Category Archives: Uncategorized

Well, here we are at Sydney airport, waiting for the flight home. It really does not seem that long since we were leaving Exeter to come here, but what a lot we have done and experienced since then! And what a lot of memories we have created! Reflecting back on our time down under, IContinue reading “2nd February 2020”

Today is our last day in Wollongong. We leave on the train for Sydney in about an hour, and we’ll spend two nights in Sydney before flying home. It feels very strange and a little sad to be saying farewell to the apartment which has been our home for three months! On our first fullContinue reading “31 January 2020”

Two days of celebrations – we really know how to party! Today is Australia Day – when the Australians celebrate being Australians. In actual fact, it marks the day in 1788 when the first British ships arrived in New South Wales and raised the British flag. So it is a little bit controversial, as sinceContinue reading “26th January 2020”

Celebrating the Chinese New Year! We were really lucky and spent the evening with Chinese friends, Honglin and Jin, here in Wollongong, having a real Chinese experience of their New Year. This year, the Chinese New Year is today, the 25th of January, and it is the Year of the Rat. Each Chinese year isContinue reading “25th January 2020”

This blog entry is co-authored with Mia. Our day at Symbio Wildlife Park involved many reptiles in a reptile house, and a Reptile Extravaganza Show. Mia is fascinated by reptiles, especially snakes, so this was a great experience! Australia has 20 of the 23 most venomous snakes in the world, and at Symbio we sawContinue reading “17th January 2020”

No blog about Australia would be complete without an entry on the white cockatoo (or the peckatoo, James?). Throughout this part of New South Wales, there are hundreds of thousands of the sulphur-crested cockatoos. These are beautiful white birds in the parrot family, with a vivid yellow crest and soft lemon feathers under their wings.Continue reading “16th January 2020”

January 14th – and Summer’s first birthday in the sun! She celebrated her twelfth birthday in the Australian sunshine, so very different from the cold, rainy weather in Bradninch at the moment. We visited Sydney Aquarium – and had a marvellous time exploring the oceans. There were tiny seahorses (my favourites); tropical fish of everyContinue reading “14th January 2020”

We have just returned from two days on Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, full of tropical experiences. The island is very small with no cars, just rather reckless motorised buggies that can be hired for a ridiculous rate. It is full of beautiful tropical flowers, coconut palms, blue lagoons, and wallabies grazing onContinue reading “9th January 2020”

A New Year, and a new experience in Australia for Summer and Mia, John and Emily – arriving in Sydney on a ‘catastrophic fire-risk’ day, and a day when Penrith in Sydney was the hottest place on earth. Naturally, a trip to the beach on Day 1 was the best way to cool down, andContinue reading “8th January 2020”

We have had a couple of lovely days of blue sky and temperatures in the mid 20s, and lots of swimming – a real contrast to the weather on New Year’s Eve. Last night, we celebrated my birthday early by having dinner at the Lagoon restaurant, overlooking the sea. It is famous for its seafoodContinue reading “3rd January, 2020”