Salt + Soul Adventures

Getting salty, smiling, and chasing experiences

Tag: nature

  • Chasing Chains

    Lots of folks have probably thrown a frisbee at some point in their life, or at least seen one.  Turns out, it’s also a great way to explore the outdoors.  A few years back, my fabulous partner discovered the sport of disc golf.  A former ultimate player, he’s always been pretty great at throwing a disc, sometimes to the point where the dogs won’t even chase it as its gone too far!  However, ultimate requires a good number of players and can be pretty hard on the body, plus the whole running back and forth thing.  Disc golf, however, whole different story!  Now, don’t be put off by the word ‘golf’.  Yes, it does involve different holes, some level of frustration at times, and if you’re really good even a caddy.  However, the wardrobe requirements are a lot looser, for better or worse there is often lots of time spent in the trees, and you are less likely to loose a disc than ball (though it still happens, hence why we’ve trained up the dog to be a disc searcher extraordinaire, particularly when spending time in the trees…).

    Trying to describe the sport is fun.  It goes something like ‘You throw a piece of plastic at some chains.’  However, the chains are part of this metal basket thing, which the ‘fun’ course designers like to put on top of things like rocks, tractors (‘merica), or tree stumps, or even better at the top of a hill where if you miss, the disc may end up even further away from where you initially threw it from.  In Europe they like to ensure you know how much you f-ed up by chanting ‘disc goooolf, disc goooolf’ as your disc rolls down the hill to a guaranteed double bogey or beyond.  Also, the pieces of plastic have all different details to them.  While all round, some have curved edges, some are thinner, some heavier, and even some floppy (to minimise your risk of ‘disc gooolf’ when throwing at a dodgy basket position).  Basically, different discs are like different clubs in your golf bag…there are drivers, mid-range, putters, and the ‘close your eyes and hope for the best’ ones like when trying to get out of a sand trap (or thick patch of brambles/ hedges as is more common in disc golf).  Also, like golf balls those suckers sink fast, so my first year of playing has seen me spend many a hole in some body of water trying to find my disc before the dog goes too hard-core scuba Steve and makes seeing through the muddy water impossible.

    Unlike golf though, disc is much more enjoyable (I think) for newbies.  You make take a million strokes still to get to the hole, but there’s no risk of completely missing and going nowhere, as the disc is held in your hand instead of the cruel game of trying to connect awkward length metal pole to small hard ball.  Plus, you’re not carrying this heavy bag around, paying $$$ of greens fees (many courses are free!), and some courses are even dog-friendly!  It’s also a cool way to explore new places, and the gear is waaay easier to travel with than stick golf stuff.  For example, two years ago I persuaded my partner to take a romantic week holiday to the south island of New Zealand, envisioning a week of hiking, saunas, wine, and candlelit dinners.  What I got was seven different disc golf courses, a significant number of thorns in my legs, and almost murdering a sheep with a disc gone wild.  However, I also got a river-side course with the most amazing mountain views, a unique way to see the Queenstown gardens (there’s a course that runs through them!), and my mandatory holiday 20,000+ steps per day, not to mention quality time with lover boy while he shared something he loves with me.  And, there was still time for wine.  These are definitely the kind of chains I think he, and I, are happy to be attached to.

  • Pond Ponderings

    Around this time last year, we decided to put in a swim pond.  Think fish pond, but for humans (though there are also fish, but little ones who won’t bite my butt or anything).  We had a corner of our yard that was a constant mud pit, a delight for the dogs until they realised playing in it=a hose-down and extra hours outside ‘cold and alone’…they’re a bit dramatic.  We’d begun considering putting a plunge pool in, as we’re on the Gold Coast and all the cool kids have one.  However, what to me looked like a big concrete or steel cube apparently cost $30,000+, and that was the basic one without any sort of pump, heater, etc.  Epp.  I suggested to Rob we could probably just get a second-hand water tank and cut the top off or something, and starting to send some Marketplace listings of options.  He was about to head overseas again for his yearly three months in Europe chasing summer while the dogs and I were left ‘cold and alone’ (see where they get it from…) in the Aus winter.  Whether it was the terror of another one of my ‘Hey babe look what I did while you were away!’ home DIY projects, or pure luck, he found something called swim ponds.  These magical backyard dreams were naturally filtering, chemical-free alternatives to pools, and even okay for dogs to swim in!   Keep talking Rob…

    Lo and behold, one of the companies was currently doing one with our house builder, and based locally!  After managing to get an appointment with them, and learning our space would be a bit tricky to access for equipment but workable, we were sold.  It also helped they could do it pretty much straight away, just before we were heading overseas (ok I wasn’t going to be all alone the whole three months, I got to go the first few weeks with Rob).  A few weeks and less than half the price of a plunge pool later, we had a swim pond, complete with its own waterfall!  It’s also two metres deep in the middle, meaning the volleyball lads love it and the dog is entertained for hours when his frisbee sinks to the bottom. 

    So, here I currently sit, pondering by the pond and warming back up in the sun as seems in winter this magical oasis is basically a giant ice-bath.  It’s Sunday, which usually means yard work and tinkering around the house, with today no exception.  However, after about seven hours of chorin’, I figure it’s rest time.  That’s a bit of a new concept for me, as someone who regularly feels like I need to be doing something to make the most of the day.  However, in recent months I’ve realised down time is sometimes the best thing I could be doing.  I read a quote the other week about how doing lots of things isn’t the same as doing the right things, but if you’re constantly staying busy you don’t allow yourself the time and space to reflect on what those right things are.  So, you just end up doing ‘stuff’ constantly but still never feeling like you’ve actually made progress towards your goals, if you even know what they are, or really done anything at all.  Yup, getting deep down here by our deep pond.  This doesn’t just go for work, though that’s probably where it may be most obvious to notice.  It’s also our finances, social life and relationships, health, and probably every other facet of life.  For example, I’m a health professional, and constantly I see clients who ‘have tried everything’ but still can’t lose weight, or feel stronger, or have more energy.  Often, it’s because they are doing so many things, but not the ‘right’ things.  They move from one approach or workout routine to the next to the next in short succession, without allowing the downtime or just time in general to see results. 

    Personally, I was like that in relationships, especially friendships.  I constantly felt like I needed to be meeting new people, and moving to new places or trying new activities, and therefore changing my friends along with it.  When I finally slowed down though, I realised there were only a few people I felt I could call for a lift to the airport at an ungodly hour (the true test of friendship).  My busyness was leaving me lonely and disconnected.  While I still like to meet new people and experience new things, now I also recognise the importance of deeper friendships, and simply being with these folks, possibly not even doing a thing. 

    Well, the sun has now moved behind a tree and coldness is demanding I get back to doing (the right thing though=inside and warm shower!).  However, if you’ve made it this far, give yourself a little space every day to stop, breath out slowly, and take a break from ‘doing’.  Then, make sure when you start back up, what you’re doing has a relevant purpose for you.  Good luck!