Mallacoota

Sun 6.11.2011 - Wed 9.11.2011

by Siegmund

Next stop, right in the middle between Sydney and Melbourne is the sleepy coastal town called Mallacoota. In contrast to the Big 4 Narooma Caravan Park with all the facilities we decide to take our chances in the no facilities Shady Gully Caravan Park about 2 km out of town. Who needs facilities when you have guitar playing/singing hippies as neighbours. And again: Hey Jude,…

Great nature walks, great views and lots of pelicans who continue to entertain the kids.

The morning of our last day it is raining cats and dogs and it turns out that our Jayco Eagle is not as waterproof as the brochure claims. We go out for breakfast in the local bakery and get in touch with the local church group who invite us and the kids for a sing and dance in the community centre. This weekly event called “ mainly music” turns out to be a great success with the kids and more importantly we score an extra cup of  coffee under a blessed waterproof roof. We decide from now on to go out for breakfast each morning it rains.

"Shabby" Gully Camp 

Professional dishwashing team

Going for a cruise on world's smallest cruise boat

Real tough guys wear life vests

Narooma

Sun 6.11.2011 - Tue 8.11.2011

Next stop on our trip is Narooma, about 340 km south of Sydney. 

We are now 2 weeks on the road and in true "camping mode". 

We have become used to the mozzies and flies, and Eva evolved from squealing in a high-pitched voice by the mere sight of an insect to simply waving them away. 

We are now also used to living and sleeping in one single room, having sand in our beds and taking showers with our slippers on.

Further we learned our first major lesson about picking the right camp spot: NEVER choose a site with a muddy underground if your child likes to eat dirt! (no matter how perfect the ocean view) 

Same goes for loose pebbles, sand, trees with little stingy leaves and nearby stairs or ditches!

"Steve dangerous" is alive and has 2 little fans

Morning swim

Watching the ocean in our backyard before going to sleep

Jervis Bay

Thu 3.11.2011 - Sun 6.11.2011

Jervis Bay is about 200 km south of Sydney. It's known for its beautiful white sand beaches and clear waters, and the bay is home to many dolphins. We have been here a couple of times before so this time we didn't feel the urge to do a lot of sightseeing. We mainly focused on relaxing, having fun with the kids and enjoying our new home.

Enjoying life

Chasing the seagulls... or not

Turned out Alexander was heading for the french fries that a man was feeding the gulls! (he was happily chewing on one about 10 seconds later...) 

Northern Beaches

Sat 29.10.2011 - Thu 3.11.2011

Our first stop is the Big 4 Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park in North Narrabeen.
Some people seemed surprised by our decision to start our trip in the northern suburbs of Sydney, since we lived in Sydney for nearly 3 years. The reason is simply that it is one of those places we never got to know really well, apart from Palm Beach. For those of you who don't know Palm Beach, it is the northernmost suburb of Sydney, nestled on a peninsula with the Pacific Ocean on one side and the calm sailing paradise of Pittwater on the other side. It is absolutely stunning! They use this location to film the exterior scenes for Home and Away, hence my addiction to this (great!) Australian soap opera!

It was great to discover the northern beaches: Narrabeen, Newport, Avalon, ... all are truly amazing places. It must be nice to live down here: great beaches and rock pools, unspoiled nature with acres and acres of bushland and beautiful headlands, and yet close to the city.
We did some amazing walks with Eva & Alexander on our backs, who were happily listening to the birds, watching the trees and singing songs.

 Somewhere between Avalon and Whale Beach

View towards Whale Beach

You are probably mainly curious to know how we are finding life in a camping trailer. We love it! Camping with kids is in many aspects easier than living in a brick house. There is lots of free entertainment: other kids, old people going to the amenities in their night gowns, cute little bunnies hopping on the grass, singing birds in the trees, ducks with their little ducklings joining us for breakfast and much more. At one stage there was a duck sitting under our camper trailer, quacking right under Eva's bed just when she was about to go to sleep. Eva looked a bit puzzled and even more so when I told her: "It's nothing honey, it's just a duck sitting under your bed"!
Eva & Alexander already feel perfectly at home in their new little house. It's amazing how easily children adapt. Even the very first night they slept like roses, as if they never lived in another house or slept in another bed!

Checking out the ducks in the morning

Ducks feeding on leftovers (= all sorts of food dropped or thrown on the ground by Eva & Alexander which is usually A LOT). 

We should take some of these ducks home!

Who's having most fun?

Alexander checking out his new little bed