Ok, so it is 11.30am on a Friday and I am willing the day away, keeping myself busy!!! Andy is picking me up from work at about 5ish and then we are hitting the road with all the other long weekenders!!! We plan to drive to Quorn tonight, dodging kangaroos through Pitchi-Ritchi Pass before bedding down in the Quorn van park. Putting our tent up in the dark is going to be fun. Hopefully we won't be too tired and emotional from the 3 hour after work drive!
Saturday morning, we'll munch down our muesli and then hit the road again. This time, heading for Hawker, where we will sniff out a bakery and buy some yummy bun to have with tea and then make tracks to my Uncles to drink said tea with afore mentioned bun and listen to his ever entertaining stories! Then onward ever onward until we finally reach Arkaroola in the far north Flinders! There we will set up camp for 2 days, have a bit of a hike, celebrate my birthday on Sunday, read books, chat, cogitate and generally relax and enjoy the "awayness". We are fully equipped with glowsticks to make the evenings colourful and entertaining! Watch this space for some interesting photos!!!!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Rattling Down the Riesling Trail
The Riesling Trail in the Clare Valley, is a 27km trail that follows the route of the old train line between Auburn and Clare. They have recently extended the trail down to Riverton as well, but this weekend was all about Auburn to Clare.
We arrived in Auburn on Saturday morning, about 8:30 after an early exit from Adelaide. By about 9, we were on the road. The track is on a gradual incline from Auburn to Sevenhill, before a short 5km decline into Clare.... And we had a headwind, all the way!!! It took us 3 hours to get to Clare! We stopped at a few places along the way for photos, muesli bars and fruit and to read some of the signs along the trail.
We ate our packed lunch under a shady gazebo in Clare, stopping for about 30 minutes to rest our saddle weary bottoms before jumping back on the bikes. The stretch between Clare and Sevenhill, which had been a blessing on the way up, was now putting me fair in struggle town!!! I was really feeling it and my motivation was rapidly dropping!!! Andy had visions of parking me under a shady tree, riding back alone and returning to collect me and my bike in the car!!! Once I had a little recoup at Sevenhill, I got back on and I was absolutely on fire from there!!! OK, so it was downhill, but still, it was a great feeling, whizzing along the countryside with the wind whistling through my helmet!!! We made it back to Auburn in half the time, so we had plenty of time for a quick freshen up before hitting a few wineries.
We did 3 of my favourites, Penna Lane, Killakanoon and Sevenhill. At Sevenhill we explored the old church and its crypt where we set about trying to find the oldest date. Wandering the church brought about an interesting conversation about religious symbolism.
We went to Watervale for dinner, where we were seated next to a family of yokels, um, I mean locals, out celebrating their daughters 10th birthday. The birthday girl made us feel really at home by letting rip with a massive audible fart in our direction. Luckily this was before our meal had arrived! It was certainly an experience!
On Sunday, we headed back to Penna Lane and had a beautiful cheese platter for lunch, accompanied by a lovely crisp white wine. It was our 5th "Monthiversary", so that is how we justified such extravagance! We were joined by "Panda" the resident Bernese Mountain Dog, who sat beside our table and fell asleep. Being dog people, we enjoyed her company as much as she enjoyed out pats!
So a good weekend all round. I highly recommend packing your bike and driving an hour and a half north for it! Our lungs were filled with fresh vineyard air, our legs are feeling a little more toned and we are both feeling very self righteous, we rode 50km on the weekend and there isn't a tender muscle in sight!!!
We arrived in Auburn on Saturday morning, about 8:30 after an early exit from Adelaide. By about 9, we were on the road. The track is on a gradual incline from Auburn to Sevenhill, before a short 5km decline into Clare.... And we had a headwind, all the way!!! It took us 3 hours to get to Clare! We stopped at a few places along the way for photos, muesli bars and fruit and to read some of the signs along the trail.
We ate our packed lunch under a shady gazebo in Clare, stopping for about 30 minutes to rest our saddle weary bottoms before jumping back on the bikes. The stretch between Clare and Sevenhill, which had been a blessing on the way up, was now putting me fair in struggle town!!! I was really feeling it and my motivation was rapidly dropping!!! Andy had visions of parking me under a shady tree, riding back alone and returning to collect me and my bike in the car!!! Once I had a little recoup at Sevenhill, I got back on and I was absolutely on fire from there!!! OK, so it was downhill, but still, it was a great feeling, whizzing along the countryside with the wind whistling through my helmet!!! We made it back to Auburn in half the time, so we had plenty of time for a quick freshen up before hitting a few wineries.We did 3 of my favourites, Penna Lane, Killakanoon and Sevenhill. At Sevenhill we explored the old church and its crypt where we set about trying to find the oldest date. Wandering the church brought about an interesting conversation about religious symbolism.
We went to Watervale for dinner, where we were seated next to a family of yokels, um, I mean locals, out celebrating their daughters 10th birthday. The birthday girl made us feel really at home by letting rip with a massive audible fart in our direction. Luckily this was before our meal had arrived! It was certainly an experience!
On Sunday, we headed back to Penna Lane and had a beautiful cheese platter for lunch, accompanied by a lovely crisp white wine. It was our 5th "Monthiversary", so that is how we justified such extravagance! We were joined by "Panda" the resident Bernese Mountain Dog, who sat beside our table and fell asleep. Being dog people, we enjoyed her company as much as she enjoyed out pats!
So a good weekend all round. I highly recommend packing your bike and driving an hour and a half north for it! Our lungs were filled with fresh vineyard air, our legs are feeling a little more toned and we are both feeling very self righteous, we rode 50km on the weekend and there isn't a tender muscle in sight!!!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Where to?
So here is a quick runn down of the where and when's of my trip. I have colour coded it for countries and the pinky/purple coulour is "transit".
27th October - Flying from Adelaide to Delhi via Singapore
28th October – Flying from Delhi to Kathmandu
29th October - In Kathmandu
30th October – Flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Drive to Khara and the commence trek to Australia camp (1990 m)
31st October – Australia camp to Landrung (1640 m)
1st November – Landrung to Chomrong(2210 m)
2nd November – Chomrong to Ghandruk (1740 m)
3rd November – Ghandruk to Naya Pul (1000 m)
4th November – Naya Pul to Bhadure (1550 m)
5th November – Bhadure to Naudanda then transfer by road to Pokhara
6th November – Return to Kathmandu and then onto Chitwan National Park
7th November - Riding elephants and aquainting myself with tigers in Chitwan
8th November – Return to Kathmandu
9th November - In Kathmandu
10th November – Fly from Kathmandu to Delhi
11th November – Train or bus from Delhi to Jaipur
12th November - Exploring Jaipur
13th November – Bike riding Jaipur to farm camp (50km)
14th November – Farm camp to Sariska Tiger Park (52km)
15th November – Sariska to Rajgarh (38km) then drive to Bharatpur camp
16th November – Bharatpur to Fatehpur Sikri & Agra (54km)
17th November – Sunrise at the Taj Mahal, (Happy 7 months Andy! xo) sightseeing then train to Trivandrum
18th Novemer - On the train to Trivandrum
19th November – Arrive in Trivandrum
20th November – Fly from Trivandrum to the Maldives & commence sailing safari
21st November - Sail to Felidu
22nd November - Sail to Vasugiri
23rd November - Sail to Felidhoo
24th November - Sail to Male
25th November – Tour concludes after breakfast – I am now stranded in the Maldives for a day! What to do, what to DO!? Depart Male @ 11:15 pm
26th November – Arrive in Singapore 7am. Spend a day shopping or hanging out at the airport. Depart 11:50pm
27th November – Arrive home 9:05am. Hugs all round!!!!
27th October - Flying from Adelaide to Delhi via Singapore
28th October – Flying from Delhi to Kathmandu
29th October - In Kathmandu
30th October – Flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Drive to Khara and the commence trek to Australia camp (1990 m)
31st October – Australia camp to Landrung (1640 m)
1st November – Landrung to Chomrong(2210 m)
2nd November – Chomrong to Ghandruk (1740 m)
3rd November – Ghandruk to Naya Pul (1000 m)
4th November – Naya Pul to Bhadure (1550 m)
5th November – Bhadure to Naudanda then transfer by road to Pokhara
6th November – Return to Kathmandu and then onto Chitwan National Park
7th November - Riding elephants and aquainting myself with tigers in Chitwan
8th November – Return to Kathmandu
9th November - In Kathmandu
10th November – Fly from Kathmandu to Delhi
11th November – Train or bus from Delhi to Jaipur
12th November - Exploring Jaipur
13th November – Bike riding Jaipur to farm camp (50km)
14th November – Farm camp to Sariska Tiger Park (52km)
15th November – Sariska to Rajgarh (38km) then drive to Bharatpur camp
16th November – Bharatpur to Fatehpur Sikri & Agra (54km)
17th November – Sunrise at the Taj Mahal, (Happy 7 months Andy! xo) sightseeing then train to Trivandrum
18th Novemer - On the train to Trivandrum
19th November – Arrive in Trivandrum
20th November – Fly from Trivandrum to the Maldives & commence sailing safari
21st November - Sail to Felidu
22nd November - Sail to Vasugiri
23rd November - Sail to Felidhoo
24th November - Sail to Male
25th November – Tour concludes after breakfast – I am now stranded in the Maldives for a day! What to do, what to DO!? Depart Male @ 11:15 pm
26th November – Arrive in Singapore 7am. Spend a day shopping or hanging out at the airport. Depart 11:50pm
27th November – Arrive home 9:05am. Hugs all round!!!!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Welcome to the Adventures of Me!
I've decided to document and post my journey from here to when I get back from my trip. Kind of a public journal for other travellers, friends and family and anyone else who blows in here from cyber-space! The next 6 weeks will be about my preparation, then I will try and blog a bit while I am over there. I imagine there will be some spots where Internet is unavailable, but I will do my best! Then I will post a wrap up blog at the end! Hopefully I will have the means to post a few pics up here for you to ogle as well!!!
It is a bit over 6 weeks before I set off on a fantastic adventure, exploring Nepal, India and then relaxing for a few days in the Maldives. I have never set foot outside Australia, so it is to be an exciting and no doubt, life changing experience. The next few weeks are all about preparing myself physically for the trek and bike riding components, getting my gear sorted out and trying to maintain some degree of normality! The weeks are flying by and filling up fast! I am having a birthday in a couple of weeks and am trying to organise a bit of a get together with friends. It is getting really difficult to find a spare Sunday afternoon!!!
This weekend, I am getting away from it all for a fitness prep come relaxing weekend! My boyfriend, Andy (who is also my exercise buddy) and I are heading to the Clare Valley to conquer the Riesling Trail. It is 27km long, so we are planning to ride one way, stop somewhere for lunch and then ride back again. Our reward will be sampling some local wines and foodie things and exploring some of the beautiful wineries in the area. Can't wait to be sipping a glass of Semillon Botrytis from Sevenhill!!!
I am doing a hike the following weekend with the YWCA bush walking group I am a part of, then the weekend after that (my birthday!) Andy and I are hitting the road once again, this time to Arkaroola in the far north Flinders Ranges, to do some camping, hiking and relaxing!! I figure if I do a big hike or a big ride every weekend before I go, I will be well prepared by the time I get there!
Stay posted next week for "Rattling down the Riesling Trail"
It is a bit over 6 weeks before I set off on a fantastic adventure, exploring Nepal, India and then relaxing for a few days in the Maldives. I have never set foot outside Australia, so it is to be an exciting and no doubt, life changing experience. The next few weeks are all about preparing myself physically for the trek and bike riding components, getting my gear sorted out and trying to maintain some degree of normality! The weeks are flying by and filling up fast! I am having a birthday in a couple of weeks and am trying to organise a bit of a get together with friends. It is getting really difficult to find a spare Sunday afternoon!!!
This weekend, I am getting away from it all for a fitness prep come relaxing weekend! My boyfriend, Andy (who is also my exercise buddy) and I are heading to the Clare Valley to conquer the Riesling Trail. It is 27km long, so we are planning to ride one way, stop somewhere for lunch and then ride back again. Our reward will be sampling some local wines and foodie things and exploring some of the beautiful wineries in the area. Can't wait to be sipping a glass of Semillon Botrytis from Sevenhill!!!
I am doing a hike the following weekend with the YWCA bush walking group I am a part of, then the weekend after that (my birthday!) Andy and I are hitting the road once again, this time to Arkaroola in the far north Flinders Ranges, to do some camping, hiking and relaxing!! I figure if I do a big hike or a big ride every weekend before I go, I will be well prepared by the time I get there!
Stay posted next week for "Rattling down the Riesling Trail"
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