Friday Five: Holiday Beaches

City Beach in the morning

Nothing says holiday to me like sun, sea and sand - beaches are blissful; being able to walk/ run on squeaky sand listening to the birds calling and the waves crashing is simply a delight. Our recent visit to family in Perth led to a fair sample of local beaches. Here are my favourite:

5 Great Western Australia Beaches:

1. City Beach - my brother lives here and can walk down every morning. Lucky or what? Niece Niamh also reckons it's a good spot to practice gymnastics.






2. Aidan's birthday beach - I don't know its real name but this beach in Margaret River has got good waves for body-boarding and sand dunes for fitness training, is gentle enough to take out a kayak, and has ample beach space for playing cricket.





3. Surfers' Point - also in Margaret River. I wouldn't surf here, as our hosts kindly indicate the spot where a surfer was taken by a shark, but I'm told it has 'gnarly breaks' -apparently that's a good thing.








4. Gnarabup - a gently sloping beach provides a prime spot for swimming and sandcastle-building.





5. Yallingup Beach - it means the place of love and is the home of surfing in WA.

Friday Five: Adelaide

Local Adeladian resident

We have recently returned from a week in Adelaide. Slowly we are exploring the Australian cities and towns. This week I read that Sydney and Melbourne are both in the top five most expensive cities in the world according to the cost of living index, so although they are still worth a visit, they are not on my viable places to live list. Adelaide, however, has much to recommend it.

5 Things I Like about Adelaide:

1. The hills: farmers markets; vineyards; orchards; cute little towns; winding roads; wildlife and trees - cooler than the town and packed with personality
2. The sea: from timeballs, lighthouses and micro-breweries in former wharf buildings to hippy artwork and squeaky white sandy beaches; it's got all facets of the ocean covered
3. The cycling: The Tour Down Under was made for Adelaide but even when it's not on, the roads are heaven for pedalling perfection
4. The festivals: Adelaide used to be known as the city of churches; now it's called the festival city - theatre; film; music; sport; food; wine - everything has a festival and they're pretty much all fabulous
5. The wineries: Barossa; Eden Valley; McLaren Vale; Adelaide Hills; Clare Valley; Kangaroo Island and many many more, all there just waiting to be drunk!

Friday Five: The Sea

For someone who loves the sea as much as I, it may seem a little strange that I live almost as far from it is as possible in this country. Now it's not like I live in America, Australia or Russia or anything like that, where it could be miles to the nearest wave - I am still at most a three-hour drive from the big wet wobbly thing that fish swim in. But I like to get closer when I can, and this week Him Outdoors had a couple of days off work so we drove to the Catlins and spent a couple of days by the seaside.

5 Things I Love About the Sea:

1. The Sight - I remember as a child being terribly excited to be the first to see the sea when we were driven towards it, the four of us cramped and sweaty in the back seat. I love the rocky shores, sandy beaches, or sheer cliffs that meet the water, and I love the lighthouses and tales of shipwrecks, smugglers, and lost treasures. Whether it's a windswept barren landscape, a working port full of ships and cargo, or a bustling coastal village, the place where the land meets the sea is incredibly evocative.
2. The Sound - crashing waves, howling winds or gentle splashes; that sound backed up with the calling of seagulls is the rhythm of my dreams.
3. The Smell - salty sea air, tangy seaweed and the sharp scent of vinegar on chips - that's the sea for me and it smells of holidays.
4. The Taste - salt on your skin and icecream on your tongue... I don't know if sea air really does sharpen the appetite, but there is nothing better than eating fresh seafood or shellfish in sight of the sea. We once had coconut crab on a beach in Vanuatu and, although I felt a little guilty at the sight of the crustacean brethren scuttling about nearby, it was one of the best meals I've ever tasted.
5. The Feel - purely physically, walking in the sea, with sand beneath your feet and waves swrirling round your calves is about as restorative as it gets. A morning dip is a divine way to cool off and to dive with the marine life is an overwhelming privilege. And on a slightly more metaphorical level, the feel of limitless possiblities I sense when I look at the horizon is hopeful and inspiring, even on my darkest days. The sea has power - use it wisely.

What is it with water?

I love the sea. I love all its moods from the calm nuzzling at the shore to the pounding on the rocks and the rattling of the shingle. I used to take my cup of coffee down to Seatoun beach and sit and think – working out stories, dilemmas, work related issues, or just clearing my head after a heavy night. Him Outdoors isn’t as much of a fan, unfortunately, so he could bear to be parted from it.

We have moved back to Arrowtown – slap bang in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand. For a country surrounded by water, this is one of the furthest places you can get from the sea. I have been back here for five days now and I miss it. I miss the sound and the sight and the smell. I miss that horizon. Mountains make me feel hemmed in – oceans open vistas before me.

We have lakes here – beautiful, stunning lakes fringed with blazing poplars and reflecting surrounding snow-capped mountains. They’re spectacular, but they don’t have the same personality. Maybe it’s the movement and the unpredictability? Having said that, we were made homeless for six months when Lake Wakaitpu flooded its banks and the hills slipped down the valleys under torrents of rain – so they’re not entirely staid.

I like rivers too. I have taken to running daily down by the Arrow River – it rushes greenly past and the sun glints deceptively like flashes of gold in the pan. The flinty pebbles are tart and I imagine a dry Reisling whenever I am there. When we performed Rush! here in 2004 we did a photo-shoot by the Arrow. It was freezing as the lads splashed through the water and the women drank coffee on the bank.

I remember reading a book by Colette in French when I was about 13 – yes, I was that precocious. There was a passage about growing up by the Marne – the children thought that Marne was the word for river – there was no other river as far as they were concerned. For me it was the Thames. It was the backdrop to my childhood – from The Wind in the Willows to the Marlow Regatta.

We used to laze on the banks, collect tadpoles in jars and sneak off to swim by the islands on hot summer days – don’t tell mum! I got married on the banks of the Thames and we crossed the river in a launch to have the reception on the other side, walking through a park ornamented with a statue of Sir Steven Redgrave. I think water may be in my blood.

When we watched the results of the last American presidential election it was wonderful to see the map turn blue – finally! Coming from England and refusing to ever vote Tory (don’t get me started…) it was a little odd to be supporting the blue side, but it makes sense. It seems that in the States the thinking and creative types are on the edge, literally as well as metaphorically. If they are not on the fringes of society, hugging the coast lines, they are nestling up to the Great Lakes. It’s got to have something to do with the water.

A favourite of T-shirt companies (particularly in New Zealand) is the anonymous, but oft claimed, quote, ‘If you’re not living on the edge; you’re taking up too much space.’ I’m not entirely sure that I agree with this, but it’s certainly something to think about – maybe with a cup of coffee down by the beach.