Ah yes. We all have one of these. A list of things we aim to see and do before we pass onto the next realm. Items range from the adventurous to something as simple as trying a certain foodstuff. Here is an excerpt from my bucket list, in no particular order:
Go white water rafting- View the "Northern Lights"
- Attend a Holi-One festical
- Learn to
play a musical instrument - Take a scuba diving course
- Visit Egypt and view the pyramids and Valley of the Kings
- Fly an aircraft
- Be in two countries at once
- Learn to speak another language
Start my own blog- View the lava fields in Hawaii
- Take an advanced drivers course
- Learn to surf
- Have a session with John Edward/Theresa (The Long Island Medium)
Ride in a hot air balloonWear a pair of leather pants
It's not a complete list, just some of the main things I can think of whilst writing this post. As you can see from the above, I have managed to tick some of these items off and below are some photographs.
White water rafting
My former boss believed the best teambuilding is done whilst staring death in the face. So in August of 2009, he took our audit department to the Elephant Hills Hotel for two nights and on day two we did a half day's white water rafting on the Zambezi. We were divided into two "teams" and four people rode in the raft steered by a guide. All they had to do was hold on and have fun. The rest of us got the raft where we had to paddle and don't be conned into thinking it is an easy job. With eight people in the raft (excluding the guide) we STILL battled to propel it forward. After some practice time we hit the rapids. This was easily one of the best experiences of my life. The rapids ranged from manageable to "holy crap, the raft nearly tipped over". There were quieter parts of the river where we were able to get off the raft and swim or float, which was a good idea until a colleague spotted a baby crocodile sunning himself on a rock. As they say, where there's a baby there's a mommy... And that ended the swimming portion of the afternoon. The course went far too quickly and before we knew it we had to get out and start the monumental hike up the gorge to catch the bus. Man alive was I unprepared for that! The terrain ranged from a gentle gradient to climbing a sheer rock face. Although it may have only been 1.5km long, it felt like a lifetime and a heap of drained accountants could barely life their feet to climb onto the bus. It was a fantastic day, one I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Unfortunately we were not able to bring any photographs or videos of the rafting home as the company experienced a technological glitch and all the footage from our trip was lost. However, here are some pics I took in Zimbabwe.
Learn to play a musical instrument
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| View from our hotel |
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| Sunset cruise on the Zambezi |
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| Vic Falls from the bus |
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| Sunset |
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| MWRK Audit team |
I have always wanted to play the violin. Think Vanessa Mae firing off one of her electrically charged melodies, or even an Irish folk song. Nothing beats that signature sound of a violin. After threatening to go for lessons and buying my own instrument (Bill warned me to never practice when he was home because he didn't want to hear a cat being skinned alive) I thought I'd see if I had any musical talent whatsoever by trying a piano lesson first. One of my friends, Taryn, is an accomplished drummer and pianist, and she offered to give me lessons. I have only been once but I thoroughly enjoyed it and apparently I wasn't the worst student she'd ever had, so that gave me hope. I have my next lesson next week. I take it you are wondering why I have half crossed off this item? My reasoning is I have started the learning process but will only tick it off properly once I can do a full song with both hands at the same time, not this awkward one finger one finger one finger movement I currently have going on. Photograph to follow from next week's lesson.
Start my own blog
Well the very fact that you are reading this validates this statement. Soleil Femme was born on 27 August 2013, after much debate. With myself. So far I am loving it, and hope you are enjoying reading my posts. I love interacting with people so leave a comment at the end and let me know what you thought.
Hot air balloon flight
This was a gift I gave to myself for my 25th birthday two years ago. I have always wanted to go on a flight, and when a special came up on Groupon (at half the usual price mind you) I took it as a sign from the universe and started making the arrangements. Our flight was over the beautiful Magaliesberg region, and after a rather early start at 4:30am, William and I arrived at the departure site rather bleary eyed but excited. Our pilot was a veteran and had previously operated balloon flights over the Masai Mara, witnessing the great migration on several occasions. The flight was approximately two hours, and we shared a basket with approximately 18 other people, of which was a bachelorette party. Our landing site was a field of beautiful horses, a magical end to a once in a lifetime experience.
The leather pants
So another one of absolute have to's in life is to own (and wear) a pair/s of leather pants. Yes, I realise I am channeling my inner rock star at this point, but to me the leather pants are the epitome of self confidence and acceptance of our bodies. Let's face it, those leathers are not the most flattering, yet once you have them on you feel empowered, and ready to tackle anything. I wore them for the first time at my 27th birthday party just over a week ago, and now I cant wait to wear them - even to do grocery shopping! No, not quite, but you know what I mean.
I shall update my bucket list as I tick off more items, but in the meantime, why not share your bucket list?
