FAMILY TIME AT SALAMANDER BAY

Dear Wil, Brendan and Kerry (well they're the only ones I know that read this blog!!!) Kerry's from saddos!

The resort was good fun. LJ enjoyed the pool and Jeremy just.... well, he just enjoys everything (usually). Especially when you've just turned 30!

SALAMANDER BAY – LE MEILLEUR HORIZONS GOLF RESORT

Tuesday – Deb/Bren/Logan and Owen and Gra and Fay arrived at the Le Meilleur Horizons Golf resort at Salamander Bay around 4 pm. The resort is situated about 50 km from Newcastle or 150 km from Sydney. We spent a quiet evening getting used to the place.

Wednesday – We visited Oakvale Farm and Fauna Park where we got up close and personal with lambs, kids, calves, emu chicks, ducks, geese, wombats, dingoes, ostriches, pigs, koalas, roos, wallabies, wallaroos, peacocks, chooks of various colours and breeds, cockies and more. The ideal place to take a young bloke who’s just turned 2! Logan Jack (LJ) certainly enjoyed the animals and saw quite a few he’d never seen before. His vocab sure got extended. There was a minor hitch when he got between a bottle of milk and a hungry bunch of lambs and kids! The small animals weren’t too worried that LJ had been felled in their midst. Fortunately grandfather and father came to the rescue and extracted him quickly from the line of fire before he was trampled underfoot and scarred forever. It resembled a mini version of “running of the bulls”! His great grandfather Jack (whom he’s named after) would’ve been more amused than concerned once the danger was over. Jack (my dad) passed away sixteen years ago.
Dinner at nearby Soldiers’ Point Bowling Club was enjoyed by the team. Having play equipment right outside was an added bonus.

Thursday – The team (minus Brendan and three and a half month old Owen) went on a whale and dolphin cruise in the morning. Once again there was good news and bad. We saw a few whales and heaps of dolphins. The dolphins enjoyed racing along at the front of the catamaran (right under our eyes) much to the enjoyment of all including LJ. The bad news – I got terribly seasick and chucked up FOUR times! Fortunately it was all done in the privacy of the onboard loo! (No cameras... sorry.) My recovery was as quick as the decline itself. Next time, remind me to take a tablet would you? It was still a beaut trip. Today Jeremy (our #3) turned 30 (see earlier photo). In his absence we celebrated his “coming of age”!
The barbie by the pool at night was great.

Yep, this was just one of the dolphins.

Friday - A quiet start to the day. Off for a swim at one of the many beaches in the area. Met up with friends Margaret and Walter who just happen to own an Avan, ride a tandem and share our faith! Not a bad trifecta! They showed us a good spot with a lovely shade tree owned by Mary. Thanks Mary. Fay headed off to collect Jeremy (the birthday boy) from Newcastle – about 50 km away.) He lives in Sydney. We had more swimming in the afternoon and then a BBQ at night after Jon and Peta (daughter #2) arrived from Newcastle. Ros and Stuart Manley joined us for the BBQ which was an added bonus. Ros is a 2nd cousin of mine. They retired here from Canberra a couple of years ago. Fay and I headed back to their place to sleep the night as previously arranged. We’d run out of beds at the resort!

Saturday – PJ and Jon headed back to Newcastle in the morning to feed their dogs. The rest of us headed to Little Beach where we met up with Earl and Julie Hughes from Karuah (an hour or so north of us here) for a picnic lunch. I bought a pair of sandals in Nelson Bay enroute. We often buy sandals here as we’ve found Jane’s Shoe Shop seems to have sandals that suit us in style, comfort and price. Lunch was purchased at the small kiosk at the end of the beach. The tucker turned out to be spot on. How privileged we were to catch up with Earl and Julie. Julie was my teachers college girlfriend back in 1962! Wow! More swimming in the afternoon followed by great tacos for tea. Turned out to be really scrumptious meal appreciated by all. Plus the benefit of eating “at home” in our apartment. A couple of bottles of champagne plus a bunch of beers and even a red were enjoyed by the team. Fay and I finished up at Manleys’ once again for a bed. Thanks Stuart and Ros. (I'll bet Kerrie from Saddos wishes she was here!!)

Sunday – Fay and I got to chat with Manleys’ daughter Janet in Denver via Skype before heading back to the apartment. We hadn’t seen her for maybe 15 or 20 years! How long guys?
After deciding against quad biking (would’ve cost us $130 per person for 2.5 hours), PJ, Jon and Jeremy headed for Toboggan Hill for tobogganing and mini golf. LJ and friends went swimming yet again in the resort pool. Think Bill would've given that a go!

Deb, Logan Jack, Jeremy, Peta and Owen Cooper at "home time".

The “clean out the fridge” lunch was successful and nutritious. Then the kids headed off to their homes. And we were left with a morgue-like quietness in our lovely pad. Serenity, isn't that what the guy (Michael Caton) in The Castle used to say?

We headed down town for Fay to buy a top at one of the cool clothing shops and then proceed to Derek and Yvonne Whitmore’s via one of the lookouts. These folk are Servas friends we’ve known for many years. We share a great love for travel with these friends so a number of stories were trotted out during the afternoon. A lovely arvo tea with some friends of theirs - Graham and Doris (also Servas folk).

Then it was to Walter and Margaret Lamond’s for a lovely pizza and salad followed by fruit and slice. Always great to spend time with these folk we originally met at a tandem bike rally maybe ten years ago. Finally home to our apartment for our last sleep in a very quiet pad. Very quiet compared to the action that had taken place over the previous six precious days.
Our family gathering turned out to be a ton of fun. We are really blessed with our family. Thanks Fay for engineering the tucker scene with one hand tied behind your back. You are indeed a living legend… but then Coult told me that over forty years ago didn’t he?

BACK HOME AGAIN

In Adelaide we stayed with good friends Andrew and Alexander (and their parents Jack and Helen). They are cool dudes. The kids are chronic soccer players! They are addicts! Helen has only one problem.... she dishes out too much great tucker! We had some good laughs and heapsa fun there. I identified Andrew as COY and Alexander as SHY. Their parents think I got it wrong! What would they know? Jack has only one problem - he doesn't wash his wife's car when he washes his car! Bad move Jack. I know.... I should have done it!
Thanks for a great visit. [They are SERVAS folks.]

Well, I have blogged about Brad and Kathy before. If you go up to the top somewhere, and type in BRAD where it says SEARCH... you'll find what I said before. [Wish I had Rodney here to help me now.] I cycled from Perth to Adelaide with Brad in 2003. This guy had cancer in 2004!!! Well, I have some bad news for you. I'm sorry to say that this guy has sold his bike! Yes, sold his pushie! Can you believe that? How could you do such a thing? He used to be such a neat bloke too! But I still love his lovely wife anyway!

Seriously, Brad is WELL! Very well! If you wanna know more.... ask. Fancy, he sold his pushie! I can't believe that.

In Junee we caught up with my cousins. Great blokes. They own Junee (along with their mother, Ida.) They know all about Junee and the whole district and a fair bit about everything else there is to know. We had a lot of fun even if I was too tired to watch much of the 3rd cricket test on their pay TV. They live in the house that used to be my grandparents' home when I was a little kid. Fond memories. [Actually Bruce doesn't live there... he lives down town.]

Thanks for a great visit. You folks are gold (as my Jeremy would say.)

What a stunner! And the chick in pink's OK too! Thanks for a tremendous stay Pat, Bev & John. It was great to check up on things around the farm and see 4 of the grandkids. I hope #2 isn't still wandering around looking for Fay to read her that story again!

This one is a tough one! But he can be gentle too. And his Dad can be gentle too, except when he's backing his truck!

It's always great seeing a Dad interacting with his little kids and seeing them learning so much. They are so lucky to have such a beaut Dad, who loves them so much. We miss you already Bella and JAK! Hope Sam the lamb is going well. More photos coming.

Yep, I think this kid's parents are gonna need a couple of big sticks to beat off the admirers in a few years' time. What do you think?

Thanks for a top time on the ranch folks. Much appreciated.

Shots of R & A and even the "general" to come.

It is great to be home again. Tomorrow it'll be 7 low and 19 max. That's not bad. I know Fay would've loved to have the wood fire and some of that wood we cut to give the house the charm that only a wood fire can give.

Thanks everybody for helping to make our great trip an awesome time.

ADELAIDE PERTH TRIP

Departed Dubbo 20 March.
Visited Phil and Pam in Tumut. Folk from Moula days. Phil is the world’s greatest dentist and is now specialising in tooth implants. Pam (pictured) was recently chosen as the Citizen of the Year for Tumut. What an honour. Next time I’m there I’ll have to play table tennis against Phil, and that’s not going to be a pretty sight. He has been practising heaps. Phil’s an ex Hurlstonian and Pammow used to teach with Fay in Moula (when they were both single).
Next stop was Rutherglen where we attended a Rotary wine tasting night out at Morris Winery. Most enjoyable. Thanks Graham and Margaret. Graham is currently having treatment for prostate cancer. We went for a bike ride… just Graham and I. They are really involved in heaps of community related events and projects. He's also ex WWTC.
We then headed for Bendigo. Caught up with Anne and Alan on their property at Springhurst on the way. For someone who was diagnosed with cancer years ago, Anne is a real shining light. Taught with Anne in Sydney in 1965 (first year teaching for both of us.) I thought Anne was alright! (That means pretty cool). Now I think she’s fantastic! What a great faith they both have.
In Bendigo, we visited Roy and Nancy. It’s 15 years since Roy was diagnosed with Parkinsons. On Thursday night he was pretty “jumpy” which bugged him a bit. We go back a long way – Roy and Nancy and myself. I taught three of their four kids at a one teacher school called Niemur. And they’ve ll turned out pretty good! The third kid, Christine, has just become a grandmother recently! Strike I must be getting old!
On to Mt Gambier – tad over 400 km. Here we have holed up with Jeanette and Colin. We’ve known them for about 15 years – they’re Servas friends. Colin is principal of a local primary school and also does a fair bit of work for ABC Radio as a sports journalist. They’ve visited us in Dubbo and Cudmirrah. This is our third visit to the 2nd largest city in South Australia (did you know that?) He underwent major heart surgery maybe a couple of years back. Yesterday and today we watched North Gambier beat East Gambier in the cricket final. North's 129 didn’t look competitive but today East Gambier collapsed about 15 runs short of the meagre total. Amazing what happens in a grand final.

Last photo above shows us with Colin and Jeanette as well as the crazy couple from Narrawong - Lady Di and Gra Gra! We found them in a pub in Nelson (as planned.)
Tomorrow we have to attend a school camp which includes cycling as a feature. Looks like we’ll unravel Banana Split and give a few kids a spin on it. Should be fun.
Scheduled to be in Adelaide by Wednesday. Maybe 450 km. Looking forward to catching up with Servas friends and Di Di (ex WWTC) and her family. Di Di is my ex girlfriend from 1963! I was madly in love with her. When Fay and I married back in 1967, she chose Di Di as her bridesmaid, but dressed her in pink just to be sure. Maybe next blog will show photos of Di Di. You be the judge!