Road Trip...oh yeah!!

Well, the weather along the coast finally shaped up so we decided to test our sanity and do a quick trip to the beaches before school starts. We set out for Jervis Bay, home of the whitest, cleanest sand in the world (Its in the Guinness book of records apparently). On the way, due to my poor choice of a navigator (Tammy), we took a wrong turn and ended up in a place called Kangaroo Valley. What a fantastic mistake it turned out to be! We drove up and over the Great Dividing Range and the views were outstanding (when we were not clouded in). We made it to the beaches without leaving any of the children to be raised by the mountain hillbilly's and the blue sky followed us.

The beach sand was so pure that when you walked it squeaked and the waves were perfect for boogie boarding. Tam even gave it a go until getting crushed by a 6ft wave which prompted her to retire to the beach. We will definitely revisit this area. Dan

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The Jenolan Caves

On the way back from the beach we took a stop in the beautiful Blue Mountans to take a look at the Jenolan Caves. Once we made it into the mountains, the drive got a bit scary. The road was so small that it seemed like a bus would take up the whole road but it was worth the drive because the view down the mountains was great. When we finally made it there was a huge hotel built on the side of a mountain.

After we parked our car half way up the mountain, we followed the steep trail down to find out which cave we would be exploring today. We figured out that we would be exploring the cave, Chifley. We went to the entrance to see our guide Steve. Steve took us on a great tour of the cave and showed us all of the amazing rocks and minerals. Steve told us that the cave that we were in was the first cave to ever have electric light instead of candle light. It was discovered by Jeremiah Wilson. He was the keeper of the caves in 1879. Jeremiah named one of the most beautiful caves after his wife - lucky her. After we were done our great tour we walked up the steep mountain back to our car to continue our Aussie adventure. By Sam

Longing for Timmy's

Priscilla and Dominic warned us, but we didn't heed ... this is the tale of our search for the morning coffee. Let me preface this by saying that I am not a 5 cup a day coffee drinker - I like about 1 and a half cups in the morning to kick start my day and to clear the cobwebs out of my head. Dan is a devotee to the "double double" from Tim Horton's.

When we arrived in Australia, we quickly deduced that they are a nation of instant coffee drinkers OR cappucino lovers. Dan refused to pay over $4.00 for a "coffee" at a bistro or cappucino shop and at our cottage in Karuah, we had small packets of instant and a kettle. We made due but found it a bit weak and lacking the full bodied flavour of brewed coffee but didn't worry too much thinking that once we got to Narrandera, things would improve.

The Quest for a Coffee Maker: Priscilla told us that they did not have a coffee maker before we came but we did not realize that aquiring one would be like the quest for the Holy Grail! Our first trip to Coles, the local grocery store confirmed that this would not be an easy task. We noticed that ground coffee was sold in small bags and instant coffee was sold in the jumbo 1kg tins. Dan bought a bag of coffee and a bodum or coffee press. We giggled and thought back to our university days when we had a bodum. I liken a bodum to having "campfire coffee"- strong and gritty BUT I was having trouble coming out of the caffiene withdrawl fog and wanted a kick so we gave it a go. We put in the grains, boiled the water and poured it into the press. We grinned at one other as we hovered, waiting for it to turn strong and black. Then, p-r-e-s-s, we plunged and it didn't go down. We plunged again, and it didn't go down. So we just poured it into cups and drank the strong coffee, grounds and all.

We tried shopping for a coffee maker and found that they are scarce. We went to Target and Kmart and Big W looking and we either found a small 2 cup coffee maker or an adequate coffee maker that was VERY overpriced by our standards. So we weren't ready to commit to a new one yet and decided keep searching. To illustrate that coffee makers are not in demand here, for every one small coffee maker we found, there were 8 to 10 cappucino makers.

EBay: We went on, we searched and we found! People would have coffee makers for sale for $4.00 but they would have to be picked up. You could not get it shipped to you. This was quickly ruled out as an option because the 4 hour drive and gas use would quickly outweigh the $4.00 cost to get the coffee maker.

Dan began to talk about giving up coffee all together - I knew that he was becoming delirious and a resolution had to be found - and fast!

Salvation!

There is a Salvation Army in town and as we were driving home one evening, I suggested that perhaps we stop there. I went to the door and Dan and the boys waited in the car. DRAT - locked! We went home and resolved to go back in the next day. Dan and Jacob were up at the crack of dawn and took a walk up to the Sally Ann. When they returned they had a barely used coffee maker AND a pack of filters - for $2.00! We quickly cued it up and it wasn't long before the wonderful smell of brewing coffee filled the house. Dan and I actually hovered over it and inhaled deeply as the aroma filled our senses. For the first time since our arrival, the full bodied flavour of brewed coffee cleared the cobwebs and sharpened our senses! Now, it is starting to feel like home. Next quest: Coffee cream!

Happily enjoying a cuppa Joe

Floods

Ipswich, Queensland Photo by: Bruce Long

Australia, particularly Queensland and New South Wales are being hit with some of the worst flooding in 100 years. It is all over the news here and it is heartbreaking to watch. The flooded area of Queensland, still growing, is the size of France and Germany combined. The stories of those lost and those who have survived are gut wrenching. Not only so these people have to contend with the flood waters but now they also must contend with wildlife that are coming in with the floods such as bullsharks, crocodiles, snakes and spiders that are also seeking refuge. We are thankful to be in an area that is far removed from the flooded areas but our hearts and thoughts and prayers go out to those who are affected by this disaster. It is our hope that like Katrina or Haiti, our country will come to the aid of the families of Australia as they continue to cope with and hopefully can soon begin to rebuild after this catastrophe. Please friends and family, keep these people in your prayers. T

Koalas in the Wild!

Today we went for a walk on the Bundidgerry hiking trail in Narrandera. We have been wanting to see koala bears and Priscilla and Dominic told us that this was the place to go. Boy were they right! It didn't take long to see our first koala. It's round little body was wedged in the fork of a tree. We called up to it and it turned to look at us giving loads of photo ops. In a zoo, the animals are so used to people that they don't even bat an eye when you look at them, but here, they just stared at us, like we were at them. We stayed on the path, much to Jacob's dismay. I was worried about snakes and spiders - you should see the webs and the size of the arachnids around here! I feel like a gladiator killing them in our yard - SHEERA PRINCESS OF POWER! I told Jacob to pretend he was Bear Grills on a wild adventure but he said Bear would never stay on the trail. I told him when he starts wearing steel-toed hikers and full head to toe gear, I'd think about it. He says I still wouldn't let him and well, he's probably right.
The area was recently flooded and it was like special effects as we could clearly see the water line on all of the eucalyptus trees. We also noticed big tracks, that reminded me of Elmer Fud's giant "wabbit". We thought they were kangaroo tracks and there were many all over the muddy trails. Our guess was right because soon after, off in the distance, Jacob noticed movement and there were several kangaroos bounding through the bush. We tried to get photos but they'd disappear in the trees before we could get a shot. We vow to produce a photo of them before long! We really enjoyed the area and I have a feeling it will become a regular walking trail for us. Below is a Smilebox of photos we took on our journey.
P.S. Sam stayed home as he'd had a scooter "incident" and was recovering from his injuries.

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Beaching it.

Australia has beautiful beaches. There is no question. We visited a few beaches over our first 3 days along the coast and they were all breathtaking and each had it's own charms. Although the weather was cooler by Australian summer standards and a bit overcast, it didn't deter 4 of 5 of us from venturing into the waves and doing a little body surfing and playing. We collected shells to look at and went for walks along the shore. We quickly learned respect for the force of the waves as we saw riptides and some of us got "road rash" from being slammed by the surf. We saw actual surfers and that gave us the urge to try it out hopefully soon.
One really cool thing was when we were at Fingal Bay, the waves were about 8 feet high and people (Sam, Jake and Dan included) were standing out and being lifted up by the waves before they crashed on the shallower beach. It was like a great carnival ride. Jack and I were standing a little closer to shore and would get pushed back by the force of the foamy crashing waves. When the waves would move back out to sea, Jack would call it "flushing the toilet" because of the water getting sucked back out. Anyhow, someone called out "dolphins" and there was a dolphin silhouette actually surfing the wave that all the people were in! It was so cool! I raced to get my camera and got a little footage but it was after they moved back out a bit more. It was so amazing that we were able to encounter them in the "wild" like that - right at the beach!AWESOME! Here's a clip of that below and a Smilebox of some beach photos. T.

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Jack's First Impressions

Please click the Vocaroo to hear Jack's musings about Australia so far...

Driving on the Left and First Impressions

Dan has driven - I have not - YET. Dan's first driving experience was from Sydney Airport to Karuah, New South Wales. It is about a 3 hour drive and luckily Priscilla and Dominic left us their Tom Tom (GPS) or we never would have made it (or at least I never could have navigated it)! It was so weird to be sitting in the Canadian driver's seat but to really be the passenger. I kept jumping and flinching which, of course, was not very helpful to poor Dan who was trying to stay on the left side of the road and to navigate round-abouts that are more than one lane! Until he started to feel comfortable, he would veer away from the centre line which would leave me either almost in the ditch or on those rumble strips. We made it safely though and now how feels like a pro!

Observations about Australian roads:

They are so polite (example)

rather than yield - "give way" (there are more but at the moment I am unable to give more)

very few traffic lights - lots of round-abouts

We also noticed the fire risk level signs. Where we have "Extreme" as our highest level, they have "Catastrophic" (yikes!).

When we were driving toward Narrandera, we also noticed that we were in some areas where the road actually could become a flood way. In these areas there would be flood level measuring sticks that would go up to 2 metres. This was a little unnerving as it would be higher than our vehicle. Wow!

Overall, it was hard to sleep in the car because we never really got bored. The scenery is spectacular here. Along the coast there are high hills and lush vegetation. We saw many trees that we had never seen before and tried to identify them by guessing, although, we really have no clue at this point.

The Blue Mountain area is also quite breathtaking - not like the Rocky Mountains rugged appearance, but more tropical and again, lush. We were not far over the mountains, when we entered rolling hills and another beautiful landscape with ranches and sheep and cattle grazing. This was also where we saw our first "mob" of kangaroos. It was so exciting to see them hopping along. We didn't get a picture as they were too far away. We WILL get some soon though and be sure to post them!

The area around Narrandera seems to have gentle rolling hills and trees and is quite picturesque. We haven't ventured too far from our new home yet but look forward to much more exploring in the area.

Jacob's Post

We arrived in Australia 3 days ago. I hated the 20 hour plane ride. I felt like my head was going to pop. The first town we went to after Sydney was the small town Karuah. We got a cabin in this park in Karuah to live in. The next day we went to a bigger town to go shopping and we saw a tv star Austin Stevens, snake master. But today we went to a beach with big waves and then the same day we went to a beach with giant waves. The two beaches gave me and my big brother a rash from the salt in the water. We both had red dots all over our thighs. J.

Around the World (well almost) in 20 hours!

We made it! We are now here in Narrandera as of today (Friday, Jan 7). The trip has been a whirlwind and we can't believe how lucky we are to be in such a beautiful home and in such a nice town.

THE FLIGHT(S)

After a pretty sleepless night in Winnipeg (Sam and Jack were up at 3am), we were packed and ready. It was a hard good bye in Winnipeg for all of us. My parents saw us off and then it was through immigration and onto the plane.

The Winnipeg to Chicago flight was relatively uneventful and we were happy to get the first leg of the journey completed. After lunch and a little exploring time in Chicago airport, we were off to LAX. Sam was pretty tired by this point and was becoming frustrated because he couldn't sleep so we gave him a little Gravol and he was good all the way to L.A.

I must say that LAX was rather disappointing - at least the part of it we saw. After Chicago's art and really engaging displays, I was expecting LAX, the airport of the stars to be amazing. It pretty much looked like Winnipeg from the area we were in - only with a McDonald's.

Now we were boarding for Sydney - the long flight - 14 hours and we were already feeling pretty wiped out! The plane was huge and we were in the 50th row about 3/4 of the way to the back of the plane.

Jack is a born traveller - he was amazing through the entire trip. He either slept or played quietly or chatted with one of us. He never complained or asked when we would get there. He was perfect! Poor Jake got sick on the LA - Sydney flight and suffered for about the last 7 hours with an upset stomach. He was a trooper though and just dealt with it the best he could with Gravol. Sam was more used to relaxing and sleeping on the plane by this point and was able to cruise through the last leg. Dan and I were pretty tired but surprised that the time did seem to pass. We watched about 4 movies and a few TV episodes while trying to sleep when kids were sleeping. Jake got one of those fancy travel pillows so we all passed it around. When we finally made our landing in Sydney, we were excited and relieved to be back on land and in fresh air! As we were coming in for the landing, Jack looked out the window and said, "Hey, where are all the kangaroos?" We told him that they probably didn't let them roam the airport runways. He was not too happy about that!

Priscilla's friends Stuart and Amy met us in Sydney and showed us to our car. Now it was Dan's turn to drive out of downtown Sydney on the left hand side of the road toward Karuah where we would decompress!