Family, Family, Family

Today, by accident, was overridden with family members...a pretty perfect last day in Australia before the adventure begins.

Firstly, Chris and I drove Nan to Lismore, aka Lis-Vegas, to visit Aunty Carolyn, Hayley and Moz. Oh, and their toy poodle Harry of course. We chatted, laughed, cried and watched the montage Mum had made for Nan's 80th. What a treat! Top that off with a trip into Lismore itself to visit the bank and Bunyips (for some water purification tablets), I was reminded of how hot Lismore is, constantly, how friendly small town sales people can be and how ugg boots and denim skirts should never be combined.

 

After a quick visit to see Nan M, The evening bought a family BBQ with Nan, Pete, Mum, Al and Aunty Sue. Oh, and Charlie the dog of course. Portuguese chicken, T-bone steaks, lamb chipolatas, salad made from fresh garden produce, garlic bread and sticky-date pudding (thanks Michelle) was an ideal Aussie meal to fill the Western food void that is sure to develop over the next six months. To really get the party started, we watched a video of the skits performed at Nan's 80th. Woooooo!

 

 

The weather cooled slightly with a bit of drizzle, inspiring us to check the weather in Sri Lanka for our arrival on Saturday. Aaaannnddd....we're pretty sure the monsoon hasn't quite buggered off because there are some pretty good downpours and thunder storms forecast. Should be interesting.

Before bed we were reminded by Pete that in 1971 he went to Sri Lanka with the intention of staying for one month, just as Chris and I have planned. He stayed for a year and a half. Gets you thinking.

 

Springbrook National Park, QLD

 

Springbrook National Park, QLD is a stunning place at any time of the year. When it's warm and sunny with a slight breeze, it reaches a whole other level of beautiful. However, be warned, the part of the drive between Crystal Creek and Natural Arch may induce a green-face.

Back story: in Melbourne, Chris and I came across a photograph of a waterfall and Chris mentioned how nice it was. It was Natural Arch and I promised I'd take him there.

Today, we fulfilled that. There were plenty of photo opportunities which allowed Chris to attempt to capture his very own version of this natural beauty. Except...we weren't the only visitors to Natural Arch today which meant most of Chris' shots were invaded by teeny-boppers out for a Wednesday swim. Still, climbing into the restricted glow-worm and bat habitat meant a new and improved version of the photo we saw in Melbourne all those months ago was captured.

 

We had a swim ourselves with Pete while Mum played camera-lady/local knowledge provider before we finished the loop and returned to our car.

Next on the list was Best Of All Lookout. Today, it was not so much 'best of all', but 'white of all'. We couldn't see a thing. But, the short walk was nice and even produced some 'inspiration' for Pete's flourishing garden.

Then it was a burger for lunch at Scuttlebutt, yes Scuttlebutt, then the pretty drive out through Mudgeeraba and down to another classic location...Tweed City. On a personal note...Mell's favourite hang-out when she ventures up this way. We rushed in and out in half an hour. In that time we still managed to have a saleswoman make three comments which verged strongly on racist and have three pharmacy workers confuse us in their confusion regarding purification of water tablets.

All in a all...what a day! Thank you Springbrook.

 

 

Christmas Day with the Children

Today was a day full of kids.

It was a beautiful morning spent at Pottsville creek with Toby and a two and a quarter year old Skylar.

A quick trip to Aldi at Tweed Heads allowed Chris to fully understand the term 'bogan'.

An early Christmas was the order of the evening. Turkey, ham, an array of salads, sticky-date pudding, chocolate truffles and plenty of drinks put us in the mood. We were lucky enough to have a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a one month old to entertain us with their rendition of Christmas carols and really get the Christmas spirit pumping as well as plenty of other family. We played Kelly Pool, swam, ate, drank and were especially merry.

 

 

 

Brunswick Heads' World's Best Calamari

After our tiring morning of trekking to Mt Warning it was nap time. For some, a nap turned into a sleep. Not mentioning any names of course but let's just say it starts with a C and ends with 'hris'.

Refreshed, Pete gave us some tips for Sri Lanka and the name of the chief of Unawatuna whom he stayed with in the 70s. We'll be on a mission to find him come our arrival in Sri Lanka on Saturday.

With the beautiful king tides Northern N.S.W has been having we decided a trip to one of our favourite places was in order...Brunswick. And boy was it a good decision. We devoured Starfish's 'world's best calamari' in the park, had a swim in a protected bay and wandered around the banks of the turquoise river. It was a pretty majestic afternoon. Topped off by a relaxing afternoon back in Pottsville and fresh fish for dinner, I think it's safe to say we're in holiday mode. And gosh it feels good. I wonder how the other half live...

 

Training: Mt Warning N.S.W

Today we rose early (1:45am) and were on the road from Pottsville to Mt Warning by 2am. Dressed in our zip-off pants, hiking boots and with our camel packs in our bags and torches in our hands we were ready for the newest training stint in preparation for Everest Base Camp.

Mt Warning is located in North-Eastern New South Wales and is an iconic local landmark of the Tweed Valley.

It was 3am when we started the summit trek and it was dark. Really dark. Despite having done the trek previously, the thought of all of the critters that may be lurking under foot kept me clinging to Chris for the first half hour of our hike. My paranoia was not unjustified as we came across a lizard who had a leaf for a tail, a cane toad (Chris' first encounter with such a delightful creature), a black snake and a big colourful python on our journey.

We made it to the summit in 1hr 45min. A pretty good effort we thought, considering that scrambling up rocks that are so steep you need to pull yourself up on a chain, with a torch in one hand, all the while watching for snakies is quite difficult in the dark.

When we reached the top it looked like we might have the place to ourselves. This ideal was quickly squashed when a stream of ten or so people streamed up as we awaited the sunrise.

Despite the disturbance of the intruders' elephant-like stampede shaking the platform and disturbing the camera and tripod, Chris captured some beautiful moments.

We made it to the bottom in record speed, being spurred on by my bulging bladder. The joys of easily accessible water thanks to a camel pack.

 

Home or Holiday: Pottsville, N.S.W

Who knew that flying with Virgin would be such a calm experience in comparison to our usual low cost airline? Everything went smoothly and we touched down in Coolangatta ten minutes before our scheduled landing time. Our bags were some of the first off the plane and we were finally on holidays!

14/12/12: Hot and Sun

Our first evening consisted mainly of food, beer, games of pool and planning for the following day's grand event: Nanna D's 80th!

 

 

 

 

15/12/12: Hot and Sunny

After a bike ride to the beach and a swim in the glorious king tide of Pottsville Creek, then the pool, we were refreshed and ready to party...Dowling Family style. It was an absolute hoot. What with the family's rendition of 'Love to Have a Beer with Duncan' and the 'Magical Mystery Tour' skit, the ladies and gents were in hysterics.

 

16/12/12: Hotter and Sunnier

Byron Bay Markets were happening so off we went. After a peanut finger from Pete's son Tim's vegetarian food truck, a wander 'round the stalls, some fantastic music, a little sunburn and a lot of hippies, back to Pottsville we headed. But not for long. It never stops in the hustle and bustle of North-Eastern New South Wales. After a quick dip in the pool we were off again...this time to explore the foothills of Mt Warning, keeping an eye out for our dream piece of land. So after visiting the Hare Krishna community at Eungella, popping in at Murwillumbah Cemetery and driving through Crystal Creek, Chillingham and Tumbulgum we were on Clothiers Creek Road heading home. After another dip in the pool and some delicious BBQ grub we're off to bed. It'll be an early morning tomorrow if we want to catch sunrise atop Mt Warning!