August 2010, Phillip Island, Victoria

Phillip Island is one of the most popular spots for Melbourne masses to escape to in Summer time. It’s situated in the Western Port, about 2 hours drive south east from the city, which cuts through the beautiful Gippsland countryside: once you finally escape the tedious sprawl of the South Eastern suburbs that is. At just 26km wide by 9km tall, nothing is more than a 20 mins drive away along the single main artery which circumnavigates the island, connected to the rest of Victoria by a single road bridge.

There are around 7000 very fortunate permanent residents, a further 50,000 summer residents, and a staggering 3.5 million visitors per year. These willing visitors are enthralled by the natural beauty; the sandy beaches, the tranquil wetlands and the unique wildlife experiences.

We too were drawn in by the latter, but not by the usual crowd pleasing Aussie favourites of Koalas, Kangaroos, or Wallabies. We were in search of Penguins. Yep, those cute wobbly little birds that live in the snow capped and ice filled oceans of Antarctica. And we hadn’t gone mad. Australia’s largest colony of Little Blue Penguins is found on the southern shore of Phillip Island, adding several thousand permanent residents to its growing human population.

The Great Ocean Road 14km Fun Run 2011, Victoria, Australia.

“Run for 14km - where’s the fun in that? ” my friend grinned at me as I told him I had signed up for the 14km fun run, an integral part of the very popular Great Ocean Road Marathon weekend. What he didn’t know was that this particular run started and finished in the outrageously pretty Apollo Bay, which was a good enough reason alone to sign up, never mind being a great way to escape the tedium of the treadmill.

That was about 2 weeks before the race, and having just completed the last of my gruesome training runs with pain burning from my chest, I could see now that he had definitely been onto something. Maybe it was the nerves, but I had a vision of the race ahead, of me collapsing to the ground just yards from the finish line as pensioners over took me with a sympathetic smile and gracious wave.

With five events in total over the weekend, including the shorter races on Saturday, and the marathon on Sunday, I was anxious enough to double check that I had entered the right race on the right date, and thankfully with a sense of calm restored, I completed my final pre-race checks and route planning, and headed off for an early night.

July 2010 : Skiing in Queenstown, New Zealand

Well we manage to live a busy and hectic life at the moment... ahem... and just about squeezed in a week's skiing in New Zealand into our hectic schedule!

We flew into Christchurch where we stayed for one night, at the Hotel SO : I am sure that this type of hotel will get more popular... really small room, but funky as you like, mood lights, flourescent shower lights, free wifi, corner bed which doubles as cool sofa : great for one night, but not enough room to swing a cat. Or a bag full of ski gear. Christchurch is known as the garden city and the most English of cities outside of England, so home from home!