I think we fell in love with Sydney. The place, that is, not a fella! We spent such a nice time with my cousin Linnet and husband Nick in Saratoga which, once again, is on a beautiful inland waterway. Still enchanted by the call of Kookaburras in the morning as opposed to sparrows and blackbirds and the flashes of bright colour as lorakeets and finches jostle for space in the lush tropical growth. The only other wildlife we managed to see was a truly beautiful eastern waterdragon. Linnet had seen him before at a nursery which has a very pretty cafe set amongst dense greenery and waterways and the day we went for coffee, he charmed us by crouching next to our table like a statue and devouring most of my 'rocky road'. He is now christened Rocky (see photo). The also-charming young waiter told us the sad tale of a 'joyrider' who screeched into their parking lot killing the waterdragon's mate. The cafe closed in mourning for the day... As they mate for life, poor Rocky is doomed to bachelorhood, but he now has a lot of friends who feed him royally.
We travelled into Sydney by train to stay at a hotel for a couple of nights so that we could see more of the city. We really walked our feet off for 2 days and nights, but so enjoyed the harbourside cafe society, the street performers, the lights and the people. The botanic gardens were a delight and such a green haven with flying foxes roosting in the trees - and actually destroying them as we learned, but since they are protected the gardens are having to find ways of 'encouraging' them to leave which are non-invasive! How pc can you get!! Everywhere the views are spectacular - the opera house of course, the bridge and the business district skyline in the gold of the setting sun is stunning. We had a particularly great evening at the opera house bar where we met my cousin's daughter Amanda (my second cousin/cousin once removed?) who works nearby at the Rocks. At 6 p.m. the 'bar' which encompasses the public seawall seating, is buzzing. An eclectic mix of theatregoers, backpackers and suits all vying for the best spot. We sat and observed, as oldies are apt to do, and Glenn coined it when he said that Attenborough should come and film here as it was the greatest observation on the human mating game ever! The body language spoke volumes...but what a place to be to watch the sun go down with a bottle of chilled wine and a fab tasting plate of very interesting tapas smoothly organised by Amanda.
On the 10th, we flew Sydney - Auckland NZ and picked up a rental car and stayed one night in the city before driving 4 hours north to Russell in the Bay of Islands. Found Auckland to be pretty uninteresting, except for the great views from the other side of the city at Devonport, which is a quaint suburb. Did enjoy a couple of hours in a brilliant 'Irish' pub with a very good live group doing lots of the music from our younger days, until the one guy in the place older than us latched onto us. Since he was obviously the town drunk and we weren''t sure whether we were responding correctly due to his NZ accent, our failing hearing and the noise level, we decided to call it a day and got out while the going was good - a couple had already been thrown out by the bouncer so it was probably time to go anyway!
We were hosted in Russell by Kathy and Rob, also HomeExchange members, who very kindly gave us a room with them for 3 nights. Kathy is travelling to Europe this summer with a group of friends and will spend a few days with us in Najac en route. The views from their windows are of the bay and the islands - just a lovely location. They had a bbq for us to meet their friends, also members of HomeExchange, so it was great to put faces to e-mails, so to speak. The area is just beautiful (coastal shot above). The countryside on the drive up there is awesome. I guess the fact that this was, and still is, a volcanic region is what gives the hills their incredible shapes - but unlike most volcanic regions I've seen, these are closely carpeted with velvety grass and so many tree-ferns they form a forest of their own. The beaches are heavenly as the tropical vegetation and banks of agapanthus and cana lillies come right down to the sand so that you can lie on grass in the shade of the huge magnolia trees and just walk a few metres into the surf. The water was cooler than OZ, as is the air temperature, but for us this was a huge relief so we spent most of our time with a picnic and a cold bottle on the beach swimming and reading and browsing round the little towns. The towns remind me very much of the US southern states with the clapboard houses and churches, delicate iron balustrades, wide streets and covered walkways. Very smalltown, very friendly and, best of all, individual shops - no 'out of town' shopping here, you go to the butcher, the baker and the farmer's markets. There are small supermarkets, but the emphasis is on small.
On the 14th, we took back the car and flew Auckland to Wellington - south of North Island. Phil and Jeanette met us and brought us out here to their home at Masterton. What a place! This will be the longest of the home exchanges we have arranged and it couldn't be better. Another beautifully designed house in 14 acres near the Taraparua mountain range, Wairarapa lake and an hour's train ride to Wellington city. They are francophiles and there are echos of french living everywhere in the house from the glasses (made in France) to the decor and the lovely parterre garden Jeanette is creating. They have their own cattle, pigs, sheep and chickens so as well as a pretty vegetable garden, we have a freezer full of organic meat to eat plus venison (locally raised), fresh eggs and crayfish from their 'bache' (New Zealand beach house)! The bache is on the east pacific coast about an hour away down a gravel road so is very remote. We're invited to join them there for a couple of days before they leave for their own 'summer' holiday in the south island with their family. While they're away we can go and use it as well, so we have great options for exploring this part of North Island. They have also lent us their toyota 4WD which makes it even easier!
The downside? Well, it started raining yesterday and today is torrential and blowing a gale plus the temp has dropped and we're scrabbling for warm clothes - Glenn left all his fleeces and jumpers in the Whitsundays - we've even lit a fire!! We did go for the best pizza outside Italy last night. A log cabin in the woods with a watermill generating electricity, a woodfire oven for cooking and no licence. They only cook on Friday nights only 9 choices of pizza, but, boy are they good. We took our own wine and glasses and joined the locals at trestle tables for the feast.
13 hours time difference from UK, 12 from France and 35 degrees south of the equator it's the furthest we've ever been from home, so as I write this at 2 in the afternoon on Saturday, it's 1 a.m. UK time, we're upside down and the water really does go down the plughole in the opposite direction!
So, kia ora, have a g'day, mate, she'll be right!
