Australias scary wildlife

Not so magical all the scary wildlife!

I have to say I am terrified of camping in a national park. The number of deathly animals you come across by just walking along without looking out for any is quite mind blowing for a European person.

On the first day we were trying to climb up to the top of a mountain ridge and then to the end of the ridge. Half way along it with not way to escape right or left we came across a friendly Death Adder - Craig almost stepped on it as it was lying in the sun in the middle of the footpath. They are among the most venomous snakes in the world. A bite from a death adder causes paralysis. While this paralysis is very minor at first, it can cause death from a complete respiratory shutdown in as little as six hours. Symptoms peak in 24 – 48 hours. I was just glad I did not know all this when we saw it because I would probably have fainted instead of giggled nervously! At least I was too scared to get the camera out!

The next day we saw this beauty, a Red Bellied Black , a venomous species of elapid snake native to eastern Australia. Though its venom is capable of causing significant morbidity, it is not generally fatal and less venomous than other deadly Australian snakes. Great!



And while Craig was looking for a private place behind a tree he came across this HUGE carpet snake.... apparently they are harmless. They only strangle their prey...



Can you imagine pitching up your tent!!! NO WAY JOSE!

A weekend in paradise

We had a very outdoorsy long weekend in Lamington National Park last weekend. It was a surprise present for Craig's birthday - very unselfish of me I know!
We stayed at O Reilly's - a luxury mountain retreat.
A small number of villas have been built on the side of a hill overlooking the stunning valley of Lamington Park. They are all self contained with fantastic kitchens, outdoor spa and BBQ area, fireplace etc. Perfect hideaway for a romantic weekend in the wilderness.


Our favourite bit was getting back from a long walk and sinking into a hot bubbly spa watching the sunset with cold beer in hand. Fantastic! I wish I could afford to move in...



We did some great walks around the national park and saw lots and lots of beautiful fern trees, big palm trees and general rainforest vegetation in lushest green, lots of waterfalls and birds... just beautiful.



And I am always so amazed by those strangler fig trees. They start their life in the tree tops as a seed getting dropped by a bird and then grow these huge long arms down to the ground when they wrap around existing trees and slowly squeeze them to death. The process takes about 150 years and at the end the original tree decays and disappears. Totally amazing! So cruel. They look quite scary don't you think?



This is the view from our balcony - miles and miles of protected rainforest with the Flinders Range in the background. It really is a magical place.

Weekend break in SYDNEY!

We finally spent a weekend in Sydney - long overdue if you ask me! We flew down Thursday night and stayed with our friends Isla and Mark in Millons Point, right next to the Harbour Bridge. Glorious views! They just moved into a totally decadent minimalist apartment with harbour views. Unfortunately, it rained like crazy most of the weekend!



But we enjoyed ourselves anyway, driving to the Northern beaches in the rain, admiring brave surfers who braced the elements while we were sitting nice and cosy in beachside cafes and bars. On Friday night we saw Craig's niece and her two daughters Hannah and Grace in a modern dance performance which was amazing! The girls are just teens, but they danced beautifully. Very cool. We were impressed!
Nice to finally catch up with this branch of the Millis family, I like them a lot! It is beyond me how you can have 4 kids and still maintain a dignified and relaxed household. A true inspiration!



On Sunday the weather cleared up and I was able to take some nice photos as you can see. It was brilliant to get out of town and have a change of scenery. I really really like Sydney! But.. Brisbane is not so bad either :)



Craig's mate David is staying with us at the moment. He has survived his great Australian adventure and cirumnavigated the continent in his van in 6 months. I cannot wait to see his photos! It is great to have company and especially company that knows how to cook really well! We had a classic British Sunday roast waiting for us on our return from Sydney! How great is that?

River Fire in Brisbane

Last weekend was the famous River Fire Festival in Brisbane and it was really cool! HUGE fireworks all along the river and fighter jets and millions of people about everywhere. We loved it!

Thankfully we did not have to face the enormous crowds along the riverbank as we were allowed to come into the offices. Prime view from the 29th floor!!

What a life! Do we really all have to work???

I have survived the first half of my probation period and submitted two tenders just on time (four minutes to spare) and am totally exhausted! What a feat to try and understand a business in record time and write a submission involving all practice groups and all lawyers. Nightmare! I must have done ten days of 16 hrs in the office trying to get my head around it all. Not happy! But hopefully it will be worth it.
Even though it all feels very random and chaotic, I do feel quietly positive about the role. There are some very nice and talented people in the office... It will hopefully only get easier now.

This is my office building and the fantastic view from my desk...

The Pink Ball!

Last weekend an old school friend of Craig's invited us along to the Think Pink Charity Ball for breast cancer which was of course themed PINK and we made every effort to fit into the theme!! It was a really good night with lots of cheesy dancing and great food and way too much champagne. We even made it into the local City News Magazine! How funny!

Heading was: Pink is the new black: Forget boring black tie, the Think Pink Think Choices Charity Ball saw the CITY's ELITE don a kaleidoscope of brilliant colour at the Thai-themed event.... Hee hee!! THen it is followed by picture of us -they must have been really impressed with Criag's lovely pink bowtie!

Apart from that nothing much else to report, sorry! We are just working away and not doing much else. It is time we organised a weekend getaway!

I am working on it!

Tanja back at work!!!

It is unbelievable but after 18 months of travel and exploring I am finally back in the real life with a proper job and having to get ready in the morning, suited and flipflopped to commute into the city center to go to an airconditinoned office until it is dark. BIG SIGH!!!

I had almost a dozen interviews with 6 different firms, some of them with 5 people questioning me at once and usually with some more on Video Conference, very daunting! But I finally got an offer I could not resist from DLA Phillips Fox, the Australian arm of DLA Piper. The BD team in Brisbane is tiny, only 3 people with one events person, one Manager and little me! I am so excited! Especially because of my gorgeous office with postcard view of Brisbane's story bridge and miles and miles beyond that as we are on the 30th floor. On a clear day I can see the ocean and the white beaches... if that does not get you daydreaming then I don't know what will! These pictures are taken with my phone and do not really do the view justice but you get the idea. It is brilliant!



I had my third interview with DLA on Friday and got a job offer after half an hour, then went into the offices Monday to Wed for handover as the girl in the job is leaving this week and my induction starts on Monday! AMAZING!

I will report back on how it feels to be back in the hamsterwheel.
Lots of love,
Txxx