Friday 2 December 2011

G'day Mate! Life Downunder!



Australia… where to begin? The people here are SO friendly (maybe it’s because of MY “accent”), super laid back… for example you don’t need shoes OR a shirt to walk into any store here! Locals also like to shorten words, and add an “ie” or a "y" to everything. For example:


Pushie- bicycle

Chrissy- Christmas

Barbie- BBQ

Teli- Television

Carbie- Carburetor

Mossies- Mosquitoes

Sunnies- Sunglasses

Prezie- Present

Brissy- Brisbane

Brekie- Breakfast

They also say “no dramas” instead of Your Welcome. Haha! Makes me laugh every time! 


We recently spent a few days in Sydney, and I absolutely fell in love with the city. I can’t believe I haven’t been here before!! Picture Vancouver, British Columbia on steroids. Oh and warmer! Chilled out at Bondi Beach one day- the people watching here is phenomenal! The Taronga Zoo was also "top notch", and was nice to finally see kangaroos and kuala bears… although I have to admit I felt pretty guilty as I cooed at the kangaroo… due to the fact that I ate kanga at a restaurant the night prior- - oops! Likely won't be doing that again any time soon, especially since I now have secret plans to adopt a pet kangaroo in the very near future! ;-) 


We’re living in Wollongong, a population of 277,000 and a 1 hour drive south of Sydney. Beaches EVERYWHRE you turn… in fact there is a wonderful beach 5 min walk from our house in Port Kembla. This beach is awesome for morning jogs to the breakwater!

Australia… love everything but driving on the other side of the road. Just about gives me a heart attack each time I venture on the road. Goes completely against natural instinct, but getting used to it, slowly.

Since living here, I’ve taken up surfing…. Or attempted to. Will keep practicing that one. We also went diving for sea urchins, or "kieners" as the kiwis call them. The uni tasted quite good, just remember to NOT eat the guts…. almost lost my breakie on that one.

In short I am just loving this place. With so many outdoor activities at our fingertips, local theatres featuring live productions, and a plethora of tantalizing restaurants to sample, Wollongong is proving to
be a cultural mecca of activities at our doorstep!




































Monday 28 November 2011

The Maldives… Heaven on Earth



Next stop… Maldives!! We stayed at Anantara Kihavah resort, which was completely out of this world. Really, words and pictures only tell half of the story, this place was straight out of a dream. 

We took a private seaplane to the island resort from Male, the capital of Maldives.

Upon arrival, we discovered we had our own personal butler on call 24/7 to cater to our every whim and desire. If you could dream it, Hushy would deliver. Is this seriously happening right now?? We couldn’t stop giggling the entire stay, it was so surreal.

Our overwater villa was massive and included a private infinity pool. The ocean was actually warmer than the pool! Parts of the villa also had glass floors so you could see the ocean reef below (in the bathtub and beside the toilet). This place was heaven.

After a week in the Maldives, we flew to Australia, my new home….