This post is going to cover a few more weeks than previous posts. We have had an absolutely incredible time in Australia, but the last month has really been like one extended holiday. Gone is the difficulty of travelling, replaced instead by the ease of being with great friends staying in great places with incredible hospitality - blowing our budget and living the fine life. We have seen a load of Eastern Australia, with trips to Hyams Beach in southern New South Wales, multiple places in Sydney, 10 days in the Whitsundays and a beautiful weekend in Curl Curl. In each place we met up with friends or relatives and so the kids had kids to play with and we had other adults with whom to chat and laugh. So instead of my normal ranting or skin deep observations, you can instead enjoy(?) just reading about lovely times we have had and loads of photos.
We arrived shortly after the Jenkins in Hyams Beach and so were greeted with great excitement. This was a part of the trip that the kids and I had been looking forward to a lot. For me, it meant meeting up with my best friend who moved to Australia 4 years ago. For the kids, it meant catching up with Jonah and Arwen who were two of their very best friends when they lived in London. They had booked a spectacular house a short walk from Chinaman's Beach, with incredible party space. Which was lucky as we were joined by the Pedleys, another expat family who certainly like to "make party". With a total of 6 adults and 8 kids, we had a great band of people that meant the week flew by. We really allowed ourselves to treat it like a holiday - no MAD school, just rest and relaxation.
Hyams Beach is a wonderful place. It is located in a humungous natural harbour in the Jarvis Bay area, about 2.5 hours south of Sydney. It is not a place I had been to before, but is a much loved venue for Australians to visit. And it is obvious why. The water is crystal clear, the sand snow white. On a number of occasions we would be joined by dolphins in the bay. In most other countries this would be one of the most popular tourist destinations. But in Australia it is just another beach and as such is largely unspoilt and has retained a wonderful village feel. We enjoyed easter there with egg hunts (made all the more exciting by the speed with which the eggs had to be found lest they melted in the sun) and a wonderful late lunch. Other than that we did very little, with most days spent playing on the beach, clambering over rocks and swimming. Leone took the opportunity to put Candy through her paces as we all trained for the impending Sydney Half Marathon.
It would have been a very sad departure from Hyams had we not been returning with Boog and Candy to their house in Balmain, Sydney. We had a lovely long weekend, with Boog taking yet another day off work to hang out. We hit the sights of Sydney, visited Bondi and Leone's old house in Sydney, the kids having to hold her back to prevent her knocking on the door to ask for a look-round. The Bondi trip almost provided more excitement than we wanted. Watching the news the following day we found out that a great white shark had been spotted by a drone in the waters 40 meters from the beach just before we arrived. The water had been evacuated until the shark had gone. By the time we had arrived everything was back to normal and we were merrily swimming in the waters, blissfully unaware of what had happened.
Our next stop was Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays. There is no getting away from it, this was in no way a back to basics part of the trip. We blew our budget royally and were very much tourists. Hamilton Island is a curious place. Developed back in the '70s and '80s to give everyone access to the beauty of the great barrier reef, it has now experienced massive price inflation meaning quite the reverse is now true. But it has resisted the temptation to over-develop (apart from two monstrosities that comprise the big hotel there). There are no cars on the Island, people either getting around by golf buggy or electric bus and the whole place has a very sleepy feel to it. A day could easily be filled getting a coffee in the morning, having a swim in the afternoon and then a sundowner. We had hired a lovely little apartment that looked out over the marina and enjoyed stunning sunsets every evening. We were joined by my 19 year-old niece, Ella, who is backpacking around Australia. Enticed by the prospects of a bath, a washing machine and a decent feed, she spent 9 days with us and provided wonderful entertainment for the kids and a welcome relief for Leone and me. Indeed, she provided the opportunity for us to go out for a meal with just the two of us for the first time in 4 months.
Initially we wondered what on earth we were going to do for 9 days on what is a fairly small island. There is only one real beach and not a lot else. But the key was to slow everything down and get into pace with the Island. Once we did that we absolute loved it and it provided a very welcome rest from what can be hectic travelling. In fact, as you know from previous posts, it got so relaxing that Leone signed us up for the Hamilton Hilly Half - the most challenging half marathon in Australia. But this proved to be a real highlight of our visit and allowed us to meet a lot of people both local and visitors and see the whole of this incredibly beautiful island. During our time there we made two lovely trips one to Whitehaven Beach (where we got to dress in incredibly fetching stinger suits) and one to the Great Barrier Reef. Yet again, the kids showed their new found sense of adventure as we had all of them, including Olivia, going on a snorkel safari. We saw huge amounts of fish and coral. The reef had been something they had been looking forward to for the whole trip and it was a real highlight. But as well as the reef the kids had a great time quad biking, petting dingos, seeing crocodiles and drinking mocktails as the sun went down.
We flew back to Sydney and straight to Podge and JJ's house in Curl Curl. They have three kids aged a little older than ours, but with a girl, boy, girl attacking line like us, we hoped it would be a good match up. It was a brilliant match up! Tess looked after Eliza brilliantly. Alfie met his match in lego adoration with Alex, and Olivia and Lara became attached at the hip. This meant that we had the most relaxing weekend imaginable, just sitting and chatting with each other and the kids were in heaven in each other's company - we barely saw them. Leone and Podge have only met on a few occasions, but the two of them are so lovely and kind that they already sit and gossip like old friends and this weekend together meant they got to know each other even better. Everyone loves JJ, so I am not going to flatter him with more praise here, but he delivered the most special day on his boat on the Sunday. Blessed by 23 degree heat, we sailed around the Basin area, swimming off the boat, eating pies and sunbathing. It was amazing!
So that wraps up this blog. Sorry that you have not had the usual rant from me. For once in my life I can't find anything to complain about. Australia continues to spoil us. The beauty of the country surpassed only by the generosity and hospitality of all our hosts. Everywhere we go and stay, we have been spoiled by our friends. It has truly felt like a fabulous holiday.
"Hospitality - making your guests feel like they're at home, even if you wish they were." – Justine Vogt
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