Trip Down under

Angie and Greg's big day is planned for the 24th of March 06. G and I need to sit down and plan the dates we intend taking leave for the trip - do we go the week before the wedding and spend the time with the folks or do we go a few days before the wedding and spend the time after the wedding with the folks? Do we stay in Perth the whole two weeks or do we do a bit of traveling - if so where? Decisions, decisions, decisions. I think step one will be to start making enquiries to establish the cost of the flight.

Recommended read

This is the book that I have just finished reading - highly recommended. K bought this book for my last birthday, but I've only recently had the time to get around to reading it. Some good lessons to be learnt.

Hiking the hills of Suikerbosrand

So with all the stresses of work, and the rushed lives that we live, we decided to take some time out and go and do a hike in the Suikerbosrand Nature reserve, south of Jhb. K and I decided that we'd give the 10km route a go - why not - the 17km sounded too long, and the 1 hour walk was just too short. Well, about 2 hours into the hike, and out of breath, we wondered how good an idea that was. It actually turned out to be perfect though - we managed the 10km in just over 3 hours - which I estimated would take at least 4-5 hours at one stage. It was great to get out into the hills, and work the lungs a bit. The vegetation was still pretty dry, with patches of green grass starting to sprout, but mostly dry and dusty. We enjoyed the walk so much, that we decided to do it again this past weekend, with a good mate of ours - Frankie. This time, we opted for the shorter, 1 hour route - where we got to spot a lone Eland, grazing in the hills. The walk was pleasant, and the vegetation was definitely a lot greener - given the recent rains. After completing the walk we then found a good spot under some trees, to just park off and enjoy a cold savannah. All in all, another great afternoon in the hills. We're hoping to find some other great hikes and trails in the Gauteng area, and get out at least once a month. Will keep you posted.

Christmas round the corner

With Christmas fast approaching I find myself wondering how on earth I'm going to get through all the shopping and planning for our holiday to Madagascar. I had all good intentions from the beginning of August to go out and purchase all the pressies - we now just over a month away from the 25th and number of pressies under the belt - zero.

The Wilson's - Down Under!

And just to confirm how impressive Google Earth really is, we decided to try and find K's folks' place, on the 4th fairway of the Joondalup Resort, in Perth. And here it is...

Our place, from space.

Speaking of homes, this is our place as seen from space, using Google Earth.

House Hunting

Its not that we're unhappy in our townhouse at the moment, but we're desperately looking for something with a bit of a garden. We've been in our current place for almost 4 years now, and we absolutely love it, but are craving some extra space, and a patch of grass. Problem is that everything we look at, in the area that we're currently in, is way too expensive. We like the area though - so have decided to take our time and try and find something that is a little more reasonably priced than what we've currently seen - even if it does take a while. We're quietly optimistic that the right place will come along soon enough.