Para-Olympics (12th March 2010)

With the road trip finished Adrian and myself were in Vancouver for the winter para-Olympics.

During the Winter Olympics (non-disabled) what coverage I saw of the games I did feel a twinge of regret that hadn't decided to attend those games...BUT the decision was a great one as the para-Olympics were better than I could have ever imagined.

The first event that we attended was the Wheelchair Curling, it was a first for me on both accounts as I had never seen a wheelchair sport or curling. Essentially it is a form of lawn bowls on ice! These athletes complete from their wheelchairs and they push the stones down the ice with tactics and precision. Fortunately the Canadians were playing and the crowd was going wild with every shot...can I remind you that it is like lawn bowls...hardly a sport you can cheer for but we managed. Can't say I would go out of my way to go again but it was a fun 4hrs watching the crowd and the tactics at work.

The next event we went to was the Sledge Ice Hockey. These guys are crazy, they push themselves across the ice with their upper bodies and at the same time receive and pass the puck with precision. The best part undoubtedly, like any ice hockey was the crashes and brute force used against each other. It kind of looked like watching hermit crabs play soccer on fast forward...hope that image is not to complicated to conjure. Also just like any ice hockey half the fun comes from the antics off the ice and in the crowd. Dancing, music, drums, t-shirt canons and more.

The most rewarding event to attend was the cross-country skiing and biathlon. The track was set up really well so that you could see the entire race unfold, it had many loops that wound around the stands. Events included sitting, standing and visually impaired...yep shooting blind! (they have a gun that connects to headphones and they use sound to aim the gun). Every event was inspiring to watch but 2 of these moments are worth writing about.

• The women's sit down 12.5km biathlon had a lady who finished about 15minutes behind the rest of the field, I'm not sure why or what happened to her but she never gave up. You could see the pain and exhaustion from the close up TV shots and how hard it would be to push yourself uphill on a sled/toboggan with only your arms. The crowd went wild when she finished showing there support for her outstanding effort. Thing amazing thing really is that her time was approx 50min...12.5km in 50min...this is the same time that I run 12.5km and she is just using her arms! Then consider that FOUR times during the 12.5km she deliberately tips over her sled, controls her breathing/heart rate and shoots the 5 targets (each miss being a 1min penalty). AMAZING!
• The men's standing biathlon had German athlete who's disability was that he had no arms...fair enough that you can still ski without using your arms but biathlon involves shooting? He had a modified gun that he shot with his teeth!

The final events were the downhill & super-G. It was fascinating to watch the athletes with different levels of disability all competing in the same event. It seemed unfair that someone with 2 legs could have less time penalty than someone with only 1 leg...I later found out she didn't have either leg below the knee. The other category that I was most impressed with was the visually impaired, these athletes often had NO sight what so ever and were skiing at ridiculous speeds. The bond between them and their guide must be the highest level of trust I will ever see.

I admit coming to the para-Olympics to see some spectacular crashes but the accidents I did see were not as "fun" as I would have thought watching on TV. Watching a skier strapped in a chair tumbling out of control right in front of me wasn't amusing at all and horrible to watch. The only somewhat amusing accident was the visually impaired skier who when the crowd started cheering couldn't hear the guide telling her to stop and skied straight into the fence at the bottom...she was fine...needless to say we didn't cheer until the blind skiers had come to a complete stop after that!

Vancouver is a beautiful site for a city with the huge Stanley Park, the state and National Parks 20min from city centre (see Lynn Canyon if you get there) and also ski fields 20min from the centre and did an outstanding job of hosting the para-Olympics. One of the best things was that family's and school groups could go to events and afford to also with the ticket price being only $19...the full Olympics had tickets typically x4-x5 that amount. Security was near non-exisitant...after all your not making much of a statement by blowing up a bunch of disabled people and their supporters.

Following the Para-Olympics I headed to Whistler, Jasper & Banff...read about these in the next post...at the rate I am going it will be mid-May before I get it out...I have better things to do than type story tales whilst on holidays!

:) Tim

Roadtrip - LA to Vancouver

When in America you have to do BIG things, go over the top and only then you may fit in.

Adrian is a high school buddy from GVGS days now working in LA, his latest vehicle needed to fit in so he went for the biggest thing on the road...a F350 truck. This vehicle is not only the biggest thing I have driven legally on the road but no doubt also the most powerful...why not learn to drive it on the wrong side and in freeway traffic! (Thankfully Adrian loves driving and did most of it)
So we had a BIG vehicle and the road trip was a drive of 1200miles via the main freeways from Los Angeles to Vancouver we had some distance to cover in a week. We didn't stay on the freeways long...the Pacific Coastal Highway or Highway no.# 1 take a much more scenic drive right along the cliffs and beaches of the coast.

What did we see?

Landside(s) blocking the road


Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco...this is a stunning sight but the size of the Golden Gate Park was astounding - as was the look on the faces of people as Adrian shattered the silence with his 8 cylinders and turbo hissing with each red light in the city.

The Redwood Forrest's - such amazingly HUGE trees

Oregon's Coast line

Mount St. Helen's in fresh snow, what a fantastic camping spot!

Forrest of Mt Rainier NP and Seattle were great spots to see but a pity to not be able to stay longer.

The lakes, trees & moss of Mt Olympic NP

Vancouver Island will no doubt draw me back to do some more walking but we were suitably impressed by the size of the Kinsol trestle bridge

San Jaun islands between Vancouver Island and mainland Canada offered some amazing real estate the only downfall would be having the ferry service passing to and fro on your fantastic vista.

Vancouver...read more in my next post.

Food along the way has been interesting:- San Fran offered sour dough buns filled with clam chowder was the first meal in the USA without cheese!- Bagel's for breakfast...mmmm
- Out of the way "dinner's" (i.e. the name of the place you eat at) offering simple staple meals...the all day breakfast being a huge hit.
- French Dip...dunk your roast beef roll in the juices from the roast beef!
- Wondering why the metho was burning with so much smoke and soot...well done to the clowns who picked up the turpentine bottle instead of methylated spirits!

Til next time!

LA & Catalina Island

Best thing about Los Angeles has go to be the weather, it is winter and still I am in shorts/t-shirt and the sun is shining.

Hence why I spent x2 days riding around LA on a push-bike (pedal power). It is a great way for me to learn the road rules...I have been comparing riding a bike in traffic in LA to playing Russian Roulette, and when you still get confused by the road rules it is like pulling the trigger twice each go!

Santa Monica and the beaches are busy even in winter, cant imagine the crowds in summer. The bike path offered some respite from large metal cars. No swimming however...water would be fine its just the sand in between me and the water I dislike. Best thing was the skate park...I spent at least an hour watching them do insane tricks on skateboards.

Palos Verde Drive offered great views and a hill to ride over...why does that appeal?

Adrian has been quite the host showing me around LA...cant believe how big the place is but nothing really took my attention enough to want to get the camera out.

To escape the city and do what I came to the US to do (hike) I headed to Catalina Island.
This island is 15miles off the coast and particularly the interior is free of hustle and bustle other than a few bison and squirrels. 2 days hiking was great except for the minor miscalculation on distances when I forgot that everything is in miles...hence my casual walking distance of 21km was actually closer to 33km...a big days walk!

The Catalina airport was interesting as to get a flat area big enough they just scraped the top off a large hill...this it is known as the airport in the sky!

Heading north today on the road trip to Vancouver.

Ciao

Tim

America Canada

I'm off again...7 months to see USA west coast, Canada and Alaska

Not trying to be another Alex Supertramp (Into the Wild), but wanting to spend as much time in a tent as possible.

Trialling the blog idea...have a day in LA and seeing Hollywood/Beverley Hills and the film star houses or Disney World is not my cuppa tea so, will spend the day 'productively' producing this blog...

See you on the road.

Tim

PS: pic is the freeways in LA...never seen so much traffic in my life

Great Ocean Walk (Victoria)

In order to have some bonding time with Mum & Dad before I flew out to LA on my next adventure we (Dad) organised to complete the Walking track version of the Great Ocean Road.

I had never been past Lorne on the Great Ocean Road so this was an opportunity also to see some spectacular country. The drive down was jaw dropping...this is why it attracts so many tourists. The road cut into the cliffs edge was as impressive as the West Coast of NZ...perhaps better even as it was sunny and warm!

The car shuffle was tedious but hopefully Parks VIC people and tourism operators are keeping this in mind for areas to improve as the walk grows.

We started the walk at Cape Otoway and Finished just east of the 12 apostles.

Mums pack was exceptionally heavy allowing me to do little finger curls as weight training, Dad's looked heavier walking uphill and the dense items such as water, wine and tents were left for me to carry.

The walk is not challenging, certainly not steep and not isolated...I had phone reception every night but the views make it a fantastic walk to remember. The sandy beaches made it heavy going at times but for 13-15km a day it is a fantastic walk anyone can do.


Points I will remember:

• The 2 Melbourne girls who completed the whole track (8days) and carried only canned food...their packs were half their body weight at the beginning...amazing achievement and amazingly stupid!
• The Blackberry feast(s) we had along the track. They are a weed and take over, but get there at the right time of year and it is luxury to have fresh fruit when hiking.
• Mum's amazing meals, she pre-prepared everything at home then dehydrated it. Simply add water for gourmet pumpkin risotto or fried rice.
• The amazing views of the campsites. Always on the highest point, great views but terrible for having a swim after you have finished walking (maybe it is a safety consideration).
• The toilets...positioned so you had a view
  

Great location, great food, great company...the Great Ocean Walk

T

Christmas Email 2009

Happy Christmas, hope this reaches you safely and the New Year allows you let a little craziness out of your system!

Another long email...christmas letter covering Tim's 8 months in Australia. (you might want to grab a full beer/beverage before starting to read!)

======================================================



Tim has successfully worked for the longest time in one place this year!



I spent 7 months in Alice Springs and I still want to go back! I love the place...but not enough to give up the road!



This is what I have been doing to amuse myself in 7 months (ok really only 6months of work)



Running: This has kept me sane...everyone in the territory has an addiction of sorts...most common by far is alcohol, smoking (you can still smoke inside pubs/bars/buildings in the NT) and computers (still don’t understand how World of Warcraft, Wii-fit or TV can amuse people for so long). My addiction is running, not surprisingly I arrived back into Australia and after 2 weeks decided a ½ Marathon was in order... I found out the hard way about the importance of stretching and easing into things slowly as I gave myself a ITB muscle injury...the curse of many a runner! Running went on the backburner as I was limited to 30min per day and instead started stretching and strengthening exercises. They all seem to have worked and now I am again running every morning.

Achievements this year include:

Harts Range Memorial Mile – I came second to a guy wearing jeans! (Preparation of little sleep, beer and bacon/eggs doesn’t help!)

Sydney City to Surf (wow...so many ppl)

18min58sec - 5km (only way to run on boring bitumen is fast)

7hrs17min - 56km Yurrebilla Trail run through Adelaide hills http://www.sarrc.asn.au/yurrebilla.html



June



Finke Desert race – for the motor enthusiast, best part about it was working the week following and trying to figure out how you dress a blister covering the entire palm…serious racing aka stupidity on motorbikes…needless to say I enjoyed it!

Beanie Festival…not an event up my alley, brings out the hippies and they try to take over like knitting jumpers for the tree’s!

Camel Races…may not have seen the Todd flow x3 times but you cant have lived in Alice without attending the camel cup. Apart from the antic’s performed by the camels, the booze flows free (cept when you have to work later that arvo) and it is a regular race day carnival atmosphere. Cant bet on the camels sadly…breucratic licencing and so on…



August

Harts Range Bush Sports Weekend

200+km from Alice Springs, drawing in a crowd of station owners, families, cowboys, Alice Springs folk.

Weekend of x4 horse races, bull riding & sports events for the Station folk (running, sack races, lolly scramble, cow tail toss...etc) Plus good old fashion bush dance and nightly entertainment.



Australian Music Spectacular

Headlining acts and classics of Australian music...loved the fact was sitting in my own chair under the stars with the music greats entertaining me...where else but Alice! Will never forget singing along with John Williamson and busting a grove to Leo Sayer...



Henley on Todd

Boat race in the DRY Todd River bed. I joined a crew of 4 to make an inflatable rubber ducky and we went as lifesavers. Great fun in the Alice, hot, sandy and sunburnt but successfully took home the 'Lifesaving rescue event"



Alice Marathon

Didn’t race as still on rationed runs but it didn’t stop me from dressing up as a clown for a water stop half way. Made it more fun to hide in the bushes whist the runners ran past and then sprint/overtake them in a clown suit…I got a kick out of it even if they were to puffed to laugh at/with me.



September



Larapinta Trail

Walked the 220km trail across central Australia’s beautiful West MacDonnell mountain range. Escorted by an enthusiastic but blistered Mr. Butt. We walked early in the mornings, at night and simply sat the shade during the days. AMAZING scenery, photos and memories...must do for anyone with a spare 2 weeks!

Yurrebilla Trail

Here I found a new passion...running longer and rougher tracks! 56km or 7+hrs of running up and down hills could not be more fun and worth the special flight out of Alice and back compete. Call me crazy...

October



Cat Empire & Jimmy Barnes

Wow…what a concert…300m from my front door it was hard to get to J! The Cat Empire got everyone in the mood and Jimmy just blew us away…he concentrated on Cold Chisel and the older stuff…I think the next day I sounded almost as hoarse as him.



Movie Nights

One of my favourite memories of Alice will always be watching movies on the big screen outside after a fantastic feed. Cant thank the Paul/Suzanne/Renee enough for their hospitality and company.



November



NZ Jenny Mum came to visit

First she visited Brother Bradley in Armidale and then came out to see the Alice and Timbo. Great to catch up with the old gal aka 'Mum' and have her cook her famous carrot cake (not x1 but x4...she left the freezer full). I sent her on a ‘rock’ tour and enjoyed the post conversation about sleeping in swags and things that go bump in the night (those dangerous dingoes and snakes). Maybe roughing it and swag-ing it isn’t for everyone.



Pharmacies Xmas Party

People were amazed that I simply rung home and got a costume sent up…out of mum’s closet…doesn’t everyone have a closet of 70s - 80s clothes?

The Darwin Pharmacies Christmas Party (December) was also a fun night…great way to meet the crew I will be working with over the next month. I wonder if it was good value for them when I had only worked 3 days prior to the party.



Tim/Tam’s Toga Hoorah

What better way to leave Alice and house mate Tam (Tamasin) than to have a Toga Party. Toga parties are always great then add in 30L of Sangria and make it even better!



December



Darwin

I moved to Darwin for work...again call me crazy!...moving to Darwin for the wet season has been interesting. The humidity has not been as bad as I was told, saying that it is interesting going to work in board shorts and another shirt so that you are not sweat sodden all day long. We had an amazing storm…many more to come I hope…lightning and thunder like nothing I have seen. Then a tropical low dumped a months worth of rain over 3 days…wow…rain rain rain…it then moved off and became a cyclone. I must be the only person in Darwin crossing there fingers to experience a cyclone, saying that I wanted an earthquake whilst in NZ and that didn’t happen.

Christmas is at home with the family and grandpa in a vase, New Years will be spent in Darwin/Kakadu/Litchfield and January is working in Darwin. I am going to spend some of Feb working with Brad/Amanda in Armidale NSW before a family hike in late Feb.

Then…6 months holiday!

I have booked tickets to fly into Los Angeles and plan on a trip up the coast to Vancouver with Adrian (school buddy). Once in Canada we will enjoy some of the Winter PARA-olympics. Once finished the plan is to visit Banff, Jasper and then make my way to Anchorage (Alaska) for more hiking and getting chased by bears! Returning home in October!

Keep me posted where you will be, what trips you are going to take and fingers crossed our paths will cross.

Have a great Christmas and New Year

See you soon

Tim

Final travel epilogue! Tim's round the world 2008-2009

Brazil

Carnival
I spent Carnival due to "prior piss poor planning" not at any of the well known sites across Brazil. Book your carnival accommodation many many months in advance experience tells! Thankfully I met 2 beautiful Brazialian girls whilst traveling Chile and they became like sisters so I organised to spend Carnival in Piracicaba (north of Sau Paulo). The carnival week was the first time I had spent 1 week in the same town/bed since Christmas and that in itself was relaxing...I may not have experienced the Samba-drome of Rio De Janeiro or the massive street party in Salvador but where I was, was a typical Brazilian carnival. It was spent at a hired house, with pool and BBQ (as important for Brazilian life as Australian) and amongst university/ex-school mates. Food and beer was the only expense and at a 600mL bottle costing $1.50AUD, $250 goes a long way! (accom. in well known carnival cities is about $100 per night). The food was the best part, a Brazilian BBQ is...well its been a long time since an Australian BBQ so going to have to say better! and the house keeper also taught me to cook some national dishes...Brazilians love their beans so watchout when I recreate these meals! All towns in Brazil have samba parties so attending these was a great experience...could I samba? or just get drunk enough so that I couldn't see if my feet were doing the correct thing...I cant samba when sober is all that I know!

After Carnival I want to relax on a beach so went to the Island resort of (Illa do Mel) where the Brazilians themselves go...stunning beaches and Argentinians to play with (my Spanish is marginally better than speaking no Portuguese) and Brazilian fruit, I didn't need to relax after carnival but I got it anyway!
Foz do Iguacu is up there with Victoria Falls and Niagra Falls as the biggest in the world. Wow...so much water and both the Brazilians and Argentinians have great view points across the falls. Better than Victoria Falls? which I saw in Africa...just different! Foz do Iguacu is spread out so you can see the falls better but bear in mind I didn't get to see Vic Falls from the Zimbabwee side! The cloud of mist at Vic Falls is much larger however. Whilst at Foz do Iguacu you must also visit the largest dam in the world (til the one in China finishes being constructed)
The last place I visited in Brazil was the Pantanal. This is a wetland at the south/bottom of the Amazon with supposedly the most bird life in the world. It wasn't the best weather so it is the excuse to why we didn't see many birds but it was a fun experience and other animals seen included (Piranhas, Caymans, Howler Monkeys, Macaws, Tapirs (largest rodent in the world) and anteaters)

Crossing from Brazil to Bolivia you immediately see the poverty difference and things become much, much cheaper (except beer...). To cross from the Pantanal (west) to central Bolivia I took the Death train...not such a big deal now except that it is 24hrs in a train that stops at every station and would do the journey in 1/3 of the time if things didn't happen in Bolivian time!

The Potosi silver mines are famed for the sheer amount and fortune of silver that was removed from inside the mountain and also the number of people that it killed to do so. Today you can do tours into the mountain and it is said conditions haven't changed since the 1600's when it was in peak use. I got up close and personal to asbestos crystals growing on the walls, used scraps of plastic bags as hearing protection and my shirt as a dust mask...conditions were horrible but I didn't see any child miners. They worship the devil to please him (as it is said that he owns the silver), drink 96% alcohol, smoke dirty homemade cigarettes as thick as a cigar and chew enough coca-leaves to numb themselves to the 12hr shift of back breaking labor. Terrible conditions but strangely silicosis (having your lungs cemented full of dust) and rock falls kill less people than the getting drunk and falling down a mine shaft! (Dynamite was 10 Bolivanos a stick to buy off the street. approx $2AUD)

The most amazing landscape on earth would have to be in the Andes mountains of southern Bolivia. The salt flats (Salar de Uyuni) are an expanse of pure white salt as far as you can see. Driving across this very old lake you can stop at a few islands on which grow carton style cactus. The photos look amazing yet still don't do it justice. The altitude was noticeable for the first time here when you would take a couple of quick steps up a slope to a better photo point a find yourself struggling for breath.

La Paz is the capital of Bolivia, apart from offering the normal congestion and chaos a city normally does this city felt safe to walk around, even at night. Street food was delicious and everything except the tours was dirt cheap! At 4000m above sea level, having a room on the 5th floor of the building, no elevator was a great workout. I would forget each time and run up to the top, to arrive at the door see stars and not being able to insert the key as I was so out of breath. You had about 20sec of activity before the body realised that there was not enough oxygen and started to suffer.

I signed onto a tour in La Paz to climb a 6000m mountain. This experience was probably the most fun, challenging and exciting thing I did all trip! Sleeping at 5000+m was an experience, not enough oxygen meant that you could not sleep breathing through your nose so you would end up waking in a pile of drool...sounds fun! Then after sleeping less than 4hrs you wake up at 1am and in the bitter cold (inside) you put on the layers of clothing, waterproofs, harness, heavy mountaineering boots and once outside fit your crampons (fingers loose feeling very quick playing with metal in the snow) Then you start walking uphill...6hrs later needing to breathe every 5-10 steps you arrive at a 70degree ice slope...even in the dark it looks steep and you cant see the top. Calves burning from holding your body weight on the toe points of your crampons and trying not to swing your ice axe too hard into the ice so you can get it out again you crawl up the slope to the ridge where you can walk along a 1 foot wide top...did I mention 200m slope/cliff each side...once at the top it is minus -5C to -15C...you get very cold very quick and have to time it correctly so that you have 1min of camera battery before it gets to cold also to work. However the sunrise was amazing, the sense of triumph and achievement unbelievable and finally you have 'bagged a peak' worth writing about! Coming down was possibly the scariest thing I have ever done...going downhill is always harder and particularly when you can see the drop you would fall if you place a single foot wrong...not to mention the guide saying that you need to hurry as the sun softens the snow and makes it more dangerous. I was so taken by this guided climb I did another solo climb up a 6300m volcano the next week!
Death Road, similar to the death train in that it killed people regularly through its use. The road drops 3000+m on a mostly single lane dirt road which until 5 years ago traffic went in both directions. Nowdays it is a great mountain bike road, huge 600m cliffs to ride next to and through the lush rain forrest. If i wasnt trying to use my travel insurance I would have enjoyed the scenery a lot more but speed was all the more faster and fun knowing 1m to the left of me was a very large drop!

Lake Titicaca is the centre of Inca and Pre-inca cultures. This mean lots of ruins, stone walls and historic sites where your imagination is required to see the way people would have lived 500 years ago. Unfortunately I will remember the easter weekend all the more after having my wallet cut from the pocket of my shorts whilst standing a church (screw you to god). Not a bad experience as I was super-impressed at the skill required (I didnt feel a thing) and at a total loss of around $20AUD to me and no cards. Avoid crowds, avoid church and wear shirts that have chest pockets...much much safer!

The most memorable experience in Peru is for most people Machu Picchu. These well preserved Inca ruins are stunning, sitting ontop of a steep mountain ridge at the egde of the Amazon jungle but it is smothered in tourists. The walk into Mauchupichu had various routes, I chose the thrill seekers bike & hike trip which was a bit disappointing after Bolivia. My most memorable outing in Peru was hiring a motorbike and offroad riding between the Inca ruins. Remembering to keep RIGHT was only a problem for the first corner, which scared me enough not to forget for the rest of the day. Cuzco is the hot-spot for tourism in Peru but I found a nicer side to Cuzco by aoviding the crowds and in particular eating out at the market and not staying at hostels full of GAP students who never leave the hostel/bar. Foods were amazing from cebiche (raw fish in lemon juice), peruvian chicken soup, fruit juices from the numerous stalls and even cuy (Roast Guinea Pig) which did taste like tough chicken!

For my last week on holidays I went walking solo through Colca canyon, actually deeper than the grand canyon and then did a flight over the Nazca Lines. These were made 500+ years ago by the locals (with no GPS help) and are giant figures (200m-300+m long) marked in the earth and seen best from a plane.

My return flight to Australia was from Lima-Santiago-Aukland-Melbourne 27hrs flying time...no jet lag...probably as I slept better on the plane than the Bolivian-Peruvian buses. Mentioning buses...you must travel both the cheapest bus in South America and then the Cama-bus (cama=bed in spanish but it is still cheaper than Australian buses) to see how bad and how good bus travel can be. Stinking locals to a 'meal and alcohol' being served are all possible experiences.

Travel Tips:
Shirts with chest pockets...keeps everythign in your personal space hence safe!
No heavy-thick cotton clothing...re-consider jeans...as it takes forever to dry!
Carry as many forms of cash as possible, Visa = Africa, Mastercard = South America, Travellers Cheques, USD, local currency. Sometimes even then it is still hard to access money!
You dont need to carry a pharmacy...most drugs and medical necessities are available from pharmacys in those countries and it is cheaper to buy it there (3rd world) than here...but will it work? (My first aid kit was far to big and to many drugs)
Travel for only 6-7months at a time...to long and you forget how the normal world opperates, banks dont open of weekends, brandnames of drugs, side effects...it has been a steep learning curve returning to work! You must also have a week every so often where you dont try to see everything...go to the beach and relax with a good book...travelling it hard work and just sleeping in the same bed is a holiday from you holiday!

Back in Australia I went to visit my Grandpa, enjoyed mums cooking, ate in Victoria St (Melb) and caught up with friends I hadnt seen in a year. A quick trip via Armidale to go walking in Granite country of NSW-Qld border with Brad & Amanda and then back to Alice Springs. Returning to work even if it has been checking masses of webster packs has been good fun and I realise how much I missed Alice whenever I go running in the mornings.

Plans - 6 months in Alice, Darwin for a wet season? then winter paraolympics in Vancouver 2010, ?commonwealth games - india?

Send me lots of emails, update me on your life.

'tchau, tchau I have to go now'

Tim