Left early morning to catch the 06:40 train to Otford. I thought I’d buy some water on my way to the station but it was a bit late already so figured I’d buy my ticket in the trainstation first. otherwise i could still buy some water in Otford, well i was wrong…
Arrived in Otford at 07:40, Otford Station is a very small trainstation and there’s really nothing out there, a few houses hidden in the woods, no coffeeshop, supermarket or anything in the vicinity. That meant no water so it was to dangerous to do the full 13km walk I had planned. The trainstation did have a small water tap though so I drank a lot of water and headed up the path for a shorter version of my walk.
I wasn’t even in the national park yet and already had to conquer some steep steps. Eventually I came to a lookout over the sea and started my walk. I was pretty worked up the first half hour since the path was a lot more dense than I had anticipated and was a bit nervous of the stories about the three poisonous snake species that live here. After an half an hour I relaxed probably because I was to tired to really care anymore! 🙂
I came up to an intersection and confidently took a right turn, not knowing yet that this was the wrong path. It led downwards through a very rough and narrow path, with a steep cliff of bushland right next to it. After about 45 minutes climbing over rocks and trees I turned the corner and got a real great view of a beautiful deserted beach!
Took a few shots with my camera and had some lunch on the rocks. When I wanted to continue my walk I realised I had been walking on the wrong track! Since I didn’t bring any water I didn’t want to risk it and decided to backtrack my steps back up to the intersection.
Walking down the track to the beach was pretty difficult but going back up really was a challenge. When you go back up you start to realise how steep the path actually is and having to climb rocks didn’t make it any easier. Eventually made it back to the intersection and from there took a different path that led me back to the trainstation.
Really enjoyed the walk but was dissapointed that I couldn’t do the trip like I planned it. Next bush trip will be better prepared! Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow…

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Got up on Saturday morning Juli 31st ready for my trip down under! Laura picked Astrid and me up around 8am and drove us to the Airport.Astrid bought me a small going away present, a really nice silver alarm clock with an engraving in it. Then after an hour waiting it was time to say goodbye… I could walk straight through to the plane and settled myself in. The seats were really good, could almost drop flat and had a lot of leg space. This really made the trip a lot more bearable, couldn’t imagine doing the same 24 hour trip in economy.

After a long journey someone from Coorporate housing was waiting for me at the appartement and showed me around. It’s a real nice apartement in the middle of the city and only 2 minutes walk from the office. Had a small stroll through the town and went to bed trying to get used to the different time zone. The next day I had a nice walk around town, went to Hyde park watching some guys playing a life sizes checkers match. Everyone seemed to be very relaxed and I think I spotted John Lennon’s son there…

I continued my trip up north through the Royal Botanic Gardens up to the Opera house. I have to admit that the building looks better on pictures but I guess it’s just one of those things you have see when you go to Sydney. Relaxed a bit and then took a walk through Circular Quay back to my Apartment. Since I’ll be staying here for about three months I decided to go out and buy a guitar. Found a guitar store about 5 minutes walk which specialised in Fenders so bought myself a cheap Fender Squier Bullet. To finish my day I took a dive in the apartments swimming pool and had my first Skype sessions with Astrid and Pepijn.

Tomorrows my first working day! Looking forward to meeting the guys and starting the project

Saturday Juli 31st I’ll be leaving for Sydney, Australia not to return until October 30th!!

Astrid and I took this picture in a photobooth the day before I left

On Februari 27, after a long wait, we finally got the key to our new house. The day started with a quick run through the house to ensure everything was still in the state agreed upon. The previous owner really went out her way to clean things up so we we’re very satisfied. Next up was the official part, exchanging ownership of the house and signing the mortgage.. Around 11:00 we were the proud owners of a new home including probably the biggest debt we’ll ever have..

Next step, filling the car with boxes, screwdrivers, cleaning materials and then on to our new house! The next two weeks we transformed the (mainly yellow!) interior into a more modern and neutral place to live. Here are some action pictures of the redecorating in progress..

I want to thank everyone that helped us and special thanks to my Dad for the great work he did with the walls..

On Saturday 27th June 2009 my cousin Pippa will trade in her freedom for a life of responsibilities and security at Wolterton Hall.

The reception will be from 4pm at Primrose Farm, Chapel Street, Wiveton, Holt, Norfolk NR25 7TQ. The nearest places to stay are Blakeney and Cley, check out this website for lots of local info..

The dutch side of the Mortimer’s have booked a small cottage in the vicinity.