SEPTEMBER 2009 - BILL AND TWYLA'S VISIT

Hello again! I'm getting things caught up. Slowly but surely! The month of September 2009 was jam packed with fun with the arrival of friends from Canada. Here are some highlights of that visit.

We got home safe and well relaxed from our Honeymoon in Fiji and a few days later we were welcoming friends from good o'l Saskatchewan. Bill & Twyla Hayes came over to visit for a few weeks. Twyla and I met quite a few years ago in Martensville where our two sons were taking archery lessons. The friendship just grew from there and I was really excited to have them visit us in our new home down under.

ABOVE: Bill & Twyla's arrival at the Sydney's International Airport. Let the fun begin!

ABOVE: Bill & Twyla at Darling Harbour with the famous Opera House in the background.

ABOVE: Taken at Circular Quay Harbour on the train platform. Nice view!

ABOVE: The same day they arrived we took them to our favorite restaurant for supper that evening, Riccardo's in Wentworthville. Just over 1km walk from our unit. Bryan & I both agree that they make the best homemade pizza and homemade pasta that we've ever had. The owners Gabby and Vincent make you feel like you are part of their family - wonderful hosts!

ABOVE: Gail, this picture is for you too! TOOHEY!! Bill was on a quest while they were here. He had to try all the different beers that were available. He wracked up quite a list! Good on ya Bill! This is our favorite beer here. Toohey's (pronounced too-ee). As you can see this beer comes in 2 sizes. The small one is my size called a throw-back.

ABOVE: Bryan and I used up all of our holidays in Fiji so we had to make the most of our time on the weekends and on my Friday's off. I took Bill & Twyla to the 'Featherdale Zoo". A must to see. It is the best zoo within a reasonable driving distance from our place. I've been at this zoo a few times but I enjoy it each and every time!

ABOVE: Bill & Twyla petting the Koala at the zoo. Cute little furry animals.



ABOVE: Bill & Twyla feeding the kangaroos. They are really friendly at the zoo. The ice cream cones you can buy with food inside to feed them with. The look of excitment on their faces was priceless!

ABOVE: Early one Saturday morning all four of us took off to see the "Hunter Valley" region filled with wineries. Here Bill & Twyla are standing infront of a water fountain within the Hunter Valley Gardens. The gardens are over 60 acres of a wide variety of plant and flower life with an array of theme gardens and water features.

ABOVE: Bryan & Bill standing leaning on a statue in the gardens. Take a good look at what they are leaning on. Yup, only Bryan & Bill would think of this (and every other man I'm sure)! Ah, but we still love them. Too bad they weren't real guys!

LEFT: Throughout the gardens there are several very large postcards. This one "LOVE" I thought was one of the best.

RIGHT: "Storybook Time" One of the theme gardens where Bill & Twyla were sitting with Hujpty Dumpty!

ABOVE: A picturesque view of the Chineese Gardens in the Hunter Valley Gardens. Notice in the background there are trees with no leaves. Yes, September 1 is the start of the Spring season here and the leaves have not yet totally come out on some of the trees. Some of the trees here in Australia do loose their leaves during Winter.

ABOVE: At the Hunter Valley Gardens there is a little area with a few shops. One of them is the "Christmas in the Vines" shop where you can purchase an array of Christmas articles. Bill was on a hunt for something specific and he found it here. Six White Boomers pulling a sleigh. Yup, 6 Kangaroos pulling Santa's sleigh. Rolf Harris's song "Six White Boomers" an Australian Christmas song. Quite the find. Bill was so excited when he spied it in the store.

LEFT: Bill & Twyla in front of Sydney's oldest pub - "The Fortune of War". A really neat pub. Inside there is a list of conficts that came over and you can try and find your family name on the list. I hate to say it but Hayes was on the list.

RIGHT: Remember these blokes Twyla! What a bunch of characters these group of guys were. It was mid afternoon when we got to the pub but I am sure these guys have been there from the time it opened. We all walked into the pub and these guys came up to Twyla and I and wanted to show us a couple of magic tricks. They did that and more. Then they proceeded to show us a trick of their own by showing us how to drop a coin from your butt cheeks into a glass on the floor. And you know, they did it! Even in the state they were in, they succeeded. They even got Bryan to try it. They were heaps of fun making us laugh at times till we just about had tears. We all had a good time conversing with them and they really made the afternoon. Good Auzzie blokes having fun!



ABOVE: Our time together was coming to an end all too soon. I just want to send Bill & Twyla a couple of flowers (taken from the Hunter Valley Gardens) and say "Thank you" for coming to visit us. We had a gread time and enjoyed your company. The time, as it always is, was too short. You will have to return and stay a bit longer next time.

ABOVE: Bill, Twla and me at the Departure gate at the airport. I don't think you can see it much in this photo but the tears were falling. Both Twyla and I shed a few before they left. I won't tell you how many dropped after they left! It is really nice living here in Sydney Australia but it is even better when you have the opportunity to share it with others that you love.

Bill & Twyla - you guys take care and we hope to see you again here soon.

All our love Bryan & Maureen

AUG 2009 - OUR HONEYMOON IN FIJI

A "BIG" HELLO TO ALL

We hope this finds all our family & friends well. Yes, I know it has been a long time since I have added anything new to our blog. Way toooooo loooong! I thank you for waiting and encouraging me to "get with it". I will try to be more consistant with posting in the future. Living and working in Sydney Australia has proven to be a very busy lifestyle. Time has a way of getting away from you. Both Bryan and I are in the process of changing that so we can enjoy more of this beautiful country.

There has been a lot going on over the past 13 months. We've had two visits from friends and family from Canada. These visits will be posted on another post.

Bryan and I are doing well. We are becoming more and more familiar with things. places and even the Auzzie language. We still laugh a lot about certain words and are learn new words all the time. I believe we are adjusting well. That being said, we still miss everyone back in Canada.

I will continue to post in the same format by posting monthly the things that have been going on with us. The past months that I ahve missed I will do the same but be prepared to view a few posts at a time. I am determined to get caught up over the next few weeks.

My last post was that of our 1st Wedding Anniversary. This post is of our Honeymoon in Fiji. What a wonderful awesome place to visit. Filled with warm weather, warm and friendly Fijian people and of course the beaches and scenery. Breathtaking is the only word that comes close to describing the beauty here - a place to put on your travel list.

So sit back with a cup of coffee or better yet a glass of wine and enjoy the pictures and imagine yourself on the beautiful sandy beaches of Fiji. We will be definately going back there.

Due to the flight schedules we had to take a late flight to Fiji. This is the sunset we encountered from the window of the plane.

Once we landed in Nadi, Fiji (pronounced "NANDY) we stayed the night at the Mercure hotel in Nadi. Because of the late flight schedule we had to stay one night on the main island before disembarking to the island of Malolo where we had our accommodations booked. We had to do the same thing on the way back from Malolo as well. The picture on the left is that of one huge palm leaf. Yes, the leaf is as tall as one story. The vegitation in Fiji was incredible. Very large and lush.

This is the boat that took us to the island of Malolo. It was a nice boat ride for you got to see the other islands as we sailed by. I snapped a quick picture of the two of us on the boat.

These are a couple of the islands that we saw on our way. The one on the left is named Castaway Island. Yup, your right. This is the island where the movie 'Castaways' was filmed.

Henry, these two pictures above are for you. You can either take the boat to one of the islands or you can fly. It is a lot faster but you have weight restrictions so we couldn't fly because of the diving gear that Bryan brought with him. Bryan says it was because my suitcase was to heavy but I disagree!

Once we got close to the island of Malolo we had our own welcoming committee. They were singing the Fijian welcome song and playing the guitar. Very friendly people.

Here is Bryan having some R & R. There was a huge hammock out in front of our bure (pronounced burr-ray).

This is where we stayed. The bures here were like duplexes. We had the one on the right of the picture. The picture on the right is our view from our bure. It was just a few steps to the beach. We couldn't of asked for anything more.

The first night we were there was Fiji night. At supper we had a wonderful Fijian buffet. Wow, what a spread they layed out for us all. Every night at supper we were entertained with three people singing and playing the guitar and drums. The guy in the centre was playing the drums. This drum was simply made. It was nothing more than a wooden box and a plastic bottle filled half way with rice to tap on the drum. They used a combination of their hand and the plastic bottle to play the drum with. I know it doesn't sound like much but the sound that came from this simple instrument was just great. Their singing and playing both were wonderful.

Being this night was Fiji night we had the extra pleasure of the locals putting on a traditional Fijian dance. Very entertaining!

On Sunday we went to church. We went to one of the local villages on the island and participated in their Sunday morning service. Freddie, who went with us (and another couple visiting came as well) was nice enough to do a bit of translating for us so we were able to understand the main points of the sermon. The picture on the right shows the local church choir. Wow, their voices just rang out. Beautiful singing.

A warm tropical climate honeymoon (vacation) would not be complete for Bryan without diving. He was able to get in 6 dives during our time in Fiji. The pictures above are of Bryan getting his dive gear on the boat. Boy was he excited! I don't blame him either. The water was crystal clear and very warm.

The picture above and below of a wonderful Fijian sunset.

The wonderul relaxing atmosphere of Fiji was topped off by fantastic sunset each night.

As I mentioned the water was crystal clear. We were on the dock and feeding the fishes. They just swarmed the dock, knowing that food was on its way.

The two pictures above are of the native birds on the island. The picture on the left is of one of the birds enjoying a feast of the sweet nectar of the flowers.

While we were in Fiji we did a lot of snorkelling. Here is Bryan enjoying the warm water and diving down to see the wonderful sea life below.

Every evening around 4:30pm was 'Happy Hour' at the beach bar. We went to happy hour every evening before supper. It was great. You can sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery while being serenaded by the locals playing guitars and singing. They were really good.

LEFT: Bryan and I with Manu. He ran the dive shop and was nice enough to lend me a wet suit for the time we were there.

RIGHT: Bryan and I with Freddie. He is the gentleman that went to church with us and also lit the torches at night.

LEFT: The 'Beach Bar'. You can order light meals and this is where 'happy hour' was every night. We would have a drink and watch the sun set inthe evening.

RIGHT: A view from the dock of the beautiful clear water and beach.

LEFT: Me and "2 suit Ray". They called him that because he thought the water was cold at 25+ degrees and wore 2 wet suits. He was my instructor for my discover scuba.

RIGHT: Ray and me under water in the pool. First we had to do the pool lessons and exercises and then came the dive in the clear ocean waters.

Bryan and I coming back after my first discover scuba in Fiji. I had so much fun that the next day I did another discover scuba and Bryan went with me as well.

On our last evening on Malolo Island we decided to have a couple of drinks at the beach bar and enjoy the evening air and scenery one last time before we left the next day. Bryan spotted something moving on the beach and of course he had to investigate.

LEFT: Bryan smiling at his awesome find. A huge sand crab. I've only ever seen very little ones. Nothing this big.

RIGHT: Bryan's hand up against the crab. A better idea of how big this guy was.

LEFT: This glass looks like it is filled with milk. But if you thought that you would be wrong! This was my favorite drink while at Malolo called "The Angry Fijian". Very smooth! Anyway, we had company at our table that night. I little Geko. He was licking up the little bit of my drink that I spilled.

RIGHT: A Geko that was on the outside of our bure. Cute little guys they are. Take a look at his feet. The picture doesn't do it justice but their toes look like suction cups.

Picture of the adult pool with the kids pool below. On the right side of the picture is the swim up bar. We had to have one drink at this bar.

Well, the time flew by and now we have to also. Here we are on the dock ready to take the boad back to the mainland of Nadi, Fiji where we would stay one more night at the Mecure Hotel and then back home to Sydney. It was an experience that we will never forget. We have decided to try and make this a semi annual trip. A great place to relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and each others' company. Good-bye from Fiji!

Love, Bryan and Maureen