Shoal Bay, Fingal Beach, & Nelson Bay

A week ago (Saturday 3/23), we rented a van with our friends Andrew, Elizabeth, Jackson, and William and drove 2.5 hours north of our house in Sydney to Shoal Bay. Here's Rick and I on the balcony of the suite we all shared. 

Rick and Andrew in the kiddie pool.

And here's Sylvia talking to "the guys" from a deeper swimming pool. The place we stayed at had 8 pools (!) of various types and shapes, and half of them were for adults only.

After everyone had a dip in at least one pool, we headed out to the beach. And who should greet us on the path to the ocean but:

a rainbow lorikeet.

The lorikeet was feeding on these palm flowers. 

Do you see the other rainbow lorikeet tucked away behind the blossoms? Believe it or not, we usually hear these parrots first, and then look to see them. In New England they would be very noticeable in the vegetation, but here they tend to blend in extremely well with the trees in which they eat and perch. (BTW, Rainbow lorikeets are also called Blue Mountain parrots).

I think of Aussies as generally laid-back. But you would never know that by their beach signs:

We managed to avoid all the hazards.

And we had such a good time at this ocean beach that we came back again the next day. (The pictures with the brighter light are from Sunday morning). At Fingal beach we found:

seaweed,

(But unfortunately Sylvia lost her favorite googles which she'd had for three years -- 1/3 her life.)

hermit crabs,

waves

(Here I am coming ashore after body surfing. It's impossible not to be happy when body surfing, in my opinion.),

almost-white sand and great conversation,

and warm, salty water. (That splash on the left is Jackson who'd gone underwater. He's an impressive swimmer).

Sometimes clichés are apt: A good time was had by all.

We went back to our hotel when the sun started to sink behind the dunes and had dinner on "our" balcony.

Sunrise the next morning at Shoal Bay:

After once again enjoying Fingal Beach the next morning, 

we drove to Nelson Head where we had lunch at the tea room:

We felt like we could look at this view forever.

                                                                  And we were serenaded by magpies sitting in a plumeria tree under the café's awning!

                                                                                                         This is the sign by the cash register where we paid. I love that it's in pink - somehow pink seems like a visual oxymoron with "grouchy." (And, it's hard to see here, but at the bottom, it says tax is included.)

And look what floated by as we were eating: 

Actually, it just looks like they're floating; they're really being pulled by a motor boat.

And because we all wanted to enjoy the view as long as possible, everyone ordered dessert or a fancy coffee drink.

 I think the pineapple banana cake really caught the spirit of the place.

                                                                                   Right next to the tea room is an active Marine Rescue Radio Base. Here you can see the radio tower. You can go in there and see all the controls and talk with the volunteers who man it 24/7. The volunteers we talked to said there's about one rescue a day and that running out of gas is very common. 

For those of you you like maps, this was on the wall at the Marine Rescue Radio Base:

If you look closely, you can see Shoal Bay and "you are here" at Nelson Head (the little point above the words, "Little Beach"). This whole area is called Port Stephens and the red and green lines are lights that boats can see and use as a guide into the port from out in the ocean.

After putting on massive amounts of sunscreen, we boarded a "dolphin cruise." We had actually seen some dolphins when we were swimming at Fingal Beach, but had already planned on this boat ride and wanted to get closer to them if we could.

Sylvia and Jackson unexpectedly shrunk once onboard. 

Luckily, they later reverted to their normal heights.

Okay, I have a fabulous video of the dolphins swimming, but I cannot upload it. So, consider this mediocre picture a "placeholder" until I can figure out this uploading glitch.

It was a delight to see the dolphins. A few of them even played with the boat. 

One the way back to the dock, the crew lowered a net at the back of the boat. 

Anyone who wanted to could go down a tornado slide into the net. 

Needless to say, the net was mostly filled with kids, but Andrew and I tried it too.

Here's Sylvia at the top of the slide.

At the back of the boat.

 Our friends.

I certainly never would have predicted that when we met in a Music Together class in New Haven when Jackson and Sylvia were three-years-old and William was a baby, we would become friends and see each other years later in Australia.

All that was packed into a single over-night trip! And to top it all off, when Andrew was driving us home, we saw a possum! (I'm sure many of you know the enchanting picture book, Possum Magic by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas -- both Aussies. Here's a clip of it being read aloud.)

Last Friday Afternoon

Last Friday Rick gave a talk at the Music Conservatorium. Sylvia and I zipped down on the train after she was done with school. We were surprised and pleased as punch to see Rick's picture on a poster about the event when we walked in.

Rick has been lucky enough to be given an office at "The Con" (pronounced "Kahn"). Although the older part of the building was designed to look like a castle, it was originally built as a stable around 1815. Pretty fancy for a bunch of horses, don't you think? Many people were outraged at the expense, and eventually the stable was converted into a music conservatorium. Rick's office is in a lovely modern wing built around 2001.

The Con is actually in the Royal Botanical Garden of Sydney. In this picture taken by Sylvia, you can see how close it is to the rose garden (note the ibis near the path). While Rick hobnobbed at a reception, Sylvia and I wandered in the garden (after, of course, we'd done a bit of hobnobbing ourselves).

I find the rose garden amusing. As you can see, it has gorgeous roses, but they seem out of place by the palm and fig trees. Can you see the rain on the red rose?

My favorite flower was a magnolia of a type I've never seen before:

 Stunning, don't you think?

BTW, for those of you in the States, even though it's autumn here, it was ninety degrees today!!! :o

Sushi and Song

After Sylvia's swimming lesson on Wednesday, we caught a train to downtown and ate dinner at:

Conveyer Belt Sushi! That's not the restaurant's real name, of course, -- just our nickname for it. 

It's one of Sylvia's favorite places to eat here. 

(The picture above was taken after we'd only been in Sydney a few days).

[FYI, I tried to put a clip of the sushi conveyor belt doing its thing here, but I've been having problems with Blogger lately, so I'll let you know when I can show you.]

The sushi is priced according to the rim of the color of the plate it is on. So, for example, if you chose a dish with a light blue rim, you'll pay $4.00 for that dish. (Doesn't this sound like the perfect scenario for making up math word problems? If you actually do create some, please put them in the comments, so Sylvia and I can figure them out. Thanks!)

Then we walked over to a pedestrian alleyway called Angel Place. What could have been a dismal space between two buildings was transformed into an amusing, happy spot by hanging bird cages of all shapes and sizes overhead and playing various bird calls (songlike calls, not the squawking variety). On the corner is the City Recital Hall. 

Our friend, Anthea, plays the cello in the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. We found out that she's not only seriously nice and a terrific mom, but is an excellent musician as well. This heart-throb-y poster shows the countertenor soloist who sang beautifully. Countertenors sing with the highest register of their voice - falsetto.  It was an amazing concert - mostly pieces by Handel and Porpora. (I had never heard of Porpora before, but apparently he and Handel were competitors). 

You can listen to the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra here (not the same concert, but still brilliant. Can't you tell from my use of superlatives that we had a great time?)

The recital hall had fabulous acoustics, and we had fun with the design of the stairwells and hallways (including some interior windows).

See you!

Manly and Shelly Beaches

On Sunday afternoon we took a ferry to Manly which is across the harbor and northeast of the city center. Here's the beach. Those little dots in the waves are surfers. It's almost impossible to get a picture of the beach without surfers in it. But we're not sure why you'd want to anyway -- the surfers are extraordinarily fun to watch.

Here's a better view.

As you can see, the area along the beach

is very built up and touristy.

Here's Rick and Sylvia on a walkway overlooking Manly Beach that leads to yet another beach, Shelly Beach.

This is along the same walkway, but a little further east, 

in the early 1900's. What differences to you notice about the coastline?                                                  

                                                                             In 1902 Manly became the first beach in Australia where "daylight bathing" was legal. About five years later, surf patrols (or life guards) began patrolling the beach in boats. The people in this photo are watching a surf carnival which had lifesaving demonstrations. The carnival raised money for the surf patrols and attracted thousands of spectators.

Shelly Beach is aptly named:

This is what the "sand" looks like at the edges of Shelly Beach. At the center of the beach, shells are mixed with a very rough sand. Sylvia and I could spend hours looking at these shell bits. Quite a bit of sea glass was mixed in. (If you look at the right edge of the photo, you can see part of a piece of pale blue sea glass).

We then walked back to Manly beach. See how different the sand is there?

And before we raced to the ferry, we had a simple, delicious dinner at The Fish Shack. (On the way home, we joked about all the work that went into coming up with that memorable name. What would you name a restaurant that serves fish and seafood?). This photo makes me think about the limits of photography (or at least my photography). You can't really see the beach which is in the background. You can't hear the waves or the parrots that are flying from tree to tree. You can't feel the wind or tasty the salty tang of the air. You don't get to see the passers-by or the cars (or hear the fire truck screaming by), but at least you get a hint of our happiness before our wild ferry ride home (which is a whole other story!).

Walking Home From School on Friday

More Aussie Critters

. . .from Featherdale Wildlife Park.

We were able to stroke an echidna -- very prickly, but not sharp. A wildlife worker showed us its soft underbelly. When a dingo or other predator comes after them, echnidas will curve up, dig their claws into the dirt (so that they cannot be easily lifted), and the dingo will get a mouthful of spikes. Echnidnas' hind feet look like they are on backwards -- that helps them to maintain a firm grip on the ground when they need to.

Don't you love that rolling side-to-side walk?

And guess who this sweet-looking creature is:

Yep, a dingo. Dingos are wild dogs that have been in Australia for more than 4000 years.

Because Featherdale Park is partly a sanctuary, it houses many animals that would not have survived in the wild. . .

like albino peacocks and wombats. Albinos are easy targets for predators because they do not blend in with their surroundings. If a predator doesn't get them, they often die of skin cancer.

And in comparison, here's a "regular" wombat:

Doesn't he blend into his background nicely? 

Wombats eat grass and are powerful burrowers (as anyone who has read the amusing picture book, 

Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley, knows). 

Here's another camouflage expert: a saltwater crocodile. Although, actually, saltwater crocodiles are found in fresh and saltwater rivers, swamps, and estuaries. Sometimes they have even been found in the ocean. They live in northern Australia
(not near us, thank goodness!).

How's that for an evil-looking smile? 

Don't worry, the lizard survived -- although he definitely got the crocodile's attention. 

The crocodile is fed daily and wasn't interested in a snack.

This Southern Cassowary obviously does not blend in with its surroundings. Cassowaries are fruit-eaters who live in the rainforest in Northern Australia and are shy of people. If they feel threatened, they can run 31 mph, jump about 5 feet, and swim. They also have sharp claws on their three toes, one of which is long like a dagger, and can use their head to protect themselves. They have a reputation here for being very dangerous.

Now, here are some feet that are distinctly different from the cassowary's:

Pelican feet! 

The park worker made a passionate plea for people to not litter and to pick up any plastic bags or string found at the beach. All their pelicans had been rescued because they had been caught and wounded in man-made materials and could no longer fly or survive in the wild.