Places travelled and things done...
Turned 32. Not much to say about that. Birthday came and went. I tried to ignore it. No good or bad feelings about that age. I suppose it is good that I made it to 32 in good health and humour.
Visited some places in Scotland: Isle of Arran, Border regions, Cairngorm national park (for some really good snowboarding and learning how to dig my car out of a carpark).
Visited places in Wales: Chepstow including the beautiful Wye Valley, walking up Lord Hereford's Knob (!!), serious partying in Cardiff.
Good party times had in London, Plymouth, Manchester, Liverpool and Southport.
A good number of trips to the Lake District for lovely walks and drives (including alovely weekend with my friend Amy and another with my cousin Gina).
Visited the New Forest, White Cliffs of Dover and Major Oak in Sherwood Forest.
Visited Ellen and family in Oslo and met Ellen and Dag's baby Torbjørn.
Visited Rachelle and Michal in Krakow
Travelled to Indonesia to dive northern Sulawesi which was beautiful!
Visited home in Oz and was visited by my cousin and my friend Vicki from uni.
All in all a pretty productive and fun year!
But mainly just lived and worked and had routine in Southport. Which is my main reason for leaving in 4 days because I can do that back at home where I can see my family who I miss very very much at the moment.
I will be tying up loose ends over the next few days before leaving Southport on Friday to stay in London a few days. Then I start my travels anew with a flight to Italy. I will be travelling, volunteering and diving until I get home to Australia November 6th (how planned is that! Not my usual style I know. But it is because I have the honour of being bridesmaid at the wedding of Rachelle and Michal on November 20th).
I am feeling a bit of emotional emptiness at the moment with the thought of uprooting again (that came out as if I am forced to and don't like doing it. I actually love it but is does come at a cost) and saying goodbye to another crowd of lovely people who have come to be friends and enrich my life in many and new ways. I've learned a lot (eg rabbit medicine) from all these people and they will be missed. Luckily, I am getting a bit better at the goodbyes I think because I know I do see people again and they are not gone from my life forever. The world is getting smaller as they say.
I know this blog is boring but I am severely hungover from my farewell last night and I am trying to kill time before going to Sunday night pub quiz. I am just too ill to do all the stuff I needed to do today. Oh well. It will get done Tuesday. Hopefully.
I will try to fit in a better blog before I leave.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Monday, May 4, 2009
Ellen and Dag get married
Last weekend I had the honour of being bridesmaid to Ellen, my host-sister from when I was an exchange student in Norway. Ellen and Dag and been going out for years (about 12 years I think) and have finally tied the knot.
So I had a four day weekend and went over to Norway to help celebrate. It was lovely getting back to Reinsvoll. I had visited Ellen before in Oslo but it doesn't really feel like I'm coming back to Norway when in Oslo but being back in Reinsvoll where I have many fond memories is for me coming back to one of my many homes. If that makes any sense at all.
It was so lovely to see paople I hadn't seen in so may years. Some on for 6 years since I visited with my sister Kate, and some not for 15 years when I lived there in 93-94 school year.
The night I got there, we had a bit of a girl's night and chatted and drank wine and ate nibblies. I soon remembered why I put on 25kg in Norway. Such good food!
The next day was Tor's (Ellen's Dad and my host-dad) birthday and also being the night before the wedding, we had Dag's family and some family friends over for a special dinner which was lovely.
Sun and warmth - not something that can be expected on a Norwegian spring day but something we could all hope for even as ice still lay on einafjord in front of the church and not all the snow had yet melted from the garden. But the wedding day dawned with perfect weather which stayed with us all day. The sun shone and the temperature was 17 degrees (yes everyone in Oz that IS warm!). It was beautiful and we were surrounded by beautiful countryside, the bride was beautiful and the groom handsome. It was fairytale day.
Ellen and I went and got our hair done together for a bit of fun before the wedding then got home to get ready. I was in charge of getting Ellen's dress on her. If you saw the dress you would realise it wasn't as easy as it sounds. Layers of underskirt to arrange. We got there just as the last people were arriving at the church and I went in to sit opposite Dag and his best man.
Eventually Ellen was brought in on the arm of Tor and she managed not to cry too much (at that stage) and Tor delivered her up to Dag who helped her up to her seat next to me. Te priest spoke and then our firend Benedikte sang "Songbird" by Eva Cassidy. That was when my next duty came to me full force. Delivering tissues to Ellen which started crying in happiness. I started to as well but soon we were nearly in fits of laughter at ourselves. Luckily we were able to be discrete and didn't come out with the loud guffaws which come so easily to Ellen and me when we are together.
Ellen and Dag then approached the altar and said their vows, exchanged rings and kissed. They sat down next to each other then and I say next to Dag's best man. The priest said sime final words and Benedikte once again brought us to tears.
Then we walked out of the church to a beautiful day with Dag and Ellen as man and wife.
We went down to Gjøvik gård for some photos before the reception and then got to the restaurant. The reception was small with only 25 guests and we had a lovely time. For me it was good to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a long time as well as the fun of celebrating the wedding. ButI was a bit nervouse about my speech which luckily went fine. After dessert, we saw a slideshow Ellen and Dag made of the life together and it struch me how much they have seen together. It is really quite beautiful.
The tablet of cakes was covered since several guests had brought different types of cake. Again I realised why I put on 25kg while living in Norway.
Last of all, Dag got Ellen up for a bridal dance which she had not expected which was really very lovely and romantic that he had made that effort. Ever the sucker for romance am I!
And that was the end of the festivities and we all went off to bed. I had a flight to catch the next day. Luckily it was in the afternoon so there was no need to rush and slept in very well before the 1pm bus to the airport and then flight home for work the next day.
So I had a four day weekend and went over to Norway to help celebrate. It was lovely getting back to Reinsvoll. I had visited Ellen before in Oslo but it doesn't really feel like I'm coming back to Norway when in Oslo but being back in Reinsvoll where I have many fond memories is for me coming back to one of my many homes. If that makes any sense at all.
It was so lovely to see paople I hadn't seen in so may years. Some on for 6 years since I visited with my sister Kate, and some not for 15 years when I lived there in 93-94 school year.
The night I got there, we had a bit of a girl's night and chatted and drank wine and ate nibblies. I soon remembered why I put on 25kg in Norway. Such good food!
The next day was Tor's (Ellen's Dad and my host-dad) birthday and also being the night before the wedding, we had Dag's family and some family friends over for a special dinner which was lovely.
Sun and warmth - not something that can be expected on a Norwegian spring day but something we could all hope for even as ice still lay on einafjord in front of the church and not all the snow had yet melted from the garden. But the wedding day dawned with perfect weather which stayed with us all day. The sun shone and the temperature was 17 degrees (yes everyone in Oz that IS warm!). It was beautiful and we were surrounded by beautiful countryside, the bride was beautiful and the groom handsome. It was fairytale day.
Ellen and I went and got our hair done together for a bit of fun before the wedding then got home to get ready. I was in charge of getting Ellen's dress on her. If you saw the dress you would realise it wasn't as easy as it sounds. Layers of underskirt to arrange. We got there just as the last people were arriving at the church and I went in to sit opposite Dag and his best man.
Eventually Ellen was brought in on the arm of Tor and she managed not to cry too much (at that stage) and Tor delivered her up to Dag who helped her up to her seat next to me. Te priest spoke and then our firend Benedikte sang "Songbird" by Eva Cassidy. That was when my next duty came to me full force. Delivering tissues to Ellen which started crying in happiness. I started to as well but soon we were nearly in fits of laughter at ourselves. Luckily we were able to be discrete and didn't come out with the loud guffaws which come so easily to Ellen and me when we are together.
Ellen and Dag then approached the altar and said their vows, exchanged rings and kissed. They sat down next to each other then and I say next to Dag's best man. The priest said sime final words and Benedikte once again brought us to tears.
Then we walked out of the church to a beautiful day with Dag and Ellen as man and wife.
We went down to Gjøvik gård for some photos before the reception and then got to the restaurant. The reception was small with only 25 guests and we had a lovely time. For me it was good to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a long time as well as the fun of celebrating the wedding. ButI was a bit nervouse about my speech which luckily went fine. After dessert, we saw a slideshow Ellen and Dag made of the life together and it struch me how much they have seen together. It is really quite beautiful.
The tablet of cakes was covered since several guests had brought different types of cake. Again I realised why I put on 25kg while living in Norway.
Last of all, Dag got Ellen up for a bridal dance which she had not expected which was really very lovely and romantic that he had made that effort. Ever the sucker for romance am I!
And that was the end of the festivities and we all went off to bed. I had a flight to catch the next day. Luckily it was in the afternoon so there was no need to rush and slept in very well before the 1pm bus to the airport and then flight home for work the next day.
Diving off Musandam Peninsula
For Easter I was lucky to have a five day weekend and found a relatively cheap flight to Dubai. Given I was in need of some underwater time, I went to Oman for a few days of diving.
I met three Welsh people from Aberystwyth at the airport who were staying and diving with me so I naturally buddied with one of them. Her name was Lin and she a BSAC instructor who likes to take things easy and go nice and slow and look at loads of stuff so I got REALLY lucky there. We hit it off underwater really well and she was fab to dive with. We had a ball. Green sea turtly on nearly every dive. Some torpedo rays and a whipray. The other two Welshies, Kath and Mick, got to see Leopard sharks twice but since I seem to be a shark repellent, I'm not surprised we didn't get to see one. I can't say enough how nice it was to be back underwater. My gear worked fine although it did take a bit of getting used to my low pressure inflator. Mainly on deflating. Unless I heard it or started to feel myself dropping, I struggled to trust that I'd let any air out. and it is thoroughly weird to reach down to press something when ascending. Sort of felt like I was forgetting something. saw a heap of fish I'd never seen before such as Arabian angelfish and Arabian butterflyfish and some beautifully coloured feather stars down at about 28m. Lin and I were the same on air which was fab. Dive time was limited to an hour and one dive we talked them into letting us stay down 70 minutes so, since we were in first each dive, we got nice long dives. One dive had a drift at the start reminiscent to me of a moderate drift on Deep Freeze and Idrifted over a rock and nearly crashed into a turtle. Poor thing, didn't know they could widen their eyes further.
It was just so nice to be underwater again. But also to be in the sun and warmth and out on a boat.
I had dinner each night with the Welshies which was lovely of them to take me in. I really enjoyed their company and hope to see them in Aberystwyth. Must take my chockie cake CD and show them that there is actually a song by an Aussie band about Aberystwyth. I don't think they believed me.
I met three Welsh people from Aberystwyth at the airport who were staying and diving with me so I naturally buddied with one of them. Her name was Lin and she a BSAC instructor who likes to take things easy and go nice and slow and look at loads of stuff so I got REALLY lucky there. We hit it off underwater really well and she was fab to dive with. We had a ball. Green sea turtly on nearly every dive. Some torpedo rays and a whipray. The other two Welshies, Kath and Mick, got to see Leopard sharks twice but since I seem to be a shark repellent, I'm not surprised we didn't get to see one. I can't say enough how nice it was to be back underwater. My gear worked fine although it did take a bit of getting used to my low pressure inflator. Mainly on deflating. Unless I heard it or started to feel myself dropping, I struggled to trust that I'd let any air out. and it is thoroughly weird to reach down to press something when ascending. Sort of felt like I was forgetting something. saw a heap of fish I'd never seen before such as Arabian angelfish and Arabian butterflyfish and some beautifully coloured feather stars down at about 28m. Lin and I were the same on air which was fab. Dive time was limited to an hour and one dive we talked them into letting us stay down 70 minutes so, since we were in first each dive, we got nice long dives. One dive had a drift at the start reminiscent to me of a moderate drift on Deep Freeze and Idrifted over a rock and nearly crashed into a turtle. Poor thing, didn't know they could widen their eyes further.
It was just so nice to be underwater again. But also to be in the sun and warmth and out on a boat.
I had dinner each night with the Welshies which was lovely of them to take me in. I really enjoyed their company and hope to see them in Aberystwyth. Must take my chockie cake CD and show them that there is actually a song by an Aussie band about Aberystwyth. I don't think they believed me.
Paris
I had a 4 day weekend at the end of March and took it upon myself to see Paris. Loved it. Great atmosphere, friendly people, beautiful European architecture, good food and wine and very easy to get around. I went to the Louvre and spent most of my time in the Italian section since I am not much of an art buff and, like many of the tourists there, actually recognised paintings in that section. I did think the Louvre was quite an amazing palce, but I had made the mistake of going while there was good weather so I really just wanted to get outside. And so I did. And I walk to Notre Dame and sat out in a cafe eating frogs legs and soaking up the atmosphere.
I spent the next day at the Eiffel Tower in a queue and remember halfway up (as so often seems to happen, you would think I would learn) that I am not really a big fan of heights. After the Eiffel Tower I took a walk up Champs Elysees to Arc de Triomphe and then back down again. It was a gorgeous day and it was good to be out walking and soaking up the sites of Paris. The next evening I had to leave but not before I was to see Montmartre and Sacrecoeur. I climbed to the topmost tower of Sacre Coeur and luckily was well enclosed and had a lot of building underneath me so the height was more comfortable than on the Eiffel Tower. It is a beautiful basilica. Usually I find catholic churches too ostentations. I can't deny it the fact that it is ostentatious and like all catholic churches I have seen seems to cry "hypocrisy!" (sorry catholics. It is my view and it is there to stay. Didn't Jesus try to get us all to be humbe and wasn't he a humble man? Sow if you truly believe in Jesus and what he stood for, what is is with all the gaudy huge expensive buildings which clearly were not built simply by people voluntarily as a gift to God), but it is a magnificent basilica and, given the area of Paris in which it sits and the views you get from there, it was my favourite site in Paris (possibly also because there wasn't the crowds there on the Monday morning).
I spent the next day at the Eiffel Tower in a queue and remember halfway up (as so often seems to happen, you would think I would learn) that I am not really a big fan of heights. After the Eiffel Tower I took a walk up Champs Elysees to Arc de Triomphe and then back down again. It was a gorgeous day and it was good to be out walking and soaking up the sites of Paris. The next evening I had to leave but not before I was to see Montmartre and Sacrecoeur. I climbed to the topmost tower of Sacre Coeur and luckily was well enclosed and had a lot of building underneath me so the height was more comfortable than on the Eiffel Tower. It is a beautiful basilica. Usually I find catholic churches too ostentations. I can't deny it the fact that it is ostentatious and like all catholic churches I have seen seems to cry "hypocrisy!" (sorry catholics. It is my view and it is there to stay. Didn't Jesus try to get us all to be humbe and wasn't he a humble man? Sow if you truly believe in Jesus and what he stood for, what is is with all the gaudy huge expensive buildings which clearly were not built simply by people voluntarily as a gift to God), but it is a magnificent basilica and, given the area of Paris in which it sits and the views you get from there, it was my favourite site in Paris (possibly also because there wasn't the crowds there on the Monday morning).
China
I left the over 40 degree heat of southeastern Australian February at about 1am on 30th January to arrive the next night in northern China in -15 degrees. And I thought Tassie was a bit chilly.
I had decided while in Australia that I would change my ticket and fly back to the UK via China and visit Chris (with whom I had travelled through Uganda and Rwanda) for a week and see the Snow and Ice festival in Harbin.
It was lovely to see Chris again and the Snow and Ice festival was amazing. The snow sculptures were stunningly carved and with amazing detail. The Chinese people I found to be very friendly and helpful even if they didn't speak much English and I can't speak any Chinese. Chris and I did have some entertaining meals out where we either couldn't understand the menu since it was all in Chinese so we just picked at random (luckily Chris knew a few words) or the translations into English were comical such as the food being "trash". It was certainly interesting and tasted great but I do not want to consider what I may have eaten.
The ice festival was at night and we had the considerable misfortune of losing our guide and therefore our tickets and were stopped at the gate and made to wait in a room for a considerable time not knowing whether we were going to actually get to see the ice sculptures since they were very strict about the tickets, even though we bade them ring the hotel where we had booked the tickets. Not knowing Chinese we didn't know what was going on until, after a considerable wait, ourur guide got brought in to us with our tickets! We could only figure that the man who had gone out a long time before had gone around the whole festival and asked each guide if they had lost two white people. And there were many many guides so we were impressed with their effort. In Australia I think they would have just let us in.
We had three days in Harbin then flew back to Beijing so Chris could go to work. I visited the Forbidden city and the Great wall while there.
The forbidden city is quite huge and also so peaceful given that it is in the centre of Beijing and is full of tourists. It is so easy to get lost since so much of it looks so much like other parts of it and I would find myself suddenly in a peaceful garden with knotted trees and noone around and didn't know how I'd come to be there and was utterly surprise since nothing had led me to believe that was what I'd find around that corner. It is beautiful and made me feel like I was in the Labyrinth.
But even more beautiful was the Great Wall. After finally finding where the bus departed I went out to the Great Wall and spent the day there. "Great" is definitely the word for it.
I walked all the way up the top of the hill past the crowds and got a fabulous view of the wall as it meandered over the mountains. Listening to Ave Maria through earphones, I was in my own blissful world, oblivious to the crowds of tourists. The sky was clear and the day was warm. And I was trekking along the Great Wall. Talk about happy. I went back the way I came and then went up in the other direction from the entrance for there was nobody along the wall there at all. I only followed the crowds initially to see if there was something special that way that I should check out. Seems there wasn't and it is just the human way to follow everyone else, which is what I did too so I can't fault that! It was lovely though and I loved the Chinese people having had several girls want there photos taken with me as if I was interesting in some way or maybe famous. I got back that night quite exhausted knowing I had to leave the next morning the fly back to England and work a few days later.
I had decided while in Australia that I would change my ticket and fly back to the UK via China and visit Chris (with whom I had travelled through Uganda and Rwanda) for a week and see the Snow and Ice festival in Harbin.
It was lovely to see Chris again and the Snow and Ice festival was amazing. The snow sculptures were stunningly carved and with amazing detail. The Chinese people I found to be very friendly and helpful even if they didn't speak much English and I can't speak any Chinese. Chris and I did have some entertaining meals out where we either couldn't understand the menu since it was all in Chinese so we just picked at random (luckily Chris knew a few words) or the translations into English were comical such as the food being "trash". It was certainly interesting and tasted great but I do not want to consider what I may have eaten.
The ice festival was at night and we had the considerable misfortune of losing our guide and therefore our tickets and were stopped at the gate and made to wait in a room for a considerable time not knowing whether we were going to actually get to see the ice sculptures since they were very strict about the tickets, even though we bade them ring the hotel where we had booked the tickets. Not knowing Chinese we didn't know what was going on until, after a considerable wait, ourur guide got brought in to us with our tickets! We could only figure that the man who had gone out a long time before had gone around the whole festival and asked each guide if they had lost two white people. And there were many many guides so we were impressed with their effort. In Australia I think they would have just let us in.
We had three days in Harbin then flew back to Beijing so Chris could go to work. I visited the Forbidden city and the Great wall while there.
The forbidden city is quite huge and also so peaceful given that it is in the centre of Beijing and is full of tourists. It is so easy to get lost since so much of it looks so much like other parts of it and I would find myself suddenly in a peaceful garden with knotted trees and noone around and didn't know how I'd come to be there and was utterly surprise since nothing had led me to believe that was what I'd find around that corner. It is beautiful and made me feel like I was in the Labyrinth.
But even more beautiful was the Great Wall. After finally finding where the bus departed I went out to the Great Wall and spent the day there. "Great" is definitely the word for it.
I walked all the way up the top of the hill past the crowds and got a fabulous view of the wall as it meandered over the mountains. Listening to Ave Maria through earphones, I was in my own blissful world, oblivious to the crowds of tourists. The sky was clear and the day was warm. And I was trekking along the Great Wall. Talk about happy. I went back the way I came and then went up in the other direction from the entrance for there was nobody along the wall there at all. I only followed the crowds initially to see if there was something special that way that I should check out. Seems there wasn't and it is just the human way to follow everyone else, which is what I did too so I can't fault that! It was lovely though and I loved the Chinese people having had several girls want there photos taken with me as if I was interesting in some way or maybe famous. I got back that night quite exhausted knowing I had to leave the next morning the fly back to England and work a few days later.
Home for Christmas
So I arrived at Tulla airport ont he 22nd January and was picked up by my best friend Rachelle and her boyfriend Michal. I was very lucky becase my sister was in Melbourne for that day since she left for Hobart the next morning so I got to see her at the airport as well.
My poor dear mum still had no idea I was home for Christmas so I stayed at Rachelle's that night then we drove to Nelson the following night after Rache finished work and I had a day in Melbourne catching up with my Aunty Judy. We stopped in at Camperdown on the way to see my other best friend Ange and her family and for me to finally meet her baby Oliver who had been born 7 months before.
Then on to Rache's parents' place Nelson where I slept and woke up the next morning (Christmas Eve) before 7am so Dad could pick me up. Dad took me home and I hid in the boot of my car Whammy, backpack and all. Dad called Mum up and it was hilarious to see her face when she opened the boot of the car! She wen bright red and stamped her foot and called me a bugger for tricking her. Altogether very welcoming. It was quite funny. Then we opened a Bollinger and proceeded to get drunk which seemed to linger with me the three weeks I was in Nelson.
The next day, Lach and Nik arrived with Joely and Darcy and their dog Ripley. It was the first time I'd met my Niece who was 13 months old at the time. And Darcy was nearly 4 and had grown so much. I just loved playing aunty to them. They are absolutely beautiful kids. Certainly know how to play the heartstrings though. I honestly don't know how parents keep up with kids. I was so exhausted after a couple of days.
After Christmas, I spend a couple of days in Port Fairy with Lach and Nik and Darcy and Joely. We went to Tower Hill and Lake Pertobe in Warrnambool. Having been away and come back, it was wonderful going to places I loved as a kid and seeing how much Joely and Darcy loved it (probably nearly as much as I still did, let's face it, I haven't grown up).
LNDJR left Nelson around New Year's and headed back to Ballarat. I stayed in Nelson but did take a trip to Warrnambool to catchup with my friend Sarah and also to Portland to see Ange and William and Oliver again. But otherwise I stayed home with Mum and Dad and got to see a bit of Rachelle when she was down there.
Mid January I left Nelson and had a couple of days in Melbourne catchiong up with my mates from uni and then went to Hobart to have a week with my sister Kate. I was so impressed by Hobart. Except the it was a bit cold, it has so much to offer. I could consider settling there (yes, there is diving).
Kate and I hired at car and drove to Strachan and saw Hell's Mouth and we went to Lake St Claire and did a full day hike up Little Hugle which is actually quite steep and tricky and no little at all. We planned to climb Mout Rufus as well, in memory of my old pony but we managed to miss that due to the fact that I took us down the wrong path at the only point where there was a fork in the road. Unfortunately Kate had blind faith in my superior navigation skills and didn't even question the fact that we were suddenly going down into a valley for an hour. Either that or she was just being polite. Or maybe trying to see how long it took me in my wisdom to figure it out for myself.
As it happens, Little Hugle was more difficult than we thought, so it was good we didn't go up Mount Rufus.
The following day we drove to Cradle Mountain. Saw a Tassie devil on the way. And not as roadkill, actually alive. We went for a walk around Dove lake and enjoyed the lovely day.
The hioghtlight for me at Cradle mountain was going for a boardwalk that evening and seeing all the wombats come out onto the side of the hill for a feed. There were so many!! There wombat burrows everywhere on the side of that hill.
Then, as we started to get quite cold with darkness descending (well I got cold, I am yet to see Kate ever get cold, I think she was still in shorts and a Tshirt at that point), we headed back to the car. We decided to have a look in the streams in the hope to see a platypus since it did look like perfect habitat for them. But it is so rare to see one in the wild and you have to be so quiet and patient (two traits which I do not have in the slightest) that I was quick to give up since I was a bit cold. When we got to the bridge to head back to the car, we thought we'd have one last look and sure enough, we saw a sudden ripple in the water and there was a platypus on the bottom of the stream int he crystal clear water. Amazing to see. And so lucky for us.
We had decided to trip around to see the lakes in the centre of Tassie on our way back. We got to the shore of the enormous lake but the rain at the time was pelting down so hard we could only see about 100m in front of us, if that. Got home to Hobart that night quite exhausted.
I flew back to Melbourne in time to go to Foinee's (best mate from uni) hen do a couple of days before her wedding to Aidy (another mate from uni).
The wedding was beautiful and it was so lovely to see the vet friends that I hadn't caught up with the week before. Perfect weather in a beautiful setting.
I also got to see my dog while in Melbourne who I have missed so much since being overseas. A bit upsetting to see hee has a few grey hairs around the muzzle. Caught up with Mark who now has custody of Taska and he seems well with a good job and a lovely girlfriend so it is nice that we both have moved on now and are doing what we want.
I stayed with Rache while in Melbourne so got to spend a lot of time with her and Michal. Saw my aunty Judy and uncle Bruce again and got to catch up with my cousins Trini and Dave who live in a good part of Melbourne and have a fun group of friends.
For the last two days of January I went to Ballarat to spend it with Lach and Nik and the kds since it was Darcy's birthday on the 29th. It was fabulous to see them. The heat had started though which made it easier to leave Australia but it was still very hard to leave my family.
My poor dear mum still had no idea I was home for Christmas so I stayed at Rachelle's that night then we drove to Nelson the following night after Rache finished work and I had a day in Melbourne catching up with my Aunty Judy. We stopped in at Camperdown on the way to see my other best friend Ange and her family and for me to finally meet her baby Oliver who had been born 7 months before.
Then on to Rache's parents' place Nelson where I slept and woke up the next morning (Christmas Eve) before 7am so Dad could pick me up. Dad took me home and I hid in the boot of my car Whammy, backpack and all. Dad called Mum up and it was hilarious to see her face when she opened the boot of the car! She wen bright red and stamped her foot and called me a bugger for tricking her. Altogether very welcoming. It was quite funny. Then we opened a Bollinger and proceeded to get drunk which seemed to linger with me the three weeks I was in Nelson.
The next day, Lach and Nik arrived with Joely and Darcy and their dog Ripley. It was the first time I'd met my Niece who was 13 months old at the time. And Darcy was nearly 4 and had grown so much. I just loved playing aunty to them. They are absolutely beautiful kids. Certainly know how to play the heartstrings though. I honestly don't know how parents keep up with kids. I was so exhausted after a couple of days.
After Christmas, I spend a couple of days in Port Fairy with Lach and Nik and Darcy and Joely. We went to Tower Hill and Lake Pertobe in Warrnambool. Having been away and come back, it was wonderful going to places I loved as a kid and seeing how much Joely and Darcy loved it (probably nearly as much as I still did, let's face it, I haven't grown up).
LNDJR left Nelson around New Year's and headed back to Ballarat. I stayed in Nelson but did take a trip to Warrnambool to catchup with my friend Sarah and also to Portland to see Ange and William and Oliver again. But otherwise I stayed home with Mum and Dad and got to see a bit of Rachelle when she was down there.
Mid January I left Nelson and had a couple of days in Melbourne catchiong up with my mates from uni and then went to Hobart to have a week with my sister Kate. I was so impressed by Hobart. Except the it was a bit cold, it has so much to offer. I could consider settling there (yes, there is diving).
Kate and I hired at car and drove to Strachan and saw Hell's Mouth and we went to Lake St Claire and did a full day hike up Little Hugle which is actually quite steep and tricky and no little at all. We planned to climb Mout Rufus as well, in memory of my old pony but we managed to miss that due to the fact that I took us down the wrong path at the only point where there was a fork in the road. Unfortunately Kate had blind faith in my superior navigation skills and didn't even question the fact that we were suddenly going down into a valley for an hour. Either that or she was just being polite. Or maybe trying to see how long it took me in my wisdom to figure it out for myself.
As it happens, Little Hugle was more difficult than we thought, so it was good we didn't go up Mount Rufus.
The following day we drove to Cradle Mountain. Saw a Tassie devil on the way. And not as roadkill, actually alive. We went for a walk around Dove lake and enjoyed the lovely day.
The hioghtlight for me at Cradle mountain was going for a boardwalk that evening and seeing all the wombats come out onto the side of the hill for a feed. There were so many!! There wombat burrows everywhere on the side of that hill.
Then, as we started to get quite cold with darkness descending (well I got cold, I am yet to see Kate ever get cold, I think she was still in shorts and a Tshirt at that point), we headed back to the car. We decided to have a look in the streams in the hope to see a platypus since it did look like perfect habitat for them. But it is so rare to see one in the wild and you have to be so quiet and patient (two traits which I do not have in the slightest) that I was quick to give up since I was a bit cold. When we got to the bridge to head back to the car, we thought we'd have one last look and sure enough, we saw a sudden ripple in the water and there was a platypus on the bottom of the stream int he crystal clear water. Amazing to see. And so lucky for us.
We had decided to trip around to see the lakes in the centre of Tassie on our way back. We got to the shore of the enormous lake but the rain at the time was pelting down so hard we could only see about 100m in front of us, if that. Got home to Hobart that night quite exhausted.
I flew back to Melbourne in time to go to Foinee's (best mate from uni) hen do a couple of days before her wedding to Aidy (another mate from uni).
The wedding was beautiful and it was so lovely to see the vet friends that I hadn't caught up with the week before. Perfect weather in a beautiful setting.
I also got to see my dog while in Melbourne who I have missed so much since being overseas. A bit upsetting to see hee has a few grey hairs around the muzzle. Caught up with Mark who now has custody of Taska and he seems well with a good job and a lovely girlfriend so it is nice that we both have moved on now and are doing what we want.
I stayed with Rache while in Melbourne so got to spend a lot of time with her and Michal. Saw my aunty Judy and uncle Bruce again and got to catch up with my cousins Trini and Dave who live in a good part of Melbourne and have a fun group of friends.
For the last two days of January I went to Ballarat to spend it with Lach and Nik and the kds since it was Darcy's birthday on the 29th. It was fabulous to see them. The heat had started though which made it easier to leave Australia but it was still very hard to leave my family.
Southport
So after finishing my extended travelling, I found myself back int he UK and fairly well lacking in cash. So with a significant cashflow problem, feeling a bit out of touch with the vet side of my life and with nothing else to do, I took the first job offered to me. It was a job up in northwest England and it was only meant to be for a month. I wanted to see that part of the UK anyway and I wasn't that picky (since I had said cashflow problem).
It has now been 10 months and I am still at that job.
Turned out I quite liked this part of the UK and I quite liked the job.
The job is very busy and I am one of very few in my profession whose only annoyance with the boss is that he doesn't charge enough. So pretty much it is a fab job in many respects and the main reason I stayed is that the boss here really does love the animals and really does love the work (which is the main reason I love working at my favourite practice in Australia too - the one in Myrtleford - because of the boss's work ethic). We still do a lot of good work and get a lot of interesting cases though.
I took the job thinking it was for a month but that during that time I would have a week in Dublin at the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress. When I got picked up I found out they actually wanted me for 2 months. No worries I thought.
So I went to Dublin and drank far too much Guinness but still managed to learn a bit at congress as well. Also ran into some friends from uni and my old boss's best friend from Adelaide. It is a small small vet world. Caught up with some diving friends I'd met in Pemba as well. Basically had a wonderful time and loved Dublin because it is so friendly and so musical with a band at nearly every pub.
Got back to Southport for work and got asked if I would stay until the end of the year. Knowing I needed a work permit come January I said that I would stay if they'd have me until August 2009 so I could continue to work in the UK on a work permit premise and save up for more travel. I was quite demanding actually because I also had planned to leave the UK for 6 weeks to travel home to Australia for Christmas. And work said yes (glad this all happened before the credit crunch!)
A few months later, work said I can stay for a few years if I want and I have decided I'll probably stay 2-3 years all told if I can cope with the cold.
It has now been 10 months and I am still at that job.
Turned out I quite liked this part of the UK and I quite liked the job.
The job is very busy and I am one of very few in my profession whose only annoyance with the boss is that he doesn't charge enough. So pretty much it is a fab job in many respects and the main reason I stayed is that the boss here really does love the animals and really does love the work (which is the main reason I love working at my favourite practice in Australia too - the one in Myrtleford - because of the boss's work ethic). We still do a lot of good work and get a lot of interesting cases though.
I took the job thinking it was for a month but that during that time I would have a week in Dublin at the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress. When I got picked up I found out they actually wanted me for 2 months. No worries I thought.
So I went to Dublin and drank far too much Guinness but still managed to learn a bit at congress as well. Also ran into some friends from uni and my old boss's best friend from Adelaide. It is a small small vet world. Caught up with some diving friends I'd met in Pemba as well. Basically had a wonderful time and loved Dublin because it is so friendly and so musical with a band at nearly every pub.
Got back to Southport for work and got asked if I would stay until the end of the year. Knowing I needed a work permit come January I said that I would stay if they'd have me until August 2009 so I could continue to work in the UK on a work permit premise and save up for more travel. I was quite demanding actually because I also had planned to leave the UK for 6 weeks to travel home to Australia for Christmas. And work said yes (glad this all happened before the credit crunch!)
A few months later, work said I can stay for a few years if I want and I have decided I'll probably stay 2-3 years all told if I can cope with the cold.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)