happy tramper

well i am back from over 50km of 'tramping' (walking and staying overnight along the way as its known in NZ) on the queen charlotte track. it was amazing. the combination of solitude, natural beauty and exercise is just perfect for me. sadly my feet are now a little worse for wear as you can maybe see, two messy blisters, one toenail going black, some sort of rash around both heels... i have a tendancy to overestimate my physical strength and had, of course, assumed this would all be no problem for a fit girl like me. but oh no, i am knackered! its a bit wierd but walking 14km seems a heck of a lot harder than running it as i did on the city to surf in sydney. i am definitely worse off now than i was then!
so its a day of rest in nelson before pushing on through the pain barrier tomorrow for another couple of days of tramping on the abel tasman coastal track (yes helen, i have taken your top tip on board!).
the accommodation so far has been great. one hostel (the villa in picton - highly recommend it) even provided free apple crumble! can't say fairer than that. noeline's homestay was the best possible place to get rained in on the track, i can recommend it to anyone. she is a 73 year old inspiriation who sleeps on an inflatable mattress in her lounge in order to rent out 5 beds in her home every night to backpackers. the income from this then funds her trips around the world which she takes every year. she spent two months travelling in laos and cambodia, arriving with no plans, just a lonely planet! so i got some top tips from her for my future journey.
i just cannot believe this country, it is so beautiful and full of such friendly people. i love it here. this place is awe-inspiring, i can't believe the sheer beauty i see every day. i am so aware of what a lucky girl i am to be here.

view from my bed

heres the view out of mark & nikki's lounge which i woke up to this morning. not bad i reckon. seems i've ended up in another mansion, a very beautiful home with a very beautiful family. what a result! first of many experiences of the joys of this country i hope.

moving on...

i fly to christchurch in the morning, so thought i would just say bye to sydney for now by reflecting on what i've loved and what i've missed
loving it:
coral trees and bottlebrush trees
not having to look at my diary
cheap cds, in fact cheaper everything
getting to know Matt as husband and dad, no longer just my big brother
kite flying with abigail
trampolining with abigail
cooking with abigail
basically all of living life with abigail and isabella
going to the beach
views of the harbour
listening to the bible on cd in the car to and from work
swimming in the sea
watching Greys Anatomy with Cath on Monday evenings
food! especially pancakes at Taronga zoo, Max Brenners chocolate cafe and pumpkin, pepper and ricotta lasagne at Manly
fitness class in the park
living with Fi who is so different from me and yet made space for me to be me

missing it:
FIP radio
my bicycle
Luke - being with one brother seems to mean i miss the other more
Topshop and H&M
lie-ins
Ian - my hairdresser (2 bad haircuts later...)
at least 3 weddings, lots of birthdays and no doubt other fantastic social gatherings
evening chats with mates

working days are numbered (for 06 anyway)

only 5 more days to go until March 07! that does feel pretty good. although the poverty that may result from this is not so great! i will leave work with around £1,500 - which considering i was meant to save enough to get me round 4 months of travelling, seems a little pathetic. but hey. dad has kindly offered to bail me out with a loan if need be...
but i am glad to say working has been more than just about saving cash. its been great to enjoy working with a diverse bunch of people in an office that has held my interest for various reasons. some of those would be the various eccentricities around me, the novelty of A0 plans, my constant drive to improve efficiency (no, i wasn't successful), the delight of morning tea breaks, the sunny lunchtimes, the insights into aussie life and into ways of managing people and work... i have made some good friends and will definitely miss the people, but not the work.
mostly i have been copying plans, folding plans, sorting plans, hanging plans, archiving plans, saving emails, putting file codes on emails, logging emails, printing emails, sorting emails and filing emails. enough to send me nearly mad on more than one occasion. but proof that for me work is much more about the people and the context than the tasks and more about what interests my mind as i work than what i actually have to think about to do the work. no, i don't think my future career should be as a filing clerk, but i think the people i work with will always be more important than my actual role.
so, i will be happy to leave the bewilderingly inefficient world of filing project work, but i will be sad to leave these people and sad to be one step closer to understanding myself but no steps closer to knowing what work i want to do next.
and i will miss folding large sheets of paper - it is very therapeutic.

ode to cyril

thought it was about time i mentionned my friend cyril. he could well be described as my best friend here, an excellent companion full of wit, charm, generosity and honesty. i met cyril on my first trip to oz as luke and i stayed at his house when we came over for matt's wedding. then i had the pleasure of a visit from cyril to my place in brighton a few years later, which was great, and now i am back in his vicinity so we often take little trips out gallvanting around the city. he may not appreciate me telling you, but he's 86 years old now. but its a good reminder that age can be irrelevant in a friendship - maybe it requires a little thought to avoid climbing lots of hills or generally wearing him out too much, and its a constant battle to stop him paying for everything, but other than that i just enjoy his company. its also a great reminder to me, when thinking about the possibilities for my future, that i really do love older people. maybe its something to do with the urgency it instills in me to make the most of the time you have with them as you know it is running out. sadly for cyril 'skin cancer will be on his death certificate' as his doctor has told him. realistically he is unlikely to make it over to the UK again and i may not make it back here again in time to enjoy his company like this again, so its a case of enjoy it while we can.
i am beginning to get moments of sadness thinking about saying goodbye to him, probably for the last time, and saying goodbye to the nieces. abigail is very sweetly telling me she is going to miss me. they have all become such a big part of my life that i will certainly notice their absence. its that thing with the old and the young that you know it will never be the same again, you only have this short window of opportunity to enjoy them like they are now before everything changes. so here's to making the most of it.