Our way

Well, It is time for us to be on our way! A new adventure calls! Brad and I have 3 months long service leave and depart our sunny FNQ shores for the land of tapas, sangria and oranges on April 2.

It will be a pilgrim life for 6 weeks. The plan is to hike  'The way of St James'. 835.2 km, starting in St Jean Pied de Port in France, across the Pyrenees and finishing at the coast of Cape Finesterre, Spain. With just our backpacks and hiking poles, we hope to cover 20 to 30 kms a day. A true pilgrim will not seek the creature comforts; instead keeping life simple by staying in monasteries and albergues  along the route. Some of the highlights, we are looking forward to include; the Monuments of Estella; famous for its red wine dispensing tap,the legendary stained glass of Leon's cathedral, wine tasting around Logrono and of course our arrival at Santiago de Compostela. (the official end of the pilgrimage)

Our hope is to have a sojourn to Krakow and Prague before we board our ship for an expedition around the arctic on June 5. 

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/norway/spitsbergen-explorer-2016-2017-92195, For itinerary.

What is an adventure without a road trip? From June 16, we are hiring a camper (10 days) and making our way around the Ring rd in Iceland. A little side trip to Greenland before we leave Scandinavia for sunnier places.

 In true gypsy spirit, we will go where ever the mood takes.  Adios!

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In the world kitchen! Norfolk nibbles!

Norfolk Island is a tiny island in the South Pacific Ocean located between Australian, New Zealand and New Caledonia. On this sleepy, little isle; the cows and chickens roam free. Norfolk Islanders actually invented the joke " Why did the chicken cross the road"! Fresh fruit and vegetable produce is sold at little, road side, honesty stalls, freshly caught fish can be bought straight off the boat at Kingston pier and the local butcher sells his wares at the Saturday market. Greenies eat your heart out! The supermarket imports food stuffs on the tourist planes that land every couple of days. Not a great variety and quite expensive. 
For our Christmas day celebratory meal, we decided to take up the offer of a local hotel resort of a picnic hamper. Delicious menu comprised of Tahitian fish salad, honey glazed ham, roast chicken, beef and pork, salad, bread rolls and a tasting plate of sweet mini desserts. A bottle of bubbly of course! A lovely day was spent high up on the cliff overlooking Kingston Bay! 

 Here are recipes for Two signature dishes of Norfolk Island.


Tahitian Fish Salad!

Ingredients;
- 2 white fish fillets,
-green and red capsicum chopped,
-chopped onion, tomato and cucumber,
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3 limes

Method;
Cut fish into slivers and
marinate in lime juice for 20 mins.
Drain the juice, add vegetables to fish.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add chilled coconut milk 5 minutes before serving. ( keep in Fridge)
Serve on bed of lettuce or in a coconut shell.



Coconut Tart

Ingredients;
4 eggs,
1 cup desiccated coconut,
2 cups of milk,
1 cup of sugar,
1 tab of butter,
1 sheet of shortcrust pastry.

Method;
Beat eggs, sugar, coconut and butter together. Add milk and stir well. Pour into tart tin lined with short crust pastry. Bake in moderate oven until filling is set.




Enjoy!

Norfolk History!

Prior to being the main course for the Hawaiian Islanders, Cook stumbled across a spec of an island in the South Pacific on his second circumnavigation of the world in 1774.  Cashed up due his benefactor back in the motherland, Mary Howard, (Duchess of Norfolk), Cook remembered that the pounds keeping him afloat relied upon the Duchess getting something named after her.  So, with the lure of the pound, Cook christened the isle "Norfolk".  The irony is that Mary passed away before she was aware of her namesake!

Like an uncut, blood diamond; the islands history is one of depravity, human suffering, isolation, mutiny and a pioneering spirit.  After losing the colonies of the Americas in 1776 and having  nowhere to send their excess scum, Great Britain decreed that the settlements of Port Jackson and Norfolk would commence.  So in 1788, six weeks after the establishment of Port Jackson, Norfolk Island was settled and the gates of hell were opened.

Rugged cliff faces stand as sentinels, thousands of kilometres of ocean mocked the notion of return, sociopaths wearing the red of authority governed and human existence was debased by the noose, bayonet, lash, irons and sodomy.  Here, convicts were excreted and smeared across the landscape.

Two archaic periods of penal settlement crushed the lifeless souls of those held within the island.  As a penal settlement, its goal was to dehumanise and to allow debouched fantasies to become mainstream.  Raffles of the flesh were held - here zombie eyed, naked, female convicts danced; raffle numbers painted on their backs; prisoners were forbidden to communicate with each other, lashed men’s skin arced and wept. 36 lashes were given out for keeping a tame bird – even Jesus only got 39 lashes and he was supposedly the ‘King of the Jews.’

Such was the reputation of the island that petitions were accumulating for the closure of the penal settlement. As fate would have it, a group of mutineer descendants were to get one of the greatest gifts ever given by a monarch.  These descendants of the Bligh Mutiny, stuck on Pitcairn Island; had out grown their little hovel and petitioned Queen Victoria for somewhere else to live. Timing is everything and with the tide turning against human transportation, Norfolk as a penal settlement was closed and gifted to the mutineer's issue. The Pitcairners first stood upon Kingston’s pier in June 8 1856. With a light in their eyes; they marvelled at their new home.

The rest, they say is history, with over 1600 people inhabiting the island today and over 40% of the population being Pitcairners and hence of Bounty mutineer descent. 

Japanese Jaunt! 5 days in Kyoto!

Konnichiwa!

At $250 return fare each, who could resist?
 It was a short adventure, so we focused on exploring Kyoto.  Once the capital of Japan; this unique city is famous for it's Buddhist temples, gardens, shrines and palaces. It is also known for traditional cuisine and of course the Geisha of the Gion district.

 K's House was our accommodation of choice. A very central, upmarket hostel with English speaking staff. Our private room had an en suite and the bar/restaurant had a daily happy hour. One of our favourite things about travel is the diverse fare. To our culinary delight, we feasted on yakitori, okonomiyaki, teppanyaki and gyoza; all  washed down with the likes of  Kirin, Asashi or sparkling Sake.

We spent the days exploring and hiking, what an invigorating way to kick off our Camino training! We went on a gorgeous hike through cedar forest from Kibune to Kurama, explored Arashiyama bamboo forest, followed the philosopher walk, meandered around Gion and hiked the length of the 10,000 Torii gates of the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine.
Our reward to our hard working muscles was a relaxing onsen!

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Short but very sweet!

Intrepid Canada. Rocky Mountains!

Not for the faint hearted; this trip is full of long road expeditions and chores. We decided on this tour because we wanted to get back to nature and with the bear threat; thought that a guide might come in useful. (if for nothing else but a bear sacrifice). As it turned out, we sighted a total of 2 bears on the side of the road and we mainly camped in RV camps. We spent a maximum of 2 days in each camp, which meant putting the tent up and down many times. Not that we minded, but after a long day on the road, sightseeing and hiking; setting up camp and cooking dinner was the last thing we felt like doing. The division of chores was supposed to be evenly distributed but some fellow travellers did not pull their weight.

In hind sight, we would have been better off renting a van and making our own way round. It would have been lovely to spend more time in Jasper and Banff. After we hiked and visited the mountain tops, there was not much time left over to chill out and explore these towns. The last few days of the tour were a complete waste, the long bus journeys did not reward us with picturesque views but ordinary suburban town - Golden  and 'Tinaroo Dam gone wrong' Kamloops.

Still, we did have a wonderful time in the great out doors of the Canadian Rockies. Hiking, canoeing and zip lining as well as experiencing the spectacular scenery.

A big thanks to our beautiful guide Jen. A hardworking, gutsy girl who drove us safely around the spectacular countryside. Word up to our tour mates Beaver Anne, Bec the golden beach babe, Bagel man Tom, Energizer Claudio, All rounder Tay, Door bitch Tom, Cougar food mumma Shah, Headbutt Hannah, Hobnob Caroline, Early Bird Megs and Eloping Stef.
Cheers!

Circle of life!

Butterflies flutter,
just beyond grasp.
Counting moments,
not months.

Egg,
Larvae,
Chrysalis,
Of age!

The spark of life,
so fragile.
Graceful, fortitude
and love.

A winged blossom,
social and liberated.
A butterfly kiss.

Soaring with aspiration,
sunshine and song.
Swiftly dancing
where the heart
may freely lead.

Exquisite fairies,
The symbol of life.
Metamorphosis.

Traveling Canada! Handy hints!

When to go!
- Warmest weather - June/July
- For winter sports - November to April
- For Whale watching - May to September
- To see Aurora - January to March

Tipping rules!
-15-20% of bill to for waitstaff
- $1 a drink to bar staff
-$1-2 for porters
-$2-5 a day for tour guides
-10-15% of fare for taxi drivers
                                                             

Food to try!
Poutine, salmon, game meats, maple syrup, beaver tail, moose burger and Tim Horton's donuts.
                                                           




BASIC CANADIAN (English & French language)
Dollar coin - Looney
2 dollar coin - Tooney
Foolish person - Hoser
Kilometres - Clicks
Bathroom - Washroom
Soda - Pop
Bottle of Liquor -Mickey
Coffee with milk and 2 sugars - Double double