The Challenge explained and the habit I will work on this week...

In order to have easy access to this exciting challenge and the rules there are I will post the whole post in this blog along with the habit I will be working on this week. I have been working on that habit for a long time, very unsuccessfully I might add. It is....... drumroll..... Drinking my 8 glasses of water. So this will be what I am going to do with my life the next 8 weeks. Exercise, blog, encourage and get to Hobart, Tasmania. At least at first. I am so happy there are people here on Spark with such grand ideas and are willing to take us all along for the journey. Normally I am not at all competitive, but when it comes to traveling, I will kick someones behind. KICK. So I need to get myself fed and take my puppy tracking to start out this wonderful day. And then I will send my daughter a scale.... she landed on the Firecracker team, and I was so excited to be on a challenge with her together. Oh well. Now I will just have to compete with her :)

HERE IS WHAT THE CHALLENGE IS ABOUT:

: –) Please remember - Wherever we travel it’s a lovely summer day and we are physically fit and have ease of mobility.

Note: in all travels we are environmentally sensitive and are not harming the habitat.

Challenge #1 Saturday May 7 - Friday May 13

DESTINATION – Hobart Tasmania - 8,334 miles - Exercise & Blogging

The challenge begins Saturday morning.

Exercise and Blogging done prior to SATURDAY morning DOES NOT COUNT!!!!!

The excitement is building as we await our first destination. An airplane is pulling up and it’s Australian Airlines! Please board quickly and strap on the seat belt. “This is your captain speaking, Sparkers we are off to Hobart, the capital city of the Australian state of Tasmania, an island south off the Australian mainland.

The city was settled in 1804 as a penal colony and grew rapidly as the clearing house for British and Irish convicts. Its place on the Derwent River became the perfect protected deepwater harbour, and now every December and January it welcomes weary sailors from the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

Stretch your legs and take one of Hobart's historic walks and visit sites around Sullivan’s Cove, walk through narrow laneways and down into cellars and into old jails and have a whiff of the past. At Battery Point, polished glass winks in the windows of settlers' cottages, as you walk through its maze of narrow streets to view convict-built structures.

Visit the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and discover the riches of Tasmanian heritage through fauna and mineral displays, maritime and convict history, early Australian art and stories of Tasmania's Aborigines. If time allows see the Bonorong, a sanctuary for native Australian wildlife, on the northern edge of Hobart. It has Tasmanian devils, kangaroos, wombats, koalas and you can feed the devils!


Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyUW
lyv6cqA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf39
-FIZjvE&feature=related

Tourist Information

www.australia.com/destinatio
ns/cities/Hobart.aspx?chan
nel=paid-search&tacampaign
=canada-regional-sem-upw&c
ampaign=destinations&websi
te=google&adgroup=hobart&k
eyword=hobart%20australia&
matchtype=broad&ppcseid=60
03&ppcsekeyword=hobart+aus
tralia&mmtctg=2022775966&m
mtcmp=176797486&mmtmt=5&mm
tgglcnt=0&mmtadid=73451405
26&niadgrp=Hobart&nicmp=Destinations&nichan=Google

Pictures – set to slide show

www.flickr.com/search/show/?
q=hobart+tasmania

Race #1 - You must exercise to earn air miles to get your team to Hobart, Tasmania.

1 minute of exercise = 1 air mile

DAILY MAXIMUM 120 exercise minutes/air miles.

Living the Good Life - Blogging and Feedback. Earn 5 points for everyday you post a blog. You can select a goal/habit you wish to establish and include it in your blog and let us know how you are progressing during the week. Making one new habit a week may not sound like much, but in one year that could be 52! Do you need some motivation or advice? Ask for it in your blog!

Many of you did the Count Down to the Spring Challenge Activities. If you have not already done them you may wish to do them in your blogs.

www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/
team_messageboard.asp?boar
d=19628x49373

Here is an blog I enjoyed about blogs, '"No One Is Reading My Spark People Blogs!" Voted Popular Blog Post

www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_p
ublic_journal_individual.a
sp?blog_id=4161674&comment
_page=11


Earn one point for each time you visit a team mate's blog (including Community Team) and leave a comment to a maximum of 10 comments daily.

Challenge #1 Summary
Q
Record all exercise minutes. Its 8334 miles Exercise Minutes/Air miles. DAILY MAXIMUM 120 exercise minutes/miles.

Scoring: 1 minute of exercise = 1 air mile

Living the Good Life - Blogging and Feedback Daily Total 15!

Daily Blog 5 points

Daily Feedback on Blogs 1 point each - Daily maximum 10

You can record this on one thread. (example)

Exercise: 45
Blog & Feedback: 15

Team Exercise-130
Team Blog & Feedback: 60

FANTASY BONUS - the top team from the exercise and LTGL challenges will join the winning team for this week. We are off to the beautiful Botanical Gardens located a fifteen minutes walk from the city centre. Among the attractions is the must see sub Antarctic garden. Its like walking into a freezer full of plants!

Photos – click on slide show
www.flickr.com/photos/rtbg/s
ets/72157623934179901/

Next we will proceed to the water front and board a world class yacht and experience the thrill of Australian Yachting then a quiet sail and an onboard Spark luncheon. Relax and enjoy!

****Remember if for any reason your health does not allow you to participate in a challenge please does not attempt it. Always for doctor's orders.

****Please participate to the best of your ability and accept healthy challenges to nudge you into trying new things. It`s intended to be all inclusive so we can enjoy the challenges together. Let your team leaders know if you have any questions or suggestions to adapt physical challenges.

RECORDING THE TEAM SCORES - After the first three teams arrive, ALL teams will continue to add points until MIDNIGHT Friday. This will give the other teams a chance to make it to the destination and do a little exploring. Those that don't make it will be flown in and begin the next leg of the race with the other teams.