The Nutters run and leavings

The end has finally arrived. 
Before that however, was the Nutters Cross Island run.  After a fairly relaxing day for myself, I joined my team mates on a convoy to the Avarua markets to board a bus to the start line of the Cross Island run.  Now, we should have gotten some clues about the nature of the race when we were asked to check in, and take a whistle to blow if we got lost, or had any problems.  Alas, we boarded the late bus and made way for the start line.  Now we were asked to get on with it quick, as the late starting of the race now introduced a fairly big problem with light, so after the obligatory 10-15mins of the organisers figuring out what was going on, the starters gun went off and the run got underway. 

I had intended to walk all but the start and finish kilometre, as my head cold was pretty set in, and didn't feel great.  Given the late start, I ended up jogging most of the way to the start of the walking track.  Even still, I was among the last to start the trek, along with the whole team.  It became apparent very quickly exactly why the race was called the Nutters run.  The track ended up being a narrow, muddy, root strewn, rocky and generally very tricky trail.  Once I got underway however, I had a ball.  I took great pleasure negotiating the creek crossings, climbing the steep ridgeline, and avoiding twisting ankles on the decents.  The very small clearing at the top gave some pretty darn good views of the island, and needle rock.  In the end it took me just under two hours to complete the 8km nutters run.  The winner took it out in 53minutes, however it is believed an un-marked shortcut may have assisted in that cause.

Dinner that night was pizzas in Renae's room.  We were celebrating the end of a very enjoyable and successful Cook Islands campaign.  I had a quiet night, and decided to call it a night at midnight to try and get over this cold.
The next day began with a magnificent display by a pod of whales making their way south.  They were having a great time, with countless breaches; all viewed from the breakfast table.  We had booked a safari tour of the island that morning, so we made our way to receiption to find it waiting.  We jumped on board and met our tour guide, Mr Hopeless.  He was very entertaining and knowledgable.  We learn about the history of the island, the culture and the flora and fauna.  He took us to a couple of island vantage points, the roads to which were pretty dicy (well, they were in my very limited 4WDing experience...), before the tour ended at lunch.  They served some barbyqued Mahi Mahi and salad, which was pretty good.  I did a little bit of souveneer shopping before heading back to the resort in time for a deep tissue massage I had booked in.  It felt pretty good, though I don't think it was very "deep".  I got a bit of trigger point therapy, but I think the masseus was a little scared of causing pain.  Regardless, I left the spa feeling better than when I went in, which I guess is the point.  I decided to go for a last snorkel and swim in the lagoon.  It wasn't great, the wind was up, and water a little murky but still a good reminder of what was out there.  I then started the process of packing my bag before going to dinner.

We weren't leaving till 11:30pm, so we hired the tennis court and played for about an hour.  I may have gone a little overboard, but as I said at the time, I can only serve at one speed... the body line was definately over the line though (sorry Renae...)

Well, the time had come, I boarded the bus and made it to airport.  The journey was a long one, with the first flight to Auckland taking off at 1:30am.  I ended up back in Brisbane some 14 hours later. 
The trip was great.  The company better.  I don't think the team will be going back next year, but I would be up for it.