July 13. Day 194. I'm on the top of the world

Hiking boots, plenty of water, appropriate clothing and protein in the form of nuts - these are signs of a person well prepared to hike up a mountain at dawn. Staying up late and drinking cocktails in the spa - not so much. Still, I had said I would climb Mount Coolum at dawn and so it would be and the view was totally worth it.
Also this was our last day of holidays and I didn't want to waste a minute of it. So there was the mountain, two trips to the beach with the family to run the dog and in between a big fry up with eggs which 15-year-old Kate had collected straight from the from one of the free range chicken's bums.
For a minute I even considered building a chicken range at home - that was right up until  the incident between Fur Friend Rumple and the chooks. One bird over the fence and one dog in the dog house for bad behaviour convinced me that future free range eggs would probably have to come from the supermarket but the dream was good while it lasted. That may be my last contact with chickens - who I found really quite captivating - but the next beach holiday is booked for September. I can't wait.