Christmas at Voula's

Our yearly company Christmas party was another casualty of the global economic crisis so Voula took upon herself to organise a replacement do at her new place. She had bore the brunt of many jokes from us inner city snobs as we tried to work out the best way to get Voula's, located in Point Cook (known by the locals as PC) about 30 kms to the west of Melbourne. After much discussion we decided to take the train to experience the untamed west first hand and it didn't disappoint.

Kristen, Andrew, Dr Dopey and Paul on the train to PC. It was at this point in the journey that the train stopped in the middle of no where and powered down. Paul, becomming more and more agitated with this unscheduled stop, decided to test whether the train doors do actually open when the power is turned off and yes they do

But the boredom was soon relieved by the power coming back on and the conductor saying over the load speaker: "Sorry for the delay but there was a drop kick on the roof trying to train surf. Some people just need to get a life". The rest of the trip was uneventful and we made it to Voula's in one piece.

Cricket in the backyard with Sam's kids Hamish and Bella

Voula showing off her vegie patch and kitchen

Like all good Christmas parties there was lots of great food, presents (many of them revolving around the Twilight saga).....


Allison looking very happy with her New Moon poster (above) and yes that is a fake smile on Andrew's face (below) though his wife Kristen was thrilled

The evening finished off with an attempt at the Twilight board game, which only lasted for 5 min when we realised it was targeted at the types of 12 year old girls that like to compare there favourite colours with that of Edward the vampire. Followed by a not-so-friendly lego competition between the engineers in the group, Andrew and Paul.

Paul (above) with a distinct disadvantage having to work solo was beaten by the dynamic duo, Hamish and Andrew (below)


Bella, Sam and Voula.....bed time

Potato's taste like potato's

With a balcony, your kind of limited in what produce you can grow but I'll give almost anything a go. A few months ago Samantha suggested potato's and I started out by planting some of your normal everyday buy at the supermarket variety. Sam's husband then gave me some real planting potato's which I then added to the pot. They all sprouted and grew really quickly and I thought I was on a winner. But recently the plants started to wilt and haven't looked so good. I thought maybe I'd put too many plants in together so today I pulled out one of the sader looking ones out (the dead looking one lying on the tiles at the bottom of the photo).

But that plant actually had reasonably sized potato's at the end of it. I was surprised and very excited.

And how do they taste? Just like potato's, the only difference being they have a very thin skin but they're edible, I hope.

Survivor Hinchinbrook (Part 3)

Day 3

Day 3 saw us up at the crack of dawn and heading out of camp by 7 am, to the horror of Terrie who is not a morning person. But this was to be the longest day with 13 kms to walk, including another saddle, rocky cliffs and rock hopping around Boulder Bay. Plus at some point access to the drinkable fresh water was going to run out, the trick was picking whether the spot you were at was going to be the last.

The team heading out of Zoe Bay with Mt Bowen in the background to the left and Nina Peak centre right, which we would voluntarily climb up on Day 4

Team work

Dry creek bed....are you sure there's water ahead?

Yep, no worries, now we just need to get it, filter it, bottle it and carry it

Which.......way.......is.......home?

Negotiating Boulder Bay, not far to go now

Paul and Terrie making dinner, chicken rice with pepperoni and surprise peas and corn

Macaroni cheese never tasted so good


Day 4

The last day of our walk and it was another early start as we had to meet the boat at 11:30 am and we wanted to take a detour to climb Nina Peak, which is supposed to have great views of the island. It was tough going with a very steep ascent but the views were amazing and the cool breeze felt and smelt fantastic (remember most of us had been wearing the same clothes for 4 days)

The end of the line, we made it!

What better way to finish than a beer at the pub? Just in time for happy hour

Survivor Hinchinbrook (Cont)

Days 2 and 3 were tough and come to think of it, so was day 4. Hot, humid and long days of hiking. Day 2 had us going up and over a saddle (260 m above sea) while Day 3 was just plain long. But to keep us interested and take our mind away from the heat and tired feet Hinchinbrook gave us a wide variety of landscapes and a few critters to enjoy - from rainforest to mangroves to grasslands to rocky and sandy beaches. One thing we did notice though was the further north we went the dryer it became, which was confirmed by the few other hikers we met along the way walking in the opposite direction. So on the third day we filled up all our water containers and hoped it would be enough to last us for the remainder of our time on Hinchinbrook

Day 2

Before the saddle. The team resting at Dimantina Creek, only 1 km out from the first camp site, already hot and tired. Thats what you get when you have a sleep in and a swim before starting out. Hinchinbrook was going to make us pay for that

Up the saddle

Half way down the saddle. Paul and Terrie cooling their feet (above) and me (below) pondering the meaning of it all while taking in the view of Zoe Bay, our camp site for the night. It still seems so far away....

Half an hour out of camp the long awaited Zoe Falls appeared (below) and another fresh water swim to soothe tired muscles and feet and reinvigorate the mind. This was the last waterhole on the walk and it was sorely missed on the following days.

We finally made it to our campsite and it didn't take Terrie long to nervously point out the mangroves lining one side of the bay. The croc warning sign on the beach gave us further indication that we may not be alone.....

No time to think about that now as we only had an hour left of daylight to pitch our tents and start dinner. It wasn't the most restful sleep as I had no idea what sound a croc makes and there are a lot of critters up and about in the middle of the night and not afraid to get close to the tent.

Survivor Hinchinbrook

After making it around the bay a week before, it was time to take up the second physical challenge for the year - completing the 4 day Thorsborne Trail walk along the east coast of Hinchinbrook Island. The island itself is uninhabited by humans and with no mobile phone coverage we were really thrown into the wilderness....along with its other inhabitants.

The journey begins: 3 hr flight to Townsville followed by a 2 hr drive to our last night in civillisation at Lucinda - a small country town whose main claim to fame is the 5 km long jetty (below) used to transport the locally grown raw sugar out to boats

....and finally a 1 hr boat trip from Lucinda to Hinchinbrook Is, seen in the background (below). The team (from L to R): Bonnie, Terrie, Dr Dopey, Andrew, Kristen and Paul ("The Terminator")

The Beginning: the boat dropped us off at George Point on the southern end of the island and we set out along the beach with our tents, clothes, food and water packed on our backs

It wasn't long before the boys found a distraction

The Dopey sisters

After walking about 2 hrs along the beach, the track into the rainforest began and it was a welcome change after being out in the hot sun. An hour later we had reached our first camp site, Mulligans Falls. It was a beautiful spot and the waterhole which the falls runs into was great for cooling off and washing away the sweat and dirt. We spent most of the afternoon by the falls, swimming with the fish and sleeping in the sun, it was perfect.

Andrew and Kristen drying off in the sun (above) and Terrie having a mid afternoon snooze (below)

Heaps of time for a game of cards before starting the evening meal of tomoto-based pasta with onion, mushroom and salami

Plus we had a friendly lace monitor at the capsite

It was all going well, we were clean, well fed and rested, piece of cake. Unfortunately Mulligan's Falls had lured us into a false sense of security, we had no idea what Hinchinbrook Is had in store for us ......to be continued

I made it around the Bay!

Sunday October 18: a day that has been highlighted on my calandar for the past 6 months, the day I would attempt to ride 210 kms around Melbournes Port Phillip Bay along with a few thousand other stupid cycling enthusiasts. I had managed to coax a work collegue and fellow bike rider, Sam "The Man" to take on the challenge with me and we were both pumped and ready to go, sort of. Would we make it or wouldn't we, only time would tell (I kind of spoiled it in the title).

The Journey: ride begins in Melbourne (top of the map) and proceeds anti-clockwise around the bay for 110 kms to Queenscliff where we board a ferry to Sorrento, followed by another 100 kms back to the city.

Sam "The Man" and Dr Dopey grabbing a quick bite to eat at Geelong (80 kms mark). Still smiling after riding most of the way into a head wind and suffering the boredom and smells of the old Geelong Road

The Queenscliff to Sorrento Ferry (above) marked the half way point, time for lunch and a chance to catch up with some of the other riders (below).

Sam and I after leaving the ferry in Sorrento for the remaining 100 kms along the coast (above). Mentally ready but legs, bums and bits not so sure.

The Finish Line, finally

The Proof: 210.01 kms

Ride time: 8 hrs 25 min

Avg speed: 25 kms/hr

Food Glorious Food....and Beer

The last week has been moving from airport to taxi to hotel to taxi to airport, but you've still got to eat and you've got to try the local delicacies. So here's a few those we've tried.

Andrew enjoying Germany fast food - Currywurst in Dusseldorf. Its a sausage with a lot, and I mean a lot, of tomato sauce on top sprinkled with curry powder and paprika. Pretty good but it doesn't beat a snag in bread. They do make good chips in Europe though

Andrew sampling the Dusseldorf speciality liqueur, Killepitsch. Its made from the essences of 98 herbs, berries and fruits and contains 48% alcohol. Our local rep says it has medicinal properties and is best taken in shot form after having a big night. He also said too many shots of Killepitsch may be bad for your health, its all about balance.

Andrew and I sampling the local beer in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as recommended by Doug

We also sampled some fresh pasta in Turin, Italy which was great and I finally got an Italian hot chocolate that was exactly what I was after, thick and rich and oh so chocolatey, mmm. Plus I found some cocoa powder so can try to make it at home. I've also had pepperoni pizza and lots of Ben and Jerry's icecream and I've OD'ed on onion rings and crispy bacon. So really can't complain on the food front except my lack of self control my have impacted my waistline! All good, carb loading for the big ride in a weeks time!