Remember blimmin’ months ago when I promised to tell you about the time I went for a stroll around the block, decided to go off-trail into the bush and nearly put myself into a survival situation? Well I’m finally making good. It happened on Easter Sunday. I remember it well, because I’d eaten a shitload of chocolate and was…
Tag: outdoors
Bloomin’ Fantastic!
Since we got back from New Zealand a few people have been asking me when’s the best time to head over for skiing. To which I helpfully answer I dunno. Although the South Island has pretty good snow throughout the season, generally it gets the best dumps of snow either at the start of the season (July) or towards the end (September)….
Wana Walk? (Diamond Lake, NZ.)
Wanaka, Day 2. Not sore from snowboarding for the first time EVER!! … Miracles do happen! Could be thanks to that (SO GOOD) soak in the spa yesterday. Those things should be compulsory in all holiday houses, like toilets. Spent a lazy Sunday morning sitting on the balcony soaking up the spring sunshine with a cuppa tea and boysenberry jam…
The Journey From Sandgroper to Snowfaceplanter. (Cardrona, New Zealand)
nb for the non-Strayans out there a ‘sandgroper’ is another name for a West Australian. It’s quite an agreeable nickname really, considering we call Queenslanders “banana benders”, South Australians “crow eaters” and New South Welshpersons “cockroaches”. I’ll never forget seeing snow for the first time. It was 1994, I was 19, and on my first trip overseas, visiting Mosey who…
Sneaky Little Getaway. (Flat Rock, NSW)
We finally went camping again! Just a short trip, down the coast near Ballina in New South Wales for a couple of nights. We timed it before the Easter holidays because campgrounds are better when they aren’t full and summer’s been over for a month already and we’d promised the boys our next camping trip wouldn’t be in the middle of winter again. On the…
Tykes on Bikes 2: Tasman Great Taste Trail, New Zealand.
After the near disaster resounding success! of our last time cycling in Enzed we couldn’t wait to do it again. The boys were pumped, though Finn was quick to check we aren’t riding 25km again are we Mummy? Of course not darling!!!! …Well, maybe not. I don’t think so. I don’t know. We were going to Rabbit…
Abel Tasman National Park, N.Z. Takes 1 & 2.
The journal continues… with a flashback to Saturday 21 December 2002, during my first ever trip to New Zealand. What the hell for, you ask? Read on. Out with Kaiteriteri Kayaks, and my second trip into the Abel Tasman NP. I luv it – the only place I’ve visited twice in Enzed! Well, besides Wellington, but that…
Silent Night, Holy SHIT It’s Hot.
Merry belated Christmas! It was the second Christmas for us this year: a while back the boys and I travelled via Jetstar DeLorean to Ballarat (henceforth B-Rat) for Christmas Day 2015 Take One. It was lovely and we had a great time but OMG it was so hot it wasn’t just the turkey’s arse that got roasted. It seemed a typical B-Ratty summer; we arrived on…
SWELL; Just Swell!
Currumbin is awesome. There’s two beaches; the main one’s best for boogieboarding and brunch, and the Alley is best for playing in the shallows, learning to surf, and scrambling amongst the boulders. One day soon the boys will be big enough to climb Currumbin Rock with me too. So much to love! One sunny day 13 years…
An Open Letter To Our Dumbass Leaders.
To Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Environment Minister Greg Hunt, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the coal industry, Satan, and anyone else who seems to think this is a good idea, I can’t believe I have to sit here and write this letter. As taxpayers we place a lot of trust in you, our leaders, to speak…
10 Things I Miss About Exmouth.
I’ve been reluctant to write these last couple of posts on my Exmouth trip, and as a result I’ve been doing some Olympic-level procrastinating. But I have to say goodbye to Exmouth sometime. I’ve loved writing about it – sharing it with you has helped alleviate my Holiday Adjustment Disorder – but this is my twelfth post about this trip and you’re probably thinking Jesus, woman, move…
Whale Sharks Down Under 2: Dinki-Di Rinky Dinks.
My Ningaloo whale shark experience wasn’t over yet… In Exmouth I’d happened to be shacked up opposite Ecocean researchers who were in town for the whale shark season, led by an international man of mystery bent on global conservation. After I got home I joined his worldwide organisation and became a whale shark boffin. YEAH BABY! Being on my own I found the Ecocean crew to be great company… I…
Still Not A Journal. 