Arrived on Sunday31/3/19 @ 3:30.
Wonderful to see Domi, Jay and the boys after all this time. (They've been here 2 years already). Royal welcome from the Black Beasties.
First impressions: neat, clean, soft water, lots of well behaved traffic, vast areas of preserved natural bush, eucalyptus, colourful birds.
Had our first Woodland Meander. Oh, wow. Parrots, cockatoos, kookaburras, miners, magpies ... All so exotic. Awesome. I didn't bring my big lens so was getting frustrated with inability to adequately capture the birds. Ordered 600mm Sigma lens. Will receive in approx one week. Can't wait. Also online, I ordered a kookaburra ornament for our lapa. It's the national bird of NSW. Awoken by their hysterical laughing call every morning. Bliss.
Jet lag hit us on the Sunday night. Couldn't sleep from about 1am onwards despite being very tired. Both up and watching tv.
During the day, we decided to take a walk to nearby Woolworths to stock up on some provisions (replace handcream and shampoo impounded at customs plus WINE). Warning: Venues appear much nearer when travelling in cars. Turned out to be a 4km walk, mostly uphill in bright sunlight.
Monday night saw us exhausted but able to sleep and get back into a more natural pattern.
Dom and Jay are still working so we mosey around the Woodlands Meander to our hearts content. Forgot to take the dogs on our first day, but have remembered since then.
On Thursday we went to The Australian Brewery. Had a lovely steak, chips and veg. Nice venue and reasonably priced.
D&J took Friday off. We went by car to Manly Beach then ferry to Sydney. Lovely scenic view of the Bridge and Opera House. Stunning walk in Botanical Gardens. Ferry back to Manly, battered fish (flathead) and chips for lunch. Expensive but nice.
Saturday = soccer day. Watched Zac (2nd division under 10's) then off to a different venue for Ben's (1st division under 8's) match. Both play very well.
That evening we met Geoff, Kylie, Addie (who had just qualified for the national acrobatic team) and Hunter. Wonderful people, good grub at our first Oz barbie and lots to drink. Hangover from hell on Sunday.
Sunday we were off to Cumberland State Forest for Zac to attend a birthday party. (Treetop zip lining). Yet another beautiful setting.
Forgot to mention: Sunday saw daylight saving kick out so clocks pulled back 1 hour. Sleeping pattern all up the Creek again!
The weather for the past week has been deliciously mild, borderline fresh. Temp starts to pick up to low 30's from today (Sunday) into next week.
2nd week: started the week off with an early morning woodland meander, with dogs, as we are expecting the courier to arrive. Saw two young kangaroos! Dogs went ballistic (so did we). We have nicknamed this pathway (one of many), Bamboo Lane as there is a healthy batch of bamboo growing along a section of it.
D&J are wonderful hosts, really laying it on for us. Dom's grub is delicious and varied. The venues they have shown us, including Aldi's ( :) ), are interesting and/or fascinating.
Trying to find the most compatible/easiest way to move money to D&J. Decided on PayPal. Battled most of last week to try set Domi up (specifically linking her bank account) with no success. Jay accomplished it on his side. Don't know what he did differently to us but it worked!!!!
Wonderful to see Domi, Jay and the boys after all this time. (They've been here 2 years already). Royal welcome from the Black Beasties.
First impressions: neat, clean, soft water, lots of well behaved traffic, vast areas of preserved natural bush, eucalyptus, colourful birds.
Had our first Woodland Meander. Oh, wow. Parrots, cockatoos, kookaburras, miners, magpies ... All so exotic. Awesome. I didn't bring my big lens so was getting frustrated with inability to adequately capture the birds. Ordered 600mm Sigma lens. Will receive in approx one week. Can't wait. Also online, I ordered a kookaburra ornament for our lapa. It's the national bird of NSW. Awoken by their hysterical laughing call every morning. Bliss.
Jet lag hit us on the Sunday night. Couldn't sleep from about 1am onwards despite being very tired. Both up and watching tv.
During the day, we decided to take a walk to nearby Woolworths to stock up on some provisions (replace handcream and shampoo impounded at customs plus WINE). Warning: Venues appear much nearer when travelling in cars. Turned out to be a 4km walk, mostly uphill in bright sunlight.
Monday night saw us exhausted but able to sleep and get back into a more natural pattern.
Dom and Jay are still working so we mosey around the Woodlands Meander to our hearts content. Forgot to take the dogs on our first day, but have remembered since then.
On Thursday we went to The Australian Brewery. Had a lovely steak, chips and veg. Nice venue and reasonably priced.
D&J took Friday off. We went by car to Manly Beach then ferry to Sydney. Lovely scenic view of the Bridge and Opera House. Stunning walk in Botanical Gardens. Ferry back to Manly, battered fish (flathead) and chips for lunch. Expensive but nice.
Saturday = soccer day. Watched Zac (2nd division under 10's) then off to a different venue for Ben's (1st division under 8's) match. Both play very well.
That evening we met Geoff, Kylie, Addie (who had just qualified for the national acrobatic team) and Hunter. Wonderful people, good grub at our first Oz barbie and lots to drink. Hangover from hell on Sunday.
Sunday we were off to Cumberland State Forest for Zac to attend a birthday party. (Treetop zip lining). Yet another beautiful setting.
Forgot to mention: Sunday saw daylight saving kick out so clocks pulled back 1 hour. Sleeping pattern all up the Creek again!
The weather for the past week has been deliciously mild, borderline fresh. Temp starts to pick up to low 30's from today (Sunday) into next week.
2nd week: started the week off with an early morning woodland meander, with dogs, as we are expecting the courier to arrive. Saw two young kangaroos! Dogs went ballistic (so did we). We have nicknamed this pathway (one of many), Bamboo Lane as there is a healthy batch of bamboo growing along a section of it.
D&J are wonderful hosts, really laying it on for us. Dom's grub is delicious and varied. The venues they have shown us, including Aldi's ( :) ), are interesting and/or fascinating.
Trying to find the most compatible/easiest way to move money to D&J. Decided on PayPal. Battled most of last week to try set Domi up (specifically linking her bank account) with no success. Jay accomplished it on his side. Don't know what he did differently to us but it worked!!!!
Dragon Blood Tree in background
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