Working holiday begins...

I've got a job in a plant nursery called Birch Manor. It's in a place called Prebbleton about 13km SW of Christchurch city centre. I'm living in my tent in the back yard of a backpackers 2km to the east of city centre! I take a scenic route to work on the bike - about 20km long which takes in some pretty nice countryside that's literally right next door to the hustle and bustle of town.

The job is great; plants are all over the place, and there's loads to do so I'm always kept busy. It also means that I'll learn a load of new plants and meet new people so I'm chuffed.

I also get at least 40km a day on the bike done 6 days a week. That just leaves running and swimming. I've neglected both for the best part of 6 weeks so I'm probably rubbish again! I'm looking now towards the Easter Festival in the IOM in April and specifically to the 10km road race where I'll be able to compare my fitness of last year to this.

There should be plenty of scope to improve both with a 50m pool and a running track at QE2 Park - the base of the "Friendly Games" (Commonwealth Games, 1974); not sure how the Manx team got on that year.

So, I'm afraid, my touring is on hiatus for now as I earn a crust to pay for my flight home. I'll probably try to squeeze in a few days of touring (there's still so much more I want to see but alas, I will not see it all) before I head home as planned at end of March.