In which we celebrate Christmas and New Year in…
Tim, Juli’s cousin, gave us his Christmas present early, because, thinking (correctly) that we wouldn’t want anything we had to carry, he’d bought us a day out at the Kurumbin Bird Sanctuary and decided that the best day to go there was Christmas eve, so that’s what we did.
In addition to birds, Kurumbin is home to lots of reptiles, marsupials and many other animals too, but most particularly, Koalas, which were our first stop, as Juli was keen to have her photograph taken cuddling one.
Next we saw a couple of animal shows, one featuring native Australian birds and a second all about snakes and how correctly identifying the venomous ones can be almost impossible, with the main message of: Leave It Alone. Good advice, we thought.
They also have a small hop-on-hop-off train that takes visitors all round the sanctuary, including through the Kangaroo and Wallaby enclosure, where you can actually feed and pet them. Mind you, they take the welfare of their animals very seriously; they’ve even provided an off-limits ‘rest area’ where they can go when their tired of being petted and fed.
After Kurumbin, we made a brief stop at Coles for picnic lunch things, then the three of us drove down to the coast on QLD/NSW border between the twin towns of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads to eat them. From there we moved on to Sam and Simon’s, where Connie, Andrew and Jieun were waiting for us, then the whole family went down to a river beach in Brunswick Heads for a Christmas Eve supper on the sand. It was great to go paddling in the warm water with a cold stubby* in my hand. Juli opted for a more sophisticated (but equally Australian) chilled glass of wine. Either way, a more un-Christmassy a scene I cannot imagine.
[*It’s okay: in Australia, ‘stubby’ is slang for a small bottle of beer, not what you were thinking.]
The next day was Christmas Day. (A belated Merry Christmas to you all.) Before the wrapping ripping frenzy that is Christmas Day in a house with small children, Juli and I enjoyed a moment of calm in our room with a cup of tea. I’d already had my Christmas present from Juli – the new watch I got for my birthday – but at least Juli had one to open: a new camera which we’d bought together at the shopping centre in Robina on the Sunday before.
Christmas day down-under is more or less the same as at home, only hotter. Same presents under the same tree; same loads to eat – delicious but no turkey (sprouts, though); and same watching TV (a Jack Black movie) with a bowl of Christmas pud in your lap. Actually, that paints a rather unfair picture of the brilliant (and delicious) day Sam and Simon created for their guests: the whole extended family. Sadly, without Granddad Bob, of course.
Amongst the many gifts Sylvie and Ada received, there was a new bike for Sylvie and a sparkly pink and purple scooter for Ada. Obviously, they were keen to try them out at the earliest opportunity, which came when we all went through the gate at the bottom of their garden which leads straight out onto the adjacent golf course. The club apparently take a typically relaxed Aussie view of their neighbours using their grounds for non-golf related activities, which suited Sylvie and Ada just fine. It also suited Sam and Tim, who were rather more interested in flying the kites from China we bought Sylvie and Ada than the girls were, but given that we were competing with two new sets of wheels, that’s perhaps not so surprising.
And that was that for 2012. Next time I’ll post about what we did and where we went with Sam and Simon, when we explored some more of New South Wales plus a bit more of Queensland with them and their family in the New Year.
TTFN - N
Days 191 to 198 (…Ocean Shores and Worongary)
Tim, Juli’s cousin, gave us his Christmas present early, because, thinking (correctly) that we wouldn’t want anything we had to carry, he’d bought us a day out at the Kurumbin Bird Sanctuary and decided that the best day to go there was Christmas eve, so that’s what we did.In addition to birds, Kurumbin is home to lots of reptiles, marsupials and many other animals too, but most particularly, Koalas, which were our first stop, as Juli was keen to have her photograph taken cuddling one.
Next we saw a couple of animal shows, one featuring native Australian birds and a second all about snakes and how correctly identifying the venomous ones can be almost impossible, with the main message of: Leave It Alone. Good advice, we thought.
They also have a small hop-on-hop-off train that takes visitors all round the sanctuary, including through the Kangaroo and Wallaby enclosure, where you can actually feed and pet them. Mind you, they take the welfare of their animals very seriously; they’ve even provided an off-limits ‘rest area’ where they can go when their tired of being petted and fed.
After Kurumbin, we made a brief stop at Coles for picnic lunch things, then the three of us drove down to the coast on QLD/NSW border between the twin towns of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads to eat them. From there we moved on to Sam and Simon’s, where Connie, Andrew and Jieun were waiting for us, then the whole family went down to a river beach in Brunswick Heads for a Christmas Eve supper on the sand. It was great to go paddling in the warm water with a cold stubby* in my hand. Juli opted for a more sophisticated (but equally Australian) chilled glass of wine. Either way, a more un-Christmassy a scene I cannot imagine.
[*It’s okay: in Australia, ‘stubby’ is slang for a small bottle of beer, not what you were thinking.]
***
The next day was Christmas Day. (A belated Merry Christmas to you all.) Before the wrapping ripping frenzy that is Christmas Day in a house with small children, Juli and I enjoyed a moment of calm in our room with a cup of tea. I’d already had my Christmas present from Juli – the new watch I got for my birthday – but at least Juli had one to open: a new camera which we’d bought together at the shopping centre in Robina on the Sunday before.
Christmas day down-under is more or less the same as at home, only hotter. Same presents under the same tree; same loads to eat – delicious but no turkey (sprouts, though); and same watching TV (a Jack Black movie) with a bowl of Christmas pud in your lap. Actually, that paints a rather unfair picture of the brilliant (and delicious) day Sam and Simon created for their guests: the whole extended family. Sadly, without Granddad Bob, of course.
Amongst the many gifts Sylvie and Ada received, there was a new bike for Sylvie and a sparkly pink and purple scooter for Ada. Obviously, they were keen to try them out at the earliest opportunity, which came when we all went through the gate at the bottom of their garden which leads straight out onto the adjacent golf course. The club apparently take a typically relaxed Aussie view of their neighbours using their grounds for non-golf related activities, which suited Sylvie and Ada just fine. It also suited Sam and Tim, who were rather more interested in flying the kites from China we bought Sylvie and Ada than the girls were, but given that we were competing with two new sets of wheels, that’s perhaps not so surprising.
***
Rain stopped play on Boxing Day, which was a shame, as Sam and Simon had planned to take us for a gentle float down the river on inflatables in the morning. Instead, I amused myself with Sam’s iPad while Juli played with the children.
After a traditional Boxing Day lunch of leftovers – just as delicious as the day before – Simon took us for a drive around Byronshire (the district in which Sam and Simon live) which he knows well through his job as a highways planner for the county.
To finish off the day, another delicious meal (fishcakes) prepared by the dynamic domestic duo of Sam and Simon, followed by more TV (another Jack Black movie).
***
The next day, after a quick breakfast, We said cheerio for now to Sam and family and drove back to Robina Town Centre to see The Hobbit in 3D. I can’t say I’m desperate to see the other two parts, but I probably will. Good to see plenty of British actors getting work out of the franchise, though.
Next Connie and Tim drove us to Burleigh Heads for a bit of a walk followed by a drink at the Surf club there. Surf Clubs are everywhere up and down the Gold Coast and are run mostly as social clubs where you can get a drink and a meal with a great view of the ocean. To be allowed in, you either have to be a member of a surf club or a visitor to the area, which you must prove. We had to show our passports and sign in as day members.
Last stop before returning to Connie’s was another visit to Coles to buy food for a lunch party Connie was throwing for friends and family the next day.
***
Today was all about Connie’s party and we were only too pleased to lend a hand with the preparations: small recompense for all she’s done for us during our stay.
We had a lovely time meeting more of her (and Bob’s) friends and even the most humongous rain storm that kicked off late afternoon couldn’t put a dampener on the event. In fact, it gave Juli the excuse to lead Sylvie and Ada in an impromptu session of ‘Wiggling in the Rain’, part of Juli’s mission to introduce Wiggling as an Olympic sport. Not sure Sam and Simon were especially delighted, though, as they had no dry clothes for the girls to change into.
Supper was leftovers from the party augmented by Miso soup and Asian style dumplings whipped up by Jieun, followed by an early night for us.
***
Sam and Simon had left their spare car at Connie’s when they left for home after Connie’s party so that we could drive it down to their house the next day on our own. This we did after breakfast. After a quick bite of lunch there, Simon drove us into Byron Bay to receive their Christmas present to us – another non-thing present: a soak and a massage at the Kiva Spa and bathhouse.
The various Jacuzzi tubs, saunas and massage huts there are dotted around an informal garden. I’ve never had a massage before, so it was good to have my first ‘hands-on’ experience in such a charming setting. Juli, on the other hand, is a seasoned massagee, particularly a special type of massage called (rather unromantically) Manual Lymphatic Drainage to help with the Lymphedema in her left arm. Expecting a blank stare in return, Juli was delighted to discover when she asked that the masseur knew all about it and left Juli with a lovely soft arm.
That evening, back at Sam and Simon’s, we had dinner with them and friends of theirs and theirs plus their children, who are similar in age to Sylvie and Ada. Sam and Simon prepared the ingredients for Vietnamese pancakes (like Juli had on top of the Meridian in Baku when we celebrated our engagement).
Back home, most kids Sylvie and Ada’s age would have no idea what to do with the pancakes, rice noodles and all the other ingredients – nor would I, a few months ago – and most probably wonder where the fish fingers where. These kids, however, knew exactly how to soak the pancakes, which fillings they liked and what to do with them, and, what’s more, really enjoyed them. We enjoyed them too and had a great evening, particularly when Simon started producing cocktails once the children were in bed.
***
Next day – a little late – we had avocados on toast with black pepper and lemon juice for breakfast (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it) before the six of us drove to the Cape Byron Lighthouse, which is at the most easterly point on mainland Australia. After a look round there, we followed a footpath down through the headland to a beach nearby for another picnic and a paddle.
On the way down, Juli saw something moving out of the corner of her eye. I completely missed it, but when Juli described what she’d seen to Simon, he said it was probably a Whip Snake because it was quite slim. However, latter, Sam said that it could have been a Brown Snake, which are amongst the most deadly and, unfortunately, quite common. Fortunately, Juli remembered the wise words of the woman at Kurumbin Bird Sanctuary and left it alone.
Before heading for home – and a steak dinner at the country club across the golf course – we popped into Byron for an Ice cream. Byron is a groovy little town, full of groovy shops selling groovy things to ware and decorate your home with and very popular with the young and beautiful, but rather too busy to enjoy at this time of the year.
***
More avocados on toast for breakfast before driving Sylvie and Ada back to Connie’s. Yes: Sam and Simon actually trusted us to drive their children an hour up the highway on a Sunday: the traditional day for inexperience drivers to take to the roads, which, I guess, since we’ve not driven for months, includes us. This was to allow Sam and Simon to prepare for and enjoy their New Year’s Eve party, without having to worry about the kids.
Fortunately for us, the CD player in Sam and Simon’s spare car doesn’t work, or else we would’ve had to endure an hour of Sylvie’s ‘Hits of the Summer’ CD at full volume. Unfortunately for us, Sylvie and Ada are both more than capable of making up their own songs and more than capable of matching the output of the car’s sound system.
I spent most of the day blogging again while Juli played with the children. They did manage to tempt me into the pool a bit later in the afternoon, chiefly with threats of extended wiggling if I didn’t. After our swim, we all shared a lovely New Year’s Eve dinner prepared by Connie and Jieun before watching some of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on TV and, later, at midnight Queensland time, the annual Sydney fireworks, which, because of the time difference, had actually taken place an hour earlier.
And that was that for 2012. Next time I’ll post about what we did and where we went with Sam and Simon, when we explored some more of New South Wales plus a bit more of Queensland with them and their family in the New Year.
TTFN - N
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