Australia – Page 2

Helen and Brent’s Antics

Top billing this time goes to my lovely daughter Helen and her new husband Brent. Yes, Helen and Brent were married on Monday 11th in a Registry Office in Sydney. Congratulations and lots of love to you both.

It was still Sunday here in Anchorage as we could only imagine what was happening down under. It was a rainy day as they took the water taxi over Sydney Harbour to the big city.

The happy couple here are dancing to Wannabe, The ceremony was a small affair, just the celebrant and a couple of witnesses. H&B did kidnap an elderly couple though, one of whom used to be a wedding photographer. So there are plenty of photos to look through.

Meanwhile, back here in Anchorage, the vacuum cleaner battery gave up the ghost after half the apartment had been given a good seeing to. Liesel enjoyed her now weekly massage and brought us back some very nice coffee from Kaladi. Asa and Gideon came over and took their Oma away for a while, so Liesel and I went for walk down to the lagoon. The Sun was low. Hmm, actually, from here, the Sun is always low in the sky, but we did go out late, and it was approaching sunset.

There were a few people skating out on the ice, but I had no intention of testing out the thickness of the ice. Especially as, just a couple of hundred yards away, the water was flowing quite hard and fast.

The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail is 11 miles long and we walked a very small section of it. Being Sunday, there were plenty of cyclists too. There’s a machine that counts cyclists as they go by. At the time we passed by, it claimed there had been 39 cyclists today, and 311 so far this month, which doesn’t seem every many, compared with the number of cyclists we witnessed on our relatively short visit. This compares with 5732 cyclists last month and a total of about 125,000 this year.

A passer-by commented on how glorious the alpenglow was, as the sun disappeared behind some clouds, and yes, the mountains did look pinkly beuatiful.

Walking around outside with cleats on my shoes was safer than sliding around on the ice, but it’s very loud, you couldn’t creep up on anybody. Plus, the noise kept the bears away, we didn’t see a single one. Crunch, crunch, crunch.

As requested, I put up some spice racks on the wall in the pantry, and organised the jars of spices alphabetically. Who knew there were so many Cs: cumin, chives, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, chili, chocolate, cheese, chalk, cats, confetti and so many more.

And now for some SRN. I noticed the Alaska’s News Source report on the opening of the Equity Center in downtown Anchorage featured a very special guest: me.

That’s another small contribution to my fifteen minutes of fame

When we first arrived here in Anchorage, Liesel suggested I grow a beard, so that I’d look more Alaskan, and fit in. Well, I’ve given it three weeks and I decided, nah, it’s not for me. My beardy days are long gone. And after seeing it on TV, albeit fairly local TV, that decision was confirmed, so I was, this week, briefly, clean-shaven.

I spent one whole day on my own as Liesel took Leslie into the office again. I entertained myself with loadsa puzzles, loadsa podcasts and radio shows. I did venture out for a fairly short walk, crunch, crunch, crunch up the road to Fire Island, our favourite bakery here, in what I think was the coldest day here so far, -8°C, brrr. I watched an episode of Planet Earth II on TV, something that Liesel can’t enjoy because the animals keep chasing, catching and eating each other. But it’s interesting, and sometimes, I wish I had the job of writing the subtitles.

Liesel took her Mom back to the Sleep Center for the results of her monitored overnight stay last weekend. Leslie’s sleep isn’t great, but now we know there’s a specific problem that can be addressed.

And 24 hours later, down to -10°C, a mere 14°F. Time for a change of venue. After a rotten night’s lack of sleep, I rose early to wash and change the bed clothes.

More exciting and interesting than the domestic chores was a visit to The Dome, an oasis in a Winter city, providing an all-weather training and fitness facility for everybody from serious competitive athletes to casual walkers. With a world-class turf and a 411-meter track, The Dome has room for all kinds of sports. Liesel, Leslie and I met Jyoti there, and we had a nice, long walk, inside, in relative warmth, round and round the athletics track.

There were some other, younger people, jogging or running fast. I’m proud to say that even though we weren’t walking especially fast, we did manage to overtake a few people. Sadly, these folks were all in charge of a walking frame or walking sticks. I am more proud of the nearly 200-metre long run (jog?) which left me nicely out of breath, not the horrible being short-of-breath for no real reason.

Outside, back in the cold, the sky was clear and we noticed glints of ice in the air, very pretty but hard to photograph. I had more success with the halo around the Sun, even if it was only partial from our perspective.

In the afternoon, Leslie’s sister Buzz arrived from her nice, warm home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was in for a shock! Liesel and I therefore moved out for a week so that she can use our bed, and there won’t be four of us adults fighting over the one bathroom.

Catherine and Hans live on the other side of the city, up the hill, and the view from their house is gorgeous.

The view from Cath and Hans’s house at night

We chatted for a long time before going to bed. In the middle of the night, the very bright full Moon illuminated our room, almost bright enough to read by.

While I was writing this post I looked something up on the internet and this message was splatted on my screen.

Of course, I clicked on the link to fix it and hkh afew fkehhcn rkjshfh
                    kiurnv,fvlk
                             klgjsl sdlkjs ..
                     ?<<,//.gd/g…… unghh..%(&%£..
                 jh&%&98.
                               …
                                  ..

Scissors

It was fun to chat with William and Martha briefly before their bedtime. Another opportunity for me to mess up my mental timezone calculations and get it wrong! I showed them the snow, and William set me a challenge of building a snowman before his birthday. Something else to add to the to-do list.

We visited a pharmacy to get our flu and covid jabs. I’ve had my flu one at home already, so I just need covid. I know how to have a good time. After waiting for a few minutes, the pharmacist said we couldn’t be processed right now because we hadn’t booked ahead of time. Oh well. So much for the sign saying ‘Walk-ins welcome’. Liesel took her Mom into the office and they obtained their inoculations later on, straight in, done. I’m still a covid shot down.

But while they were in the office, Liesel working and Leslie reading, I was having more fun walking by the lagoon, which is frozen. It looks fairly solid but I wasn’t about to walk out over the frozen water.

While walking on the path, I was overtaken by a few cyclists whose bikes had very fat tyres, and by one guy on skis.

No, I was not tempted to ask him if I could have a go. I tried skiing once, way back in ’06, and that activity is not for me. My backside doesn’t have enough padding.

The Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail is about four miles long altogether, and I probably saw about one mile on this occasion. I then had to walk home up some very slight inclines, and the old shortness-of-breath issue came back. Not helped, I’m sure, by the fact that I was wearing more than twice as much clothing as I usually do: all that extra weight!

You can come across some random items anywhere, but I thought this beacon was a bit out of place. It’s at sea level, and when lit, you wouldn’t see the flames from very far away.

No, of course it’s not a bonfire beacon, it’s a frisbee golf basket, so, Liam, if you’re reading this, feel free to polish up your disc and come on over!

Podcasts and radio shows kept me company for the rest of the afternoon, until Liesel and Leslie returned home.

The Alaska Black Caucus (ABC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organisation dedicated to championing the lives of Black people and other marginalised groups. For five years they’ve been campaigning and raising funds for a new HQ in Anchorage. Today was the day the Equity Center opened with a Ribbon Cutting ceremony.

While Liesel was back at work in the office, Jyoti came over and she, Leslie and I walked into town to witness the event. I asked someone where the bathroom was. Down there, she said, but it’s not finished yet. There is still quite a lot of work to do in the building which, from the outside, is pretty nondescript.

Celeste with her big ribbon-cutting scissors

We listened to a few speeches but left before Senator Lisa Murkowski spoke. Nothing personal, we just had other things to do. She did smile at me though, so that’s nice.

Yes, I wasn’t quick enough to capture her face-on. Next time.

Because their bathroom was not yet functional, on the way home, we visited the 5th Avenue Mall. We had a coffee in the shop called Cake, styled as cAKe, since we’re in Alaska. I went for a wander to address my biological needs which were eventually satisfied.

I tried to find a pair of scissors and that mission was a total failure. I concluded that it’s easier to buy weapons in Anchorage than it is scissors. So I bought a gun and shot my toenails off instead.

I walked home carrying a newly-bought carrot cake for Jyoti, and, no, I didn’t drop it, but as we turned one corner, a gust of wind blew the lid open and that could have been a disaster.

In the evening, we went over to Jyoti’s for dinner. We celebrated her son Suvan’s birthday with cakes and we celebrated Diwali with fireworks.

And so we come to November 10th, or as it is known in Australia, November 11th, they’re always a day ahead. A very auspicious moment…

Families

One thing you don’t expect to see too often is large mammals pretending to be small birds. Liesel witnessed a moose embedding itself amongst a gang of geese on the lagoon near her Mom’s apartment.

Can you see the moose?

Liesel remembered to take a picture of a sand hill crane family, spotted quite a long way off.

Can you see the chick? Clue: it’s the smudge between the two adults.

It’s been an exciting week in Anchorage observing wildlife.

Can you seee the cygnet?

Meanwhile, in Brookvale, Australia, Helen has a new neighbour.

I think it’s a possum, and I imagine it didn’t hang around long when it saw Helen with her phone camera.

Closer to home, William and Martha took part in the School Colour Run. They ran about half a marathon and ended up covered in paint. Yes, they earned their medals! Actually, I’m not sure how long the run was, maybe it was a whole marathon.

Sometimes, when I tell Liesel I’m busy, and she asks what am I doing, I’ll respond, “Things to do, places to go, people to see,” or some variation thereof. Well, this week, I re-discovered where I (probably) first came across this perfect response. I am still watching old, classic Doctor Who episodes, and I had to rewind this bit just to make sure…

Thanks for the memory, Tom Baker, the fourth Doctor, from about 1978.

Some of the things I needed to do this week included seeing the dental hygienist, visiting a GP and having a blood test.

Some of the people I saw this week were fellow walkers around Northenden and Wythenshawe. There’s a narrow, single-file path along the river, but it’s even narrower now because of all the overgown plants, brambles, grass, nettles and more.

This week, Summer Solstice coincided with a so-called Strawberry Moon. The night before, it wasn’t quite full, but the Moon did indeed look pink-ish as it set over Wythenshawe. I Tweeted (or should that now be 𝕏ed?) my best photo, but my phone camera really didn’t pick up the colour.

I can’t remember the last time I went to a cinema for a midnight showing. It might well be The Gate Cinema in Notting Hill, about 50 years ago. Anyway, this week, I took the plunge and visited Didsbury Cineworld for a once in a lifetime late night showing of the final two episodes of the current series of Doctor Who. I’d seen The Legend of Ruby Sunday on TV last week, of course, but this was the first time we’d seen the final episode, Empire of Death. It was fun to hear everyone in the audience respond in unison to the story, gasps and intakes of breath. And yes, of course I’ll watch it again on proper TV later on, but it was great to see it on a big screen.

On this week’s radio show, I decided to catch up with some of the new music released while I was away. So, to go with all the new releases, I made the theme of the show New Things. You can listen right here on Mixcloud.

Aloha, aloha

Sitting in the departure lounge in any airport wears a bit thin after a while, so we find excuses to go for short excursions. One big head followed our gaze as we walked by.

The Giant Head is a large kinetic installation that allows viewers to experience mysterious emotions through its indecipherable facial expressions which seem to penetrate the essence of the viewer. A two-meter-high robot, the Giant Head was also introduced at the London Super Futures exhibition, blurring the line between retail and art space. The Giant Head is a year-long project conducted by Gentle Monster’s Robotics Lab which attempts to question viewers about the future of the human-robot relationship.

I looked at the electronics and the cables behind the face, where the brain ought to be, and it was suitably impressive/complicated.

I also studied the site of the splinter I received last night. From one of the chopsticks in Saké of all things. There was no lasting mark. Unlike the splinter I got a few days ago at the Pantry. As I picked up my bag, my finger lightly scraped the wall behind and a shard of paint found its way down a finger nail. It was quite painful at the time and when I tried to pull it out, the fleck of paint snapped, leaving a black lump well below the nail. I later asked a pharmacist if he had any cream or something that would help extract it, and he said no, it was so deep behind the nail that it would probably have to be surgically removed. It doesn’t bother me, I’m just waiting for the nail to grow so I can restore it to its usual pristine, beautiful and well-manicured state. Yes, leave it for now and watch out in case it becomes infected.

We boarded our plane, a Boeing 787, and found ourselves seated miles part, Leslie near the front, Liesel and me near the back.

We’re going to miss NSW and its lovely people but it’s time to move on. Jetstar had plenty of delightful destinations to choose from, and we decided to fly to Honolulu. It’s over halfway to Alaska, Leslie’s home town.

The flight was nowhere near full, so Liesel and I moved forward. I managed to grab three seats, but despite being able to lie down, I managed only one hour of sleep during the 9-hour flight. I did read a lot though, and listened to some podcasts, so the time passed quickly.

The flight path took us over Fiji and over the point where the equator and the International Dateline cross. There’s a fact for the nerds. And another: because we crossed the International Dateline, this day was 44 hours long.

Honolulu Airport: Immigation and customs posed no problems, despite having several bottles of wine, the only item we needed to declare. It was raining. Yes, we’ve come to Hawaii and it’s raining. But actually, when we disembarked, it just felt really hot and humid, despite being about 5.30am.

We hired a car. Oh good, it’s a convertible. Then we looked more closely. There was no way all our luggage was going to fit in that tiny boot. So we swapped it for a different ‘compact’ which is still twice as big as our little Mazda at home.

We soon noticed that, compared with the Northern Beaches, everything here is bigger. The cars are bigger, the roads are wider, the people are larger, the surfboards are bigger, but that’s because the waves are bigger. And of course, eating out in the USA, the meals are bigger, and when you settle the bill, the tips are bigger.

After finding our accommodation, we had a nap and ate the scones that we’d imported all the way from Mrs Jones the Baker.

Behind our house is the fabulous sight of Diamond Head. But we can’t see it from our place because there are no windows on that side of the building!

We went for a walk towards Waikiki, enjoying the tropical plants.

No, we didn’t visit the zoo, but we walked past the entrance and took a quick hike through Queen Kapi’olani Garden. So far, so quiet. Then we hit the main road by the beach. The road was closed while people were setting up their stalls for the annual Waikiki Spam Jam, a cultural tradition in Hawaii, rated as one of the best food festivals on the islands. A traffic-free road was much more pleasant to walk along, but there were so many people!

Kauai is famous for its feral chickens, not so much Oahu. But today, we saw chickens, hens and roosters and their chicks all over the place. And yes, some of them did cross the road but we don’t know why.

The beach was very popular too. We know from previous visits how calm the sea is here compared with other places around the islands, as there’s a breakwater a short distance away from the shore.

It still felt humid and we even felt about six or seven drops of rain: a very half-hearted attempt at soaking us. Some lei-festooned statues remind us of the sometimes sad history of Hawaii.

From Wikipedia: Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole (March 26, 1871 – January 7, 1922) was a prince of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi until it was overthrown by a coalition of American and European businessmen in 1893. He later went on to become a representative in the Territory of Hawaii as delegate to the United States Congress, and as such is the only royal-born member of Congress.

A busker was playing a Hawaiian lap steel guitar, but I think he might have been a beginner. The tune he was playing sounded familiar, but he was playing it so slowly, one plodding note after another, I couldn’t bring its name to mind. Still, good on him for having a go. Waikiki Christmas Store was open, but no, we didn’t visit. Nor did we visit Penny’s Malasadas. We left that sweet treat for another time.

After enough fresh air, we found ourselves in the shopping plaza where we didn’t do much shopping (none) but we did have a coffee and a toasted caprese sandwich which really hit the spot, as they say. Thank you, Kai Coffee.

The tide was now in, which means that the beach was only about six feet wide, just about wide enough for someone to lie down between the road and the sea.

While I had the phone camera out, I was watching someone gracefully navigating the many swimmers and bathers on her paddle board. Sorry to admit this, but yes, I was waiting for her to fall in. But she was too good.

Some trees had blue bands around their trunks at about head height. I had to investigate. “Nesting White Terns, Trim With Caution”. Brilliant.

In the evening, we met our old friends Trudi and John for dinner at Panya Bistro on Ala Moana Boulevard. Ala Moana, said more like the French ‘à la’, but our Google (or was it Apple?) Maps announcer pronounced it ‘Ayla Moana’, which elicited a superior chuckle from us polyglots. I can’t believe it’s nine years since I last met Trudi and John. A lot of catching up to do, and somehow, we spent over four hours in the restaurant. John is about the same age as me, and he still swims out to sea a mile or more every morning and surfs back to shore.

I’d like to show you a picture of us all together, but, you know… Here is an awful picture showing the leis that Trudi and John kindly welcomed us to the island with.

My He’e Berry & Tī Leaf Twist Lei was delightfully aromatic. He’e is so-called as that is the Hawaiian word for octopus, and it does resemble an octopus tentacle, but I am grateful it doesn’t smell of octopus.

Leslie’s and Liesel’s Tuberose leis were equally aromatic, definitely a smell that if we encounter it again will bring us right back to Hawaii.

It was a late night for us and we slept well.

Moké’s Bread and Breakfast provided a fabulous, late and very large breakfast. Embarrassingly, I knocked over my glass of water, and the server cleared up my mess very quickly. I felt sorry for him, though, having to pick up ice cubes from the floor, by hand.

According to the thermometer in the car, it was 83°F today, that’s over 28°C. In order to see more of the island, we drove rather than walked. Yes, that’s why we didn’t step out today, no other reason such as fatigue and lethargy at all, honest.

We’ve had a few trips to Kailua over the years, in fact, that’s where we went to celebrate my 60th birthday. So we thought we’d pay a quick visit today, maybe spend some time on the beach.

Other very attractive beaches were glimpsed from the car as we sped by at 35, 45mph. Yes, in places, the speed limits are quite low, which is a good thing.

When we gained some altitude, we could look down at the sea, and it really was a patchwork, so many different shades of blue and green and everything in between. And very clear sometimes too. The sea did look inviting, well, maybe apart from where the waves were bigger than houses.

It was sad to see such a large homeless encampment near Waimanalo Beach. One homeless person is too many, of course, but seeing so many here is this gorgeous, or any, location, was quite distressing. Given the number of Kanaka Maoli Hawaiian flags we saw, I supect most of these homeless folk are native Hawaiians, priced out of the city by rich white Americans.

Kailua is very popular. We drove in, we drove out, there was obviously nowhere to park up, so we didn’t. Instead, we returned to Honolulu via the main highway and stopped off at The Valley of the Temples. This is more than just an oversized cemetery. It’s a beautifully laid out memorial park and we spent some time here, absorbing the peace.

We rang the peace bell for our lost loved ones, in particular for Liesel’s Dad, and for my Mum and Dad and Sarah. And later in the temple, we lit incense sticks for them too.

Liesel and Leslie ringing the Bon Sho (Sacred Bell)

This bell is a replica of one in Japan that is 900 years old and probably made in India.

Before entering the Temple, we had to take our shoes off. I had a quick look at what was on offer, and decided that I’d prefer to leave with the sandals I’d arrived in.

Amida Buddha sitting on a gold lotus leaf, inside the Temple

Amongst the wildlife here, we saw koi; black swans; spotted doves, some more keen on mating than others; turtles and, er, several domestic cats, which we thought a bit odd.

The Temple is a replica of the 11th-century Phoenix Hall of the Byodo-In Buddhist temple complex in Uji, Japan. It is very photogenic, especially with the mountains, shrouded in mist, in the background.

For a moment, we coud have actually been in Japan, where we’d enjoyed visiting many temples.

Dinner this evening was with Leslie and Liesel’s friend Joye, whom they’ve known for decades. They talked about other family members, some familar to me, many not. It was lovely to meet her for the first time. And I remembered to take a picture, hooray.

What a salubrious background. Good night!

Liesel dropped Leslie and me off to watch a hula show, while she went gallivanting off with Trudi, spending just a short time shopping.

We had the pleasure of seeing a couple of (to me) exotic birds. The egret was practising silly walks and the red-crested cardinal flew in, landed, sang a few notes, and flew away again.

We never go and see a show that starts at 9.30 in the morning, yet here I am, and not with my wife but with my mother-in-law. As that great philosopher Phil Collins once said, ‘Funny ol’ world, innit?’

The Kilohana Hula Show show was very enjoyable: the commentator / announcer provided a very entertaining and informative narration. Overall, the dances and songs told stories about events in Hawaii’s history, but mostly, I just enjoyed listening to the music and watching the intricate choreography. Sadly, the amphitheatre was only about a quarter full, but that didn’t seem to affect the performance.

Towards the end of the show, we members of the audience were invited down to learn the moves. I would have had a go, but, well, I have two left feet when it comes to dancing. Plus, I had to look after Leslie. Those are my excuses, and I’m sure I can invent plenty more, if necessary.

But the folks who did join in all had a good time, and most of them were smiling at the end.

Liesel came by and collected us after show, and we retired to our Airbnb. Leslie had a rest while Liesel and I went out for breakfast, before Liesel worked on the PC for a couple of hours. During which time, I too took a well-deserved (?!) rest.

East-West Center Japanese Garden is small and we passed a good half hour here, slowly walking around.

The Garden Stream represents a river as it flows from the mountains to the lowland cities and sea. The stream’s course reflects the Japenese character for “heart”, symbolizing the greetings sent from the people of Japan to the people of Hawaii.

Sadly, the old teahouse wasn’t open for refreshments. And I was surprised to see a young lady enjoying a book in the shelter of the Thai Pavilion.

Just along the road, all within the campus of the University of Hawaii, is the stunning Korean Studies Building. It’s architects and most of the builders were Korean, and it is a very attractive building.

As well as being functional, it is decorated with Korean tiles, and the level of details takes the breath away.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa is a tobacco-free campus: no smoking, no vaping, no chewing tobacco. I don’t know what the sanctions are for anyone who breaks the rule, but what a great innovation. While Liesel and Leslie sat on a bench in the shade outside, I went into Hamilton Library, where it was much cooler. And what a big library, there must have been over a hundred students working here.

And that’s just one room: I didn’t go upstairs at all. The staff give their all, working their fingers and more to the bone:

And I came across another great idea. They’ve put the waste bins outside the restrooms so, when you’ve washed your hands, you can use the paper towel to open the door and dispose of the towel outside. No need to worry about touching a virus-laden door handle with your clean fingers. It wouldn’t work with those hot air hand dryers, I know, but since Covid, I’ve stuffed many a used paper towel in my pocket having opened a bathroom door without touching it, especially in a restaurant, when I’m about to eat.

There is a long display telling us about The Himeyuri Schools and the Battle of Okinawa, something of which I was completely unaware.

Back in Waikiki, we returned to Ala Moana Center Shopping Mall. What a big Mall. We visited a few shops, American icons such as Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, plus Maui Divers Jewelry. Remember I said everything’s bigger in America? Well, look at the size of these trousers!

Those big jeans are on a par with the 230 Big Things in Australia that we were talking about just a few days ago.

Another surprise was seeing one of Yayoi Kusama’s bronze polka dotted pumpkins out in the wild.

We were drawn into Two Palms looking for a dress for Leslie and, somehow, we ended up buying a shirt for me too. Plus some other odds and sods.

It was much quicker to pack on this occasion since we hadn’t fully unpacked for such a short visit.

I don’t do Trip Advisor, mainly because many of the reviews are fake or paid for. But if I were to write a review about one place, it might verge on the extremely negative.

Where to go for dinner tonight, our last one in Honolulu? We found a venue that looked appealing, drove up a ramp and realised that only valet parking was available. For the price of $5 plus gratuity. So we handed over the keys and walked down to the restaurant. ‘Sit down where you like and we’ll bring over the menu.’ We sat down and Liesel went to the bathroom. A server approached Leslie and me to apologise. ‘The kitchen is closed because we’re expecting a large party later of 250.’ Hmmm, I wish you’d told us before we had our car valet-parked at great expense. Oh, I’m ever so sorry. She signed the ticket, there was no way we were going to pay for a service we didn’t want in the first place, especially since now, we weren’t going to eat here. All they needed to do was have a sign at the bottom of the drive warning potential customers that the kitchen was closed. Annoying, yes. And very un-American, their customer service is usually very good. So, onto a different place. Where we had American sized sandwiches, full of salad and sprouts and, oh well, nasty American cheese. It was alright, though. So thank you, Liliha Bakery.

We returned the car to the airport, checked in and waited a couple of hours for our next flight. Honolulu Airport is a bit old and maybe could do with a spot of refurbishment, but there is one feature I like. Hidden in plain sight, as the website says, are the Cultural Gardens. Hawaiian, Japanese and Chinese Gardens are underneath the departure gates and surprisingly peaceful, despite the roar of jet engines not too far away. It was dark when I visited, and there were very few other people wandering around.

Again, because the bookings had been made at different times, Leslie was sitting a few rows away from Liesel and myself. Another smooth take-off and pretty much on time. The flight was full, so I couldn’t lie down this time, hence I had zero sleep for the whole of the overnight flight. I did finish two books today, though, so that’s a result. I can recommend Joanne Harris’s Blueeyedboy. And I finally reached the end of Black Holes: The Key to Understanding the Universe by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw, which I’ve been reading in fits and starts for several months. Fascinating but some of the concepts are hard to follow. Time for something lighter: back to Jeeves and Wooster.

Bye-bye Brookie

And lo, as our visit to Australia draws to a close, we are preparing to pack and to leave. We arrived with a case full of Hula Hoops and chocolate for Helen and friends, and we’re leaving with several bottles of wine. No less bulky, but much, much heavier.

In Manly, they were setting up for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service. We’d missed out on the event in Darwin five years ago, but wouldn’t it be great to show our support here, now? Yes, it would. But then we found out the truth.

4.25am? Sorry, I know getting up that early, just once, is nothing like the sacrifice thousands of people have made over so many years of conflict, but it was never going to happen.

Today, though, for the last time, the three of us had Manly massages. Helena was slightly more gentle today, as she didn’t want us to be in pain on our upcoming flight!

The library in Manly was very comfortable, and after writing for a while, I managed not to fall asleep. I had a quick coffee then set off for Warringah Mall. Meanwhile, Liesel had renewed the hire car for a couple more days. I think she likes the Toyota Corolla hybrid a wee bit too much. The Mazda at home better be looking over its shoulder…

The library in the Mall was very comfortable, and after writing for a while, I migrated to an armchair where I did nod off for a short while.

We received news from one of our secret sources. A client of Helen’s had said that four pelicans had been seen at North Harbour Reserve, so with a quick handbrake turn, we headed off in that direction. It’s a nice little reserve, a little park off the road that we’d passed by many times, but this was our first actual visit.

There were plenty of folks taking their dogs or their babies for a walk, but disappointingly, the pelicans were not to be seen.

In general, the weather here has been superb, so it’s hard to keep in mind that actually, it’s Autumn. But when you have to shuffle through this many fallen leaves, you remember what time of year it is.

The first thing I heard on ANZAC day wasn’t the bagpipes and the drums from a procession somewhere close by, it was Liesel asking whether I could hear the bagpipes and drums. Well, no, I couldn’t and please, let me get back to sleep.

Packing is a frustrating occupation, there are so many things that can’t be put in a case until the last minute. So we gave up for a bit, and went for a walk instead. Narrabeen Lagoon seemed like a good place to return to. Obviously, we didn’t completely circumnavigate the lagoon today, but along with a million other walkers, cyclists, joggers and more serious runners, scooterers and skaters, we enjoyed a short tramp along the path.

I was surprised there weren’t more boats out on the water: we saw a few kayaks and later on, one very loud motor boat which ruined the ambiance for everyone else. The black swans were well away from shore, and the closest bird we saw with wet feet was a lapwing. There were some diving birds too.

You wouldn’t believe me if I said that we saw a moose here today. So here is the proof:

Well, a bent coat-hanger in the shape of a moose isn’t really a moose, I suppose, but it made us laugh. Way up on the hill on this ANZAC day, it was good to see a house proudly displaying a huge Aussie flag.

Many people were having picnics and some were very well-equipped for the occasion. Some had placed table cloths on the picnic tables. A few were sitting on large blankets on the ground. And a couple had even erected tents for the occasion, which we thought was a bit OTT.

Back at home, Helen was preparing food, Liesel continued preparing food, I stayed out of the way. Jacqui arrived with cheese and crackers, and shortly afterwards, Brent joined us fresh from the gym.

Even though the creeping figs might be edible, they’re quite difficult to reach from Helen’s back yard. I suspect that, like the quinces we had in Chessington, this fruit will go un-eaten.

Cheese and crackers and a glass or six of wine, that’s a great way to pass the afternoon. And when that was all taken care of, a barbecue. The carnivores had sausages and ribs, while Helen and I had veggie burgers and we all shared a variety of delicious salads. Jacqui also brought caramel hedgehog slice as a dessert which, despite its name, was suitable for vegetarians.

I think we all enjoyed our time outside. Jacqui brought everything, including a game, Cornhole, which involved throwing beanbags into a hole from a distance of about 6 metres. Modesty prevents me from saying who was the champion today.

Several hours were passed imbibing wine, chatting and laughing. And I kept the phone in my pocket, so no pictures of us with Jacqui. Mick, you’re rubbish.

After Helen, Brent and Jacqui left, the rest of us went straight to bed and straight to sleep. Until I woke up, feeling refreshed and ready to go, but it was only 1am. It took a while to drift off again.

Our penultimate morning in Brookvale started with an unusual breakfast, as we have been using up the various cereals etc. Some more packing also took place.

After a break of several days, Liesel received a couple of work projects. We had a date in Manly, so we set off for the library there. There were many people working on laptops, so thank goodness there was a secret upper floor with additional workspace.

On the way to the library, I chortled at this juxtaposition of the word ‘chickens’.

One on the back of a mother-in-law and one on the back of a van. And as I walked by the driver, he asked why I was taking pictures of his van.

Maggie was a member of our baby-sitting circle in Chessington some decades ago, before moving to Australia. She now lives in the western suburbs of Sydney and today, she came all the way back to Manly, the town of her youth, to see us. I met her from the ferry and we had a coffee at Three Beans.

After joining Liesel and Leslie by Manly Beach, we went for a short walk before lunching back at Alice Dumpling: this was the place where we’d first met Brent, seven weeks ago, but it feels much more recent.

Sorry again, there is no photo of Maggie with or without us. Slapped wrist, Mick, you incompetent so-and-so.

As I accompanied Maggie back to the wharf, Liesel and Leslie indulged in a gelato. I succumbed to temptation, too, then stayed in Manly while they went off to Warringah Mall Library. After work, Helen joined me for a quick cuppa and a lovely chat.

Back at home, more serious packing took place, to the point that we were now weighing the packed bags. In the process, I discovered that I, too, have put on a few pounds weight since I’ve been here in Aus. Secretly, I’m hoping the scales are lying. It must be all the sunshine, can’t be anything to do with drinking more wine than I’ve ever drunk in my life before, or eating out far more often than we do at home.

While packing, our background music was provided by the band down the road at Brookvale Oval rehearsing the national anthems for the rugby game tonight. Liesel and I both tried to buy tickets for this game but failed for ridiculous reasons that come down to bad website design.

But why were they playing the UK national anthem as well as the Australian one? It’s a local game between Manly Sea Eagles and Parramatta Eels.

We picked Helen up and drove back to Manly. Saké is Helen’s and Brent’s favourite restaurant so we had another very nice, very tasty meal here tonight.

Sorry, but we realised later, that we didn’t get photos of the family, Helen, Brent, Mick, Liesel and Leslie, all together. Crikey Mick, you are such a loser.

But of course, I did take a few pictures of Manly in the dark.

When we returned home, of course we had to watch the rugby match on TV. We could hear the crowd from the Oval just down the road, and we realised that if we looked up at the TV as soon as we heard the roar of the crowd, we’d see the try being scored that they were cheering for. Hooray for 2- or 3-second delays in the broadcast!

The Eels were leading at half-time but the Sea Eagles won the match 32-18 after a tremendous second half comeback.

And so, one final breakfast with Helen at Big Cliff’s, no that’s not right… We returned to Little Collins for breakfast with Helen. I ate well last night at Saké so I had a relatively small meal. The Sun was out, waiting to wish us goodbye. All chores today, returning the car, and the final phase of packing, weighing, re-packing, a wonderful game of 3D Tetris.

Helen was kind enough to drive us to the airport and she is now spending the afternoon in the city with some friends. We checked in and passed through security with ease.

Somehow, this faffing about at an airport always seems so anticlimactic after such a wonderful, exciting, busy holiday. And welcoming a new young man into the family is a bonus, of course. Congratulations again, Helen and Brent, and thank you very much for letting us crash in what will very soon be your shared pad.

So here we are sitting in an airport departure lounge waiting to board our flight. But where are we going? What is our next destination? Tune in soon for the next exciting episode. I’m not sure what our internet connection will be like for the next few days, so appy polly loggies if there’s a delay. I have no idea why that phrase from A Clockwork Orange just popped into my head.

Koalafications

West Head has been on our list of places to visit for a while. And we found the drive there very interesting, even if the road was long and winding. Again, I was amused by seeing another Blackbutts Road, fnarr, fnarr, but of more interest was seeing some bridges across the road, hung from tree to tree, so that animals can safely cross the highway. Sadly, we still saw a couple of corpses by the side of the road.

As I said to Liesel, I’m always fascinated to see two bodies of water come into contact with each other. Sometimes, there’s a marked difference in colour, one more green than the other, for instance. Here, though, there was a very distinctive line between, I think, the Hawkesbury River and Pittwater.

From West Head, you can see Palm Beach in all its glory. We’d not walked up the path to the lighthouse on this visit, so it was great, from our vantage point on the other side of the water to see Barrenjoey Head standing proud. It was once an island, joined to the mainland via what we now know as Palm Beach, after the last ice age.

There are a number of walking tracks off the road leading to West Head, but we discounted some because they were described as ‘hard’. Some of the others were closed for reasons of safety: ‘Unstable edge’. Another one we couldn’t do because we couldn’t see where to park the car safely. Yet another would have meant negotiating a large puddle that straddled the path, and who knows how deep it was? And what monsters lurked beneath the surface? But we did have a nice wander up and down a couple of challenging paths.

As we ate our picnic lunch overlooking Pittwater and Palm Beach, we enjoyed watching the three young ladies next to us as they took out their equipment and began painting the scene. I don’t think I’ve ever seen paint in so many shades of blue, but by the time we left, they had pretty much captured the sea and the sky perfectly. Me, I just point the phone and click, job done. I often wish I had the patience, and the talent, to paint scenes like this, especially when photographs don’t really show the scale of a landscape.

No need to say that, yes, of course, we encountered a couple of massive spiders on their huge webs. A brush turkey came sniffing around for food, unsuccessfully. Well, shh, Leslie threw a small crust of bread, eliciting a roar of disapproval from Liesel and me.

The Red Hands Track was a challenge, but worthwhile, once we found the Aboriginal hand prints on the rock. These weren’t as easy to spot as those we saw a few days ago. The sign was almost apologetic, saying that although Australia had been inhabited by people for tens of thousands of years, these prints were only 2000 years old.

Always on the lookout for exciting wildlife, we jumped for joy when we crossed paths with this specimen.

We drove away via a different route, though the road was just as winding, passing by Akuna Bay. We expected a nice, peaceful bay, with maybe young children fishing, the water gently lapping on a beach. Instead, the bay was full of boats, Yachts of all shapes and sizes, scores of them, possibly hundreds. How they navigate in and out is a mystery to me.

I think Liesel and I were both slightly envious of the many cyclists enjoying the ups and downs of these virtually empty, quiet roads.

We stopped for coffee in Glenrose. Or was it Belrose? Shop names were evenly divided between the two names. As Google Maps would have it, we had coffee at Three Beans Glenrose Villiage (sic). It reminded us of the indistinct boundary between Chessington and Hook.

If we weren’t very lucky spotting kangaroos and koalas in the wild, we were much more fortunate seeing this beastie.

Tossed away in a shopping trolley like an old sock. Someone will be very disappointed when they get home. Funnily enough, we’d seen another wild avocado on the pavement, down the road from Helen’s, just a few days ago. Maybe they’re planning a takeover.

We set the controls for Long Reef one more time, specifically the pie shop. The server apologised because the only pies left were vegetarian. Oh well, that’ll do, but I was cheering inside. A pie plus leftover salads from yesterday’s barbecue, lovely. Accompanied by one of our favourite Disney films on TV, Brave. And then we started watching Haunting in Venice, the new Hercule Poirot film with Kenneth Branagh, but one of our party didn’t enjoy it. I won’t name the culprit, but she’s even older than me.

Koala Park Sanctuary is about a seven hour walk from Helen’s apartment, so it’s a good we had a vehicle and were able to drive there. We had a great time walking around, visiting the mainly Australian animals. Liesel said she preferred this place to Taronga Zoo: yes, it’s a bit more shabby, but it was much quieter, less frenetic.

I know with 100% certainty that this is a blue-tongued skink because that’s what the sign said. On the other hand, later on, we saw a rat in the enclosure with a wombat, and that might confuse someone if they read the sign, ‘Wombat’, looked up and saw nothing but a pesky rodent. The wombat itself was hiding in his house. Another wombat around the corner was indoors too. Too cold for them?

And this, according to the sign, is definitely a diamond python.

We saw a lace monitor trying to escape. But he’d come in very handy for someone who maybe couldn’t reach down to retie their shoes. Just call on the services of a lace monitor.

It was nice to see the kookaburras again. Last time we were here, five years ago, I’d recorded one of them laughing. I played back the recording today to see whether the bird recognised himself. Not a twitch of recognition nor interest.

Some of the other birds were singing quite nicely, but the mesh on the cages was annoyingly prominent for this photographer. Losing half of an otherwise decent picture because my finger was in the way, well, I can’t blame anyone else for that.

A couple of muzzled dingoes were taken for a walk. Despite the muzzle though, one of them managed to pick up some inappropriate food from the ground.

The long-billed corella came over to make friends. I didn’t have any food for him, but I did try to teach him some rude words. He wasn’t responding.

Lorikeets, emus, goats, sheep and, of course, kangaroos and wallabies were here to be spoken to and fed but only with the feed purchased at reception. As before, the kangaroos weren’t that interested in the same boring old food. They didn’t mind being petted a bit, though.

The cassowary was behind heavy wire too. And blimey, again, we were surprised to see how big their feet are, compared to an emu’s, say. Wouldn’t want one of them stomping on your feet at a disco.

But I think the highlight for all of us was seeing a couple of koalas up close. On our last visit, we were able to touch them but now, quite rightly, we can’t because they find the experience too stressful. The guide took us through all the koala facts he knew in a brisk ten minutes, then we members of the public were allowed into the koalas’ enclosure a few at a time.

What was funny was that as soon as the guide stopped talking, one of the koalas climbed to the top of one of the bare trees, almost as if he knew what was coming, and he didn’t want anything to do with us visitors.

Later on, in a different place, we found a pregnant koala. Since the joey is born not much bigger in size than the tip of your finger, she’s looking pretty big, I reckon.

We had a quick look in the gift shop and we had a coffee. Something possessed me to try it with macadamia milk. Nope, not for me. As with almond milk, which I tried once, I can’t see the point. I’ll continue to stick with old-fashioned cow juice in my coffee, thank you very much.

We had a date for a late lunch in Manly, returning to the Pantry. We parked at the far end of North Steyne, so we had a reasonable walk to the venue. The beach was very busy, and many people were in the water.

We three were first to arrive, followed by Helen and Brent soon after. Bambi was late, and it would be rude if I were to mention that she’d forgotten the date. So I won’t. But she and Gypsy were a little… delayed.

We had a lovely lunch, after which we bade farewell to Bambi and Gypsy for the final time on this trip.

The rest of us ambled along the road to Manly Pacific for cocktails. Well, I had a cocktail, a Dusky Rose Whaler, so did Brent, an espresso Martini. Liesel and Mom had coffee and Helen had a glass of rosé. Just so you know what to order when you take us next time, gentle reader.

And now it’s time. I want a drumroll on the table in front of you. Call up a nearby band and get them to play a fanfare. Nothing too ostentatious, just a little something to mark the occasion. I have an announcement.

I am pleased to announce that my daughter Helen is now engaged to be married to Brent.

Helen was flashing the ring a few days ago, and did I notice? With a little prompting, yes.

So, love and congratulations to Helen and Brent from Dad, Liesel and Leslie: we’re so happy that we were here to share this moment with you. And love from Pauline and Andrew too who were amongst the first to hear the news, and from all your friends!

Spiders and birds

It’s a long walk up to North Head, so on this occasion, the three of us took the bus. Four years ago, this beauty spot was devastated by bush fires, and there are still signs of the destruction.

But the new growth is flourishing, although we were disappointed to not see big spiders’ webs like we did on our previous visit. Disappointed? Well, I was, but I think Liesel and Leslie were relieved.

The Pacific Ocean lay before us like the biggest blue table cloth you could imagine. There were a couple of boats, but other than that, its size just messed with your senses, and reminded me of John Wayne. While making a film, as a Roman soldier, he had to look up at the crucified body of Jesus and say, ‘Truly, this was the son of God’. The director said, ‘Give it some awe, John’. So he said, ‘Aw, truly this was the son of God’. I don’t know if that’s a true story or not, but the ocean, seen from our lookout, really did fill us with awe.

We took the shuttle bus down to Q Station, the old quarantine station, and had a look around the museum. It’s all fascinating stuff, but it must have been pretty grim having to wait here for several weeks with, or in case you caught, one of several nasty infectious diseases. A few people were having a good time on the beach. Four young teeny-weeny-bikini-clad girls, unencumbered with any kind of bag, came into the café, purchased, and walked away with soft drinks. Liesel posed the question: just where did they keep the credit card?

We’d thought about taking the ferry back, but the jetty is dangerous and out of bounds. Unless you’re a cormorant and you want to dry your wings out at the far end.

Back in Manly, we met Bambi and Gypsy for a coffee. But the coffee shops were closed and we ended up at the Steyne Hotel for a cocktail instead. Well, it’s five o’clock somewhere.

In the evening, Liesel and I joined Helen and Brent back at the Harbord Hotel for another night of Trivia. Just us four in the team, we did alright, but walked away without a prize. And tired Mom managed alright at home on her own for a couple of hours.

It was time for some self-care. Liesel and Leslie had pedicures. And the following day, we all had a massage. Graçias Helena, I don’t know how you do it, but to find the area of my back that occasionally causes discomfort, even when as today, it’s feeling pretty good, well that’s the sign of a great masseuse.

We walked through Manly and along to Shelly Beach. Many people were having a great time on the beach and in the water.

It was a crowded path today, and we arrived to be greeted by a large number of brush turkeys on Shelly Beach. Lunch time and we found a table inside. I watched a couple of turkeys have a chat outside. ‘Should we go in?’ ‘I was thinking about it.’ And a few seconds later, one of the turkeys did join us inside the Boathouse. And a few seconds after that, we heard and felt the first clap of thunder. After which, it started raining. Harder and harder. There was a magnificent flash of forked lightning in the clouds, after which, I spent ages trying to capture a lightning flash with the camera. The storm was right overhead, and we were glad to be inside. And of course, the place became more and more crowded as more and more damp people joined us. Not many more birds, though. In fact, there were more babies inside than the number of brush turkeys we’d seen outside.

Enjoyment of our lunch wasn’t affected, and we hung out longer that we would have normally, waiting for the rain to abate. I ordered a coffee which was very welcome. Then a second coffee was delivered to our table. That was unexpectedly welcome: I hope nobody missed out and that the staff just duplicated our order by mistake.

We walked back to Manly and witnessed another thunderstorm. Again, we found shelter just in time, under the canopies outside the shops. From this particular vantage point, we could see the rain bounce off the road seemingly right back up where it came from. Again, we saw a couple of lightning bolts, but not when my camera was pointing in the right direction.

As we walked to the bus stop, we had to cross a road which was totally inundated. I wanted to take a picture of the puddle. And when I raised my phone, I noticed the cars splashing through the water slowed down a bit. Maybe the drivers thought I was taking a picture of their slightly antisocial behaviour.

Back at Helen’s, Liesel prepared a meal from an EveryPlate kit. Helen joined us after work and even though the meal kit was supposed to serve four people, we had leftovers. Of course we did! We opened a bottle of wine to have with our meal. This is unusual for us, but we don’t really want to lug 13 bottles of wine around with us.

We’ve been pretty busy so we thought we’d have a more relaxed day. Liesel took Mom on an errand so I took myself off to the library where I joined quite a few other people, ancient and modern, studying, writing or just reading the newspaper.

When it was time for a coffee, I wandered around the Mall for a bit. I’m used to shops at home not selling what their names would suggest, but I thought that was just a British phenomenon. You can’t buy footwear in Boots, for instance. The Body Shop never sold corpses. And, to my embarrassment, White Stuff doesn’t deal in cocaine.

So here I was in Warringah Mall and I remembered seeing school boys over the last few days taking their fishing equipment on buses. I thought maybe I should have a go at this angling malarkey, but I needed to buy some gear. I found just the shop.

Nope. There were no fishing rods here and the assistant was quite offended when I suggested I might take up shooting instead. No guns here either. Well, if I can’t hunt wildlife, maybe I can buy some.

That’s the place for me. Turns out they don’t sell playpuses nor any other kind of wild Australian animal. This was getting a bit frustrating. A stiff drink is in order, I said to myself. And just over the way, the ideal bar.

Again, disappointment greeted me inside. Yet another shop out to confuse shoppers. Not a drop of whisky to be seen here, although I suspect the manager has a secret stash in their filing cabinet. Not wanting to walk home nor catch the bus, I decided to purchase a vehicle.

You’re ahead of me, aren’t you? I couldn’t buy any kind of motorised transport here. Instead, they tried to palm me off with a pair of shoes. I’d already decided not to walk home, and I was happy with my current footwear, thank you very much.

The weather took a turn for the worse. After the thunderstorms, the weather had cleared up. Again reader, it rained. We walked over to the car rental place to collect our final car this trip. We stayed dry, but once the heavens opened, it didn’t really stop for the rest of the day. We drove over to Forestville to do some shopping. It made a pleasant change shopping at a branch of Coles other than in Warringah Mall. No, not really, they’re all pretty much the same.,

We found a great little Greek café for a coffee. I translated most the Greek signs, but had to resort to Google Translate in the end. The waiter was totally unimpressed by my ‘Ευχαριστώ πολύ!’ Well, I tried. Oh, and it was very nice coffee here at Forest Brunch Bar, if you’re in the area.

We do like visitors, but imagine our surprise when we saw this one first thing in the morning.

It’s a bit bigger than the spiders we see at home. Leslie’s face told a horror story when she was introduced to it.

And, as if this specimen wasn’t enough, we found another one on its web, with one strong thread attached to the barbecue cover. That might cause a problem later in the day.

The rain had reluctantly eased off overnight, and Freshwater Beach called us over for a quick walk.

Freshwater Beach with North Head in the background

It was hilly. We walked round in a big loop, stopping for a coffee and buying bread at Mrs Jones the Baker.

I think Hawaii might have something to say about that final claim

Freshwater View Reserve sounds appealing. It’s up the hill, and would offer specatcular views of the ocean, right? Well, it’s a very small park. There are benches, but if you sit down, your view is obscured by big bushes. It might be someone’s idea of a joke: maybe a local councillor designed this place on his final day in office.

We admired the local flora. Here is the lovely Liesel, wearing blue, modelling someone’s overgrown cactus.

We felt the need to walk a little further, so we paid a return visit to Long Reef, the venue for one of our first wanders when we arrived, all those weeks ago.

At the bottom of the boat ramp, there was a flock of seagulls, not to be confused with the 1980s new wave band of that name. And in amongst these pesky chip-stealing birds, we spotted the pelican trying to look inconspicuous.

On the golf course, Liesel noticed someone’s golf cart running away with itself. Somehow, it knew where to stop. The player caught up, selected a club, and hit the ball again. Then sent the cart off on its own to the next rendezvous. I thought half the fun of playing golf was pulling your own cart around.

We walked up to the lookout point, looked out, oohed and ahhed, and walked back down the slope.

On the road home, we passed by several cars and vans, parked up and all for sale. I don’t know which kind of vehicle was on sale for $44.50, but I’m sure it was a bargain. Or a pricing error.

We arrived home a little later than planned, Helen was in already, and Leslie, whom we’d left behind (her choice, we didn’t just forget her like David Cameron did his daughter in the pub that time) was happy to have us all back.

Helen removed the barbecue cover without upsetting the spider, so that’s a relief. We were joined by Helen and Dan with their children Asher and Fern. I’d met them before, briefly, at Nat and Rob’s.

Young children are great, but not so good at remembering not to double-dip their food in the hummus! We enjoyed some bubbles and we opened another bottle of wine from one of the vineyards we’d visited in the Hunter Valley.

Helen, Dan holding Fern, Asher and our Helen

It was a most enjoyable afternoon, eating too much and drinking too much and yakking and playing with the very entertaining children. I think only three glasses of wine were spilled, but I may have lost count. Good job we were sitting outside. Again, we all commented on how quickly it gets dark when the Sun sets at about 6pm.

Cassowaries and cake

It’s very nearly a week since her birthday, but Martha is still stuffing her face with cake. Well, it’s not every day you turn 8 years of age.

At the bus stop, I was surprised to see that once again, I am being used in an advertising campaign. The nice people have slightly adjusted my age in the right direction, but I think I look pretty good, here.

On the ferry, I tried to get a nice photo of Liesel’s Mom with the Opera House in the background. I was hampered by the presence of other pesky passengers also looking for that perfect photo opportunity.

It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day for a walk towards the Opera House and then into the Royal Botanic Gardens. There were plenty of people here, just lying on the grass, either soaking up the rays or staying safe in the shade of the trees.

This sculpture was constructed over many years by visitors to the Gardens. They were invited to bring along a white pebble and place it on top. A few rogues brought darker stones, hence the pattern. Then one day, the Governor of New South Wales said, ‘that’ll do’, and visitors weren’t allowed to add any more rocks. Well, in lieu of a plaque telling us the true story behind this object, and despite several ~~hours~~ minutes research not being able to pin down the true story, that will indeed have to do.

But hooray for this sundial, which was telling the correct time, using the equation of time provided. If I had a wrist watch, I could safely have reset its time.

Acorns drew our attention to this tree. The leaves are definitely not oak leaves as we know them, but this is an oak tree. Quercus ilex. Holm Oak or Holly Oak from Southwestern Europe. One of the hardiest evergreen oaks, it thrives in all types of well drained soil and is particularly valuable for coastal plantings. As well as tolerating shade, it responds well to clipping and is suitable for hedging. The variety rotundifola has edible acorns. A bit chewy and nutty, and bits do get stuck between your teeth, but ideal for a spontaneous picnic in, for example, botanic gardens.

This tree is from north-east Queensland, restricted to the tops of the higher mountains from Thornton Peak and the Windsor Tableland south to Mt Bartle Frere at 1000-1500 m. This species can be grown as a ‘normal’ tree but it frequently occurs growing on other trees or on granite boulders. Planted in October 1988. I’m so glad I memorised all that.

Here’s another, rather stunning, sculpture that, at first, you don’t realise is in two parts. Very well done.

We didn’t think there’d be any chance of seeing a cassowary out in the wild, in this part of the country, but we spotted this chap in the bushes.

Somehow, Liesel identified this as some kind of banana tree, but then most people are better botanists than I am. And she was correct, it’s a hairy banana or pink banana, but currently bearing no fruit.

We walked as far as Mrs Macquaries Point where we enjoyed a refreshing gelato. Other than a big spider and what I hope was a bandicoot but might have been a rat, running across the path, plus a few birds, we didn’t encounter any wildlife.

Opera House eclipsing the Harbour Bridge

Did I mention birds? Here is photographic evidence of why bin chickens are so called.

A peaceful ferry ride back to Manly was interrupted by a very loud alarm going off for a very long time. When it stopped, a crew member reminded us that we’re not allowed to smoke or vape anywhere on the vessel. I think someone was caught puffing away and the alarm was left to run for so long to hide the perpetrator’s screams as they were keel-hauled.

And another thing: why do many vapers pursue their addiction so surreptitiously? They always seem to be looking around, as if to gauge how many people are watching them, whether in admiration or in disgust and dismay.

Liesel and I and Helen met up with Rob and Nat and their children at 7th Day Brewery, where we ate and drank and chatted. I even remembered to take pictures of people, some of whom were more cooperative than others, right, Sebby?!

At the brewery, I was surprised to see that I am being recognised and celebrated by having a brand of rosé named after me. How cool is that? I had a glass, and it’s very nice, very tasty.

Get your skates on! That was the message delivered to Martha on her birthday. So she did.

More protective gear than an American Football Player’s stunt double. Don’t look here for grazed knees and broken elbows!

We were a bit wary of visiting Taronga Zoo on a day during the school holidays. But it wasn’t too crowded, and we had a great day. We bumped into Nat and Hamish before we went in, expecting to see them later on, but they successfully managed to avoid us 😉 We were definitely meeting up with Helen and Brent, but they were slightly delayed. So Liesel and Leslie went in while I waited outside to meet them. Then Helen sent a message telling us to go in, so I went in too.

After visiting this rather attractive endangered frog, I went around the corner to see the koalas. Liesel and I had the following WhatsApp chat:

Liesel: On our way to Australia section
(Corroboree frog and koalas are here, so I, quite reasonably, thought this was the Aussie section)
Mick: Koalas?
Liesel: Yup, just finishing koalas
Do you want us to wait
Mick: l’m just behind then!
(and then when I couldn’t see them anywhere)
Or maybe not
What’s your grid reference?
Liesel: I don’t have a map. I’m between the
kangaroos and dingoes

Then I realised. No kangaroos nor dingoes here. We were looking at a different group of koalas. I deduced that after passing through the entrance, Liesel and Mom had turned left, whereas I’d turned right. And it was pure coincidence that we were looking at koalas at the same time. And all very cute, of course.

I walked towards the official Australia section, passing by a family of ring-tailed lemurs have a bit of argy-bargy.

We soon met up with Helen and Brent by the floral clock and close by, we attempted to see the cassowary. A real one this time. He was there, hiding in the bushes. On the other hand, the capybara didn’t mind posing for a picture.

We enjoyed two shows. During one, we were introduced to some well-trained seals. Liesel in particular was glad we were sitting at the back, because the front row did get splashed a couple of times when the seals jumped about in the water.

At the bird show, an owl flew very low over us in the audience, we could feel the draught.

No idea what was going on with the tigers, but one was in the naughty room pacing up and down. Another was sleeping on top of a jeep in which children were pretending to drive through the jungle.

The lions were entertaining, well, once the male woke up and decided to go for a wander with his fou⁰r lionesses.

After lunch, Helen and Brent left. I forget that some people have to go to work, now that every day’s a holiday for me. I couldn’t think of anything I needed from the hairdressers’ wholesaler that was Helen’s next port of call.

The rhinoceroses were great. And I could see where South Africa got the idea for its current flag from.

Other highlights include:

From which all modern day chickens are descended. Not this particular one, but in general.

The baby fell rather than jumped into the water, to be with Mum.

We’d seen the sealion earlier at the Seal Show, so he was now having a well-deserved rest. He wasn’t about to move anywhere. But he did twitch his eyebrows as we walked by. Sorry mate, no fish in my pockets today.

Let me know if you would like to see one of the 101 photos I have of the penguins with their heads missing. Especially if you like seeing the rings on their feet.

We were tired from the walking and the Sun so we were glad to arrive home after two ferries and a taxi from Manly.

Red, white and Blue

Our final morning at the eco resort, and we were invited to help feed the emus again. And again, we counted them, each of us arriving at different totals, but Mark was happy that they were all present and correct.

The fox bait had been taken, so out there somewhere, there’s a fox with tummy ache who’ll probably vomit the poisoned liver up, and his mate will eat it. Not very nice, but we don’t want foxes attacking the emus, and of course, they shouldn’t be here in Australia in the first place.

Helen and Brent departed first, having a lunch date back in the Hunter Valley. The rest of us took a little longer eating breakfast, packing, and loading the car. Wendy and Mark came by to say farewell. We look forward to seeing them at this Dark Sky Eco Resort again.

We had deliberated for a long time, and in the end, we decided to give the Blue Mountains another chance. We always pass by a few dead animals on the side of the road, but today, Liesel saw an echidna walk by on the verge.

We stopped in Coolah for a coffee, in a very old fashioned coffee shop, probably not decorated since the 1950s. I walked over to the local library to use their facilities, and it was staffed by a lovely volunteer. I could easily have spent an hour or more browsing the shelves.

Google Maps sometimes likes to take us the non-obvious way, because it thinks we’re saving 6 inches distance or 5 seconds travel time. And today was no exception. We turned off the paved road onto a gravel track. This is exciting enough but when a herd of sheep crossed the road in front of us, we cheered heartily.

Then we turned a corner onto a proper red dirt road, mostly straight, and quite narrow, we’re glad we didn’t encounter any vehicles driving towards us.

When we parked up, we were amazed at how filthy dirty the car was. Oops.

We were here at Hands on the Rock, off Ulan Road near Turill, to see some really old Aboriginal rock paintings. The path started off gently, and, as we made progress, it became steeper and steeper, and eventually, we had to clambour up some rocks and steps. It was a challenge for all of us.

It took a while for any of us to see the hands and the drawings, but once our vision had tuned in properly, we could see dozens of hand prints, some small enough to have been a child’s, plus depictions of animals. I bet when they chewed on their ochre and gum and water to spray over their hands, they never thought people, white people even, would be admiring their art thousamds of years later.

I remember at school using this technique to make handprints, only we just chewed on charcoal and water. Very nice, very tasty.

As well as the old artwork, we enjoyed studying the geology of the place for a while.

Back on the road, we passed lots of cattle and a few more sheep. We saw a 1950s car for sale: $8000. Bargain. As long as it doesn’t fall apart as soon as you look at it.

Mount Piper power station is coal-powered, destined to close in 2040, but the infrastucture in place to move coal from the collieries to the power station is amazing: long conveyor belts all over the countryside.

We stopped for a toilet break and Liesel and I both enjoyed the bird singing inside. Only it wasn’t real. It was a recording of the critically endangered regent honeyeater, of which there are only about 300 in the wild.

We saw some amazing views on the way too: the last time we passed this way, it had been precipitating quite a lot.

On previous visits to Australia, when a vehicle like this has approached us, we’ve waved at the other driver. Not an exuberant shaking of the arm, but a more subtle wave, the Aussie wave. This entails keeping hold of the steering wheel and lifting the index finger of the right hand. And it’s always delightful when the other driver reciprocates with the same gesture. But for some reason, we’ve forgotten to wave this time, and they must think we’re very rude.

Another thing I miss is the corrugated roads that Sarah and I encountered on our first visit in 1986. We were then advised to find the optimum, most comfortable, speed in the campervan, and stick to it. As I remember, our van only took flight once, but nothing was broken on landing.

After a long drive, we arrived at our home for one night only in Leura. No more dirt tracks for us today. We discussed going through a car wash, but it never happened.

Liesel and Leslie shared room 109 while I styed in room 108. It was nice being in room 108 again. That was my room number in Queen Mary Hall of Residence when I was a student all those years ago. This room 108 was probably tidier and less stinky than the original one, shared with another teenage boy.

We ate at a Thai place in Leura, not being able to remember where we’d eaten the last time we stayed in this small town.

After breakfast and checking out, we headed straight for the Three Sisters. Rain wasn’t forecast at all, but you never know. In passing, we had a chance to see more of Katoomba too, including a visit to a fabulous bakery, recommended by everyone. I apologise to the youg lady serving: I may have stared at her prodigious face piercings and tattoos a little too long. So glad I didn’t have a neodymium magnet in my pocket, she might have come at me face first.

We walked down the path towards the Three Sisters. Which meant we had to walk back up again. Still, it was good too see the rocks in full colour, not through too much cloud like last time.

The kind lady at our new favourite coffee emporium, Roasters with Altitude, seemed pleased to see us on our return visit. And yes, we enjoyed her coffee again. And we chatted with another customer for a while before driving further along the road to Evans Lookout for another short walk. On another occasion, we might have attempted the Grand Canyon Walk, but we really didn’t have enough time (nor oomph) today. But at least two people had just returned, and they were glowing with excitement and with perspiration.

We’ve been to Govett’s Leap before but the lookout seemed a lot more developed than last time. Still a spectacular view, of course.

You were wondering about Autumn colours. Blackheath was looking pretty again.

Navigating through Sydney was hard: long tunnels and of course Google Maps lost its GPS signal, so when we emerged into the real world, we weren’t where Google thought we were. So let’s just say we followed a more touristy route through the city than planned.

On the way back to Helen’s, we stopped off at Manly where I met Bambi with the croissants specially baked for her in Katoomba. Then another slight detour via Brent’s place, where we gave Helen the two loaves of bread specially baked for her in Katoomba. Then another slight detour via the Mall where I picked up my newly repaired shorts and enjoyed walking around Aldi while Liesel did some shopping.

We only had the white hire car for a few more hours, so a day trip north to Palm Beach seemed like a good idea. Well, it was Saturday, during school holidays, and what was a good idea for us was also a good idea for everyone else. Having been on empty roads for so long lately, it was a nasty shock to be driving slowly, in lots of traffic. Such a difference.

After a walk along the beach, we sat down for a rest. Leslie decided to take up pipe smoking.

A jetfoiler is a watercraft equipped with hydrofoils that uses an electric motor or motors for propulsion. We saw a couple in action off Palm Beach. Yes, I’d like to have a go. But what happens when I fall off, and the vessel disappears into the distance?

Some small planes flew over, but this time, we didn’t witness any landing in the water. I’d like to have a go at that too. Well, I say that, but today, we didn’t even have the courage (nor the oomph) to walk up the path to the lighthouse, there were so many other, let’s say younger and fitter, people almost running up that hill.

Liesel and I had walked to Whale Beach before, but this time we drove. And I was surprised to see how steep some of the hills were that we’d previously tramped up. The surf was really up here, so the beach was closed. I think the sign meant, don’t go in the water rather than onto the beach itself. Liesel and I walked along, enjoying the sensation of sand on our feet again and exfoliating my heels.

Sometimes the sea is tempting, but even without the warning signs, not today. And indeed, I think we only saw three people in the water altogether.

In Avalon, we had lunch at a nice, small café before setting off to return our car, hoping the petrol gauge didn’t dip below F for Full.

On the road up to and back from Palm Beach, we’d been entertained by the many hand-made signs passing on greetings to friends and family. ‘Klay and Mady: Happy Wedding Day’, ‘Happy Birthday, Norm’ and many more.

Over the road from the car rental place, is Stony Range Regional Botanic Gardens. We’d been before with Pauline and Andew, and today we returned with Leslie. It was quieter today, being Saturday, no construction work next door. On the other hand, the birds were much quieter too, and the dominant sound was that of the traffic on the main road. Still, it was nice and cool in here, under the canopy.

And, in really exciting news, we saw a couple of koalas out in the wild. As you can imagine, Leslie in particular was delighted.

Emus and a Horsehead

After breakfast, Mark and Wendy came by in a golf buggy to give us a tour of the emu farm and their wider property. Helen and I drove golf buggies too, for the first time ever, so that was an adventure.

Mark told us about the volcanic activity that has taken place here, over millions of years, and about the indigenous peoples’ use of the land. He took photos and videos of our tour, but that didn’t stop me sneaking a few pictures too, when I could.

The altitude and the ironstone makes this an ideal location for lightning strikes, and this tree’s been hit a few times over the years.

Liesel, Mick and Leslie modelling the golf buggy

At one point, we had a go at water divining. Yes, we detected water 30 metres below the surface, and I have no idea why two bent lengths of old fence wire would twitch in that way. I was surprised it worked for me, I’m usually sceptical about these things. Spooky.

This eco resort is carbon neutral and it was interesting to see the power supply. Solar panels, batteries and a generator. Mark and Wendy have plans in place in case of a bush fire, including release of the animals and a secure room in which Mark can stay for a couple of days.

One thing I wasn’t too keen on was the swarm of wasps hanging around near the dunny.

As we were about to feed the emus, Brent got down on one knee. I don’t think he’d lost a contact lens, but we had been warned to leave all our jewellery behind, because the emus quite like shiny things. So off came my wedding ring and out came the nipple piercings.

And just a few metres away, Liesel was making friends with one of the birds.

A few of the emus have names, but not all: 70+ monikers would be hard to come up with, never mind remember. But they are delightful creatures, very friendly, like most Aussies really, and feeding them was great fun. You hold out a tub of grain and four or five gather round and have a jolly good feed. Thanks for the photo, Mark.

During the course of our tour, I think we learned enough about feeding emus, looking after them, incubating and hatching the eggs, that we could probably start our own emu farm. Each emu has a microchip embedded in their neck within a couple of days of hatching, for identification.

There had been a lot less rain here than further south, and I noticed that most of the creeks we passed on the drive to Coona were bone dry. One creek was populated by a cow standing in one of its two puddles. Here in the emu hive, what is sometimes a nice big pond, I imagine, was just a mud pool today. That didn’t stop some of the birds from having a wallow.

After this, of course, we had to be careful who we cuddled. The muddiest emu decided to have a shake right next to our buggy. Having muddy seats on a golf buggy was not on our bingo card for this trip, but there’s a first time for everything.

Liesel and I would love to see a wombat in the wild but here, they’re not so welcome.

Other wildlife that has a taste for emus includes foxes and black panthers. Yes, there are panthers. And I don’t mean the rugby league football team with that name. Nor the American black power organisation from the 1970s. Mark showed us what was left of an emu that had been consumed in one go by a panther, just the leg bone, really. We also saw photographic evidence of big cat paw prints in the sand nearby.

A short distance away, we drove to and walked down into a dry creek. We later saw photos of fast running water in this location, powerful enough to carry away a bench that Mark had carved out from a fallen log.

After the really enjoyable, entertaining, informative and educational tour of the property, we decided to drive back to Coonabarabran for lunch. 2 x fish and chips and 2 x pizza. One of the pizzas was shared. But I was delighted to see this very futuristic post office, constructed in the year 2357.

The town is on a main highway, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that the peace was somewhat spoiled by the number and size of road trains passing through. Good job the road’s straight, it must be quite a skill learning how to turn corners in those things.

Liesel took Leslie back to the lodge while Helen, Brent and I went for a very short walk in town. This delightful creature landed in front of us on the pavement, and stayed still long enough for a picture.

On returning to the lodge, we had a bit of a nap. In the evening, we drove over to Mark and Wendy’s observatory where we observed some objects in the very dark sky: Jupiter and the Galilean moons, Betelgeuse, and some nebulae. The five of us took it in turns to look through the telescope, walking round and round inside the dome. All we needed was some music, really, so we knew when to stop. Half-heartedly, I tried to take a photo through the ‘scope with my phone, but there wasn’t enough time. In fact, the only decent picture I took this evening was:

Helen, Brent, Liesel and I spent some time in the hot tub back at the lodge. H & B were drinking wine, whereas L & I enoyed miniature bottles of Scotch. A great way to relax at the end of a busy and fascinating day.

I’d mentioned to Mark that at university, I’d studied Maths and Astronomy. During the course of the last couple of days, he’d promoted me to the position of Professional Astronomer. I didn’t immediately disabuse him 😉

Mark gave us a memory stick with all the pictures and videos he’d taken today, plus videos of more general interest about the solar system, the Aboriginal concept of time and much, much more. We sat on the sofas while Mark took us through the universe, and he played our videos too.

In the morning, I got up before 6am in the hope of seeing Saturn and Venus before sunrise. But I was already too late, the sky was too bright. That’s disappointing, but no big deal. What is a big deal is that Liesel got up with me and she didn’t appreciate the early morning (mis)adventure!

I can’t praise this place enough, nor the hosts, so click here to visit the resort’s own website.

When we got up the second time today, Helen had cooked us breakfast: the recipe was Liesel’s grandmother’s chilli egg frittata dish. It was delicious.

Mark came by to take us out to feed the emus, not by hand this time, but their main feed of the day. And boy, were those emus excited, running up and down the paddock pretty much as soon as they heard the golf buggy. When they’re running, especially in a group, they do remind us of the velociraptors in Jurassic Park. They really are living dinosaurs. The effect is enhanced when they’re running alongside the buggies. Magic!

Running with the emus

On returning to the lodge, Helen immediately jumped in the trough, no, not the trough, into the hot tub. Liesel and Leslie sat on the sofas outside, pretending not to fall asleep.

After a lunch of snacks, we set off for Siding Spring Observatory, about a 20-minute drive away, up in the mountains. From the top, you can apparently see 200 km in each direction.

We joined a larger than expected party for a tour of the site. One of the first things the guide pointed out was a large web built by a golden orb spider. Nothing special, I thought, as I looked at the small spider in the corner. Then, a lady moved out of my line of view to reveal the much larger, female, golden orb. The smaller one in the corner was just a male, living dangerously.

More interesting, to me, at least, was the large telescope, the 1.2 metre Schmidt.

For scale, here’s our guide who provided a good commentary, nothing too technical. You’ll notice he’s carrying a snake venom first aid kit. We saw signs telling us to look out for snakes. Well, I looked out but didn’t see any. I came up with a totally original idea for a movie, though: Snakes at an Observatory.

While walking around Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope, we learned that the 2-metre Ritchey Chretien telescope, used for research, can be controlled from anywhere in the world. I thought, I might have a go at that when I get home!

Many of the telescopes on the site are owned or operated by overseas research teams, from Japan, Korea, Hungary, UK, even Russia. Since a bush fire threatened in 2013, the social aspect of the place has been greatly reduced, with many more astronomers working remotely. Which is a shame, really.

The dome containing the 3.9 metre Anglo-Australian telescope is quite impressive. Inside the building, a lift took us up to the 4th floor from where we gazed in awe at the instrument. Well, I did, anyway.

Just think: if things had worked out differently, and I really had become a Professional Astronomer, I might well have been working here at some point. This is still one of the best optical telescopes in the world.

That’s not a bad picture, is it? Taken with my own phone camera. Of course, it’s a photo of a photo taken with the AAT.

I was still feeling a little embarrassed for being told off earlier, when I lovingly placed my hand on a telescope.

Quite rightly, the guide didn’t want us bashing the delicate instrument, but I’m sure my gentle caress wouldn’t cause any damage.

Liesel took Leslie home, and I was given a lift by Brent and Helen, tyvm. We took coffee with us, made in a very leisurely manner by the man in the shop, who could well have been our guide’s aged father.

We detoured via Mark and Wendy’s observatory where we’d been last night.

And to think, we climbed through that little door a couple of times last night, in the dark, and I did so without injuring my back. It pays to move slowly while contorting in such places. I’ve learned my lesson.

Back at home, Liesel made a pasta dish that was well received by everyone, thank you very much, after which we sat around chatting for a while, drinking wine or whisky or water. I don’t think any deep family secrets were shared, but I was worried when Liesel drank so much: she has been known to tell stories…