I'm Back ... and I'm Engaged!

I didn't exactly plan that three-week hiatus, it kind of just happened.
I had planned posts for the two weeks we were away in New Zealand, but then the few days before we left were so busy I didn't manage to actually fit in any time for writing them up and scheduling them in.

Our New Zealand holiday was everything I'd hoped it would be, and so much more.
What a stunning country! We climbed mountains, jumped off cliffs and swung over Shotover canyon, went white-water rafting in Grade 5 rapids, hung out in Hobbit holes, street-poled in the Art Deco capital of the world, went caving, climbed out of waterfalls, laid under a night-sky of glow-worms, ate at Fergberger, sailed on Lake Taupo, relaxed in hot mineral springs, and saw so many cute baby lambs!

I have so many blog posts planned about our adventure, so stay tuned to read more about it!

Oh, and J proposed on our first "proper" night, and I said yes (after asking if he was serious), and we're officially engaged! Perhaps the best part about New Zealand was getting to explore and climb all over it with my new fiance!



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My Week in Pictures #77

Saturday night was spent with my bestie, who I haven't seen in months and months. We caught up over dinner and margaritas at El Topo in Bondi Junction, then over hot chocolates at Max Brenner and finished the night with a 9.30pm screening of 'The Gift'. Written by Aussie Joel Edgerton, The Gift was a great psychological thriller. I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it! (although I think it's in its last few screenings) 

Much of the weekend was spent putting Rommy's new cat harness to good use. We have spent the last few weeks getting him used to wearing it around the house, then spent some time getting him used to the lead, then finally ventured to the great outdoors, aka our courtyard. Rommy loved exploring all the new things to eat and sniff, and I loved knowing he wasn't going to run off. 

Only a week until we're off to New Zealand! We decided we should probably start actually working out a bit more of a concrete itinerary, so spent most of Sunday morning poring over guidebooks, researching on the internet and gazing at maps. 

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My Week in Pictures #66

Happy Easter lovely readers! I hope you all had a great long weekend, and took plenty of time to rest. The long weekend kicked off on Thursday afternoon when the Easter bunny dropped off some eggs to my desk at work. J and I headed down to Canberra on Friday afternoon, arriving back home on Sunday night. J's mum brought out the Easter baskets and we each got some easter choccys - anyone who knows me knows that Lindt is my favourite - paired with an Easter bilby and Cherry Ripe and you've got one happy Michaela. 

We went to the Old Bus Depot Markets on Easter for something to do - there's a stall there where a man makes fresh orange juice, and hot spiced ciders. I had the spiced apple and cinnamon cider, J had an orange juice, and J's mum had the honey, lemon and ginger cider. Perfect on a cool, rainy Easter day. 

I'm now spending my Monday watching Netflix (I signed up for the month-free trial and am loving it!), doing washing and preparing for the (4 day) week ahead. 

How was your Easter break?

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Holiday Planning...

It's been a while since J and I went on a holiday.
So we've been talking and making plans, and decided we're heading off to New Zealand in the new year!

When I was younger I really wanted to visit New Zealand to go bungee jumping. Now I'm a bit older, I seem to have lost that fearlessness, because that's no longer at the top of my list. I'm so keen to check out the Hobbit Holes, the hot springs at Rotorua, the history at Waitangi, snorkelling off the North Island and taking in the beauty that is that country.

Every pay slip I've been squirreling away money and hopefully soon will have enough to pay for flights and accommodation. I keep the guide books at my desk, and longingly look over them in between poring over my law textbooks. They're providing a nice distraction amongst the crazy that is end of semester exams.

The planning is very much still in its infancy. I've been jotting down notes in my kikki.K 'Travel Notes' planner, and flagging notes to come back to in my guide books, all with just a vague idea of what we want out of this holiday, and how much we want to spend.
It's not only the thought of heading overseas that excites me, but the planning and anticipation excites me too.

What are your travel tips? Have you been to New Zealand? Any places we must check out? I'm taking as many recommendations as I can!




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My Recent Life in Pictures #54

The week before last, I finished off all my exams! I showed Dad how to catch a train in Sydney (I've never seen him on one in my lifetime) and he consequently rewarded me with pancakes! 

Of course I couldn't help myself and had to go with the chocolatey-ist one on the menu. So to work it off, we took a walk around circular quay, and up to the opera house. I of course, took that moment to get a scenic tourist-y street pole shot. 

Post gym workout meals hahahaha. Sometimes I'm healthy and balanced...sometimes I need pizza. 

Now that I'm on holidays, I've been enjoying snuggles on the couch with this pussy-cat and reading to my heart's content. I just finished Gone Girl, and cannot wait for the movie in October...although I hear that they've deviated from the book, so we'll have to see about that. 

I spent all of last week in Canberra, undertaking the intensive part of my PLT course. It was kind of ridiculous, kind of a waste of my time. But it's one part of my GDLP out of the way, and now I can move on to the online course! I stayed with J's parents, who are more than accommodating. It was kind of fun spending a week with J's family without him there, hahaha. One of the bars in Civic hold exhibitions for up-and-coming artists, and J's cousin was chosen to feature, which was awesome! So on the opening night, I headed out with J's brother and his fiance' to check it out. Wish I'd thought to take some photos. 

Midnight kitty cat shenanigans. 

 

On the Friday afternoon, I caught up with my friend, A who moved to Canberra early this year. We went to Gus's cafe, which is this adorable 'outside cafe' right in the middle of Civic. I originally opted for the peppermint hot chocolate, but they'd run out, so I ended up with the significantly more indulgent peanut butter. The owners of this place are lovely, and I love that you're kind of sitting outside, but it's still warm. 

I have started The Cuckoo's Calling, by J.K Rowling, written under the pen-name Robert Galbraith. I'm enjoying it so far, and loved reading it sitting in the sun in Canberra. 

What have you been reading recently?

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My Week in Pictures #44; the Theme Park Edition (part 2)

On Wednesday we braved Dreamworld, Australia's biggest theme park and famous for "the Big 8" extreme thrill rides. The timing of us going was perfect, because there were almost no lines for every ride and in the first hour and a half we'd already knocked over 5 rides. 

We hit the Tower of Terror II first. This was my first ever 'thrill' ride when I was a kid, going on it when I was about 7 years old. Back then, the original launched face first, and you descended backwards. Now they launch you backwards and you fall face first. Over the whole day, we went on this ride three times, and being in the first car is absolutely the best experience. 

This ride propels you at 161km/h, with a maximum of 4.5Gs and 6.5 seconds of weightlessness - eep! 

The drop is measured at 99.9m. 

I think it's awesome that they use the side of the 'Giant Drop' for this ride.

The Giant Drop is probably the ride I was looking forward to the most; the floorless platform ascends you to a height of 115m. There's no countdown at the top, and you're left dangling there for maybe 90 seconds before you plunge back to Earth in a free-fall, attaining a terminal velocity of 135km/h. This ride held the world record for being the tallest tower drop for an impressive 14 years! 

I loved this ride so much; the feeling of free-fall, and the suspense at the top is incredible. Waiting in line my heart was racing, and I was scared as hell but it's so worth facing those fears. 

The Claw is a swing ride, where you're seated on a circular platform that rotates as you swing. I really enjoyed this ride; it goes fast, and you get a feeling of weightlessness at the top of the full swing. 

We hit up Pandamonium, themed to the Kung Fu Panda movie, and the Motocaster. The thrill version of Pandamonium reaches G forces of 3.8, and you swing upside down at a height of 8m which is really fun. I love upside down rides (I guess all that pole dancing has trained me for it?)

The Motocoaster was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The carts are motorbikes, and the harness straps around your back so you feel like you're riding a motorbike. You accelerate from 0 to 72km/h in two seconds, which is fun. Apart from that, the rollercoaster is quite tame and there are little sidecars for kids to ride with their parents. 

The Buzz Saw was one of those rides that looks and sounds seriously impressive, but was a little bit of a let-down. The Buzz Saw has the highest inversion of any ride in the Southern Hemisphere, and second in the world. I didn't really think much of it though, and it wasn't as scary as we thought it was going to be. That being said, we were in the second-to-last car. It probably would have been a very different experience in the front seat. 

We spent quite a bit of time in the Dreamworld Corroborree, where there was a lot of native animal displays and some animal shows. The tiger show was a definite highlight. This was great to break up the day a bit, and give our lunch some time to digest before we hit the crazy rides again. 

Dreamworld also has a fun zombie-themed laser tag arena, which we finished our day with. It was a great low-energy way to end the day, before the long drive back to my mum's place.



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