Once a hiker - ALWAYS a hiker...?

 

Apparently after you’ve climbed Kilimanjaro you kind of can’t help but feel pretty invincible, maybe not invincible but rather pretty impressive and as such you cannot wait for the next hike you’ll undertake - it won’t be as intense nor as trying, or as physically demanding – but that’s not really what it’s about.

As such, I and my backpack…were keen-as to get back out there, and we decided along with buddy, ANITA & her new backpack, we were going to undertake Wilsons Promontory, the most southern point of Australian mainlaind. One of the blogs described a scene where there was nothing between her and South Africa at that point…I wanna be THERE...between you and me there was only sea... (POET! - Watchout Shakespeare!;-))

 So after months of threatening and a week of planning, we were off…on Friday the 4^th of October…

**the previous paragraph was written before we departed for our travels – the following is post return***

Our bags were packed and my buggy loaded. My sister being half my size maybe even a third, had a pack bigger (possibly better) than mine – but we distributed our supplies for the 3 days of hiking-in and hiking-out equally, no, we distributed it fairly amongst the two bags. Did I say how much planning I had put into this camp? Did I mention I had climbed Kilimanjaro?!

Anyway after a good little trip down to the PROMONTORY, we set off with our bags on backs. The first day wasn’t going to be too long nor too hard, the 2^nd and 3^rd days would be the bigger and the longer ones. Day one was mainly downhill, we met some cool people and drank a good amount of water – I was KEEEN to get my new tent up, and use my hiking stove, but the walk was wondrous and everything I expected. We cruised down to Sealers Cove – which after 3 hours was a sight for sore eyes, legs and backs… we popped our packs down took our shoes off and the soft white sand was like … sooooft white sand, between my toes. We ate a carrot or two and nibbled a raisin, we continued along the beach to the campsite on the other end, crossed over the river and found a quaint little spot just off from the THEN clean loo/toilet/lavatory/ablution.
We got this, we SO got this!! To my dismay my sister comes over and asks where I saw that there was water here?

I back track, backtrack.. back track as my minds-eye sifts through and summarises all the blogs, maps and information I read… WHERE did I read it… experienced hikers, know how to make water drinkable etc etc..WHY didn’t I go back for my water purification tablets…? oo wait…yes, you climbed Kilimanjaro….? You became both stingy (for the price in the City) and equally confident that we will find them at the shop when we registered at the start of the hike…and would then have no choice BUT to buy them -  WHY then did we not go into that shop….?!?!

Uuum I don't know….I read so many things, it's a blur now. Wait, there in my papers… look, it doesn’t say that they have water… it just says Mnt Oberon's campsite does NOT have water… ... ... ASSUMPTION - the mother of all…we laughed a little, I cried inside.

We came up with a game plan which was a game CHANGER, and as two grown, responsible adults, we accepted that we cannot do the hike-in hike-out with the amount of water we had left over, i.e NOTHING -what WAS I THINKING honestly! We were to keep that for the morning and drink the water from our cans of chickpeas ...every bit should help.Waste not want not...well I didn't really want it...so wasting seemed a viable option but I didn't feel I was in a strong  bargaining position with LIFE! chickpea juice in my belly...yummy yummy. When the sun went down or was close to going down, we were locked up in our tent in our sleeping bags waiting for an acceptable time to be classified as sleeping-time 19:30 it was for me.

That night I slept like I was in a coma but still we were disturbed by a little rat-like creature, potentially a bilbil… trying to steal any food pocketed in the sides of the tents – I had the situation under control, once I woke up and understood the situation... with my headlamp and reflexes of a cat - this rat-like guy had no chance (just shoo-d it away (shoo shoo!!) I didn't hurt it don't worry he found food elsewhere...at another tent).  As the sun creeped in we took our time and started the walking the same way we came – very different experience going back (what went down yesterday had to go up today) and in the rain. *blood sweat tears, maybe not so much blood, sweat & tears yes.. *pure bliss.

We decide to forfeit our trip due to lack of wilderness (as result of my bad reading skills….One can pass a Masters degree and climb Kili but one cant read basic instructions) and not wanting to sleep in a family camping ground, you know, patch of grass? We decide to trek home and camp in my flat - BABU BURGER AND HUNGER GAMES was the flavour of the day – what a great flavour it was. We ‘camped’ in my flat for the next few days as we adventured to parts and places in Victoria that I count myself lucky for seeing and experiencing! Eating all our camping foods and drinking as much water as I wanted!!

From Wilsons Promontory to the Mornington Peninsula and Tulip farms, to the Art Galleries, gardens and Torquay - in search of scones, sunshine, peace and waves (we never search for happiness...happiness finds US! ;-p ) - was the beautiful start to a month of adventure, to share life and lessons, to touch base and forget about the rest of the world - how lucky to laugh so much and so often with my Sibling, Anita.
 

CAR BANTER (On the road home from day trip to Mornington Peninsula, Cape Schenck):

 

ANITA: Where will our next outting be?

ILSE: I dooont know it will be spontaneous, we come up with these things randomly or in the moment – those are the best

– when you plan these things they fail..

ANITA: uhum…? (Wilsons...too much planning)

ILSE & ANITA: Bah  ha ha ha ha ha ha.

LOVE. x 

 

as HIP as Melbourne lets me be.

Melbourne.

Last time I wrote I declared my awful realisation that I was a city girl… I’ve realised since, true – maybe, not so true – possibly…BUT I’ve figured out we’re all just a different kind of city which makes a different spectrum of HIP…sters…

I’m a hipster…but who isn’t…you know doing hipster things…so easily done when you’re living in the most liveable city in the world – enter MELBOURNE #i<3melbourne o:p="">

So I’m sure we’ve established that there really is NO definition of what a hipster is. Simply defined, I’ll say – hipster, hip-stir: one who lives in Melbourne.

Every barista is a hipster, the barman the front office guy, the previously defined ‘emo-kid’ behind the Coles register is a hipster… the old homeless guy wearing the Salvos, funky boots and corduroy pants is hipster, and that chick that wears glasses #geekischic is a hipster, but especially the one who wears glasses and has 20/20 vision…the one without the lenses?…Pretty much what I am saying is, NONE of us ARE hipster, but we ALL are actually...if you got a touch o style, but still your own style… if you love the city life, but love the uniqueness of doing your own thing, you love the ‘boutique’ things, you go to the markets, buy your food from the vegetable shop as opposed to Coles… or you have your little coffee joint that’s NOT a Gloria Jeans or a Coffee Club…you’re so NOT mainstream, and…well…you LIVE in Melbourne…#SOhipster

So in the past week in Melbourne, I’ve been free as a lark (hipsters stay fresh by saying cool things like LARK and not bird)! And I’ve well, been living the life of a Hipster… except, NOT making any money (I’m pretty sure that is a category for a HARD CORE-Hipster). I’ve been on a whirlwind food wine, beverages, and socialite gatherings, one could say I was BINGING on the GOODLIFE….rooftops bars #nakedinthesky , beer gardens #collegelawn #$3beers #ilovejamessquire . Trying out the latest coffee stops, as they open every day on every corner there’s a new one here #2lostboys and an old favourite there #tusk #2birdsonestone, all serving different coffees #5seeds #stAli #dukes in different ways, #piccolos, #machiatto, #babycino, Magic coffees…#ristrettomeetspiccolomeetstulipcup. Meeting fellow hipsters barmen that are baristas that are working 3 jobs, waiter barista barman, (probably part of a band, or owns a guitar?!) hanging out with those in the industry, meeting new people #ESPRESSOMartinis, #espressomartinisAREmelbourne. Cheap happy hour beers at #HolyGrail,  Vietnamese cuisine down the road, anyplace with a good beat and even better vibe #HanoiHannah, going to new places with old faces #touchwood #<3hospitality font="">

 

Wearing the boots, wearing the scarf, the sunnies and the earphones, (if I could skate I would…that’s a RAD hipster) listening to music trying out the latest boutique drink and talking to staff about the newest organic trends…newest coffees, use of sustainable stuff… and all the REALLY good places that are hidden in the laneways, the ones that are HARD to find, but somehow make more money and are more successful than those that aren’t so ‘hard to find’… the ones that didn’t make it into the ALL FAMOUS AGFG #australiagoodfoodguide

I’m so hipster I wake up in the morning and drink my green juice #juicingisfun #ilovejuicing #greenjuicesforever #healthnut.

Eggs poached here bene there – can we please go back to normal bene?! #hamhockisoverrated

#ham #hollandaise #softpoached #englishbreakfastmuffin #ifitaintbrokewhyfixit

I guess what I’m trying to say is…there is so much going on in my head, as a new found hipster, I just want people to UNDERSTAND me…(enter the HASHTAG) I think hipsters are so misunderstood…. (not easily defined) the hipster generation, might be compared to the HASHTAG generations, we all saw the Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon hashtag mockery, which I thought was GREAT… because now people can know your AFTER thoughts, when we are at a loss for sentences but not for words… so we’ve shortened all our words in the dictionary luv, lol, u, ur, etc…now we get to talking non-full sentences and just with thoughts or sarcasm? #iLOVEsarcasm

I reckon a good hipster…is whatever you want it to be #everyoneinmelbourneisahipster Melbourne IS hipster.

Hashtagging…makes my mind SPIN #toomanythoughtsinmyhead. Now our own thoughts really needn’t just be our own. #nowyouTOOcanhearmethink! :p

#ventover

#lovingmelbourne

#imsooverhashtagging

Essentially My goal with this blog was to write… for fun and 'get amongst' the hashtagging... HASHTAG as much as I could #icouldhavetaggedALOTmore

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am NOT a "city-girl"...but...

“You’re moving to Melbourne! – You’ve always been more of a city girl than I have…” NO I HAVEN’t?! what gives you that idea…?
Where are you from? “I’m from Cairns”, “I’m from Brissy”, I..I’m from Melbourne…. “Ohh wicked, hows the city life?” IVE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR 8months… who are you kidding Ilse… you’re a city girl…

You might not wear the heals the big red lips, the suit or the late night parties… but… you walk, nay.. SPEED walk/strut down the street…because you missed your tram… you catch a cab because you’re running late… and the rain… well that just won’t do… you’re a city girl….

You don’t leave the house without you i’Pod’ or some musical device plugged into you anti-social walking ears and your Myki Card, don’t forget the $4 emergency-coffee-change in your pocket… You’re so city you don’t know where your next coffee fix might be…it might even and most probably will be before you reach your coffee date…you’re just, so CITY!

You live 20 minutes out of the city but you’re still…city… YOU are part of what makes Melbourne a multicultural HUB…you and your funny accent… “what is that anyway….?” South African….its SOUTH AFRICAN mate!!” …

To prove to myself how NOT city I am…I escape the city… I escape the hustle and the bustle of the LIVELY ‘big-city’ life, running away from the draw of the pop up bars, pubs, boutique beers, local wines, sustainable coffees and ever-satisfying eggs-benedict’s (how many ways can you poach and coat eggs & ham…) you’re SO DAMN CITY that you’re not only a coffee snob but an eggs benny CONNOSIER?!

I runaway not to the hills as they seem to do in the movies but to the Great Ocean, Great Ocean Road. I check my tyres of my little dune buggy (it looks like a DUST dune- I’m SO city… my car just accumulates dust parked in my STACKER parking under my building as I drive it once a week). I stop at the garage and check my tyres even change a tyre, and hit the road, 2 hours down the GOR (Great Ocean Road).
I’m off…wash this city off and out of me… OBVIOUSLY I plug in my GPS…because how else will I get out of this CITY, the REAL city. I cruise and stop at another garage 20 minutes or so out of the city juuust to double check my tyres… ALLLL sweet paranoid city-girl.

Off I go. I try to make the journey quicker and skip the first part of the GOR go mainland… so DORA (the explorer) my GPS, doesn’t like this idea and wants me back on GOR, I concur and turn left, I turn left, OK DORA IM TURNING LEFT!!!! And we head down a small little 16km stretch of road of nothing…through the usual trees and vegetation you find on these roads. Some gumtrees and the trees you expect to find Koalas in and shrubs you expect to find KANGAROOS spontaneously jumping out from behind and in front of your car… that’s what happens out here you know… Anyway we cruise.
Dora is quiet, because I am doing it HER way (FEMALE!) and 15km to go… O…Sh@#...petrol… I need that… YOU ARE SO BLOODY CITY THAT YOU FORGOT TO CHECK HOW MUCH FUEL YOU HAD… you’ve stopped at 3…not ONE…. 3 garages… and not ONCE did you THINK about filling up…I’m empty… like really its empty…it’s on the line that shows empty… you know the LAST line… all I hear is my mums voice… “I can still drive (x) amount once my light goes on…” What was the amount of (x)?! And oh oh no wait YOU LEARNT THIS THE HARD WAY BEFORE…. You. Do. Not. HAVE a petrol light!
Knocked the city right out of me and I started PRAYING… for the next 12 km to END at a PETROL STATION….You’re so city -you just jump on and off your silly little city trams and trains… it doesn’t work that way in YOUR car smart-ass!!

You’ll all be happy to know that I came around the 12 km bend and pushed another 6 or 8 km (holding my breathe) pretty sure it was chugging, but I filled it up and sighed a massive sigh of relief.
At that moment I realised… I am sooo city

And that’s what makes this breakaway soooo much more amazing than NOT being city – because I can. Tomorrow I head back to my city-life, taking with me some new found energy and realisation of how luxuriously easy and convenient our city lives actually are, hopefully I’ve refuelled my common sense and gained some brains in the process.

SURPRISE!!!

SURPRISE!!!

Look its me again, back at this blog. How absolutely crazy is this, its been MORE THAN a whole year since my last post here...no honestly...the last time I posted was January 15th...2011..TWO THOUSAND AND ELEVEN..RIDICULOUS.

That could potentially have been some pinnacle moments of 'travelling to the top' so I will try and catch up in a nutshell.... get you up to steam and see if we can pick up where we left off. Some of you might be aware, I did start a new blog elsewhere http://toasttao.wordpress.com/ which is more of just a place where I can play with what I see feel and eat on more regular basis. Travelling to the top has well more to do with the road of some sorts.

ANYWAY lets crack open this nutshell.... the last time I wrote (digitally) I had just started my job at SPICERS Peak lodge... it was flooded and life was GREAT, I had also only recently kicked off my MBA and yea.... since then I am now on my 2nd last subject for MBA, I have moved jobs twice, promoted to banquets/events SUPERVISOR at the HYATT, was there for a year (no commitment issues here!),went home to SA, climbed the highest mountain in AFRICA... cam back and moved to Melbourne within a month... now I live in a city...in small bachelorette pad (a SMALL studio apartment with an oven, stove and ironing board...?) joking!! ha ha and a remote control FIREPLACE!!! oooo YEA... I am now an Assistant Restaurant Manager and yea...the travelling continues and the top gets closer.

As i type this now, I am busy with a Uni assignment, and hence I have (have not) the time to write this post... (we cannot control when we feel inspired... but i KNOW - its always when I am supposed to be studying!!)

So, I am going to do JUST that, STUDY... as I need to work later this afternoon, but for now, I am going to 'summarize' the time you missed out on in a slide show....Random tid bits that seemed something random but meant a bit more...