To Ski or Not to Ski

Taking a break from Nepal blogs this week and decided to talk about snow.

Winter hit this weekend, the sweat pants came out and the summer wardrobe was packed away. Not going to lie, it was very nice leaving the house Saturday night not in a ball of sweat from blow drying and straighten my hair in 34 degree heat.

Only 5 hours from Sydney in the Snowy Mountains they have already received there first sprinkling of SNOW! I have been skiing twice in Australia and both times it has been with the same company…Oz Snow. Both times have been such a blast. Its a great weekend with friends and minimal organisation on your part.

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This year we have friends going again and its so hard to say no…but we have to do some hikes and think about our month off in Nepal. It is amazing how hard a two lettered word can be …no! Personally I know I could go but then later down the line I would really be struggling to hit my goals money wise before we head out in September. It is a no ski zone for us this year. We both would really love to go to New Zealand but we have no holiday for a while, so that will have to be a trip we do in the future.

Link to my to blog on my Ski Trip 2016.

Never fear we might be seeing snow in a few weeks. We have booked our weekend to Jindabyne at the end of May. We are hoping the weather isn’t to bad and we can complete the 20KM Mt Kosciusko hike. The original plan was to go up on the June long weekend but that is the opening weekend of Ski season and accommodation was pricey to say we were not skiing. By bringing the trip a few weeks forward we have saved over half on accommodation. Full blog of our weekend in the Snowy Mountains will be up a week after our trip. I am actually excited to experience the other side to Jindabyne, see what it has to offer and to get a decent mileage hike complete.

Snow boots out, winter jacket and woolly hats at the ready!

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Nepal Health

Last year I wrote a few blogs about me loosing weight and how I was trying my best to be healthier. The posts kind of died out because my weight just stayed the same and did not move. Even when I gave up booze for a month my weight did not budge. At the start of this year after we booked Nepal I started to work out a lot and still was seeing no results. I thought I was going mad and people would think I am not really trying…but I was. It was really knocking my confidence.

I finally went to the doctors in March and had my bloods done. Everything came back fine which is good but still no answer on why my weight was the same. The doctor explained to me I might have over stretched my stomach ( sorry not the best visual) and a way to get it to shrink would be to go on a Low Calorie Diet using Optifast. Basically I have two Optifast shakes a day, a piece of fruit, one small coffee, water and a 400 calorie meal. Optifast have a range of low calorie shakes, soups and deserts for you to pick from. I have had the chicken soup which I love and it breaks up having two shakes a day. With the shakes I have had the coffee, mocha and chocolate flavor. In all honesty they taste the same very chocolaty. I think the key to doing the diet well is just becoming organised…always have your shakes on you and water to keep you going through the day. It soon becomes habit.

The hard parts for me are working in a office there is always a biscuit tin or a cake floating around but having Nepal as my goal and thinking about that is helping me resist temptations. I also talk to Mum once a week about our diets (she is also on a health kick) and we give each other support to keep going. It really does help having that open conversation because when you have a weak moment one comment from someone can just keep you on the right track.

This diet at first sounded impossible but I was determined to do it and to get myself ready for Nepal (also to just be healthier for the future).  I have given up drink until Nepal and eating out as lets face it not much room for booze and takeaways in a 400 calorie meal.

I am now 3 weeks in and have shifted some weight which has given me such a confidence boost in myself taking on Nepal in September. The first week was the toughest for sure. I didn’t have much energy and food just seemed to be everywhere. Once I had my routine down with the shakes it became easier and easier. I have told my friends about the new diet I am on and how I cant drink and they have all been great. My friends, family, work team and MK have been so supportive with it big thanks to all of them! Especially MK as he has to deal my hanger sometimes …

Over the last three weeks I have seen my mind set with food change. It has shifted from constantly craving it to seeing it as just something I have to do during the day like a task. I have also gone from working out 2-3 times a week to 4-5 times a week, focusing on my stamina. I am doing a 7KM walk twice a week and swimming up to 2KM twice a week. On the weekend we have started to do our hikes as well. I feel like I have more motivation and I am sleeping better. On a weekend I have no hangovers to deal with and my bank account is looking great. I think I spent about 80% of my money on food and drink! Now I have more money to buy things or put towards Nepal.

I have taken the lead and organised a few things with friends which don’t revolve around food and drink. Date night has changed to we are getting out into Sydney and doing things we haven’t experienced yet. I think I will be discovering a whole new side to living in Sydney.

Being open about what I am doing with my friends has been great and talking with girlfriends about all the body hang ups we have makes me realize everyone is going through a similar thing. I watched the movie ‘I Feel Pretty’ and its a great movie. I think every women in the world has felt like Amy Schumer does in the opening scene.

I am sharing the journey of me getting ready for Nepal but I really wanted to share this side of the journey as well because I just feel so many of us are trying to loose weight and are not seeing the results. Don’t give up and if you are not seeing results go to the doctors, see if they can help you find a way to lose weight and become healthier. I will update on my progress with Optifast in a month.

If anyone has any questions on Optifast or just wants to have a chinwag about weight and being a woman just send me a message. Lets support each other and not bring each other down!

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Nepal Booked!

This year MK and I decided to not go home but to go on a trip. We both work full time so the maximum time we could get off was a month. Our work have given us both a month off in September…now we just had to decide on a destination.

I am 30 MK is 30 this year and we both had one thing in common on our 30th Bucket List…to do Everest Base Camp Trek. In September we will both be 30 and will be spending a full month in Nepal and yes you guessed it… we will be doing the Everest Base Camp Trek.

The next step was to find a company to book the trek with. There are around 75 companies which offer the trek. I found it extremely overwhelming and had been warned not to trust Trip Adviser when it came to reviews (apparently a lot of the reviews are from staff members). I turned to a few friends and family who have already been on the trip for recommendations and read a few travel blogs on what to look out for when booking with a company. It did cross our minds for a few seconds to do the trek on our own but as we are not experience hikers we decided against that option. In the blog posts I read I was shocked at how much of the money from this business never made it in to Nepalese hands. I also got a few tips on what should be in the trips itinerary and to check to make sure the company is a registered trekking company in Nepal. I decided that we would use a Nepalese company. I would recommend reading a lot of blogs so you feel confident in what you want out of your experience. I found AME Treks (Adventure Mountain Explore) online and found there Facebook page. To make sure their reviews where honest and true I actually messaged a few people from the Facebook page and had a chat with them about there experience with the company. Everyone had great things to say about AME Treks so I sent them off a email. After a few email exchanges and a look at the detailed 15 day trek itinerary we paid the deposit and locked in the trek. We are now 4 months out from this epic challenge and over the next 4 months I will continue to blog on how we are preparing. Along with the trek we plan on doing Safari in Nepal and traveling around to a few places. I have just started to look at what we can fit in and where we can stay.

This for me will be the biggest challenge I have set myself mentally and physically. I am not slim or that fit but I have been working on myself the past month and will continue to work on myself to make sure I am the best version of myself on that mountain. Over the next few months I will blog on how we are affording the trip, what we are buying and how our training is going. Its such a exciting time / nerve racking time. I know we can do this and achieve out goal of reaching the Base Camp.

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InstaTravel

Like everyone else I follow a lot of travel accounts on Instagram. When I am at work wanting to escape the desk for a minuet or looking for some travel ideas this is where I go. I think there amazing all of them…but it is always on the back of mind, how real are they?
I have traveled a lot and I decided to try and stay in Australia which meant finding a job, visas and saving money. My travel list was put on hold. I also have student loans to pay back and just general living cost. I am so baffled on how these young people travel around the world for most of the year in what looks like the most glamours way. I think it’s a great life they have but just wonder how they keep it up with the pressure of daily demands.
I have a month off work to explore Nepal and I can’t wait but it has taken a few months to save for airfare and deposits. The rest of these months I am working I will be saving up the remainder of my trip. It also uses all my annual holiday as well. I would like to know how people do so much travel and keep a job?
I do admire how glamours the photos are and the person in the photo looks flawless. I have to say when I went round South East Asia I was so far from flawless more just sweaty and hoped my clothes did not smell.
I would love to know how people do this please get in contact.
Shout out to the instagrams who are working the 9-5 grind but love the travel.
Any information on how that lifestyle works would be great.
Below is me and my not so Instagram flawless photo covered in mud and possible elephant poop!

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Nimbin and Lillian Rock

The end of our Easter break was spent visiting Nimbin and Lillian Rock. I had not planned to go to Nimbin but as it was on route to Lillian Rock we decided to stop off. Leaving Byron behind us we headed up into the hills. It did rain most of the drive to Nimbin but it did not ruin the views looking over the valley.
Nimbin
Before I arrived at Nimbin I had in my head that this place would be a hippie, earth loving town which had cookies to share. I’m not into drugs so was not fussed at all about the cookies. I was however excited to experience the laid back hippie town after having such a good time with Byron’s vibe. As soon as we parked up we were straight on to the main street which was full of colourful rainbow and in your face shop signs. The shops looked very hippie but when you walked in they were owned by your average Joe and the shop all of a sudden turned into a novelty gift shop. On one part of the main street people would walk up to you whispering “magic cookies” it felt very dodge as we were just searching for a bottle-o to  purchase a bottle of wine for the night. When we had done a quick sweep of the main street we had seen enough and headed back o the car. In the car park we found a man wondering around the cars peering in and holding a narrow metal rod in his hand. This place did not give me any good vibes at all. Maybe I am old and boring now, Nimbin I will not be going back to visit.
Lillian Rock
We had the afternoon in Lilian Rock. We were staying at a Air BnB which was a farm called Whisingwell Farm. We turned down a dirt track and made our way to the house. We met our host who was lovely. Jenny showed us to our room and around the house. We had an ensuite room and access to a deck with a big BBQ and sink. We settled into our lovely rooms with no TV or internet just the mountain fresh air. The room was full of board games, we played a few rounds of ‘Guess Who?’ At 4PM we joined Jenny and the other 2 gusts for a tour of the farm at feeding time. If you stay at the farm this is worth doing it was a lovely thing to do especially when you live in the city. On our feeding tour we fed the ducks, ponies, goats and held baby ducklings. It was a lot of fun meeting the animals and hearing about how they came to be on the farm. MK and I took a stroll around the farm down to the river…it was short lived as MK saw a snake so we made our way back to the house as the sun set. Once we had made dinner we settled into bed reading and writing before having a early night. It was very relaxing and exactly what we needed before the big drive home the next day. We had purchased a breakfast off Jenny for $5. We were supplied bacon, eggs, tomatoes and bread in a basket. The next morning we cooked our breakfast on the deck and packed up the car. There were a couple of things we did not get to see in Lilian Rock as it rained on and off the whole day and night we were there.
 The last day of our Easter break was spent on the motorway driving back to Sydney. It was a pretty smooth drive with minimal traffic and one giant thunder storm just outside of Sydney. I think we both came back very refreshed from the weekend and ready to hit the city life once again.

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Byron Bay (Finally!!)

Easter weekend 2018 MK and I went on a road trip to Byron Bay. I have been in Australia 3 years and had not made it to this famous Aussie Coastal town. I was hoping to bump into any type of Hemsworth whilst up there …but no such luck.
We decided to drive up, which is a 9 hour drive plus a little Easter traffic. MK picked me up after work and we left from out West at around 5:30 and in true English and Irish form we had packed sandwiches for the route.
The first stop of the trip was Coffs Harbour….MK’s old stomping ground last year. We reached our hostel at midnight. We stayed in Central Backpackers and I can’t stress how lovely they were here. There check in closed at 10PM and one of the staff stayed up. They also provided us two numbers in case he was not reachable…these guys where brilliant cos after 6 hours in the car all we wanted was a bed.
Up early the next day we arrived in Byron Bay for 10AM and out first stop was The Farm.
The Farm
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Just before you get into the heart of Byron Bay you come across The Farm. The guys that own this place are the people behind the famous restaurant’s called “Three Blue Ducks”. There is a Three Blue Ducks at The Farm along with a cafe “Bread Social”. Everything is open plan and you can see them baking the bread fresh. We had lunch and a breakfast here…the food is delicious. Along with a good feed we also walked around the farm met the animals and cracked some nuts in the macadamia orchard. The land is so pretty and it’s really well put together. Great place for any type of meal.
Our AirBnB was just out of the main section of Byron. It was very cosy and the finishing touches instantly gave you the Byron vibe. Bathroom, bedroom with a sofa and eating area also a little kitchen as well. The space was perfect and our host was easy to communicate with. The space was actually a converted garage. We got an Uber into Byron’s main street every night which cost us $8.
After we had refreshed ourselves we headed to the beach. Traffic was crazy but we found a parking spot. After strolling the Byron markets MK took me on a walk. We walked along the beach to Fisherman’s View Point then around to Wategos Beach and up to the light house. The views all along the walk are beautiful. It is well sign posted as well no need to worry about getting lost. Not much parking by the light house so if you can manage the walk up its worth it. We also watched the sunrise from Fisherman’s View Point surrounded by the ocean and surfers it was lovely.
The first night we did not eat out as we had bought bread and cheese from the farm and treated ourselves to some nice cheeses. We did go to the Beach Hotel. It’s a huge venue with a few bars a big dance floor and outside area. After a few drinks we called it a night as the drive had caught up with us. We did return to the same place the next night and it was packed. Great atmosphere and DJ. They also had a guy on the drums playing with the DJ which really got everyone going.
We checked out a few sites on the second day.
Killen Falls

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These falls are about 25 mins out of Byron. I had looked online and these falls were not as well-known as the others near Byron. To avoid Easter crowds we went to check them out. On route you drive through a really cute town called Newrybar. It’s worth a stop to check out the shops and Harvest Deli. There was plenty or parking at the Falls. It is about a 15min walk to the base of the falls. There were a few people around in the water. I forgot my swim suit so MK was the only one of us who got to have a paddle. Lots of sharp rocks so be careful and no jumping it’s too shallow….be safe! One more sight we checked out that day was Crystal Castle.
Crystal Castle

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Located 40min drive out of Byron is Crystal Castle. If you believe in crystals and spirituality this place you will love. Also if you like really nice gardens it’s worth a look. Tickets are 30 bucks in. You walk around all these different gardens and there are Buddha’s and crystals everywhere. It was really peaceful. Somehow MK and I lost each other and did the gardens on our own and it really is a good way to do it. This is a quiet place for mediation and reflection.  I loved taking photos in the gardens and MK had a go with one of the crystal mazes. On our last night in Byron we went out for dinner at The Bolt Hole.
The Bolt Hole

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The Bolt Hole is a cocktail Bar and smoke house. They smoke all their own meat. I had booked us a table (recommend a booking). We tried a few of the cocktails all where amazing and we ate the meat sample dish for two. The meat was unbelievable it was insanely tasty. It was a great night I just feel they might have needed more than two waitresses on as between drinks we had a long wait and it kind of lost momentum. Overall I enjoyed it and would go back again to try a few more cocktails. After dinner we headed to the beach and watched the full moon with lots of other people. Once we had our full moon fill we headed to Beach Hotel.
On our last morning before heading up to Nimbin and Lillian Rock we hung out at Wategos Beach. It’s such a beautiful little beach. The water temperature was lovely and we had a paddle whilst watching the surfers. Such a good beach for photos.
Byron Bay was worth the wait. It had the best vibes and positive atmosphere I oped it would. We seem to do a lot but also relax as well. Chilling out was incredible up there lots of reading and journal writing surrounded by epic scenery. Highlight was watching sunrise and a pod dolphins swim by during sunrise.

 

Next blog will be about our trip to Nimbin and night on The Wishingwell Farm.

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Jervis Bay Long Weekend

For the long weekend September 2016 MK and I went down south to the Jervis Bay area. We rented a lovely AirBNB in Berrara. It was a house in the back of a property with a outside area to eat and cook. The town is a 30min drive from Jervis Bay The weekend was the first bit of summer weather we had that year.
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We explored the coastal town and we had dinner at The Huskisson which is great pub food and is set looking over the water. The days where spent laying on Hyams Beach or exploring the different areas around the National Park. You can drive round the park in a day and see all the beaches and walk up to the view points. When we went in September it was whaling season and we did see a few from one of the view points. It was a very relaxing weekend we did stumble into a country fair where I held a snake and we got some good food.
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On the drive to and from Jervis you do go through a town call Berry. It is worth a stop to grab a drink at the local pub and grab a bag of the famous Berry Doughnuts. Be prepared to sit in traffic on the way up and down from this place it is never a clear road.
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