Saturday, December 10, 2011

Australia Adventures - Part 3 - Western Australia

Vacations are Good.

Traveling is Blissful.

Disconnecting is Sweet.

Surprise-surprise!  Who knew that one of the things that I would enjoy most about traveling would be NOT spending any time on the computer?  I really had thought that during my travels, I would have more free time, more leisure time and therefore more time to spend on the computer. 

Clearly, this has not been the case.  I've been periodically checking e-mails and facebook, but I have been enjoying living in the moment.  It's been Grand.  Who wants to spend time sitting at the computer when it's gorgeous outside?  When there's things to see and do?  I also have a talent for turning my brain off and I'll admit, that I've thrived on living in the bubble that is Traveling.  As much as I love getting out and doing stuff, I also enjoy this thing called Relaxing.  Relaxing is Gooooood.  So, with only 5 more days in Australia - I thought I would re-connect with y'all.

I know you've missed Me.

Hi!  I'm back to the real world in 5 more days.  But until I fly out of here on Wednesday, I've got a few more runs to enjoy in the sunshine, another novel to finish and some beach time in Perth.  I think we're done with the traveling, so we'll focus on the relaxing.

Nicki, Keith and I coping with the Flies.

Thanks to our friend Nicki, our time in Western Australia has been easy, relaxing and fun.  Keith and I are fully smitten with this corner of Australia, this vast and amazing place where people are proud of where they are from.  Western Australia is a country within itself, a world away from the rest of the country, another planet.  With an area of more than 2, 500 000 sq km, a 12, 500 km coastline and spanning 2, 400km from north to south, it occupies a third of the continent.  I'm looking forward to a return visit already, so I can see more of it. 

Hiking the Dunes near Yellingup

Nicki, a woman of many hairstyles and talents.


In our 3 months in Australia, there surprisingly hasn't been a ton of time on the beach.  Be it that we are lovers of the mountains and the road trip, we've spent a lot of time in the hills and on the road.  In Perth, we finally discovered the joys of The Beach.  From Nicki's house, you've got your choice of amazing beaches.  Scarbourough Beach is an easy run, Floreat Beach and City Beach are just a bit further and within less that 10 minutes drive you've got the amazing Cottesloe Beach and Trigg Beach.  What else is there to do when the day heats up than hit the beach?  If you want to get your exercise - you need to do it early.  And really, what is a better way to start your day than a run on the beach at 5:30AM?  In the evening, it's all about the Aussie BBQ and a cold beer or nibbles and a glass of fine Aussie wine. Yes, life is good in Perth.
 Picnic With a View

This week, Nicki took us for a whirlwind roadtrip of all of her favorite places in the South West.  From vineyards to stunning white sand beaches, tall tree forests of Karri trees and the jagged and wild mountains of the Sterling Ranges, this corner of Australia has so much to offer.  All of this framed by a crystal clear turquoise/green ocean and an immense and beautiful coastline.



Disco Meets Yoga

For those of you who like to run trails, look no farther that the Bibbulmun Track.  The Bibbulmun Track is a long distance walking trail, which stretches nearly 1000kms from the Perth Hills to Albany (South Coast) through the heart of the scenic South West of Western Australia.  A couple of years ago, Nicki did the whole thing in it's entirety - one great big self-supported adventure in 19 days.  I've long been interested in doing a long through-hike and all of this talk might be enough to nudge me in this direction some time in the future. 
Soaking Wet on the Bibbulmun Track

It's sure been a fine way to wind up our trip.  Unhurried, Very Sociable with a giant side-dish of No Worries, Mate.  It's the Aussie Way.  Last night we had the bonus of seeing Santa arrive on a tractor in the small farming community of Nomans Lake and gorged ourselves on country-style appetizers and dessert.  How's that for a one-of-a-kind Aussie experience?

Thanks to the Slater family for taking such good care of us!  We've been spoiled by Jill in Perth and Rod and Jane in Narrogin.  We've been fattened up just in time for Christmas.  The biggest thanks of all to the amazing Nicki Rehn for making us part of this fun family mob and showing us her favourite corner of Australia.  We're smitten with Western Australia and the warm unpretentious folks that live here.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Race Report - Good Times at the GOWs 100



I coudn't possible go to Australia without running an Ultra. With the criteria of beautiful scenery and challenging course, I found the GOW's 100 online before leaving Canada and signed up. What a better place to run than the famous Great Ocean Walk?? Race Director Andy Hewitt was a star and put together a great little event in an amazing place. It was a wonderful way to connect with the Aussie Ultra community if only for an instant.  The day before the race, Keith and I went out for a little preview and were immediately and simultaneously "wowed" by the scenery and "scared" by the wildlife.


Keith and I both screamed like little girls when we saw not only 1, but 2 and then 3 snakes within less than 10 minutes. I was pleased to hear that the forecast was going to be cooler on race day, if only to keep the snakes off the trail. :)


At the pre-race meeting, it was re-iterated that we needed to carry lots of cold weather gear as the weather in the region is notorious for volitility and changeability. We were also told that there were a few sections of muddy trail, which turned out to be the under-statement of the evening. Turned out there was many kilometres of Mud Boggy Goodness to keep us sharp on our toes, slipping and sliding our way through to the first aid station.

The race started at 6:00AM before sunrise, with balmy 17C temperatures. It didn't take long before the sun came up on the Great Ocean Walk, which is a pretty incredible place to be at sunrise and a damn fine way to start one's day.



In the beginning it was feeling hot and humid for this Canadian girl, but throughout the course of the day the sunshine came and went a couple dozen times, as did a few squalls of rain and wind interspersed with the sunshine. Changeable indeed!


The coastal scenery was fantastic, the trail was great and we danced across a few small beaches, wound our way through forests up and down on sweet singletrack. 


Then we found the mud, deep and sticky, on the double track.  There were many long sections of mud which was deep, slippery and unavoidable.  It's all part of the fun, but there were many struggling through the muddy miles and I was glad for my poles to keep me safe and keep me upright.  I joined up with Katie for a few of these miles before rocking into the first aid station at 25k.



The weather changed a few times in the next 25k, but just after the Otway lighthouse we were hit with our first windy rainy squall.  The wind hammered at us as we made our way across the top of towering cliffs above the ocean.  I tucked in with 3 others and we didn't talk much, but we did put our heads down and run. 




There was lots of walking too, with sections of sand on the trail that made running a challenge.
Finally, we caught a glimpse of the Aire River and suddenly everyone had a spring in their stride as we descended into the Aire River Aid Station.


Keith was there to greet me as my personal cheering squad and sent me off down the trail happy and smiling.  It was great to see him. 


The section between Aire River and Johanna Beach was enjoyable and gorgeous.  The first few kilometres were sheltered and in the trees, but the it was fun running.  There were huge sections of diggins on the trail where the Echidnas and Wombats had been excavating at night.  I was amazed at their handiwork.  When we finally broke out of the trees we hit one of my favorite sections of trail - some gorgeous technical singletrack which rolled along between ocean and cliffside.





I was taking tons of photos, as the scenery kept stopping me dead in my tracks!  We climbed again to the top of an escarpment, before the fun descent to Johanna Beach.  Another squall hit us again on the beach, with headwinds and rain pounding us in all directions.  The surf was incredible - the wind had whipped up the ocean into a frothing, foaming, angry state.  Huge waves were crashing right on the beach and I was loving it. 


I passed a lot of people on the beach, dancing along on the Hoka's.  The Hoka's with their ridiculously huge platform are brilliant for running on the sand.  Instead of sinking,  I was moving well on top of the sand while most people I saw were struggling in the sand and working quite hard. 






Rolling in to Johanna Beach, I was feeling great.  Keith was there again and I took the time to change out of my shoes and socks.  After a long day of mud, water and sand - the feet were fine but it was time to refresh.

Leaving Johanna Beach, I was surprised by the huge climb which took us out and away from the ocean.  It was a double track road, which took us up and up and up into agricultural land which reminded me a lot of Ireland.  The weather cleared up and it got hot again.  I was still moving forward, but my mind was playing tricks on me on this small "road" section.  I consulted my map a few times to make sure I was still "en route".  I was all alone, except for a few relay folks who blazed by me.  I didn't feel like I was progressing too quickly and was surprised when nobody caught up to me.  I kept looking over my shoulder hoping someone would catch up to me because it was lonely out there!  I was thrilled when this road section ended and we headed back into the bush and on to a proper trail again.  I'm such a trail snob. :)


While I was thrilled to be back on the trail, this section of trail was kick-ass.  Wow.  The trail got tough and relentless, with massive elevation gains followed by big descents.  Up and down and up and down with glimpses of the sea and more beautiful coastline.  It was relentless, challenging terrain.


It's a good thing the scenery was so good, because this section was tough, tough and tough.  I got passed by a relay girl like I was standing still as I power-hiked uphill.  I also kept catching glimpses of a gal who had left Johanna about 5 minutes in front of me.  It gave me a little "carrot" to keep chasing - not in a competitive way, but in a "I sure would enjoy some company" kind of way.  I picked up the speed when I got a sniff of the last aid station and passed her along the way.  I had a little momentum, so I just rolled with it.


I was definitely feeling a little glazed over when I hit the last aid station.  I pulled some tights over my shorts to warm up my tired legs muscles which felt oh-so-good.  Nothing like a little cozy hug for your legs!  We were told that there was bad weather on it's way and we need to take pants, beanies and warm layers. We also had to put on our safety-glow-in-the-dark vests.  There was lots of Mandatory Gear for this race, but I always appreciate race organizers with a "Safety First" attitude.  I grabbed a ridiculous amount of food to go (3 potatos, 3 cookies and 2 bananas) to get me to the finish line.  Believe it or not, I mowed through it ALL in the next 2 hours.  I was making sure there wasn't going to be a late-in-the-race bonk.  I ran out of the aid station munching away.

Things that make you laugh late in an Ultra

Shortly after, Helen caught up to me, blazed by me and promptly disappeared on the trail ahead of me.  I ate another cookie and kept walking.  We ran through sections of thick twisted ocean shrubbery, which protected us from the sea breeze and drizzle which was gaining momentum.  I ate a banana.  And a potato.  And started moving quicker.  I caught up with Helen again and we chatted a bit.  I was amazed when she told me she was running her last Ultra before she was going in to have knee surgery, a forced time off and maybe, just maybe, have another baby. Oh, Ultra folk!  You are good people.  She mentioned that we should be able to get in before dark and that we could probably get in under 14 hours.  Well.  That put the wind in my sails and I took flight!

I left Helen and promptly caught up with Caitlyn, the relay girl who had blazed by me earlier.  She was glad for the company, so we harnessed each others energy and took off running together.  I gained momentum with her, knowing we had less than 11k to run and feeling good.  In fact, I was running faster than I had all day.  Zzzzzooom!  We picked up the pace, stopped chatting and were Getting It Done.  No more photos, the sun was going down and we were charging.  Or at least it felt like it.  I wanted to get done before it got dark.  We caught a glimpse of the 12 Apostles of in the distance, but it was getting too dark for photo ops.  Plus, at that point I wasn't stopping for anything.  I did snap one last photo as the sun disappeared across the ocean.  Again, it was a beautiful place to be.


We hit the road with 1.5km to go, at the same time as the storm hit.  The drizzle turned to rain, the breeze turned to hammering wind and  we put our heads down and ran into a headwind which almost stopped us dead in our tracks.  Push, push, push and we were there.  Yay!  A happy, strong finish with my new friend and my day and a 100 kilometres were done.  Phew!  That was hard work. Keith was there with arms wide open at the finish line, to greet me with a hug and a big plate of food.  Thanks, Keith!  You are the best.

 The Great Ocean Walk 100k was tough - such a challenging course!  Such incredible scenery. The storm continued to gain momentum in the hours to come and I was feeling bad for those who were still out there.  It was a truly epic storm howling outside, while I was relaxing at the Port Campbell Hostel.  Afterwards, I learned that the wind gusts were blowing people right off the trail as they ran their way into the cold wet and windy night.

The next morning was awesome with a breakfast, awards and social at the hostel.  It was fun to connect with people and swap stories.  When the awards were being presented, I was surprised to find out that I was 3rd!  That was a fun surprise.  Keith had known, but he hadn't told me and me, well, I hadn't been paying any attention.  We got buckles, custom-labelled bottles of red wine and bragging rights. :)  It was quite an epic.  Thanks to Andy for organizing such an awesome event!  I was great to connect with the Aussie Ultra Community.  Ultra Runners are good folks and Aussie Ultra folk are a warm and welcoming lot.  It made my first Australian Ultra a stand-out experience, as did running the spectacular scenery of the Great Ocean Walk. 

In the words of Keith:  "This is so Awesome!!"

Post-race, the hostel manager in Port Campbell and his family kept us entertained and we relaxed well for a few days.  Tony dug out his Canadian flags and we indulged in some ridiculous shenanigans by embelishing the race results and autographing flags celebrity-style.  My autographed flag is currently hanging in the Port Campbell hostel, where you all can go visit it and pay homage. :)



Thursday, October 13, 2011

Australia Adventures - Part 2

Where to begin when you have too many adventures and photos to even think about deciphering and putting into a coherent blog entry?  With a giant exhale of the good-kind-of-exhaustion and a short but sweet rant but more rave about all the happenings of the past few weeks....

There was the visit to Murwillumbah, Lamington National Park and Springbook National Park.  Me Likey.  It was great to be back in the mountains.  We enjoyed some incredible scenery, the rainforest and some damn fine trails. 


There was a wet run through the rainforest and the clouds to the top of Mount Warning and the kid who followed me right to the top.

A solo run on the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk. There was incredible mountain and rainforest scenery to behold and snakes and birds and things that make bizarre noises in the night.  We drove the narrowest, steepest, twistiest, turniest mountain roads I've ever driven. Keith and I have survived and enjoyed driving on the left. :) Australia has surprised us!



There was a drive to Perigeon Beach near Noosa, to enjoy some quality time with my Uncle Ian and his fine lady Berna.  Walks on the long and amazing beach.




Runs through Noosa Heads National Park with Keith.



There was much ice cream and many cocktails.  It's my Uncle Ians latest thing in retirement. :)  I'm not sure what this photo has to do with ice cream.


There was lots of food and Aussie television.  I got to see my Uncle Ronny again. 


I even got to meet and hang out with my cousin Dionne and her family and 3 kids.  Keith got to go skateboarding.  And boogie boarding.  And more body surfing.  And more ice cream.  Australia's beach culture is addictive.




 I got to squeeze in another long solo run on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk.  It was rather spectacular and I jumped in a few cold water holes.  Bliss!




*BTW - what exactly is Hinterland?  I want to know.*  More incredible scenery.  More trails.  More time spent running around the Aussie bush.  Bush = Woods in Australia.  Bush Walking = Hiking.  Fair Dinkum is something the uncles say that makes me giggle.  The uncles make me laugh a LOT!  We got to go body surfing with both uncles and their "budgie smugglers" aka. Speedos.


We tried to do "urban" in Brisbane and realized we don't do "urban".  Had fun riding bicycles all over Brisbane and got the heck out. Cities are busy and noisy. But Brisbane is beautiful, as far as cities go.



Stayed with Berna's 91 year old mother - a definite highlight.

Spent a day with Cherie Devlin - our Banff friend in her own backyard.  Took a road trip to the Glasshouse Mountains and gawked over more amazing scenery.  Enjoyed more ice cream and good company!




 Got to meet Helen, my blogging buddy and her family!  Yaaaay!

Got to hang with my cousin Robin and Uncle Ronny made another surprise appearance. :)

Hopped on a plane and arrived in Melbourne yesterday.  Learned our lesson and got out of the city, ASAP.  Maybe we'll do Melbourne later.  Or maybe not.  Currently sitting in Apollo Bay at the most incredible hostel in the most incredible place!

On Saturday, I'm going to run 100km's on the Great Ocean Walk.  I'm pretty excited to be running the GOW's 100 and incredible stoked to see more of the scenery in this corner of the world.  What a better way to see it?