Variety is the spice of life!

Well I've always been the type of person who gets bored with the same old same old. So life for me is about injecting some variety.

Last night I played netball for the first time in about 16 years. It was a bit like riding a bike - I never really forgot how to do it. I was of course a little rusty. I had to adjust my three feet a little to suit the umpire and get the balance right on my one leg (and boy am I feeling that calf this morning).

Nevertheless, I had fun. The one thing I had forgotten was how hard you work playing netball. By half time I was drenched with sweat and even by the first few centre passes I was breathing hard.

Backed it up this morning with a brisk early bike ride with my husband. Bren let me set the pace (thankfully) - the legs are only a little stiff from last night. Again, I love a bit of variety, and it was a great opportunity to try out a few bike paths we hadn't used before. As I hit these new trails I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride working for BCC - they've come a long way in making Brisbane an active and healthy community by developing some great bikeways networks.

I was particularly impressed with the new bikeway connecting Wynnum Rd to Minnippi parklands - there was a pristine new path where, 18 months ago,it was a poorly sealed road. Lots of little pathways yet to explore!

Following this up with a Zumba fitness class tonight - think most of my muscles will have had some form of workout over the public holiday!

Looks can be deceiving...

Ok so the 50km ride to Esk didn't eventuate this morning. After the best night of sleep I've had since January, Stef and I agreed that:
1 it was bloody cold and;
2 it was bloody early

So we decided to do the shorter ride back to Fernvale to get a coffee and a pie for breakfast.
This was based on the fact that we woke up thinking maybe we wouldn't ride at all, so 25km was better than no ride at all. Now that would have been great, but it wasn't til we got to Fernvale that we realized it was a 40km, hilly round trip!

We took off from the camp site, only to be greeted by a large mob of kangaroos - just sitting by the side of the road. I think we both wanted to be that cute little joey snuggled up in his mum's pouch. That could be because it was 8 degrees and we were riding!

There were some lovely gentle rises along the way, all good preparation for the Texas to Stanthorpe leg of Cycle Qld. The views were worth the effort - driving along over the dam spillway was breath taking as the sun made its way over the horizon.

And if that wasn't reward enough, the wagyu pie with mushy peas from Fernvale bakery was absolutely delicious.

After a short break to enjoy said pie, we turned and retraced our tracks back to camp. This is where the deception crept in. Those gentle downhill runs on the way became long uphill climbs on the way home. Every time Stef said it was the last hill, there was another one after it.

Decided to challenge myself by maintaining a 20k speed on the uphills, however had to revise that to 19.6k! Once again though there were some great rewards. Looking ahead we thought there was a dog on the road. Turns out, it was in fact, a koala. Tried to take a pic but he very craftily scaled a tree and moved to the other side so I couldn't get a clear shot.

Back at camp, we did a quick pack up and headed back to Brisbane - once again, via Fernvale Bakery.

We've vowed to return to Wivenhoe, but next time with our daughters for a girls only weekend. Now to set a date...

It doesn't get much better than this!

Well Friday evening finds me sitting next to the camp fire on the banks of Lake Wivenhoe.

What more can I say? After an early mark from work, my girlfriend Stef and I packed the car and headed west. The traffic on the Ipswich Motorway was horrendous but we had enough gossip in us to get through the delays. Couple that with a game of chicken (judging when other drivers should dart across traffic at the Esk turn off) and we arrived just on sunset to set up camp.

Noisy air mattress pumps, neighborhood children - doesn't matter where we go, the kids gravitate toward us (Grrrr!!!)- mallets pounding pegs in and a few giggles during set up finally saw us ready to start a fire.

Fire blazing and it was time for a nice antipasto for dinner. Mmmm antipasto!

Sitting round the campfire enjoying a glass or two (or three or four...) of wine and catching up on what has been happening in our busy lives seems just perfect tonight.

Anyway it's getting time to have some dessert (read chocolate) and head in for an early night - we have a 50+km ride planned in the morning - I just hope Stef finds a coffee sooner rather than later!

Good night from our million star campsite. Ah the serenity!