2010 started with a success just a couple of days in when the last of my giant decluttering pile was collected and taken to a women's refuge charity. So I was able to begin a new year with a clean and less over crowded and cluttered apartment - and mind.
The new years resolution came into being in the first week of Feb when the bank approved my loan for the dream holiday to Antarctica. The whole year was pretty much dominated by travel plans and packing lists !!!!
Entertaiment-wise I expected it to be a quite year as I wouldnt have the spare cash available to be popping over east to see concerts or go to the theatre - but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I was instead rewarded with many artists heading my way west for a change !! So:
In February I enjoyed a huge Cliff Richard and Shadows 50 year reunion !! I last saw them all together at Wembley Stadium in London in 1989 !
In March I returned to the 80s with 2 gigs with Absolutely 80s at Friends Restaurant and Ravenswood tavern.
Also in March Chicago the Musical came to town and I squeezed in two shows and thoroughly enjoyed both.
April was a big month for entertainment, starting with seeing John Waters in the play The Swimming Club, then returning to the 80s with a brilliant concert by Spandau Ballet, then I went to see Cats - the first time for me. A very unusual musical !
In May it was a rare privilidge to experience Waiting for Godot at His Majesty's with Sir Ian McKellen and Roger Rees (who I use to love in Cheers!).
August brought more music - with John Waters in Let It Be, and Gina Williams in her new cabaret at the cute venue below His Majesty's. Then I won tickets to opening night of a new play called Yellow Moon so Laurel and I went along and made it to the social pages !!
September had a variety ! Starting with Jerry Hall in The Graduate, then Ian Moss from Cold Chisel at Friends Restaurant, then Jon English in the 70s David Williamson play The Removalists.
In October it was another first for me when I finally saw West Side Story on stage.
Weather-wise March 22 brought the largest storm to ever hit Perth. I was extremely glad to be home having a day off as the walk home would have been treacherous.
June brought us several weeks of our coldest winter temps on record - timed perfectly with my ducted heating blowing up !! We apparently also had our hottest November on record so I was glad to be away that month!
Around my home - In April I built the new TV and storage units. Nice small and compact and white - compared to the massive units I sent to the refuge. I also had a man in to build my new storage bed. East coast visitors this year included Alison from Sydney and Uncle Col from Townsville. Great to see both and hang out and catch up.
THEN !!! After spending much of the year completely absorbed in holiday planning, searching the net for plus sized cold weather gear and having it all shipped from the US for a pittance of a price compared to Aussie shops !!!!, googling for travel tips for Antarctica and South America, booking flights (treating myself to Business Class for the first time !), reading books by Shackleton and watching mini series about him, and finally packing and getting a taxi to the airport - I was on my way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On Nov 2 I flew on Malaysian Air from Perth to Kuala Lumpur to Cape Town to Buenos Aires, then changed planes to fly to the little city at the bottom of the world - Ushuaia in Tierra Del Fuego. 58 hours in the air or in airports - but it was worth it when the view of Ushuaia appeared in the planes window. Simply the most stunning place I have ever seen in my life. A little village on the Beagle Channell - surrounded by snow capped mountains and glaciers.
For a couple of days I explored the area and did a scenic chopper ride, a catamaran cruise on the channell, a hike up to a glacier, several museums, oh and divine chocolate cafes !!!!!!! I also travelled on the convict train and toured the Tierra Del Fuego National Park.
On Nov 7 I boarded the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov for my big voyage to the Antarctic Continent and crossing the Weddell Sea to the Princess Martha Coast of Antarctica, then to the South Sandwich Islands, South Georgia island before ending up in the Falkland Islands a month later.
I will be doing a proper diary when I translate all my handwriting from the little journal I kept through the trip.
The highlights - seeing the first iceberg. Seeing Elephant Island where Shackleton had to leave his men for 4 months while he set off in a row boat to Sth Georgia for help. Seeing the actual continent for the first time. The first landing by zodiac on the continent - followed by the scariest zodiac trip back to the ship - the weather had turned and it was extremely rough and dangerous. Crossing the Antarctic Circle 66.33 degrees. Scenic flights in the choppers over the pack ice of the Weddell Sea and seeing the ship from above as it cracked its way through the ice. Walking on an ice shelf after the ship had "parked" in it.
Experiencing minus 37 degrees celcius ! Seeing the largest and most unaccessible penguins in the world - the enormous Emporers. Experiencing the Drake Passage and Weddell Sea during incredible rough weather. Being in a white out blizzard for several days and watching the yellow and green decks of the ship turn white. Having BBQ's on the bow of the ship in the falling snow! Seeing a series of active volcano's in the Sandwich Islands. Seeing several Blue Whales - the worlds rarest ! Experiencing the friendliness of the snuggly Elephant Seals of South Georgia Island. The pure teal colours of the Fjords of South Georgia. Standing next to Shackletons grave on a dismal misty rainy morning and toasting his achievements. Meeting an incredible group of people - some of whom will be friends forever.
So - after all that white cold scenery it was off to stinky hot Santiago in Chile, followed by several days in 5 star
luxury hotels in the Iguazu National Park where I stayed on both the Brazil side and the Argentine side of the worlds largest series of waterfalls. 3 days of storms and rains ensured the falls were HUGE and the colour of coffee. I traversed kilometre long boardwalks over raging rivers to falls edges surrounded by thunder and lightning and pouring rain. The heat and humidity were painful after a month in freezing temperatures but these falls have to be seen to be believed.
Sadly I had to return to Australia so after two days flying
from Buenos Aires to Capetown to Kuala Lumpur to Perth
with a hideous flu that started about an hour into the flight
- I landed on Dec 10. Fortunately I dont return to work until
January so I have had time to recover from the Sth Amercian
Flu, sort my photos and get started on uploading the photos
to Phanfare. That is an "in progress" project for now so I have
included some samples here.
I admit to suffering a little Post Holiday Depression. After
spending all year slowly building up to it and now its all over
- its hard to start thinking "whats next". I was really glad that
the month in the ice didnt rush by - it felt like just the right
amount of time. But now I want to do it all again and I just dont
think the bank manager will agree.
Anyway - I have barely scraped in getting this message out
before the years end ! I hope you all had a happy holiday
season and I wish you all a fantastic New Year and I hope that
2011 brings you everything you wish for.
Love and best wishes
Karina xxx
