Wimbledon - England

The Event: After getting our queue card the night before (number 671), we joined the long line of tents all queueing to get into Wimbledon the next day. With everyone getting woken up at 6 by the stewards, we were packed up and queueing by 7:30, to get into the grounds at 9. Liz, Stu, Amanda and I were lucky enough to get tickets for Court 1 by being early enough in the queue. This meant that amongst the players, we would be able to watch Maria Sharapova, the then topseeded lady. Even luckier were friends Gavin, Alexia, Kath and Tolis who (having started to queue 2 hours earlier the previous day) got Centre Court. They were kind enough to let us in to watch Djokovic (then also top seed) play the last 2 games of his winning match. They went on to watch Federer's epic battle in which he came back from 2 sets down against Benneteau to win his match.

Isle of Wight - England

The Event: Pearl Jam at Isle of Wight - great concert!
What was really great was to be there with some of my great buddies from university and school; Tim, Trev, and Steph and even Nick who happened to be in England for the weekend.
Changing our minds to drive up to the Festival on the Friday morning thankfully saved us from getting stuck in gridlock traffic on the Island due to the parking lots being too muddy for the hundreds of arrivals to park their cars that night. We ferried across in the morning and were parked and pitched by 12 o'clock. Though we had missed the worst of the rain, we still got the mud - sometimes sloshing through a foot of mud in our gumboots. Our tent was also pitched on a mud patch nestled tightly within a sea of tents - nice!
We watched some good acts including Biffy Clyro and Lana Del Rey, but could not have been luckier to watch an awesome gig by Pearl Jam. They belted out all their old hits including Given to Fly, Jeremy, Yellow ledbetter, Alive and Betterman and their presence on stage is powerful. We all had a great time and even managed to tour a bit of the Island afterwards, which included a visit to the needles.

Henley - England

The Event: After months of intensive training and with hopes being high for being selected to row, Liz made it into the Henley Womens Regatta 2012 to row in one of two fours for Barnes Bridge Ladies (BBL). Being one of the most well known regattas in the world and a familiar stomping ground for the likes of 5 times olympic gold medalist, Sir Steve Redgrave, it was great for me to witness Liz taking part in the race. 

Conditions were harsh in the blustering wind which seemed to rise from nowhere and then disappear just as quickly, but the team had a great race with the team giving it their all and making no mistakes. Unfortunately they didnt make it through to the next round, however as it turns out the other BBL boat went on to win it the following day. Despite some small intervals of rain, the sun did come out, making it a pleasant day out on what is a beautiful part of the Thames.

Dorset - England

Took a trip to Dorset on the South West coast of England for the weekend where we competed in another of the Endurancelife Coastal Trail Series. Again Liz and I piled into a big house where we stayed with 7 other friends also down for the challenge. This time we attempted the half marathon (turned out to be 14.6 miles) trailing part of the Jurrasic coastal path of Dorset, famous for Durdle Door (top), and recognised as a World Heritage site. The scenery was spectacular along the run but the hills were immense. Adding to the difficulty was the fact that it had poured the night before so it made for some really muddy, slippery running. I think my time told the story as I finished in 3h15. Liz smashed it coming in at 2h36! The scenery was so good we returned the following day to take the photos.

Norfolk Broads - England

The Place: Spent a long weekend on a narrow boat with friends in the Norfolk broads.
Some features: It was so relaxing to just wander along the tributaries at no more than 5 knots passing quaint houses, small towns and natural wilderness. We all got a good dose of reading, fishing (none caught tho), and just chilling out in general. Though we passed some cool little pubs on the river we decided it was more fun on the boat so cooked all meals on board - and had legendary cooked breakfasts on board (thanks to Tim!). All-in-all, a great British way to spend a weekend!

Cornwall - England

The Place: Competed in a 4 mile endurance life swim in the Helford Estuary which starts in Gweek near Falmouth and heads out till it almost meets the sea.
Some features: Liz and I found a great campsite - we were the only tent there! There was a farm stall close by so we woke up to fresh coffee and sticky buns for breakfast. Headed in to Falmouth for a wander through the old town before heading to the swim in the afternoon. The swim was exhausting - I enjoy a good swim but felt this one stretched me beyond my comfort zone - I came in 35th (last) with a time of 2:21 but at least within minutes of the rest of the pack without falling too far behind. Despite the difficulty the surroundings were awesome. Liz and I took a trip the next morning to Lizard Point (not far from Lands End) which gave us a chance to see the rough sea and cliffsides of Cornwall and Liz got to bite into a true Cornish Pasty (the size of the plate).

South Devon - England

The Place: Spent a weekend in South Devon for a bit of camping. We took a drive along the coast stopping in at Dawlish, and Paignton - and unfortunately no waves for surfing (I guess this isnt SA or Aus!). We did however manage to hire some kayaks in Babbecombe Bay, where we could explore some of the caves in the cliffsides aswell as paddling within a metres of a large resident seal.

Dart Estuary Swim - South Devon

The Event: Entered an endurance swim covering 5.2miles of the Dart Estuary in Dartmouth (South Devon). It was tougher than I expected and I came in at a slow time of 2h27 (52nd out of 62) with the leader getting a time of 1h43. It was a weird experience for me to do a long swim; unlike running where you stop when tired, with swimming you just keep going but feel as though you're blacking out. Towards the end I was just swimming in a zone with eyes closed, looking up every now and then to keep my direction. Enjoyed every second though!