Yarn bombing in Victoria Square

This is a bit of a quickie post because I sadly didn't get the time to participate (mostly because I kind of forgot it was coming up, hence not having time to whip something up) but spotted the finished installation today and thought I would share how great it looks. 

As part of the Christmas tree lighting celebrations this year, anyone in the community was invited to knit or crochet something to be included in the yarn bombing of Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga. With the project being wrapped up (haha, get it?) last week, the Square is not much more colourful with all the trees left of the fountain wrapped in bright Christmassy blankets, complete with teddy bears, knitted baubles and, for some reason, a rat on one. Some ingenious person even knitted up a set of stripped (and by now very soggy) wing covers for one of the birds in the fountain. 

And I must say, it's been a long time since I've seen Queen Victoria looking quite so snazzy!

Mud Run

Bit of a short one today as I've been slacking off on my adventures around Adelaide with the warm weather starting in earnest this week. But what better way to combat a bit of a temperature increase than by running a 4 km obstacle course through the mud?

Arrived at Urbrae and found the other guys I was running with nice and early (because it said to get there an hour before our 10am wave time), got all registered (which involved being handed a t-shirt, white of course, and having my number scibbled on my arm in not-quite-permanent-enough-to-last-through-the-race-texta), checked our bags....and that left us with a good 45 minutes of standing around and waiting time. Went for a wander with the Biz to suss out the what we could see of the course and evaluate the food situation for afterwards. Rejoined the team back at the start line for more standing around waiting while our action sports photographer extraordinaire went off to find a good spot.

Before shot, all nice and clean

We finally made it to the start line and set off around the oval, through the hay bales, over the tyres (yay, didn't stack it) and into the paddock for 2 laps of very, very muddy obstacles. We crawled through mud under flags and cargo nets, waded through waist deep canals of mud, climbed over stacks of hay bales, over barrels and through concrete pipes, all culminating in a face first slide into a pool of mud, then (after the second time around), back around the oval and across the finish line.

Got ourselves hosed down (which mostly just served to make us all look like we'd recently gotten dodgy fake tans) and enjoyed some tasty post-run hot jam donuts as a reward while watching others go down the mud slide. Seriously fun event!

After shot...less clean

A very bikey weekend indeed

All weekends should be like this. My muscles may not agree but whatever. 

Saturday JB and I rode to town, picked up some lunch (which took foreverrrrrr) and did the traditional mad dash for the train with the added bonus of dragging our bikes along as well, and eventually arrived at Noarlunga. Spent a little while trying to find the Coast to Vines trail as it was largely diverted due to the roadworks along the Southern Expressway, but soon enough we were underway. Followed the bike path along the side of the Expressway, through the burbs and past the airstrip for the little old biplanes, until just before Seaford. Veered off to do a spot of impromptu shopping and then tackled the last big big hill before Maslins (and thanks to the very observant car full of teenagers that slowed down near the top to yell "You're on a bike" at me, cos until then I thought I was floating up on a fluffy white cloud. Darn kids).

Recharged with iceblocks (thanks Robbie!) and spent a lovely afternoon catching up with Robyn and being wowed by Lachie's mad drumming and bike riding skills (I think its safe to say Uncle JB has a new number one fan). And then we did it all in reverse. May have slightly dozed off on the train (once they shut off the ticket machine alarm anyway) and then, just as a bonus, threw in a ride up the hill up to North Adelaide to get some dinner before hitting the couch, hard.

Today, having been reprieved from helping drain brake fluid (or something) I decided to continue my search for convenient walking spots for the tragically car deprived, i.e. me. Of the many things that continue to make Adelaide my favourite city to come home to, Linear Park is way up there. I love that you can ride all the way from the hills to the beach without going on or across any roads, and I especially love that within minutes of leaving the CBD you could easily be riding through bushland (if you ignore the OBahn buses zipping past anyway). Having only realised at Trailblazer exactly where Linear park finished in the hills, I headed out that way, arriving at Black Hill Conservation Park an hour later with a flourish as I hit a patch of gravel in the car park and mildly fell off my bike to the general amusement of picnicking retirees nearby.  

Passed a jogger on his way out just as I headed in and after that, not another person the whole time I was there (sorry Stephanie and Seek, no sexy Australian men for you this time). Left my bike behind and hiked up the Main Ridge Track, pausing to enjoy the views over Adelaide from time to time (not at all an excuse to rest on some of the hills, nope nope nope) but mostly just soaking up the solitude and thinking how lucky we are to have such perfect little spots of tranquility so close to the city. Made my way up to the ridge, and eventually met up with the Yurrebilla Trail for the rocky climb back down to Amber's Gully, keeping a watchful eye out in the warmer weather for any innocent looking sticks along the track that might suddenly decide to move (luckily all those that did had legs), and was I was back at my bike but with plenty of plans to return to explore all the other trails that caught my eye along the way. All the witnesses to my very elegant arrival luckily having departed, I climbed back on the bike and enjoyed the much swifter ride home for a well earned beer to round off an excellent weekend (trying not to think about how sore I'm going to be tomorrow :s).

Vic road trip

After nearly 3 years of promising and failing to deliver on visiting Adele in Edenhope, at last the stars aligned to make it possible! With a car half full of dismembered mannequins (don't ask) JB picked me up from work on friday night and we slowly trudged out of the city and towards Victoria. Stopped for dinner (and a personal apology from the manager for JB's meal being forgotten) in Tailem Bend and finally arrived in Kaniva where I got given the grand tour. Unloaded the mannequins into the front lawn and set out for a night at the pub - love those country beer prices!

Next morning, with the Biz off to get grubby at Lake Hindmarsh, Adele came to collect me and the mannequins. After nearly driving of with Adele's purse on the roof of the car, we decided to do a little exploring of Kaniva's main street sheep art and refuel with coffee before heading for Edenhope. Stopped by Lake Charlegrark on the way for a bit of a look around, then of loaded the mannequins finally at their new home and headed back to Adele's for lunch and some artsy brainstorming. Decided on a plan for the rest of the afternoon, I comandeered the car keys and we were off.

Drove back into SA and cruised through the Coonawarra wine region. Stopped in Penola to buy some delicious treats from the lolly shop, marvel at some of the order pieces in the antique store and checked out the work of local artists in the main street gallery, then onto Mt Gambier. Headed straight for the (not as blue as it will be in a month or so) Blue Lake which was just beautiful. Followed a path all around the crater and had a look at Leg of Mutton lake crater as well. Adele got some blue lemonade to match the lake, and then we had a wander around the pretty cave gardens. 

We were then going to go to Beachport for tea but with it still being fairly early by the time we reached Millicent (and Adele having foolishly surrendered the keys to someone with an insatiable love of kitschy roadside attractions) we decided to continue out to Kingston S.E. Found the Giant Lobster (yay!) and amused ourselves and passing traffic posing for dorky photos, then brushed up on our zombie blasting skills at the world's saddest video arcade (the zombie game was the only one plugged in) while waiting for our take away. Had a lovely dinner down in the foreshore with our very own squad of menacing magpie bodyguards to chase the mooching seagulls away followed by a lovely twilight stroll along the jetty. Then it was back in the car, through Naracoorte, back into Vic and home to bed.

Sunday we spent a quiet morning around the house and at the school working out some logistical ideas for Adele's latest project, and after a quick circuit of the town to try them out, we headed for Mt Arapiles. Got pulled over for my very first RBT (much excitement) on the way, and we drove up to near the summit for a picnic lunch and a bit of scrambling over rocks to enjoy the view from the very top. Drove back down to the base so we could follow a different trail up past where all the climbers set themselves up. did a bit of exploring around the cliffs (bit tricky in the wind) and eventually made our way to another lookout for a quick rest. Took another trail back through the valley with climbers on the rocks on both sides, and indulged in a bit of bouldering when we got back to ground level.

Stopped at the cafe in Natimuk for a well earned cold drink and had a look at the town's mosaic statues, then onto Nhill where we had a last mini picnic at a park on the edge of town while waiting for JB to collect me. Adele headed for home while we returned to Kaniva for a roast dinner, a visit to the horsies and a very good night's sleep. Spent monday out at the farm and had myself a short (and extremely unexpected) ride on one of the horses. Eventually packed up the car and got back on the road. Stopped in Keith to check out the Land Rover on a pole and Andy Caldecott memorial, then on back to Adelaide and all the wild weather at home. 

Marion Coastal walk

With the weather being all sunny and nice for the first time in, well in a couple days but it felt like longer, decided to do some more exploring around town. After getting a beef and veg curry going in the slow cooker (domestic goddess alert!) jumped on my bike and headed for the train. Got off at Marino and rode around in circles for a while trying to figure out why all the roads heading to the coast ended up somewhere other than the damn coast! Eventually got to the Seacliff caravan park and found somewhere to leave my bike. Then the real work began.

Spent a lovely afternoon following the Marion Coastal Walk, a 7.2km trail along the coast (surprisingly) from Marino to Hallet Cove. Lots of nice walking along cliff tops, enjoying the view over the ocean, and lots and lots and lots of climbing up and down stairs. I kept meaning to count the stairs, but I'm easily distracted so probably wouldn't have worked anyway. Eventually made it to Hallet Cove Conservation Park to check out the cool rock and cliff formations created in ice ages 600 and 270 million years ago, which is just a little while.

Made it up to Hallet Headland and enjoyed a quick rest before turning aaround and heading back. Took a different path through Hallet Cove which took me past the Sugarloaf (cos it looks like a loaf of sugar) and got startled by a Stumpy Tail Lizard (cos its a lizard with a stumpy tail - brought to you the Australian Committee for Giving Things Unimaginative Names) hiding off the side of the tail. Made sure I checked that it definitely had legs before getting close :P

Eventually arrived back at Seacliff where I treated myself to an ice cream and a nice sit down. Then, having decided that I didn't fancy giving Adelaide Metro too much of my money in the one weekend (wouldn't want them getting spoilt), decided to ride back along the coast via Brighton, Glenelg and Henley, then back along the Torrens back home. On an totally unrelated note, there are now a few dozen inconsiderate and generally oblivious pedestrians who have made my list...muhahaha.

So many stairs!

Black Cliff

well played lizard, well played

The sugarloaf

nom nom nom

Adelaide Zombie Walk

Having managed about a 15 minute powernap and some important lying in the beanbag staring at the ceiling time to recover from Trailblazer, it was finally time to prepare for Adelaide's night of nights...Zombie walk!! After feeling far too low on blood spatter on our last attempt, this year we had doubled the supply and added props. So we began to prepare. I was going as a cheerleader zombie (mainly just cos I wanted a costume that featured sneakers), while JB was going as  zombie boiler maker, complete with a grinding disk protruding from his chest (which looked pretty awesome I have to say). Got dressed, applied the obligatory white make up and dark circles around the eyes (not much make up needed there after such an early start to the day), added the first layer of blood and strolled to the tram.

Met a few fellow undeaders on the tram, but mostly just entertained ourselves with the surprised looks on people's faces as the doors opened. With the tram dropping us in town at about the same time the walk was due to start, we headed back along the route, applying a fresh splattering of blood on the go, until we spotted the hoard moving towards us along Grenfell St. Joined the throng at Hindmarsh Square for the stumble through the city.

Many excellent outfits, some a little baffling...and I'm not sure that the guy dressed as a completely non zombified Wally quite got the point. Plenty of kids and dogs dressed up as well this year, a lot of superheroes, brides (weddings being apparently the most common sites of zombie attacks), celebrities, doctors and at least 2 special appearances by Jesus amidst all the gore. Towards the end we spotted some familiar faces on the footpath and joined Verity, Ryan and Kathryn to watch the rest of the walkers go by for a better look at the costumes. And it was a big, big, crowd too. Everytime you thought they must be nearly at the end, another wave of zombies would appear.

Eventually rejoined the tail end of the walk and finished in Light Square for a bit more of a look around. came to the conclusion that we still didn't have enough blood but not to worry, costume ideas are already being floated around for next year. With half of Adelaide heading to the after party at Fowlers, we instead enjoyed a pudski or 2 at Enigma with many other ghouls before my various aches and pains from Trailblazer forced an early retreat to the tram.

Trailblazer Challenge

After a last minute practice hike up Mt Lofty with Adele on Thursday, got an early start to the day on Saturday and met my fellow Booth Bevy team members (Adele, Verity and Lyndall) at Pinky Flat in the city to get ourselves signed in and pick up our race numbers. After some milling about wishing I'd woken up slightly earlier to have a coffee, we handed some essential supplies to one of our support crew (also known as JB) and joined the crowd at the start line where we, and some very surprised pelicans, got sent on our with the firing of a cannon. After a little of the obligatory weaving around walkers, we soon found space to run in and set a nice, steady pace for the first leg. Ran along Linear Park (with a few drinks breaks and one pretty impressive stumble courtesy of me along the way) for the first 18kms which is officially the furthest I've ever run, yay. Arrived at the first checkpoint in 2 hours 20 mins-ish, where we were met JB and all the yummy snacks we'd given him earlier.

Had a good break at Athelstone to refuel, change from running to hiking shoes and treat some blisters and various other aches and pains, then set off on the second leg. Left the river behind and headed up a narrow rocky path into Black Hill Conservation Park. Hiked up over Three Sugarloaves, then had a nice flat and downhill section before tackling the very long and steep Chapman track which took us up to the top of Morialta Conservation Park for some really spectacular views over the city, not that we could really stop to admire them because the trails were so narrow and crowded with the others who'd struggled up the big hill alongside us that anytime you stopped you would have to wait for about 15 people to overtake before starting off again.

Took the steep descent (poor, poor knees!) into Morialta and finished up with the less inspiring trek through the carpark to finally cross the finish line for the 34km event 6 hours and 6 minutes after setting off. Got our bibs scanned (so they could make sure we hadn't fallen off a mountain along the way) and collected our medals which was pretty sweet. Then Ryan drove us all back to the city for a relaxing afternoon of eating too much and hobbling around the house.

Big thanks to everyone who donated to Operation Flinders and helped motivate us, and extra big thanks to our fabulous support crew David, JB and Ryan for keeping us hydrated, fed and not making us walk back to the city again afterwards! So...who's up for the 50km next year then??

At the starting line

 

Refuelling at Athelstone

Tackling the Chapman track

Enjoying the view from above Morialta

At the finish line!