This year was a small afair with the Eagles family and the Birds.   We travelled out to our normal destination in Briagolong just past Sale, Victoria out east of Melbourne.  It’s our regular spot because in Australia most of the camping is “caravan park camping”.  Each tent 2-meteres from the next.  It’s like a bad case of clostrophobia.  Ask anyone, if they camp this is what they know.  It took a lot to find the place where we camp, the next camp site is kilometers up the road in either direction.  It means we can have a bonfire/campfire, play music as late as we want, drink and stay up until we’re ready to go to bed – nobody to bother, nobody to bother us.  Isnt this what camping should be?

This was Lulu (our puppy’s) first Easter camping trip and she did really well.  We are able to keep both dogs off their leads so they can run around, play, swim in the creek, and just be happy and enjoy the outdoors.  They had a great time.  As for the Eagles, little Alex started camping with us about 5 years ago, she was so little – now she’s 7 going on 12 – man they grow up fast!  Alex had a great time, gathering bark and sticks for the fire, swimming in the creek, and listening to her MP3 player.  The Easter bunny – who by the way is a regular white bunny with a blue ribbon and bell around the neck – came for a visit, with his easter basket that refills itself.  It left some nice chocolates for Alex!!

This seems like the only outdoor time we really get to spend, and I’m glad to spend it with the Eagles.  Just hanging out and enjoying a nice toasty fire on a cool night.  We also had some local friends visit that live in Sale, camping for one night and helping us cook a 2.5 kilo lamb in the dutch oven with some beautiful vegetables.  We love Norelle’s lamb roasts and the dutch oven right in the fire makes a great way to cook such a big piece of meat.

There’s just nothing like the Australian bush land.  I truly love the variety of landscape in this country.  From desert to rainforest, bushland to coral reefs, there’s just nothing that I can think of that compares.  It’s amazing that we have been able to travel so much throughout Australia and see such different parts of the country.  It makes me feel like I am more a part of the landscape when I am able  to interact.  Only a week or so until I fly up to Darwin for the weekend to be with Birdie.  He has been working up in Darwin for over 2-months and I’m going to take a couple days off to go up and see him there so he doesn’t have to fly home for the regular 1-1/2 day weekend he is allotted (which by the way is frikkin bogus, but I won’t go there…).

I’ll try to capture what Darwin is like in some photos during my upcoming visit.

We’ve been getting frequent updates from Mum and Dad (my in-laws) on their six week Cruise in the South Pacific.  They’ve taken some very beautiful pictures Dad said I can share with you.  During this cruise Birdie’s Dad Chris celebrates his 70th birthday.  They arrived in Hong Kong to celebrate!  I’ll keep posting as the communications come in. Enjoy!

11 April – Easter Eggs

We received and email asking if we had any Easter Eggs on the ship, well the Easter Bunny did find our ship and provided the attached selection for the viewing of the passengers on board. It was a beautiful display.

10 April – Last Formal Dinner on the Ship

Last night was our fifth formal dinner and the attached photo was taken in the atrium of the ship.  The captain gave a farewell speech and told us about the quantities of food that been consumed on board, the amount of fuel used etc.  The dinner was excellent as usual and we enjoyed the company of our dinner companions, after dinner we went to the Princess Theatre and saw the final production show by the singers and dancers entitled British Invasion.  The show covered a lot of the hits of British pop stars such as Cilla Black, The Beatles, Elton John, Queen, etc it was great we all enjoyed it. Today we are at sea and tomorrow we arrive in Brisbane our last port of call before Sydney.

9 April – Rabaul, Papua New Guinea

The attached photo was taken at 6.00 am as we entered Simpson Harbour in Rabaul. After arrival in Rabaul we took a tour in a small bus that took us to the Australian Military Cemetery, then to the war museum that contained many exhibits of the Japanese weapons and tanks etc that were used during the occupation of New Guinea. The bus ride was on very sub standard roads that were filled with pot holes, many 3-4 feet across and often 2-3 feet deep and many filled with water because Rabaul had some 10 days of rain in a row up till Good Friday. The tour itself was very interesting as we saw and met many of the people who were so open and friendly to everyone. Today we are at sea and heading for Brisbane, our last port before arriving back in Sydney.

Today has been a quiet day at sea, tonight we move into the Coral Sea enroute to Brisbane. I have attached a photo taken in Rabaul showing part of the garden at the Australian War Cemetery.

5 April – Guam

This morning we arrived in Guam. Our ship docked at 7.45 am and the attached photo was taken from our balcony looking across the harbour towards the US naval base. We took a shuttle bus from the ship to the centre of town and then took another bus to the shopping outlets, from there we took another bus to the biggest shopping mall on Guam and went to Macy’s and several other stores. From there we took another bus back to the shuttle bus pickup point, waited some 15 mins then came back to the ship. It was very warm today some 32 degrees Celsius which was very hot after the cooler weather we experienced in China, Korea & Japan. Tomorrow and for the next 3 days we are at sea, cruising to Rabaul our next port of call.

4 April – Komachi-Dori, Kamakura, Japan

Tomorrow we arrive in Guam after several days at sea. The attached photo was taken in Komachi-Dori Street in Kamakura some 60 mins by road from Yokohama. This village was established over 800 years ago, on this shopping street you could pick up souvenirs, clothing, food etc. In Guam we are not taking a tour but will use a shuttle bus to visit some good retail shops including Macys.

2 April – Yokohama

Here is a photo of Barb standing under one of the elusive cherry blossom trees. There are thousands of cherry trees waiting to bloom across Japan, this is because of the very cold weather they had during winter. Many of the trees are full of buds just opening and they should be all out within the next week, but too late to give us the effect we were hoping for.
Our next port of call is Guam where we are going ashore with some of our friends from the ship.

1 April – Yokohama

By the time you receive this email we will be on our way back to Australia, today is 28 days into our 42 day cruise. We will be at sea for the next 3 days and our next port of call will be Guam. Today we had a half day tour that took us to Kamakura the site of Japan’s first Shogun, we saw The Great Buddha, about 15 % of the size of the Buddha we saw in Hong Kong.
We also visited The Tsurugaoka Hachimangu  Shinto Shrine that was built in 1063, this was much smaller than the shrine we saw in Osaka. The picture attached is Yokohama at dusk.

30 March – Asoka, Japan

Yesterday was a very busy day for us in Asoka, we only did a 5 hr tour but it was really great. We started at a Shinto shrine, one of Japan’s national treasures, the shrine was Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine and was about 15 mins from our ship. The shrine was established in 211over 1800 years ago and is one of Japan’s finest. In Japan there is basically 2 religions, Shinto and Buddhism, in fact most people combine them both. The shrine is kept in immaculate condition and we spent over an hour looking over the exhibits there.

We then were driven to Osaka Castle which was built in 1583, it is also in fantastic condition and is situated almost in the centre of Osaka on over 400 acres, it has nearly 6000 cherry and plum trees that only bear Flowers, unfortunately very few were blooming due to the very cold weather over the winter. The castle itself is surrounded by a moat and has very high walls, the Samurai warriors protected the castle from all invaders. The attached picture is of the castle, after our tour we returned to the ship at about 2 pm, had lunch and went back on shore to do some retail therapy. Tomorrow we are at sea all day then we arrive at Yokohama the port for Tokyo which is our last stop in Japan before the ship then begins the homeward journey across the Pacific Ocean.

29 March – Nagasaki, Japan

Yesterday we spent our first day in Japan, after arriving in Nagasaki harbour at 6.00am we prepared for our first dat ashore. We went through customs where the took our photos and finger prints of our index fingers. Our tour for the day took us into the mountains to the town Arita with a population of some 20,000 people, Arita is the heart of the porcelain industry on this island and we visited several businesses and saw them making and decorating the porcelain. The photo below is from one of gardens in Arita. After going through the factories we visited the factory outlets and did some retail therapy, then onto lunch at a lovely restaurant were we had a Japanese banquet with sushi, tempura vegetables, miso soup, oysters etc, you had the choice of many items.  After lunch we headed back to Nagasaki and visited the peace park which had many memorials to the dropping of the nuclear bomb, many of the memorials had been provided by other countries. After viewing the peace park we returned to our ship. Our Wi Fi system on the ship was closed down whilst in Japanese territorial waters, the Japanese do not allow the ships to use Wi Fi.  Today we are cruising towards Osaka and will have an embargo on the Wi Fi again.

28 March – On the ship, South Korea

Last night was our 3rd formal dinner and the attached photo shows our table of six. Today we arrived in Pusan – South Korea, the country has some 50 million citizens who own 28 million motor vehicles. Our tour today took us to the local fish market which is closed on every 4th Tuesday (today), so we looked at the fish stalls outside the market and saw a huge variety of fish, eels, prawns, shell fish, octopus, calamari, crabs, lobster etc.  We did have some time for bit of retail therapy and then travelled into the mountains to visit a temple which was a long climb from the bus.  Got some great photos which you will all get to see sometime in the future. Tomorrow morning we arrive in Nagasaki and begin our 3 City tour in Japan.

26 March – Shanghi, China

I have attached a photo taken in the Yu Gardens in the old city of Shanghai, to get from our bus we had to walk about 800 metres through a small park with beggars and people trying to get you to buy their crap. The gardens were established in 1559 and have been modified into 6 different areas covering 5 acres. Our tour in Shanghai covered the Yu Gardens, the Shanghai Museum, Jin Mao Tower which was 95 stories high and we took the lifts to the 88th floor in only 40 sec. We also visited a silk museum and learnt how they make silk into many different garments, doonas, we also toured the Jade Buddha temple and got some great shots as well. Our lunch was a 7 course banquet in a really nice hotel. Tonight is our 3rd formal (dress up) dinner so we need to get ready soon. Will write again tomorrow night after we have been to Busan in South Korea.

23 March – Lantau Island, China

Today we took a trip to Lantau Island which is the site of Hong Kong’s International airport, it is also the home of the world’s largest Buddha.
The Buddha is located high on a hill, and there are 250 steps to climb to get there.  Inside the Buddha there is several floors of exhibits to look at.
The picture below was taken some 500 metres from the Buddha but you will see the scale when compared to people walking up the stairs.

22 March – Hong Kong, China

Yesterday was a sensational day a real birthday present for me, we arrived in Hong Kong Harbour at about 6.15 am and had breakfast on our balcony as we watched the harbour break through the early morning mist. We took an all day tour that took in the city, we then took a harbour cruise for about an hour on Victoria Harbour on a big cruising junk, I took a lot of photos around the harbour. Then off to the Stanley Market, where we had 45 mins to look around and grab a few bargains, then back on the bus and then back to the harbour to take a Sampan across to the huge floating restaurant the seats 3100 people, we had a lovely dim sum lunch. After lunch we took another sampan that took us out on the harbour on a tour of the fishing fleet and some permanent houseboats.  Back on land again we were taken to a great jewellery store where we purchased several items. Back on the bus again we travelled to the summit of Victoria Peak which took some 35 mins, we had a look around then took the tram ride down the mountain back to Kowloon, this only took 7 mins.  Our bus was waiting for us and took us back to the ship.
Upon arrival at the ship we decided not to get back on board, but did some shopping in the wharf side shopping complex that had some 700 shops. The complex also had several restaurants and we ate dinner in a Vietnamese one, then back on board Sea Princess in time to get on deck to watch the laser light show at 8.00 pm. The photo below was taken during the light show. Today we have another day in Hong Kong and are getting ready for another tour.

15 March – Benoa, Bali

Yesterday we took an excursion to the mountains and saw some really interesting sights. The picture below was taken in the grounds of the restaurant where we had lunch in Ubud, during the tour we saw local villages and looked through a house where 3 males and 7 females lived.
On information passed onto us Indonesia is approximately 3 times larger than the US state of Texas but has some 240 million in population.
The tour took as to temples, woodcarvers, silversmiths and a local market. We are t sea for the next 3 days then we arrive in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.

It was an exciting week for me, I was able to reconnect with my best friend from my senior year of high school, that is here travelling around Australia with her 17-year old daughter, yes I said 17.  They have been in Perth for much of their trip, but popped over to Melbourne for a couple weeks. It was so good to see a familiar face and hear an American voice for a change.

We’re quickly approaching our annual Easter Campout, I’m getting excited already to get back out in the bush and enjoy the outdoors.  The dogs are raring to go, I know just how much they love to run free in the bush.  We go to the same spot every year and it has been a good one for us, way out east of Melbourne about 4 hours away in a town called Briagalong, near Sale, Victoria.   Our best friends accompany us and we have a great 4-5 days just relaxing and hanging out.  There’s a great creek that runs through the camp sites, and we’re lucky enough to be 5-8 kilometers away from the next camp ground.  Check back for our pictures from this weekend!

Just following our Camp I am going to be joining Birdie in Darwin for a weekend, he is currently commuting to and from Darwin on the weekends, but I am going to go up to save him one trip home.  I haven’t been to Darwin in quite a few years but I’m looking forward to checking out the town and seeing where Birdie is working. 

The last weekend in April my Mother and her friend Edie are coming out for a two week visit.  They’ll be stopping in Sydney on their way into Melbourne to see the sights, and then they will be hanging out here in Melbourne with us.  This is Edie’s first trip, and Mom’s 3rd.  I am hoping to take them around to see some things that Mom hasn’t seen before.  I’ll be posting as I take them around the city so check back for updates during their visit the first two weeks in May.

With my iPhone and new iPad2 – I’m coming across really great new apps all the time, enough that I think I can add this “Featured App” entry to my blog.

 Band of the Day

The app of the month is called “Band of the Day”, it’s referred to as the “world’s first daily music magazine for mobile devices” and it’s compatible for iPhone and/or iPad via iTunes. I generally keep most of my music now on my iPad because I can watch videos there, and this app has it all.  With a new, predominately “undiscovered” band each day, the variety and .   I was really impressed with this app, I’m always looking for new bands and new music and this offers an in depth look at a new band each day.

If you’re a music lover, this app does not disappoint, it’s 5-stars for me.  This app IS “a new band in your pocket every day”.  Highly recommended!

My Rating: 

Features:

- music player
- videos
- discography
- photos
- reviews
- bios
- purchase through iTunes
- link via Facebook

Screnshots: (click on each to enlarge)

Cost: Free (as of 28 Jan 12)

Class:  App of the Year 2011 Runner Up

Device:  Universal App, iPhone and iPad

The Great Barrier Reef I’m dedicating this blog to my Gramma, who has recently taken an interest in my whereabouts and blogs and shit (huh Grams?).

It’s been almost six years since we’ve been here, to upper Northern Queensland, to Port Douglas where we spent our honeymoon – this is a very small town, a place that many “Stars” come to get away/visit in Australia. We’re on the Great Barrier Reef and have access to beaches and boats galore. The marina is in walking distance from our resort, and we are just on the main road – there is only one main road in Port Douglas, with little shops, great restaurants, resort hotels and bars. The best way to go is to find a rental apartment with a kitchenette, and the amenities you prefer like a good pool, and restaurant – in the location that best suits your activities. We like scuba and snorkelling so our favourite location is the beach with marina access.

I got my scuba license, after doing about 8 introductory dives in Thailand and Australia over a period of several years (an introductory dive is 1-hour of training and 1:3 diver to trainer ratio for one :30 minute dive), I thought it best after 8 of these to get my certification (which I did in 2009) – Birdie has procrastinated and only just agreed this year to get his certification. So this trip back to our favourite place, Port Douglas, was partially in an effort to get him certified so that we could continue to dive together (as scuba requires a diving buddy). I’m very proud of Rod during his course (I did mine on my own), I’ve been there going through the course with him – watching, participating, and taking pictures along the way – being involved and making him feel as comfortable as possible with this process.

The scuba Open Water Diving Certification Course is as follows:  Day 1 & 2) Online Course, takes aproxiomately 9-14 hours of study and tests.  The water course starts with; Day 3) In pool training with equipment and testing; Day 4 & 5) Open water testing and dives which includes 4 dives over two days and skills testing.  Day 5 is tomorrow for Birdie, he has one more dive and 3 more skills test to complete his certification.

Click pictures to enlarge.

Pool Training: Day 3 

Skill Dives and Training – Open Water: Day 4

See all the pictures here:  Scuba Photo Album

My own illness over the past couple years has been daunting, and I have had to take some risks in order to dive on this trip, but I am thankful and grateful for the opportunity to be one with the ocean, sea life, and this experience that I love so much. My first dive after being sick and finally going into remission again, well… it’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I did great on my dives today and I’m so glad that I was able to be with Birdie during his course. It was a great diving refresher for me. This is something that I really love and something that I feel is an experience that not many people attempt. I get to share this with my partner and together we can be one with nature, and IT IS incredible.

After tomorrow (Day 3), the last certification dives for Birdie, we have a lot more planned for our trip in Northern Queensland and Port Douglas. We are already planning to do a couple new things on this trip:

1. Sailing to the Low Isles for Snorkelling with Turtles www.aquarias.com.au

2. Skyrail and Kuranda www.reefandrainforest.com.au

3. Breakfast with the Birds www.wildlifehabitat.com.au/breakfast.html

4. Cape Tribulation Tours http://www.jungletours.com.au

5. Daintree Rainforest Tours www.reefandrainforest.com.au

6. A minimum of one more day of 3-dives on the Agincort Reef (Opal Reef)

I’m looking forward the other adventures we are about to have on this trip, I hope you enjoy following our progress and sharing our experiences with us.

A visit from my friend MN and her mother Susan, bearing a gift of homemade Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies (yum), inspired me to make some of my own.  Most of you know I like baking, so I thought it would be fun to post my Christmas cookies. These are my four favourites for 2011, recipes and pictures from Lainey’s kitchen (click on pics to enlarge):

SNICKERDOODLES

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar (topping)
4 tsp cinnamon (topping)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F)
2. Mix butter, sugar, and eggs
3. Blend flouer, baking soda, tartar and salt
4. Shape dough by rounded tsp size balls, roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture topping
5. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes

RUM BALLS

Instructions:

12 oz vanilla wafer, finely crushed (3 cups)
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup confectioners sugar (caster sugar), divided
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels (bits)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup rum

Directions:

1. Mix crushed wafer, pecans, 1/2 cup confectioners/caster sugar, then set aside
2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler add corn syrup
3. Add rum and stir until smooth
4. Pour hocolate mixturre over wafer mixture, stir
5. Shape into 1″ balls, place on wax/baking paper

Place remaining confectioners/caster sugar in a shallow bowl, roll balls in sugar.  Use individual foil cups/patty pans or layer wax/baking paper between each layer of cookies.  Store in an air tight container for 3-days before serving.

PEANUT BUTTER WITH A KISS

Ingredients:

Hershey’s kisses
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter (smooth)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1-1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Beat butter adn peanut butter until smooth
2. Add sugars, beat until fluffy
3. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well
4. Stir flour, baking soda, salt – gradually beat into peanut butter mixture
5. Cover adn chill in fridge for 4-8 hours

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Shape into 1″ balls, roll in granulated sugar, place on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Immediately place chocolate kiss in middle of cookie, cool on rack.

GINGER NINGA BREAD MEN

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground ginger
1-3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
6 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses (golden syrup)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a small bowl wisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves
2. In a large bowl beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until blended
3. Add molasses and vanilla; blend well
4. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until dough smooth
5. Divide dough in half, wrap each piece in plastic, stand at room temperature for 2-hours
6. Place half on floured surface roll out to 1/4″ thick, use cutter
7. Bake in preheated over at 350 F (175 C) 7-9 min, cool on wire rack.

Lately there’s been lots of talk, and a couple of exposè’s on “A Current Affair” about IKEA and how the pricing structure is different in Australia from that of the UK and America.  It’s hard to understand why this is such a big shocker, when some of the prices are as much as double for the same item purchased in the US but I think that the Australians are forgetting to look at the big picture and are picking on IKEA for something that almost every company is responsible for doing here.

Prices are high.  For those of you that live in the US and complain about high prices for your groceries and clothing, cars and even gas (petrol)… you don’t know the half of it.  Prices are so high in Australia that the weekly groceries that used to cost me $100 in the US cost me about $250 in Melbourne.  In addition to not having the variety of goods (by far) that we have in the US, the prices are double if not more for goods that we use everyday.  I’ve tried to gather a price comparison of grocery goods, and other items just to make my point.  I will not use imported products as the cost may be raised due to shipping costs that are transferred onto the consumer.

Groceries are one thing, but let’s not stop there, mostly I am amazed by the beer prices here in Australia, for not only locally made beer like VB (Victoria Bitter), but for beer like Stella (for example) which is a imported beer to the US, but is made in Australia for Australians.  A 6-pack of Stella in the US is $8.99 (which is imported from Belgium) and the same labelled Stella beer made in Australia is $16.00.  In general we pay about $50 – 80 for a slab of beer (30 cans) – and this is the reason we make our own beer – it pays to have a brewmaster in the family.  It certainly doesn’t stop at beer.

Cars are another shocker, today I saw a left-hand drive 77 Mustang for $30,000.  Does that sound insane to you?  It does to me.  I’ll use Volkswagen as my example because they have some of the same cars for sale in the US and AU.  A VW Golf in the US retails at $17,995- $28,995 and the same car in Australia retails at $25,491 – $57,570.

The clothing problem is a constant one, typically a pair of jeans cost over $100, and because there is no ’Ross’ or ‘Old Navy’ with bargain basement prices, the only way to get a discount is to shop at Target or Kmart.  And Target/Kmart in Australia doesn’t compare to the stores in the US.  Different brands, products, and quality by far.  Definitely not many stores have larger sized clothing, and you can’t find a men’s shoe over 11-12 (which is a problem for my size 13 husband).

What truly impacts these differences?  The cost of living is much higher here, the minimum wage is $17.00 p hour, but how does that impact a chicken’s eggs, or a grocery store loaf of bread.  I’m tired of hearing the complaints about how Australian’s have to pay for for “IKEA goods” when they are paying more for just about everything.

Shipping costs from the US to Australia are quite high, so you can’t afford to buy Australian, and you can’t affort to buy from overseas. Many websites don’t allow Australian credit cards or don’t ship overseas at all.  Luckily there are now more companies shipping to Oz, making an impact on the Australian market and forcing many to consider that even with high shipping costs, we can get cheaper products from overseas than we can buy at home.

Costco is a new thing in Australia, the first one in Downtown Melbourne – and after 1-year it is taking hold on the retail market, before Costco you never saw bulk packaging, no toilet paper over 12 rolls, no diapers over 24, no block of cheese over 16 oz.  It’s changed the market completely and Costco is moving all over Australia, #2 in Sydney and #3 in Ringwood, Melbourne.  I’d love to see more retailers come to Australia, and make a difference. In the last 7 years I’ve seen a lot of new things in Oz, and and I hope to see more changes as new retailers make their mark here, well…a girl can dream!

Its so funny saying “summer” at Christmas time.  In the land of Oz its summer, it’s hot and humid, with frequent days of rain.  Our summer break is celebrated with Christmas Tree and barbecues. It’s a season for flip flops, prawns, and sunshine… it’s taken a long time to get used to a summer Christmas and we even tried to get away last year for Christmas and New Years to the cold weather (and big snow storms of New York City).  But this summer we are heading off to the best holiday destination amidst the sun and the ocean. We’ve been on this great “travel” kick over Christmas/New Years, last year we celebrated in New York City, and the year before in Koh Samui, Thailand.  This year is going to be better than ever!!

Going back to Queensland is a long time coming, it is the place that we went for our honeymoon and experienced the beauties of the most beautiful Ocean, the Great Barrier Reef.  It’s the place I did my first dives, and now we are going to dive together for the first time on a two week scuba trip.  I’m hoping to see some new parts of the reef this trip, we will dive in some deep ocean waters and some of the most amazing reef areas in Cairnes and Port Douglas.
Birdie has been working his way into being more comfortable with scuba diving, it is a completely different feeling, one of claustrophobia, being surrounded by water – it’s something I struggled with on my first dive.  We’ve been snorkeling a lot in the last couple years and explored the waters of Thailand, and Vietnam on many occasions.  Birdie is taking his certification course this time and we can finally dive together.  I’m very passionate about diving, it’s something I really love.  Being under the water, swimming with schools of barracuda, eel, clown fish, seeing the beauties of coral reef’s untouched, and the sea life that embodies it. It is truly…  amazing.

Our wonderful housesitter is coming to stay with the pups and we are heading out on Christmas afternoon, and staying through the New Year.  Check back here for our pictures and our adventures underwater on our summer getaway, back to Queensland.

Thanksgiving, an American holiday in a land far far away…

To me Thanksgiving is something different than it used to be.  It used to be a time to share and give thanks with my own family.  My Gramma would come visit, my cousins in toe, my Mother would work all day cooking the biggest feast for us to share together.  Much of this time when I was at University, my brother and I would come home to be together.  And my Dad (I miss you Dad), cooked the big giant turkey.  He would carve, and laugh and share the day with us.  After dinner he would watch the football game, beer in hand, and fall asleep.  Thanksgiving is a time for family to be together.

My Thanksgiving in Australia celebrations are a time for me to share these feelings of family and love with my new family and friends.  I am thankful for everything I have here and for the new life that I have been given.

Without my friends I would be no one, no where.  They lift me up to believe in myself, that I can be whatever I want to be, do whatever I want to do.

I am happy to share my feast of love and friendship with those that add value to my life.  Thank you my dear friends.

I hope you enjoy our pictures this year, we did two turkeys my mom’s famous stuffing recipes and backed mac and cheese, my father-in-law did a beautiful ham as always, and all our guests brought all the fixings. Desserts consisted of one pumpkin pie, a pecan pie, peach cobbler, and my first pumpkin cheesecake ever (yum!).

I want to especially thank my bestie Norelle, and all the girls that did the dishes clean up… you are my savours!

It was a success, and we had the biggest table ever this year, thanks to all that came to celebrate my special day with me.  These are my family, my American and Australian friends:

I have to blog this week about the painstaking process of living in another country, moving to Australia.  It comes to mind this week as I have a friend that has recently moved here and is struggling, and conversations with many Americans that find difficulties with cultural differences and making friends.  It seems great, you come on a ‘vacation’ to Australia and you think “wow, they speak English, they talk funny, the people are nice, they have some of the greatest cities in the world to visit” and then you go home.  But for those of us that have chosen to stay and live our lives here, have a very different experience.  I suppose at first when I came here I thought things were the same as America, but what I have found is that it is quite different from living in America, in that there are expectations of social activity being the ‘same’ as what you are used to.  Nothing is further from the truth.

I speak from my own experiences, but also from the experiences of my friends that are expats to this country in particular.

Australia is a large country with big cities, but the cities are few and far between. The cost of living is high.  Whether you live in Melbourne, Sydney, or Perth – your options are generally in your city and there aren’t that many options.  When its time for kids to graduate high school and go to ‘University’ they live at home and stay with their parents while they complete their schooling, and then they generally live with their parents until they save up to buy their first home or waiting to get married.  Can we blame this on the economy today?  It came to mind however, this is a practice that is more inherited than economy related. Parents, for some reason, are happy for them to stay, taking care of their “grown” children – some even staying through their 30′s.

In America we are dying to leave home after high school, usually to go to a University away from our parents, to experience independence and learn how to live on our own.  University options are plentiful and Americans are eager to move far, far away from their parents. I look back on my 20′s and 30′s and all the experiences I’ve had being on my own and I can’t imagine living with my parents that long, even as wonderful as my parents were/are.  Part of the moving away culture includes the sanity of our parents an the ability for them to have a life free of their children.

Australians are difficult to make friends with, they still have their same friends from school, and because they haven’t moved away from home and experienced making new friends, they aren’t keen to expan their circle.  Coming here as someone that is well travelled and has made friends all over, it is difficult to think how hard it is to break into some friend-groups.

As a working woman, at 40, I tend to think it would be easier, but it is not.  In my industry I work with mostly men, with the few women I do meet, I find that it’s the expats that welcome me and befriend me.  These expats are from South Africa, from Ireland, Japan, America, and Canada. I have only made 3 Australian friends at work, and after living here for 6 years I tend to think that I would be able to make better connections.  I’m thankful for my husband’s friends when I first got here, most took me in.  I do have a couple great friends from my husband’s group, but even my husband’s group of friends are from school. 

Some Americans move here and do not have a circle of friends, a support of their partner’s family, and this missing link can be quite damaging. It’s important to have a support system in place in order to “make it” in a new society that is different from your own.  Culturally, there are so many differences, from language to how we were brought up, how are we to bridge those gaps to find some common ground?

Sometimes we just have to take matters into our own hands.  Thanks AIA.

We’ve arrived at Ayres Rock Campground and we’ve settled into our spot in the designated area.  Other campers are in the distance.  You can see that some are like us – amature campers – and others are completely professional campers and travellers.  Some with gear out the ass, and some in their cozy Winnebago’s (here called Caravan).  We’re contemplating if we should get a pop up caravan… we like to travel, maybe when we retire (haha).

The dogs have been great, and Lulu’s continued potty training while on the trip has been successful.  She waits until she is out of the car – so what I was hoping for, thank you God for small favours.  We stop at rest stops for the dogs to run around and have a bit of a play before we venture on down the long road.

First night, disaster.  I go in to go to bed and the bed is flat.  We have a double cell blow up matress, so it’s kinda like a Queen bed and it’s pretty tall off the floor so you don’t have to get down on the floor to get into bed. And you just hook up to a power point to give and take air from the bed. It’s nice and we’ve had it for about 5 years, we’ve used it on all of our camping trips and we love it.  It’s almost like sleeping in a real bed at home.  It makes all of our trips comfortable and you don’t have to dread going to bed.  But low and behold, it has a hole or a leak.  Something has gone terribly wrong.  It has enough air to sustain our going to bed on it (as if we had a choice), and about every 30 minutes I had to flip the switch to dispatch more air to the bed.  This went on through the night.  A sleepless night indeed.  The bed is now in the bin. (We got a new one in Alice Springs just in time for our last camp on the ride home.)

Rod went off to Reception at the campground in the morning to see if a cabin was available for rent for our second night, and luckily there was one.  I don’t think I could have slept on the ground so I am so happy that we were able to get a cabin for our second night.  The cabin has one Full size bed (this must be the master bedroom), and the second bedtoom has 2 bunk beds.  There is a kitchenette with hotplate, small fridge, all the dishes and things you will need, and a small table and chairs.  We spent most of our second day out and about at the National Park anyway but we had a place to crash.  Hallalujah!

I really can’t do too much walking so we went out to The Olgas (Kata Tjuta) to one of the shortest hikes and ventured up to see the rock formation up close and personal.  It’s amazing there are so many of these rounded rocks and together they run for miles, we went down a common track to see some of the native flora and the rocks themselves. Then off to Ayres Rock (Uluru) to look at it up close.  Rod took me to the area where people climb the rock, there werea lot of people climbing.  It’s pretty damn steep and there is just this rope that you hang on to, to get up there.  It’s climb at your own risk kind of thing and climbing is not encouraged or preferred by the park.  They let you do it anyway.

Going out to the National Park to see the two rock formations is common, but the sunset view is most popular.  Last night we watched the sunset at Ayres Rock, today however, Rod went off and bought us a helicopter sunset tour of both Ayres Rock and The Olgas.  He’s never been on a helicopter before so this is going to be a new adventure.  I’m excited to see both of these enormous rock formations from above!

We’re back on the road heading to Alice Springs today for 2-days before starting our journey back home.  I’m looking forward to seeing Alice, which is the second biggest town in the Northern Territory. If you are unfamiliar with the states and territories of Australia you can refer t omy map: Map of Australia.

Here you can see all the pictures from our hike and our helicopter ride:  Hike and Helicopter Album

South Australia

I must have been kidding myself thinking that I could blog every day on this trip, once we left Adelaide we were lucky to get mobile phone access, forget about Internet. I will be lucky to get a couple blog posts in on this trip so I will just put as much as I can in the ones that I do. For pictures, will post here but most will be available in Facebook photo albums. Don’t worry, if you don’t have a Facebook account you can see the photo albums by clicking the links I provide.  Sorry it’s taken so long, but uploading pics to a photo album takes some time Lavette!

Road Trip Australia – Ayres Rock  <– click here

Facebook Album  <– or click here

On the first night we drove through the night to get to South Australia, that’s the state west of Victoria. Victoria is where I live in Melbourne. One of the biggest wine regions and probably one of the very best is here. It’s about 800 kilometres (500 miles). We are staying here for a couple nights to take in the wineries on our way through to Ayres Rock.

We visited, drank, and bought bottles of vino today from Elderton, Saltram where we had a beautiful lunch and tasted their lovely beer as well, Henschke, and last Peter Lehmann. Tried lots of varieties of reds (our favourite), and bought a few of our favourites, even had some shipped home. Note if you see any of these wines (for my US friends/family), definitely buy them – my favourites are the sparkling reds, something I had never even seen until I came to Australia – basically red champagne. Yummy!

Lulu our puppy of 5-1/2 months old and Spot our 2 year old are with us on this trip and they are enjoying their time being with us. The dogs have their little beds in the back of the car and they just slept the night away barely noticing us. Our rental has a fenced backyard and they are happy and healthy.

The sunset tonight was a beautiful pink and the dirt is starting to look redder, as we get into the desert more it will become the bright red that we know the Outback to be, I’m looking forward to that. We’re seeing big terrain changes from dirt and small puffy shrubs to small red flowers cluttering the ground in large patches, they catch your eye as you drive by. They’re really pretty. Day 2 we’ve driven out toward Coober Pedy but stopped short of town to camp for the night. We pull in at 5.30 before sunset to set up our camp. I’m not much help but somehow the tent goes up and the double cell inflatable bed (I’m dreaming of sleep right now, it’s been a long day). Camp stove and iPod going and we’re on our way. I love camping, there’s something about sitting outside looking at the stars that make me feel all warm inside. It’s about 70F degrees at 7:15 p.m., it feels beautiful outside, perfect for camping.

I’m sitting here, watching to dogs run around, listening to a 400 song loop (Lincoln Park is playing currently – Rod is lip syncing), it’s starting to get colder and tonight it’s probably going to be freezing, I’m having flashbacks to Wolf Creek (if you haven’t seen it, it’s about some friends that get kidnapped hitchhiking on this same road in the Outback – it’s a scary flick – a rental for sure). The stars are so beautiful, turn off all the lights and looking up into the sky you can see every star in the sky. It’s a very clear night so it’s a fantastic sight. It’s so different seeing the stars in an open sky – no nearby buildings to impede on the view. It reminds me of my first telescope. I got it for Christmas from Santa and I think my Dad was more excited about it than me. My Dad WAS Santa, in case you didn’t know, it’s obviously a part-time job. We loved that telescope; I have lots of fond memories of my Dad and my childhood. I’m happy about that.

Day 3 we headed north toward Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy is a well-known Opal mining town much of which is underground. I’ve always wanted to see Coober Pedy it’s always sounded appealing, living in an underground town – apparently it gets hot in Coober Pedy. On the day we were there it was about 33C degrees (90F). The place is a complete dust bowl, no foliage and because it is a mining town as you come in and out of town you see piles and piles of red dirt. The Opals are beautiful but at the expense of the land in the area. I can see that they don’t worry about putting the dirt back in the ground. The dust and tumbleweed in this town made it a crazy stop. Not at all what I thought it was going to be. I imagined that it was a place to visit, but it is clearly just a rest stop on a very long trip up the middle to Ayres Rock (Uluru) and Alice Springs. I’ve been trying to take some pictures but until I get a lesson from my photographer friend Amy, I’m hopeless with ISO and all those other acronyms.

Tonight we’re off to see the sunset view of Ayres Rock (Uluru), and tomorrow we will go there during the day as well as The Olgas, another nearby rock formation.  Then we are off to Alice Springs for two days – in a hotel thank gawd – to see the Devils Marbles.  Hope you enjoy the pictures.  More to come in the next few days.

A quick update: We finally have our itinerary

Check back here for pictures and video during our adventure through the Outback. I’m really looking forward to this trip and seeing the sights of the red dessert.  I’ve never been to the Outback so this is very exciting.  And we can have our fur babies with us to enjoy being out on the land.  I’m hoping to do some combination camping and staying in hotels that can accommodate the dogs. 

Central Australia Trip

Day 1
Depart CBD 5pm
Drive to Horsham (298km)

Day 2
Depart Horsham at 7am
Drive to Clare SA (543km)
Visit local wineries

Day 3
Depart Clare at 9am
Drive to Coober Pedy SA (734km)

Day 4
Day in Coober Pedy

Day 5
Depart Coober Pedy at 8am
Drive to Yulara NT (735km)

Day 6
Day at Yulara, Ayers Rock, The Olgas, Mt Conner

Day 7
Depart Yulara at 7am
Drive to Alice Springs via King Canyon (631km)
Visit Kings Canyon

Day 8
Day at Alice Springs
Drive to Devils Marbles (100km)
Drive to Tennant Creek (80km)
Drive back to Alice Springs (180km)

Day 9
Depart Alice Springs 8am
Drive to Coober Pedy SA (688km)

Day 10
Depart Coober Pedy at 8am
Drive to Gawler SA (846km)

Day 11
Depart Gawler 9am
Visit Barossa Valley wineries
Drive Home (805km)

Well, we’ve been talking about this for a while and now we’ve decided to pack up the dogs, get a house sitter and head out on the road for our first ever “road trip”.  We’re going to spend 10-days on the road and see some of Central Australia’s beautiful country side in a trip to see the wine country of South Australia, then up to the underground town, and opal mines of Coober Pedy, and last but not least up to Uluru also world with the majority of gem quality opal.

South Australia Wine Country (Wine Tasting) – Barrossa Valley

The Barossa Valley is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions. Located in South Australia, the Barossa Valley is about 56km (35 miles) northeast of the city of Adelaide. Unlike most of Australia whose wine industry was heavily influenced by the British, the wine industry of the Barossa Valley was founded by German settlers fleeing persecution from the Prussian province of Silesia (in what is now modern day Poland).

The hot continental climate of the region promoted the production of very ripe grapes that was the linchpin of the early Australian fortified wine industry. As the modern Australian wine industry shifted towards red table wines (particularly those made by the prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon) in the mid-20th century, the Barossa Valley fell out of favor due to its reputation for being largely a Shiraz producers whose grapes were destined for blending. During this period the name “Barossa Valley” rarely appeared on wine labels. In the 1980s, the emergence of several boutique family specializing in old vine Shiraz wines began to capture international attention for the distinctive style of Barossa Shiraz, a full bodied red wine with rich chocolate and spice notes. This led to a renaissance in the Barossa which catapulted the region to the forefront of the Australian wine industry.

Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy today relies as much on tourism as the opal mining industry to provide the community with employment and sustainability. Coober Pedy has evolved in to one of the most unique places in Australia and perhaps the world. It is a cosmopolitan town with a population of 3,500 and over 45 different nationalities.

The relaxed and friendly lifestyle of the town has made it a breeding ground for cultural tolerance, diversity and acceptance. Coober Pedy is probably best known for its unique style of underground living.

There is a range of underground accommodation (as well as above ground if you prefer). There are authentic underground homes to explore as well as underground museums, opal shops, art galleries, underground churches and, of course, opal mines.

Ayres Rock (Uluru)

Uluru ( /u:lu:’ru:/), also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; 450 km (280 mi) by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Ajangu, the Aboriginal people of the area. The area around the formation is home to a plethora of springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site.

Uluru is one of Australia’s most recognisable natural landmarks. The sandstone formation stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high (rising 863 m/2,831 ft above sea level), with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km (5.8 mi). Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formation have great cultural significance for the Aṉangu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.

Kata Tjuta National Park (Olgas)

Kata Tjuta, sometimes written Tjuta (Kata Joota), and also known as Mount Olga (or colloquially as The Olgas), are a group of large domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 365 km (227 mi) southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. Uluru, 25 km (16 mi) to the east, and Kata Tjuta form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

The 36 domes, covering an area of 21.68 km2 (8.37 sq mi), are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone. The highest point, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m (1,791 ft) above the surrounding plain (198 m (650 ft) higher than Uluru). Kata Tjuta is located at the eastern end of the Docker River Road.

Alice Springs

Alice Springs is the second largest town (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a city) in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as “the Alice” or simply “Alice”, Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory.

The site is known as Mparntwe to its original inhabitants, the Arrernte, who have lived in the Central Australian desert in and around what is now Alice Springs for thousands of years. Alice Springs has a population of 27,481 people, which makes up 12 percent of the territory’s population Alice averages 576 meters (1,890 ft) above sea level; the town is nearly equidistant from Adelaide and Darwin.

The town of Alice Springs straddles the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. The region where Alice Springs is located is known as Central Australia, or the Red Centre, and is an arid environment consisting of several different deserts. In Alice Springs, temperatures can vary dramatically with an average maximum temperature in summer of 35.6 °C (96.1 °F), and an average minimum temperature in winter of 5.1 °C (41.2 °F).

Kings Canyon, Northern Territory

The walls of Kings Canyon are over 300 metres high, with Kings Creek at the bottom. Part of the gorge is a sacred Aboriginal site and visitors are discouraged from walking off the walking tracks.

Two walks exists at Kings Canyon. The 2 km (return) and approximately 1 hour Kings Creek Walk traces the bottom of the gorge. At the end of the walk is a platform, with views of the canyon walls above. The 6 km (loop) and 3-4 hour Kings Canyon Rim Walk traces the top of the canyon. A steep climb at the beginning of the walk, which locals call “Heartbreak Hill” (or “Heart Attack Hill”, due to its steepness), takes visitors up to the top, with spectacular views of the gorge below and of the surrounding landscape. About half way during the walk, a detour descends to Garden of Eden, a permanent waterhole surrounded by lush plant life. The last half of the walk passes through a large maze of weathered sandstone domes, reminiscent of the Bungle Bungle. A slow descent brings the visitor back to the starting point. The loop can also be done in reverse (anti-clockwise), but the National Park Rangers encourage visitors to walk in one direction.

So, I’m already ready to go!  Stay tuned and follow along on our trip as we make our way across Central Australia.

I’ve been waiting to try this one. This comes out of my Better Homes and GardensSpecial Edition “Mexican” edition I picked up when I was in the States last Christmas.  I love Mexican food – Mmmmmmm

I love gordits, they have a beautiful crispy outside and soft inside filled with Mexican goodness.

Ingredients

2 cups masa harina
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 hot water
1/2 cup finely shredded Cotja or Asiago cheese (finley shredded Parmesan is a good substitute)
Vegetable Oil
1 15-oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 canned Chile pepper in Abodo sauce, seeded and finely chopped (leave seeds for more heat)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup inely shredded cabbage
Salsa

Directions

l. In a large bowl, combine masa harina, flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the hot water, stirring until mixture forms a soft dough. Stir in cheese.

2. Divide masa mixture into 12 portions. On a lightly fkoured surface, use your hands to pat each portion into a 2-1/4 inch round. (As you work, krrp dough and formed gorditas covered with a damp paper towel or clean kitchen towels to prevent them form drying out.)

3. In a heavy medium saucepan, heat 1-1/2 inches of oil over mediuym heat to 350F; Fry gorditas, three or four at a time. in hot oil ffor about 2 inutes or until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Usinga serrateed knife, split hot gorditas horizontaly to partly open.

4. In a medium heat, commbine blact beans, chilepe peper, and garlic; use a fork to slightly mash bean mixture, Spoon bean misture into gorditas; spoon in cabbage and salsa.

Per Appetizer: 264 cal, 16 g fat (2 g sat fat), 6 mg chol. 475 mg sodium, 27 g carbs, 4 g fibre

The finished product is a lovely appetizer with a beautiful masa shell.   Great for a snack or before tacos as an appetizer.