Heading Home

Today we head home from our extended honeymoon. We're leaving a carefree summer in the land down under and heading back to the wet winter clouds that preside over Vancouver.

It's not all bad. We can swap the surf boards for snowboards, the flat whites for real coffee, the endless days of vacation for work weeks in the office, the sunscreen for raincoats, the 16 hours of sunshine for 16 hours of darkness. (Ouch.)

Actually there are some things that I really am looking forward to getting back to. My own bed, really good sushi, being productive, clothing that doesn't smell like its been living in a 20 year old backpack for 11 weeks, real internet, but mostly it's my friends and family I miss. (I know, *groan*, so predictable.)

And as we pack up in preparation for the 20 hour journey home, I'd like to stop and thank everyone that has been following my blog. Sadly, today is the last post (#80). I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Also, I really need to thank SP. He's been such a good sport with all the blog related activities, but more than that, I've had such a great time traveling with him. What can I say, life's good.

Cheers,
-E

Surfing - The Aftermath

We've been surfing everyday for two weeks now. We've had group lessons and private lessons, but sadly, both of us still suck. 

Though it's been a lot of fun, it's not the sport for me. I think we did well, a few bumps and bruises, a sore shoulder or two, but no major injuries. Which is a bit surprising, surfing is like snowboarding, if you haven't injured yourself at least a little bit learning, then you're not trying hard enough.

Anyways, here's a few pics from all the action.

SP is better at this than me.

This is how not to surf.

Hands out, crash imminent.

That almost looks easy.

Hang loose!

Beach Review #7: Manly Beach

Rating 4/5

Best use: Surfing, people watching and tanning. 

Cool stuff: Though the beach is always busy, because it's huge with four distinct surfing locations (five if you include the point) there is always a spot to catch a few waves. Other than the crowds, my only real complaint is that the beach gets dirty, especially after its rained.

-E 

Attack of the Cockatoos (Part 2)

How could you say no to a face like this? We've had the cockatoos as dinner guests every night for over a week now. This one's name is Hopeful.

Occasionally a Lorikeet pair will show up too.

Though we like to think they visit for our charming personalities, it's actually the organic sunflower seeds. 

Hopeful hangs around a lot. 

This one is Pig Pen. He's dirty, greedy and a brat. 

This is Skinny. A wimp and definitely the bottom of the totem pole. Sometimes he even surrenders tasty treats to the pigeons. What kind of bird would stoop so low? A bird that will always be skinny.

Obviously we're not the first to have fed them. At most we had six distinct birds on the deck at once. But it's hard to tell them apart, so I couldn't tell you how many we fed.

Sometimes they take off quite quickly, when you scare them. Skinny barley seemed to notice.

This is Fatty. He knows exactly where the seeds are. 

But he's impossible to resist.

We're heading home in a few days. Though the sun and the sand have been wonderful, the birds have been especially memorable. 

-E

Merry Christmas

Santa still wears a sweltering red faux fur down under but we're going to be out catching a few waves today. Missing everyone back home, see you soon! 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (surfing edition)

Here is a surfing rendition for Sydney's northern beaches of the classic poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas".

I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful Christmas eve!

---

'Twas the night before Christmas, and down on the break,
Not a surfer was surfing, it was flat as a lake;
The boards were hung from the patio with care,
In hopes that better surge would soon would be there.

The newbies were drunk, heading off to their beds,
While visions of breaking waves crashed in their heads,
With my girl in her bikini, and I in my shorts,
We had just finished work and were ready for sports.

When out on the beach, there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my couch to see what was the matter,
Away to the window, I flew like a flash,
Tore off the windscreen with a big crash.

The sun was setting, on the cresting green waves,
Gave the fresh rolling barrels the look of caves,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a dude on a surfboard with red and white gear.

A vintage balsa board, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
Dolphins joined him, as a pod they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Shelly! now, Collaroy! now Bower and Winky!
On, Newport! On Narrabeen! On Freshie! and Manly!
To the top of the crest! to the top of the wall!
Now surf away! Surf away! Surf away all!"

And snapping the waves with cutbacks that fly,
When they met with beach, they took to the sky;
So up to the rooftops the dolphins they flew,
With the board towing toys, and St. Nicholas too—

And then, with a splash, I heard on the deck,
The old man himself, keeping the pod in check.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Into the kitchen St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed in a wetsuit, from his head to his foot,
And slipping and sliding he struggled to stay put;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And sand went everywhere as he tossed down his sack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his sunnies, how merry!
His cheeks slashed with zinc, his nose like a cherry!
He had a tanned face and a round keg of a belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

It was clear to me, that he was no elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a toss of his head,
I thought he was fictitious, but I was mislead.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And pulled out the prezzies, then turned with a jerk,
New rashies and soft boards for all of the groms;
And for all of the surfers, cold beer and fresh thongs,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, off the patio he rose;
He sprang to his board, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all surfed, like riding a missile.

They carved left and right, making no mistake;
Ripping up the clouds and leaving a wake.
But I heard him exclaim, as he dived out of sight—
“Merry Christmas mates, and to all a g'night!”

---

Jenolan Caves

Our second stop in the blue mountains was the Jenolan Caves. Ten caves are currently accessible to the public and we choose to go on "The Temple of Baal" tour. 

Though the features in this cave are actually named after a biblical story, we decided to rename them. Instead of "The Temple of Baal", we're calling it "The Temple of Baal's Dragon".

Baal is a demon and generally a cruel an horrible incarnation. His pet dragon, however, though ravenously hungry, is also kinda cute.

Baal's dragon has a pretty typical MO. He likes eating people (especially tourists), and sometimes brings a snack home to his cave. Like most dragons, he slobbers hideously, especially after eating. 

The Dragon Slobber

One morning the dragon brought home a beautiful woman. (He'd already eaten her fat tasty friends and only a few skinny German tourists were left.) The woman attempting to befriend the dragon, scratched him under his chin which the dragon liked so much his tail thumped. After a while he fell asleep, content. Sadly while the woman was trying to escape the dragon drooled all over her and she suffocated.

The one-time hot girlfriend.

Another time he captured a drunk Aussie that had fallen asleep. Though Baal's Dragon thought the Aussie's snoring was comforting, he ate him anyways, and all that's left is his beer bottle.

Bottle covered in slobber.

Occasionally Baal's Dragon would accidentally let loose some fiery breath in his cave. Where it was hottest, the fire would change the drool from it's normal orangy froth to a brilliant white blue. 

Outside the caves there are also a few treks you can take to visit other features. This is the Great Nettle Hall, a meeting place for all the dragons. Though a few dragons break the rules, generally there isn't any eating allowed in the hall. 

The drool-less great nettle hall.

You can also view the Arch of Challenge. Dragons hone their skills flying though the arch and scoring points tossing tourists through it. (They always eat their snacks afterwards though. It would be wasteful otherwise.)

Arch of Challenge.

So spectacular are the caves, that despite the dragons, people still come to visit. There is even a road built right through part of the caves. Tourists call this the Grand Arch, but the dragons call it the Tourist Trap. (Adjacent is the building that hosts the store, cafe and ticket office). 

If we had more time I would have visited some of the other caves. Pictures don't do them justice. 

-E

Blue Mountains

Road trip! We rented a car for a drive into the blue mountains today, as if we hadn't had enough of driving on the wrong side of the road yet.

The mountain range is about 200 kms west of Sydney. Technically it's a plateau, not a mountain range at all. They're not terribly impressive by BC standards, but interesting in their own right.

Made of limestone and sandstone, the rolling hills reach just over 1200m high. A popular tourist stop is Echo Point in Katoomba, a lookout over the three sisters and into the valley below. Apparently the name comes from the blue hue in the air caused by oils from the eucalyptus trees.

We also went on hike, looking for wombats and platypus. Though we didn't see any platypus, we did see a bunch of wombats. Unfortunately they were all roadkill.

Below are a few pics from the lookout and from the walk.

DragonSlayer had his work cut out for him. 

The lizards were everywhere.

The death stare of a tortoise.

Cunningham's Skink. 

DragonSlayer and the Skink face off.

Panorama of the three sisters.