Zoeken resetten
Australia 2023
  • Amanda Gould
november 2023

Australia 2023

Een 22-daags avontuur van Amanda Meer informatie
VolgenOverzichtKalenderDelenDelenBucketlist
Nieuwste eerst
  • Amanda GouldAustralia 2023Reiziger

    Joy in Everything

    26 november 2023, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    No surprise, it’s 8pm and I am showered and in bed, but what an exhilarating day!

    Today, 26th November, is our 18 year wedding anniversary and it is as if the universe knew, so ensured our day was magical.

    It started with a porcelain gift from Wade (18 years is porcelain, I had no idea, I am waiting patiently for it to be a big diamond year), he can be so thoughtful sometimes, and a lovely card declaring many more years of love. A long chat with Olivia to check in on the latest 23 year old news, an attempted FaceTime with Brad (he didn’t answer and has not answered my texts all day), a quick message to Ellis (he too has not replied) and am due to message Connor shortly to share a photo I think he will appreciate. Connor’s pic is of a giant axe, he pointed out to us that the Australians love to commemorate a town with an oversized landmark (think Lacombe’s fishing lure) and so far we have seen a banana, a shrimp, and now an axe.

    Anyway, keen to leave Nambucca Heads, we did not even hang around to find a coffee and were on the road by 9.30am, driving for about 2 hrs to reach a small town called Hat Head. We arrived at yet another beautiful beach, small town and a warning that snakes have been sighted in the area. It was quite a magical beach area that had inlets running down one side of the beach, from a river heading into the sea with quite a current. Dogs were living their best lives, kids taking surf life saving lessons, families just enjoying their Sunday on the beach. A really great snap of normal Australian life I think.

    By now it was gone noon and we were desperate for coffee, the incredibly small town did not seem to have a cafe. So we stopped at a small local (very run down) outdoor swimming baths (the council seem to have announced its pending closure, so there were many lawn signs promoting to save the pool) that offered coffee, we stopped and got a coffee to go before moving on.

    From here, we drove an hour to Crescent Head. Another fabulous beach, a stop at a bakery for an Australian pie (not dairy free) and a small quiche for me, I could not resist the very British looking Vanilla Slice, entirely indulgent but we were already over 10,000 steps, so why not.

    At the fear of sounding complacent, privileged, and ungrateful, I will share we headed to another beautiful beach and because it was a little rainy (and I was full from my Vanilla Slice), I did not get out the car to admire the beauty. Wade did.

    We then made our way to our stop for the night in Kew (slightly inland), but prior to arriving were planning on another little beach walk and enroute to the beach, just at the side of the road in a green space backing on to bush, in a very small town, were a family of kangaroos! It was superb, I was a little over excited to see an entire family (mum, dad, child, and joey in mum’s pouch), just living their kangaroo life, munching grass and entirely not bothered by the humans who pulled over to capture video (attached). I found it positively overwhelming and quite beautiful. I was on a definite high for the next few hours, but things were about to get even better.

    On discovering the next beach and going for a wonderful walk in the sun, we found another breakwater cove and decided to walk the length of the path, admiring a beautiful double rainbow over the open and unobstructed view of the ocean. At the end of the path, we noticed some locals off the path and looking over the rocky breakwater into a bay area. Wade asked what they were looking at. They were watching dolphins! Wade tried really hard to get it on video but they were quite shy and we only saw one come up a few times, which was incredible to see. A dolphin in its natural environment, another positively overwhelming experience that brought more tears to my eyes. What a wonderful few hours - kangaroos and dolphins!

    Back to our hotel, we enjoyed a couple of drinks over dinner (Wade’s shrimp and steak arrived but the shrimp were enormous and still had their eyes, tails and legs - yuck), eating outside and reliving our day through the pics we had taken.

    What a great way to celebrate 18 years of marriage.

    Tomorrow, we head further inland to view the final Ellis and Connor recommendation - Ellenborough Falls. Who knows what the day will bring!    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Amanda GouldAustralia 2023Reiziger

    The Road (alot) Less Travelled

    27 november 2023, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    I have a lot to share so am jumping right in.

    Our journey up to Ellenborough Falls was treacherous, and I am NOT exaggerating, if anything I am under-exaggerating. 40kms on gravel, but not Canadian-style gravel, more like rocks, with lots and lots of pot-holes and ruts, but that alone was not what made it is treacherous. It was the fact we were on a very thin path riding up the side of a mountain with no barrier on the side of the road, dropping off so steeply and we were so high it was a long, long way down.

    I knew it was serious, because normally on a bumpy ride, Wade’s eyes are not always on the road and for the full 40kms, they did not leave the road once. He was exhausted. I think we saw 2 other cars the entire journey there.

    Eventually, we arrived at the car park and Wade told me specifically not to end the phone navigation, as there was no signal and we needed it to get out of there. I didn’t listen, thought he was exaggerating and just ‘paused’ it, not giving it another thought.

    Once again, we find ourselves on a ridiculously narrow path with an enormous and steep drop off, thick with trees and flora that looked almost Jurassic again. I had to pass a termite hill that was equal in height to me!

    Finally, we find ourselves level with the falls on the other side of the valley. 200 metre water fall and very beautiful. We carried on to the next look out for an equally stunning view. We headed back up to the head of the falls, listened to the gushing water watching it go over the edge, and read a sad plaque about an 11 year old child who played outside of the safety of the lookout area and tumbled over the waterfall to their death.

    As we got back into the car and started up the navigation, it would not work as we could not get signal. We had to drive a while to ‘civilisation’ to a very solitary and rundown shack of a closed store and strangely managed to find free wifi. After waiting for my missed emails to finish coming in, we at last managed to reconnect to the route and found an alternative way out that did not involve quite as treacherous a journey and a shorter gravel road. After about an hour, we were back on the main road for our final 4hr drive back to Baulkham Hills to see Cath and Neil.

    I was desperate for a glass of wine by the time we got home and it felt great to see Cath again. We got dinner on the bbq and proceeded to drink a couple bottles of Prosecco (later finding out that it was me doing the majority of drinking). We spent the evening laughing (and some tears from me), reminiscing, looking at Cath and Neils wedding guest book (1998) and laughing at my entry from 25 years ago. I just cannot believe so much time has passed for all of us on our different life journeys.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Amanda GouldAustralia 2023Reiziger

    Life at Cath’s

    28 november 2023, Australië ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    Up early and a hangover to go with it. A bit of a rainy day but hot all the same (in Canadian terms).

    We headed over to a wildlife park and were able to hand feed kangaroos, see more koalas, a wombat, various indigenous and endangered birds and fortunately, the spiders were nowhere to be found.

    From here, we went to a town called Paramatta for lunch where we refused to pay $40 for a burger (and left after seeing menu prices), popped to the supermarket for some authentic Australian chocolate for Bradbury and came home for a snack style supper.

    The evening consisted of a family Mexican Train game challenge (I lost) and bed at 10pm - much needed relaxation.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Amanda GouldAustralia 2023Reiziger

    Another Day, Another Beach

    29 november 2023, Australië ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Our last full day in Australia has been a lot of fun.

    A FaceTime with an old friend from the UK (Kate) to start the day, catching up on our very different lives. The first time Cath, Kate and I had been together since our wedding 18 years ago and once again, it was like no time had passed, conversations just rolling on but the topics a little more serious as life experiences have dictated.

    We drove to the Seacliff Bridge, a highway that comes out over the water round a small mountain. Wade was particularly excited as it was a Jeremy Clarkson drive, he captured it on video obviously and couldn’t wait to pull over and actually walk a little on the bridge to get a real feel for the experience.

    After this, Cath took us for what I can only describe as a bush walk that required I put runners on, (which Cath referred to as fake runners, as it was clear they were a fashion item and not for any type of running - like she knows me) which led to yet another secluded beach called Jibbon Beach. Absolutely beautiful (again) and then back into a coastal type bush walk which led to an aboriginal stone drawing site. Quite impressive.

    Fish and chips for lunch at a local chippy followed by a drive through a national park where a storm came in and slowed the journey home quite substantially, leading to many hilarious car conversations discussing the bathing habits of Cleopatra.

    The second half of the Mexican Train was equally as much fun as the first, hanging out with the grown up kids of your best friend is pretty special.

    We decided to get some packing done before bed as we knew we wanted an early start to maximize time together in the morning, before heading off to the airport.

    Absolutely great evening for our final night in this wonderful country.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Amanda GouldAustralia 2023Reiziger

    Leaving Day

    30 november 2023, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Call it menopause, call it a sign of age and understanding of the distance that separates friends and family as we follow our paths in different part of the world, but regardless, I just can’t bloody stop crying.

    As Cath did a ‘kiss and drop’ at departures, the tears came fast from both of us, despite a promise they would be suppressed. All the way through the airport, through check-in, through security, I was wondering when I would see these people again. As we get older, we realise every day is a gift and never guaranteed, this makes the goodbyes so much harder. Wade tells me to think of the visit and the good times we have had, it has not worked!

    Sitting here in the airport lounge, contemplating a pre flight drink (the no drinking thing has proved to be nothing but an out and out lie, mainly to myself) while considering the past few weeks and half listening to a group of female travellers, all discussing the trials of tribulations of raising a family, debating which sex is harder to raise and of course, the little idiosyncrasies of married life. No matter who you are or where you are in the world, we are all just trying to do our best for the ones we love the most.

    Robbie, Ellis, Cheryl, Harrison, Cath and her family. It has been a true gift to see them all and to be in a position to be able to see them all in such beautiful surroundings while experiencing a different way of life. It’s always about the people you meet along the journey of life that make it so special. We just have to remember to find joy in the journey.

    Goodbye Australia, for now.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
    Het einde van de reis
    30 november 2023
  • 2025© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • Over ons
  • Groepstracking
  • Pers
  • Voorwaarden
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • Helpcentrum
  • Afdruk