Greendale Sunflower Farm

Some friends reached out and let me know about their wonderful visit to Greendale to see the sunflowers. Oh, I had never been to a sunflower farm before and was intrigued. Lavender, tulips, vineyards, orchards, pumpkins, but never sunflowers. Loving a new experience, we decided it would be a great weekend family outing. The farm…

Rogaining

I met a new friend through a local women’s outdoors group who invited me to be her teammate at a rogaining event. I had never heard of rogaining but knew it involved walking and/or running through the bush for the better part of the day – count me in! So what is rogaining? “The standard…

Carmichael Falls Walking Track

This path was a short walk down (1.5km from our place in Dinner Plain) to a viewing platform overlooking Carmichael Falls. The walk was a bit muddy in parts, but overall very well groomed. Halfway down, there was a side path off the main trail to a set of two small cascades. Each time we…

Snow In Oz

What a treat we had this past weekend in Dinner Plain. Not only gorgeous mountains, sunshine and trail walking but also, snowfall. We’ve seen a dusting of snow twice since moving to Australia, once in the Snowy Mountains village of Thredbo and then once again in the Blue Mountains. Each time was exciting but what…

Razorback Walking Track

The Razorback trail runs between Mount Hotham and Mount Feathertop and is 11km (one way) along the ridge line. It’s a very popular trail to hike while in Alpine National Park. Sadly, the weather was not on our side this morning as the sun disappeared right as we set out. In rolled the thick fog…

Kayaking on the Yarra River

Since moving to Melbourne we’ve wanted to kayak the Yarra River. Our temporary housing was very near to Sea Kayak Australia’s headquarters and daily we would see people walking their hired kayaks down to the river to launch. We kept saying we must go and do that before we move neighbourhoods as it’s literally right…

What I’m Grateful for in Sydney: Best Birthday Ever

After living here for only one month it was time to celebrate Fiona’s 10th birthday. A “traditional” birthday party was impossible so it was time to get creative. We knew this going into our move so we discussed it ahead of time and suggested, as an alternative, a new experience. We all love to celebrate…

South London Mini Mudder

Last weekend our kids joined up with some friends to take on South London’s Mini Mudder, a kids’ version of the Tough Mudder event that Kate and I did in 2014.  It was a great atmosphere and there was certainly lots of mud.  It was great to see kids embracing the community spirit and helping…

A Short Break in Jersey

Jersey – banking and cows come to mind. A Channel Island, dependent on the UK for protection but not officially part of it, it is self-governing and has its own international identity. Its location is actually closer to France—14 miles to be exact. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when we decided to escape…