James and I have an adventure

After a pleasant day on Saturday doing shopping, housework and cooking, culminating in Janet and Peter coming for dinner and a really nice evening, James decided that it would be a good idea for us to take some exercise today. This took the form of a walk and after some thought James lighted on the idea of taking the train to Larkhall and walking from there into Chatelherault Country Park. And so we set off by train. I was a bit preoccupied because I hadn't heard from Jamie for a week even though I have sent him a few emails, and I was wondering if he was ok. James suggested that I send him a text (Jamie doesn't like this because it hikes up his phone bills), and when we were on the train to Larkhall I got a reply (from someone else's phone because his provider is not allowing him to send texts), assuring me that he is all right and in fact is now in Melbourne! This cheered me up immensely. James had printed off maps from his Memory Map software and we set off from Larkhall station towards Millheugh through very pleasant roads and lanes. We crossed the river and climbed a very overgrown path up towards the park, which we entered from its southern end. Soon we were in familiar territory as we made our way to Chatelherault, which has been one of our haunts for many years. We had lunch there and I was very glad that we could eat outside in the courtyard because I was very hot! The day was very warm and although not in the league of Kakadu it doesn't take much for me to overheat! Then we continued on our merry way out of the park and into Hamilton where we got a train back to Cambuslang. It was a goodly walk - eight and a half km - and we chatted about all sorts of things on the way, it was great.
Meanwhile Alasdair was on his way north from Oxford by bus, he was not impressed with the gruelling nine hour journey and was a bit grumpy when I collected him from the bus station. Grandma came round for tea, as she does every Sunday, and Ally was telling us about his adventures in London; Jennifer and Russell have been very good to him. In addition to arranging his work experience, which he found extremely interesting, they were very hospitable to him and Jennifer even collected him late last night from the London bus stop when he had been at a barbecue with friends in London, as well as taking him to the bus station in Oxford today. They have taken good care of him and made him feel very welcome.
Finally I must record something that David said to me this week that I found very amusing. On one of the warm days I was wearing a very short sun dress and I noticed Davie looking at me disapprovingly. I said, "Don't you think it's appropriate for the weather?" to which he replied "I don't think it's appropriate, full stop!" 

The Good Cat

Excerpts from "For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry" by Christopher Smart (about 1660)

"For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary.

For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.

For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.

For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.

For he is of the tribe of Tiger.

For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.

For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.

For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.

For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped.

For the dexterity of his defence is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly.

For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.

For he is tenacious of his point.

For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.

For he knows that God is his Saviour.

For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.

For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion

For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements.

For, tho he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.

For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he's a good Cat."

I came across this poem today and it reminded me so much of Jack. I don't think that cats have changed much in 350 years! Jack is such a good boy, he loves warmth and food and sleep, he is a fierce hunter when he wants to be, and he keeps himself so clean that his fur smells as if he has shampooed it. He loves us, and he enjoys every day of his life. He is a good cat. And so was Jill, whom I miss dearly. 

Summer in the Garden

Yesterday the temperature rose to 24 degrees and there was not a cloud in the sky. Davie and I had a pleasant day around the house and garden. Late afternoon I was lying in my hammock reading (Girl Reading by Katie Ward; interesting so far but very episodic, and kind of similar to Girl with a Pearl Earring because it fictionalises the circumstances around real paintings or photos) when I noticed that our garden is full of wildlife. There was a scratching sound and a grey squirrel appeared on top of the fence beside me; when it saw me turn to look it ran off along the fence in a hurry. Then a couple of magpies landed in the trees and started squawking really loudly at each other, I don't know if it was territorial or if it was about me. There were other birds wheeling about high in the sky. I'm not sure if Jack counts as wildlife - I'm sure that he thinks he is - he came outside to see me, declined my invitation to join me in the hammock and made himself comfortable in the flowerbed nearby. All this excitement kept distracting me from my book!
Today it was still warm but grey and drizzly. Davie and I went in for lunch in TGI Fridays and had a good laugh, we were estimating sizes e.g. an inch, a centimetre, a one pence coin, by drawing them on our napkins and then checking to see who was nearest to the correct size.
Later Heather came round for coffee; this is an unusual treat because we rarely get the chance to meet up during the week. We had a pleasant chat, we have been very good friends for a long time now and always have plenty to talk about. We also ate some of the lovely biscuits that Heather brought. 

Every life is in many days, day after day

I quote above from "Ulysses" by James Joyce, which I finished reading last night. Not the easiest book to get into, but very interesting in its minutiae and Joyce's language certainly has beauty. I'm glad that I persevered with it! I'm sitting in the back room, with the French windows open, enjoying the sunshine. We cooked our first dinner party in the new open plan kitchen on Saturday night, which means that we are in full view as we cook and plate up - I still keep forgetting where to find things so I felt that I was footering about a lot; luckily our guests were the good-natured Heather and Ewan who put us at our ease and we had a lovely evening! Ewan did compare our efforts in the kitchen to the Chuckle Brothers whose slapstick comedy includes the catchphrase "To you, to me!" and "Oh dear oh dear!" 

I have just arrived back from a two day visit to Jennifer and her family in Kingston Blount; the weather was beautiful there too and Alasdair and I had a great time. Ally is spending this week doing work experience at the BBC with Russell, a great opportunity. When we arrived on Sunday afternoon Jennifer and Russell were having a barbecue for a group of friends. They turned out to be a really nice bunch and we all chatted into the evening. The barbecue was delicious, Russell cooked it to perfection and there were lots of desserts too. The next day Ally left very early with Russell to go to work. Jennifer and I had a very pleasant day; walking Angus, going out for lunch in a very picturesque riverside village called Marlowe, and visiting Jennifer's friend Hilary where Josh and Ben had been playing when we were out at lunch. Hilary's house is a converted barn with huge gardens, she was in the process of clearing out her pond which was more like a small lake; an amphibious vehicle was dragging the silt out of it! Then back to Jennifer's garden where we chatted with more friends whose children were round to play. It was really nice to spend time with Josh and Ben, they are both great fun. Alasdair enjoyed his first day at the BBC, he had been checking the "newsfeed" in the morning and then in the afternoon he had gone to Bush House in the centre of London. Today Jennifer showed me around Princes Risborough which is where her family may move to, there is a train station where Russell could get a fast train into London, and it is also handy for transport to Josh's new school. And here I am back home courtesy of Ryanair; Davie is cutting Grandma's grass, James is in the hammock, and I think we will have tea in the garden. 

My Voldemort has no nose

"My Voldemort has no nose" "How does he smell?" "Terrible!" * This was James' witty comment on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which we saw in 3D at Springfield Quay. He definitely wasn't taking it seriously! I thought the eighth and final film was very good; true to the book and a fitting end to the series. I am quite attached to Harry Potter because the books and then the films have coincided with our boys' childhoods, and they have all enjoyed them. Jamie in particular was exactly the right age to read each book as it came out; the first one was published in 1997 when he was seven years old. When the "Chamber of Secrets" came out the next year Jamie persuaded me to go into Borders with him at 7 a.m. on the day that it was published for a special Harry Potter breakfast, and he took great pride that he had bought the book only seven hours after its release. We got a breakfast of pancakes as I recall, and there was a Borders employee dressed as a wizard wandering around to greet all the fans! Ally and Davie soon became fans too, initially by listening to the audiobooks on car journeys, and then the books as their reading skills improved. Every time a new book came out the boys rushed to buy it and there was great anguish in July 2007 when we were in Jasper, Canada and were unable to source the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" until we got to Kamloops a couple of days later. The amazing thing is that the boys have not "grown out of" Harry Potter, because Harry has grown up with them.
My first Harry Potter boy is currently on a train on the way from Darwin to Adelaide; he has been on the train for two full days and will arrive in a few hours. He has been keeping in touch by text and told me that The Ghan is massive and also fairly quiet so he has plenty of room. He met a "crazy train guy" who told him that the train is about 710 metres long and weighs 1300 tons. He has been able to have showers on the train, has a reclining seat and has met some nice people. There have been several stops of three or four hours so I presume that he has been able to nip off the train to find food. He also mentioned that he has been finding it cold; he is travelling from tropical Darwin to wintery Adelaide so that's not surprising!

* Actually, he does, but it's a tiny, misshapen nose!

Home again home again jiggity jig

We have been home for two days now and it has taken a bit of getting used to - on Monday morning when I woke up I didn't recognise the bedroom at first and didn't know where I was! It's nice to be home though, and there were lots of changes waiting for us. The first things we saw as we arrived were the new windows at the front of the house. I am pleased with them; I think they are much more in proportion to the downstairs windows than the previous ones and therefore improve the whole front of the house. As soon as we got into the house we all called for Jack, and he came down the stairs looking very surprised to see us, and very affectionate. Then we headed through to see the new kitchen and utility room and they look great, just what we hoped for. We all had an early night, tired after our long journey, but we woke at the crack of dawn both yesterday and today; this must be because we travelled from east to west so our body clocks are still ahead of UK time. James has gone back to work and Ally, Davie and I have been shopping for the extension. We have been to IKEA, Marks and Spencers, Next and John Lewis. After much anguish I ordered an oak table and chairs in John Lewis this afternoon. It is a circular table that extends into an oval shape. I'm not a great shopper but the boys have been great company and very helpful. We had lunch today in Davie's favourite - TGI Fridays - and both Ally and Davie upgraded their phones because their contracts were ready to be renewed, they were delighted with their new phones. I'm finding it very strange to be cooking in the new kitchen, mainly because I can't remember where I have put things! But it's all good fun, and although I really enjoyed the last amazing four weeks, it's good to be home. 

Play your didgeridoo, Blue, play your didgeridoo

Well that's us back in the UK, we're waiting at Heathrow Airport for our flight to Edinburgh, and we should be home by mid-afternoon. I am feeling a bit apprehensive about seeing our extension completed; when I left home four weeks ago the kitchen and utility room were about to be installed and they should be finished by now. I'm also nervous about seeing the new front windows which will also be installed by now; I hope they will be worth the expense of having them changed, especially since it was at my insistence.
Anyway, our last day in Darwin was pleasant. After the excitement of returning to civilisation after our Kakadu Safari and thoroughly enjoying the hotel's air-conditioning we went on Saturday to a tourist attraction called Crocosaurus where we saw the crocodiles being fed (scary) and a snake eating a whole rat (even more scary, James in particular was disgusted). It was a really well run place where the animals seemed to be well treated, except that unfortunate rat. Then we had lunch in a Moorish cafe before deciding to buy a didgeridoo! Jamie, Ally and Davie tried out lots of different ones; it was very interesting because they all sound different and have different pitches. The shop owner recommended us to get a "C" or a "D" pitch. All the didgeridoos are unique because they are hollowed out by termites; after much deliberation James and the boys chose their favourite which had a good sound (allegedly) and a nice design of turtles, and we had it packaged up ready for the journey home. Davie is the only one of us who can get a note out of it so far. 
Then it was time to say goodbye to Jamie. He was understandably very cheery as he set off for his further five weeks in Australia. He has got it all well planned and after a few more days in Darwin he is going to set off on the Ghan railway to Adelaide on the first part of his adventure. I am so pleased for him but on the way to the airport I felt as if my heart was breaking. It has been so great being all together for three whole weeks and I will miss that. Our flight from Darwin to Singapore was uneventful and I got quite a lot of sleep between Singapore and London so I am hoping to go to bed at a normal time tonight and get back to normal British hours as quickly as possible.

Safari in Kakadu National Park

What an amazing time we have had over the last three days! Our 1200 km safari began on Wednesday morning at 7.30 a.m. when tour guide David collected us in a Toyota Landcruiser with a trailer. We set off for Kakadu, stopping briefly at Fog Dam Nature Reserve where we saw lots of birds. Then we headed into the woodlands of Kakadu National Park. The first place we visited was Ubirr rock where we saw aboriginal rock art which David explained to us in a very interesting way. He was brought up in the territory with many friends who are aboriginals, so he knows about what is real and what is made up for tourists. We walked among the rock up to the top of the plateau where we saw beautiful views over the floodplains. After a picnic lunch we went to a culture centre at Bowali before going to Cooinda in time for the Yellow Water sunset cruise. The cruise was absolutely amazing. We saw birds such as Egrets, Sea Eagles, Kingfishers and Grass Whistle Ducks, we also saw beautiful lotus lilies and paper-bark trees and of course plenty of crocodiles. The crocodiles were mainly lying on the banks of the river or slowly swimming past us, and they looked really menacing! By the end of the cruise the sun was setting and the birds began to get noisier in the twilight. By the time we got back to our bush bungalows at Jabiru it was dark. We had expected something pretty basic but in fact the bungalows were really comfortable and clean. They were like tin huts on stilts with the walls perforated with tiny holes, and canvas stretched over the top to provide shade during the day. They were set in a forest clearing which was very tropical and beautiful. David made us a delicious barbecue dinner and we all cleared up. Not long after we went to bed Jamie heard a crashing noise outside! It turned out to be our bin which was pulled down and ransacked during the night by a dingo! During the night, alongside the howling of dingos we could hear Barking Owls and other strange sounding creatures of the outback.
On Thursday we set off to Jim Jim Falls. This is in the south-east of the park and can only be accessed by four wheel drive, followed by a gruelling hike along Jim Jim Gorge. But my goodness was it worth it! We were very lucky that the falls were still running in the dry season, this was due to the extremely late wet season this year. When we had climbed over the last of the boulders we reached a beautiful pool with a sandy beach, we couldn't wait to get into the water and cool off and we soon clambered up to the next pool which led to the base of the falls. The views were absolutely stunning and we all had a great time swimming about, all three of our boys have always loved the water. 
Our next stop was at Nourlangie rock, we climbed up it to see magnificent views including the nearby Anbangbang Billabong which is surrounded by paper-bark trees and freshwater mangroves. Finally we visited the nearby art site where we saw more intricate rock art which David explained to us. Throughout the safari David also explained about the local flora and fauna, he is very knowledgable and made everything very interesting. He also has a great sense of humour and called Jamie "metro man", Alasdair "hair man", and Davie "fact man" which shows he got to know them well! By the end of the day I was absolutely boiling. The temperature was 36 degrees C and I was delighted to get back to our cosy bush bungalows where I dashed to be first into the shower and cool down. David cooked us Barramundi on the BBQ and we chatted into the evening. David has led a very interesting life and has all sorts of stories to tell, and we all enjoyed chatting with him.
Today (Friday) it was back to waterfalls and swimming. We started by going along a very bumpy road to Maguk (Barramundi Gorge), we had to walk about a kilometre into the waterfall but it was slightly easier going than yesterday, not quite so many boulders! It was so beautiful! The waterfall was not so high as at Jim Jim falls but it gushed out into the pool from the cliffs surrounding it and you could swim right up to and under it. The water was cool and clear with many fishes. Jamie, Ally and Davie climbed up to a rocky outcrop on the cliff beside the pool and jumped off many times! They have no fear! It was a really lovely morning. Then off we went to Gunlom Falls which are part of the South Alligator river system, they were seen in the film Crocodile Dundee. Yet again we could not have got there without 4 wheel drive, it was 40 kilometres of rough, dusty roads and David did a grand job of getting us there safely. On the way we saw a wallaby jumping across the road. Jamie, Ally and James walked up to the top of the falls to the pools there which have views over the countryside, while David and I went to the lower pool at the bottom of the waterfall and swam about there. I couldn't choose which is the best of the three waterfalls which we swam beneath as they are all beautiful and different. Then it was time for the long drive back to Darwin where we arrived back to our hotel dirty, dusty but so delighted with our trip. We said our goodbyes to David and ordered in pizza for tea! We had a discussion about some of David's tales, some of which we suspected to have been rather tall! Such as Queen Elizabeth secretly coming to a nearby small town for unofficial holidays and driving herself about in an old car. Or Australia having a secret squadron of aeroplanes. And there were many more. I thought that it was very funny that we all had our suspicions about some of his stories, but we were all too polite to challenge them. However we agreed that it just added to David's charm. Our safari has been great fun and all five of us loved it. 

Darwin Harbour

I am blogging in our lovely hotel room in the Mantra Pandanas in Darwin. Again we have booked an apartment hotel, which has worked very well during this holiday, so we have a living room / kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. We set off this morning to Cairns in good time for our flight, returned our hired car, and sauntered into the domestic terminal for our flight to Darwin. Imagine our alarm when we were told that we should be at the international terminal because our flight was going on to Singapore! We rushed across to the other terminal and got there just in time, perspiring profusely. The check in assistant was sniffling and told us that he was very sick; he asked James to carry the luggage onto the conveyor belt at the back for him. I assumed that he had a bad cold and offered him lemsip capsules, he said "Not unless they cure terminal cancer, but thanks for the offer." I felt awful and didn't know what to say, I should have thought of something supportive but all I could manage was "Oh, I see, sorry." 

Darwin is half an hour behind Sydney time which I found bizarre, I didn't know that time differences could be in half hours. As soon as we arrived we noticed that the temperature was tropical! We got the airport bus to our hotel, then went out for a walk. The centre of Darwin isn't very big so we walked through quite a lot of it. We went down to the war memorial and there are lots of commemorative plaques about the 2nd World War. I didn't realise that Darwin had been bombed in 1942 and that Australian soldiers had been involved in such fierce fighting in the South Pacific. The memorials were very moving. Then we went down to the harbour, which is quite smart with swimming areas and restaurants. We went right out to the wharf where there were lots of eateries and we sat down at a table right at the waters edge. The sun had set by this time but the sky was still lit with a very soft light; the blue-grey of the sky and sea merged into each other at the horizon. There were gulls swooping about and Davie pointed out a stingray swimming past at one point, we could see it clearly just under the water.
I won't be blogging for the next few days because tomorrow we are going on our safari to Kakadu National Park and we won't be taking much luggage so no iPad! 

Chilling out in Port Douglas

Today we all had a relaxing day. James, Davie and I went for a walk along Macrossan Street and had morning coffee (Davie had his favourite ice cream, mint chocolate swirl). Jamie and Ally went shopping and sorted out some of Jamie's travel arrangements for his extended stay in Australia. We met up for lunch at the apartment then spent the afternoon on Four Mile Beach. It was beautiful, fringed with palm trees and with blue and silver waves lapping onto the beach. I read for a while; I have only read three books so far this holiday - a couple of crime novels and Stephen Fry's latest instalment of his autobiography - and now I have started Ulysses by James Joyce. Yesterday I started by reading a very long introduction but it was so boring that it was putting me off the book, so today I skipped to the actual book and I'm finding it ok so far, I'm trying to read it as a narrative rather than get bogged down in all the allusions and references. Then I had a pleasant nap, until James woke me up to suggest a walk along the beach. We walked a long way along the shore, chatting as we went, then back to where the boys were diving in and out of the waves, they were having a great time. When we got back to the apartment we went into the pool for a while, then got ready to go out for dinner. we went to Zinc on Macrossan Street and had a delicious meal; Jamie and Ally both had oysters to start, Jamie's were natural on ice and Ally's were Kilpatrick which means that they were baked with bacon and garlic. Then for our main courses Jamie and Ally had fish of the day which was Emperor fish, I had butternut squash risotto, James had double cooked duck, and Davie had pasta bolognaise. We had a lovely time. We got ice creams on the way back to the apartment. 

Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef

This has been a wonderful day. At 9 a.m. we set off for the Opal Reef on the Calypso boat. The journey took about 90 minutes and the sea was quite choppy, which luckily didn't bother any of us as the Andersons all have strong sea legs. We stopped at one point to watch a hump-backed whale; it came very near to the boat, rose up, and flicked up its big tail as it dived down. When we arrived at the reef the water was very calm because we were sheltered from the open sea. The boat pulled up right next to the reef which looked turquoise compared to the dark blue sea beyond it, you could see the coral reef under the water. We had a safety talk and then were let loose. I was absolutely amazed. The reef surpassed all my expectations. We snorkelled through the shallow water over the coral, which was teeming with a truly huge variety of fish with all sorts of bright colours. There was also a huge variety of coral; some looked like huge sponges, some like trees, some like brains! Some was still and some moved about in the water or had tiny moving fronds on it, and it was all sorts of colours, from cream to reds and blues. I don't know the names of all the fish we saw, but one of my favourites was the parrot fish. They have little beaks that they scrape the coral with, and if you listen carefully you can hear the scraping clearly! The males are bright blue and the females are yellow. We also saw clown fish and a fish that I think was called sweet lips because it had great big lips. There were shy little black fish that looked as if their sides had been sprinkled with glitter, and fish whose markings looked like big false eyes. There were shoals of tiny electric blue fish, and all sorts of fish with amazing combinations of colours and patterns. We also saw dark red starfish and giant clams whose edges snapped shut if you got too close to them. And we had lots of time to look at them, the boat stopped in three different places beside the reef and we had nearly two hours in the water in total. There was plenty of room to relax on the boat and we got lunch and drinks and coffees. The crew were very helpful and it felt very safe; they did lots of head counts during which we all had to stand still. Jamie heard a rumour that some people had been left out on the reef recently, but that they had been rescued successfully once it was realised, I don't know what company they were with because there are quite a few that operate out of Port Douglas. We went on a guided snorkel with one of the crew; he told us about the coral and showed us a sea cucumber which is like a hoover for the reef and cleans it by passing everything through its digestive system. At lunch time one of the crew gave us an informal lecture about the reef and its inhabitants. All five of us loved the experience, and we had a great time discussing it all at great length when we were having a very nice dinner in The Tin Shed later.
Only one drawback to this lovely day and it was entirely my own fault. I put suncream on all of me except the tops of my thighs, which are usually covered by shorts. When I was snorkelling the top backs of my legs were sorely burned and I am having to write this blog standing up because they are so tender. I have put lots of after sun cream on, but needless to say I got scant sympathy from the Anderson boys who thought it was quite amusing, until I was applying my after sun cream (discreetly in the apartment); they looked disgusted and said "Can't you do that somewhere else?" James has been affectionately calling me "burnt bot" and "roasted rump"!
Never mind, it has been a day to remember for all of us. 

Over and under the rainforest

Back down towards Cairns today in order to go on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway to Kuranda. This trip was recommended to us by Jennifer and it did not disappoint! We were whisked off by cable car over the rainforest canopy which was marvellous, it was such a great view of the rainforest. Jamie helpfully read out from the "trip guide" about the different kinds of trees and plants that we passed. We saw lots of vines growing up the trees, and basket ferns which grow high up on the branches. We went over Barron Gorge and Falls, although I think that they would have looked a lot more impressive in the wet season, and then over the murky Barron River into Kuranda. The village itself was probably the least favorite part of the trip for me. Once a remote village in the rainforest, Kuranda has been a tourist destination for more than a hundred years, it's very busy and consists of a few streets of souvenir shops and restaurants, with attractions such as a "bird world", "butterfly sanctuary" and "fossil and gemstone museum". We avoided all of these and went instead for a walk in the rainforest. Despite the fact that the walk is signposted from the village, we were the only people there, which was great. We had a very pleasant walk through the forest and along the banks of the river, and ended up at the station ready to get the scenic railway back down to Cairns. The train was very quaint and old-fashioned and all of its windows were open which created a refreshing breeze on such a warm day. The train went down the other side of the valley and we were provided with yet more beautiful views during the hour and a half long journey.
When we got back to Port Douglas we all went for a sunset drink at a restaurant beside the jetty, then we walked along Macrossan Street and back to the apartment for tea.
I phoned Jennifer and we had a chat; it's a year today since Mum died. 

Good times at Cape Tribulation

In 1770 Captain Cook was sailing up the east coast of Australia making a chart of the coastline. He was sailing between the Great Barrier Reef and the coast, but as the reef got closer to the land he was having trouble navigating past it, so he sailed north, but as he did so his ship struck the reef. Luckily it didn't sink, thanks to a large bit of coral which got stuck in the hole and formed part of the sailors' temporary repairs until the ship could be fixed properly. But Captain Cook named the point of land that he had charted earlier in the day "Cape Tribulation" because he thought that this is where all his troubles began!
And that's why such a beautiful place has such a tragic sounding name! Jackie told me that Cape Tribulation is her favourite place on earth so of course I was keen to go there, especially as it's only 60 km north of Port Douglas. We thought that this would take us about an hour but by the time we drove up to the Daintree River, waited for the little cable ferry, and drove along the winding roads it was more than two hours. I had bought a "Daintree self drive audio guide" for the car, and it was great, we had a map which informed us when to listen to each section of the cd. It was very informative as we drove along the road through the rainforest to Cape Tribulation. My cold is completely better thanks to Robitussin so I felt fine. We had lunch in a cafe just before Kulki point then went to the beach. It was absolutely stunning; the rainforest fringes the white sand beach and the blue crocodile-infested sea laps on the shore. We didn't see any crocodiles but there were warning signs, and a park ranger told us that the crocs usually swim across the bay from creek to creek but are happy to pick up a "snack" on the way if they get the chance - so we paddled rather than swam! We saw a sea eagle circling around near the beach, and the mangrove trees grew right down onto the beach, some of them even in the water. We had a wonderful afternoon. We saw a wee wild boar snuffling around near the road on the way back. After we crossed the ferry we headed back towards Port Douglas and we stopped at the Daintree tea plantation to buy some tea. We also saw quite a few fields with banana plants, but the main crop of the area is sugar cane. There is even a wee sugar cane railway to transport it about. Back in Port Douglas, Macrossan Street was jumping, what a great atmosphere; we got barramundi fish suppers for tea. 

A Swim at Mossman Gorge

After a rotten night's sleep due to my cold, I took Ally to the optician at 9 a.m. I made him an appointment yesterday because I found out that he only has one pair of contact lenses with him and so if he loses one he has no back up. Ally was not best pleased about this early start. Breakfast when we got back then we set off for Mossman Gorge which is about 20 km north of Port Douglas, west of the little town of Mossman. Mossman Gorge is a valley with a river full of boulders, surrounded by rainforest, in the south east corner of Daintree National Park. We went on a 2 km walk through the rainforest, on an easy path. There were lots of vines growing round the trees and hanging down. Some of the trees had huge wedge shaped roots above the ground called buttresses. There were interpretive boards which explained the plant species and some of the cultural meanings of the area for the indigenous tribe Kuku Yalanji. Then we went to the swimming hole in the river. It was great! The water was very cool compared to the sea yesterday but it was great fun swimming about. We swam up to the waterfall by the rocks then pushed ourselves out and the current swept us back down the river! The boys and James were climbing up and jumping off rocks. There were jungle perch swimming around our legs, a bush turkey running about and beautiful blue butterflies flying about. When we got back to the car park we noticed that a lot of the number plates have the slogan "Queensland - the sunshine state". There were also cars from other parts of Australia; James noticed that Victoria has the slogan "Victoria - the place to be". Every time he saw one he said in surprised tones, "Then why are you here?" which I thought was very funny!
We had a very late lunch in the Raintrees Cafe in Mossman, then drove a few kilometres north to Newell Beach for a walk. Newell beach is a long, beautiful beach, narrower and quieter than Four Mile Beach at Port Douglas. Jamie, Ally and Davie spent ages throwing things to try to get coconuts down from the trees, they finally got a couple of fresh ones, but had no way to open them. However a friendly young Australian couple lent us a machete and James and Jamie laid about the coconuts until they were open and we all had a drink of fresh coconut milk; it was delicious. Good day; I'm exhausted but the good news is I think my cold is getting better. 

A day on Four Mile Beach

As we left Sydney by plane yesterday on our way to Cairns, there was a bit of turbulence, which I think must have been the wind we had heard was forecast coming in. And according to the weather forecast today Sydney now has very cold, windy weather and there are emergency conditions in the Blue Mountains! Several people told us while we were in Sydney how lucky we were to get warm sunny weather in the middle of their winter and now I see what they meant, we were very lucky indeed.
The three hour flight to Cairns went fine, and we collected our hired car and set off to Port Douglas, which took about an hour. By the time we got there at about 7.30 p.m. it was dark, however we found our apartment without too much trouble. Port Douglas seems to be a holiday town with a large beach and lots of accommodation, restaurants and shops. Our holiday apartments are grouped around two pools and ours is on the ground floor. It is cool and spacious; tiled floors and cane furniture, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Not surprisingly, it feels very different from Sydney; lush green vegetation everywhere, low buildings, hot and humid. We are intending to self cater here, but because it was our first night we went out to a Mexican restaurant which was quite nice. We had a good laugh and chat at the table, I love being on holiday with my boys and I love our random conversations!
Our bed is nice and comfy but it was quite difficult to get to sleep because of the strange screeching and cawing of the local bird community which sounded as if it was all gathered just outside our window! Despite this we slept well, we were able to open the windows for fresh air because they all have mesh shutters which keep insects and other beasties out.
However, I have developed an annoying cold over the last couple of days, with all the associated unpleasant symptoms. I am treating it with Lemsip capsules and a cough mixture that we were recommended in Sydney called Robitussin. Let's hope it passes quickly; the boys are all being fairly tolerant but there is a strict time limit on sympathy from male Andersons. Today we decided to have a day on the beach, which is called Four Mile Beach. It is only ten minutes walk from the apartment, so we packed up the old beach bag with towels, sun cream and reading materials. It was a very relaxing day, and we all went swimming in the Coral Sea, which was fairly warm (once we were in!) and had lunch in a beach bar.
Later James and I went to Cole's supermarket and had a drink at the Small Harbour while we watched the sun set. it is now 8.30 p.m. and I am in bed, intending to sleep off my cold. I have noticed that my blog is publishing at UK time which is nine hours earlier. James and Davie are reading their books, and Jamie and Ally have gone out in search of wifi and a drink! 

Catching a wave on Bondi Beach

We all agreed that we would like to visit Bondi Beach so of course I booked surfing lessons for Jamie, Ally and Davie! What an iconic place to learn to surf for the first time! We caught a bus from near our hotel and half an hour later we were at the beach. It is a lovely beach with a curve of white sand, and the weather was great with blue sky and turquoise sea. However coming from Scotland I think we are a bit spoiled for gorgeous beaches and I can think of several even more beautiful than Bondi, for example in Harris, North Uist, Barra, and on the mainland Sanna Bay, Sandwood Bay and Achmelvich. I don't say this to detract from Bondi though, it is very attractive and very handy for the centre of Sydney. It is also of course a famous surfing beach. The waves were quite small today, but as the instructor from "Let's go Surfing" told us, that's good for beginners. We had a very nice lunch in the Speedo cafe, it was busy but the service was excellent. The boys got changed into their wetsuits and had their two hour lesson while James and I relaxed on the beach and took photos of them. The instructor was very good, he taught them each technique on the beach, they practised it in the water, and by the end of two hours he had them all surfing standing up! They were all delighted and want to go surfing again. Jamie hurt his broken foot with all the activity, by the time we got back to the hotel it was very sore, I hope it isn't badly damaged. Tomorrow we leave Sydney and head to Port Douglas near Cairns. We have all really enjoyed our time in Sydney. 

Into the Blue Mountains

It was an early start for us because we were picked up at 7.40 a.m. by minibus to go to the Blue Mountains. It turned out to be a long but rewarding day. It took a couple of hours to drive into the mountains, which are supposed to look blue because of the blue haze caused by eucalyptus oil evaporating off the leaves of the trees. Today they looked more green I think, maybe because it's Australian winter. On the way we stopped at the Featherdale Wildlife Park where we had the chance to meet our first koalas, wallabies and kangaroos. Now I don't like zoos, but this small wildlife park was much more acceptable to me; large enclosures and most of the animals were allowed to roam freely anywhere they wanted. We all enjoyed it. As part of our tour package we were all given tiny toy koalas; we gave them names - Syd (me), Fluffy (James), Feather (Ally), Dale (Jamie), and Tupac (Davie).
On to the mountains and our guide, Mark, told us lots of stories about the area; history, flora and fauna. For example he explained to us that because it is a eucalyptus forest, the forest covering the mountains is evergreen. Any deciduous trees have been introduced by settlers to remind them of home. We went for a bush walk to several lookouts over the Jamison Valley, passing gum trees, tree ferns, and rubbing tea tree leaves for their distinctive smell. There were spectacular waterfalls including the Leura cascades. We went into Katoomba for lunch, a tiny town where the service in the cafe we went into was so slow that we eventually left without lunch and got slices of pizza from a bakery instead.
Then we were dropped off at Skyway Eastern Station where we got two cable cars down to the valley floor. We went for a half hour walk around the walkway, which is duckboard. A bit too civilized and touristy for me, however it was a good way to make the valley floor accessible, it would have been impenetrable otherwise. And anyway, I am a tourist so I shouldn't complain! Back up to the top station on the scenic railway, it was hair-raising at a 52 degrees incline! The driver told me that it's the steepest railway in the world.
Mark took us to our last lookout; Flat Rock, which is at the unfenced edge of a high cliff looking out across the valley towards Solitary Hill. We had been chatting to a French couple and they were scarily playful at the cliff edge, pretending to fall and jumping up and down right at the edge! James and the boys were more sensible but still went really near the edge, I was glad to get back on the bus.
Back to Sydney we headed but our tour wasn't over yet! Mark took us for a drive round the Olympic Stadium then to a park for some boomerang throwing! We all had a go and it was great fun - Jamie and Ally were best equal out of the family. The tour ended with a cruise along the Parramatta River to Darling Harbour. We got back to the apartment at about 6.30 p.m. and I am absolutely exhausted! Even the boys admit to being quite tired. A very good day, we are now going to watch a film and Jamie has bought some Australian James Squire beer for him and James. 

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Today we climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge! I was a bit nervous about this; I was worried that it would be very exposed and scary, and I was also worried about my lack of fitness. Needless to say, no one else in the family had any doubts about the climb! Jamie took off the plastic boot that has been protecting the broken bones in his foot, because you are not allowed to climb the bridge with broken bones! He thinks it is nearly healed anyway, but I was concerned that it would hurt him. We were booked on the 10.35 climb in a group of 14, and the first hour was taken up with safety procedures including a "practice climb" up and down a wee set of ladders. We got changed into jump suits,and put on safety harnesses. Then out we went onto the bridge, first of all crossing the road through the metal structure underneath the arch, then going up a series of steep ladders until we emerged onto the arch of the bridge. We were so lucky with the weather, it was a lovely sunny day with blue skies and no wind. Our guide was well-informed and good fun, and I needn't have worried about anything because it all felt very safe and we had plenty of stops to look at the view. The views were amazing; Sydney Opera House of course, its curves bright white in the sunshine set on pink granite. We could seen the café where we had lunch yesterday and the window we looked out of during our interval drinks last night. I love a busy waterway and Sydney Harbour is certainly busy. There were boats everywhere of all shapes and sizes, with white wakes trailing behind them. The rest of the city and suburbs stretched around us in every direction, it is a very attractive city, no wonder a quarter of Australians live here! When we reached the top of the bridge we were very excited, there is a large Australian flag at the top. The whole experience including the safety talk took three and a half hours which I think is a bit too long although I did enjoy the experience, and so did the rest of the family. Experiences like this are our gift to Jamie, Ally and Davie, I hope that they remember what great fun we had. We then walked to Darling Harbour; on the way we saw some beautiful rainbow lorikeets in a tree. We had a coffee in the sunshine before heading back to the hotel for a swim and a sauna before dinner.

A Night at the Opera House

We arrived in Sydney in the early hours of Thursday 30th June after a seven and a half hour flight through the night from Singapore. By the time dinner was served and I had watched a film "The Dilemma" (total rubbish), none of us got very much sleep. We made our way by train to our hotel, the Medina Grand in Kent Street, but of course it was far too early to check in so we stored our luggage and walked down to Circular Quay where we decided to go on the Captain Cook 2 hour harbour boat tour at 10 a.m. We saw a tour guide dressed as Captain Cook, to which Davie murmured, "He doesn't have to wear that; uniform is optional!" which I thought was very funny! The boat tour gave us a really good overview of Sydney Harbour. I had no idea how big it is - the biggest natural harbour in the world, with lots of different inlets. The guide had very honeyed tones which we found quite amusing, for example the way she said "We have a lifeboat; not a very big one, but we have plenty of life jackets!" set us all off laughing. The guide was also obsessed with property prices and regaled us with how much all the houses in the expensive suburbs were currently selling for, especially those belonging to Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman and so on. The rest of the commentary was however quite interesting and we heard that Captain Cook had been deceived by the narrow opening to the harbor into passing it by in 1770 on his way to Botany Bay, because he thought that it was unremarkable so the area was developed by a Governor Phillip 18 years later. However by the end of the tour we were all so tired that we were dozing off, so we set off back to the hotel where we waited for a short time until our room was ready. Our apartment on the 26th floor is really lovely, very spacious with a large living area and two bedrooms. The living area has a smart kitchen off it and a feature semi-circular window with great city views and a view down to Darling Harbour. However we hardly took all this in before we all went straight to bed and slept for 3 hours! Later James and I nipped out to Woolworths and got some shopping, Jamie cooked us dinner and we had an early night.
We all woke feeling refreshed and set off walking back to Circular Quay and to the Sydney Opera House. Amazing building, I could hardly believe we were actually there. it is not as white as I thought, more a creamy colour covered with tiles. We walked all around it and up and down the steps then went on a tour which was well worth it, very interesting, it explained the whole concept from the initial competition and design through its construction, expense, delays and final completion. Quite sad that the architect, Jørn Utzon, resigned from the project due to disputes about the delays, and it was completed by another architect. In the late 90's Utzon was commissioned to do more work on the interiors which he was pleased about, although he never did visit the finished product. We had lunch at the cafe downstairs, very nice to be sitting outside on the 1st of July which is the middle of winter in Sydney! The temperature is in the early 60s which is similar to the temperature we left in Scotland! We were offered a deal by the tour guide; for another 50 dollars per person we could get the best remaining seats for an evening performance of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. We enquired at the box office and the seat we got were Premier, with a face value of 118 dollars each. We then went for a walk in the Botanic Gardens where we saw egrets walking about and very noisy white parakeets. We walked out to Mrs Macquarie's Point and got some wonderful views of the sun setting over the Opera House. Back to the apartment for tea and we dressed up a bit, then back to the Opera House for the performance. It was performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. In the first half there was "Tasso, Lament and Triumph" by Liszt, then Schumann's "Piano Concerto in A minor". The second half was Mussorgsky. I don't know very much about classical music and I have never heard this before, although James learned about it at school. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the lovely music where he promenades between the pictures. James and the boys also enjoyed the music and the magnificent setting of the concert hall. Alasdair declared the experience to be "fantastic"!