Simone Fischer, psychologist and chair of the Far North Queensland branch of Australian Psychology Society, shares how she spends her spare time.

My weekends usually start in one of two ways.

I will do a yoga class on the beach or do tai chi at Kewarra Beach Resort on Saturday morning. Sometimes I even take clients into the weekend if I think they need to do some tai chi.

Then I might have a quiet cup of coffee with the tai chi people and drive into town to Rusty’s. I meet my daughter and have lunch somewhere along Grafton St as there are plenty of cafes.

Then I drive up to Ravenshoe because I have 130 acres (52ha) there. I usually spend most of my Saturdays in Cairns and don’t go up to Ravenshoe until mid to late afternoon.

I stay on Sundays and sometimes on Mondays too.

On Sunday, we might go for lunch to the highest pub in Queensland.

At the moment we are building roads through the property.

I also like reading on Sundays. I read the paper. I also like reading novels, things as far away from work as I can get.

The last book I read was Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Green. It’s about a kid with autism but it is more about his imaginary friend. I’ve also read a book by Tim Winton recently.

On the drive up to Ravenshoe, I often duck off to all the farmers’ marts. They sell fruit and vegetables from their houses and it’s the freshest stuff.

When I get home I take out my recipe books and make something new and exciting. I’m a good cook.

I have Czech and Italian heritage and cooking is part of family social life. I like making stock, and making bolognese from scratch.

Sometimes we have people over for lunch and we might have it under shades next to the dam.

We have three dogs. There’s Beate, nicknamed Tubby, a great dane cross, then Mr K, a kelpie and bull mastiff. He’s a real character and a smart dog.

And there’s Miss Ravenshoe, Wanda Lou Lou, a harlequin great dane cross. She is the most unattractive dog that you’ve ever met. She looks inbred, has spots all over, a tiny face and a big rear.

On Fridays, I usually chill out after my work day. I meet my daughter and go to pump class.

Then I might go for a drink with friends or just go home, do some meditation and have an early night.

If there is an occasion for celebration, we might go to the tapas bar at Edge Hill. My place in town is just a block from it.

I do a lot of talking and listening during the week in my job so I try to get away from that on weekends. I love my yoga, tai chi and the gym.

I used to work for the theatre in New York, so whenever I can support theatre in Cairns, I do. I was in Girls Night Out at Cairns Little Theatre.

Sometimes I ask people if you could live your life again, what would you do, and I think for me, I would go back to acting as an older person. I do miss it. When I came to Cairns 20 years ago, there wasn’t much theatre here so I had to find something else to do.

I find the best way to unwind is to do tai chi because my mind is full of stories after the week.

Tai chi is mind and body focused together. Even if your mind is chatting, it is not your focus.

My favourite part of the world is Ravenshoe. I’m the canteen manager and treasurer for the Ravenshoe Motorcycle Club. We have between four and six meetings a year.

My partner is putting a motorbike together for me. In two weeks we are going to the MotoGP in Malaysia.

We went to the World Superbikes last February at Phillip Island.

I love music, which comes from my mum, who was a music teacher. I played cello and piano and could read music before I could write.

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