Rapid Fire posting! Normandy '08

Hi Folks,
Right, well, Blog has been semi neglected for a bit (apologies), allthough Caren did write up Belize where we went in September '08.
I'm going to go back even further in time to about August '08 , when we went to Normandy in France (site of the D-Day assault on mainland Europe).

I know Caren is allways up for a travel, especially if it means going to France, but, I was somewhat surprised when she was really keen to go check out the modern historical sites in Normandy, France, most famous for it's role in the WW2 D-Day landings (though of course, going back, has played a part in Dozens of wars over thousands of years!).

Anyways, we had a long weekend spare, so hired a car after work on Friday and drove down to Dover (takes about 2.5 hours from our place), cought the Ferry accross the straight and landed in Calais, France...giving us a chance to try out caren's new phone GPS software, which, thankfully seemed to get us there ok :)

Having arrived in Calais (after a DODGY DODGY Chinese buffet in Dover *shudder*) , we hit the road immediately down the coast to Normandy, and Bayeux where we'd be staying.

Quite a lovely drive, through feilds and farmland, though also quite a long drive (about 3.5 hours).


The next day we got up and started checking out some of the Historic sites, including Omaha, Gold and Juno Beaches (the Allied Expeditionary Force labels for local beaches) , which was absolutely interesting and humbling.

Anyways, in the order of keeping it brief, here are some Photo's.

(Gun Emplacement overlooking Omaha Beach)

(Gold Beach, site of the incredible "Temporary Harbour" , built in stormy seas by British engineers and under enemy fire in only 3 days to enable the offloading of supplies and war materials fo the invasion...some hulks used as sea breaks and part of the docks are still visible today, 60+ years later)

(The American ex-Pat memorial grave site overlooking Omaha beach)

(The view Up from on Omaha Beach)

Anyway, it was a privalege to visit the sites and really think deeply on what our Parents and Grandparents must have gone through in that time.

...of course, Caren also bought a ton of Booze while we were there, so there ya go... ;)

Rainforest & Reefs

Well of course we can’t all travel smoothly - and the statistics showed that Craig and I’s number was up. The trip to Belize started inconspicuously enough – with me swearing blue murder at Continental’s website used to supposedly check-in online and only getting half the boarding passes required for our journey out. In the midst of this, I had dropped Craig’s passport on the ground and had forgotten to pick it up. This was discovered at 6am once we had already arrived by taxi at Heathrow. Gates close at 7.30am. So Craig had to hoof it back in a black cab and he came back with 1 minute to spare – and £200 out of pocket. What was worse was this was all for nothing, for although we just managed to make the flight to Houston, there was still more to come. Craig got taken to the interrogation room for would-be terrorists. Then our flight to Belize was cancelled. This was notified to us after we had wandered around the Houston airport for 4 hours already. Our next flight was at 1.30pm the next day – not enough to make the most of a bad situation and go and see something in Houston or go shopping or something. This was, of course, the southern states of America, where everything is miles away and only accessible by gas guzzling pickups. So, stuck at the airport we were, with the only consolation was that it could have been worse, and could have been Lübeck airport. The next day, after a massive American breakfast, a trip to the gym, not being issued the correct tickets AND a special search by security – we were on the way to Belize. Finally!
Since we had supposed to be having a non-stop trip the night before, we had booked a private transfer to our lodge on the west side of the country and right in the middle of the rainforest. Black Rock Lodge was probably the epitomy of a luxurious resort AND it was all for ourselves. We had actually arrived in low (rainy) season . The owners of the lodge were also getting married in a couple of days, and so had restricted the amount of booking in the coming days. When we arrived, we were greeted by tiki torch lit paths and a frog hopping across in front of me. The cabin where we stayed was amazing – it was the most modern and luxurious cabana in the lodge and right above the swollen river. The noise was astounding (and probably terrifying to some). It was like being right under a waterfall and a sound which meant one was definitely away from it all.




Since we had lost a day – we had to make up time and fast. So much for a relaxing holiday!! So that night, we went with our guide on a night hike into the forest to discover what weird and wonderful creatures were lurking ready to pounce on us. It turned out that there were loads of insects and bats and very little in the way of mammals – BUT we knew they were out there – we saw fresh jaguar paw prints in the mud the next day.



The next morning we were up with the birds – literally. From the thatched communal restaurant, we met with our guide to watch all of the birds having their breakfast. We saw woodpeckers, toucans, Great Black Hawks and many others. Truly amazing – I am sure my grandmother would have loved this place.


Next we were up for a horse ride – probably the one and only time Craig would ever get on a horse. It was probably because he didn’t want to say no to the guide who was insistent that we should do this. We only went on the basic two hour ride, although I am sure the terrain was probably as tough as I had ever been in parts. We had a dip in the river and then back along the trail back to the cabin. Probably just in time, as the heavens just opened. This was not just ordinary rain as you and I have experienced – but a full on fireman’s hose. In fact, it was difficult to differentiate between the waterfall and the showers.



The next morning, we had to leave our paradise – which was disappointing as it was cut short in two ways. We had signed up for the ATM () tour. This involved hiking through the jungle for 45 minutes, donning on hard hats and swimming up the river for an hour inside limestone caves. Once at our destination, we climbed onto a ledge high up in the cave, took off our shoes and put on socks. This was to stop our sweaty feet dissolving the limestone on the ledge floor. Our guide got us to carefully pick our way through the broken pots and skeletons that were strewn and embedded in the limestone. These were in fact artefacts from Mayan sacrificial and blood-letting rituals and had been there since around 600-800 AD!! We had found out that in November, photography would no longer be allowed in the cave as careless tourists would often blunder into an artefact and smash them – so I guess we were pretty lucky. Half an hour back down the cave (going out is faster than going up) and we were out into daylight again – much to Craig’s relief as he is pretty claustrophobic. I swear I did not know the tour was like this until we went!! While we were in the cave, another famous downpour had occurred. Just to give you an idea of the effects it has, we had crossed the river 3 times going up to the cave and 6 times returning from it!!



That night we stayed in another resort nearby (Chaa Creek) – one that was normally about twice the price as the one we stayed in initially. However, they did have camp casitas for US $50 a night. This was an area that is set away from the posh resort, but apparently walk through the jungle a bit and you will get there. Like hell we were going to do this in the middle of the night by ourselves!! Anyway, our accommodation consisted of a permanent “tent” on stilts and sharing a bathroom with a couple of bats. Pretty cool and as adventurous as we were ever likely to get we thought.
The next day, my birthday, one of the guides had convinced us to make it as long a day as possible trying to cram in yet more sights – well I guess we had lost a day after all. We ended up splashing out for a private guide out to Tikal in Guatemala. This consisted of a 3 hour journey across the some pretty treacherous roads (although we were told we should have seen them 10 years ago!!). However, the journey was well worth it. This is supposed to be the most impressive of the Mayan ruins in the region and consisted of architecture that spanned the entire time of known Mayan civilisation – from about 600BC to 800 AD. And this place was enormous, probably one of the biggest cities in the area at the time. Some of the temples were astrologically aligned so that the ?? could track and predict the weather and the seasons. To top off our tour, the guide pointed us over to the final temple and told us to climb the rickety stairs to the top. We were met with a familiar sight – it turned out that this was the scene where the Millenium Falcon landed in Star Wars VI. This is definitely not in the guide books – but perhaps it is a little crass.



In order to meet our deadlines, and go to our new resort by the seaside, we had to also book yet another private transfer to a sleepy little village called Hopkins. We had booked a treehouse in Hamanasi (probably the only reason I booked this place) only to find out that the air conditioning had broken down. To make it up to us, we were put in the Honeymoon Suite – I think I would have preferred the treehouse, but hey. At least they spelled out our initials in petals on the bed!!



This part of the holiday was to begin the relaxing part – diving most mornings, and sleeping, playing Trivial Pursuit, kayaking and drinking rum cocktails in the afternoon. In fact, for a novice, I now have 8.5 hours of diving under my belt. And the diving was AMAZING. Think Finding Nemo in real life and, if I was a ceramicist, I had have so much inspirational material to work with, I would be employed for life. We saw all of the big things, apart from whale sharks, that lurk in these waters. These ranged from morays, barracuda, stingrays, eagle rays, nurse sharks, turtles and even dolphins. It is quite rare to be diving with the dolphins (OK they were darting past us) so I felt extremely privileged indeed. (BTW, the Belize Barrier Reef is second in size to the Great Barrier Reef in Oz).



And so, it was back to London again. Craig got pulled over my American immigration again but otherwise uneventful. Why can’t the problems happen on the way home – not the way to holiday huh? But anyway, very sate – definitely a worthwhile trip.

Proper photos to come soon on another site. I am determined to do this...

Holy Hell time has flown - and so did I

Ahh no excuse really but I think I will post something on a more recent item and work backwards from there.

So it is summer over here in Britain - well what the British term the summer anyway. It is not particularly warm and it has been raining almost every day for a couple of weeks - but at least it gets dark at 10pm right now. So to celebrate, one of my buddies at my horse riding class decided that we should sign up for the cross-country clinic last Friday. She really only wanted us to join so she wouldn't feel compelled to chicken out. So three of us from our class (and about 9 other people) set out to learn how the art is done. Bear in mind that it has been about 15 years since us three tried anything like this.

So we hopped on our horses and off we rode - around the arena trying various types of jumps - arrowheads, faux water jumps, bounces, brushes - you name it. Helena had a horse that you just pointed at a jump and it would go - FAST! I had a horse that would be crazy to steer going into the jump but would eventually do it. Poor Linda had a horse that was broken in last year and had no confidence. She would refuse, and when she did jump it ended up bouncing on all fours.

So once we made it around in the indoor arena, then it was time to go outside. Now this is where the fun begins because the horses don't really go out that much and it is FAR too exciting for them. My first canter up the paddock meant loads of bucking and a lot of yanking on the reins from me (you can see in the pictures that my horse isn't exactly small). My horse wouldn't stand still either when waiting for the other horses and thought it was great fun to try and dance around the midges and try and eat the grass. But we eventually made it over all the jumps - they look small to you - but they are still an accomplishment to us all the same.

So at the end of it, Helena won the prize for speediest round, Linda won the bravest soul and I won the sorest ass (which lasted five days but I am sure by the end of the summer I will win buns of steel competition).

Helena

Linda

And Moi - proof to all of those who have never seen me ride (including my closest family) that I can actually do this - well sort of.

Barcelona

So the intentions were there. Given that we are always on the move and that we never seem to get everything we should get done, done, I had finally got a device that should help me somewhat. I have got a new phone which comes complete with office mobile. I had done most of the typing on the plane coming back, and also some more on a train - when I struck an unforeseen memory error and lost most of my muses. At this point, motivation wasn't particularly key - so my diary has been left to languish until now - so without further ado, a weekend in Barcelona (clap clap).

So another bank holiday weekend and another trip to Europe . This time, we had been convinced that we should go to Barcelona by the sheer fact that everyone raves about the place.

Once again, we flew on Friday evening and the plane was only an hour late. Thank goodness I had decided to pay double as a Ryan air flight would drop us off an hour from the city. So despite it being Spain and the tapas bars still remaining open, we were too tired to eat.

The first morning we decided to hang around Mont Juic.

(craig is in there somewhere)

This was handy to our hotel; about 5 minutes walk. We started at a replica Spanish village called El Poble which housed a plethora of artisans, galleries and restaurants. This was extremely pleasant and we came away with a couple of purchases!

After lunch, we sauntered over the hill (stopping to admire the view of the city from outside the Catalan art museum) over to the Joan Miro museum. As an aside, Parc Mont Juic houses a number of attractions including many of the venues for the 1992 Olympics. This includes the main stadium. So the museum was fantastic. Well at least to me. I had insisted that we get an audioguide so we could understand what was going on. The theory behind the art was of course complete bollocks, but I could appreciate that the depiction of the intangible unconscious was revolutionary for the time. Craig did not. What Craig did appreciate was the siesta in the park afterwards.

You decide!

That night, after dinner, we went for a stroll down Las Ramblas and down to the marina. Although well developed, I thought that the formula was the same as most major cities, and a little over-touristed.

The next day we bought tickets for the Bus Turistic - a hop on hop off bus that does a few loops of the tourist spots in the city. Much like Paris and London. We stopped at the Picasso museum which was fascinating. I wish they had taught art history in the same method as they had laid out the gallery. They had presented it as a chronological story, rather than periods of a style of a number of artists which seemed to pervade the teaching method at the University of Auckland. But I guess that is the advantage of relaying the development of just one artist.

Where we stopped for lunch was a random spot where we jumped off the bus and just walked. We happened upon a very busy cafe with outside space and loads of locals. Perfect. So now was the time that Craig thought he would start to try and drink beer as he is now bored off diet coke and OJ. What we didn't know was that the paella was going to take over an hour - rather than the 20 minutes that the restaurant had suggested. So down went another beer - in around 25 degrees sun and whilst we were hungry. The waiter had apologised, and to make it up to us, brought us a third beer. Needless to say, we left feeling full after the yummy lunch and Craig singing sea shanties on his land yacht 'Bus Turistic'.

The rest of the day, we carried on touring around the architectural splendour that was cemented by Antoni Gaudi. For those that don't know, he was a Catalan architect who created works in the modernistic (art nouveu) style in the late 1800s. Consequently, none of the buildings really have corners and are modelled on nature - so one is likely to see plants and dragons and the like built into his works. The beauty of having him as being such a huge influence in the city is that architects that have post-dated his era, have also taken their designs up a notch to most cities. Case and point the park (Parc Diagonal Mar) that we visited at the end of what used to be an industrial wasteland on the peninsula at the end of one of Barcelona's main beaches. This was built around or just after the Olympics and was quite amazing. The park was one of sustainability and built on the estuary that goes to the sea. The surrounding apartment buildings all had different shapes to them, rather than just a rectangular building that one normally sees.

Our last morning in Barcelona saw us go to the Sagrada Familia. This is probably the most impressive work by Antoni Gaudi - a cathedral he started around 1884 and worked on for over 40 years of his life until he got killed by being run over by a tram. The cathedral is still not finished and relies on donations to keep the work going. Apparently it is due for completion in 2026.

Later that afternoon, and after yet another meal of tapas, we went to another of Gaudi's buildings - Casa Battlo - complete with a dragon on the roof terrace.

And so, another long weekend in Europe drew to a close. My verdict on Barcelona? It was everything that people had talked it up to be and is a city that one could visit a few times over without getting bored. In fact, I could be so bold as to say that it would be a great city to live in. There is great art, architecture and food, beautiful warm weather, and spacious. It is close to the beaches and only an hour or two from skiing and other mountain activities. I think the only drawback was that we discovered that the week after we had left, the authorities had to ship water in to the township as it was suffering a severe drought. So I guess that answers our questions as to why none of the many fountains were not running.

Zermatt

I know that you are all wanting to see the NZ/Japan/China entry - but that came after we went skiing for a weekend. So this come first - I didn't make the rules. OK, I did make the rules and Craig is always the person to promptly break them.

So, now that Craig is addicted to skiing, he decided we needed to do a weekend in Europe in the middle of winter. He also decided that the country had to be Switzerland as this is one of the only Western European countries on the Alps we haven't skied before (but we still haven't been to Andorra or Luxembourg). So a quick rating on the Time Out Guide to skiing 2005 revealed that Zermatt was the best choice for us. For those that don't know, Zermatt is probably short for Zer Matterhorn, for which the region is famous., or at least to me, who has romantic notions of the mountain pictured in a Disney book from when I was a kid.

Now for the last couple of years, trying to get to Europe for a weekends skiing on a budget have just narrowly fallen short of being disastrous. (Say expensive flights, long transfers and no reasonably priced hotel booking you for less than 7 days). So Craig and I bit the bullet and took two days off work and booked through a ski weekend website which organised all of the flights, transfers and accommodation for us. Much better and not too badly priced at £350 pp.

So it turned out that because we booked through a tour company the hotel expected us to eat with the other guests in that tour. This was actually a good thing as we met two other nice couples all living reasonably near to us. It seems that whenever we go somewhere snowy, we will always meet people who live in the neighbouring suburbs - which goes to prove that all people in Clapham/Brixton and SW London must ski. Natural really.

After a 3-4 hour transfer from Geneva airport to the resort, we made it to our hotel which was actually in the next village below Zermatt. This is because accommodation at the luxurious and posh resort is at a premium. Our hotel was basic but the folks running the place were friendly, albeit a little strict - everything is CASH only please and we must pay for our drinks immediately after dinner in the money jar. No tab available here.

The ski hire had to be the most funniest ski hire we ever came across. We went down to the basement where the owner, an elderly ex-pro skier, had a whole heap of boots and skis of different sizes laid out on the floor and against the wall. We sat on old sofas to try on our scratched and used equipment. (We usually hire premium class brand new equipment). Turns out that the gear was actually the best we had come across. This dude did in fact know what he was talking about.

So the next morning, we went for our first day skiing. After almost passing out from the cost of the ski passes - I think almost £140 for three days when it is normally something like 70 Euros - we popped across the road to catch the train up to the village. The trains are actually very frequent and very flash. These are actually required pretty much to get to the village, as the village is pedestrian only, with services from electric carts, buses and for the posh, horse-drawn carriages. When we got to the start of the one of the lifts up to the mountain (these are dotted around the valley), we discovered just why the lift passes are so expensive. The first lift starts as a fernicular within the mountain. These are followed by large numbers of fast gondolas, chairlifts and even elevators in some parts. I think top of the range transportation is a must for this resort as it spans 313km marked ski runs including Cervinia/Italy on the other side.

So as we reached the top of the first lifts, I had to be touristy, and take a "souvenir" photo with Paulutz, the Saint Bernard, in front of the Matterhorn. Cheesy we know, but it was just as well we did it then as the weather got a little worse the next couple of days and the dogs weren't up there.



The first day was a pretty standard day for skiing, where we just cruised around. We had been warned to stay mid to low level on the first day as the massive altitude can cause people to get sick if they are not used to it.

The next day, we started to attempt the ski safari which is apparently 10,000 or 12,500 vertical metres in one day. We started out OK - on a black run (always good to warm up on) - but I don't know what drugs the person who dreamt up this idea was on when they invented this route as it is vritually impossible to get up the mountains that fast and ski that fast to do the whole tour.

We did manage to get to the top of the glacier at 3883m above ski level and down a little way to Italy for a small ski before lunch at 2pm. But given that one has to be on the lifts back from Italy to Switzerland before 3pm, or else you are staying the night in a snow cave over there, meant that we didn't even get half the route done. Never mind, it was worth a try anyway.

Every evening, we did manage to get back up to Zermatt village for loads of drinks such as Gluhwein and Jagertee (some strong concoction made with Jagermeister to sooth the pains away). It was disappointing to find that real hot chocolate was not really available as they are in Geneva - so we made do with the chocolates from the various chocolate shops scattered about. At least Craig was happy as we didn't do the same with the outrageously expensive watch and jewellery shops.

So we had one final day of skiing, which was non-eventful - just pottered around with some of the others in our group and stopping at the quaint little herders huts dotted around the mountain for lunch (at this point we ran out of battery power on our camera so you have to believe us :( )...although this is close.

Anyway, all in all, another great ski trip. Could quite easily go back as there is so much mountain to explore. The only thing is that the more difficult runs are off-piste which is tricky for us - but we may be more keen after our jaunt with powder in Niseko (story to come).

Christmas & New Years 2007

Well folks - another Christmas been and gone. What are all your new years resolutions? My resolution of eating less chocolate went out the door on day one - unfortunately at work we always have access to it, and when you are bored, you can't help yourself. So just as well we burnt off some energy over Christmas..

The week leading up to Christmas was the usual mayhem. I had booked two nights at the London International Horse Show at Olympia. The first night, myself and a few riding buddies skipped riding school to watch the dressage kur - musical freeride - amongst all of the other extra shows that were put on. On Friday night, Craig and I (and a colleagues husband) went to the Puissance showjumping. This is the high jump of showjumping and is a sight to see. Basically, they keep putting up the height of the jump, in this case, a big wall, until all but one can clear it. In the end an 18 year old (Robert Whitaker of the Whitaker empire) won on his and his horses second attempt at the event. He jumped 7 feet 1.25 inches. I mean we couldn't see the horse at all when he stood behdind the jump.

On Sunday, we went away for our annual Christmas holiday, as this is the time us contractors get a couple of days off anyway. So braving the costs and the crowds, we set off to Gatwick for a trip to Finnish Lapland. Now a trip over Christmas is never without drama - in this case, the weather had it in for us and it was extremely foggy all day. So we ended up delayed by three hours at the airport - although we were lucky because a) we were still in the airport b) my colleague got delayed by hours Friday evening meaning that when he was supposed to arrive in Edinburgh at 9pm, he ended up arriving at 3am and c) they closed Heathrow completely on the Sunday and all flights were cancelled.


So we got to Yllas at around 3am (well 1am but adjust for the time zone differences). This made it difficult to get up for 9am briefing by the tour company. (Yes we had to do a package tour as it would either be extremely expensive, or an extremely long way to travel or both).

At the hotel, we were lucky to get an apartment that had its own self-catering facilities (even if we had half-board) and a sauna in the bathroom. This meant heaps of space to spread out and chillax. We had opted not to get the log cabin - yes unromantic, but we are watching the money as we have spent too much going back to NZ in March.

So the first day, we booked a few activities, and lolled around waiting for the first one in the afternoon - which was cross-country skiing. This is not really like downhill skiing and not as bad as everyone makes it out to be - although a good cardio-vascular workout to be sure. Around the village area, there is mile upon mile of cross-country ski tracks which are lit as well. This makes for good activities in Lapland, given that it gets "light" at 10am and dark at 3pm - well "light" is a permanent twilight.

That evening,we were up for our Christmas Dinner - celebrated the European stlye of Christmas Eve. It turned out that our dinner was much more Finnish, which we were happy with. There were loads of cured fish, strange salads and vegetable casseroles, along with turkey and ham. Santa even came to visit and give the kids presents. Craig and I were definitely rolling out of the hotel on that one - thank goodness home wasn't far away.

Seeing as we had the gear for 24 hours - we went on a cross-country ski the next day as well - around and across the lake (Akaslompolo). We even saw one of the local transport methods which is a sled pulled by reindeer. Other transport methods include snow-mobiles, snow-shoes, and these dinky sleds which you push your shopping up and down the street on.

The following day was quite busy - in the morning, we went out for a half-day husky ride. I had tried to get a one or two day adventure, but it is too early in the season and too busy for the operators. You can't pre-book and the only person offering one day excursions in Sweden (an hour away from where we were) and all of his four sledges booked up on the Sunday before we arrived :( .


But a half day was just as well. Craig and I shared a sled and we were supposed to swap over driving half way through when the guides told us. Unfortunately, the guide did not tell us, and I was the passenger with nothing but a reindeer hide on the sled (Quebec had sleeping bags) - so needless to say I was frozen by the time we got back. On the way home, we promptly went to get some arctic survival suits from one of the tour operators. I think most times, people need these - I can see right now the temperature is between minus 16 and minus 23 degrees celcius. We were actually quite lucky with the temperature being between minus 8 and 1 degree - and we still had enough snow to do everything. Although the Finns will tell you that there was not much.

That evening, we went on an evening snow-mobile safari - perhaps somewhat to try and find the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. Now the websites tell you that there is a one in three chance of seeing them - but I think the odds are much less. The sky is often cloudy, and when the sky is clear, you may have to contest with the moon (as we did), somehow turn up at a time where there is loads of solar activity, and wait the entire night for something that may just last a few minutes. You also are better off being away from the village where light pollution is also a factor. But anyway, the snowmobiling was fun, and we sat and had tea and pastries in a kota half way through it. These are huts that are dotted around the forests, and stacked with firewood in case anyone comes in freezing. We also found that the Finns will bring their own sausages to cook over the fires. Now why didn't we think of that!!

The next day brought more snowmobiling - this time a whole day expedition to the Lainio Ice Hotel - not as famous as the one in Sweden or Quebec, but pretty impressive all the same. It was too expensive for us to stay there - and perhaps a little too crazy - but people stay all the same. It takes a month for them to create what is essentially a giant igloo with a number of chambers for sleeping and even a dining room and bar area. Each chamber is decorated with a theme carved into the ice (surrounding the mattresses) and snow walls. At the end of the season - which I think is April, it all melts away for another year.

The next two days brought to us skiing - one day at Yllas (where we were staying) and the other at a resort an hour away in Levi. Both of these mountains (fells actually) are quite a good start to the season with nothing too challenging and a good spot for beginners. And for those that have a fear of heights (like one of my colleagues), most of the lifts are T-Bars - good for your abs. In the evening the runs are lit - well in Levi all runs are lit - it is a bit more limited in Yllas. But this is actually quite a good thing with the controlled lighting - the light never gets flat as you get in the lower latitudes where there is more sun - so you can always see where you are going - and that means going fast. Yippee I hear Craig saying.

Our final day was another quietish one - we went snow-shoeing around the forest at the bottom of the fell. Another couple of people who were supposed to come on the tour had to drop out, so it was just Craig and me and the guide. Snowshoeing is actually quite easy and it was nice to get out into the fresh air and learn about how to survive in the snow (eg sleep in a spruce's ass) from the guide. The only danger was losing a snow shoe in the snow and not realising it had gone (apparently this really only happens when the snow is a little harder, but in powder you need the shoes for sure).

The rest of the day we spent pottering around, eating reindeer dishes and the like. We finally got home and in bed at 2am in the morning - ready for a day at work on the 31st. I think if we do something like this again - we would probably hire a log cabin on our own and just rent the snow-mobiles, snow-shoes, skis ourselves and get some maps. In a resort, you can't go too wrong.

But this is not the end of the post, oh no. Julie's 30th birthday was on the 31st - so we went and celebrated in style. We started at a nice but expensive pub in Fulham called the Cock and Hen. Dinner was served at the Kiwi Kitchen - where mussels, paua, lamb, pavlova and chocolate fish were abound. Then we went and watched a blues band (Bluesmix) at a place called the Troubador Club where apparently Jomi Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan have also played.
So we had loads of fun, and managed to stay away from the crowds.

So it is back to the grindstone now - I am sure that this week is the most depressing week for most people. But I am also sure that this year will bring about a whole new set of adventures and challenges. Next stop - Zermatt (the Matterhorn) - yodel eh ee hoo!!

New Forest & Isle of Wight

OK - Craig knowingly stuffed up the order of the blog because he is far too lazy and couldn't be bothered including our weekend away for the last bank holiday weekend in August. So I thought I would add it before it became too late.

So the UK being UK means that if you want to go abroad on a bank holiday, you will:
a) need to book early
b) you will need a spend a bit more money than usual
c) you will need to have a lot of patience at the airports.

So if this is case, one needs to explore exactly what is on your doorstep - so it was off to the New Forest for us. Only 2 hours south on the train from central London - we were transported to a place that seems a million miles away on the south coast of England, bordering nearby Dorset. We arrived in a place called Brockenhurst, where we were to base ourselves for the next three nights in a B&B, which was nice, but the beds were going to prove a little too hard for me, particularly for what was going to hit us in the next three days.

The first morning, we had to make our way down the road and across the train station car-park to where we were to pick up our trusty steeds - two mountain bikes. We picked these up from Country Lane cycles, who organised the whole trip including accommodation, maps, bikes and right down to t-shirts and waterbottles.

So we were off on our first of three days cycling - not without getting lost in the first half hour trying to take a short-cut. The first day led us through the forest at first, where we spotted our first New Forest ponies. These fellas have been allowed to wander through the forest, and the villages within the forest, for centuries. They are owned by the "commoners" and generally just wander wherever they like. So those living in the forest need to control these horses somewhat by putting in cattle grids, and having fences and gates surrounding their houses. I had also read that these ponies were thought to have swam off the sinking Spanish ships off the coast of England back in the day - but these ponies are no longer purebred. The Victorians, the meddling blighters that they were, introduced arab stallions into the herd to make the ponies look better!!

So anyway, the first days journey was 30.5 miles - leading through the villages of Beaulieu and Exbury Gardens - which was a hard slog up a hill. Thank goodness we had picked up some lunch at a local bakery/farm shop, so we could rest under the trees in this massive garden.
Of course cycling for this amount of distance, gave us a powerful hunger. So that night was spent in the garden of this enormous pub back at Brockenhurst eating the biggest help yourself roast that you could get.

The next morning, we jumped on the train down to Lymington Pier, and then onto the ferry to the Isle of Wight. This was going to be the hilliest of our journeys but we stayed on one side of the island to stay away from the built-up areas.

(Craig and I at the top of one of these big hills).


Of course travelling 25 miles, we were bound to create a powerful sweat. So, it is only at these times that we braved the waters of the sea for a swim - and chilly it was, until we put our shoulders in, where it wasn't so bad. (Always the way). Weirdly enough, we got chatting to a few people next to us on the beach, who were not only from NZ, but one of the girls was from Koraha St, just around the corner from where I grew up. I know it is not that uncommon to run into kiwis whilst in England or Europe - but that was a little spooky. As we had spent too long getting to IOW, and sitting on the beach (and the fact that I was knackered), we decided to skip Alum Bay (which has multi-coloured cliffs) and the Needles - apparently a nice, but overly developed "fun-park" beach.

Our final day was actually the easiest. Mainly because we did our tour backwards - in case other people were doing the tour the normal way and it was going to get busy. The trip was called the Burley Loop and only 22.7 miles and flat. Here we went past the oldest tree in the forest, the Knightwood Oak at over 400 years old. Lunch was an old-fashioned devonshire tea and a gentle cycle along some disued railway (without the tracks as that would be a bit naff).

So we went home a little tireder and fitter but happy we got to be outside and away from the crowds (well not too many). Definitely worth going back again, even for a day trip (as the train down there does take cycles - and the paths are possibly flat enough and dry enough in parts for my hybrid).

The end...

Turkey! September 2007

Ok ok..yes, long time etc...

So, in Sept we went with a group of mates to Turkey, with the idea of having a beach/relaxo holiday, rather than a travel around one...

This turned out to be a GREAT idea, as we had a really great time, got a tan, spent HEAPS of time in the water, and ate way too much great food!

So we headed out Saturday 11am ish, which was a very reasonable time for us!..plenty of time for me to pack that morning etc...easy run out to Gatwick (I think?) , and no hassles getting on flight.

We flew into Dalaman at about 9PM ish local time, with just a hotel name in another city (Fethiye) assuming we'd just be able to bus it or whatever, however unfortunately, there were no Buses going from the Airport to Fethiye..luckily we had sat next to an English lady who was also going to Fethiye, so we all shared a cab, and got there no trouble.

Transport in general in Turkey , from what we saw, is very good with mini-buses (Dolmesh's) going everywhere you might want for about 1YTL (Yanni (new) Turkish Lera) , which is about 1 Euro worth.

Caren and I decided to spend the day in Fethiye before heading out to our eventual destination, Kalkan, about 3 hours on bus away, and so on the advise of the same lady we shared the cab with we went on a "12 Island Tour" on a Gullet (boat)...there was about 12 other people on the boat, which was nice as there was plenty of room for everyone to sunbath etc...

The weather was outstanding (and infact, we never saw a single cloud the entire 8 days) ... the Boat trip was a full day (lunch on board included) , and was basically a put around the harbour visiting various islands and sites, and swimming / drinking / sunbathing..

Very very relaxing and fun way to spend the day.

Water temperature was probably mid 20s at least..bit chilly for the natives, but like a spa bath for us hardened Kiwi's!


(Some Gullets parked up for Lunch)

The water was beautifully clear also, and very very salty, great for swimming / diving..

So , with a very great start to our holiday, we finished up the boat trip (great food too by the way..fresh fish caught off the boat as we were sailing)...had probably had 6 or 7 swims over the course of the day, and had both gotten hideously sun burned naturally!

The next day we were due to bus to Kalkan where our Villa was, but had some time to kill so we decided to track down the famous beach of Olu Deniz.

We caught a Dolmesh out there, and settled down on a beach..to be honest, it was OK, but nothing particularly amazing..had some swims, and went back to Fethiye..
It turns out, we never actually went to Olu Deniz..like twit's we had stopped to soon..if we had kept walking around the point of the beach we were on, we would have been there!

Never mind though, on the bus a 2pm and off to Kalkan where we had a Villa booked for the week.
(Caren having her 6th Dip for the day... heaven)

The Villa is owned by a mate of mine, so we got it for a good price, plus the timing was perfect..just outside of peak season, so not millions of english tourists everywhere..infact, it was pretty quiet, which after living in London, was a real relief to everyone.

So anyways, we arrived that night...everyone else had all ready arrived by that stage, and were sitting out by the pool drinking bear and planning a mission for dinner.

The Villa is quite high up a hill , so is probably about a 10 minute walk away from the main town where all the Bars and restaurants are. This is quite good really, although the walk back up the hill could be a bit much from time to time :)

So we all wandered down the hill to find something Turkish to eat.

To be honest, despite the touristy nature of the place on a whole, the food really was top notch..we all really enjoyed what we were eating the majority of the time.

(View from our Villa out across Kalkan harbour)

There was tons of restaurants vying for our pounds, but , as a rule, the local workers were much MUCH more friendly and jockey than their Egyptian counterparts.
We eventually over the course of the week, got to know a few of the shop owners, and would often stop by for some turkish tea and a chat in the shade. I think , secretly, they were relieved we weren't English.

Anyway, so Day 1 at Kalkan, we all decided to take it easy, and just hang in the Villa / Pool and de-stress...Some of the girls went down to the town to empty their wallets + get some essentials (breakfast stuff etc...) , and the chaps played table-tennis and lounged on the deck.

The Villa itself was huge, with 6 bedrooms (I think) , over 4 levels and was really great, as everyone had a huge bedroom with a full en suite bathroom , stacks and stacks of room.

(The lads on the top level of our Villa).

I guess it was around 31 / 32c most of the time , which was just bang on really.

Anyways, later that night when we went down to eat, we also booked a day-trip on a Gullet for the next day. Although Caren and I had already done a day on a Gullet, there was no complaints from us at all as it really was such a great way to spend a day!

We managed to book the whole boat, so it would just be our party on board, which was good.

Next day we all got up earlyish, and headed down to the Marina and set out for another day of boating / swimming and eating.
Truly, this was shaping up to be an excellent holiday :)


(Us on a Gullet again!..this time in Kalkan...hard work, but damnit!..someone has to do it!).

So there went another day..we all got back, once again, horribly horribly sunburned , and at some more food at a great place on the roof of a building, with "traditional" turkish mats and pillows for seats and a low table.

Some of the chaps ordered a Hooka (Sheesha) pipe to smoke some apple tobacco (pass) , and we all got great food again.

To be perfectly honest, at this point the days seems to pretty much blend into one another :)..

I think the next day we split up, as most folk wanted to go Olu deniz which was just out of Fethiye.. but, Caren and I weren't to keen to backtrack, so we caught the bus to Kas instead, which is a famous little town about 45 mins drive away from Kalkan.

Kas if mostly famous for it's diving, so that was what we had in mind. a Week earlier in London, Caren had had a specialised Dive medical, as she has never been allowed to dive before due to her Blood clot history, however, with the change in prescription drugs, she was now allowed to Dive!..Exciting stuff for us both!!!!!

So we organised a trial drive for Caren out on a boat in Kas harbour...there were about 10 other divers on board (all experienced) who were out for a days diving, so we just relaxed on board, and went snorkeling for a couple of hours.
Once one of the Dive masters became available, they geared up Caren and , literally, threw her in the water!..no instruction or anything just "breath through this bit"..push! ..heh.

I hastily jumped in as well with my snorkeling gear on to watch.
Caren did AMAZINGLY well, even the instructor was blown away. she was incredibly calm and confident in a new environment, and lasted at least 45 mins, which, anyone who has dived before will tell you that is incredibly calm for a first dive (more usual lasting about 20 mins , as newbie panic's and uses all their air breathing fast).
















So that was a great day, Caren really enjoyed it aswell, and now wants to get her PADI , which I'm all for..maybe some diving holidays coming up soon! (*rubs hands with glee*).

The next day Julie's cousin, who lives in Turky, was coming down to visit.

That morning we all met up and most of us went for a turkish bath, which was realy great. I'm sure it was the touristy version, as I've heard some really interesting stories about "real" turkish baths, but it was really good..and we were most definately clean afterwards!

anyways, one day bled into another, and the rest of our time was split between eating, swimming and relaxing in equal measures!



(Caren, Julie and Fifi in the lovely blue waters of Kalkan harbour)