Why?
Because right now Mr Soknitsome and I should be enjoying a holiday on Lord Howe Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of global natural significance, lying in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.
So why aren’t we enjoying our holiday?
It’s not a question of enjoying ourselves – there’s simply no holiday!
Things started well. We took off on the 90-minute flight to Lord Howe Island last Friday. We’d almost reached the island and then the pilot had us in a holding pattern for a good 30 minutes waiting to see if the weather would improve. It didn’t so we flew to Port Macquarie for refuelling and landed back in Sydney 5 1/4 hours after take-off.
Worse was to come.
There was no flight available until Sunday morning. Saturday passed slowly. We couldn’t really settle to anything. We weren’t meant to be at home.
Up bright and early on Sunday morning we headed off to the airport for our 7 am flight. Boarding was delayed twice. Not a good sign. Mr Soknitsome had found detailed weather forecasts on the bureau of meteorology’s website indicating low cloud. At 8 am our flight and the following one were cancelled. The weather wasn’t expected to improve.
Worse was to come.
Airline staff were saying we might be able to fly out on Wednesday. Yes, five days into our week’s holiday, we might be able to fly…
Holiday cancelled.
Back at home in Sydney we grudgingly unpacked (we weren’t meant to be at home), and did some grocery shopping to fill the empty fridge (because we weren’t meant to be there).
Ironically, the weather was lovely in Sydney so we walked over to Elizabeth Bay where we enjoyed an ice-cream and the view and tried not to complain about the holiday that wasn’t.
I even did some of my holiday knitting. I’d decided to make a few more pieces for the 4-ply weight Lizard Ridge blanket I’m making. Here’s what I knitted at the airport, on the flight, and on the beach by the sea…
Naturally, we woke up to stiff legs and I was determined to walk ‘on the flat’. Mr Soknitsome suggested we went around the Haindorfer Berg. We did. It was still a bit hilly in parts and I was quite glad to get back. Being the energetic man he is, Mr Soknitsome went off for a run. I exercised my fingers and did a spot of knitting. On the following day we hiked up to the Priener Hütte (1400m/4600ft), where we enjoyed an early lunch outside in the sunshine with a great view. So what next? Yes, the summit. We plodded through snow, along ridges and up the steep climb to the summit of the Geigelstein. At just over 1800m (5900ft) it is the second highest mountain in the Chiemgau Alps. It was all very well reaching the top but there wasn’t much of it and the drops down were sheer on three sides. I don’t like heights at all and was fretting about the journey back down – steep, slippery and scary! Although I sometimes wonder if Mr Soknitsome thinks I’m exaggerating and underestimates my true fear of heights (I was already commenting on the ascent about how much I wasn’t looking forward to the return), he showed his steady and dependable side and made the descent just 2 steps in front of me, digging his heels into the snow to make footprints for me to step into. A couple of times I slid and thudded into him but it was funny, thankfully. Once we got down to the alpine hut we took a different path back. The views were great – we stayed up high for ages…so eventually the walk down was very, very steep.
The place we stayed in has these baskets of scarves which you can add to during your stay or buy as a knitting kit to take home.