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Kate and I have a reputation as social aggregators and after this week, it would be harder to deny. The Australian relatives have arrived - Gabby and Graham for another, longer summer visit and sister Wendy and her husband, Graeme, who have come for their first summer experience in Canada.  Part of the premium tour package of the Canadian Rockies that we include is a favourite hideaway called the Naiset Huts at the foot of Mt. Assiniboine.  We've been there before and for those jaded by throngs of summer tourists, it is a perfect panacea.   Considering that we had a few injured at the start of the three day visit to Naiset Huts, we decided to 'chopper in, rather than hike the 26 kilometres.  The rellies were suitably impressed by both the ride in and the afternoon hike we did after arriving.  The weather cooperated on the first day, presenting a few fluffy clouds to punctuate the blue sky and rugged peaks we were surrounded by.  We lunched at...

Gardening in AgCan Zone 3b I am the daughter (and grand-daughter) of farmers.  Both my sisters are farmers.  A significant proportion of my uncles, aunts and cousins are farmers.  My DNA is farm girl.  I understand the cycle of the seasons, time of the year, the wet years, the dry years, the years with a caterpillar plague, the affect of hail on fruit crops and taste the winter turnips in the milk.  A vegetable garden is second nature, fruit trees grace the backyard and flowers and a lawn, a year round pleasure.  But I grew up on the Mornington Peninsula; Australian Plant Hardiness Zone 4 (or AgCan Zone 9) where snow is non-existent and a frost is rare. Now I live in Canmore; AgCan Hardiness Zone 3b . This is a foreign world.  The trees are bare branches from October to May. Perennials are the plants that poke through the dirt in late April and die in the first frost in September.  Annuals are plants we buy each year to fill our pots and han...

My mom, Diane, used to come to my house to meet our kids after school and entertain and do crafts with them. My ex-wife had big problems with the fact that my mom didn't leave our home in pristine condition when she left. When my ex- challenged her on this, Diane asked her, "Do you want me spending time with the kids, or cleaning?" I couldn't have been more proud of my mom. The poem below embodies those feelings perfectly. Love you and your outlook on life, mom.  Happy Birthday. -------------------------------------------------------------- Dust If You Must Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better, To paint a picture or write a letter, Bake a cake or plant a seed, Ponder the difference between want and need? Dust if you must, but there's not much time, With rivers to swim and mountains to climb, Music to hear and books to read, Friends to cherish and life to lead. Dust if you must, but the world's out there, With t...

I was chatting to my Mum today who was just home from the funeral of Nancy Stephens.   She described the funeral as lovely and went on to say what a huge support and mentor Nancy had been to her as a young mother in a small town far from family.   I then happened to read Jac Stephens’ beautiful post to her mother and her “Sticky Lemon Delicious Cake” on Facebook.   And Richard Cornish posted about his Mum on International Women’s Day, the beautiful words he posts each year and never fail to send a shiver down my spine.   I look at the family and the community I grew up in and see, not just an idyllic childhood of farms, beaches, horses, sailing and home-baked cakes but also the number of extraordinary women who influenced our world. From my grandmother who was widowed in the late 1940s with three small children, who ran an orchard and privately educated her children, to my mother who believed her girls could … so we did.   There was the b...

The Banff Centre of Arts and Creativity is an absolute gem and an amazing institution to have in our backyard.  From opera to the Banff Mountain Film Festival, we are spoilt by the range and quality of performances - and we get to wear our hiking boots! Billboard on Highway 1 going to the Rockies Last night we went to see Alan Doyle, a favourite Canadian folksinger/actor/author from Newfoundland best known for being the lead singer of the band "Great Big Sea".  Unfortunately, a major snow storm and a vehicle breakdown caused the performance to be delayed for two hours.  As we were readying to leave Canmore, an e-mail pinged through that told us this, so instead of having to wait outside the locked concert hall doors, we just settled back into the sofa, topped up our drinks and left at 8:45 instead of 6:45.  We arrived at the concert hall with just enough time to briefly catch up with some friends, then we filed in to find our seats.  The band, on t...

Upon arriving at Phuket airport at 1 am, we exited the terminal and made our way past the gauntlet of tourist-hardened taxi drivers and carried our backpacks out into the humid, tropical night.  We had cleverly booked a hotel just 350 metres down the road from the airport.  After checking in, we quickly fell asleep after the 25 hour journey. Nai Harn bay In the morning we woke up, checked out, then made our way by taxi to the south end of the island to Nai Harn beach where our friends, Mark and Julie, were waiting for us.  Nai Harn beach is one of the quieter beaches due to its distance from the airport (farthest on the island) and lack of accommodation close by.  It is a sheltered anchorage from north- and north-east wind and swells, and it also has a convenient public dock for dinghies so the bay is well-used by yachties.  Kokomo, our home for the next few weeks, was happily anchored there, waiting for us to join it and start the adventure. Kokomo (...

Riding the EAC! Remember in 'Finding Nemo' when Dory and Marlin used the EAC Superhighway with the turtles to get to Sydney? We did it too - although perhaps not quite the same speed and minus the turtles! The EAC is the East Australian Current that runs down the east coast of Australia.  Somewhat larger than the film portrayed, the EAC is a surface current that is up to 100km wide in places.  It is strongest in the Summer and runs up to 4kns.  We picked it up off the coast of Fraser Island and held on for the ride! The East Australian Current Steaming past Brisbane - 9.6kn over ground  with a little help from the EAC! We experienced its gentle nudge of between 2.5 and 3.5kn.  For a period, we has 4.1kn of current helping us along.  To put this in perspective, each knot of additional speed on a 24 hour passage saves around 3-4 hours.  So that's awfully nice! 4.1kns - thats a nice little nudge! Weeeee - we love the EAC! 'You'...

Whitehaven Beach Beautiful Whitehaven Beach with sand like icing sugar and azure waters, it listed as one of the top ten beaches in the world by Lonely Planet. Somewhat subjective, some will debate, but there is little argument that Whitehaven is stunning. ...and accessible. Hoards of tourists flock to the southern end of the beach by helicopter, sea-plane, yacht and power boat, charter boat and fully-loaded day tour boats that purge tourists reminiscent to the wartime landings in Normandy. Yet despite this, Whitehaven remains stunning.  Anchor a tad further north and all but the most intrepid tourist can be avoided. The warm, clear waters invite swimming and the bright, white sand is perfect for lazing. A wonderful place to spend a day or two! ...but Lonely Planet, did you really have to tell the whole world?!

Paradise with sharp teeth Cid Harbour Cid Harbour in The Whitsunday Islands is picture perfect. The water is that stunning shade of turquoise that has you questioning; blue? green?   It is prime cruising season with dozens of yachts bobbing at anchor on the sparkling water.   The weather is sunny and warm.   Dinghies zip around the bay and the sounds of splashing and laughter carry across the water as people leap from their boats into the sparkling, warm turquoise.    We swam off Popeye, floating and splashing and practicing the backward roll method of getting into the dinghy.   We took the dinghy ashore, wandered along the beach and hiked the track around the headland.   We watched the turtles frolic, completely nonplussed by our presence.   And then we jumped into that magical warm water to rid ourselves of the sweat of the tropical day. We had just settled in for sundowners with a glass of wine in hand ...