The Bay

More good times up in Port Stephens. We went out on the bay on Monday, supposedly to see dolphins. I saw a few and even got a picture of one:

The girls loved it. Cuddly creatures, these two.

But as far as I'm concerned, entertainment was mostly provided by a bunch of merry Koreans. They're a bit like dolphins. You've heard they're warm-blooded, mammals, smart and sometimes playful. But buggered if I know what they're on about.

The boredom on the top deck was getting torrid, so I sneaked down to the bridge and made a daring attempt at taking over the ship, cunningly waiting for the captain to turn his back on me...

... before pretending nothing had happened. Damn. So close.

Fairly dark landscape on rainy days around here

 
Ella safely hoisted us to shore. Thanks matey.

The weather was a tad better on Tuesday morning. Enough to venture out on the deck after breakkie. Port Stephens is just so nice. Shame we had to leave so soon.

It took us the best part of two hours to get everyone fed, cleaned, packed and harnessed in the car. It's pretty cool in the back of the car with E. Talking of which, I still can't quite figure out the colour of her eyes. What do you reckon?

We stopped for lunch at One Mile Beach, near Anna Bay. Not too busy, just like I like them..

Dad even explained stuff to me. I've long forgotten what it was. But hey, it seemed to make him happy.

The old ones can play, too. Must be good for their arthritis or something.

POWEEEER!

Nothing like a bit of personal space (yes, it's me over there, on the left).

So, four days of jolly good time. Can't wait for the next road trip.

Finn

Queen's birthday

Friends - 

Australia celebrates the Queen's birthday this weekend. Wait - didn't New Zealand celebrate her birthday last weekend? And the Commonwealth her jubilee last week? It's all very confusing.

Anyway, we're up in Soldiers Point, near Port Stephens. About 3 hours by car from Sydney. Lovely spot. We arrived at the house just in time to enjoy Saturday's nice weather. 

It's even nice at dusk.

This Sunday morning was as cruisy as they come. E was up early, and her usual good self. She's such a goer, that one.

We dropped mum off at the spa (a present from dad for her b-day - home is now officially a gerontocracy) and went to the farm. Time for me to get close and personal with the local fauna.

Ducks and geese


Goats. Good looking ones, too. Just look at this youngster here. Blue eyed, white haired, little horns. Could be me, really.


I even got acquainted to Rod the Goat. We shared intimate moments over goat food.


The local transportation park is impressive. From the airliner...


...to the tractor. Proud moments.


Got to feed baby goats milk in a bottle.


Pat midget horses.


Catch up on goss with Albert and Fred.


Give Gilda a nose scratch.


Say hi to Landon the lama...


...until the wretched thing licked my head!! Yuck!!


Play with the Simpsons


I tell you, it's a good thing koalas had no native predator in Australia. These things move at the pace of a Swiss public servant. They have more style, though. And smell of eucalyptus.

Then got to play with Jack and his mates. Furiously nice to pat, them.

Jack taught me how to walk roo-wise. Takes some practising but you soon get the hang of it.

I then introduced Jack to Ella. It was love at first sight. 

Ella had her own private audience with the black swans. I'll be on the lookout for any Odile-like behaviour in the coming days.

We eventually picked up a rejuvenated mum from the spa. Ella was over the moon.

Tomato sauce with fries. Three hats.

Topped by a rainbow ice cream. 

And still, that creeping feeling that I'll grow to regret these dress-like-mummy-outfits. 

Signing off for today. Thanks team for a brilliant day!
Finnou

My fierce furry friends

Sunday was a rainy day. Mum and dad said I HAD to go out, for reasons that are unclear to me. Something to do with Tasmanian Devil, cage and grumpy. Go figure.

The whole crew showed up at Sydney's Wild Life, keen to meet stacks of furry things: Me, mum, dad, E and - furriest of all - Uncle Tobby aka 'John Brennan', love child of young Elton John and the Big Lebowski.

Next time you feel annoyed by poor weather, remember it could be worse: you could be a koala. Pretty much all you can do is curl up and sit it out. Fun for a while, but pretty soon (3 seconds, in my case) out-of-your-mind-boring.

Roos

This is supposed to be the deadliest bird ever. More like an ill-tempered Fonzie to me. Just look at that hair!

And or course, these amusement parks have silly memorabilia. Here they are all, in all their majesty. Pay special attention to Ella's facial expression, a remarkable repertoire, from fright to delight. Bravo!

I trust you have spotted the odd and oddly embarrassing similarity between my and mum's attire. Oh dear oh dear.  

Boys will be boys

Friends

I had an awesome morning. A real boys' day. 

We decided to take the other car today. That meant transferring my seat - a matter of a few bleeding fingers and a lot of cursing (by dad).

'

And off we went. Nothing too fancy. Just relax. I've done this a million times before.

Got to see a plane. Amazing things, them.

Comfy to the foot

And easy to operate

The best part though was the famous 'pilot's lunch'. Real tasty. Lucky we just renewed our medicals!

Macca's playground is awesome. I'll be back for sure.

Have a good week everyone

Finny