Racing Back To Me: This time last year

As a bonus for a tough and busy work year in 2010 my boss generously gave Tim and I a holiday to Vanuatu. It was just what we needed - time to unwind after a big year. We had purchased our first home and spent every weekend for a good few months doing it up before we moved, as well as spending time there after work in the evenings so we had very little down time in the latter part of the year. I had also just fallen pregnant in October and after such a stressful time in the last quarter of the year at work I was exhausted and just needed to relax.

We booked our holiday for the end of February 2011 and counted down the days until our departure. We'd had a pretty miserable summer here with lots of rain so for weeks all we did was fantasise about lying near the pool or on the crisp white sand soaking up the sun.

We arrived in Vanuatu in the evening and as we stepped off the plane we breathed in the hot and thick tropical air. It was teeming with steamy rain. Little did we know that Cyclone Yasi was lingering just off the coast and would challenge us on just about every day of our week long holiday.

The bungalow where we stayed was lovely. On the first night that we arrived we were told that we were directly in the path of Cyclone Yasi and that it would likely hit in the next day or two. We felt a bit excited at the thought until they came to us the next morning to batten down all the windows and provided us with a supply of water and candles in case the power cut out, which if it did, would likely be out for some time and it was then that it got serious and we got a little worried.

Nothing eventuated on the first day and it was difficult to get updates as to the position of the cyclone and what might happen. It rained constantly and was extremely windy all day long. The owner of the resort was a lovely Aussie guy and he came to check on us regularly to see if there was anything he could do to make us more comfortable. The resort was set amongst acres of beautiful established tropical gardens that had been built up over a decade, with lush ferns and big bright flowers. He walked around the gardens savouring the beauty and sadly told us that when the cyclone hit, it was all be devastated.

That night when we went to bed, we had our backpacks packed with essential items next to the bed and we slept in our clothes with our reef shoes close at hand in case we needed to make a quick getaway. I thought it was quite funny, but Tim was very serious about our safety and what might happen. I think his fatherly instincts to protect had started to kick in.

We listened to the wind howl wildly throughout the night, hoping that the beautiful big palm tree next to our bungalow wouldn't come crashing through our roof at any moment. We didn't sleep well. All I could think about were the locals living in the villages in their traditional huts and how they would get through something like this. Each time we woke up and heard the strong wind we were sure that this must be it. Morning came and when we opened our door there was water and debris everywhere, but surprisingly the cyclone hadn't actually hit, it was still just lingering off the coast and we were just experiencing the mild stuff.

The next few days were much the same and eventually the cyclone changed direction and we were no longer in it's direct path and would not experience it's full force. Still the rain and wind continued though. We ended up only having 2 almost sunny days which was a bit of a bummer but it was still nice.

Despite the fact that it wasn't the holiday that we dreamed of, these are some of the things that I loved about our holiday: