Fun in Canberra

Holidays (3)

Thursday morning I was picked up and dropped off at the airport by 5:30am.  Soon enough I was landing at the Adelaide airport and my cousin, Robert, and I were on our way to Kangaroo Island.

We spent Thursday - Saturday on the island having many adventures!  Some highlights were: A river hike down to the beach, running up and down the sand dunes, many coffees in small cafes, visit to the coastal attractions, caves, animals and lots of driving.  There's some pictures below!

 The view as we climbed down out of the canyon and onto the beach.  It was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen.  There were many little waterfalls as the river ran over rocks.

 On our beach walk, we climbed out on to some rocks.  It was very choppy here and we experienced some 'freak waves'.  The ocean spray was really refreshing!

 Standing from the end of the river at the place where the river water meets the ocean.  You can see that it is brown water near the edge, and then changes to a magnificent blue.

Standing on the lookout with the coastline and two islands behind me.  There were many attractions along the coastline that we stopped to have a look at.  We also saw seals.

The Admirals Arch - there were some seals on the rocks barking at each other.

 We visited the Kelly Hill caves and had a guided tour.  There were some magnificent formations

 It was nice to be in the caves, but I was a little disappointed we couldn't explore them further.

 We explored some abandoned machinery in a paddock.

 We visited the Little Sahara which was unbelievable.  It was way bigger than I ever imagined.  There was so much sand just sitting in the middle of this island.  We climbed many many sand dunes and ran all over them.  This was one of my highlights!

This is lying on the edge of one of the dunes.

 We visited a wildlife sanctuary where we got to feed lots of different animals.  The kangaroos were classic.  I'm so ticklish that when they licked my hand, I almost dropped all the food.  There was a lot of laughing and hysterics.

 This was a classic animal.  It would come up to be patted, but wouldn't want to eat anything. 

 The most beautiful creature I've ever seen.

SoS 2:9 "My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag"

 Joy and Joey - I got to hold an orphan joey

 We had our own private feeding of some greedy pelicans.  They were a lot of fun!

My favourite pelican photo - one pelican trying to get bread, the other one biting it in half!!!

Sunshine over the coastline at Penneshaw.

 On the ferry ride back to the mainland.  

Holidays (2)

My time in Halls Gap is almost finished.  It's been a very nice time though.  Here are some other things I've done since my last post:

One afternoon I walked around the dam at Lake Bellfield.  When I got back I sat on the deck and had some apple and cheese and did some reading.  I saw some kangaroos and a magpie kept coming up on to the deck where I was sitting ( I was scared it was going to steal my apple).

Kookaburra

Lake Bellfield

Can't touch this

Sweet set up

Roos in the neighbours yard

Another day, I walked out to Silverband Falls - it used to be a really beautiful stroll through a dark forest, but now it's all messed up from flood damage.  The falls were still nice though.

The main Tourist Road in Halls Gap is closed because of the damage from the flooding, so I drove all the way around the back way to get to MacKenzie falls.  I always visit here when I come to Halls Gap and it was definitely worth the drive.  Because I was by myself, I didn't climb into the waterfalls like normal, and there was a LOT of water coming down!!

Holidays (1)

Well, I am officially on holidays...and it's lovely!

I'm spending the first part of my holidays out in Halls Gap.  I'm staying in a friend's house and enjoying the peace and quiet.

I arrived yesterday around 1pm.  It's nice and quiet here.  Lots of birds and animals!  After unpacking everything and setting up the house, I went for a hike up one of the mountains behind the house.  It was a warm day, so I packed some lunch and water and started walking.

Now, I love to hike, but hiking by yourself is very different!  I walked and walked and walked...I saw a couple of people on the way, but most of it was really quiet.  There were lizards and skinks everywhere.

I finally made it to the top and saw some great views.  I was higher than the opposite ridge, so I could see over it into the valley on the other side.  I was right above Lake Bellfield, which was nice!

I ate my lunch on top of the mountain, and then started coming back down.  I jogged a little bit, but had to go carefully because it was pretty steep.

I've also done some reading and started a 500 piece puzzle!  I slept a lot last night :)

Standing on top of the Viewpoint

Lake Bellfield.  Those little white dots to the left of the Dam Wall is where I am staying.

The other side of lake Bellfield.

A head's up!

Myers Briggs Personality Joy Venning Extraverted (E) 64%	Introverted (I) 36%
Intuitive (N) 82%	Sensing (S) 18%
Thinking (T) 60%	Feeling (F) 40%
Judging (J) 82%	Perceiving (P) 18%

From Wikipedia: ENTJ


ENTJs are among the rarest of types, accounting for about 2–5% of those who are formally tested. They tend to be self-driven, motivating, energetic, assertive, confident, and competitive. They generally take a big-picture view and build a long-term strategy. They typically know what they want and may mobilize others to help them attain their goals. ENTJs are often sought out as leaders due to an innate ability to direct groups of people. Unusually influential and organized, they may sometimes judge others by their own tough standards, failing to take personal needs into account.


ENTJs focus on the most efficient and organized means of performing a task. This quality, along with their goal orientation, often makes ENTJs superior leaders, both realistic and visionary in implementing a long-term plan. ENTJs tend to be fiercely independent in their decision making, having a strong will that insulates them against external influence. Generally highly competent, ENTJs analyze and structure the world around them in a logical and rational way. Due to this straightforward way of thinking, ENTJs tend to have the greatest difficulty of all the types in applying subjective considerations and emotional values into the decision-making process.

They are dynamic and pragmatic problem solvers. They tend to have a high degree of confidence in their own abilities, making them assertive and outspoken. In their dealings with others, they are generally outgoing, charismatic, fair-minded, and unaffected by conflict or criticism. However, these qualities can make ENTJs appear arrogant, insensitive, and confrontational. They can overwhelm others with their energy, intelligence, and desire to order the world according to their own vision. As a result, they may seem intimidating, hasty, and controlling.

ENTJs tend to cultivate their personal power. They often end up taking charge of a situation that seems (to their mind, at least) to be out of control, or that can otherwise be improved upon and strengthened. They strive to learn new things, which helps them become resourceful problem-solvers. However, since ENTJs rely on provable facts, they may find subjective issues pointless. ENTJs appear to take a tough approach to emotional or personal issues, and so can be viewed as aloof and insensitive. In situations requiring feeling and value judgments, ENTJs are well served to seek the advice of a trusted Feeling type.

When striving toward a goal, ENTJs often put personal needs aside until the work is done (and may expect others to do the same). For this reason, ENTJs may be considered self-sacrificing by some, but "cold and heartless" by others, especially those who prefer Feeling.

Skipton Mission 2011

This week, Lilly, Maddy, Kevin and I have been in Skipton, Victoria for our annual Canterbury/Skipton Holiday Club week.  We have been running an outreach Holiday Program for kids around the Skipton/Lismore area.  We have had a fantastic time doing Bible stories, songs, crafts, games and memory verses.  It has been a really nice time of partnership between our Churches and a really great time to spend with the kids here.

We've been doing some other things while we've been here.  There are some highlights below!

On Sunday morning, the Canterbury Crew came up to launch the Holiday Club.  We joined the morning worship service, and then they arranged a farm visit for the young people.  It was a great time!!

Feeding a baby orphaned lamb on the farm.

A very windy Thursday, on a volcanic mountain just outside of Camperdown.

Memory game with Kevin and Nathan

Sillhouettes with lilly at Lake Bolac

Kite flying with Elder Stuart!

Two photos from around the Skipton area.  One in a tree and the other by the lake.

Outside Lismore Presbyterian Church!

Life Update

It's time for a bit of an update on what's happening in life at the moment.

1. First of all, I'm living back at home with Lauren for a few weeks while James is overseas.  It's a really really nice break from living in the share house, but the distance is definitely noticeable - but not far enough to be frustrating!!

2. Secondly, I've been meeting every week with our youth leadership team for Ministry Training Meetings once a week on a Monday Night for the past month or so.  We're working hard to establish the study the Bible together and learn from the ministry of Jesus, and implement that in our own ministry.  It is also great to engage in Prayer, worship and accountability together, as well as review how we are travelling as a team!

3. We have been training for PYV Mission on Tuesday nights to prepare ourselves for when we travel in February.  Flights have been booked and cultural studies are underway.  Joe has been taking us through some great studies on what the Bible teaches about mission and how Jesus did his mission.  It has been great to get to know the team and prepare to work alongside them.

4. Bible Studies at Church have been going well.  David and I have been preparing our own studies on the book of Acts...we're slowly making our way through the book (we're up to Chapter 4).  It has been a very exciting and challenging time with the young people in our Church.

5. Youth Group has been going really well, with at least 3 young people coming along who are not Christians. We are praying that God will use these opportunities on Friday nights so that we might share the Gospel with them and that God might do a great work in them.  It's also been a great time of fellowship and relationship building for our young people across cultures!

6. English classes have been going well.  I've gone back to one English class a week because of the extra things I've taken on at Church.  It's great to spend a Friday afternoon with the students!

7. Tutoring is keeping me busy.  I have 4 students that I see at least once a week.  While this is not my most enjoyable thing in the week, it's good for relationships and for income!

8. Sport is almost finished for the season.  It's been a long and trying season in the 1st division and my ankle has had a fairly hard year!!  I'm looking forward to the end of the season, and thinking about summer soccer for the off season!

9. PYV things are going well - keeping busy with preparation for Summer Camp and with keeping on top of everything that is going on.  We're developing some great training ideas for local Churches to think about, so it's looking like it'll be a great year next year.

10. Liberty's wedding is pretty much a month away now!  All the busy-ness of that is starting to creep up.  We're trying to finalize our dresses and the decorations and things!!  I'm so excited to see all the cousins in a couple of weeks!  It should be a great time.

11. We're preparing to go up to Skipton for our Outreach Holiday Club we do up there.  I'm so excited to spend a week in the country with the Skippy kids again.  We're praying that God will use this ministry as an opportunity for kids and their parents to engage with the Gospel and the Church.

12. I'll be taking holidays in a few months, which is super exciting, because I haven't really had holidays since I started at Canterbury.  I'm still working out what I will do, but it's looking like whatever happens, I'll spend some time resting and maybe travel around a little...nothing too special!

That's pretty much all I can think of for now...everything is packed to the max, but it is all great!! :)