Sunday 28 December 2014

Queenscliff Trip

On Saturday we headed down to Queenscliff for 3 days away with Mum and Dad, and my sister and her family. On the way we stopped at Tony's cousin's house as we were thinking about buying their camper trailer (they have just upgraded to a caravan). We hadn't seen them for ages (nearly 2 years we think) so it was great to catch up and for the kids to play - LiAM was able to play Skylanders and the girls played on the swings and Millie set up a bit of a tea party for us. We set up the camper trailer and chatted about how and when to use it, and did decide to buy it - very very exciting, I've been wanting one for a few years and I'm thrilled to have one now!

We arrived at the house we were all sharing around 5.30 on Saturday afternoon. The others were already there and settled in. We explored the house and played with the baby and chatted to everyone and felt very relaxed and happy to be away for a few days. We had fish and chips for tea, then Tony and Dad and the kids and I headed down to the beach to see the sunset. Tony had thought we might see the sun set over the ocean because of the angle of the peninsula - and he was right. We arrived just in time to see it hit the ocean horizon and were able to watch it set - beautiful. The kids paddled in the edge of the water then started jumping the little waves, and eventually moved in as far as their knees and slightly bigger waves - they were all saturated and very happy by the time we headed home. The kids started a game of Monopoly back at the house and the adults played Monopoly, did puzzles, read books etc until we all went to bed. The kids and Tony let me sleep in the front room by myself on the sofa bed so that I could have a sleep-in the next morning - very much appreciated.

Sunday was a relaxing day with a leisurely breakfast, and then everyone in and out of the house doing various sight seeing things as the mood struck them. We had trips to the beach, to the shops, to the train station, in basically every combination of kids and adults. Tony and I had some time together browsing the shops, F & J were able to go out for lunch on their own, and the kids went out at various stages with different people, one, two or 3 at a time. Dad and I took the kids on a steam train ride which we all enjoyed immensely. We had a couple of trips to the beach each day - and discovered that at low tide, the beach where we'd watched the sunset turned into a series of rock pools which led to safe, calm water for swimming, and lots of chances to see sea stars, crabs, fish and heaps of plant life. With so many adults around it meant that usually each child could go home or go out when they wanted to, there was generally someone happy to help them out, and others could stay longer or not go out at all and it worked very well.

Monday was similar to the day before, lots of outings and lots of hanging around at the house. There was a great selection of games in the house - Monopoly, Uno Skip, Pictionary, which we played quite a bit. F had also brought along a trivia game which we played on Sunday night.

Tony left early on Monday to head back to work, and it was a bit weird not having him there - I kept waiting for him to wander out into the living area, I missed him quite a lot.

One of the highlights of the house for the kids was the spa bath. After each trip to the beach they returned home and jumped in the spa - a great way to warm up (the weather was a bit chilly at times) and relax and really feel indulged on our holiday.

My highlight of the weekend was an early morning (7am) walk to the beach alone, and a swim in the ocean. The tide was up but knowing where the rock ledges were meant I knew where the water would be safe - the swim bought back many memories of swimming in the ocean early in the morning (for a few years I did it every day). I felt so happy and excited and calm (all at once) in the water, it was an amazing start to the day. I walked home around the beach and headlands where there was only a tiny gap between the rocks and the water (tide was coming in) and got wet once - it felt like an exciting adventure trying to beat the waves around the headland.

On Tuesday morning we all packed up in a leisurely fashion. F & J left around 11am and the rest of us were ready to go around midday. Mum and Dad were coming home with us as Tony had taken their car on Monday. The 6 of us went down to the observation tower near the ferry terminal - LiAM had been keen to go to the top all weekend. The view from the top was fantastic, seeing the headlands on both sides of the bay and out to the ocean, and the bay and shoreline in all directions. From there we went back into town and got a big bag of lollies each from the lolly shop and a gelato from the gelato shop (we'd had an ice cream the day before from the Swedish ice cream shop), then headed towards home.

We stopped in Geelong for pizza for lunch and for me to pick up Caitlin's christmas present (a RipStik), and then again at Tony's cousin's to pick up the camper trailer to bring it home - I was a little nervous driving with a (very heavy) trailer in peak traffic, and down the hill at Christmas Hills, but it wasn't too difficult and I made it home happily without incident.

(I have photos to add, once my internet speed is faster and can actually hang in there long enough to get the photos uploaded...)

Wednesday 3 December 2014

Houseboat/Wedding Trip Day 5: Hawkesbury River -> Home

We awoke with no rush to another sunny morning and pottered about the houseboat. Tony cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast and we ate them up on the roof. Afterwards we went for a swim off the back of the houseboat - Caitlin and I were much more confident this time and stayed in for ages, and Amelie and LiAM came in with their life jackets on - at first for very quick dips then back on the boat, then becoming more confident and staying in for longer. The water felt amazing and it was a beautiful place to be swimming. Tony and I were in and out depending on what the kids were doing (so that there was always someone either in the water or on the boat if that's where the kids were).

We had seen a few sea eagles during our time on the boat, including a couple circling straight overhead when we were onshore on Friday. This morning an eagle came and landed in a tree on the shore closest to our boat - then circled round and around, low, in our bay. Very exciting. My aunt and uncle came to visit us in their tinny, pretty cool to get visitors whilst on the water!
The view from our houseboat in Deep Bay

Sea Eagle

Swimming


We decided to get moving fairly early as the forecast was for 41 degrees and we knew from Friday that it felt much hotter down in the gorges of the creek than in the more open river closer to Brooklyn. So after our wonderful swim we set off - the cool thing about travelling in a houseboat is that we can do the dishes and cleaning up while en route - Tony drove and I sorted out the kitchen. I had planned to pack our bags while we were moving but it was more interesting talking to Tony, looking at the scenery, helping LiAM with his lego sticker book. We had music playing on Caitlin's iPad mini so there was dancing happening as well.
The view as we left Berowra Creek and headed up the Hawkesbury River

We made good time up the creek and went the long way around an island rather than the shortcut we'd taken last time, then under the bridges again and around to near Hawkesbury River marina where there were more public moorings. We moored here and I started to pack - there were so many other boats going past, on a hot Sunday morning, that the boat was constantly rocking in the wake, and with my head down packing bags I was feeling more and more nauseous and kept wandering outside to breathe. We decided to move somewhere quieter and just float around rather than mooring, so we went around the far side of Dangar Island and looked at a little waterfall there, then after a while headed back under the railway bridge and just cruised up and down in the large area of the river between the bridges. Eventually we were packed, Tony made lunch and cleaned up the kitchen, then we were ready to head back in to the marina so called for a boat to come out and pilot us in (around 2pm).

We were taken back in, got our stuff of the boat, left some bags at the desk for Mum and Dad to pick up on their way to Newcastle, and the guy dropped us at the station just in time for the 2.37 train. It was pleasant to be in the air conditioning of the train after the heat of the day. It looked like a storm was coming too, so while it was sad to be off the boat, we were glad not to have to face any bad weather while onboard.

From Central Station we caught the rail-replacement bus out to the airport, where we had plenty of time to check in carefully and slowly (no rush this time), then go and have a leisurely dinner in the food court, and watch the low clouds racing across the airport outside. We had a few hours at the airport and it felt like just the right amount of time - then our plane was delayed as the crew had been delayed on their trip up from Melbourne - the storm had prevented planes from landing for a while - so we left about half an hour late and the kids were really ready to go by then. It was a bit of a bumpy trip, but uneventful. The kids and Tony all watched movies and I did puzzles in my book. We arrived in Melbourne after 10, went and picked up our car, then home at 11.30pm with 3 sleeping kids, moved them and our bags inside, fed the animals, then went to bed ourselves.

Monday 1 December 2014

Houseboat/Wedding Trip Day 4: The Wedding

Everyone slept better this night, although I woke with a shock at 5.10am thinking we'd slept in because it was so light outside - being further east and north of home, the sun rises and sets a lot earlier. We had planned to get up at 5.30 so I got up and started to get organised, everyone except Millie woke up easily and had some breakfast, and we were on our way in the tinny, with a sleepy Amelie, by 6.30am. Beautiful time of day to be out on the water.

We arrived back at the penthouse by 6.45, ready for me to start getting my hair done at 7. It was lovely having the hairdresser play with my hair with all my family and my brother's new family around. She did a braid across the front and down one side, and softened up the curls elsewhere. Throughout the morning she also did Caitlin's hair (2 braids leading around to a plait at the back, and soft curls underneath), and hair for my sister, the bride, her sister, and Millie - who had a Elsa braid - twists leading to a plait (Millie still had lots of dreadlocks and her hair is not really brushable at the moment, and she wanted a plait, so this was perfect). We hung around for the morning, played with the baby, chatted to everyone, ate fruit, it was very relaxed and casual and a lovely way to prepare for a wedding. The bride was the most relaxed bride I've ever seen - confident that everything would go to plan, or if something didn't, that it would work out one way or another anyway. At some point the morning shifted from relaxed hanging out to 'time to get ready' and the 14 of us there were suddenly rushing around getting dressed, which was also quite fun.

The kids looked amazing in their flower girl and ring bearer outfits. LiAM left with us and we all went on a ferry with other guests to the Berowra Waters Inn where the wedding was being held. The girls stayed with the bride and her sister to come on the bridal boat.
Waiting for the bride

The bridal boat arriving


The girls arrived at the wedding and Amelie bravely walked in by herself, followed by Caitlin and then the bride. The ceremony was lovely, and moving, and in a beautiful setting, on the deck of the restaurant overlooking the water and the mountains. There were parasols for guests who were standing in the sun so it wasn't too hot. LiAM took the rings up at the appointed time and placed them on the marriage book for the celebrant to hand them to the bride and groom. My sister (with baby T) and the bride's sister did readings.





After the ceremony there were bubbles to blow, and lots of people to talk to. We had a session of family photos before the food started.
The wedding attendants

With the bride and groom and my parents
The rest of the afternoon was a mix of yummy food (although there wasn't enough food for the kids, who managed very well despite being a bit hungry and very hot), speeches, chatting to the other guests - I met lots of the bride's family and they were all welcoming and interested in our family. It was also fun catching up with some of my brother's friends who I hadn't seen for many years, and my aunt and uncle and some old family friends who were there. The kids explored the area around the restaurant, played with the bubbles and parasols, danced, chatted to numerous guests, and impressed everyone with their conversation.




Around 4.30 the bride and groom left, and the ferry came to pick up all the guests. We went back to the penthouse and changed into more comfortable shoes/clothes as required, had a bit of a rest, then went to the after party at a nearby house, friends of the bride and groom. More chatting, playing, dancing until our boat transport came to pick us up around 7pm to take us back to the houseboat. It was sad to leave the party, although we were all very tired and I really wanted to be back on the boat before sunset and have something to eat and settle down before dark. We had a very quiet evening on the boat, eating leftovers and sitting watching the boats go by the end of our bay, and everyone was in bed by 9pm.

Sunday 30 November 2014

Houseboat/Wedding Trip Day 3: Hawkesbury River

We had an unsettled night (it was hot on the boat) which involved lots of bed swapping and me sitting out the back of the boat watching the stars when I couldn't sleep. We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning which became warm then hot very quickly. Tony took LiAM and Caitlin for a row around the bay, and then to shore where they climbed up the rocks and explored the echoes of the surrounding cliffs. Once they came back I had a swim off the back of the boat - I was a bit nervous and it took me a while to jump in, then it was amazing to be in the water, so glad I made the effort. Caitlin joined me briefly and Tony had a quick dip after us, then we set off on our way.

We made our way slowly back up the creek and past the opening to the ocean, under the railway bridge (nearly managed to go under as a train was passing) and across to under the road bridges - going under 2 bridges next to each other was pretty exciting and looked spectacular. On our way we saw lots more jellyfish, other boats, Caitlin had a turn at driving, the kids watched 'How to Train Your Dragon', we drank cups of tea and snacked, sat out the front and watched the river pass by - very enjoyable morning. As we headed down towards and into Berowra Creek the weather got hotter and hotter - it was hard to be inside the boat for very long, even with the windows open. After a while Tony had the idea of using the fire bucket and filling it up with water from the river and tipping it over himself and the kids - helped everyone cool down somewhat.

We reached Berowra Waters in the early afternoon and circled around for a while until my brother met us with a tinny - a little motor boat that was being lent to us by the Marina (as our family was renting the Penthouse at the marina) and that would make it easier for us to get back and forwards to wedding events. We sent all our wedding clothes ashore as we grabbed the boat too, as I had been worried about carrying them in a little boat and losing them all overboard. I felt much better once the clothes were safely where they needed to be.

We motored back down river a bit and moored in Deep Bay (easily this time, just approached the mooring and attached the boat to it). It was low tide and there was a little beach at the end of the bay, so we all got into the rowboat and headed ashore. We played in the water - I just lay down in the shallow water for a while which cooled me off nicely - and on the little sand bar, and had a picnic lunch on the rocks. We went exploring into the exposed land at the end of the bay - lots of crabs (different ones this time, they were orange and black, and went into pre-dug burrows rather than burrowing under the sand - I haven't yet looked up what type they were), lots of mangrove trees and plants, lots and lots of mud - I nearly lost my river shoes a few times until we found a more solid area to walk on. Beyond the mud and mangroves there were rocks to clamber over, and a natural cave right at the end of the cove which was amazingly cool on this hot day. It was weird to think that in a few hours this whole area would be underwater when the tide came back in.

After another swim we rowed back to the houseboat, then got ready and jumped in the tinny to go back to the marina and see all the family before the wedding. We spent a lovely couple of hours in the penthouse, getting to know C's family a bit more, playing with baby T, chatting with mum and dad and my sister and one of my brother's friends. I took the opportunity to have a shower as well. Around 7pm we motored back to the houseboat and cooked dinner as the sun set. We ate sitting in various spots around the boat, admiring the darkening sky and cliffs, and headed to bed soon afterwards

Thursday 27 November 2014

Houseboat/Wedding Trip Day 2: Sydney -> Hawkesbury River

We had an early start on Thursday - luckily the girls woke up themselves at 5.45am, so it wasn't too difficult to get everyone ready and out the door by 7.30. We walked back down to the Light Rail - much easier downhill, and in the early morning, compared to yesterday afternoon. We got to Central Station in plenty of time to transfer to our train to take us up to Hawkesbury River, where we were picked up at the station by one of the houseboat company employees.

Our boat was called Josephine, and we spent about an hour getting everything on board (I'd ordered our groceries via Coles Online, so they were there waiting for us - much easier than carrying them all with us!), watching the safety video, being shown how to use everything on board (especially the toilet), organising life jackets etc, then we were piloted out into the river and left to our own devices! It was a beautiful sunny day, pleasantly warm, and the boat was very easy to drive.

We motored under the rail bridge (so exciting) then past the opening to the ocean (in the distance) and  past an increasing number (and variety of colours) of jellyfish. We reached Jerusalem Creek at low tide and it looked magnificent, exposed sand banks and mangroves between high cliffs. All of the public moorings were taken and we tried to anchor but it was much trickier than the instructions made it seem, so we decided to move on. There was a bay with a beach just to the south of the creek, with 3 available public moorings, so we pulled in there. Our first attempt at mooring took us a while, especially with the swell and the tide, but we got it eventually.

We all jumped into the row boat and rowed to shore. The girls were a bit nervous. I hadn't rowed for many years and the life jacket made it trickier (Tony and I ditched the life jackets for subsequent trips) - it came back to me quickly and I enjoyed it. On the beach we discovered a huge colony of soldier crabs - whenever we went close it looked like the ground was moving, there were so many of them. Watching them burrow into the sand when we got too close was fascinating too. We played in the water and went for a walk up into the mangroves, tried snorkelling a little and saw lots of little fish. As Tony was pulling the row boat back into the water he saw a Port Jackson Shark, and Caitlin stepped on something (possibly another little shark) that bit her.

Back to the houseboat and we got moving again. One of the cool things about being on the boat was that we could eat (and prepare food) while we were on the move. We ate and sat out the front or back of the boat, or chatted inside, took lots of photos, listened to music, surrounded by a magnificent view. A very very pleasant way to travel.

We headed down to the far end of Smiths Creek, where we'd hoped to go snorkelling. It was higher tide by now so not so much shallow water and we weren't sure if there would even be beaches as such this far from the ocean. We moored (much more easily this time) and spent an hour or so sitting on the boat enjoying the tranquility of the bay, watching the birds, dangling our feet in the water etc. Caitlin was a bit spooked after being bitten earlier and decided not to go in the water here, and after a while we moved to Stingray Bay, a bit closer to the entrance to the creek. Tony took the big kids for a row - Amelie didn't want to get back in the rowboat so she and I stayed on board and played with her sticker book. The others rowed to the end of the bay and climbed up on the rocks, and went snorkelling. Tony cut his foot on the rocks and Caitlin saw a stingray which freaked her out, so they came back fairly quickly. We had sausages in bread for tea, sitting up on top of the boat, then watched the sun set over the high cliffs. Once it was dark we went to bed fairly quickly rather than using up battery power on lights for too long.

(I don't have photos available of today at the moment - will include some when I get access to them)

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Houseboat /Wedding Trip Day 1: Home -> Sydney

We were up fairly early to finish getting ready and out of the house before 9am. Running a little later than I would have liked, we then had a slow trip to the airport, and by the time we arrived to drop our car off it was getting pretty tight. I had already checked in (as weird as that seems, checking in before we arrive) and we raced to drop our bags off but everything took longer than expected and bag drop off closed before we had them all in. A Qantas guy came to help us and checked our bags in for us, we got to the gate and they were already boarding - so a crazy rush to get started but we did happily make it on to the plane.

The kids were given little activity packs and there were iPads to watch TV shows on so the kids were quite well occupied, and I took the chance to do some of my own puzzle book. Arriving in Sydney we caught the train to Central Station (I haven't been there for a long time, it was partially very familiar and also different as some things have changed in the intervening years). We had Hungry Jacks for lunch, as everyone was tired and hot and hungry, then caught the Light Rail out to Leichhardt to our friend's P & S where we were staying the first night.

It was a hot walk up from the station to their house, then the kids and I quickly got changed into cooler clothes, had a drink then set off again to catch the bus to my brother's house. Tony went shopping for suitable 'Garden Party' attire for the wedding. The kids tried on their wedding clothes, which all needed slight altering, so C, her sister E, and the kids and I walked up to her tailor. It was the first time I had met E and she was lovely. She has been to Afghanistan so I was looking forward to talking to her about that, which I did, and then the tailor himself was from Kabul so we both chatted to him a bit about life there and here. The kids tried their clothes on again and had them marked for alteration, then back to the flat for a cool drink and a bit of a rest, my brother turned up while we were there.

We caught the bus back to Leichhardt and played in the park for a while, then back to P&S's for Indian takeaway. The kids all played really well (they have a 5yo boy and 3yo girl), playing with a football, on the iPad, making hama bead designs, and watching a Barbie movie. It was great catching up as always.

Sunday 15 June 2014

NSW Trip: Home

A quick update for anyone who was worried - we found Millie's iPod Touch. I had unpacked the car and still not seen it, and was really starting to give up. I decided to go and pull out every last bit of rubbish and paper and see if it was buried somewhere - there was a heap of stuff between Caitlin and Millie's seats but I still couldn't see the iPod. I had nearly finished pulling everything out of the boot when I grabbed a postcard that was between the girls' seats and had slid almost into the boot - and underneath it was the iPod!!!!!!!!!!! Feeling very relieved now and Millie is very happy. She hadn't seemed too upset by not having but had started to say she wished she could play it. I guess she always believed that it would turn up!

Saturday 14 June 2014

NSW Trip Day 21: Holbrook -> Home


LiAM and Millie and I were up first and we went outside to sit at the table in front of our room and write in our diaries/blog. The guy from the next room came out with his toddler son to go and look at the birds, LiAM and Millie were interested too and LiAM had a good chat with him. The kids and I popped down the street to get milk and bread for breakfast, then we ate and packed up. We were ready to go by 10 but I couldn’t see Millie’s iPod Touch anywhere – she doesn’t think she took it inside but it wasn’t anywhere obvious in the car. We spent about 45 minutes looking in the car and the room for it, with no luck. I imagine its in the car somewhere, underneath stuff that we weren’t easily able to move without unpacking the whole car…

The motel people said they’d send it if they found it and we left to go and see the submarine (stopping at the Foodworks on the way to see if we’d left it there – no). From a distance the submarine looks simply yellow, up close it looks amazing – every imaginable shade of yellow, in knitted, crocheted or woven pieces of every size, all joined together to form a giant cover for the sub. Some of the pieces had knitted animals attached to them, or woven in as part of the pattern, some had words (including one that said Liam), others had plastic sea creatures attached – it was fun exploring all the detail, even in the rain. The yellow wool is a yarn bombing exercise that has been done in time for some wool festival. It had only been installed the day that we arrived and will only be there for a month, so it felt like good timing to be in Holbrook!
Approaching the Submarine

Close up with sea animals



From there we went to the Holbrook bakery where they sell the best pies in Australia, according to my brother (when I asked at the info centre the girl there confirmed that they were the best). Tony, Caitlin and I had pies (mine was satay chicken, theirs were plain pies) and yes, they were magnificent. LiAM and Millie had sweet pastries which were also delicious.

We left Holbrook in the rain for almost the last leg home. Again we had a pleasant drive, listened to Harry Potter and talked about where we were, what we’d do when we got home, and played iPads/Pods. Just after I drove past the last roadhouse before we turn of the Hume Freeway, I realized we needed petrol, so we went into Benalla to get some. While Tony was putting the petrol in I realised we were opposite a McDonalds, and I’d promised Tony that at some point on our trip we could have soft serve cones from Maccas – so I popped over and got one each for the kids and Tony which was a nice little treat for the way home.

Mum and Dad had suggested we could call into their place in Yea on our way through, as they had a birthday present for Millie, so we did that. Great to see them and also Buckley our dog and all of our chickens (our chicks are now almost fully grown and the ‘baby’ roosters are crowing). Millie loved her presents – a fold up camp chair (pink) and a great hot pink and black dress, with black leggings. Everyone had lots to tell and show everyone else, then we had some cakes and sang Happy Birthday to Millie again, then had a bit of a play, and Caitlin watched some of Dance Academy – very exciting to see all the places we had been on Wednesday!. We were getting ready to head home as it was approaching tea time, so decided it was easier to stay there for tea and come home fed. It was a pleasant evening and then I got very tired before the kids were quite ready to leave, so I had a shower and that refreshed me enough.

Blowing out more candles in her new outfit
We got home about 8.45 and unpacked the necessary things from the car. Caitlin watched some more Dance Academy, LiAM played on his iPod, Tony watched the football, Millie went to bed. I pottered around a bit, settling back into home and feeling good to be here. Weird though to have no animals here – we’ll get the cat tomorrow and the other animals in a few days.

It was a great trip and I am feeling so much more relaxed and re-energised after it. Looking forward to whatever comes next and hoping I can carry my current state of mind into non-holiday activities. To keep up with what we’re doing day-to-day you can check out my other blog at seekingjoyeveryday.blogspot.com.au

Friday 13 June 2014

NSW Trip Day 20: Sydney -> Holbrook


After our big day yesterday everyone (except Millie and I) had a bit of a sleep in. I packed up and had most of the stuff in the car and we woke LiAM so that I could pack his bedding up and he could eat before we left.

Once we were on our way I felt a little bit excited to be heading home (although glad we still had 2 days to get there). We got through Sydney (which is very easy now with the M7 motorway) and Millie needed a toilet, Tony also wanted to get petrol at Sydney rather than country prices, so we pulled off into Campbelltown and stopped at the first place we found with a toilet, which was a Hungry Jacks. We decided to get a little bit of food here (it was almost midday) so that we could then get a couple more hours down the highway before we needed to do a big stop for food and play. So we had a small lunch and drinks, then the kids played on the playground while Tony tried to find somewhere to get petrol (no luck). Back on the road again and we stopped briefly at Pheasants Nest for petrol, then made it to Suttons Forest before the drinks from lunch meant everyone needed another toilet stop. A quick stop there and we were able to make it all the way to Gundagai before we needed a break. The car trip was fun, we played the ‘guess what job I’m thinking of’ game and talked about the countryside and other vehicles we could see and listened to Harry Potter 7 on audio CD and the kids played on their iPods/Pads.

In Gundagai we stopped about 4pm at a playground down towards the river and had chicken bread rolls for a late second lunch. The kids played on the equipment and Tony and had a bit of a throw with his baseball and mitts. A little dog befriended us (he wanted to eat our chicken) and the kids found it hard not to give him something to eat. While we were there I ran the caravan park in Holbrook (I wanted to make it to Holbrook today because its only 4 hours from there to home and that felt manageable for our last day, and also Holbrook is a fun place to stop because of the submarine). The caravan park was booked out, so we spent a while researching motel options – it can be hard to find a room for 5 people. I managed to book us in before we left Gundagai (I knew it would be after 6 when we arrived so I wanted it sorted before we got there otherwise everyone could be tired and hungry and not tolerant of popping in and out of motels looking for a room).

We got to Holbrook around 6.15 and found our motel – the room was lovely and the guy really friendly and helpful. There was a microwave so we were able to heat up leftovers for tea (we have a great esky (thanks Mum) which, with a couple of big ice bricks, keeps milk and meat and left overs icy cold all day). We watched TV, played cards, the girls jumped from the top bunk bed down onto the queen bed, and had a relaxing evening in our room. Millie fell asleep then after a while I was ready for bed, and LiAM was still bouncing around the room, so Tony took him and Caitlin for a walk and they made it all the way up to the Submarine – which is currently covered in yellow wool. They had a look around there and back to our room and eventually to bed.

Thursday 12 June 2014

NSW Trip Day 19 - Sydney


We spent a quiet morning in the cabin, playing with Barbie and lego and iPods etc. Caitlin rode her scooter for a while – this caravan park has lots of hills so she’s practicing riding at speed and then stopping at the bottom. Our plan for the day was to go to Observatory Hill and then maybe Darling Harbour. I remembered that I also wanted to go to Chinatown to see if I could get a new bottle of herbs that I ran out of last week, so we decided to go straight to Chinatown to have lunch.

We set off and got to the city all right, then became bamboozled and cranky at the no right turns and one way streets around Chinatown, and we couldn’t seem to find a way to get close enough. I gave up and suggested we go straight to Observatory Hill and have a snack there, and come back for lunch later (I was also concerned that the blue sky was turning into thick grey clouds, so I wanted to do the outdoor stuff first). So we made our way (with still a little bit of frustration, I had forgotten how crazy it is to navigate Sydney streets in a car) up to Observatory Hill and climbed up to the park. I’ve always found this a beautiful spot with its large trees and views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the wharfs and the harbour, but it is more especially exciting now as its one of the frequent settings for Caitlin’s favourite show, Dance Academy. We ran around under the trees and on the grass where the characters often hang out, and Caitlin and Millie danced in the rotunda where Tara dances in several scenes. It was exciting even walking around the streets nearby, to think that all the actors had walked around there too. After a snack and a play and lots of photos, we walked down to the foreshore and prowled around the wharf buildings where a lot more of the show is filmed. Sydney Dance Company does operate out of one of the buildings there, although it looks like the next wharf over is the one they use for the show. It was cool just walking out on the wharves, even without the Dance Academy association. On the way back in we saw a guy who had just speared a fish which was interesting given the kids’ recent first experience with fishing.

Observatory Hill
Caitlin dancing in the rotunda where Tara dances
Caitlin in front of the Dance Academy building
We decided to skip Chinatown and just go to Darling Harbour. The first carpark we went into cost $30 for the first hour, so we came straight back out of there. We ended up in the Darling Harbour carpark right next to the Sydney Entertainment Centre, which is right across the road from Chinatown, so figured we actually could go with our original plan and have (a now very late) lunch there. The first place we saw was a food court called Eating World, which we all thought was a definite choice as the place to go. We got 3 dishes between us, all cooked fresh, and all amazingly tasty. It helped everyone calm down and feel much happier, we’d all been a bit past it by the time we got there. Once I’d finished eating I went exploring to find my herbs. I found a chinese beauty shop that sold health products, and asked if they sold herbs (and showed them my empty bottle) – they said no, but directed me to the nearest Chinese Herbal Shop. I found it easily thanks to their directions, and was able to get a new bottle – hopefully having the herbs again will help with my energy and anxiety levels (which have been flagging and peaking a little bit, respectively).




Lunch in Chinatown - Honey Chicken in the shape of the kids' initials (and Caitlin ate that entire plate of pork and noodles herself!)



From Chinatown we walked up to Darling Harbour, playing near or on several of the water features on the way. Halfway there we found a magnificent playground, one of the best I’ve seen, so we stopped for a play. There were amazing climbing features and big wide slides – the biggest one was designed so that the kids kind of rock climbed and/or used a rope to climb up to the top. There was a flying fox and swings – my favourite bit was the water play area which had streams of water running between man made rocks, with gates that you could swing or lift up to divert or trap the water – Caitlin and I had a quick play before we left, I’d love to go back and spend hours there!
Water features at Darling Harbour

We reached the water at Darling Harbour just as it was starting to get dark, so we saw all the lights reflected in the water, it was beautiful. We went up to the shopping area (Caitlin really wanted to check it out) and had a bit of a browse then bought Danish ice cream and sat on the steps overlooking the water. Caitlin and I popped back in briefly to buy a birthday present for a friend.

We headed back to the car, rather tired, and when we got there I realized I’d lost my water bottle somewhere – feeling a bit sad about that as I’ve had it over 5 years and I really loved it. From there we drove to my brother’s place in Balmain (which is the reason we took the car into the city rather than public transport, as we needed to get to Balmain and then home to Dural afterwards). He lives in an apartment overlooking the ferry terminal and where the tugboats dock, with a view of the top half of the Sydney Harbour Bridge – a great location. We had a lovely baked dinner, and great company from P and C.  The lamb we ate was from C’s parent’s farm and was delicious and tender. We played Chinese Whispers with hilarious results and some of us met C’s very shy cat (a beautiful Burmese Blue who hid under the pillows as soon as we arrived). P showed us (LiAM in particular) their video of when they went snorkeling with whale sharks and we shared travel stories and other news.

Back to our cabin quite late and crashed straight away – feeling a little sad that in the morning we’ll pack up and begin our 2 day journey home.