Today we took a two-hour drive into the Blue Mountains, which are west of Sydney. The mountains get their name from the bluish color that comes from the eucalyptus trees. There are several spectacular views available, but we were there for only one: the view from the cliff for abseiling.
As we motored to the mountains, we ran into rain. The delegation leader part of my brain said, “It’s raining. How disappointing that they might not get to abseil.” The personal, old-person, side of my brain said, “It’s raining!! I won’t even have to think of abseiling!!” However, when we got there, the clouds cleared, as they have for us so far when we’ve been here, and we were gearing up.
The first order of the day was to have a session on the power of positive thinking. The Full On team has dynamic presenters and activities to prepare us for today’s adventure, and for other adventures in the future. We were ready for the next challenge.
We hiked a path to a spot where one of our guides demonstrated what we would be doing. He rappelled down a rock formation of about 30-40 feet, showing how to use the rope and his feet. It looked do-able. But I wondered how we were going to get to where he started. No worries, Mate. We were going to another location.
Fifteen or so minutes later we stowed our lunches and backpacks in a cave along the way, and about ten minutes later we arrived at the rappelling point. We stood at a spectacular vista of the mountains and valley, and a 200-foot cliff drop.
This was a lot more intimidating than the demonstration. Everyone was encouraged to push themselves a little past their comfort zone. The guides were encouraging, and also understanding that not everyone would be at the same level of comfort. Some of us went down the side, some of us pushed beyond our original fears, but chose not to go down the side. All of us realized a new strength within ourselves in how to overcome obstacles.
After a quick lunch, we hiked back up the trail for some team-building activities. As a team, they had to complete a maze without talking. I think that was a bigger challenge for some of them than going down a 200-foot cliff!
As we motored to the mountains, we ran into rain. The delegation leader part of my brain said, “It’s raining. How disappointing that they might not get to abseil.” The personal, old-person, side of my brain said, “It’s raining!! I won’t even have to think of abseiling!!” However, when we got there, the clouds cleared, as they have for us so far when we’ve been here, and we were gearing up.
The first order of the day was to have a session on the power of positive thinking. The Full On team has dynamic presenters and activities to prepare us for today’s adventure, and for other adventures in the future. We were ready for the next challenge.
We hiked a path to a spot where one of our guides demonstrated what we would be doing. He rappelled down a rock formation of about 30-40 feet, showing how to use the rope and his feet. It looked do-able. But I wondered how we were going to get to where he started. No worries, Mate. We were going to another location.
Fifteen or so minutes later we stowed our lunches and backpacks in a cave along the way, and about ten minutes later we arrived at the rappelling point. We stood at a spectacular vista of the mountains and valley, and a 200-foot cliff drop.
This was a lot more intimidating than the demonstration. Everyone was encouraged to push themselves a little past their comfort zone. The guides were encouraging, and also understanding that not everyone would be at the same level of comfort. Some of us went down the side, some of us pushed beyond our original fears, but chose not to go down the side. All of us realized a new strength within ourselves in how to overcome obstacles.
After a quick lunch, we hiked back up the trail for some team-building activities. As a team, they had to complete a maze without talking. I think that was a bigger challenge for some of them than going down a 200-foot cliff!
When we got back to the lodge, we learned more about being proactive rather then reactive and how positive affirmation helps us. They provided us with a great dinner, and we were on our way home.
On the way, we passed the ANZ stadium, site of the 2000 Olympics. It was a center of activity as all of Sydney was buzzing about the Point of Origin games being held. Last night was the second of a three game football match between Queensland and New South Wales. Apparently this is a pretty prestigious tournament. NSW lost the first match and needed to win tonight to keep their hopes alive. We tuned into the game when we got back to our hotel, and found the Aussie football is pretty brutal. No helmet, pads or huddles. Just run, get tackled and run some more. NSW put up a valiant effort but lost.
Tomorrow we’ll leave Sydney and begin our journey up the coast.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI had to call the hotel and leave a message for Halee. The lady who helped me said, "No worries Mam, we will sort this out for you." Guess what? They did. Anyway, I loved her "no worries" comment and can appreciate how you described the event above.
Have fun, cindy - Halee's mom