The countdown continues - only seven more sleeps until I speed down to the Snowy Mountains. I dragged out a neglected Bertha the backpack from under my bed last night. I dusted her off, pulled off the old stickers from my last flight home to Sydney, and briefed her on our next adventure - Thredbo.
Inside, I found a brochure from a recent trip to Dover with my partner in crime and UK room mate, Shannon, aka Shaggy Dulu.
Dover is in South East England and is a stones throw (OK, short boat ride) across the Channel to France. It is known for its white, chalk cliffs. In fact, this was the last sight of her beloved England that my great-grandmother saw as she sailed to Australia to start a new life. Over 80 years later, Shannon and I decided to go hiking across these iconic cliffs - in the peak of winter.
Wearing my newly purchased ski gear Shannon and I braved the cold and took in the majestic views. However, we were the only crazy kids to go hiking and as soon as the wind blew up we were forced to crawl, Patsy and Eddie-style, across the cliffs in our brand spanking new outfits.
If only we were crawling due to an over indulgence of Bolli! Alas, this was purely for survival reasons to avoid being blown off the cliffs and floating to over to Normandy.
After walking three hours in one direction and then what felt like six hours back, we headed straight for a hot shower at our gorgeous b&b. Much to our hosts horror we were now water-logged, muddy versions of our former selves.
When in Dover, aside from taking in the white cliffs, visit the charming Dover Castle and Secret Wartime Tunnels from an interesting history lesson in to Operation Dynamo - the evacuation of Dunkirk.
One of the best tips I can give to any traveller in the UK is to visit the National Express website for diret cheap coach/bus rides across the country. It is much cheaper than the trains with this weekend expedition costing 5 pounds each way - 'tell 'em they're dreaming'!
So, at least my ski gear has been well and truly broken in.
Until my next adventure....
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