My Week in Review...

Best Day of the Week!

On Sunday, Micky and I drove out to the Swan Valley, the oldest wine region in Western Australia and just a 20 minute drive from home. We drove through the Swan Valley region passing farms, wineries, breweries. Our first stop was for a spot of high tea at Madhatters on Milston, a restaurant in the West Swan area set amongst beautiful gardens and majestic trees, and enjoyed the warm Sunday sun. There we ate the biggest scones I’ve ever seen and I’ve had a few afternoon teas with friends and family back in England!

There is a wide range of local produce in the area including small boutique options such as the Windarra Honey which we decided to stop and check out. Inside the small shop was a beehive with 5,000 bees enclosed in a transparent case for visitors to view. We sampled  eight or so varieties and flavours of honey including ones with added ginger, vanilla and wildflowers; it was some of the best honey I’ve tried so we had to get some. Apparently, their jarrah honey has one of the highest antioxidant levels in the world with more active ingredients and health benefits than manuka honey and it’s cheaper, we’ll give that a go!

Nature Highlight of the Week…

On the same day whilst we were driving through the Swan Valley region, I randomly spotted a mob of kangaroos on an open field – we had to stop the car and inspect! Coincidentally, I’d had a desire to see kangaroos this week but I didn’t in my wildest dreams foresee spotting so many in one outing - it was incredible! Forty-nine wild kangaroos (yes, I counted them), and a tall emu amongst them spotted by Micky. Now I really feel like I’m in Australia! We didn’t get too close to them, just stood there for a long while completely entertained by these  fascinating native animals grazing on grass, some bouncing along, some standing tall starring at us with their ears standing straight and others napping. This beats going to a zoo any day!

Focus on Fitness

It’s true what they say about the Aussies, they are a nation of sporty, exercise-loving, endorphin-chasing, fitness fanatics and this is one thing I have come to admire about Australia and the active lifestyle here.

When I first arrived in Perth back in March, I was stunned by their sheer dedication to working out in the furious heat. In excess of 40 degrees, I’d see joggers, runners and cyclists on a mission in their stretch-lycra sports gear parading their toned, tanned bodies in Perth’s parks, along riversides, beachfronts and on cycle paths clearly visible from my balcony at varying times of the day (including those powerful peak hours of 10-3pm)! In more recent weeks, I’ve witnessed women on dark, chilly mornings strutting along the streets with their yoga mats tucked under their arms at 7am on a Sunday morning. That’s commitment for you! And it’s not just the young taking to the outdoors to get their fitness fix. I’m seeing lots of the senior citizens of Perth jogging, cycling, kayaking, dog-running, even mummys (but surprisingly more daddys), jogging whilst pushing a pram with one arm and pulling their dog’s lead with the other - talk about multi-tasking!

 In awe of the Aussie attitude to exercise and my original goal to get fitter in Oz, I registered myself and Micky for Perth’s annual City to Surf run taking place at the end of August. Last year 42,000 people took part. The race starts from the city area and ends at City Beach. Also, I researched some exercise classes and enrolled in my first Pilates and Yoga classes at LivPilates in nearby Maylands, just a 5 min drive from home.  All I can say is that after a mix of six or so classes of both, I still have aching muscles I never knew I had. This must be good, activating these sleeping muscles of mine.  Where Yoga I’m told is all about balancing the mind and body through a series of poses, exercises and relaxation techniques, Pilates is more to do with conditioning the body by building flexibility, muscle, strength and endurance through the core and limbs. The classes so far have been challengingly fun; stretching this and pulsing that, squeezing here and clenching there and trying to maintain a number of tricky poses in beginners’ Yoga.

Anyway, I am feeling good about my new fitness regime and with the spring and the long summer months soon approaching; this requires us to spend more time outdoors in fewer clothes. So with this in mind, I am preparing myself for my first Australian summer with an Aussie-inspired approach.

Warm Winter

We are enjoying a warm winter here in Perth! Hope that doesn’t make my family and friends back home in the UK too envious as I’ve recently been hearing moans about the drizzly weather there. What a difference a dose of vitamin D makes over the winter season though!

Now July is here, we’re in the height of “winter” and yet we are absorbing temperatures of 21- 22 degrees and are surrounded by clear blue skies mostly every day. I’ve discovered that a prescription of warm winter sun helps to lift my mood when I’m feeling a little low or missing home. I often take myself for a brisk walk along the river and just five minutes away, I feel like I am enveloped in the country surrounded by lots of different species of birds, it’s lovely and you wouldn't think the city is just 20 minutes away. I have decided that we have to buy some bicycles in the near future and follow many others along the cycle path. There are cycle tracks all around us and I often see individuals, couples and families taking leisurely cycle trips along the river.

However not all of Australia is relishing in a mildly warm winter. Over east (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra), temperatures are mostly in the teens and it sounds pretty chilly from what relatives/friends say. The weather in Western Australia is one of the highlights of living here which sets itself apart from other states in the country.

I haven’t been up to an awful lot recently which sounds pretty boring. Work continues to be pretty full-on and stressful and in all honestly, I feel like it's taking over my life which isn’t a great because firstly, I’m actually not enjoying it very much now  and secondly, I didn’t come to Australia to be get bogged down with work, work, work the whole time! So I need to reshuffle my work/life balance and also look into improving and/or changing my work situation in the near future.

Anyway, here are some personal things I am looking forward to in the next week or so:

- Dinner with new friends Roland and Kate

- Attending my first Pilates class

- Attending my first Yoga class

- Meeting a new friend in Fremantle for a wonder around the town and its vintage shops

- Catching up with loved ones on Skype

- Continuing to enjoy the winter sun for as long as possible!