I’m sitting up in bed at the Holiday Inn in the Rocks. Our room is spacious, the bed comfortable, and the bed linen crisp and white. We’re almost across the road from where we’ll be boarding our ship in a few hours time.
All hotels in the Rocks are currently at a premium with cruise season reflected in their prices. Our room is $400 a night. We’re on the second floor with a view over a back lane. I’m sure on higher floors on the other side of the hotel you can most likely see our ship docked, nice I’m sure, but not for us this time.
As always, a night in The Rocks was fabulous. We arrived here around 2pm yesterday. A quick freshen up, then out and about walking around the Rocks and Circular Quay. Later in the afternoon Paul ticked The Lord Nelson off his bucket list. The Lord Nelson is a lovely old pub established in the backstreets in the Rocks in 1841. With some very nice craft beers on tap, it’s a must try must for beer connoisseurs, so worth leaving the main tourist drag to hunt out. The brews are good, and the decor authentically old. We had a drink for ourselves, and then another for Cousin in law, Geoff. It’s a pub we’re sure Geoff would enjoy. We didn’t take our camera with us, but Paul has taken some photos of the pub on his phone, which I’ll post later. (We have to work out first how to get them from his phone to my IPad – not easy for these two technically challenged oldies).
Last time we were here (almost two years ago) we tried a lovely little Italian restaurant, Zia Piña. It was so good we just had to go back again. Their quality home style pasta and pizza dishes are reflected in the queues that happily wait outside for a table to become available. They don’t take bookings. You don’t usually have to wait long, and truly – the food is worth the wait.
Another walk around the Quay after dinner soaking up the atmosphere of Sydney Harbour before retiring for some much needed sleep. And today – our cruise begins….. Exciting.
Summer appears to have ended early this year, leaving with a bang literally last night – a cracker of a storm with claps of thunder and bolts of lightning. I do love a good storm.
Autumn is upon us. The garden’s a riot of colour. The bees are buzzing, dozens of them, and butterflies are flitting from flower to flower, seemingly enjoying the roses and salvia as much as we do.
Critters adding more life and colour.The autumn rose show is definitely on the way.
My favourite – Julia’s Rose.
Exquisite.
and the Frangipani cuttings have definitely taken.
Paul’s begun the painting of the verandah posts, only one side completed yet with two more sides of the house still to complete. The remainder will wait now till we return from our cruise in early April.
The painting of the verandah posts has begun.A gazebo, a new addition to the back garden.Enjoying a well earned beer at the end of a day of painting.
My oh my! how time flies. It seems like only yesterday that Paul returned from the UK and we were finalising plans for a cruise, our first. We leave tomorrow. Our bags are packed, and my finger and toe nails have been painted. (I believe you do that sort of thing when you’re cruising.
Not sure nail varnish suits these ‘gardener’s hands’.
Firstly, a night with Alice, Paul, Tim and Josh – always a pleasure. Oh, and while I remember – Josh’s band, Raksha, won a second Battle of the Bands last night, this time in Perth. The winnings – a fist full of dollars (but between six band members it won’t amount to much each). Also, I believe the recording of a single, plus some air time on one of the local radio stations. They go from strength to strength, showing a growing maturity of sound, and are accumulating a growing amount of accolades that reflect both their talent and dedication.
Then early Friday morning a flight to Sydney, and after a night there we’ll board the Celebrity Solstice for our nine night cruise in the South Pacific. I don’t know how internet access will be on board, but will definitely let you know what I think of cruising when I return, if not before. My friend Wendy assures me I’ll love it – that only boring people don’t enjoy cruising. I hope I don’t show myself up as being ‘boring’.
In my last post I mentioned my oven was cleaning itself as I typed. Since then I’ve been reflecting on technology and the gadgets invented in a relatively short time since my granny passed away approximately 60 years ago.
These are some of the things that Granny never saw, nor could have imagined in her wildest dreams. I’m sure you could all add to this list.
In the 1950’s household telephones were few and far between. Most people rarely needed to make phone calls, and when they did it was usually from a coin operated red phone box. Almost every corner had one.
Not so long ago I remember phones became cordless, and then completely mobile. Today, most people in each and every household have their own mobile phone to take with them where every they go. I wonder what granny would think of that!
And computers – well if someone had prophesied the invention of computers and the internet, and that, again, almost every person in every household would have their own by the turn of last century, I’m sure granny would have been trying to get that person committed.
Granny used to wash the households clothes using either a copper and hand wringer or if she was lucky, a wringer washing machine. I remember my mother using the same. Then the twin tub – wow how sophisticated was that. Now we not only have washing machines that wash, rinse and spin dry automatically, some even switch to dry mode and will tumble dry the clothes at the end of the wash cycle. How good is that!
Our gardens are watered automatically at a time of our choosing. Today I woke up to the sound of mine switching on at 6am. What would granny have thought to see me lying in bed whilst the sprinklers switched on and off around the gardens.
We all have super duper refrigerators, some that are even plumbed in to automatically make ice for our drinks. Perhaps fridges became more common place earlier in hotter Australia than they did in the cool of South Island New Zealand. In New Zealand I don’t have to go back a hundred years ago as some may imagine to remember households without refrigerators. I was around 12 before the household I grew up in had our own refrigerator. Prior to that I remember clearly how, in the summer months, mum would make the jelly for Sunday’s after dinner treat, cooling it in cold water in the concrete laundry trough until it set. After we’d eaten our Sunday mid-day roast dinner, one of the older boys who could cycle fast would be sent to the local shop to purchase a block of ice cream to go with the jelly. He’d return with the cardboard wrapped ice cream block, wrapped in multiple layers of newspaper to keep it frozen. What a treat that was for us. I don’t even have to go back to granny’s days to remember households that survived without the aid of fridges to cool our food.
Granny may have been lucky enough to have watched a tv program on a black and white television playing in a shop window. She most definitely would not have owned one, nor was it likely she would have known anyone else who did. I wonder what she’d think if she could come back now and see more than one ‘colour’ television in almost every household. And there’s more….. we don’t even have to arrange our days around the time of a program we want to watch. If it’s at an inconvenient time we simply record the program and watch it later.
Most likely in granny’s early married days she would have baked all her own bread, spending hours kneading the dough, then cooking it in her wood, or coal fired stove. Perhaps occasionally her budget may have stretched to a store bought loaf which she would have sliced herself. Then, sliced bread became available in the shops, most likely the most amazing invention during her life time.
Now, not only do we have an amazing variety of breads to purchase, but we can also buy our own bread making machines. We boast that ‘we’ve made our own bread’. Have we heck! All we’ve done is measure some ingredients into the machine. The machine’s done all the kneading, then proved the dough, then knocked it down and kneaded it again. Then proved it again, and finally switched to bake mode, and has baked a perfectly cooked loaf according to our liking. I’m sure granny would have been in awe of such a device, but I doubt she would have credited us with having baked our own bread.
Swimming pools used to be something associated with Hollywood stars. Now having a pool in our own back yard is within almost every households budget if we so choose. If a household does choose to have a backyard pool, the water can be heated with the aid of either solar, gas or electricity, and cleaning is a breeze with the assistance of automatic pool vacuums.
For those of us who don’t chose to have a pool for the hot summer days to cool off in, we use our ducted air conditioning. When summer’s over and we need heating , a different selection of the touch pad switches the unit from cooling to heating and our houses are warmed to whichever temperature we pre-select.
I’m sure my granny would be in awe at all what have at our disposal today and take for granted. I’m not so sure she’d be so much in awe if she saw how we used what should be spare time. Most of us are more ‘time poor’ than ever. I’m sure she couldn’t relate to texting codes, but if she did, and if she could bring herself to use such an expression, I could well imagine her typing WTF in the boldest of capital letters!
Summer draws to a close and autumn is moving in. We’re busy making plans for our winter sojourn and I’m reminded of John Lennon’s famous quote from, Beautiful Boy – ‘Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.’
We have two trips on the near horizon, the first is our first ever cruise. Only a nine day sampler leaving from Sydney in less than two weeks. Not sure if we’ll like cruising, but so many people seem to love it, so we thought it was about time we tried it out for ourselves. I’ll be letting you know what we think very soon.
The second is a five month road trip north to the beautiful Kimberleys, this time incorporating my number 1 bucket list destination – The Gibb River Road. We’ve repaired our second hand tent. Our super duper Black Wolf air mattresses have arrived (hopefully as comfortable as per the reviews), and our new, Camps Nine book has arrived. Since the books arrival we’ve had our nose buried in it, perusing all the new campsites between here and Kununurra. Our excitement is peaking, and we can’t wait to get going.
And that brings to mind John Lennon’s famous quote. Whilst all the plans seem to be all consuming, life is still happening in the here and now.
We have a few new toys, one needed, one bought on the spur of the moment, and one bought because we were finding it hard to live without.
The first, the needed item was a new oven. I’ve always liked wall ovens for ease of cleaning without having to kneel on the floor. To replace our antiquated and inefficient oven with a wall oven would have meant an expensive kitchen remodel. So, as a compromise we’re giving a pyrolytic, self cleaning oven a go. It cooks beautifully, and is currently in cleaning mode whilst I’m typing this. How good is that – the most dreaded of house hold chores is happening on it’s own, freeing me up to write instead.
Cooked in new oven.
Bought on the spur of the moment – a new bike. I grew up riding a bike with a back pedal brake, so when I called in – ‘just for a look’ at a cycle shop’s closing down sale, and saw bikes with back pedal brakes, and now also with gears, well what’s a girls supposed to do!
Deadly treadly.
My first ride. This back pedal brake thingie that I thought I remembered so well had been forgotten on the few occasions I rode my last bike, which had twin levered, handlebar brakes. My riding confidence was lacking and my first ride was at a snails pace, fortunately. Trying to co-ordinate the braking with putting my feet back on terra firma wasn’t easy, and down I went. After Paul realised only my ego had suffered, he couldn’t stop laughing. I did get straight back on, and have had a few rides since. Slowly, I’m gaining my bike confidence back, but at the same time thinking – ‘what was I thinking’, buying a bike at my age.
And the one thing bought because we were finding it hard to live without, a new Thermo-mix. I left my first one in Tassie with my sister for safe-keeping. Since moving back into a house though, I was missing the simplicity of having such a useful gadget permanently available and waiting for use on my bench top. Wendy’s tight budget means other priorities would be prohibitive for her to purchase one for herself. Gifting my old one to her now permanently provided the perfect excuse to purchase the new updated model for myself.
Between the new oven and the thermo-mix, cooking is once again a real pleasure! The resulting additional kilos from sampling the results not so blissful. Guess that means I’d better get those bike wheels rolling.
Someone Paul used to work gives Will’s Domain winery and restaurant a good rap. With a day to spare on Thursday we decided to give it a try.
Our favourite winery restaurant, and yardstick by which to measure others by in the region to date is Aravina. We only compare like with like and as Aravina is on the pricey side, and so is Will’s Domain, Aravina will be our yardstick for comparison. Here’s what we thought.
Firstly, the seats – Will’s Domain had very comfortable dining seats, with low curved backs that hug the lumber area. As I remember it Aravina had high backed, straight cane seats, which I find particularly uncomfortable.
Sitting comfortably
Next, the view -both had stunning views, but perhaps Will’s Domain was more expansive definitely giving it the edge.
Healthy, well looked after vines to look at.
Being happy with the seats and the view, the meal also had to live up to Aravina’s high standards in order to knock it off the perch as our number 1.
So, how did it compare.
It was a warm, humid day so Paul chose a pre-dinner drink of a locally brewed Eagles Bay ale. I chose the Wills Domain Rose. Both refreshing choices that didn’t disappoint. I continued with a second of the same with my main, but Paul being the skipper made do with water after he’d finished his ale.
We started with a shared charcuterie Board. No complaints from either of us. In fact, I’m not usually a fan of black pudding, but the small pieces of warmed black pudding were enough to change my mind – delightful!
Charcuterie Board, already partially eaten before I remembered my camera.
To follow, Paul ordered Duck with peaches. I ordered Wagyu beef with beets. The waitress suggested that a side order would also be needed. I think there were only three to choose from, none of which appealed particularly to me. Paul however opted for the potato chunks crisped in pork fat.
Paul’s duck breast, cooked perfectly.
The mains arrived with the side of potatoes. And yes, we did need a side dish. Not for the quantity, the meals were of adequate size for us. The meal wasn’t complete in it’s own right, which was a bit of a shame. I prefer the starring dish, usually a protein of choice to be supported by some carbs, a coloured vegetable, and some greens. It doesn’t have to be more than a few spears of asparagus, or a broccoli floweret, but I prefer there to be something that to justifies the dish being called a ‘main’. The lack of a green on my plate was a bit of a let down. With the other two side dishes on offer on the menu being ones that didn’t appeal, my main, no matter how nice it was, didn’t provide an equal to the meals I’ve had at Aravina.
Some greens would have made all the difference to my Wagyu beef.
Saying that though, Paul, not usually a fan of duck, did enjoy his main. My Wagyu beef was delicious, and the pickled beet strips accompanying the beef provided a tasty, fresh crunch. The small roasted beets on the side, however, were a touch gritty. The crispy pork roasted potatoes, although not the green vegetable I would have liked, were to die for!
The mains out of the way, delicious, but lacking just that little bit of extra on the plate, it was time to move onto dessert. There were four to choose from. We narrowed down our selection to three, and then asked the waitress’ advice on which one would be the best as a shared desert. We went with her recommendation of the goats yogurt with raspberry granita, and liquorice wafers.
Between our mains and the arrival of our dessert we received a complimentary palate cleanser – goats yogurt with raspberry granita. We hadn’t realised how similar it was until shortly after our dessert arrived – a bigger portion of the same. Goats yogurt and raspberry granita, only with the addition of three fresh raspberries and some liquorice wafer. a palate cleanser completely different from the ordered dessert would have been better. Never mind, the dessert was delicious.
Complimentary palate cleanser – goats yogurt with raspberry granita.And dessert, a larger serving of the palate cleanser only with three fresh raspberries and some liquorice wafer.
Next a visit to the ladies before we finished. Sadly the cleaner had really let the establishment down. The hand basin in the ladies was one long marble basin with a slit at the base of a downward slope for the water to run through. A taller person most likely wouldn’t have seen the marble rear wall behind the slit, but I’m short, and I looked full on to the rear marble. What would have been visible to most people looked sparkling clean, but what I saw looked rather neglected and in need of a good scrub.
The ambience, the seating and the view were tops. The service also was what one would expect from one of the top end wineries. The wines (sampled prior to dinner) were good. The menu was a good size, not to large so as to be overwhelming, but enough options to please. The starter was superb. The mains however, lacked just that little bit extra on the plate – something I’m just a bit pedantic about. The dessert, although delicious was slightly let down by already being sampled by way of the palate cleanser. The hand basin in the women’s WC was questionable.
My first impression of Wills Domain was that it was going to give Aravina a run for it’s money – but by the end of our visit, Aravina still holds it’s top position. Well in my opinion anyway. Saying that though, we did enjoy a top notch meal, and a great day out. What a joy it is to have such an abundance of world class restaurants and wineries virtually on our doorstep. What a pleasure.
Last year’s plan was to purchase a house in Busselton and rent it out for a few years whilst we continued our full time travel. However, the house we unexpectedly found saw us at a fork in the road wondering which path was best to take. Should we move in straight away and use it as a ‘summer house’? After all, Busselton is a perfect place to spend summers. Or should we rent it out as planned?
Influenced by the small house size, located only a short walk to the beach, and with room to park the caravan, we decided the ‘summer house’ was the way to go.
Before we moved in our neighbours, Kaye and Brian had introduced themselves and welcomed us to the area. Kaye mentioned a women’s walking group I might be interested in after we settled in. Kaye and Brian further welcomed us with an invite for drinks one Saturday night after we moved in. Another couple, Beth and Ken from just around the road were also invited.
Gorgeous Kaye.
And gorgeous Beth with Ken in the background.
Fast forward four months. Kaye, Brian, Beth and Ken are now friends. I’m walking with the walking group twice weekly . And from the walking group, further new friendships are being formed. The walking group doesn’t stop at walks. They are a lovely, social group of ladies, each with various other interests, yoga, croquet, travel, cycling, swimming….. lots of different interests amongst the group. We have our hour long walk twice weekly, and follow with a coffee and chat. With everyones interests keeping them well occupied between walks there’s always so much to talk about. The coffee and chat usually lasts for at least an hour.
The group doesn’t stop at walks. There’s lunches and dinners too, sometimes just the ladies, sometimes the men are also included. Last week one of the ladies had a few couples (and singles) over for a barbecue, a swim, and some games. A most enjoyable afternoon .
Gorgeous new friends.Our lovely host, Cathy with husband Dave in the background.A group of newly found friends, all living life to the fullest.
Sometimes when you come to a fork in the road, you wonder whether or not you’ve chosen the right path. The path we took when we chose to live in our Busselton house immediately rather than rent it out is, without a doubt, is one of best life paths we’ve ever taken. Thank you Kaye and Brian, Beth and Ken, and all the other ladies, and their husbands who have welcomed us so warmly. We’ve only been here a little over four months and I can say with absolute sincerity – What a joy it is to be here, what an absolute pleasure!
That would be me! At least, I’m sure my neighbours would say so after witnessing me cut all the beautiful flowers from our front garden. They’re probably wondering if I’m related to the Adams Family.
Because our house is at the entrance of Abbey Green Estate, our garden is both the first, and last, to be seen by anyone entering or leaving the estate. Almost all of the residents have expressed delight as they’ve seen what was an overgrown, untidy shambles slowly turn into a kaleidoscope of pretty colour.
In full bloom this morning.A riot of blue.
With summer coming to an end now the roses are setting buds ready to burst into their best for the approaching autumn. However, my blue salvia, petunias and vincas were showing signs of needing a rest. So, I’ve done what many would fear to do – I’ve given all the annuals a ruthless cut back. Paul will attest to the fact that once I get a pair of secateurs in my hand, watch out. He doesn’t stand still anywhere within snipping range, fearing he may also get ‘the snip’.
And this afternoon – all gone!
Now with a good cut back, and a mega dose of fertiliser I’m sure they’ll reward me soon with a second flourish. If I’ve timed it right, when the roses are in full bloom, the salvia, petunias and vincas will have recovered their strength and will be providing a stunning final show, just in time to compliment the roses.
Also, in the garden this week we’ve planted a garden bed of ferns and palms in a shady area along our newly erected brushwood fence.
A newly planted green tropical garden against the backdrop of the brushwood fence (also new).
I loved our full time life on the road, but I did miss having a garden to tend. It’s been hard work making a start on the transformation of what was an unattractive jungle into an organised paradise. We’ve still a long way to go – but as I always say, “once begun, half done”. We’ve certainly begun, so certainly it’s half done. Watching it grow, and evolve now- what a pleasure!
Our plans for this winter’s sojourn are to leave Busselton early in May, and return early in October. This year we’re planning to do full justice to just the North of Western Australia, including the Gibb River Road.
The Gibb River was originally constructed in the 1960s to transport stock from the surrounding cattle stations. Now it’s predominantly used by tourists. 660 km of what’s noted to be spectacular scenery – it’s been my number 1 ‘Bucket list’ destination for longer than I can remember.
The road conditions vary from bitumen to natural rocky earth, and is, in many places only suitable for four wheel drive vehicles with a high clearance. Towing caravans is not recommended. So, we’ve been researching tents and sleeping mats. We’re also undertaking regular yoga exercises to try and get us supple enough for rising from a 4 inch air mattress placed on the floor of a tent….. Not as easy now as it was during our tenting days 15 years ago.
We’ve found a touring tent second hand from Gumtree. It’s canvas, so nice to sleep under, and fast to erect. It only needs to be pegged out at the base, and then the insertion of a centre pole, taking around 1 minute. If the conditions are windy it will also then require guy ropes, but most times I gather on the Gibb River, guy ropes won’t be a necessity.
Looking a bit wonky without grass to peg the base to.Bricks inside instead of the necessary pegs provided a rough erection simulation.
These normally retail for around $500. This one was second hand but was missing it’s centre pole, and is in need of couple of patches. We managed to acquire it for only $50, plus around $40 for a new centre pole and patches for the necessary repairs. Now all we need is the camp mattresses. Comfort is going to be paramount if we’re to enjoy the trip, so we’ve decided on the slightly more expensive bonded mattresses, now it’s just determining which one, and then to find them at the cheapest possible price.
Our plan is to put the caravan into storage in Broome for three weeks whilst we complete this Bucket List destination. We’re also going to tack on a second trip to Cape Leveque, and a road trip into the Bungle Bungles, both also four wheel drive only destinations, and places not suitable for towing a caravan. We’ve done both Cape Leveque and the Bungle Bungles before. Previously we flew into the Bungle Bungles and then did a helicopter tour around the beehive like formations. It’s apparently a totally different experience to drive to it, and to camp overnight. And Cape Leveque – twenty trips wouldn’t be too many trips to this amazing destination. So, tacking on a few days extra for a second trip seems like a good idea.
The Gibb River road stretches from Derby to Kununurra in the far north of Western Australia, with plenty of camp grounds dotted along it’s length. The abundance of hikes, waterfalls, gorges and fresh water swimming holes means the trip can take anything from a few days to a couple of weeks. I gather ten days is about normal to do it justice. So, we should have plenty of time to fit in the other side trips before heading back to Broome to pick up the Travel Home. I’m sure after three weeks of roughing it under canvas, and sleeping on air mattresses we’re going to be looking forward to getting back to the comforts of the caravan.
I just love the planning of our trips. I get almost as much joy out of the planning as I do from the trips. Life’s little pleasures! Gee it’s good to be alive.
Life of Riley - on whatever 