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1 January 2011

2011 Highlights

Teaching, photographing Sydney and trips to the Central Coast and The Great Ocean Road



Priceless Moments


New friends met this year




2011 in more detail


Trips

Without doubt, the biggest highlight of 2011 was my two week road trip in October to The Great Ocean Road.  What an amazing place it is - not just the spectacular rock formations of The 12 Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, but also the gorgeous waterfalls and lush forests of  The Great Otway National Park, the old lighthouses along the coast and some very quaint, historic villages.  I was also delighted to see wild koalas, something which is on my life list.  All in all, an amazing trip.

In June, I went on a one week trip to the New South Wales Central Coast (with Mack) including Gosford, Terrigal, Forresters and Sheathers Warf.  This was my second visit to the amazing Forresters Beach with it's fantastic sculptured rocks which Mack very obligingly posed on.

In December, I made a trip to Glen Davis to photograph the abandoned shale mine there.  What an adventure it was!


Photographing Sydney

This year, I decided to make the most of the beautiful city I live in and photograph her well known and lesser known places.

Photographic highlights included  Cockatoo Island with it's huge sheds and rusty old cranes and the incredible graffiti in the old abandoned tram sheds in Glebe and the abandoned Dunlop Factory in Alexandria.  Other lesser known places I photographed were the enormous Rookwood Cemetary and the old mental asylum of Callum Park.

Better known photo destinations included West Head, the Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout, Watson's Bay, the Anzac Bridge and Le Perouse.

I also attended several of Sydney's events like the street art festival at Cockatoo Island, the Sydney Vivid Lights festival which seems to get bigger and better every year and The Bondi Sculptures by the Sea.  I was very disappointed when my camera gave up the ghost at the 2011 Mardis Gras so I didn't get great photos, but I did manage to take some at the earlier Mardis Gras Fair.

I also did some exploring of the beautiful nooks and crannies around where I live and took photos at Berry Island, Larkin outlook and Ball's Head.

Earlier in the year, I went on an outing with the Mosman Camera Club to the Taralga Rodeo where I got some great action shots and luckily my camera survived the intense dust clouds caused by bucking bulls.


Hiking

I did some wonderful hikes this year.  In January, I hiked in the Blue Mountains.  Hanging Rock was the highlight, a huge sandstone rock that is over 150 metres high and has become detached from the main cliff.  So beautiful, it's not surprising it has featured in many calendars and climbing photos.  I spent New Year's eve in the blue gum forests of Govett's Leap and I also hiked The Canyon.  Other hikes during the year included hikes to waterfalls in the Great Otway National Park, a hike to Flint and Steel Beach in the Kuring Gai National Park and Two Creeks Hike in the Garigal National Park.  Then, I finished off the year with more hiking in The Blue Mountains, when I went in search of waterfalls.


Sanjay comes to visit

In January, my good friend Sanjay visited Sydney from the UK.  We had a fantastic time.  Highlights included a rainy hike in the Blue Mountains and  having a dinner party for Lizzy and Kelly.  Sanjay proved to be an excellent cook and showed me how to prepare some delicious Indian dishes.


Learning new things

This year, I did two courses.  Early in the year, I did a cooking course, where each week we made different dishes from all over the world.  Having a sweet tooth, I focussed especially hard on the desserts and became known as the dessert king.  It was great fun with wonderful people and the undoubted highlight was getting to eat our handiwork at the end of the evening.

Later in the year, I did a massage course which is something I've always wanted to do.  I learned the art of effleurage and kneading and cupping and enjoyed it a lot, especially being practised on.


Family

I didn't get to see the family this year and missed them a lot.  Sam turned  turned 11 this year and Matt turned 8.  Sam did extremely well in her exams at the end of the year and we are all very proud of her.  Jo, Ant and the family went on a nice holiday in Durban and went to Bloemfontein twice.  Mum and Mike moved house which was a stressful time, but they love their new place.  I'm so looking forward to seeing them in February next year.  Mike travelled to Amsterdam this year to see his family and mum and Mike visited the Kruger National Park which they really enjoyed.


Friends

Brendan and Eva had a tumultuous year, what with a new baby and building a new home.  They look exhausted but their new home is wonderful and I am sure they will be very happy there.

The Schneiders are also very happy with their new home and they built a wonderful deck this year.  I visited them several times this year, including an Easter lunch and at Clontarf  Beach.  I also did a photo shoot for them late in the year which was fun but challenging making the kiddies smile at the same time.

I went camping with Doug and Claudia at Lake St Clair early in the year.

I got new house mates this year after Craig left.  A lovely couple, Sue is from Peru and Alex is from Liechtenstein.  They are staying in my old bedroom and I moved upstairs which is nice and private.

Early in the year, I spent a lot of time with Lizzy watching lots of movie and plays and picnics. We also did a fun kayak tour in the harbour.

I also attended a doggie party down at the park where Mack tucked into a big birthday cake made just for dogs!


Teaching

I continued to do teaching this year.  The highlight was our Kaplan Murder mystery Xmas party where we all got to act and dress up in costumes.  A lot of fun and laughs.  As was the annual Melbourne Cup event.  But the highlight were my two desk buddies, Steve and Rachel, who I got on really well with and got to share lots of teaching ideas and lesson plans.


Blogging

Amazing to think  I've been blogging now for close to 8 years.  My blog has taken on a life of its own, an enormous scrapbook to look back on when I'm old.  This year, I redesigned my blog with a new look and feel.  The most important change was making the photos larger.  It was a time consuming process to go through all 1350 posts and enlarge the photos, but worth it I feel.  I also migrated all my comments back to blogger which entailed copying and pasting over 1000 comments.  Lastly, I categorised my posts so that, for example, you can see all my posts to do with fun, travel or adventure.

I also created a blog for my wonderful friend, Susan, to which I uploaded all her best travel photos.  It's a private blog so not available for viewing, but she was absolutely delighted with it, and may have friends who want one too.  I've created a site to market my services in this regard.


Best films watched this year
  • Limitless
  • Rango
  • Source Code
  • The Black Swan
  • 127 Hours
  • True Grit
  • Let Me In


Shows
  • The Jersey Boys




2011 Index of Links


Family


Hiking


Photography Outings


Teaching


Social 


Related


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