Our last hurrah It’s been just 3 days that Ailidh has had to survive alone in Bali before my arrival. In that time, she has fallen down a hole, gotten sun burnt again and vomited underwater. Thank goodness I’m here. We have had a week apart, and my arrival in the little town of Canggu,... Continue Reading →

(Don't worry mum, it's not what you think). As Pablo and Carlito lay out the helmets and hiking sticks on the rocks at the starting point of our volcano hike, I start to wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew. I’m a member of a very clumsy family, so as a... Continue Reading →

That’s why we couldn’t stay there “How are you with spiders?” Says Holly, my Tasmanian buddy as we put our things in her spare room. “Not the best” I reply. “Oh, ok I won’t tell you what I found in your room last night then”. Brilliant. If that weren’t bad enough, the conversation moves on... Continue Reading →

With no men involved. As usual. Our Fiji tale begins, as it must, with the Moana theme tune. The realisation that I only have the crappy pop version comes at the worst possible moment - as we’re about to set sail and there’s no WiFi to download it. Oh god no. Ailidh saves us from... Continue Reading →

And then all the way back up again I have decided I want to do a multi-day hike because I’ve never done one before. There’s one you can do from Arequipa to the Colca Canyon and I’ve been researching what it’s like, and trying to decide whether to do the 2 day, 1 night version,... Continue Reading →

A tale of two halves.... I awake to my Fitbit vibrating alarm at the unearthly hour of 07:15 and wake Ailidh with a grunt. We have a mutual agreement not to speak or make any kind of eye contact in the mornings - a rule, that if broken on a particularly early morning, could put... Continue Reading →

A cautionary tale “You look like you went out last night” says Nicholas the walking tour guide the moment he looks at my face*. Everyone else waiting for him in the hostel reception gets a simple “hello”, maybe a “how are you?” Mike gets a kind of weird ghetto handshake, but then he is special.... Continue Reading →

“This is Chris, but we call him T-Rex – big body, tiny arms” “If Chris is your tandem instructor, expect some incredibly close-up shots of your own face”. In the 20 or so minutes I have been at the Australian Skydive Centre in Torquay, they’ve already managed to make us feel at ease. I admit... Continue Reading →

One of my better life choices this year (2019) was the decision to stay for 4 days on the beautiful Tuscan island of Elba. I can't really remember how the idea to go there popped into my head - but it turned out to be a great one.  Located in the Tyrrhenian Sea’s Tuscan Archipelago National... Continue Reading →