Mullum to Armidale

On our last evening in Mullumbimby, we went out to the Spice It Up Thai restaurant. Marti has spent many years in Thailand, so had excellent recommendations for what to order. We shared appetizers, two salads, and a mussaman curry. The waitress kindly took this photo.

It was clear shortly after we left the Paciifc Highway to head west that we were leaving the more tropical area we had been in. The homes were very spread out, and there were only two very small villages along the way. The country side quickly changed to hills and farms. There were also heavily wooded areas.

We stopped for lunch in Urmallah at the hotel/cafe. It was delightful, very old style Australian

It was on the Clarence River, very lovely. I walked over to the river and found a family of lizards enjoying the sun, ignoring several people nearby. And one of them away from the rest was quite enormous.

We shared a lunch of a BLAT (avocado!) and a Caesar salad. The salad had a poached egg on top, an unusual sight for us, but it was good.

 As we neared Armidale, we saw a sign for Ebro Falls, so we turned off to see it. There was a nice park and a paved path to the edge of the ravine. There was also a lower falls, but it was a good walk away, so we decided to just enjoy the upper one.

 

 We came into Armidale a bit earlier than expected, so we used the GPS to find a used bookstore in town. And I found four of the Nevil Shute hardbacks that I am looking out for! I collect his books and figured that Australia would be the place to complete my collection. If you don't know about Shute, try to find A Town Like Alice and Trustee from the Toolroom in your local library. They are both wonderful.

Mullumbimby, continued

Following our visit to the animal sanctuary, we went to the Elephant Rock Cafe, as recommended by Marti. We shared a delicious caesar salad wrap and a dessert labeled "Austrian apple and sour cream." It was wonderful, and not too sweet, the tart apples were just right.

The Elephant Rock itself is in the bay but the view is spoiled by the huge clubhouse/restaurant built into its side. So I took a picture of the beach instead. There are people swimming there, but the clouds don't bode well. In fact, it rained on our ride home.

We ordered a gourmet pizza for dinner. It included pineapple, pancetta, basil, pickled chillies, and more. Absolutely delicious.

At last, a photo of our gracious host, Marti, with her son Dominic. So nice to be catching up with Marti 43 years after her graduation from Woodstock!

A Visit to Mullumbimby

The drive from Port Macquarie to Mullum (as the locals call it) took about 5 hours, with a stop for lunch and a quick side trip to the small town of Yamba. There we saw a very colonial-looking sight: a lawn bowling club.

It was great to arrive in Mullum, with the GPS directing us right to Marti's house. The first morning we drove downtown (walkable for those not using canes) and explored a bit. We found a nice coffee house and the Op Shop (used clothing). Dan found two pairs of shorts and I found one. I don't think we quite realized that we would be warm so much of the time. Autumn everywhere is variable. We also tried a used bookstore but they didn't have what I was looking for. [I collect Nevil Shute's books, and only need a few more for my collection to be complete. His later years were in Australia and some of his books take place here. I think I'll have a better chance of finding them here than in the US.]

Just after the sun has set, the fruit bats (flying foxes) rise up from their daytime sleep. They pass right over Marti's back yard in a stream. There must be thousands. This photo isn't very good, as they were moving, but it does show something of the sight. They are quite large, the wingspan can be nearly a meter.

On Tuesday we drove about a half hour north to the Gold Coast, where we toured the Cullumbin Animal Sanctuary. It was a great day, even if we were quite tired at the end.

A very small train took us around the grounds. The tracks were about 12 inches apart and the seats held two people. Strollers and wheelchairs went on the baggage carts.

Our first stop was a bird show. The stars were a wedge tail eagle and a barking owl. Several of the birds flew very low over our heads, as you can see below.

The next stop was the Australiana show. A small python was one of the stars. But we especially enjoyed the actual sheep-shearing, which we'd never seen so up close and personal.

A black swan was floating in one of the ponds that were spread throughout the area.

The ibises were all over; they totally ignored the people.

One area was wide open with many kangaroos. Children were all over, petting them. It was important to follow the posted rules.

The kangaroos were totally relaxed with all the people walking around. They are all well-fed and happy. And lazy. I did get to see one of them hopping across the area.

This proves I really was there. The little boy couldn't stop petting him!

As we rode the train out of the kangaroo area, I saw a mother with a half-grown joey nursing. We learned that it is likely that she already had another in her pouch. They actually produce two kinds of milk, one for tiny babies, and another for the older ones.

And we finally saw more koalas. Most of them sleep all day, as these round fluffy balls show. But fortunately one of them stirred and looked right at us.

This lizard was trying to get away from the path and into an enclosure. He wasn't successful, but right after I took this, he scampered across the path and into some brush.

These emus were also in the kangaroo area. I was surprised to see them out in the open. They must be less vicious than the ostriches we saw in South Africa some years ago.

 To be continued....

A Day in Port Macquarie

We left Sydney Friday afternoon following a delicious lunch at the coffee shop on the wharf just below Andy's apartment. Sydney is large; it took us about an hour and a half just to get to the end of the suburbs. It was a nice drive that took us about five hours.

Arriving in Port Macquarie, a lovely resort town, we found our hotel and went out to a grocery to pick up a few items for a light supper in our room.

Saturday morning we headed to the downtown area on the wharf, full of restaurants and touristy shops, with lots of pedestrian-friendly streets. We had breakfast in a pancake house, then went to the wharf where several companies have cruise offices. We signed up for an afternoon tea river "eco" cruise, then found a nearby barber shop where Dan could have a haircut.

The cruise was mostly enjoyable, but the only "eco" thing about it was when the pilot pointed out an eagle (I think, I could barely hear him) sitting on the top of the tree. The river banks were both covered with huge, often garish, homes situated about one foot apart. They all had concrete pathways going into the water for launching their boats. Unfortunately, about a half hour before the end of the two-hour cruise, it began to rain. By the time we got back, it was pouring quite hard. We dashed the best we could to our car and came back to the hotel to dry out.

When we went back downtown for dinner, we had hoped to go to a Thai restaurant, but it was fully booked. So we crossed the street to a pub and had a decent dinner anyway. Today we head further north to Mullumbimby, where our friend Marti lives.

Chinese junk used for some river cruises

The boat we went on

McMansions

Beautiful storm clouds

Arrival in Sydney

This morning we docked early in Sydney Harbor. It was still almost dark when we stepped out onto the veranda and saw this sight--the famous Opera House with the sun rising behind it.

When we got off the ship, we spotted our friend Andy Alter waiting for us. We took a taxi to his home, not too far away. Great to get settled and catch up. Andy was kind to drive us to the airport to pick up our rental car.

After getting back on the internet with a fast speed and free service (to us, anyway), we went for a ferry ride. Well, actually, about five ferry rides. They go all over the harbor and we saw much of it. We had lunch at a delightful cafe called Thelma and Louise at the first stop. The next ferry took us to Circular Quay, the downtown city stop, where we changed to yet another. It took us a much longer distance where we got off near a beach and had some drinks at a restaurant. I took many photos, but most aren't close enough to show much. Here is a selection.

Harbor Bridge

Homes along the water

Our ship with Harbor Bridge in background taken from ferry terminal

The Opera House in the afternoon

Tomorrow morning Dan is going with Andy to his university to sit in on his Indian music class. I'll stay here and probably do some laundry. In the afternoon we'll be heading north.

Hobart, Tasmania

We arrived in port at Hobart on Tuesday morning. We had signed up for a tour to see Richmond and the Tassie Devils. Our bus left at 8:45. Unfortunately, we had to walk to the opposite end of the ship to get a sticker with our bus number on it and then back to the other end to get off and onto our bus. 

The first stop was at the village of Richmond, one of the oldest settlements here (Hobart was the second Australian town founded by the English after Sydney). It has a lovely small Catholic church and the oldest bridge in Australia, 1823. After seeing the bridge, we had about an hour to wander the town. Dan found an ATM to get some Australian money, and I looked around for a yarn shop. We were told that the Tasmanian wool is some of the world’s finest and most of it is shipped to Japan and Italy for fine woolen fabrics. Some is sold as knitting wool, but not in Richmond. After looking around a bit, we found a bakery/cafe and had a cup of tea in a small courtyard not far from the Richmond Gaol.

1823 - oldest bridge in Australia, built by convicts

Old tree near Richmond Gaol

Once we were back on the bus, we headed for Bonarong, an animal sanctuary. The people there take rescued animals and try to bring them back to health. They also are trying to help preserve the Tasmanian Devils, which are few in number, due to a disease. They did have several of them, although it was difficult to spot them. They are nocturnal and shy. We also saw many kangaroos, emus, wombats, and a koala. There were many white crested cockatoos flying around and making a lot of raucous noise. The kangaroos are allowed to run free around the park and enjoy eating from visitors’ hands and being scratched on the chest. It was quite thrilling to me to see some of these animals up close and personal. We will probably see many more in Australia proper.

Echidna

Emus having a tiff

Feeding and petting kangaroos

Koala

Tasmanian Devil

Koala sleeping (apologies if you saw former mistaken identification as a wombat!)

Dining on the Ship

There are two main options for most meals:  a buffet and a sit-down dining room. The buffet has multiple stations, including salads, pasta, stir-fry, Indian, Mexican, and BBQ. The variety is almost overwhelming. There are also many options there for breakfast.

We usually choose to go to the main dining room for a sit-down served breakfast. There aren’t quite as many options, but it is very good. I’ve enjoyed the apple cider oatmeal which includes chopped apples. At lunch we have been eating in the buffet. When the ship is in port, the dining room isn’t open for lunch.

Traditional cruising generally has had two main seatings in the dining room for dinner — early at 6:00 and late at 8:30. This time we have had “Select” dining, which allows us to go anytime between 6:00 and 9:00. We have been going about 6:20 to avoid the crowds. On the second night, we were seated at a table for two overlooking the lower dining floor. We liked it and asked for it the next night. By now, after being on the ship for a week, the woman (Diana) who assigns tables for Select dining knows our room number, the table we like, and even our names, and she automatically gives us our favorite table without us asking. Our waiter is Hector (Philippines) and assistant waiter Olimpiu (Romania). Our wine steward is a young woman, Andrea, from Serbia. The crew is from all over, with Asia and Eastern Europe being the primary areas.

We are presented with a menu of three or four appetizers, two soups, two or three salads, and about five or six entrees. Each night the menu is different, but for those who are more traditional, there are a few things that are always available including shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, chicken, salmon, or steak. There is a generous bread basket and three choices of spreads — butter, herbed cream cheese, or hummus. It is all too much, of course, and I find I can barely manage a salad and an entree. I’ve even passed on dessert a few times, when there hasn’t been something I was in desperate need of (such as chocolate).

Bananas Foster

Chicken Chiquita

Veal Medallions

I mentioned earlier that there is a nice warm swimming pool in the solarium that I like to exercise in. Walking in water is a good thing for my legs, which badly need strengthening. We are crossing the Tasman Sea from New Zealand to Tasmania, and it is generally a fairly wild crossing. We have been very fortunate that the two days have been quite mild. The first day the ship was moving more than I realized. When I went to the solarium, the water was sloshing from back to front in large waves. A few people were in it, enjoying diving into the waves. But it wasn’t a good situation for my type of exercise! The second day the weather was colder, but the sea much calmer and I had a good workout in the water.

Here's a picture of the center atrium of the ship, taken from Deck 12 and looking down to Deck 3. There are 8 glass-sided elevators both fore and aft on the ship. This is the aft location, which our room is near.