Winter Down Under

Before moving to Australia, we definitely were under the mis-impression that it was always hot and sunny here. 

Chris in action

Much to our dismay, it turns out that there is in fact a winter season, and it does actually get cold here (down into the 40s at night).

The colder nights have us huddled around a heater (almost no one has heat or insulation), but on a sunny day there are still plenty of activities to keep us busy.

Need a bigger eskie!

A few weekends ago Chris and James were out fishing in middle harbour and had the best fishing day of the year by far, catching 6 kingies in total, with 3 of them legal size (+65 cms).  

As you may remember from previous posts, these are one of the most exciting fish to catch as they put up a massive fight, and even more importantly, taste amazing. 

After cleaning the fish we had just shy of 2 kgs (4.4 lbs) of fish to eat, so we enlisted the help of some friends to make sure that none of it was wasted.

Since you can't just eat 2 kgs of fish in one way, we presented a trifect of fish with some sushi, fish tacos, and beer battered fish.  Amazingly there were almost no leftovers and everyone went home stuffed.

 Catching a kingie is still a dream of mine, so the boys brought Debs and I along the next weekend, but unfortunately the kingies knew I was out there, and I only managed to snag an Australian salmon.  Sounds great, but they are quite awful to eat so this guy got to live another day.

With the sun rising so late in the morning we've also been treated to some particularly spectacular sunrises as we are getting ready for work.

It's tough sometimes to get out the door on time when you can't tear yourself away from the show outside to get ready.

Every surfer will also tell you that the winter is the best time to catch a good wave with clean, offshore winds and smaller crowds.  While it's a bit chilly when you first get in, as long as you are paddling around a bit your wetsuit keeps you warm enough.

On one sunny afternoon I managed to catch Chris in action at Freshwater.  The waves were a bit sparse so after some quality time watching him do a great job of looking like a surfer sitting on his board in the line up, he caught a few great waves.

While the wave may not look massive, this is proof that he does now actually surf across the wave instead of just straight down which is a major improvement from how he was when we arrived in Australia. 

So while we might pine for warmer weather and dream of how glorious summer is here, winter still has a lot of fun things to keep us busy.

Hiking Berowra track with Cousin Joe

Setting a record that's going to be hard to beat, Cousin Joe was able to visit us for a third time when the project that he's working on required another trip to Australia.  Although getting on another plane might have been the last thing that he'd want to do while here, he toughed it out to join us for the long weekend (God save the Queen and continue to give us a day off for her birthday!).

So many great times at the Bobbin Head marina

Since Saturday was supposed to be the best day of the weekend we picked him up at the airport and immediately headed up to Ku-ring-gai national to tackle part ofthe Berowra track which winds along the river.

View Larger Map

Being back in ku-rin-gai was rather bittersweet for me because the hike started right near where we used to have our boat share.  Of course the water was calm while we were hiking, and would have been absolutely perfect for a ski ride.  We shook our fists and reminisced on the good old days when we were partial boat owners, and then carried on hiking.

The trail itself was great, winding along the different coves along the river and giving frequent views out along the river.

The cousins

Because we've been having a lot of rain there were also some burbling streams for us to traverse, and a few muddy places to slide along.

don't slip!

proud to have made it to the rock without falling

guess that there's room for two

Chris proving that he can make it higher than me without slipping

After the hike we rushed home to make it down to the couches on the cliffs above Freshwater for the sunset.  After we scared a few teenagers away (must have run out of beer) we had the place to ourselves.

Although we had a long weekend for the Queen's birthday, Sunday and Monday were filled with torrential rain almost continuously.  We took a drive up to Palm Beach to show Joe some of the other beaches, and frequented a few local establishments for some beverages, but unfortunately the rest of the weekend ended gray and soaking wet.

Secret beach - I'd tell you where it is but I'd have to kill you

Autumn Fishing

I'd rather be..wait - I am boating!

Last weekend while the girls were doing the Coogee to Bondi walk, the boys were out enjoying the day in a more manly way, trying to catch dinner.

The weather was a balmy 19 C (66F) and heading up in middle harbour the wind was calm so the water was perfect for bombing around in the ducky.

While enjoying a beer and hanging a fishing rod out, the sun put on a show as it dipped below the horizon.

Couldn't ask for a nicer autumn afternoon on the water (except maybe catching a massive kingie). 

Lucky Visitor #7: Lauren

Our next visitor to paradise was Chris's work colleague, and our amazing former dodgeball team member, Lauren.  Although it took an additional friend moving down under to get her on the plane, we were excited to have her with us for a few days at the beginning of her trip.



First sunset on the rocks, Manly in the background

Chris took a few days off so he picked her up from the airport and spent the next 18 hours or so keeping her moving so that she didn't fall asleep.  They made it all the way to Palm Beach and back, plus walked to Shelly and explored some of Manly.  By the time I met up with them in the evening at Murray's she was looking a bit dazed but was a trooper and managed a few beers before crashing for the evening.

On the Freshwater Cliffs, sunset Lazy-boy style

 After some well deserved sleep, the next morning we rented a boat to show her the harbor in style.  The weather was perfect for a day in the boat, definitely a million times better than a day at work!

Living the good life

On Saturday the weather continued to cooperate so I drove the girls back to Coogie and joined them on the Coogie to Bondi walk. 

Lauren and Katie at the start of the walk

Look at how green that water is

This is a coastal walk that winds along the different beaches on the Eastern Suburbs and is a great way to see the area.

What a place to be buried!

Bronte beach, smaller than I expected

 

Lauren with the graveyard in the background



This was my first trip to the "dark side" (big rivalry between the Eastern Suburbs and Northern Beaches) and while the walk was great, I'm definitely happy to be a Northern Beaches girl.

On Sunday we took Lauren to her first rugby game, which was also our first time supporting the local Manly Sea Eagles.  While we'd watched them win from the pub many times in the past, including the 2011 grand final, watching them win in person was quite exciting. 

The crowd was full of supporters and the stadium was pretty small with grassy hills on two sides for the supporters to sit on which made it feel like we were very close to the action.  It's always the best to be on the winning side and everyone toasted to victory!

Monday Chris continued with some time off and he and Lauren took a bus trip up to the Hunter Valley for some time in the sunshine and some wine tasting.  Now she's off to continue the fun with Katie to see some more of the country.