1000 steps and some prize donations!!

So after swapping my normie fortnightly RDO for a Friday last week, it turns out I was correct in assuming that businesses would be more likely to donate prizes on a Friday arvo than a Monday arvo.  After a few follow-up phone-calls to some businesses I had previously contacted, and a couple more to some other businesses, I was offered this list of amazing prizes:

-A $100 gift voucher from Velo Cycles (thanks Paul!)
-A gift voucher for a segway wine tour of the Yarra Valley (thanks Terry!)
-A double pass to Nova Cinema in Carlton (thanks Vanessa!)
- 2 double passes to any Palace Cinema (thanks Michelle!)
-A double wine pack and pizza voucher from Innocent Bystander in Healesville (thanks Zoe!)

So all in all a successful afternoon!  Some of these prizes will be used as raffle prizes, and some as prizes at one of our quiz nights.

We do need to go out to Healesville to pick up the wine pack, but can always incorporate a walk or two into the trip.  We would like to put together a Yarra Valley prize pack, as we already have the segway wine tour and an Innocent Bystander pack so now could add some accommodation and it would become a great first prize in our raffle!

We got up early on Saturday and planned to train it all the way to Upper Ferntree Gully with our bikes to do the 1000 steps walk in the Dandenong National Park.  However trains were suspended between Epping and Clifton Hill, so we had to bike to Clifton Hill adding a couple of hours to our return trip.  We finally arrived at Upper Ferntree Gully at 12pm and completed the 1000 steps in 1 hour as opposed to the 1 hr and 45 mins suggested on the sign at the bottom.  The steps were incredibly busy and not that wide either so you're sort of making way for people all the time.  It was a really tough climb but we're glad we finally did it and so now we can get fitter and fitter each time we do it.  There are a few other walking tracks out there that we plan to tackle next time.  We left at around 2pm and were back home by around 3.30pm.  I had something on in the early afternoon, otherwise we would have stayed longer.  We plan to make a real day of it next time and get up earlier too.

Legs are a wee bit tired today.  My gore-tex hiking boots stood up to the walk OK, and are pretty light and comfy, but it's the long 4 - 6 hour walks which will be the true test of how good they will be.  I bought them off my old flatmate for $30 and they are a Spanish brand I have never heard of, so not sure if they are good enough for a 7 day trek up Kilimanjaro.  May have to bite the bullet and splash out on some new ones.

Here's a pic of them anyhoo:

That's all for now, feel like it's all starting to come together which is a great feeling!

Helen