Today, I went on the Boulder Bay walk which starts from Taylors Mistake for the first time ever, even though it’s only a hop, skip, and jump away from where I live. My last visit to Taylors Mistake was when I was a young woman, despite it only being over the hill from Sumner. Granted, I haven’t always lived in the suburb I do now, but I’ve spent a considerable part of my life in Christchurch (NZ), and Taylors Mistake is not exactly the other side of the moon.

How it got its name is debated. The most common story is that it was named after a Captain Taylor, who beached his ship there in the 1850’s after mistaking it for Lyttleton Harbour, the port for Christchurch and surrounds. Nowadays, it has noticeably up-marketed itself, with a better carpark and toilet facilities than in the days I remember. There are also a few more houses up on the hills around the bay, which are in a slightly different league to the quirkier baches lower down, which once made up the bulk of the dwellings there.

The Boulder Bay walk has been spruced up from being little more than the sheep track it was back in the day. Now, it’s wide enough for people to pass each other, and still stay on the track. Quite important, really, seeing as it climbs up around the bay with steep drops nearly all the way, and has become quite popular. At least, it was when I was on it, but maybe a combination of a long weekend with nice weather had something to do with it, too.

I’ve been trying to improve my strength and fitness, but admit that I only have a modest dedication to it, so was pleasantly surprised at how well I managed the hills on the walk. Of course, when I say “well”, I still get left in the dust of most of the others in my walking group. I started walking with them a few months ago on Sundays, with gaps here and there. Between that, and the twice-weekly (non-gut-busting) gym sessions I started sometime before, I’m actually seeing some results. I have no interest in trying to ‘prove’ anything, though, so I’m happy to take the small wins.

The women I walk with are not women I interact with in any other way in my life, except for one of them, so I find both the social aspect of mixing with those I’m not close to, and going on walks I wouldn’t otherwise do, is healthy for me. And the wellbeing one gets from just being away from the city – even if it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump away – where the vista is amazing, can’t be denied, either.

The afore-mentioned long weekend is due to the public holiday of ANZAC Day, 25^th April, falling on Monday this year. ANZAC means Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and ANZAC day commemorates the 1915 landing of Australian and New Zealand soldiers at Gallipoli in northwestern Turkey during WW1. It was a disastrous campaign of several months’ duration, and both the ANZACs and the Turks had heavy losses.

Since then, the Turks have honoured those who fell there so far away from home, and have renamed the small cove where the landing took place as Anzac Cove. Going there for the dawn ceremony on ANZAC Day has become something of a pilgrimage for New Zealanders and Australians, and I’ve heard that there are not too many dry eyes on the occasion. Interestingly, commemorating ANZAC Day has increased in attendance over the years, from it almost being scrapped due to low attendance during the 1960’s and 70’s.

Now, ANZAC Day has broadened into a day that commemorates all those New Zealand and Australian servicemen-and-women who have died in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. Some like how it’s expanded, and some don’t.

This year, I went to a small commemoration around the road from me put together by volunteers at the community centre called Avebury House, which is an old historic colonial house. There wasn’t much pomp and ceremony like the bigger commemorations have, but there were homemade Anzac biscuits and a cuppa tea afterwards. About 70 people of mixed ages turned up, and I ended up sitting and chatting with three other ladies whom I’d never met before, and may never meet again. One of the things I think that commemorations like ANZAC Day does, is it cuts through political and lifestyle differences, and just brings people together for a wee while over something outside of themselves. Maybe that’s one reason why attendance at commemorations is increasing.