Top Tips for May

Australia's Natural Wonders 

I was a bit of a weird child.  Like many of my peers, my grandmother looked after me during school holidays while my parents went out to work.  But unlike my friends who were content to play with dolls  and prams and have imaginary tea parties, I fantasised about far off countries. Places where adventures took place with mountains and wild animals and lots of caves to explore.  Of course, I hadn't even been out of the UK by then and it would be many years later before foreign travel was not the norm.  But I'd heard about Australia, a relative had moved out there.  I knew of its vast red deserts and its incredibly warm climate, the kangaroos and koala bears and I was enthralled by the book Walkabout, which we all read in school.

Wild Seas - Tasmania

Reptile Centre - Reptilarium & Terrapin Sanctuary at Fort Victoria

The opening day of the Isle of Wight's newest reptile attraction at Fort Victoria, The Reptilarium and Terrapin Sanctuary, saw the staff nervously excited and the visitors curious and interested as to what lay ahead of them in the old fort's tunnels.

Through an unassuming entrance lies 4 rooms of biodiversity: Desert, Jungle, a Terrapin Pool and a Nocturnal Room with reptiles as rare and diverse as Moroccan Uromastyx to Painted Wood Turtles.

Entrance to Reptilarium and Terrapin Sanctuary

A New Willow Wetland Walk in Sandown

Where there’s a willow there’s a way.  

Determination will overcome any obstacle says the saying and that’s certainly what Arc Consulting have done when they enlisted the help of the Community Payback Service to create the Willow Walk, Sandown Bay’s newest wetland walk.

Winding Woodland Walk

Wyatt & Jack Upcycled Bouncy Castle Tote Bag

When Wyatt and Jack asked me to road test their bouncy castle tote bag, I literally jumped at the chance.

The white PVC tote (also available in 13 other colours including tangerine, cherry and purple) arrived in a strong brown paper envelope with no extra packaging to throw away, no plastic bags or bubble wrap around it  - a feature, I was to discover,  in keeping with the reusing and recycling message promoted by the company.

Other colours of Totes are available

Yestival – A Festival for Adventurers & Adventurous Thinking 20th - 22nd October 2017

Have you ever fancied going on an adventure but don’t know where to begin?  Do you dream of living an adventurous life but are too scared to take that first step?

Yestival could have all your answers.  Yestival started in 2015, the brainchild of adventurer, TED Ex speaker and author, Dave Cornthwaite, following a summer of SayYesMore campouts where total strangers met at an agreed location, chatted around a campfire, spent the night out in the wild and left as friends the following day.

The first year of Yestival saw over 30 experienced adventurers share their secrets and tales and dish out help with the same amount of enthusiasm as they put into the adventures themselves.

Facing my Fears & Climbing out my Comfort Zone at Sandown Rocks

An unexpected invitation to tea took me to a new high when I agreed to meet my friend Matt at Sandown Rocks 45ft climbing wall the other day.

“Right, what I thought we’d do is climb to the top, tie ourselves in and have tea.  What do you think?”  Suggested Matt.

“Of course we will,” I said dubiously.  “Who wouldn’t drink tea at the top of a climbing wall? It’s not like Mary Poppins has exclusivity on lofty tea parties.” I joked nervously.

Sandown Rocks Climbing Wall

 

Rock Pools and Seaweed

As I went for a walk at sunrise this morning, my eye caught the sunlight shining on the seaweed that hung from the groin at low tide.  Fucus serratus or more commonly known as The Toothed Wrack, it is usually harvested for cosmetics or seaweed baths but can also be used to make tea or Japanese noodle soup. 

Another thing I discovered recently was the joy of rock pooling.  It was something I hadn't done since I was a child when we would visit the seaside for a day trip or our annual summer holiday.  I could spend hours staring ignorantly at the creatures and seaweed in the pools but with no book or expert to identify them for me, I remained totally ignorant until I found myself on a guided walk last weekend to Horse Ledge near Luccombe on the Isle of Wight, one of the best places on the island for rock pools.

Fucus serratus The Toothed Wrack Seaweed