The Hunter Valley has nothing compared to Pico Island

Posted on September 23, 2026 by marilyn

FAIAL & PICO ISLANDS, AZORES – 22-23 September 2026
After 4 days on Sao Miguel, we were ready to hit the ground running with 2 days on Faial & Pico Islands.  The trip theme (things not going to plan) continued with Christine and me thinking that we needed to be in the lobby at 6am to catch the bus, so we weren’t in a hurry, then at 5.20am we got a call from Rhonda to ask where were we, the bus was to leave at 5.30am – talk about chaos! Continue reading →

Posted in Bushwalking | 3 Comments

We’re going where???

Posted on September 21, 2026 by marilyn

SAO MIGUEL, AZORES – 18 – 21 September 2026
This is the start of what will be 10 days in the Azores. The archipelago consists of nine islands out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and they are part of Portugal.  We will be visiting four of them.  This blog post records our visit to the first and largest island, Sao Miguel (population 133,000), we will be here for four nights (3 days of exploring).  Embarrassing fact … I hadn’t even heard of the Azores until Christine suggested we add them to our trip! Continue reading →

Posted in Family | 2 Comments

35 hours – what was I thinking!

Posted on September 18, 2026 by marilyn

SYDNEY – PORTUGAL – 14/9/26 – 18/9/26
20 years ago, possibly whilst drinking copious quantities of red wind, I recall talking to Christine (although she denies this) about going to Portugal for 6 months once we retired.  I had visions of drinking lots of wine, walking along white sandy beaches, with blue fishing boats resting on the beach, with me wearing a flowing dress, and flirting with good looking Portuguese young men (bear in mind that we talked about this 25 years ago LOL). Continue reading →

Posted in Family | 4 Comments

Heaton’s Cliffs – Part 2

Posted on September 5, 2026 by marilyn

HEATON STATE FOREST – 5th September 2026
Last May, Trish M and I went on an adventure looking for access to a couple of cliffs.  We didn’t get to the bottom of the cliffs and vowed that we would return.  Trish M couldn’t make it this time but Heather R and Trish N were up for the challenge. Continue reading →

Posted in Bushwalking | 2 Comments

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine!”

Posted on August 25, 2026 by marilyn

CAVING, NSW – 25 August 2026
For the past few years, I’ve been part of a group of experienced cavers (in no way am I that experienced) who advise on a specific cave area.  After our last meeting, we were sitting around deciding what cave we should visit to check out things (like the gate) and see if it was showing any wear and tear.  The one they picked sounded like there was a squeeze, and as no one had been in the cave for a while, we weren’t sure that it was navigable. Continue reading →

Posted in Caving | 6 Comments