I woke early and went for a walk along Blacksmiths Beach. The sky was quite dark and made the ocean a steely grey metallic colour, with the sun shining through the clouds on the horizon. There was a coal ship silhouetted in the rising sun and it was gorgeous. I considered going for a swim - the waves were pretty big, there was a lot of seaweed, and there was a layer of some sort of muck just beyond the break, so I decided to give it a miss. I walked up to the break wall and a little way out - the waves at times were crashing onto the wall so I didn't walk any further, just stood and admired the view for a while. On my way back to the house it started raining - not heavily, but enough to get fairly wet. It was refreshing though, not cold.
I had a quick chat to Tony while I got ready to go out, and at 10 we headed off. I drove via Eleebana to show the kids the house that my grandparents used to own - it's changed a little and I would have like to take photos but there was a lady glaring down at me from the top balcony so I did the very difficult multi-point turn to turn around at the end of the road (and I did use the driveway a little, which my grandparents didn't ever like people doing) and didn't linger there. I got a bit confused in Warners Bay, trying to figure out which road I needed to take to get me up to the bypass - I ended up on Warners Bay Rd and came out just before Charlestown which worked OK. Driving down into Merewether was exciting as always, so many familiar places and the view of the beach as I came down Scenic Dr is always amazing.
We met 2 of my uncles in the carpark at Dixon Park beach (easier to park there than at Merewether). It was warm and sunny by now, we took a while to all get sunscreen on and find our hats, then we were ready to walk down to Merewether Beach. I was surprised at how many people were there, walking, swimming, sunbathing, surfing or at the cafes, for the middle of a weekday. It was great to chat to my uncles about music and their recent travels and sport and Newcastle. We had gelato at the surf club and once we'd finished eating we walked down to the baths. The kids changed into their swimmers and went for a swim (Amelie was reluctant at first, I think the size and ocean water put her off a bit) and I took a heap of photos of one of my favourite places in Newcastle. The baths have recently been refurbished so many things were different, like the ramps into them and the walls and the seats around them. The lap markers were the same and the fences looked similar - it was fun to explore and just soak up the atmosphere. I sat and talked with my uncles and Amelie got out and lay in the sun for a while, the others swam to the far side of the baths and climbed out and explored the rock pools, finding a sea slug and some fish. The waves were big although not big enough to break over onto the rocks there - they were splashing against the edge and making quite an impressive spray.
The kids got out of the pool and went to play in the rock pools along the edge of the beach, and Amelie joined them. We sat in the shade and watched them and chatted some more. When the kids came back to get changed I realised I didn't want to leave without swimming in the baths myself, so I ran down and dived in and swam across and back. It felt fantastic, so refreshing, good to be swimming laps again, and great to be swimming in such a familiar place. I'm really glad I did a quick swim.
As we were about to leave a massive school group (from St Paul's, Booragul) arrived so we were happy to be on our way. We walked back to the cars and said goodbye to my uncles. From there I showed the kids the unit I lived in in Merewether, then drove in to Nobbys Beach, past lots of places that I pointed out to the kids. We drove around past Newcastle Beach and then through Cooks Hill, Hamilton South and Adamstown, then past the house I lived in when I was a baby, then back home to Blacksmiths.
We relaxed at the house for a while and I popped out to get some groceries so I could cook dinner. Once the girls were home from school I took Caitlin and her 13yo cousin out for coffee - we looked in Swansea first (and had to wait at the bridge to let a yacht go into the lake) but everything was closed, then tried Belmont and found nothing, so went to Belmont 16 footers - which is where we ended up going last time we were up here and I took the girls out. We ordered hot chocolates and chai, and a piece of chocolate mousse torte to share, and sat overlooking the lake and the sailboats while we ate and drank. The girls played cards (Spit) while we waited for our drinks to arrive and while we chatted after finishing them. It was a lovely afternoon out with 2 gorgeous young women.
Back home my BIL took all the kids down to the beach (he had the bus from school so could fit them all in) while I cooked spag bol. The kids came home happy and wet, changed their clothes and watched TV together. I dished up dinner and sat out the back chatted to my BIL. Liam joined us after a while and we saw possums coming down out of the trees - the kids fed them some fruit and enjoyed hanging out with them. They noticed one of the possums didn't have a tail and we discussed how that might have happened. The cousins went off to bed and I followed soon after and wrote and read for a while, and the kids came in to the tent as they were ready.
Showing posts with label coffee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coffee. Show all posts
Thursday, 15 March 2018
Tuesday, 12 January 2016
Queenscliff 2015 - Day 2
I was awake earlier than anyone else so I headed down to the beach early - it was already 30 degrees when I left the house just before 7am. The beach was beautiful, and the water not too cold, and I had a wonderful morning swim completely by myself. I swam in the area enclosed by rocks on 2 sides, which I remembered from last year, but I was a little nervous about undertow and there was a strong current pulling to the left (away from the area that went out to deeper water) so I was very careful when I was in there. After I had swum for long enough I thought about going for a walk around the headland, but my knee was still quite sore so I figured I'd be better to take it easy and just head home.
There were a few other people up when I got back, and the girls came out after a while. We had a leisurely morning - F cooked some eggs and ham, people had breakfast when they felt like it, I played Uno Spin with the kids and we all played with T. Mum and Dad decided to go for a walk to the beach and Caitlin went with them so she could have a swim. Once LiAM got out of bed I got all our stuff ready and he and Millie and I headed down as well. We met Mum and Dad coming back, so Caitlin turned around and came back to the beach with us. F and T joined us for a little while also. The tide was much lower than when I'd been there earlier in the morning and there were sections of very shallow water with sandbanks in between them, and still lots of deep enough water to swim in. Caitlin and I swam a lot and LiAM was in and out. Millie mainly played on the sand although came in a few times - not very far on her own, and was happy for me to carry her in a bit deeper.
LiAM and Millie started to build a sandcastle with a moat around it, in between two of the channels of water. I joined in and we made it big enough that when Millie sat behind it we couldn't see her at all from the other side! Caitlin helped as well and it was a huge, fun project. I was lying in the shallow water when we saw the Spirit of Tasmania come past, which we'd been hoping to see. We watched it go out through the heads - and then we were hit with the wave caused by it going past - from where I was lying on the sand it looked huge although it wasn't really. It came up past our sandcastle and destroyed our moat a fair bit, but the castle held! It was quite exciting.
Eventually we headed back to the house - just as Tony arrived at the beach. Caitlin stayed with him for a while. We hung around the house and had lunch, played games and so on. Mum and Fi took Caitlin down the street to look at the op shops and some other interesting shops. Mum and Dad went for a drive to Point Lonsdale, and Tony and I went for a walk down the street, checking out the op shop, one or two of the vintage shops and having a coffee. It was lovely to have the chance to go out alone and wander at our own pace. The weather had changed by now too, no longer hot and sunny, but much cooler and with the threat of rain. The kids had wanted to go back down to the beach but it got quite windy too, not really beach weather. Tony and Dad played a cricket card game for a good chunk of the afternoon.
In the evening Caitlin cooked spaghetti bolognese for everybody, which was delicious. Tony had suggested we go down to the bowling club for barefoot bowls - I felt my knee wasn't up to it, so Mum, Tony and the kids went and played and had a great time. Dad, Fi, James and I started to play a board game called Wit's End - kind of like Trivial Pursuit, but with more brain teasing questions. It was hard, and a lot of fun. After a while Dad, Fi and I went for a walk down to the beach to see the sunset, where we were met by the others after their bowls game. Back at the house LiAM went straight to bed and the rest of us played a few more games, then headed off ourselves.
There were a few other people up when I got back, and the girls came out after a while. We had a leisurely morning - F cooked some eggs and ham, people had breakfast when they felt like it, I played Uno Spin with the kids and we all played with T. Mum and Dad decided to go for a walk to the beach and Caitlin went with them so she could have a swim. Once LiAM got out of bed I got all our stuff ready and he and Millie and I headed down as well. We met Mum and Dad coming back, so Caitlin turned around and came back to the beach with us. F and T joined us for a little while also. The tide was much lower than when I'd been there earlier in the morning and there were sections of very shallow water with sandbanks in between them, and still lots of deep enough water to swim in. Caitlin and I swam a lot and LiAM was in and out. Millie mainly played on the sand although came in a few times - not very far on her own, and was happy for me to carry her in a bit deeper.
LiAM and Millie started to build a sandcastle with a moat around it, in between two of the channels of water. I joined in and we made it big enough that when Millie sat behind it we couldn't see her at all from the other side! Caitlin helped as well and it was a huge, fun project. I was lying in the shallow water when we saw the Spirit of Tasmania come past, which we'd been hoping to see. We watched it go out through the heads - and then we were hit with the wave caused by it going past - from where I was lying on the sand it looked huge although it wasn't really. It came up past our sandcastle and destroyed our moat a fair bit, but the castle held! It was quite exciting.
Eventually we headed back to the house - just as Tony arrived at the beach. Caitlin stayed with him for a while. We hung around the house and had lunch, played games and so on. Mum and Fi took Caitlin down the street to look at the op shops and some other interesting shops. Mum and Dad went for a drive to Point Lonsdale, and Tony and I went for a walk down the street, checking out the op shop, one or two of the vintage shops and having a coffee. It was lovely to have the chance to go out alone and wander at our own pace. The weather had changed by now too, no longer hot and sunny, but much cooler and with the threat of rain. The kids had wanted to go back down to the beach but it got quite windy too, not really beach weather. Tony and Dad played a cricket card game for a good chunk of the afternoon.
In the evening Caitlin cooked spaghetti bolognese for everybody, which was delicious. Tony had suggested we go down to the bowling club for barefoot bowls - I felt my knee wasn't up to it, so Mum, Tony and the kids went and played and had a great time. Dad, Fi, James and I started to play a board game called Wit's End - kind of like Trivial Pursuit, but with more brain teasing questions. It was hard, and a lot of fun. After a while Dad, Fi and I went for a walk down to the beach to see the sunset, where we were met by the others after their bowls game. Back at the house LiAM went straight to bed and the rest of us played a few more games, then headed off ourselves.
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| Sunset |
Thursday, 4 June 2015
King Valley Trip -> Day 3
We slept a little better the 2nd night even though it was still very cold. No one slept in for very long in the morning and we had crumpets and porridge and hot chocolate around the fire. Caitlin and LiAM and I went for a walk back along the river, as the light was better today - it had been cloudy all day Monday and this morning the sun was out - so Caitlin got to explore the river as well, and I took some better photos.
Once the air started to warm up a bit Caitlin was back in the water. I had been thinking about it the day before, and seeing as it was sunny and the fire was raging I decided to give it a try - I knew I'd be disappointed if I didn't get in the water at least once. Caitlin was very excited when she saw me coming in and happily gave me her kayak. The water was painfully cold, but sitting on the kayak wasn't too bad - until I got the shakes from cold and from fear of falling in, and I was wobbling a lot which increased my chances of falling in... I managed to calm down and stop wobbling and kayaked up and down our little area - I love kayaking and it's been a long time since I had a go, so it was very exciting and a lot of fun.
I didn't stay in long, and happily dried out in front of the fire. Millie wanted to go in again although in the end decided not to. LiAM and Caitlin were in and out all morning. Caitlin also did a bit of bike riding. The kids played on the river bank and around the fire and Tony and I played with them or relaxed or pottered around.
We put our bike rack on the car, then tried to put Tony's bike on but it was a bit tricky, and he didn't have a helmet with him, so we decided to leave the bikes home for today. We wanted to visit Bright (we'd driven through before, but not spent any time there). We set off in the early afternoon, and listened to a combination of Frozen and Saddle Club on the way. It was a clear afternoon so I suggested going up Mount Buffalo on the way - something I had wanted to do when we were in the area 6 years ago but the mountain was covered in smoke from burning off fires. Everyone agreed to the mountain detour, so I happily headed up the mountain once we got to Porepunkah. It was a 35km drive to the top of the mountain, and it was windy and a little scary at times - driving up we had the mountain rising steeply to our left, and dropping away sharply on the right. Even though it was across the other side of the road, knowing that drop was there had my heart rate elevated and my breathing quite shallow. LiAM didn't like it either. Thinking about driving back down made it worse! It was a long drive and Caitlin started to feel a little unwell, so we had windows down and everyone snuggled under their jackets for warmth, so that Caitlin could get a little fresh air. The views on the way up were impressive - some out across the valley, and others of rock formations on the mountain itself, or waterfalls, as well as a lake and some plains - it is a beautiful mountain. The last little bit of road (3km) was gravel with very tight hair pin bends - and we finally made it to the carpark at The Horn - the top of the mountain.
I had one strong moment of vertigo when I walked to the (well fenced) edge - I stepped back a bit and let my head adjust and then I was fine. Looking across the top of the mountain range was pretty cool. LiAM was happy to look at the view then wanted to go back - he wasn't a big fan of the height either. We wandered around at the end of the carpark for a while, then headed up the 1.5km track to the The Horn. It was steep in places and all up hill, Caitlin and LiAM and Tony charged ahead and Millie and I took our time. Great views on the way up as well as cool trees and rocks to check out in close up. The view from the top was a 360 degree view across the top of mountains. Definitely worth the drive and the climb. We could even see Mt Kosciuszko across in NSW. There was a distance marker there showing where all the mountains were and how far away they were - made everything seem much closer compared to the distance it would take to drive to them!
As we were ready to go back down we noticed some cloud coming in over the next ridge to the north west. By the time we were halfway down we were completely in the cloud - I love bushwalking in cloud and really concentrating on the details of the trees and rocks close to the path, it's just as spectacular as being able to see the view. The carpark was a bit spooky - looking over the edge into complete whiteness - very cool. We sat and had a picnic at the picnic table - and by the time we'd finished, the cloud had moved on, although was still in the valleys so we could see the tops of the mountains, and were looking down on the top of the cloud. Also very cool.
I decided to drive back down - I knew in theory that I would be able to do it, even though it scared me, and I wanted to tackle that fear. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, even the bits next to the drop off. I took it very slowly and felt much better once we were back on flat land, I'm pleased that I did it though.
We got to Bright around 4pm and went for a walk along the main street. We popped into the lolly shop at the end of the street and the kids each picked something to buy, we also got some mini marshmallows to use with bananas and chocolate in the fire. We walked down the other side of the street and stopped in the other lolly shop, the kids had ice creams and Tony and I had a coffee. Nice to sit in the warmth and have a treat all together. From there we walked down to the river where we found a great playground. It was dusk by this time, however the playground was well lit and there was enough light for us to see the river for a while. I left the others to finish playing and walked up to the supermarket to get some more supplies, Tony and the kids picked me up on the way through after getting some hot chips to eat on the way home (in case anyone fell asleep in the car before we had dinner).
We had run out of gas in the morning and hadn't been able to refill it in Bright (we were there too late in the day) so cooked our dinner on the fire - potatoes in foil in the coals, and some bacon and vegetables in the frypan. Delicious. Millie had fallen asleep in the car so we put her to bed in the tent. Caitlin and LiAM filled bananas will mini marshmallows and chocolate pieces and roasted them in foil in the coals - also delicious.
A very pleasant evening around the fire, then into the tent to read some more Eldest. It was cloudy by this stage and although it was still cold it wasn't quite so freezing. I'd also rearranged the bedding a little - Millie was no longer interested in sleeping in her sleeping bag on the floor, so I added her mattress to LiAM's bed, and I put a large piece of carpet (that we use to cover the trailer) under LiAM and Caitlin's beds which created quite a bit more warmth.
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| Morning on the river |
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| Autumn colours |
Once the air started to warm up a bit Caitlin was back in the water. I had been thinking about it the day before, and seeing as it was sunny and the fire was raging I decided to give it a try - I knew I'd be disappointed if I didn't get in the water at least once. Caitlin was very excited when she saw me coming in and happily gave me her kayak. The water was painfully cold, but sitting on the kayak wasn't too bad - until I got the shakes from cold and from fear of falling in, and I was wobbling a lot which increased my chances of falling in... I managed to calm down and stop wobbling and kayaked up and down our little area - I love kayaking and it's been a long time since I had a go, so it was very exciting and a lot of fun.
I didn't stay in long, and happily dried out in front of the fire. Millie wanted to go in again although in the end decided not to. LiAM and Caitlin were in and out all morning. Caitlin also did a bit of bike riding. The kids played on the river bank and around the fire and Tony and I played with them or relaxed or pottered around.
We put our bike rack on the car, then tried to put Tony's bike on but it was a bit tricky, and he didn't have a helmet with him, so we decided to leave the bikes home for today. We wanted to visit Bright (we'd driven through before, but not spent any time there). We set off in the early afternoon, and listened to a combination of Frozen and Saddle Club on the way. It was a clear afternoon so I suggested going up Mount Buffalo on the way - something I had wanted to do when we were in the area 6 years ago but the mountain was covered in smoke from burning off fires. Everyone agreed to the mountain detour, so I happily headed up the mountain once we got to Porepunkah. It was a 35km drive to the top of the mountain, and it was windy and a little scary at times - driving up we had the mountain rising steeply to our left, and dropping away sharply on the right. Even though it was across the other side of the road, knowing that drop was there had my heart rate elevated and my breathing quite shallow. LiAM didn't like it either. Thinking about driving back down made it worse! It was a long drive and Caitlin started to feel a little unwell, so we had windows down and everyone snuggled under their jackets for warmth, so that Caitlin could get a little fresh air. The views on the way up were impressive - some out across the valley, and others of rock formations on the mountain itself, or waterfalls, as well as a lake and some plains - it is a beautiful mountain. The last little bit of road (3km) was gravel with very tight hair pin bends - and we finally made it to the carpark at The Horn - the top of the mountain.
I had one strong moment of vertigo when I walked to the (well fenced) edge - I stepped back a bit and let my head adjust and then I was fine. Looking across the top of the mountain range was pretty cool. LiAM was happy to look at the view then wanted to go back - he wasn't a big fan of the height either. We wandered around at the end of the carpark for a while, then headed up the 1.5km track to the The Horn. It was steep in places and all up hill, Caitlin and LiAM and Tony charged ahead and Millie and I took our time. Great views on the way up as well as cool trees and rocks to check out in close up. The view from the top was a 360 degree view across the top of mountains. Definitely worth the drive and the climb. We could even see Mt Kosciuszko across in NSW. There was a distance marker there showing where all the mountains were and how far away they were - made everything seem much closer compared to the distance it would take to drive to them!
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| View from the carpark |
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| View from the top of The Horn (showing the windy road we'd come up) |
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| At the top of Mount Buffalo |
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| Cloud rolling in |
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| View from the carpark in the cloud |
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| View from the carpark once cloud moved on |
I decided to drive back down - I knew in theory that I would be able to do it, even though it scared me, and I wanted to tackle that fear. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, even the bits next to the drop off. I took it very slowly and felt much better once we were back on flat land, I'm pleased that I did it though.
We got to Bright around 4pm and went for a walk along the main street. We popped into the lolly shop at the end of the street and the kids each picked something to buy, we also got some mini marshmallows to use with bananas and chocolate in the fire. We walked down the other side of the street and stopped in the other lolly shop, the kids had ice creams and Tony and I had a coffee. Nice to sit in the warmth and have a treat all together. From there we walked down to the river where we found a great playground. It was dusk by this time, however the playground was well lit and there was enough light for us to see the river for a while. I left the others to finish playing and walked up to the supermarket to get some more supplies, Tony and the kids picked me up on the way through after getting some hot chips to eat on the way home (in case anyone fell asleep in the car before we had dinner).
We had run out of gas in the morning and hadn't been able to refill it in Bright (we were there too late in the day) so cooked our dinner on the fire - potatoes in foil in the coals, and some bacon and vegetables in the frypan. Delicious. Millie had fallen asleep in the car so we put her to bed in the tent. Caitlin and LiAM filled bananas will mini marshmallows and chocolate pieces and roasted them in foil in the coals - also delicious.
A very pleasant evening around the fire, then into the tent to read some more Eldest. It was cloudy by this stage and although it was still cold it wasn't quite so freezing. I'd also rearranged the bedding a little - Millie was no longer interested in sleeping in her sleeping bag on the floor, so I added her mattress to LiAM's bed, and I put a large piece of carpet (that we use to cover the trailer) under LiAM and Caitlin's beds which created quite a bit more warmth.
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