vikki5678

Arrived into sunny, warm Lyon today for a week long skiing holiday - great view from the plane of flat green farmland all around? Where the heck are the mountains? Those of you who know me will be thinking that is typical of Little Miss Geography Teacher !! I had a fair idea of where I was headed but expected to be able to see evidence of hills and snow from the aeroplane - it was at that point I realised I probably had a long bus journey ahead of me in search of some snow that was worthy of hiring skis!! Sitting at the exit definately has its advantages - extra leg room being the main one but I also managed to be first off the plane and the first to get my luggage and ... read more

With only having a short time in Austrialia I thought I should cram as much as possible. Organised a trip along the Great Ocean Road and a wildlife trip to see the Phillip Island penguins. The Great Ocean Road trip turned out to be a geographers/geologists/photographers dream. We got to see wild kangaroos that have made their home on a private golf course, as well as a wild Koalas. The main part of the trip was to see the amazing coastal scenery that Victoria is famous for. Victoria as in the state in Austrialia - not me! The following day the trip consisted of visitng a wildlife sanctuary which involved getting up close and personal with orphaned wombats, kangaroos, koalas and not so personal with dingos Phillip Island was the next stop to see tiny timid ... read more

Well I am lovin' Melbourne. Everyone said I would and I do! The city is very cosmopolitan, there are cafes and shops galore. At the weekend there is street theatre and market stalls. I have spent the last few days soaking up the international atmosphere. I went to see a film at the International film festival last night. The film was based in Glasgow and made me a little home-sick! I got over it quick enough wiht the help of a banana, chocolate + cream crepe! Today I visited the neighbours studio and Ramsey Street and later tonight I go the infamous neighbours night with some of the stars. Hopefully I should have some photos to put on the website soon. I have been very good and managed to avoid the shops and instead I ... read more

After deliberation, I decided to go back to the Remarkables for another days' skiing.  I had enjoyed the first day so much and my skiing had come on heaps in a short space of time so I hired all the gear again and headed up the mountain. At the end of my last lesson the instructor said I was about a level 3B so I went along for my morning lesson and stood in the 3B line.  We headed straight up the hill and went for a test-run to make sure all the 3As & Bs had assigned themselves to the correct ability group.  Well I had managed to forget almost everything from the previous days skiing and was tkaing it a little too slowly for the 3B group and I was demoted :( This must ... read more

A more reasonable start this morning a cushie 9.50am pick-up from my hostel by the kayak instructor Wayne. Yes, I am going kayaking again - this is the one place I was determined to have a go at it before I even arrived in N.Z. so despite being on many kayak trips already, I booked a full day trip - surely I should be good at it by now.... This is the furthest south I have been on my trip and this was also set to be the coldest trip I had been on to date, so I was pretty pleased that the kayak folk had lovely matching stripey thermal gear to dress up in as well as fleeces, beanies (hats) and spray jackets in a fabulous shade of purple. Back in a tandem kayak - ... read more