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Sorry this post is really late in coming, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I made it home safely on April 3rd.

Sydney: Jack & Carol

 

  

 

WWOOFing in Moss Vale

To get the real, full story you’re going to have to call me. But, for now here are pictures of my horsey stay in Moss Vale where I spent a little more than week.

Sunrise over Coogee Beach the morning I left the girls and caught a bus to Sydney’s Central railway station… on my way to Moss Vale.

 

 

   

At a horse show jumping competition.

 

 

 

Meredith and her daughter, Phillipa, after completing the lengthy cross country course.

Farewell to Annie… and Happy St. Paddy’s Day

Back in Sydney we only gave ourselves a couple nights to spend together before heading off in all different directions- Annie back home, Riley meeting up with her dad (who was flying in from Sitka, Alaska) and then heading to Perth, and me who had arranged for another WWOOF stay out in Moss Vale. So, we decided to spend the time relaxing along Sydney’s coast at Coogee Beach instead of the heart of its downtown. It also happened to be St. Patrick’s Day and would be Annie’s early birthday celebrations.

We watched search-and rescue helicopters circle the beach one night, but we weren’t sure if it was a drill or not.

 

 

A St. Patrick’s Day celebration is only complete when grabbing hold a Guiness. To do this we headed straight to the local bar where live music was playing and drunken people were dancing.

 

Port Macquarie & Newcastle

  

 

Above are pictures taken at the Port Macquarie’s koala hospital (the oldest in Australia) and below are pictures from our short two-day visit in Newcastle.

The Queen’s Wharf observation tower (below left) gave us a good sight of the city and its surroundings.

  

Annie taking a stroll along the city’s boardwalk.

Coffs Harbor & Bellingen

The two days we spent in Coffs Harbor were filled with self-guided walking tours around the harbor, along the beach, and through their beautiful Botanic Gardens. Above is a picture taken of the harbor itself and below shows a wildlife reserve in the distance we could’ve hiked across (but didn’t because of the heat!). And, while none of us can remember the name of the reserve we do remember being told that it’s the largest in the southern hemisphere.

 

 

Above are pictures taken from within the Botanic Gardens in Coffs Habor, and below (shifting gears to staying in Bellingen) are pictures of a fruit we had to try after reading it’s label in a grocery store that it is the “queen of all fruits.” And, while none of us again can remember it’s name my best guess is that it’s a relative of the lychee fruit. The insides tasted like a sweet, slime ball.

While in Bellingen we borrowed the hostel’s tubes and floated down the river! It was a nice way to relax and cool off on a hot summer’s day.

 

 

Byron Bay

Having had just arrived on a bus from Surfer’s Paradise, where we were basically rained out for the 2-days we spent there, we were anxious to take advantage of the nicer weather and go on a bike ride (free of charge through our hostel). And, so, after everyone in town recommended we go to the lighthouse (estimated as a 2-hour roundtrip hike from downtown) we chose to go there, not realizing how much of an incline it was to ride up there. Somehow, eventually though, we made it there and it was well worth the workout! We also learned that the lighthouse is a marker for the most easterly point of Australia’s mainland.

 

Looking back into Byron Bay.

We also took out boogie boards and surf boards for a day at the beach!