Autumn

The weather is starting to get colder, the pool is out of action (and overflowing following the recent rain) and some of the trees are changing colour. Although the gum tress still dominate the landscape, there are the occasional trees and some streets that are now a mixture of red and orange. This is one tree from our balcony that indicates the time of year:


Most of this week has been very wet although Thursday was a brief respite of sun and blue skies. Sue and I walked around the Long Reef headland again this afternoon and watched a competition taking place on the beach between different Surf Live Saving Clubs racing inflatable speedboats ('rubber duckies') out across the surf, which was quite spectacular.

However, half way around the walk we got caught in a heavy shower and ended up quite drenched by the time we got back to the car - and the sun came out again!

Anzac Day

It's a public holiday today and a solemn day of commemoration, marking the day when Australian and New Zealand forces landed at Gallipoli in 1915 and subsequently suffered huge losses for no strategic gain.

There were dawn services across the country and Sydney held one in the centre of the city, although we didn't go on this occasion. The weather has also been awful for the last 48 hours and the service this morning was followed by a parade through this city by the armed forces - all in torrential rain.

Kayaking

Laura was working yesterday but the rest of us decided to try kayaking on Narrabeen Lagoon, so we headed down there mid-morning to hire out some for an hour. There were no singles available so we ended up taking 2 doubles out and proceeded to zig-zag around a small part of the lagoon! There was a race going on which we had to avoid and it seemed a struggle to get anywhere fast, so more practice needed here...

Today I went out with Laura for an hour's driving lesson - she's been out with an instructor for 5 lessons so far and with Sue a number of times, so this was the first with me. She did well and particularly excelled at some fast emergency stops! We then had Jane, Clive and Emily over for lunch and a relaxing afternoon of chat.

Back to normal

Caroline's friends caught their flight back to the UK yesterday so we're back to our 'normal' family state, although the school holidays continue until next week.

The last few days were taken up with Caroline, Sophie and Sophia going back to the city on Monday for a jet-boat ride on the harbour, where they achieved their aim of getting soaking wet! We all walked to Forestville on Monday evening for a meal in the local Thai restaurant, which was good, and then Tuesday morning saw an hour's knockabout at our tennis club to give them a bit of exercise before their 24-hour stint on the planes.

Caroline has really enjoyed her friends being here for the last 2 weeks and it's given us all the opportunity to do some new things, as well as go back to some places we went to when we first arrived.

Warm weekend

Sue and I had a quiet day at home on Saturday - Caroline, Sophie and Sophia went to Sydney with 2 of Caroline's Aussie friends and they went up the Sydney Tower and did some more shopping. Rebecca went back to the Easter Show with a friend's family and Laura was working. Sue had also twisted her ankle at the beach the previous day, so she needed to rest it today.

The weather has been warm and sunny again over the weekend so Sunday was 'beach day' (although Rebecca had organised a cinema trip and shopping with a friend). We dropped Caroline and her friends at Freshwater Beach and then we parked at South Curl Curl, which is the next beach to the north. We then had a leisurely stroll along the beach and around the headland to 'Freshie' where we spent a few hours on the beach and in the sea - bumping into the girls amongst the waves.

This is Caroline's favourite beach and we hadn't been to this one before - it's quite a small bay and the beach shelves out quite gently, although it still generates some big waves and strong currents. It's been good that the sea is still quite warm at the moment, especially now that the pool is pretty much out of action due to the colder nights making the temperature drop too much.

Koalas and The Basin

Yesterday we took the girls to the Koala Sanctuary at Pennant Hills, which is about 45 mins drive away. We had been here on holiday 2 years ago and it's a small park of Australian wildlife, including Koalas (of course!), kangaroos & wallabies, wombats and others. It has a very peaceful air about it, despite being surrounded by residential areas and a busy road, and - as before - it was quiet, so that we could wander around without hoardes of other people!

The Koala feeding time was good, giving everyone the chance to stroke a koala as it was sitting eating some gum leaves. The penguin feeding session was also interesting as the 'guy with the fish' told us about the different habits of the fairy penguins there and he was also explaining how they have a big problem with marauding foxes at night, despite the high fences and electric wire.

Today we took a sedate trip to The Basin, which is a safe beach area and camping ground on Pittwater, on the inland side of the northern peninsula. We used 2 cars again and Rebecca invited a friend along as well, so we drove to Palm Beach and caught the ferry for the 20 min ride across to The Basin. It was very peaceful there and we spent some hours relaxing and paddling in the water, although as the tide was out it wasn't very appealing for swimming.

Easter Show

Today's expedition was to the Easter Show, which is a big annual event held out at the Olympic Park. We caught the bus again for the journey since there is a regular 'major event' service running through the day from Forestville to the Show.

The showground covered a wide area and is predominantly an agricultural show, with animal judging and displays in the main arena. It's also got a large funfair area, lots of stalls and other events inside and out, plus the famed 'showbags' which comprise bags of sweets, toys and various gifts with different themes which you buy but supposedly gain lots of 'extra value' - very popular with children and the hall dedicated to all these stalls was packed.

Caroline, Sophie and Sophia headed off to do their own thing, although Sue, Rebecca and I crossed paths with them several times at the funfair area where there were some extreme rides. We all went on a few of these before heading off to see the other parts of the Show, including the 'grand parade' of livestock in the main arena as it started to get dusk. Although we'd sampled some food (and wine) in the large food hall, we decided to head back home for an evening meal rather than wait for the evening fireworks and rush for the buses home!

Bondi Beach

Today we went back to Bondi for only the second time since we've been here - it's quite a trek from where we live and the journey can be quite congested, depending on the time of day, plus parking can also be a problem. So this time we decided to use public transport.

Laura had gone to the Easter Show with friends, so the rest of us drove in 2 cars to Cremorne where the caught the ferry across the Circular Quay and were then able to directly catch a bus to Bondi. These are very regular and before long we were working our way through the City and out to the East - the journey took about 50 minutes and we were deposited on the south side of the beach.

The weather was great - sunny but not too hot - and the sea was warm (warmer than the pool now), so we had a good few hours 'sunbaking' and playing in the surf. The waves and currents weren't too strong but still provided plenty of entertainment. We then caught the bus, ferry and cars back to the house in time for an evening meal.

Sue and I went off to our regular tennis session in the evening which was OK, although there was a low turnout due to the Easter holiday and also possibly because the nights are starting to get cooler - there was a chill in the air tonight and the balls were getting damp from condensation. However, we're still keen to play through the Autumn and Winter if we can, but we've yet to see what the weather will get like in the coming months.

Bridge Climb

Saturday turned out to be an even worse day with heavy rain in the morning and overnight - the pool is getting very full! Again, the afternoon saw a bit of a break in the weather, so since Laura was working today we took the rest of the girls to Manly Oceanworld. We had last been here in 1993 and it was one of the first aquariums to have an underwater walkway to view sharks, stingrays, turtles and various fish. It was interesting (and I could watch the fish for hours!) but the place is looking a bit old and tired now, which is probably not helped by a newer and bigger aquarium at Darling Harbour in Sydney.

Yesterday - Easter Sunday - started off brighter, which was good since this was the day of the Bridge Climb for Caroline and Sophie, as well as Sue who was going with them. Sophia was collected in the morning as she was attending a family get-together at her Aunt & Uncle's (plus she wasn't keen to do the climb). Laura was also out at friends, so the rest of us drove to Cremorne and caught the ferry across to the city.

Rebecca and I left Sue and the girls at the start of the climb, where they had to get kitted up and briefed about the whole process, which lasts about 3 hours. The two of us then went to the Pylon Lookout (one of the towers on the bridge) to wait for the others to emerge onto the bridge. We had a short wait before they appeared within a group of about 12 climbers and a guide - initially we were above them and could take photos of them going up the bridge to the top, before they crossed over and came back down the other side.

Sue and the girls really enjoyed the experience and the fantastic views from the top of the bridge across the harbour and the city suburbs towards the Blue Mountains. It was quite windy up there but the weather stayed dry and mostly sunny, which was lucky after the past few days. It was a well-oiled operation and not too strenuous, apart from a few steep and vertiginous places.

View some more photos of the climb.

Windy Long Reef

It's Good Friday today so we had planned an action packed Easter weekend for Sophie & Sophia (Caroline's UK guests) - they had been at Sophia's relatives further up the peninsula for the week and we collected them yesterday afternoon after Caroline finished school for the holidays. However, today started off wet and the forecast for the weekend isn't good.

There was some torrential rain in the morning and the options to do things in Sydney become more limited in this weather. So we stayed at the house in the morning but as there was a break in the weather after lunch, all 7 of us trekked down to Long Reef in 2 cars. We had a quick walk around the headland in strong wind - the sea was rough and since there were no surfers out in these conditions, the parasurfers and windsurfers were out in force!

It was a popular walk but we couldn't believe the number of people who were dressed up for winter since it was still warm, despite the wind. There were great views up and down the coast, with sun over Manly to the south but rain sweeping in over Narrabeen in the north and we just made it back to the cars before the downpours started again.

Petrol prices

It must be a sign that we're getting used to prices here, since it's very frustrating when either of the cars are running low for petrol and we have to fill up during the peak days of the week! Prices at the pumps across Sydney fluctuate daily, with the cheapest prices appearing Monday-Wednesday, and a bigger increase at the end of the week and over the weekend.

This means that there are often queues at the petrol stations at the start of the week, and we have to remember to plan ahead to anticipate whether the cars will make it past the weekend or not with the current tank of petrol. If we miss this slot and have to fill up at the peak times, it feels like we're losing significant money...

...but the stupid thing is that a 'high' price here is edging over 120 cents per litre - so about 50p in UK money!

Earth Hour

Yesterday evening had been promoted heavily as 'Earth Hour' in Sydney when households and businesses were encouraged to turn off their lights and other unnecessary power for an hour between 7.30-8.30 in the evening. With all the increasing coverage and awareness of global warming and climate change here, this was an attempt to further highlight the need to save energy and conserve resources.

Rebecca was out with a friend, whose family took her to see the Sydney Swans play at the Telstra stadium (under floodlights!) - the first of us to experience a 'live' Aussie Rules football match, which she enjoyed. The rest of us left the house - with only the burglar alarm on - and headed to Cremorne to look across to the city to see what effect the 'switch off' would have.

Since we were running late for the 7.30 start (due to Laura's extended work day) we detoured to Balmoral first to visit our favourite fish and chip shop, which was operating with minimal lights. We sat under a streetlight overlooking the moonlit beach to eat the meal and it made a change not to be dive-bombed by seagulls! (We also realised that it was almost 2 years to the day since we sat here in the dark eating F&Cs when we visited Sydney in 2005).

We then headed to Cremorne and had about 10 minutes to wait before the lights came on again. There was some difference to the skyline, although not dramatic. The bridge lights and Opera House were turned off, plus quite a few of the office blocks were less bright than usual, and although some lights were turned on again after the 8.30 finish, we suspect that many offices had kept their lights off for the weekend anyway and so there was no dramatic change. However, according to the papers today, first estimates were that 10% of usual power use was saved and many households did participate in the event.