Cheese and Chocolate

Smelly cheese shops
Favourite lunch was when we stopped at the Smelly cheese shop and deli and ordered up a fiesta of antipasto and fresh bread, a variety of cheeses and meat and we would set up a smorg. We went to the wine shop and bought and opened wine and included it in our makeshift picnic. We had a few strange looks but I think they were more envious than offended. We clearly are doing our own thing and writing our own rules. I prefer asking for forgiveness than permission.

New South Wales

Wineries
“Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Finally I had to tell Tracie and Stan to keep it down or else we would not go at all. We ventured into the Hunter Valley Wine region and decided that with 144 wineries 4 breweries, 3 cheese shops and 2 chocolate factories that this is where we should hang out. We went into the nearest village of Cessnock which is not so quaint and had horrible hotels for crazy prices and decided to seek an alternate. Tracie called a Bed and Breakfast called the HILLTOP RESORT on 200 acres of beautiful vineyards, paddocks, pastures and lakes and stayed there for 2 nights while we planned to sample as many of the wines that we could legally drive to. The Hilltop was less expensive than any of the crappy motels and it included breakfast for 7 people. This was definitely a 2 night stopper. Australian wine at its best. The award winning Peppertree winery was the best we sampled but really it would take a solid 4 months of tasting to sample them all. Next trip is now planned. Anyone interested?

Strawberry Picking

Strawberry Fields Forever
The kids spotted a place called Ricardo’s self pick strawberry farms and had a hankering to give it a try. The place is mostly a tomato farm that exports all across Australia. Mom would make a wicked sauce with theses fresh tomatoes.

Travel headaches

Ai r Emirates
Tracie discovered that there was an error on our India flights and we needed to contact the airline for a correction. I decided (stupidly) to assist and take on the endeavour. We searched the internet for a customer service number and after an hour we found one listed through a US travel agency. Success, we cal and immediately get “Jane” from the Mumbai office, who proceeds to tell us in her bitchy Indian Accent, that the date change we are requesting is going to be a $4800 price adjustment. Luckily I had the internet on and their website up and asked her where she was getting her information from as it does not correspond to the price on the internet. Now she is pissed off and proceeds to put us on hold and goes on dinner break. After 25 minutes she returns back on line and says she found a way to get the price down to 2800 and could she please have my visa. I asked her to show me where I could see that on the website as it should have been only 400.00 she then tells me she needs to speak to a supervisor. This crap continued for another hour before we got the confirmation of the change for 1200 dollars. Is there any wonder why people hate dealing with call centers in India where they are always trying to gouge and screw you (standard Indian business practices). Oops I think I just tripped as I got off my soap box. I pray for patience on that upcoming leg of the journey.

Koala Hospital

Koala Hospital
The kids had the choice today of going to a wild life theme park or donate the money to the hospital and forego the themepark. We are now the proud and insane adoptive parents of 2 injured Koalas. The kids are thrilled and are feeling somewhat altruistic and proud

Southbound towards Sydney

October 7-9
Southbound towards Sydney
We left the beautiful Stradbroke islands today and Runaway Bay. We packed the car with care to get everything in and thought we were in the clear when Tracie decided we needed to go shopping. We managed to stock up on school supplies and Booze and a few other less important necessities before making our way south to Sydney for the World Master Games. We have already travelled a huge numbe of kilometres and we only had 900Kms to Sydney. (A short walk in the park really). We stopped in Yamba for lunch which is a quaint little town with a custom pie shop and a Canmore like main street. The pie shop was great however as soon as we began to eat them outside on the patio we were swarmed by hundred if not thousands of flies. Stan immediately put on his Chinese accent that he learned from Dick Yee and kept asking us if we ordered Fwies with our meals.( funny if you know stan).
Stan has been assigned to be the chief navigator and will look at every possible highway and navigational angle to get from one point to another. He had us guessing and second guessing and even contemplating retracing our route at times but in the end he would save the day with a key navigational zinger every half hour. Let’s just say that my method of following the main highway is not preferred as we have seen places that few would venture. Tracie decided to have us stay the first night in Port McQuarrie, where the first major prisons were established in Australia. It is a port with amazing beaches, great vistas, lots of activity and above all it had the Koala Hospital which was a must see on 5 of the 7 peoples lists.

The Northeast Beach

The Northeast Beach
We walked, jogged (or in the kids case, rode bikes) everywhere on the island as foot power and paddle power was our only mode of transportation. The island was about 30 Km long and about 4km wide. Almost every day we would leave for the beach around 11:30 after the dreaded school and walk to the Northeast surf beach. The beach was lifeguard patrolled in one area of about 200 meters wide where they put up flags. The swimmers and beach goers are expected to stay within the flags if they expect the lifeguard to attend to them in the event of an emergency. If the flags are not present then it means the beach is closed and there is present danger ( box jelly fish, medusa jellyfish, sharks or a massive undertow present).
The flags were up, the water was cold. Certainly cooler than what we used to in the north but the surf looked like too much fun and the kids bodysurfed in some pretty powerful shallow wave breaks.

Boldness and Daring

Jumping off the dock
There are teams of bull sharks in the area that come to the channel to feed in the evening and at dawn. The kids took heed of the warnings and did not venture into the water off the dock very often. Now I said very often because kids are kids and they will push the envelope despite the doom and gloom warnings of their parents and peers. However there were times when it was so hot they couldn’t resist. So, they would jump off quickly and get back out as fast as their legs could carry them, challenging their bravery and laughing at the boldness of their daring.

Fishing without poles

Fishing without poles
When we were in the Bahamas in 2007 with Warren and Sara, the kids had made friends with some locals at the pier who were hand fishing using a single hook, a handful of line and some conch as bait. They would throw the line in with the bait and a stick attached about 4 feet from the hook to act as a floater. When the fish bit, they would haul it in using the hand over hand technique.
I told you that so that I could tell you this. The kids remembered and decided to buy some hooks and a set of hooks and after all their scholastic chores wanted to spend the days fishing off the dock. They made some minor modifications in the fishing apparatus such as attaching and using an old water bottle to the end as a handle and winding mechanism. They used bread, corn, salami and ham for bait.

Wallabies everywhere

Wallabies Everywhere
One of the unique things about Stradbroke Island is the fact that there are two distinct resorts that occupy it along with a private residence district, 10 cars and 2000 bikes and hundreds of wallabies ( smaller version of the kangaroo). The kids decided to feed them carrots and try to get close enough to pet them. Aside from the Wallies were lizards, snakes, birds, fish, sharks, possums and tourists.

The Tinny - runabout

Runabout
The folks who own the house left us with a tinny(metal motorized row boat) with no location of the key and instructions just incase we needed to get around. They are very casual here in Australia. In any event Stan and the boys were determined to get this thing started. After several hours they gave up.
Tracie decided to come to the rescue. She scoured the house and found the boat key and proceeded to start it in about 30 seconds.

Kayaking

September 29- October 6, 2009
The sunlight woke us up at 6:00am and we went downstairs and enjoyed a perfect cup of coffee on a perfect deck at a perfect island and a perfect setting. I love it here. I just need to figure out how to slow down time so that we can enjoy every moment.
The kids roused at about 7am and joined us outside and immediately noticed the 2 kayaks that came with the place. Emily and Christopher wasted no time and dragged them into the water and began exploring. Upon their return Nicholas jumped into the one Emily was using and raced Chrisopher up and down the channels until their shoulders ached. Elizabeth was more than a little nervous having never been on a kayak before. It took her a few tentative moments and then she became determined to master the craft. Her confidence began to soar with every paddle stroke.
While kayaking was the morning activity, the afternoon was filled with exploring the island, biking and unfortunately homework.

Runaway Bay to Stradbroke Island

September 28, 2009 Long Driving day to get to Runaway Bay in time to Catch the Water taxi to the Island.
A long day in the van to get to Runaway Bay before nightfall. The concern here was that the water taxi’s need to travel in the daylight to safely navigate the channel and the Broadwater to get to Stradbroke Island which is about a 20-25 minute boat ride. We were expecting to go across in a ferry. To our surprise is was a tiny little boat which we had to load up with 8 large suitcases, a guitar, 10 days worth of groceries, water, beer , booze and juice. When we got the boat laded there was no room for the passengers. Oh the adventures. To make matters more interesting we have made it to the wharf at 6:00 and it gets dark at 6:15. The Boat taxi Driver has showed up and can’t get the boat started. He is breaking in to the boats beside him hoping to steal a battery to jump start him little tug.
The stars were so brilliant tonight that it cast an amazing glow over the battery jumping operation. We reconfigured the load and somehow managed to get everyone in. Now if we can stay afloat for the next 20 minutes we are good.
We pulled up to the island and the taxi driver was navigating using his familiarity of the coastline and landmarks. We pulled into a secluded cove and slowly cruised past these huge 3000 square foot beach home each with their own private docks and boats. He pulled into a secluded channel and proceeded to the end dock and announced our arrival. We could see the outline of a massive two story home with a sprawling deck and a wall of windows. This place was known as THE RETREAT and for good reason. If you couldn’t unwind and relax here, you would not be able to relax anywhere. We located the key on top of the BBQ propane tank and proceeded to occupy this 4 bedroom 3 bath fully stocked and furnished refuge. The kids quickly figured out the sleeping arrangements and set up. Tracie and I occupied the top floor of the home to ourselves which was complete with a massive bedroom, ensuite and a sitting room and balcony which could have hosted a party of 50 people. Somehow we are going to have to find a way to manage here for the next 10 days.
We are certainly getting used to setting up a home. Including setting up the kitchen, unpacking 10 days worth of groceries and unpacking luggage into drawers and closets we had taken command of the premises within an hour and immediately began unwinding.