lack of hull below the water makes flipping the boat a real possibility that has resulted in a number of fatalities.

When we got as far as we could up the river we tied up the boat and got our kit ready (after a cold beer from the cooler). We headed up the Wilkin before veering north where we climbed quickly to followed the Siberia river up its steep valley through its dense Forrest. With snow capped peaks melting in the summer sun there were waterfalls galore and with the local birds were the only noises we could hear. After a few hours we reached the highest altitude of the pass and could see into Siberia valley, a remote wonderland. If we hadn’t had the jet boat it would have taken us a day and half or so to get here. We followed the beautiful stream into the middle of the valley floor before taking a dip to cool off and set up camp. Unfortunately the altitude wasn’t quite enough to prevent sand flies, and they were out to play! Five minutes was enough so we decided to call it and headed for the not too distant hut, my bivvy bag would have to wait for another day.

Once we were fed and watered (and I had carved a spoon having forgotten mine) we stepped out for some hunting. Simon had brought along his bow and arrow - yes bow and arrow - so we set off to track some deer. There were a number of tracks near to the river, but with the relatively busy path running through the middle of the valley it was likely that the deer only ventured out of the thick forrest late at night. We stalked until it got dark but eventually decided to call it quits, unfortunately without letting an arrow fly in anger. We discussed the option of rising early to hunt, it went something like this:

- ‘If we get out about 4am, and position ourselves quietly at the treeline and sit for a couple of hours before first light we might have a chance of seeing one’ - ‘What sort of chance’ - ‘Pretty slim’ - ‘Yeah…. I’m good!’

So we arose at first light instead of before and headed back down the valley to find the jet boat ready and waiting. Plenty of time for me to do some driving (gotta get me one of these!!!!!) and we were home for lunch. Beautiful.

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"Nanny State" Parenting

Wanaka is a relatively small town, and my abilities (lack of) are probably not a suitable benchmark, but there are kids under eight that are better than me at skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, swimming, gymnastics, skateboarding, and just about everything else I have done here. There are five year old twins who are quite famous in the area for their abilities; understandable as both can do backflips and 180s on the half pipe at Cardrona, the only way to tell them apart is that one skis and one boards. There was a seven year old girl who rocketed up a rock face that I had previously spent about twenty minutes going two meters on. Kids who can barely walk are riding dirt bikes around the parks and trails, and one can observe dads teaching their kids to land jumps on their BMX at the local track most week nights. The skate park takes centre stage in the middle of Pembroke park and our neighbours have built a half pipe in their garden for their kids to practice on 24 / 7. Families go hiking and camping on a weekly basis, and most teenagers in the area could probably catch, gut and cook the majority of wild animals that live in the surrounding mountains, in fact I was shown a video on Sunday from an incredibly proud father of his eleven year old daughter shooting her first deer. Contrast this to the status quo in cities across the UK: Parks deserted, kids at home in front of the TV or Computer playing video games. Parents unwilling to let their children out of their grasp, let alone out of their sight. Trees, walls, and even swings (yes swings) seen as dangerous objects. An hour at most of physical education a week in school, all non contact and non competitive of course - god forbid we learn how to win and how to loose! Local authorities trying to shut down skate parks because it's where all the 'trouble' occurs. And the list goes on.... and on.... How do we learn, how we succeeded, if we aren't first willing to give it all and to fail? One of the best ways to stay safe is to learn to fall properly, it's an incredibly important skill, how can we learn this if we're never allowed to fall in the first place. Curiosity is one of our most basic and important traits, how can we develop this if we're never allowed to explore? Logic and reasoning are vastly important in adult life, how can we gain these skills if as children we are simply told, never allowed to figure it out for ourselves. Now, I have absolutely no authority whatsoever on the subject of parenting, and you might not agree with all aspects of the activities I mentioned, but the freedom I see afforded by parents here undoubtedly teaches independence, self awareness and confidence, some of the most important traits in emotional intelligence, which has been proven to be far more important that intellectual intelligence as a measure of future success. So if you want them to succeed, loosen the grip, they do here to a whole different level!

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Step 5 - Enjoy

;-)

P.S. As it was my first catch I felt compelled to eat the eye ball. It's not great!!!

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Step 4 - Cook For the salmon and small trout we used the smoker, the details of which are very important to the flavour of the fish. The flavour comes form the smoke, so how it is generated is vital. The flames below simply create the heat, the smoke comes from the Manuka honey chips in the smoker, it's why using a wood smoker with various different woods won't give the same flavour and my last attempt failed so miserably, fifteen minutes should do. The large trout is even simpler, twenty minutes each side on the BBQ, boom!

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Step 3 - Prepare Having tasted the quite exquisite salmon off the smoker a few weeks ago I had given it a go myself, needless to say it didn't taste the same!!! Apparently there are a few different steps required to ensure such flavour. The Salmon and the smaller Trout we prepared in the same way to be cooked on the smoker, the bigger Trout we went for a different approach. Leaving the large trout as it was we simply stuffed it with peaches, onion, and tarragon, before wrapping it well in silver foil. For the others we opened them up by cutting from the gills to the tail, along the spine and through all the bones. With all the fish visible we added brown sugar and rock salt, and doused in the juice of a lemon, simples.