30 December 2005
First diary entery since we've been in Canberra. We're in Canberra for Christmas and new year and also another couple of weeks in January while Tim runs his workshop.
I think my body really misses going to the gym. The last time I went to the gym was before it closed for Christmas on 22 December so I haven't been for 8 days now. I am getting a bit worried that my physical condition will deteriorate by the time I go back to Melbourne. The Melbourne Uni gym is not open till 3rd January anyway so even if I was in Melbourne, I wouldn't be able to go anyway. Tim has hired a stepper for me and also bought a few simple exercise equipment for me to use while I can't go to a gym. The living room at Helen and Mal's place is like a mini gym now with stepper, dumb bells and a sit up bench lying around.
I guess I have achieved another landmark on the day after the Boxing Day. I went bushwalking! It's the first time I went bushwalking since my operation. Jamie, Tim's brother, Christella and their 4 kids, Eleni, Nicholas, Yani and Olivia invited us to joing them for their annual Christmas bushwalk. They were very thoughtful in picking a walking trail that's not too impossible for me. They picked Yankee Hat Walking Trail in the Namadgi National Park. It is rated as 6.5 km return. I think going as a group has definitely helped. Tim was surprised that I didn't whinge at all. Christella was well organised and had prepared all the lunch for us so we had a bit of break before continuing on the second part of the journey. Where we stopped for lunch was probably the only part of this trail that had some trees for shelter because most of the trail is just grassland. After lunch, Jamie said I could stay there if I didn't feel like walking to the cave where the Aboriginal rock art is and Christella would stay back with me. He said there is not much shelter after this point so if I decide that I can't continue on later, I'd have to come back here for shelter. I thought about it and decided that I'd push on since I was already 1/3 of the way there.
The rest of the walk was not exactly easy - I had to hold on to Tim or Christella for balance a lot of the time. I don't think it took us that long to get to the Aboriginal Rock Art. At least I didn't think I was over tired. We rested at the spot for some refreshment Christella had prepared for us and then headed back. Walking back was a little more challenging because there was more downhill walking and also my legs were getting tired. It was Lillian's first experienceof bushwalking as well although she stayed in the backpack that Tim was carrying most of the time. She was quite happy to stay in the backpack on Tim's back. There were many kangaroos along the way and when she saw them, she said "zhege klo klo". She can't really say kangaroo yet so she called them klo klo. "Zhege" means this one in Mandarin. She often mixes up between Mandarin and English and would put a mixture of the two languages in a sentence.
I was very glad when we got back to the carpark. I felt a great sense of achievement. Last Christmas I was still walking with a stick and this year I went bushwalking!
I think my body really misses going to the gym. The last time I went to the gym was before it closed for Christmas on 22 December so I haven't been for 8 days now. I am getting a bit worried that my physical condition will deteriorate by the time I go back to Melbourne. The Melbourne Uni gym is not open till 3rd January anyway so even if I was in Melbourne, I wouldn't be able to go anyway. Tim has hired a stepper for me and also bought a few simple exercise equipment for me to use while I can't go to a gym. The living room at Helen and Mal's place is like a mini gym now with stepper, dumb bells and a sit up bench lying around.
I guess I have achieved another landmark on the day after the Boxing Day. I went bushwalking! It's the first time I went bushwalking since my operation. Jamie, Tim's brother, Christella and their 4 kids, Eleni, Nicholas, Yani and Olivia invited us to joing them for their annual Christmas bushwalk. They were very thoughtful in picking a walking trail that's not too impossible for me. They picked Yankee Hat Walking Trail in the Namadgi National Park. It is rated as 6.5 km return. I think going as a group has definitely helped. Tim was surprised that I didn't whinge at all. Christella was well organised and had prepared all the lunch for us so we had a bit of break before continuing on the second part of the journey. Where we stopped for lunch was probably the only part of this trail that had some trees for shelter because most of the trail is just grassland. After lunch, Jamie said I could stay there if I didn't feel like walking to the cave where the Aboriginal rock art is and Christella would stay back with me. He said there is not much shelter after this point so if I decide that I can't continue on later, I'd have to come back here for shelter. I thought about it and decided that I'd push on since I was already 1/3 of the way there.
The rest of the walk was not exactly easy - I had to hold on to Tim or Christella for balance a lot of the time. I don't think it took us that long to get to the Aboriginal Rock Art. At least I didn't think I was over tired. We rested at the spot for some refreshment Christella had prepared for us and then headed back. Walking back was a little more challenging because there was more downhill walking and also my legs were getting tired. It was Lillian's first experienceof bushwalking as well although she stayed in the backpack that Tim was carrying most of the time. She was quite happy to stay in the backpack on Tim's back. There were many kangaroos along the way and when she saw them, she said "zhege klo klo". She can't really say kangaroo yet so she called them klo klo. "Zhege" means this one in Mandarin. She often mixes up between Mandarin and English and would put a mixture of the two languages in a sentence.
I was very glad when we got back to the carpark. I felt a great sense of achievement. Last Christmas I was still walking with a stick and this year I went bushwalking!
posted by Teresa Liu at 9:42 PM
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