Harsh winter down here

Chaps

It struck me that many up north think that they are the only ones roughing it in the wintertime. They should stand corrected.

Winters are pretty harsh down here. For starters, I have to wear long sleeved tops, and sometimes even a gilet. Seriously. Ella and I also have to play alone on Clovelly beach.

 Although Ella doesn't really mind. She's easily amused.

Or is she?

The sun also sets fairly early. Before bed time, in fact.

My bed time, at least.

But then, when all are nearly asleep, it's bikies time again.

It's that harsh. 

See ya

Swift

Godspeed Swift, I will miss you dearly.
Finny

The beach

The girls were not in the mood of going out today, so I took Dad to Boat Harbour for lunch.

It's a nice piece of land, down there. Long beach with plenty of things to do for a young man like myself.

Like unearthing giant trees

And returning them to the sea. Or at least towards it.

And just posing 

As long as a cold drink, food and adequate shelter are nearby, obviously.

What's been happening?

Friend, 

Welcome back!

Good to see you around here again. I hope you've been well. I certainly have.

Ella (Ella Bella for most of her friends) is doing well. It seems she's here to stay so I might as well try and get along. You cutie. As long as she knows who's boss, 'course.

We popped over to Auckland last week for a few days. One morning Ella Bella and I got up early to go out to Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World.

Kelly was a serious adventurer, it seems. Serious toys, for one.

The penguins are just awesome. Spent a good 30 minutes watching them.

Massive eels (I hear they're in trouble in the wild)

And this little guy was ma favourite. Young member of a family of tiny tiny seahorses, this one kept tumbling down from the top of the acquarium, doing a dozen somersaults on the way down. Crazy 

This one though, this one is my favourite. Mmmh. Mama titi, me.

A wee while ago we also went to Melbourne. The highlight was the luna park in St Kilda. Ride the mighty serpent

Eat strange food from medieval times

 

Ride Melbourne's super-exotic city trains. We call them trams up in Europe, but hey, don't burst their bubble.

We're enjoying a stunning winter, and it's shaping up to be a splending El Nino year, sunny, warm and dry.

That makes for crisp foggy mornings in the Blue Mountains...

...and the occasional storm in Sydney

That's it for me folks. Again, good to see you back. Stay well

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