Before Claus became ill, he was a rising star in the world of tennis. He was featured in the local newspaper as Amtsmester - he came first in the local "Amst" - level similar to state-level.

Claus loved being out in the wind and the sun. He was also prone to seasickness.

Claus and my family came to visit me in Australia in 1999. I think he liked it here - warmer winters and friendly people. I really like the top middle photo, of Claus eating oysters. He looked very happy. They did a lot of sightseeing here, and even visited my apartment on Narrabeen beach.

The following are the last photos that were taken of Claus, on one of our sailing trips.

My brother had schizophrenia, and he passed away not long after his 33rd birthday.

I love my brother, and I regret not telling him this. My girlfriend tells me that Claus knew I loved him.
I am not convinced of this, so I wrote him a letter, in the hope that he will read this, wherever he is.

There is so much I wanted to say to him.

I want to remember him when he was not sick, when he was happy, and when I was last in Denmark in June 2002. I want to remember him, as you will see him in these photos.

My Big Brother . . .








Created: 8 Oct 2002 Last Updated: 24 Oct 2002

On the way back from Denmark we made a stopover in Singapore to have a look as well as do some shopping.

Here a photo from Little India in Singapore.

We surprised my Mum by turning up in Denmark before her 60th Birthday.

She had a big party where a lot of her friends and family turned up.



While we were there we also got to visit some of my friends and family as well as do a bit of Sightseeing in Copenhagen and Legoland. Click here to see more photos from: Mums 60th Birthday/Slideshow

Over the Christmas holidays we went for a drive through some of the most scenic parts of Australia.

First we drive down to Melbourne and then along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide.



The sunsets were spectacular.



We then continued up to the Flinders Ranges and along the way had a look at cave paintings.



In Broken hill we went down into the old Daydream silvermine.



We also had a look at some of the Desert Sculptures



Along the way we saw some Australian Wildlife. Here a wombat.



And here a possum.



Lots of Koalas



And here one very angry Lizard.



And of course some Emus.



We were camping along the way.



Click here to see more photos from Driving in Australia / Slideshow

We went with Donna and Sandra up to Port Stephens to go Whale watching.

It was a great day (very cold) and we saw lots of whales.

Click here to see more photos from: Whale Watching/Slideshow

I went climbing with Andy in New Zealand. We flew onto the glacier at Pioneer hut with a skiplane.

We attempted a couple of peaks in the area but were mainly unsuccessful due to sloshy conditions and late starts. Andy eventually insisted going down after taking a bit of a slide after taking a bit of a slide. We did however get a little bit of climbing done.



Click here to see more photos from: Climbing in New Zealand/Slideshow

Believe it or not, I still have quite a few friends in Denmark. I would like to put photos of all of them here - unfortunately I do not have photos of all of them. If you are one of my friends and your photo is not on this page then please do not despair - I still consider you a friend, and maybe, the next time I go to Denmark, I shall have photos of you all!




Here is one of my best friends in Denmark. This photo was taken quite a while ago, before I came to Australia.

Kenneth is now living here in Sydney, on the beautiful Manly beach - only about a half hour away from me. Kenneth came to stay with me a few months ago. He was trying out a new job, and actually came back! He is going to give Australia a go, to see if he likes it like I do. No more biting winters, lots of warmth and sunshine, beautiful mountains and bush to explore... and I think he has discovered, there are lots of friends to make - especially the pretty fun-going ones with two legs and a skirt! *smile*

He is actually a pretty good cook. Whist he stayed in my apartment for a couple of months, he cooked pot roast with gorgonzola sauce, and also gave a wonderful 3-course dinner for a small group of friends here. About two years after I arrived in Australia, I returned to Denmark for a visit. On the day I arrived in Denmark, he threw together a party for me!









Here is Ester, another one of my friends.

She is a fashion designer and paints some wonderful paintings.






Naturally at parties, there was quite a large amount of beer being consumed (how can you not?? - not possible to have a party otherwise in Denmark.

It was nice to taste one of the annual Christmas beers from Tuborg.
Created: Jan 2000 Last Updated: 16 Sept 2001

Religion is an integral part of Laos society where the majority are Budhists.



The monks dressed in orange and red ropes are still visible everywhere and it is largely seen as becoming a novice (junior monk) is seen as an opportunity to get an education and support your family if you come from a poor rural area.


 


The high influx of tourists, especially to Luang Prabang is therefore a bit of a win-win situation for everyone. The tourists support the temples in the area by paying their admission fees to visit and on both my trips I have found that the monks are keen to have a conversation as it is a way of practicing their language skills.

In Luang Prabang the monks walk in procession every morning to collect rice from worshipper along the roads. Before sunrise there are hundreds of monks walking the streets in every direction. There is an equal horde of tourists trying to take photos of these monks and equally tourists handing out (sometimes dubious) rice to them.



There are posters around the city encouraging being there and seeing the monks as well as providing some guidelines such as keeping a certain distance, not using flash photography and if you hand out rice then where to get it from. Most of it common sense really, so it was sad to see how some would be blocking the paths and sticking their camera phones with flashes into the monks faces.





Sacha and I went there a couple of mornings, but because of the time of the year everything was dark and because the monks move quite fast through the streets it was a challenge getting good shots.



One afternoon we walked past a temple and a group of monks were in progress of cutting down a large tree and afterwards trimming off the branches. They were going to use some of the tree trunk for traditional drums and the rest for ornamental purposes inside the temple.







In the late afternoons you would hear them chanting in the small rooms of meditations, chanting and prayer. These are often smaller places of worship and not part of the main temples which are used for more ceremonial purposes.
One evening I heard such chanting and went to investigate and found these monks. Definitely one of my favourite moments in Luang Prabang.



A common assumption and misconception is that the monks live by an ancient code with a simple life, so it is quite interesting to see that even they have adopted modern technology with smart phones and cameras.

The locals are still relying on motorbikes to get around. They are far cheaper and more convenient in the towns. It is even possible to fit an entire family onto a single motorbike.







Younger kids and high schoolers ride their push bikes for transport.



Although Aiden and the other kids definitely preferred the motor bikes.



Nothing too flash for weddings - a normal new car will suffice. If you notice the sign on the door, then I am not sure if the bride was expecting to come home to 'Meat & Sausage'.



There are also some vintage cars around which have survived since colonial times - like this 1952 Citroen.

On the last day in Luang Prabang we went to the local ten pin bowling alley.

We had heard and read that this is the place where things are happening in Laos. When we got there the place was totally deserted apart from a few staff members.

We did play bowling and it is a bit surreal to play by ourselves in this fairly modern centre in Laos.



They didn't have any support rails for the kids, but Aiden especially did really well and the kids managed to beat Kim on points.

Today was REALLY hot in Sydney.

We have had a couple of really hot (40C++) days in Sydney this summer but yesterday beat the current longstanding heat record from 1936.

In Sydney itself they measured 45.8C and at the Airport which is closer to us the measured 46.4C. At our place we measured more than 43C degrees at midday.



Fortunately yesterday was a lot cooler and because we knew that there was a hot day coming up we managed to cool down the place the during the night to a pleasant 25 degrees...and out house maintained that temperature for most of the day (apart from our study which gets really hot because of the big windows).

In the evening a cool change arrived with very strong winds and a bit of rain...we quickly opened all doors and windows to take advantage of it and cool down the place again...unfortunately this also came with a very fine layer of dust on everything next morning.

2012 was a record blogging years for me...77 posts over the entire year...which means one new entry every 4.5 days, or in other terms something new to look at regularly.

I am hoping that 2013 will have equally many posts. I have now been blogging for more than 15 years and most if not all the posts can be seen here:

Click here

Here is another family photo that I had my Dad assist us with. It was easier to have him on a ladder taking the photo than trying to set it up on a lightstand.



It was lit by firing a group of flashes into the ceiling of the room...hopefully I will get a professional studio flash soon and will have some more power available for these types of photos.


I recon this is one of my favourite family photos from 2012.

For the next couple of weeks my Dad and his partner are renting a campervan to cruise down the coastline from Cairns back to Sydney (hopefully they enjoy the cool weather compared to the 41 degrees we had here in Sydney yesterday).

Before they left I managed to do a photo session with him and the kids to get some portraits.







I may try and do another one once they return on a darker background.

New Years day we organised a more of let spontaneous BBQ (well..it was organised day before) at one of our local parks with family and a couple of friends.


I think my dad was still a bit hung over from the day before, but we still managed to get him to do some of the BBQ'ing. They went to the city night before to see the big midnight fireworks while Aiden and myself went to Coogee to see the 9pm fireworks there with family (Kim stayed at home with Lucas).






...while Kims Dad was looking after Lucas.

One afternoon we made the trip to Centennial park to go duck feedking with Aiden, but also to show our visitors one of the great parks of Sydney.





Aiden was very excited playing with my dad and running up and down the hills and checking out the big trees.





(photos courtesy of my dad)

So far my Dad and Aiden are bonding very well.

The first thing AIden asks for when he wakes up in the morning is 'Play Bedstefar' (play grandad) and wants to go and knock on his door to play with him.

My dad has been very patient with letting him jump while holding his hands, so now he wants to do it all the time.





He especially enjoys the two handed jump...




...so now he also wants it when we are walking him.



The jumping has come in handy as I have used it to trick Aiden to get in the water at Maroubra a few times.


My dad also reads him his story before he goes to bed at night...we will se over the next month whether we also can get him to change nappies, brush his teeth, feed him, dress him etc.

My Dad wanted to see the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race again this year.

Unlike the last time we were there in good time this year and found a great parking spot and a fairly good vantage point of the race without too many crowds.

While waiting for the race to start the James Craig was cruising back and forth outside the harbour.





Once the race started and the boats passed the heads it became very busy both on the water and it in air with all the boats and helicopters (at one point I counted 11 at the same time) and my Dad was busy clicking away.










This year turned out to be a new course record, so great conditions all the way to Hobart.

Christmas Day we celebrated with Kims family at her sisters house.

It was the usual crowd of our familys and everyone bringing dishes to share and as usual there was a lot of different foods to try.



It was great to have the whole family together (Aiden was again eating too much).







And even Santa made an appearance again this year...Thank you so much Santa!!!!!

This year we celebrated Christmas at home with my Dad and his partner with the traditional Christmas Duck and Ris-a-la-mande.





It was Lucas' first and Aiden's third Christmas...Aiden is now getting old enough to enjoy the experience...



...especially the food



After dinner we opened presents according to the Danish tradition and Aiden was very excited about the big box from Bedstefar...



...containing a big truck.



From Mummy and Daddy he received a Lightning Mcqueen car (radio controlled).





...and also a drawing pad.





Merry Christmas...

This weekend we went up to Barrenjoey...a beautiful day. It was 31 degrees in Sydney but this time of the year the rocks here are mostly in the shade all day and there was a nice sea breeze running through the area.

We started with a couple of nice warm-ups and then moved onto one of my test pieces "Pillar of Mordor (19)". It is thin and sustained and really not very well protected so I have always back off leading it. Both Phil and I did lead it although not completely clean.

After this we did "Mescalito (19)" which is one of my favourite climbs there. Phil placed a cam in one of the breaks and it fell out and dropped down to the next bolt...fortunately he carried another cam to put in the break and eventually got up to the next bolt and through the climb.

The day was almost over and I had to go to the airport but Phil had his eyes on this climb "...Cab Sav (19)". The bottom bit of the climb is all protected by cams and the top bit is really thin and pumpy. Phil got up past the natural gear and clipped the first bolt. He then moved on and was struggling when clipping the second bolt but eventually got it. He then moved to the thirt and last bolt on the climb and as he moved up his foot caught the quickdraw and without him noticing the boltplate came off the bolt (He had clipped the botlplate upside down). He kept climbing up and got up to the third bolt, but because the previous bolt had fallen off it would have been a ground fall if he had fallen off. Phil was really struggling clipping it but we were so relieved on the ground once he did.

That was a really close one and it is the second time I've seen someone clip those types of plates wrong...bloody dangerous.

We have bought a house now. We have signed the contract from our part and paid the deposit and our solicitor has received the signed contract from the Vendor. The property has now finally been pulled off the market by the real estate agent (that idiot) and we are looking at moving into the new place in mid/late October (before 24th October). Now we just need to go through all the mortgage application documents which if anything like last time I applied for a home load will be a lot of bureaucracy filling out triplicates, getting copies certified by rocket scientists (whom you have known for at least 40 years and who have worked in the industry since the Apollo program).




This will be perfect as it means that Kim and I will have something to live in after the wedding (The current apartment is not really suitable and I would like Kim to feel like it is her home as well).The place is in Botany in the Eastern Suburbs and it is very close to Kim's family (about a 200 meter walk to one of her sisters and 5 minutes drive from her dad). And more importantly it is reasonably close to the city (10km) and away from the flight path of the airport.


We don't have much furniture so the place will be a bit empty in the beginning until we get the essentials. Kims sister has already donated us a dining table but we need to get items such as a bed and a washing machine immediately and then also items such as a sofa, entertainment unit etc.


It is a terrace house and has got the potential to do some really nice things to it. It is spacious on the inside and has got a small backyard that doesn't require too much maintenance. There is a bit of painting and maintenance that needs to be done immediately to the outdoor areas but nothing that cannot be managed. I am also sure that Kim would like have some painting done internally. My dad will arrive just after we have moved in so I am sure he won't get bored while here.




This Torrens title oversized terrace offers an ease of living combined with great design features spread over three very generous levels. Be immediately impressed by the flawless presentation and the impeccable renovation of this striking tri-level terrace. Enjoying an elevated position.
A handy convenient setting with ample street parking. Generous living with separate formal and casual areas. Tranquil north facing backyard and outdoor entertaining. Modern kitchen with breakfast bar stainless steel appliances. Upstairs bedrooms with built-ins, two with private balconies. Well appointed for care free modern living. Intelligently designed to maximise space and light. Dressed in fresh contemporary tones and polished floors
Automatic garage for two cars with internal access. Easy walk to local parks, schools, shops and transport


If you read the score further down in this blog, then you will know that the score now is 4 out of 5...just the wedding to complete to get 5 big events done within the same 6 months timeframe.

This weekend we went climbing up at Berowra (northern part of Sydney). It has been raining a lot and been very cold lately, but this day was sunny and very pleasant so no need for the down jacket and the gloved that I had brought with me.

Andy had just bought a new HD video camera and was keen to try it out and he got some really good footage og me climbing as well as Phil falling. Click here to see video


I actually had a really bad day climbing. I think work is stressing me out at the moment and one one of the first few climbs I freaked out when I got to a section with only slopers as hand holds (if you see the video then it was at the section where Phil shouts "YES!"). I was pretty upset when it happened and I was unable to get back into the right headspace.

The rest of the afternoon I was doing top ropes but had blown my strength and self esteem.

Last week I was in Brisbane for some SharePoint training for the company. It was four days of intensive training but it was worth it and it was nice going up north where it is a bit warmer than here in Sydney at the moment.

I flew up there Tuesday morning leaving home at 5am to catch a 6am flight. It was the morning after my Birthday so Kim and I decided to just have a quiet evening and then celebrate some other time (Kim is going to take me to a nice restaurant).



I found a couple of good restaurants in Brisbane and one night I had Moreton Bay Bugs (Look like a giant cockroach). I also went for a walk to Kangaroo Point which is a big climbing area along the river in Brisbane. It is all lit up and actually looks like good climbing. I was surprised to find people climbing at night and also surprised to find that almost everyone was toproping rather than lead climbing (Everything is nicely bolted so there really is no excuse).

This year we again went skiing on the weekend closest to my birthday. We tried to get the same house as we did last year, but unfortunately it was already booked so we had to settle for an apartment. This did mean that we only had two bedrooms instead of three so it was only Soeren and Nui (and Freja) and Kim and I staying there. Kims ex-colleague Mark had to settle with staying at a caravan park.

The first day Soeren and I drove up to Perisher in my new car (first long trip in it) while the girls did their own thing. When we got back late afternoon after a whole day of skiing they had organised all the ingredients for a nice BBQ and marinated all the meat…yummy. Mark came over for dinner with Daniel and we had a nice evening with a couple of bottles of wine.

Next morning we got a late start (it took the other guys a bit of time to get ready) and we went to hire some additional gear for the girls to go skiing as well. This time we went to Thredbo which is much better in terms of variation of the runs and also the length. The longest run there is 3.7 kilometers. The girls took an instructor class (I think it is better if Kim gets an instructor by herself next time as she will get more attention).



It was a fairly short skiing day as we finished at three and then went on our way to the 5+ hour drive back to Sydney. Next year I think I'll take a lesson as well...I am getting pretty good at it now, but just need a few pointers to get even better especially at black runs and moguls.

About two months ago a crashed and wrote off my old car...pretty silly but what can you do. Fortunately it was old and was already starting to cause problems and cost me a lot in repairs. Kim had already hinting that maybe it was time to get a new car and that the car was trying to tell me something.
The car was 11 years, the engine was leaking every fluid imaginable and the gearbox was slipping and there was rust developing so the timing to get a new car was pretty good.

The insurance paid me a good price for the old car...a lot more than I would have received if I had used it as a tradein to buy a new one.

After chasing around the city for a second hand car...amongst which there were some pretty dodgy deals the choice came down to either buy an 6 months old ex-rental or a new one. There was a $4000 difference and by the end of the day the decision came down to us needing that money once we buy a property so I decided to get the ex-rental. It is a nice blueish gray (Aztec Blue) Toyota Corolla. It will have its first test run this weekend when we go down to the snow in it.




Kim and I could probably have gotten by with just one car, but hers is too small to fit golf gear, ski & climbing gear etc. into and the new car is harder for her to drive because of the size...so for now we'll have two cars.


The score so far is:

Kim new job: Done
Rene new job: Done
New car: Done
Wedding: Pending
House: Pending


3 out of 5 aint bad

Some years back my mum had a stroke while my parents were traveling in Thailand. This left totally paralysed in the left side of her body and she has been bound to a wheelchair ever since.

The stroke was most likely caused by heavy smoking and drinking and in general an unhealthy lifestyle.

This all happened a few years after my parents retired and were planning to spend most of the winters traveling in warmer countries. They have always been traveling a lot and never liked the winters in Denmark.
The realisation after the stroke for my parents was that suddenly those dreams were burst and that my mum would need constant care. My dad negotiated with the council that they would look after her one week a month which left my dad with some time to realise some of his dreams and at leaft do some traveling and at the same time provide some relief from looking after mum. It has been a hard blow to my mum and it is still very hard for her to accept that she will be bound to a wheelchair and dependent on other people for simple tasks such as going to the toilet, washing and getting dressed.


My mum some time ago discovered that some of the traveling my dad had done hadn't taken place alone but with an old female school friend (How intimate they were/are I don't know and don't care) but obviously my mum got very hurt and set the ultimatum that either he stops seeing her or she moves out. My dad said that he didn't want to stop seeing her and that he would still keep looking after my mum except for that one week every month.


It has now come to the point where my mum has found an apartment in a care facility and it going to move there this month. I am sure that it hurts a lot for her to move out.

Another blow has been that I am getting married in a few months time and that it is not possible for her to attend my wedding but that my dad is. It will be really hard for her on the day itself and I wish there was something I could do to make it easier for her or somehow allow her to attend.


So how do I feel about this? I am disappointed, angry and understanding at the same time. I am angry at my mum because she insisted smoking and drinking the way she did and tat this caused a stroke.

I am angry at my dad that he's found someone else and that is causing my mum to move out...she is the one totally loosing out. I am disappointed that their marriage and thereby also my family is breaking up.

I also understand why my dad has been longing for some company on different level and at the same time I also understand why my mum is so hurt about it. I am hurt because I know that my mum needs some support but that I am so far away but at the same time my life is here and I am about to get married here.I just hope that she understands that my happiness is dependent on me staying here. Especially since the stupid danish immigration laws will prevent me from moving back to Denmark with my future wife.


I am also hurt because my parents during the last decade has been through so much hardship first with my brother, then with the stroke and now with all this.


This is certainly a year of change...

A new climbing area in Sydney suddenly popped up on our radar. A new area up in the Mt Ku-Ring Gai national park near Berowra. And and May went there while I was in Hunter Valley and they said it was really hard to get to.



I wanted to experience it myself and convinced Andy that we should go there again. Yes, it is a long walk in (40 minutes) and yes it is hard to find the way but it helped that he'd been there before and it also helps that the track has seen a bit of traffic and marked with cairns.

The first few climbs the rock was a bit cold so the fingers went a bit numb which adds 2-4 grades to a climb. Later when the rock heated up a bit it was really good climbing. The area is new so rock still breaks here and there so it is important to be careful and safe but it is not as bad as Otherland and Stables where the rock crumbles.

During one of the last few climbs we heard some noises in the bushes but couldn't see what it was. Once we finished the climb Andy had a closer look and spotted an Echidna (A large porcupine). I grabbed my camera and went over there and it turned out that there was three Echidnas there trying to hide under a branch.



There are some other cliffs in the area that are being developed so I am sure that we will be spending a fair amount of time there in the future.

Late June is Kims birthday. We went out for her birthday with a lot of her friends to a restaurant called the Mantra. It was a fun evening with entertainment in the restaurant in the form of belly dancing. Kim also had a go at the sword dance. I thought the belly dancer was pretty good, but Kim having done belly dancing herself said that she'd seen better.



My present to Kim was a trip to the Hunter Valley. I had hired a nice romantic place up there with a Spa, served breakfast on the balcony with a view from the mountains of the whole Hunter Valley. My aim for the weekend was to really spoil her and she loved it. Saturday morning we met up with a couple of Kims friends Linda & Warren do go through the wine districts. As usual we found some really nice surprises and also got confirmed that some of our choices in wine from earlier trips are excellent choices (I can recommend the Silvereye from Misteltoe and the Shiraz from Petersons).



In the evening I took Kim to this really nice restaurant called Mojo's. It is not cheap ($60 for two courses) but the scallops Kim had for entrees were without a doubt the best I've ever had before. They were fresh and just marinated and cooked slightly and still raw inside and really tasty. I had Quail for my entree and for the mains I had a beef ribeye fillet and Kim had the Lamb chops. After two courses we were absolutely stuffed. I saw some of the food other people were eating and it all looked very delicious. After dinner we went back for a nice warm spa bath as it was freezing outside all weekend.



Sunday morning we went to another couple of Vineyards and then drove back to Sydney...a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

After 4 years I decided it was time to change to a new job in a different company. There was several reasons why it was time for a change and it was hard to let go as I have loved working with the company and there are a lot of aspects of the job that I will really miss.

The new job I have accepted is with a large consulting firm here in Sydney. They are about 800 people in the branch itself and they are part of one of the large telecommunications and mobile phone networks here in Australia and Asia which has got tens of thousands of employees. So hopefully in the long term some better career opportunities as well as more money in the short term.


I have now been in the job for about three weeks and is still trying to decide whether I like it or not there. I am more used to a consultative selling process where you talk to clients and really try and understand their business and then become their trusted advisor in making decisions and guiding them how to improve their business.

I was expecting this new consulting company to follow similar approaches as this in my opinion is the best way to secure business. It seems however that this company is following a more opportunistic approach where they respond to tenders and requests from customers. This means that it is in a very competitive area where other business also are responding to the same type of requests from the same customer. It also means that a large part of my function so has has been in preparation for customer demonstrations and writing proposals. I would rather engage with the clients more and understand their business before we jump to demos and proposals.

Another thing is that there was no induction process a such. They have an overwhelming amount of processes in place and there is no one who can really explain what applied and when it applies.


Anyway so far I am not very impressed...but it is really still too early days to tell.

Today we went to High Tea in Audley in the Royal National Park 30 minutes drive from where we live. Kim had bought a 2 for 1 deal and decided to try it.





Verdict was that is wasn't anything special and even with the special deal it was a bit over priced.

Afterwards we decided to go rowing up through the creek.



Aiden was very keen to get to play with the water which was difficult in the rowing boat (next time we will get a Canoe).

Afterwards we let him play a bit on land before heading back.

The island itself is a beautiful place. I took a lot of photos of the lagoon and the beauty of Bora Bora....so many that it would be too many to have in the previous Bora Bora post.

With the risk of creating a post full of Blue photos...I had to separate them out to prevent the other posts from getting too big.

Here they are...I will let them speak for themselves...

One of the days at Bora Bora we went with a boat around the lagoon to go snorkeling and have lunch on one of the Motu's (Islands). Along the way we went snorkeling in spots where we also could see sharks and stingrays.



Our first spot was a snorkeling spot with lots of coral and different fish.

I Even saw a big fat murray eel.



Kim also had a bit of a snorkel in the clear blue water even though the water was deep and there was a slight current.





Aiden was facinated by the fish and wanted to join mummy in the water to say hello to the fish'ies...



After this we went to a more shallow spot on the reef with lots of reef sharks.



Yes, that is me in the water with 12 sharks circling around me (and no safety net in place).These sharks would come swimming towards me and then turn around within a meters reach.

Click here to see a video I uploaded to Facebook with the Sharks getting close














After lunch we stopped to feed the Stingrays in the lagoon.



They are fairly harmless and I was feeding them dead fish. While doing so I was bitten by one of them that mistook the camera I was holding in my other hand as a fish.

Bora Bora is a beautiful island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Kim and I had promised eachother that we one day we will go there.

It is about an hours flight from Tahiti and along the way you pass a number of other Polynesian islands and atolls. When we landed we were met by the stunning blue lagoon and the very characteristic mountain which is an old extinct volcano.







Aiden especially was mesmerised by the view going on the boat from the airport to our hotel.








On arrival we were met by traditional Tahitian music and someone blowing a seashell.



And Aiden immidiately got into the mocktails.





Our hotel was on the main island itself and we had a small hut facing the lagoon and had a beautiful view every morning waking up.




Every morning we had breakfast overlooking the lagoon where Aiden would stuff his face with fruits, bread and youghurt.




We spent a lot of time at the small beach close to the hotel just swimming in the clear water of the lagoon.









The locals were out on the lagoon showing off their skills.






Aiden loved the calm clear water and the beach...it was a pleasant 27-28 degrees. Every time he saw water he would point at it and shout BoBo (Water)...and insist on going swimming.








One evening I did a couple of sunset portraits.






Aiden again insisted on going in the water.




I also went for a swim after we finished the photos, which was absolutely magical as the light was surreal and the water was absolutely calm.




Across the lagoon from the hotel we had a little island (Motu) with beautiful place to go snorkeling. First I went in the water and notices a small reef shark circling around the corals...being kinda shy. I mentioned it to Kim and as soon as she also spotted it later in the day she rushed out of the water (A couple of days later she had a similar experience with a large stingray at the beach).




It was hard to leave all this beauty behind

I took a lot of photos of flowers...enough to warrant a separate blog entry..

If you are not a flower person then just scroll down the page past these...lots of other good stuff there.


Anyhow...I will let them speak for themselves...

This Easter we decided to go to Tahiti and Bora Bora in French Polynesia in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

We were supposed to have been going to Japan, but we decided that we instead wanted a more relaxing holiday and changed it to an Island holiday enjoying the sun, sand, water and sunsets.



Tahiti is the main island of French Polynesia and is not larger than it is possible to drive around the entire island in a couple of hours (appx 120 km).



On one of the days we rented a car and did just that. We could have joined a day tour, but I am not very keen on the 5min photo stop kind of tours and much prefer to be able to travel independently and take time to see what we would like to see.

It is reasonably easy to find your way around the island. There really is just one road and the entire road is marked by kilometer markers and we had the distances for most of the sights we wanted to see. We didn;t go too much into the interior because of time restraints and some of these roads are only accessible by 4WD.


First we stopped at one of the old Tahitian temples which was interesting





After that we headed to some large caves full of freshwater (would have been convenient in the old days)...very damp and very dark.



After this we tried to find the road up to a lake and supposedly large waterfall. Some of the locals were very helpful with assisting us with directions but unfortunately the road was closed.

Fortunately we did find the nearby gardens which Kim wanted to visit (I will do a separate flower blog posting).



We did find some waterfallson the island (and saw several from a long distance away high on the mountains).





After this we headed to Point Venus where Captain Cook in 1769 supposedly saw the passing of Venus ...now this houses the only lighthouse in French Polynesia.

The next passing will be 6th June this year...243 years after the previos passing (can be seen as a shadow against the sun).




We decided to skip the museums as we would rather experience the outsde rather than objects behind glass.

The other days we spent around the hotel and the marina, just relaxing, swimming and dining. Aiden loved spending most of the time in the pool at the hotel.

Yesterday I did another photo project. I wanted to do something different with composition.

I had this idea of a guy being attacked by hand-spiders (I hate spiders) and thought that the garage would be a good location for it. I had an old T-shirt and some tomato paste to add some drama.




It turned out to be a lot harder than expected as it was almost impossible to get the right composition, focus etc. when I both had to appear in the photo as well as take it (my head was cropped off on the first series which meant that I had to reposition the camera and then either re-shoot the series or try and stitch them up in post production...I chose the latter because of time constraints).

I could definitely have done a better job if I didn't have to be two places at once, but I don't think it is a total disaster.

It is the 29th February and the last day of the bet I had with Kim....and believe it or not, but Aiden started walking by himself today.



We are very proud of him and I am double proud of him as he delivered the goods just in the nick of time...one day later and I would have been cleaning the house (lucky that this year is a leap year)!

Aiden is now able to stand up by himself.

He is now 20 months and should have been walking ages ago, so he is a bit behind on that front. Hopefully I can get him to take one step before the end of next week...I have a bet with Kim going whether he will walk before the end of February.

Today we went to Centennial Park to take some family photos. I had been complaining that I didn't have enough (good) photos of myself and Aiden so Kim offered to take some.

We found a nice spot in the park and managed to take a couple of shots before my camera ran out of battery...and unfortunately I had forgotten my spare at home.



Kim just came back from a business trip to Singapore a couple of days ago and it is really nice to have her back. I missed her but I am not sure Aiden missed her as much as he is such a daddys boy. When she was back he just turned away and would rather stay with me.

Also the little tiger is now 20 months and he is still not walking...what is going on?