Elsja Down Under

101 Countdown December 25, 2010

Only a few more days until my 101 in 1001 comes to a close. I can’t believe it’s been nearly 1001 days since I first created the list. While I may not have achieved them all, there are definitely many that I am really proud of. To wrap up a few of the remaining items, I’m posting my 101 Christmas edition. To be fair, these hardly have much to do with Christmas but since I’m posting on Christmas eve, I have decided it will be a Christmas edition.

#86 - Try 20 new restaurants and blog about them. Well, technically I tried many more than 20 since 2008, but this blog will include my 20th actual review so I can finally cross this item off the list!!

North Bondi Italian (RSL)

We went to this little gem for our work Christmas lunch the other day and I was really pleased. Rather than posting my normal type of review, I’m just going to post the things I liked about this place.

Its got a great indoor/outdoor/bar/restaurant vibe so you can really go there for any occasion. We got there early but since they don’t take bookings, we had to wait about an hour for a table but we just hung out on the patio with some champagne, peanuts and appetizers overlooking the ocean. We ordered refreshing vodka lemon lime and bitters and they went down WAY too easily. We had these amazing deep fried risotto balls and a ricotta basket to start and they were so tasty; TOTALLY overpriced but the risotto balls were to die for. For mains I ordered a ricotta, basil and tomato pasta. It was definitely good but a few of my coworkers had the lasagna and I was having a bit of order envy. Great food, great wine, great views and great company made for a fun afternoon by the beach. It was a perfect way to start the holiday break.

#81 -Learn to make Swedish pancakes from my mom. My mom has been making Swedish pancakes my entire life and never have I taken the opportunity to learn how to make them myself. Well today is the day. I just flew in on Christmas eve and it’s tradition for my mom to make the pancakes today so we can wake up and eat them for breakfast on Chrsistmas morning. She’s just out buying flour but when she returns, Pancakes 101 shall begin.

#28- Donate blood- two weeks ago on the way to work I stopped off at a blood bank to donate. I was a bit scared because the first and only time I ever donated blood was back in college and I had a horrible experience. My blood pressure dropped and I almost passed out and threw up. Luckily, this time I was ok even though they could only get 1/2 of a donation. So I suppose I might save 1.5 lives instead of 3. Still better than nothing!

#29 – Donate to 3 charities per yer. Here are some of the charities I’ve donated to since 2008

• Pancan (2008, 2009, 2010)
• Movember (2008, 2010)
• American Cancer Society (2008, 2009)
• Humane Society (2009)
• Caringbridge (2010)
• Susan Komen (2010)
• Jimmy Walk Fund (2010)

My mom is back with the flour so I’m off to learn techniques in making Swedish pancakes. I wish you all a Merry Merry Christmas!!

A New Tradition December 7, 2010

As my 101 goal time comes to a close, I’m in a mad dash to finish as many of them as I possibly can. So I was very pleased that Saturday night I was able to cross off lots of items! Andrew and I had our first annual Christmas party at our place and it was a big success. Andrew was never too fond of the idea of a party at our place because we don’t have the greatest entertaining layout here. It’s small and there’s no decent outdoor area. Andrew really preferred to wait until we had a bigger place to start having parties but it meant a lot to me to start now. When I thought about starting a tradition together (#24 on my list), having a yearly Christmas party was a natural idea. My parents had one every year when I was growing up and so I wanted to do the same. I figured now that we are married, this was a perfect time to start our annual event. So on Saturday we had a few friends over (unfortunately with a small place you can’t invite everyone) and we ate, drank and were merry! Here’s a few things I got to cross off my list this weekend:

101. Decorate for Christmas all 3 years… here we are on year 3 of my list and our house is festive once again!

24. Start a tradition with Andrew – hence, the “1st annual” Christmas party

77.  Bake and decorate fancy cupcakes – ok so they weren’t cupcakes, but the pumpkin spice frosty cake balls dipped in white chocolate were quite fancy, and quite delicious! Plus I was up ’til midnight on Thursday making them so I think they should count.

66. Make a mix-tape (CD) with some of my favorite songs and give to friends – I absolutely love making Christmas playlists (I have over 6 hours of Christmas music alone on my ipod), so I thought it would be a great idea to make a “Merry Mixtape” for the guests of our party. The CD includes roughly 15 of my favourite modern Christmas tunes.

107. Host a cocktail party. We finally got to put some of our booze to good use and I made a few fun cocktails and festive drinks for everyone to enjoy. We had a pomegranate, cranberry and vodka cocktail as well as my version of mulled wine (recipe to come soon) and homemade eggnog. Bez played bartender later in the night and made some delicious peachy concoctions.

70. Buy a fancy digital camera. Yes, we did buy this awhile back but Saturday was the first time we actually used it. I still should read the instruction manual because I have no idea what I’m doing yet- but at least it allowed us to take some nice photos of the party.

For more photos… click here.

Not only was Saturday night fun, it was also a great way to cross off lots of items before my December 31st deadline. How many more can I knock out in the next few weeks? We shall see!

Two New Sydney Restaurant Reviews October 3, 2010

For your reading (and perhaps dining) pleasure, I present you with two new restaurant reviews.

1. Ripples, Chowder Bay

We headed to Ripples a few weeks back to celebrate the birthday of our good friend Ben. I had a great night and really enjoyed the food. Here are my thoughts on the place.

Decor/Setting: 8: I just love the area! It’s not an easy restaurant to find, but that’s what makes it unique. We sat in the outdoor section but it was enclosed in clear plastic and there were heaters to keep us warm which was definitely a nice touch. The seats were comfortable, the lighting set the mood. I think it would be a nice little romantic date place.

Value: 7:  While the food is overpriced, you sort of understand why when you have a look at the view and your surroundings. The food is also really good… well, mine was. Andrew thought his lamb was just ok. We were very pleasantly surprised to find that Ripples is BYO! Who would have guessed that a higher class restaurant would allow you to bring your own wine?? Just that alone made the meal much more affordable. All in all, we got some bread and dips for the table to share, we each got a main AND a dessert and it was $50 bucks each. We actually expected it to be a lot more than that so I suppose it wasn’t bad for a special night out. Don’t get Andrew started on the parking situation though… paying heaps to park for dinner is no bueno.

Service: ?? – I was drinking wine, so I was in no great rush. I don’t really remember the service been bad at all so it must have been decent enough.

Taste: 9- My pasta was great!!! I’ve always heard about pumpkin ravioli with burnt butter and sage. I had NO idea if I’d like it but I do like pumpkin and butter… so I figured I’d give it a shot. It was really good and I’m now sold on this well-known flavor combination. We ALL got a dessert and my heavenly coconut macaron tower was rated by some of our friends as the best dessert of the night (I have to agree).

Would I go back? Yes, but only for a special occasion.

2. Lee’s Fortuna Court

A few nights ago, we headed to this little Chinese place in Crows Nest to celebrate Stu’s birthday. How happy am I that all these birthdays give me a perfect reason to try new restaurants?? Here’s what I thought of it.

Decor/Setting: 4 It wasn’t hideous, but it wasn’t nice. The tables are pretty decent with the convenient lazy susan in the middle but the decor mainly consisted of signed photos of sports stars, not really my thing.

Value: 5 – to be honest, this was some pricey Chinese. Granted it wasn’t BYO, but we ended up spending more per person here than we did at Ripples and the two restaurants are worlds apart in terms of class and setting so I definitely wouldn’t have expected this to be more expensive.

Service: 9 – Here’s where they win out!! This is some of the best service I’ve seen in this country. I ordered a bottle of wine and the server poured a tiny bit and asked if I would like to taste it. I was a bit shocked since that’s not the type of service you see often at Chinese. The servers were very attentive with water and drinks and they brought out a free ice cream cake for Stu’s birthday. This was not just a little individual cake for him- no, this was a cake for the whole table! The only reason I didn’t give it a 10 is because they seemed to get confused when taking our order and brought out an extra dish that we did not want (but that was probably our fault anyways).

Taste: 7- The food was good. It is nothing I’d crave (like my Pei Wei cravings from back in CA), but it was good. The best thing was that they actually had a chicken breast dish! I went in there thinking I’d have to order vegetarian because I assumed they would not serve white meat chicken. I was very happy to find out they did and my white meat cashew nut chicken was pretty good!

All in all it’s not the best Chinese food I’ve had but it’s definitely good. The prices seem really high but the service was quality enough to match the prices so I guess it all evened out in the end. I probably wouldn’t go back unless it was for an event but that has nothing to do with the restaurant, it’s simply because I like Thai food way better than Chinese.

Wedding Pre-Party September 12, 2010

When I traveled to Amanda and Stephen’s wedding back in February, they hosted a little pre-wedding get-together before the actual big day. After attending the little shindig, I decided it would be a great thing to do for our wedding. Seeing as how 95% of Andrew’s clan had never met ANY of my clan, we thought it would be appropriate to round up the two groups, throw them together with some beer, pizza and a pool and see what happens.

Well I do believe it was a great success. I think the Aussies loved drinking out of the famous red cups that they always see in movies and I think they appreciated the lessons in the fine art of flip cup (p.s. the girls RULE over the boys).

And what did the Americans gain?? Well… they got to see just how crazy all the Aussies are! They witnessed first hand the reason why my drinking of wine with dinner has gone up tremendously since I moved to this country.  The good ol’ American s’mores were a fantastic finale to the night for everyone!

Even though I was a bit stressed (and even cried) at the party… (hey, I was getting married in 2 days, I was extremely emotional), I think the party was a perfect idea!  A big purpose of getting the groups together was to create a more social environment for our actual wedding night. If all the groups mingled before the big day they were more likely to mingle a bit more on the wedding night, right? Well that’s exactly what happened. I think the pre-party helped to make the wedding an even better night for everyone.

**I’d like to dedicate this blog to Shannon and Dougie Henderson and to Shawn H. to thank them for their “sponsorship” of this party. Shannon’s Candy bar and the Henderson hospitality (even when people were puking on the side of their house) were amazing and greatly appreciated. Shannon’s vodka soaked gummy bears –  which let’s be honest, really tasted like fruity vodka goo –  were “enjoyed” by all. Shawn and Oggi’s pizza supplied us with lots of DELISH pizza (that I still pretty much think about on a daily basis) and some great kegs of beer. To you all, I am eternally grateful! **

Bachelorette Memories September 8, 2010

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect way to celebrate my last “single” weekend than the way it was spent. One week before I said “I do”, myself and 9 other girls boarded the Carnival Paradise and set sail on what would be one of the best weekends of my life. First of all, I was completely thrilled that there were even 9 girls who wanted to come with me! I know a cruise to Ensenada isn’t the cheapest of ways to celebrate a bachelorette party, regardless everyone still wanted to come. I had 5 girls from CA and the others flew in from Australia, Hong Kong, Texas and Georgia. How lucky am I?

From the minute we stepped on board, we were having a great time. Shannon and Amanda got there a bit early and decorated the rooms with streamers and champagne. Oh yeah… there were 5 of us sharing this room. Wow we’re good!

My sisters and friends provided me with the typical array of penis themed games and toys (no pictures needed there) and shortly after that we changed into our bathing suits, headed to the pool and ordered our first drinks.  We started the beverage consumption off on a moderate pace but that quickly sped as soon as we met a group of 30+ firemen who were ever so generous with their drink offerings. I’m pretty sure it never stopped after that.

The next 3 days consisted of some incredible fun and CRAZY adventures. I definitely think there were a few highlights and memorable moments that I will share in a brief photo journal for you all.

Papas and Beer. Drinking all day in Ensenada was SO much fun. I think these pictures pretty much sum up the day:

Incredible days of fun in the sun, fancy dinners and nights of burning calories on the dance floor:

In addition to the obvious fun we had there were other “special” moments that I’ll never forget.

• The weekend wouldn’t have been complete without losing my sister Jan a few times (who now has the nickname “Where’s Waldo” or “Jan you F*@$#er!” Luckily when you’re on a boat you can’t lose anyone for too long.
• Shannon tore it up on the dance floor AND the Karaoke stage.
• Unintentional prank calls to random rooms… oops
• Dione cracked us all up with her comment “I may have had a little…” (I’ll leave that one up to the imagination).
• I swear that none of us took part in getting an IV injection to cure a hangover… but I may have witnessed one.  If it weren’t for the fact that I don’t like to go around letting random strangers inject needles in my arm- I would think this was a great idea.
• The free bottle of “wine” (aka vodka masked in a sealed wine bottle) was a lovely addition to our last dinner on the boat. Thanks random guys wherever you are.
• I will forever cherish “the book” of wedding advice that was passed around all weekend to anyone willing to add their tips and suggestions. I think some of those tips may warrant a blog of their own one day.
• Yellow shirt, blue eyes, green shirt, hat tag guy, Patrick, Captain, P footy… you all made our trip so much more memorable!

Overall, it was the best girls weekend you could ever ask for. With 10 girls you would expect a bit of drama and surprisingly there was very little of that going around. I think a girls cruise to Ensenada should become a regular event. Yes, that is a fantastic idea! Who’s with me?

My Beautiful Shower August 12, 2010

I have some of the most amazing friends! Last weekend I was truly spoiled at my bridal shower. They did such an amazing job on the design… seriously- why can’t Jen and I go into a party planning business together? A few months ago I didn’t even want a shower. I was in a funk because I wasn’t going to be able travel home in May like I had planned. I thought a shower 3 weeks before a wedding was a bit silly, but everyone said “you HAVE to have a shower.” Then I realized Jen did hers that way as well and it was totally fun. I am SO glad I ended up having one. It was beautiful, fun and delicious. The amazing Alexis cooked up a fancy feast of yummy food and the crepe cake was fabulous. The cake ball or “love pop” favors were heavenly. The sangria?? Well, seeing as how they used my recipe, I HAD to think it was delicious, right? I’m so thankful that my friends and family were willing and able to come celebrate my upcoming wedding with me. I had such a nice day!

Thanks again to everyone who played a part in my AMAZING shower!! For more beautiful photos, CLICK HERE.

Trips and Lists and Updates July 2, 2010

I’ve finished off a few more of my 101 goals which is great because I’ve just reached the point where I only have 6 months left.

#19: Make a “Things we want to do/buy together” list with Andrew.

We finished this a few weeks ago, but this will obviously be an ongoing work in progress.  I won’t type out EVERYTHING we added but here are just a few of the things we want to do and buy together:

• Go to Kangaroo valley
• Go to the Powerhouse museum
• Go to Cairns for the weekend
• Plan a late honeymoon
• Buy a new couch
• Buy a new bed
• Get our African art framed

#57: Go on 3 spontaneous day/weekend trips with Andrew.

This week I had a totally random opportunity to go to the Gold Coast to help out my cousin’s company. I had planned to go for just one night but then it ended up being two nights and by complete chance, Andrew had the two days off. Since I didn’t have to work the entire time I was there, Andrew came with and we were able to enjoy a nice couple of days. We had a really delicious dinner, we went in the jacuzzi and went for a walk on the beach. It was a little random mid-week getaway, even if it did include a bit of work. This trip rounds out the 3 trips for # 57 on the 101 list. First there was Perth, then snowboarding in Threadbo and finally, Surfer’s Paradise.

# 96: Create 3 new goals each in 2009 and 2010.

Done. Check my updated list if you’re interested.

#103: Read 10 more books when I’m finished with the first 10

I have to say… this goal paid off and now reading is a regular part of my life. Prior to this list, I wasn’t a big reader. Now I’ve read over 20 books since I’ve started and I’ll continue to read even without these goals to reach.

To finish of this post I’d just like to point out that this last week I also was able to cross off a few of those nagging wedding tasks that I was dreading. Not too much left to plan now!! How crazy is it to be able to say our wedding is NEXT MONTH!?

My Fun Weekend June 8, 2010

I’ve been very busy this last week, could you tell? On top of my regular job, I’ve been working lots of hours at my side job and I’ll be heading to Perth tomorrow on a business trip. Yes… I am going on a business trip in Australia for the company in California. Amazing right? It’s weird how things work out in life.

So amidst all the hustle and bustle of my multiple jobs, I have also been making time to hang out with friends. Last weekend I had our girls night out with Natasha and Hayley (where we made pizza and sangria and then headed to The Oaks for some drinks). This weekend I had fun plans every single day!  I did miss Andrew though. From Thursday morning to Sunday night we probably saw each other for about six hours TOTAL for all four days. Between his work, my work and our separate plans, we just kept missing each other.

Friday night a bunch of us headed to Chinatown to celebrate Kristin’s birthday at a Chinese dumpling and noodle house. Despite the fact that they crammed about 18 of us into a space meant for 8 and despite the stools the size of dinner plates and despite the fact that they give you plastic cups for your wine, the food was quite good. We got TONS of dumplings and noodles (way too many in fact) and we all had BYO wine and/or beer and it only cost us $15 each! That is pretty damn cheap in this city. Afterwards we headed to the Gazebo Wine Bar for a glass or two. I had a great night, the only thing missing was Andrew (he was working).

Saturday night Veronica and Renee held a little Mexican themed girls cook off at their house. We each brought a Mexican themed dish (of course I brought guacamole) and we all shared some dinner and enjoyable conversation and laughter. They put together clever little games and had welcome drinks upon arrival. Veronica and Renee made my Sangria recipe and I’m happy to report it was just as good the second time around. It wasn’t just a one-time fluke, it really is an awesome sangria recipe! To top off the night the girls even got a pinata! I can’t remember the last time I hit a pinata, it was great! I think we all had a really fun time that night. Muy Bueno ladies!

Sunday I ventured out to the city to meet Natasha, Tracy and Salome to see Sex and The City 2. It was entertaining, but not nearly as funny as the first (in my opinion). I just thought a lot of it dragged on, but there were definitely cute moments. Although the movie was good, I think my favorite part of the day was when I saw a bride on George street. I saw her from behind and was so happy for her. I got that “awww, that will be me soon” thought in my head. As I was approaching her she turned and I’m pretty sure I gasped out loud when I practically saw the nips of her big honkin’ boobs that were spilling out of her way-too-small dress. OK… maybe I didn’t see nips- but it was about thisclose! I was apalled! But still, seeing a bride out on her wedding day- and then laughing at her horrendous choice in attire- was quite amusing. It gave me something to smile about, I just wish I had a camera!

Sunday evening I FINALLY got to hang with Andrew after barely seeing him for more than a few hours since Wednesday night. I was so happy to just sit on the couch with him for a bit before we drove to Mike and Hayley’s for a yummy taco, rice, beans and apple empenada feast! Mexican two nights in a row? Don’t mind if I do!

I had a great weekend. It was nice to get out and do something fun after being stuck inside for the last million days due to never-ending torrential downpoors. I wonder what next weekend will bring!

Girl in the Pink Boat May 19, 2010

On Saturday a record was broken. While the powers that be might not “officially” recognize this record, I think the rest of the world definitely does! Jessica Watson sailed her way into history, and into Sydney Harbour after 7 months alone at sea voyaging around the world. If you don’t know about her already, take a moment to check out her blog. It is amazing to think about what she has achieved. At 16 she spent 7 months all alone on a tiny little pink boat sailing the treacherous seas to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, non-stop and unassisted.

Imagine navigating the world on your own, facing 12 meter swells and never having a single day off. Imagine spending Christmas and New Year’s all alone. Imagine not standing on solid ground, seeing a single human being or eating fresh food for 7 months. SEVEN months!!

I have to admit, I didn’t follow her journey as she was sailing although now I wish I would have. Knowing what I know now about what she went through makes me realize it would have been awesome to follow her journey and watch her story unfold

Luckily we live in an amazing area so as she came sailing in to Sydney Harbour on Saturday, Andrew, Ben and I decided to walk down to Middle Head where we would have the best possible view to watch her cross the finish line between North and South Head. She was originally supposed to arrive back around11:00am, then it became 11:30 and by the time we arrived at Middle Head we found out it was going to be more like 12:30 due to a torn sail. Well, at nearly 2:00 pm, she FINALLY came sailing in surrounded by masses of other boats. I didn’t really mind that she was that late, I mean I really should give this girl some credit, right? I only wish we would have worn warmer clothes and packed a little picnic to enjoy while we were waiting and enjoying the beautiful view.

The moment we could see her little pink boat and the water canons started going off, a little chill ran down my spine. That’s when it hits you that this YOUNG girl is returning home after being out in that water for more than half the year. After she passed by where we were perched watching with other cheering onlookers we decided to try to walk home quickly to catch a glimpse of her arrival at Circular Quay on the news. Our timing was impeccable and we made it home about 5 minutes before she docked. What an amazing feeling she must have had that day. I can’t even begin to imagine any goal in my life amounting to the last 7 months of her life.

We simply sat there watching the water for hours that day, waiting to catch a glimpse of this little pink boat. Other than the lack of food and sweatshirts… it was a great way to spend the day.

Blast to my Past May 8, 2010

Friday night Andrew and I did something I haven’t done in a REALLY long time. We went and saw a local band play at a small little local band-type venue.  All of the shows I’ve been to in the last few years have primarily been big name, big cost events so it felt like I was walking back in time a bit. I felt a little sad when I first walked in. I used to love going to shows. My friends and I went to them ALL the time. It was a weekly ritual at one stage in our lives. Now I never go to shows. I never see bands period. I realized something yesterday… my concert days are completely OVER now that I moved to Australia. Like EVERYTHING else in this country, tickets to see bands are ridiculously priced and I just can’t justify spending $73 to see a band like Vampire Weekend. As great as it would be to see them, that price is exorbitant.

My nostalgic reminiscing quickly disappeared when the 2nd band came on stage. This is how they sounded…

ROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!

It was horrible. Repulsive. At one stage, the “singer” (is it even legal to call him that?) said “This song is called This is Hell.” I turned to Andrew and smiled excitedly and exclaimed “Kind of like my life right now.” It was a total Blair Waldorf moment.

In the end, the band we actually went to see came on and were quite good. Probably not my number one pick but they weren’t screaming like satan so that was a major step up from the previous band.

The atmosphere overall was really strange. There were so many types of people there. It wasn’t like the good old days of ska shows where all the kids were wearing their checkers and converse (while Jen and I dressed in our cute dresses and high heels). No, it was like this weird alter realm where Glamis, a Rage concert, a Fall Out Boy video and a Tony Hawke game  all came together in one confused universe. I wasn’t quite sure where I fit in in all of that mix. Additionally, I was reminded or made aware of quite a few other things last night:

1.  Shows are loud

2.  My feet and back hurt after standing in one place for 2 hours

3.  I will never understand how it is enjoyable to have sweaty long hair whipping in your face as you headbang

4.  Some girls need to look in the mirror before leaving the house

5.  Screaming is not a talent I ever aspire to master

6. People actually still mosh

In the end it was nice to get out and do something different for a change. It was nice to be whisked back 10 years to my days of seeing local bands. Those were some fun times.

Africa Week- Sand Dunes, Part 3 April 14, 2010

You probably thought I was done blogging about sand dunes and climbing and all that. I’m not.

I’ve got ONE more day to talk about. One more sandy, hilly day to write about, then I’m done. Done writing about mountains and hills and sand dunes and pain. But that also means I’ll be done writing about some of the greatest fun I’ve had throughout all my travels.

Our last day in Namibia consisted of getting up after sunrise (hallelujah) and jumping in a safari type vehicle for one last tour. We headed out to Sandwich Harbour on the Skeleton Coast. First a little info on the Skeleton Coast. We wondered where it got that name, but after driving a few kilometers, we quickly could SEE why. There were dead animals and skeletons everywhere. We saw a skeleton of a sea turtle, a seal corpse and craziest of all… HUMAN remains. I know that sounds nuts but there they were, just lying there on the sand.  Our guide explained that they are clearly VERY old from the towns that used to exist under the sand dunes and people just leave them be. Amazing! No, we didn’t get photos of human bones. I think we were all too shocked that we didn’t even think of pulling out the camera.

Anyways, back to the tour… The driver took us on a wild ride over the dunes. There was one point where we came screeching to a halt (if you could actually screech in sand) and within inches of the front of the vehicle, there was a steep drop off. All of us thought we narrowly escaped death. We couldn’t believe that the crazy driver came that close to going over the edge. When we all questioned “what do we do now?” and “where do we go from here” his reply was, “we go down.” WHAT? This guy must be mad!  But then we started down the hill. Granted, we went very slowly- but it was still crazy. The angle was SO steep, it definitely felt like we were on some sort of ride. We tried to get a photo, but the camera just cannot capture the depth and angle and of the dunes. Just look at how massive and amazing they are…

The rest of the day was spent observing nature and our surroundings. Sandwich Bay is home to thousands of flamingos and other birds. There was also a little lake right near the dunes and these massive fish kept jumping out of the water. Our guide told us that they jump to get away from their predators (sharks). It was amazing to think there were sharks in this small lake, but it was true- we even saw one with our own eyes.

Of course it wouldn’t be a day in Namibia without a hike up a massive sand dune. Even though we walked up so many dunes on our trip, they were all so different, its hard to explain. As always, running down the dune was much more fun than walking up!

Namibia wasn’t one of those places you go to sip cocktails and relax. I can honestly say that Namibia was probably the most physically and mentally challenging trip I’ve ever taken. Between waking up most days before the sun and climbing mountains and sand dunes every day- I was exhausted at the end of it all. Luckily we were able to enjoy one last beautiful evening in Namibia enjoying a sunset and a BBQ. I will forever have fond memories of this trip.  The laughter, sweat and tears (yes there were tears) all worked together to help make this a trip of a lifetime.

Africa Week- Sand Dunes, Part 2

Is it just me or is Africa Week lasting much longer than 1 week?

The morning after a day of climbing the dunes in Sossusvlei, we got on the road early to head to Swakopmund. We had to be there by 1:00 or so in order to make our appointment for quad biking and sandboarding. The drive was probably my favorite drive of the trip. There were just so many things to look at and the landscape was different after every hour of driving. We even saw completely wild giraffes. We made a little stop (we had a bit of time) to get out of the car and get closer to the giraffes. (Notice Andrew’s self-defense tools in case any of the nearby springbok decided to attack).

We then kept on driving which was when we blew out the tire.  We did NOT have time for this. We were already cutting it close if we wanted to make it to our quad biking tour so the guys worked quickly and efficiently to get the tire changed. We pulled into Swakopmund with NO time to spare. We had to eat though so we stopped and grabbed a sandwich that we scarffed down on the way to the quad biking place. Once we arrived, we quickly filled out our forms, put on our helmets and jumped on the bikes. Whew- we did not even have a moment to rest in all the mayhem.

Quad biking on the dunes was unbelievable! It was definitely one of my favorite things of the whole trip. The dunes were breathtaking! We had to stay in a single file line and follow the guide perfectly if we didn’t want to end up dropping off a 90 degree cliff here or there. Our only indication that death could be approaching was that the guide would just raise up his left hand and point to the drop off… after that you better watch out!

The bikes were SUPER fast. At certain points I was pretty freaked out but I just couldn’t slow down or stop because we had to stay in our line. I was forced to keep up but it made it so much more exciting. We actually would ride up the steep sides of dunes as well and I knew that I HAD to keep my speed up then because if I rode up those things going too slow, I’d just tip over. That would be no fun.

It’s REALLY hard to get a sense for how amazing these dunes were just from the pictures. The depth and height of them just doesn’t present well. You really had to be there to appreciate it.

After we were finished on the quad bikes we rushed back to the facility where there was a driver waiting to take us to the sandboarding site. Let’s remember that we had not had one moment’s rest since we woke up at 6:30am (sitting in a car for 5+ hours doesn’t count). We got to the sandboarding site and were greeted with some unpleasant weather. WIND. Massive amounts of horrible wind. Wind plus sand does not equal happiness. Wind plus sand plus trying to carry one of these boards up a giant sand dune… well, that was just brutal.

But coming down? That was SO much fun. If we could just come down over and over this would have been one of my favorite activities. Unfortunately there are no lifts so once you came down you just turned right back around and started walking up the dune, again. Over and over. More climbing. More hills. My legs HATED me by this point of the trip. The girls opted for the lie down boards and the boys mostly used the snowboards, but they did get a chance to ride on ours as well and I think they all thought it was much more fun to lie down. They even had a gun to clock our speed and at one point Andrew got up to 70kph on the lie down board! Pretty insane!

Sandboarding was tons of fun but after a few runs, you just do not have the energy to keep walking up those dunes. Oh and when you’re done, you pretty much have sand coming out of every crevice of your body for a week. Luckily the guides had lots of lovely snacks and cold beers for us to enjoy after all that hard work.  What an amazing day of sandy adventures!

Africa Week- Sand Dunes, Part 1 April 13, 2010

Did I mention that I hate hills? Oh yes, I did in THESE POSTS last week. Well, as if I hadn’t had enough climbing for one trip, Namibia brought us a whole new level of hills…

Sand dunes.

Let me point out that sand dunes are NOT easy to walk up. For every step you take, you slide back half of a step in the loose sand. Some of these can be REALLY steep as well.  Our first experience with dunes was in Sossusvlei- home of the highest sand dunes in the world. These were amazing. We got up before sunrise (I’d like to point out that we did this 5 out of 7 days in our last week in Africa) and drove to the national park  in Sossusvlei. We had to get there at sunrise in order to experience the amazing shadows and colors that occur in the early morning hours. I’d definitely say this part of the trip (specifically this day) allows me to cross off number 42 on my 101 list… Watch the sunrise.

We headed directly to Dune 45 which is one of the easiest dunes to access from the road. There were tons of people there trying to get a glimpse of this amazing wonder. We all decided to walk up the dune. More hills… I wasn’t thrilled; HOWEVER, this wasn’t a mountain- it was a sand dune. It would be totally different and really amazing at the top. I just knew it. Well, I got about halfway up and thought I was going to die. I’m not afraid of heights by any means but I think the combination of my heart pounding, my breath racing and the 45 degree angle drop to my left sent me into a panic. I pretty much freaked out and couldn’t look anywhere but straight down at my feet. I had to walk back down. I sucked. I did have the chance to get pretty high up, but I didn’t really take the time to enjoy it because I was too busy having a mild panic attack. The rest of the group kept climbing to the very top and once they were up there, they were all brave enough to run down the side of the dune. In my anxious state, I was unable to even contemplate joining them on this adventure but now I am sad I didn’t. I was able to calm down on all other dunes and those were quite fun to run and sandboard down (which I’ll post about later).

Here are some amazing photos of our first day at the Sossusvlei dunes.

What we were about to climb:

See the little tiny person at the tippy top in the photo below? I made it to about there before I freaked out and had to walk down. You can’t really tell, but in the back it curves and gets even higher. That’s where the rest of the group made it to. If you look closely at the top left of the dune, you can see some people running down the side.

These photos give you some perspective of how high up we were (and the slope of the dune):

Here are a few of Andrew running down from the very top of Dune 45. It’s pretty much impossible to fall down the dune. You just sink into the sand so it’s completely safe to run down. I was still too wussy to do it on this big one though.

Up next… sandboarding (down MORE dunes)!

Africa Week- Soggy Safari April 8, 2010

While in Africa, Andrew and I spent two days on our own up in Namibia near Etosha National Park. Our lodge that we stayed at was BEAUTIFUL. The bathroom was amazing and there was even an outdoor shower on the deck that overlooked the Ongava game park. We were so excited for our safari adventure, we could not wait to see animals.

Our rooms were right on the reserve and animals (lions) sometimes wander around between the rooms and the restaurant so we actually had to have an armed escort back to our room to keep us safe at night. Andrew loved it!

In our bathroom there was a bucket near the shower. The guy who took us to the room let us know that we should use that bucket to save water while we’re waiting for the shower to heat up. There was also a little card near the sink letting us know that Namibia is one of the driest countries in the world, so please conserve water. We got the point… dry country, need to save water.

Then it rained for two days.

Then the animals went into hiding.

Our safari sucked. We arrived on a Wednesday hoping to get in an evening game drive but we were too late. That’s ok, we had all day Thursday and Friday morning to see animals too. But then we woke up Thursday and it was wet. We still tried to go on a drive and we did see a few rhino, but for the most part we just were cold and miserable as the wind and rain pelted our bodies in the open top Safari vehicle. Our guide ended up turning back after an hour. Luckily it dried up that day and we were able to go out again in the afternoon to try to find more animals. We did see a few- but not many. Of the big 5 (lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo and rhino) we only saw a few rhino and 1 lion. Andrew thinks the lion didn’t even count since we saw it in the glow of floodlights drinking from the the man-made watering hole near the lodge. Friday morning was hopeless as well. It had rained even more Thursday night and so there was no point in even bothering with a drive. Instead of driving for animals we drove back to Windhoek to meet up with the rest of the group.

We’ve vowed to go back to Africa in the next 3-4 years to do a proper safari. Here are a just few of the best pictures we took:

Africa Week- Wine Tasting April 7, 2010

While in Africa, I got to check off number 43 from my 101 list- “go wine tasting again.” Kimbo planned an awesome day for us in the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek regions of South Africa (about a 45 minute drive from Cape Town). There’s not too much to say about wine tasting other than it was beautiful, delicious and we all got a tad boozy. It was quite a unique experience though, a bit different than most of my wine tasting adventures in the past. We hired a guy (and a friend) to drive us around in his taxi van all day so none of us would have to drive. You would not believe how cheap it is to hire a driver for a day in Cape Town!! Evidently though, drving 9 foreigners around all day is a tiring job.

The first winery we went to had AMAZING views and gave us lovely hummus with our wine.

The 2nd winery allowed you to pick the different types of wines you wanted to try- which was quite nice since we could sample many more varieties than we would normally be able to. Next we had a picnic lunch at one of the wineries and they brought out these big baskets of breads, cheeses, salads, pastries, dips and sweets. All the food was delicious and I absolutely stuffed myself.

We headed to one more winery after lunch but I was too full to even try anything. Finally we headed to one last place. It wasn’t exactly a winery, it was more like a really large outdoor restaurant/bar. It had the coolest atmosphere and we got some African face painting done and we each had a cocktail. Unfortunately we didn’t have much time to spend here because we only had our drivers until 7, so we packed up our things and headed off to dinner (which I STILL was not hungry for).

I’d definitely say that was one of the best wine tasting experiences I’ve ever had!