Annapurna Sanctuary

Trackside

House and Garden Nepal

Guesthouse - doing the track in style

Rhodadendrum forest preparing for April bloom

Helping out in the kitchen, a good way to stay warm!

Sunrise, Poon Hill x5

Katie and I

Catlin & Chris

My bottle providing good entertainment

Playtime before lunch

Macchapucchre sunset

Who would complain about hanging the washing with this for a view?

Wheat fields

Corn House

Sally suspended

Maps at each guesthouse along the way

Working the fields while the little ones play

Mountain highway food delivery service

Baby buffalo

Made it myself?!

Langurs - last spotted at Melbourne zoo now the real deal wild

If he was my dhai I am his canche - Nepali team were a lot of fun!

We must be getting closer to the top with all this white stuff around right?

The sanctuary invites the sun

Little chilly

The sign of proof - destination accomplished

Every good basecamp summit ends with a snowball fight

Bhaktapur

Verbal photographs

Under a canopy of prayer flags - blue, yellow, white, green and red, two boys sit with umbrellas of bright pink fairy floss. The colours beautiful and clashing.

Wandering streets, chai and company

Spent the rest of yesterday wandering around the streets. Finding lovely warm, organic vegetable soup, avoiding Indian conmen, looking at thangka paintings and talking to Tibetan ladies selling them, having lovely new friends shout me a cup of chai as we chatted, looking for hiking socks and sitting down and talking to a ten year old boy bored on school holidays who impressed me with his “Australia, the capital is Canberra!” introduction.
I was lucky that my friend Michelle happened to arrive in Kathmandu for work yesterday evening. Have had a good day going to the old city of Bhaktapur with her. Unfortunately some chai I had this afternoon has disagreed with my stomach and I am late to meet my Intrepid tour group and spend the rest of the evening with my bum exposed to the cold air as I become one with the toilet. Michelle is a God send providing meds, warm clothes, company and lightening up the situation with good humour. Have a few days to take it easy before we start hiking so all should be fine by then. No pictures - only memories!

Rooftop in Kathmandu

Underneath her smoggy veil she keeps her smiles, her colours, a relaxed friendly spirit if you stop and share. A horizon of houses, stupas, hotels, mosques, small flowerpots on roofs next to solar panels, a gold, silver and bronze umbrella sheltering a spiral staircase and the late morning sounds of traffic, labourers and pigeons. The paintings so detailed it would take volumes to describe.

a few off the bucket list

There have been a few things I have been wanting to do and I'm taking out some time at the beginning of this year to go and do them! Leaving Canberra for Kathmandu today...

Family Christmas & New Year

Bec and I - Three Sisters, Blue Mountains

Rich, his Mum & Dad (Dianne & Dennis) & Bec, Blue Mountains

Finely & Tamara

Leon & Rich taking turns at inflating the pool

Willow thinking it's too exciting!

Enjoying being a grandma - Bec's Mum, Finley & Willow



Rich, Bec's Mum & Dad (Leona & Peter) New Years Eve, Royal National Park


Coastal Views

How did we both end up with packs front and back?!
"Not as young as we once were" they had said.