Thoughts And Recollections Of A Tree Spirit

Happy Birthday Mat & Irina

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

Ok, so for anyone that checks in on my blog regularly you will know that I am backdating this post but I wanted to have it on the correct date.

I’d like to wish my beloved Mat a fantastically happy 30th birthday and my good friend Irina a happy birthday also. The higher powers above decided the 31st January was worthy of a double blessing :-)

happy Pictures, Images and Photos

Mat and I are currently in Canberra for a joint celebration with Kat’s sister who is also 30 on Tuesday but is having her party today. Irina and Chris are currently in the UK and just nine days away from the first predicted date of the birth of their first child (no news yet).

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!

31.01.2009 Uncategorized 2 Comments

Warriewood Blowhole

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

Last weekend we all decided to go on a mission to check out the Warriewood Blowhole properly as it was such a nice day. Mat and I have been before but to see it properly it involves climbing over the edge of a cliff down a rope and I didn’t have the courage so always waited behind.

This time I was determined to conquer my fear of heights and go for it, as nothing could be as bad as the fifty metre Diamond fire lookout tree I climbed in Western Australia, which I am yet to write about. The Blowhole is located on the south cliff of Warriewood beach and is a tunnel going all the way through the cliff which you can swim through. You get to it by walking through a reserve and ignoring the danger sign that warns of a dangerous cliff edge and advises to keep away etc. etc. There is a path that goes down to the cliff and then all the way round the cliff to the other side. To get down to the blowhole you have to climb down two ropes onto ledges further down the cliff which then enable you to scramble down to it.

There is then a little ledge about fifteen feet above the narrow inlet that you can jump off, into the water, making sure you time it correctly so you jump into a wave as it comes through. I think you have to be careful about height of the tide as well, but it was fine when we got there. The rope descent was no where near as bad as I thought it would be and in actual fact was dead easy.

Here you can see Mat preparing to jum off the ledge into the water with Nick and Kat in the background. The second picture shows the height of the cliff behind and also some people in the background climbing up the bottom rope:

Here you can see (more…)

17.01.2009 Beats, Kazakhstan, Personal, Pictures, Videos 2 Comments

Swimming in the Elements

Monday, January 12th, 2009

So far I have gone swimming every day before work. I am really enjoying it and go into the office every morning beaming like a cheshire cat. It has taken the place of my daily walk up Leckhampton Hill before work in the UK.

Going the same time daily (just before 7.30am) it has been interesting to observe the slowly rising tide each day. The beaches here are nothing like the ones in the UK with their vast difference between low and high tide. I haven’t ever noticed much difference in amount of beach to the sea unlike Britain where you might need binoculars to see the sea at low tide.

On Monday the rock baths were like normal swimming pools with only the occasional big wave causing a little splash at the end. Tuesday and Wednesday saw a lot of seaweed gathering on the bottom of the far end where it had been washed in. So much so that instead of doing lengths I did widths at the nearest end to avoid getting it all wrapped round me, not to mention the unpleasant tickling sensation that made me wonder if it was something else creepy crawly like.

On Thursday the waves were more ferocious, sweeping over the pool edges and causing the water to swirl about in conflicting directions. I found myself racing the last couple of metres at the end so I could turn round before another wave threatened to hit me in the face. That was nothing compared to Friday though; as I walked down the beach I could see the level of the water had submerged the path leading to the baths and instead of putting my things on the stone bench at the side I followed others’ examples and left them on a sheltered ledge of rock further up.

It was like swiming in a washing machine. Waves were coming in from the bottom then hitting the wall and coming back again meeting more waves and clashing in the middle. I had to be careful not to swim too near the edge incase I got swept against the sides. After I got out I took this mini video:

What I really like about swimming in the rock baths is the raw experience of the elements. It’s all there: the air around you, especially when it’s windy; the fire from the sun, even in the early morning it can be very powerful; the sea and the waves encapsulating you in water; and the surrounding rock and cliffs for earth.

I find it a very powerful experience and go to work feeling charged and full of energy. Nature’s energy is all around us and I think if you stop and take notice of it, you can tap into it and absorb it into your own energy field. It’s like an infinite reserve available to everyone if you know it’s there, consciously or not.

12.01.2009 Personal, Videos No Comments

First Day Back At Work In 2009

Monday, January 5th, 2009

Firstly, HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone. I hope everyone’s christmas holidays were as good as mine.

I will have to go through the few photos I took over the holiday period and post them later. We didn’t go away in the end (we were going to go on another Suzuki camping trip to Bendethra), deciding we would prefer to relax and enjoy our new home whilst unpacking and tidying some more.

Nick and Kat went away the day after boxing day and Kat only came back on Saturday (Nick stayed on a bit longer) so we had the place to ourselves for a week. We spent a lot of time lazing around, swimming at the various beaches in our area and partying. Although I didn’t do a lot of things I had planned like painting, emailing friends, blogging etc, I am letting myself off the hook because life is too short to keep beating myself up over not doing things I think I should have done. The main aim is to enjoy life and I did, so it’s all good.

One thing I really enjoyed discovering over the holidays was the rock baths at Avalon Beach. They are two swimming pools (one baby and one adult) built into the rocks at the south end of the beach that naturally fill with the tide. Most beaches have them but for some reason I have never bothered to swim in them before, in fact considering we live by some of the best beaches in the Sydney area (some would argue the best in Australia but I think they are just biased) neither of us have been swimming very much at all in the last year.

Anyway, these rock baths are fantastic because you are effectively still swimming in the sea but do not get half drowned by the huge waves or have to worry about rips etc. You still get the wonderful ocean view and every now and then a big wave will crash over the side of the pool, creating a nice spray and ensuring the water is kept moving. I should have taken some pictures of it and will see what I can do about that tomorrow.

As today was my first day back at work I decided I would start as I mean to go on and go for a swim before work. It was a beautiful morning and having got up at 6am I had plenty of time to potter about and then go to the beach at 7.15am. It was so refreshing when I got in the water and I did about six to eight lengths (I lost count) before deciding I better head off to work. There was a clean water shower that I used to get rid of all the salt before changing into my work clothes in the changing room and then driving straight to work.

I’m very glad I made the effort to go for a swim as when I got to work I felt really good, unlike a few people who were not happy to be back after enjoying the holiday so much.

05.01.2009 Personal No Comments