Blog update 10 September – 14 September 2013 DOWNUNDER MATE

So, last time we were climbing aboard our airplane bound for Sydney, Australia, hence the DOWNUNDER MATE…lol.   We arrived, I think very quickly, but then remembered there was an 8 hour time difference.   Customs was a breeze as we had nothing to declare, then spent a while waiting for Nick to collect us.   Apparently there had been an oil spill on one of the highways, so this caused major traffic delays.

So great to see him striding through the doors, huge smile on his face.  Big hugs all round, then off to the car with our enormous suitcases.  Just to be on the safe side, Nick had left the twins at home with Tanaelle, in case we couldn’t fit our suitcases in the car.    Shoo’ first glance at Sydney, I could almost imagine being back in Cape Town, so many things were similiar.  It took us about 20 minutes from the airport to reach Nick and Tanaelles home in Cromer on the Northern beaches.  Of course the first thing was to unpack…twins wanted to see what Papa and Nana had bought for them, all the way from South Africa.  Great excitement as we hauled everything out.   Because Wednesday and Thursday are Nicks days off, we had the pleasure of having him at home, there was so much to chat about, so much to share.  It didn’t take long for the twins to become our BFF (best friends forever) LOL.   On Thursday evening we met Nick’s mate Gerhard and his lady…Gerhard is the resident chef at Wildwater, where Nick works, he also happens to be a Saffa (short for South African) LOL, guess what we had for dins….yes…you guessed….an SA braai, how amazing is that. 🙂

Thursday dawned bright and warm, so Nick, Tanaelle and the twins decided to show us Narrabean Lake on bicycles.  Tanaelle had organised with her friend Deb to borrow some bicycles for us.  We packed our snacks and some water and headed out on the cycle path to Narrabean Lakes.  Little Lakai already a pro cyclist did very well cycling most of the way,but I think his little legs soon got tired.  Luella had a prime view from her seat at the back of T’s bicycle (now thats the way to view things).

Narrabean Lakes is about 30 mins cycle from Cromer, all safe on a cycle path.  At the lakes itself are places for people to barbeque.  If you can imagine a gas braai and burner.  These are placed strategically throughout Sydney and suburbs, normally with a play area/park for the kids close by, so kids can play while Dad braais/barbeques lunch.  We were soon to make use of these with the twins on one of our outings (more of that later).  All too soon it was time for some much need refreshment before heading home.

Some of the more interesting viewing along the way was the array of birds…..all extremely noisy.  We saw parrotts, cockatoos and the very noisy kookaburra (sp?), after which a song is dedicated called The kookaburra Song…..played in Nick and Tanaelles car and sung very beautifully by the twins.

On Friday we decided to give Tanaelle a break.  It was a beautiful day so packed for the beach in Dee Why where Nick works.  We took the twins on our bicycles, as I think Lakai was still nursing his muscles from the day before.   We spent a really awesome morning on the beach with the twins, building sandcastles, catching waves amidst shrieks of laughter.  All too soon it was time to head home for lunch.

That afternoon, John and I walked into Dee Why to have a coffee with Nick.  We both wanted to see where he worked and of course what he actually did.   I ordered a chai latte (expecting to have something similiar to the ones back home), LOL, well I was quite surprised to find they had two sizes, small or medium, served in glasses.  I ordered the large.  The large I received was actually our small back home…..talk about new experiences LOL.  Also found the chai latte very sweet and not very hot. So next time, ask the waitress for a less sweet, hotter version Tina……ROTFL.

Nick worked over the weekend so John and I spent time with Tanaelle and the twins.  Tanaelle took me shopping with her and showed me around her turf.  The equivalent of Pick and Pay is a shop called Coles.   A smaller version of Makro is Aldi’s, where you can buy in bulk and only one brand of everything, making shopping simple and easy.  There is a Woolworths, but very expensive.   Trying not to convert too much as I hyperventilated most times when I did this, I relaxed and did some shopping.  Meat is expensive, so best to hunt for bargains which they often have, especially if the ‘sell by date’ is the same day.  Often lots of specials on mince and sausages.   T is quite a fundy at bargain hunting and also shops for the best groupons, thus enabling her and Nick to afford a dinner out once in a while, which would otherwise be unaffordable for them and I think most others.

A special surprise was awaiting John and I on Tuesday morning…Nick had booked and paid for us to have a little holiday at Hawks Nest, Port Stevens, about 3hrs drive from Sydney, also on the coast.   Tanaelle decided to stay at home and have a little holiday, with some girlie time, so Nick, John the twins and I set off round lunchtime on Tuesday the following week for Hawks Nest.  Gerhard and Raphaela were joining us for Wednesday evening as there was plenty of space for all of us.  En route we did some shopping and headed into Hawks Nest round 3pm.   Our apartment was a penthouse, kitted with a jacuzzi and steam room (which unfortunately didnt work), but the kids love the jacuzzi and had loads of fun making bubbles with the shower gel.

Once we had established which bedroom was whose, we did a quick rekkie with the kids, got the nod of approval, then headed to the local restaurant for early pizzas.  The kids by this stage were really tired, it was a long drive for them all in one go.   Tummies full, we headed home and decided on an early night.  The following morning we were going to investigate the beach and the play area.   Wednesday afternoon heralded the arrival of Uncle Gerhard, armed with delicious goodies like biltong for the kids (big kids too mind you).

We had planned on a braai for Wednesday evening.   Nick and Gerhard had loads of fun in the jacuzzi with the kids as well.   On Thursday we planned to play a round of golf, but before that we had to go fishing at the local lagoon.  Gerhard found some bait for everyone, so the guys, along with Raphaela went fishing.  Lu and I decided we would investigate the surrounding area.  We found a library, a play area, a huge swimming pool and some strange figures that Luella had great fun running around.  Because it got late, Gerhard had to leave as he was on duty that evening.   Nick and John decided to play a round of golf, the kids decided they wanted to go to, so Nana went along just for fun (well sort of, but to keep an eye on the kids).  When we arrived at the golf course, an elderley gentleman mentioned that he hadn’t seen any snakes today…I really thought he was joking…….eeeeeeeek……about 10 minutes into the game John shouts ‘snake’ and we look but see nothing.  He managed to get up close and take a pic…..CHECK IT OUT…..I thought we only got snakes of that caliber in South Africa…seems I’m wrong.

Well, after that we had a ‘snake free’ golf afternoon, but it was getting late, the kids were tired so we headed home for a bath and bed.   All too soon our trip was over, we were heading back to Cromer in the morning.  What a magnificent place we went to (minus the snake of course LOL)., reminds me a little of Struisbaai.  Thank you Nick and Tanaelle for spoiling us.