Working holidays

It's a half and half thing. A working holiday is neither work nor holiday, but will be more of one than the other depending on your outlook. Last weekend I was in Tasmania helping run a chess training camp. I had to prepare lessons, present lessons, oversee some activities and help to look after some of the kids. Some of the time I was able to do my own thing as well. I was pretty excited before going, and had a great time during the long weekend. The lessons I prepared went down well (I think), and I had some fun presenting them. The kids were great and it was a rewarding experience in helping them to have a fun camp.

We started off really early on Saturday morning flying into Hobart, and then went straight to Salamanca for an open air chess display. It was time to promote our sport to the public, and we all had some chance to go look round the market. If you've never been, it is a great treat. There is some great locally made produce, loads of great food and street entertainers, artists workshops and restaurants/cafes. My personal favourite is the Retro cafe which does a great coffee, smooth with a fairly nutty flavour.

Traditional buildings around Salamanca

After that we went to our resort which was on seven mile beach. Now Tasmania in the middle of winter is not exactly a hot spot, so no one took a dip (to the best of my knowledge) in the open air, though there was a heated pool in the resort. All the work took place at the resort but we weren't confined the whole time. On the penultimate day we took an excursion to historic Richmond and the nearby zoo. The zoo is small, but charming and we held a chess tournament for the kids at zoo while the traditional Aussie Barbie served as lunch.

The locals were pretty friendly

After the zoo, it was a short stop in Richmond which is a pretty little village with a 200 year history. The main attraction for us was the sweet shop, but I could easily spend a day walking around the old buildings (including the oldest Catholic Church in Australia) and the rolling countryside.

Historic Richmond Bridge nestled in the lush rolling countryside

The weekend was full on, starting for at about 4.30am Saturday morning and getting a flight back to Melbourne which landed close to 10pm on Tuesday. I was at work for 8am the following morning so I was feeling a little nervous about how tired I was going to be. However, the feel good factor of the weekend was a 'pick-me-up' and for the past couple of days I've been buzzing off the experience. Any exhaustion that I felt has been trumped by enthusiasm and I've had some great lessons this week. Going into the weekend with a positive attitude meant that the working holiday was more holiday than work and as a result I came back fully refreshed and ready to annoy people with my positive attitude!

Milford Sound

The final day of our walk in NZ fiordland took us on a 21km hike from MacKinnon Pass to the sea at Milford Sound. Although this was a half marathon in distance it was a lot easier walking than the previous day as it was basically flat, with perhaps a little descent over the day. Still 20km is a fair distance and the majority of our group were carrying aches and pains from the day before. Once over the MacKinnon Pass the climate becomes a lot wetter with metres more rainfall during the year! We were fortunate enough to have a rainy day for our walk on this final hike. I say fortunate because we were walking through rain forest and the sights and smells came to life for us. Things started well as crossing a river which leaves our lodge behind we spotted a pair of rare blue ducks. This sight even got the guides excited! The rain cooled the air which made walking easier than on the first day, and it also added to the eeriness of the rain forest. Thick hangings of moss, tree ferns and mist on the mountains around us gave the whole area a fantasy feeling.

 Fantasy feel at Mackay Falls

Rare blue ducks having an early morning swim

The great thing about the rain that day was the effect on the waterfalls. Mackay Falls, and Giants Gate Falls were both spectacular (I was particularly wowed by Mackay which were gushing and booming magnificently). But saying that is was just a magical way for the tour to end, and breathtakingly beautiful and atmospheric. At the end of the walk, there is a short boat ride to the town of Milford Sound where we stayed for the night. The lodge was more like a decent hotel full of luxury, and Ultimate Hikes transported prepacked bags for us which were waiting in our rooms with fresh clothes and whatever else we wanted. We had a great final evening before turning in including a presentation of certificates to everyone for making it along the hike.

The following day was to start with a boat ride around Milford Sound followed by a bus ride back to Queenstown. The trip around the Sound was again spectacular. Every day on this trip saw different scenery and each day only added to the whole. On the boat trip we saw seals, and amazing mountainous scenery. To be honest, by the end of the cruise I was about ready to admit defeat when it came down to sightseeing. I just wanted to close my eyes and savour that which I'd already witnessed. Even the bus journey back to Queenstown went through the alpine road which was pretty spectacular. I'll finish with some photo's taken around the Sound and a full recommendation to anyone to go to this beautiful part of the World. Thanks very much to Ultimate Hikes who were excellent guides and got us through it with minimum harm!

 View from Milford Sound towards the sea

 Atmospheric views with cloud shrouded mountains.

 Plenty of waterfalls lined the Sound...it was photographers dreamscape

 View from the sea looking back down the Sound

Steady rain for 2 days ensured the waterfalls flowed magnificently 

Mitre Peak, which we could see from our room in the lodge!

T- minus 10 hours

That's how long it is until we leave the house and head off on holiday! Caroline and I are flying to Queenstown, New Zealand, and then taking a trek around Milford Sound. We will be out of phone and internet range for 5 days, but hopefully will have some amazing memories and images to bring back with us. We have decided to go with a hiking company who will guide us through the fjords and mountainous regions that were the inspiration for much of the scenery in The Lord of the Rings films.

Lord of the Rings Country

It will be quite an effort as we have to average over 10 miles of walking per day, including a tough climb up to the MacKinnon Pass. But also included in the trip are boat rides on the fjord and a helicopter ride back to Queenstown.

Great views at MacKinnon Pass

Luckily Caroline and I have both been getting fitter, which should make the walks bearable. While she is cycling and plans to ride the Bay in a Day ride later in the year, which will be at least 50km, I have been running, and have some plans of my own. Since New Year I have run three times, a 7.5km run on New Year's morning, a 9.5km run that had to be split up after about 7km as I ran out of puff. Mind you, it was about 26C when I was running and I was probably going a bit quick. I actually thought it was cool because the temperature had dropped from the 40C day we had just before, but 26C is still too hot for good running. Then today I went out at a very conservative pace and ran 10km in 59 minutes. I ran a bit further, but 10km was the aim.

When I get back from new Zealand, I am going into heavy training mode in an attempt to develop longer distance runs and more stamina at faster times. But I'll start to think about that when I've finished trekking in New Zealand!

My new blog

I've been writing a blog for quite a while now which has had many aspects to it. I've found that bit confusing so I'm compartmentalising my blogging life. This blog willl have no chess on it at all, while the other will be completely chess based. This blog will be primarily about coffee, running and travel. I am an avid coffee drinker, living in a city full of barista's so I'm in coffee heaven. Of course, I'm always looking out for new places to have a coffee.

I've also become quite an avid runner and I'll be keeping a diary of my running here, partly to inspire others, and partly to inspire myself! I've become interested ina number of issues to do with my health which I guess has to do with quickly approaching 50 years of age!

I also love to travel. The author G. K. Chesterton once said "They say travelling broadens the mind, but you must have the mind". Hopefully I can still see wondrous things and meet wonderful people around the World.