MAY 09 - Shark Dive & Coonabarabran Bike Run

I'm baaack!

WOW! Am I ever making ground. Only 3 months worth of posts and I'll be all caught up, again! It is really nice to review the past few months as I am blogging. It really makes me feel that we are truely blessed to be here and to experience the beauty and the adventures that this part of the world holds.

Well, here comes May 2009. We had a couple of highlights this month. One was my birthday present to Bryan. Yes, I know that his birthday is March 30, 1960. (which by the way March 30th 2010 will make him the big 50 ) But don't tell him I mentioned it. The month of March and April Bryan was out of town quite a bit so I had to wait until May to give him my present. We went for a drive to Manly Beach, Friday May 1 2009, where I told him we were going for coffee, a walk on the beach and then lunch. We walked to Manly Aquarium and went to the front counter and I told the girl who we were. She then responded by saying, 'Oh you are here for the shark dive'. That was one surprise. The other one was that I was going with Bryan. (I surprised myself as well).

We had a blast! Or I should say Bryan did anyway. I was scared spitless! It was really neat and now that it is over, I would do it again in a heartbeat. The ocean life that we saw were just awesome. There were several different kinds of fish, a manta ray as big as a queen size mattress, and of course several different kinds of sharks. The grey nurse shark was the biggest of all. The largest grey nurse shark was 12 feet long. Huge! The sharks would come within inches of you just to see who was visiting. The sharks were fed the morning before we got there. Good thing!

















Left: Me hanging on to Bryan's hand with al my might. Note, the shark coming in from behind.

Right: Bryan and I holding our hands up to tell the instructor that we're OK!

This is a picture of two of the grey nurse sharks. Mean looking creatures aren't they? We only purchased these three pictures and the video. They were a bit expensive. The video is pretty long so it is not possible to upload it, sorry. The sharks are very sleek animals. Wonderful to watch as they glide through the water with such ease.

Coonabarabran Bike Run - May 16 & 17 2009

On the third weekend in May we hooked up with the Ullyses Blue Mountains Chapter for a bike run to Coonabarabran, NSW. It was about a 6.5 hour drive one way. We took one way on the way there and a different way back.

Left: Our first pitt stop. Some of the bikes on the trip. Our bike is the 1st bike on the left side of the picture.
Right: A view of the road with the mountains in the background.

Another pitt stop was that of an observatory centre near Coonabarabran. It is named the "Star Gazing" capital of Australia. The stars you can see from here are phenomenal. We, unfortunately were there before it was dark and it was cloudy out as well.

The view from the top of the observatory.

A group photo taken in front of the hotel where we stayed. Bryan is in there somewhere!

Well, that finishes the month of May. Next on the list is June and our first wedding anniversay. Keep checking for the next post. I'll get caught up yet!!

Take care everyone.

All our love,

Bryan & Maureen

APRIL 09 - Easter at Shoal Bay NSW

Well, here is the highlight for the month of April 2009. We both had a long weekend so we took advantage of it and went North to a wonderful beachside resort called Shoal Bay. This is where we spent our Easter weekend. Enjoy the pictures!

Usually at Easter we are used to getting chocolate "Easter Bunnies".
This year was a little different. Bryan bought me an "Easter Bilby"
It is a type of a bandicoot, endangered species in Australia.

Photo taken from internet.

And you guys think that the traffic in Saskatoon is bad! For quite a long time the traffic was bumper to bumper and just crawling along. It is a bit hard to see from the picture but believe me, I've never been in traffic this backed up before. People were right when they warned us to leave early to avoid the traffic. I guess we didn't get out early enough!

















Well, we finally made it to our destination. "Shoal Bay Hotel and Resort". Very nice place. But even a nicer view. The beach was just across the road from our hotel room. It ended up being a nice weekend. Not really really hot but just right! Warm enough to enjoy a cold one on the balcony and just sit, relax and enjoy the surroundings and views.

About 30 minutes after we arrived someone knocked at our hotel room door. To my suprise a man was holding a huge bouquet of flowers and asked for "Mrs Willett". That's me! Bryan pre-ordered flowers to be delivered to me once we arrived. What a sweetheart! The flowers, as you can see were beautiful!

We went for a walk along the beach shortly after we arrived and Bryan found rocks again. Man, he really loves rocks. I don't blame him for they are truely amazing. Many different shapes, sized and colors. Amazing how water can erode such massive pieces into true art.

The next day we went for a walk just to investigate what was all around us. We stumbled across this quaint little place. Henry, they have a place here just waiting for you!

We saw many many beautiful flowers. I was able to snap the camera quickly to get this one.

The wonderful "Birds of Paradise" flower with a "Myna" bird using it for a resting place. These flowers are absolutely everywhere. They grow in huge bushes with the flowering stems towering from the branches. The myna birds are everywhere as well.

In the afternoon we went for a walk. Picturesque Shoal Bay lies at the foot of Tomaree Headland, offering one of the best lookout spots on the East Coast of Australia. From the summit, we had a 360 degree view as far as the eye can see - north towards Seal Rocks, south towards Newcastle and inland across the Tomaree Peninsular and Port Stephens.

One of the views from the top of the lookout. This picture shows "The Spit". It is two sand dunes which connect to an island when the tide is out. You can walk across 'the spit' at low tide with care. We were there just before the tide was starting to come in. It was late afternoon and the weather was starting to cool off a bit.

We made it about 1/2 way and with water waist deep and the tide starting to come in. I told Bryan that this is about as far as I was going to go. Bryan, I am sure would have gone the whole distance, but then there is the task of trying to come back when the tide was coming in. Not a good idea we were told, because people have lost their lives trying it. We will go back another time and cross the spit when the tide is low and the weather a bit warmer.

Fingal Bay. We walked and walked along the massive beach. It goes for a long long way. This is the beach that you walk along to get to "The Spit". There are massive amounts of sand and huge sand dunes everywhere. The picture on the right shows me amongst the sand.

My "Footprints in the Sand"
.

It was one fantastic weekend. God's beauty was all around us. The sights and sounds we experienced were breathtaking. An area we will surely visit again.

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of our Easter weekend.

Everyone take care and take care of everyone!

All our love, hugs and kisses!

Bryan and Maureen

Radio dish at Cowra NSW

The blog and picture were sent from my mobile phone as a test.

This picture was taken during a recent business trip to Cowra. I took 5 minutes (maybe a bit longer) after the work was done to stop in and see this historic site.

Famous for it's use for communication during the first moon landing.

Also the subject of documentary in the move "The Dish".

The dish is huge, very impressive and is still in use today.

We hope to blog from Fiji in August, so the text amount will be less, but you'll be able to see some good photos without having to wait until we get back and start updating the blog.

MARCH 09 Trip to Lithgow & Ulysses Club Show

Hello again. Here we go with our continuing adventures down under. Let's back up a bit and start with where I left off March 09. As mentioned in my last post a more detailed view of the last few months we've been here.

In March we took a real nice bike ride to Lithgow, NSW. It is a beautiful ride through the hills and mountains just North of here.

On our way we stopped at a quaint little restaurant for lunch. We ate outsisde (it was pretty warm that day) and had a great view as well.

















On our travels we stumbled across the 'Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens'. We stopped and smelled the flowers and took in the views. A must to see in Spring or Summer to capture the flowers in full bloom.

Bryan standing among the flowers. Me among some small tropical trees. Boy, doI feel even shorter!


After we took in the magnificant gardens we went on our way and continued our ride along the 'Bells Line of Road' and just took in the breathtaking views and sites around us.

This is just one example of the views that we saw along this bike trip. The road twisted and curved all along the way. Jeff you would love this ride on your bike.

Another event we took went to in March 09 was to take in the Ullysses Bike Club Annual General Meeting which was held in Penrith, NSW about 30 minutes Northwest of us. There the shops displayed all their latest in bike paraphernalia and of course the latest in motorbikes as well. We did find a wonderful cruiser bike that we put on our wish list. Maybe the bike for us come retirement or sooner, we'll just have to see!

There is fellow rider that rides his bike here for and raises a lot of money for charity. He has a special passenger on his bike. A four legged passenger. Yes, man's best friend, a dog. This dog does literally ride with him everywhere. The name of the man and his dog I cannot remember but he raises a lot of money for charity and is quite the spectical on the streets. The government is trying to get him off the road unfortunately for they say it is not safe for him, the dog or other people on the road. He was at the show and was very happy to pose for pictures.

Picture above shows a few of the bikes that people rode to the show. Impressive turnout!

Well, that concludes our March here in Australia. Hope this post finds you all well and enoying your Summer. We've heard you really haven't had much of a summer weather wise. Let's hope it improves for you and lasts right into Fall. Keep watch for April 09 post will be coming soon.

All our love,

Bryan and Maureen

First Year Gone By!

Hello there everyone!

Well, does time fly? I was so excited a few months ago when I had the blog up to date but now, I'm further behind than ever. Wow, where did the months go?

Yes, to Bryan and I time most certainly does fly, and fast! Where has the year gone? We can hardly believe that we have been here in Sydney Australia for a full year. There has been a lot of firsts for us this past year. On June 28th, 2009 we had our 'First Wedding Anniversary' too. (more about that in a post of it's own soon).

Since we came back from our visit to Canada in January, 2009 things really went into high gear. Bryan has been really really busy at work. He is out of town a lot but that gives him a great opportunity to see more of Australia. He's been in several different areas from Cairns (Northern Queensland) to smaller centres near Melbourne and Adelaide (Southern Australia) to Perth (Western Coast of Australia).

Well, one of the firsts is that I started working in March 2009. My new place of employment here in Australia is at 'The Children's Hospital at Westmead'. I support the paediatricians in the General Medicine Department. It is a really convenient location. Only a 30 minute walk - one way. When Bryan is in town he drives me to work in the morning and I walk home afterwork. Work is very busy and has had its' challenges as well. One being trying to understand the Aussie accent and slang. It's coming though! My boss and other doctors that I deal with are very nice and the other girls in the area that support other doctors have been very friendly.

It is currently winter over here and yes, this winter we are feeling the chill in the air. One morning (Bryan was out of town) when I was walking to work I even put on my mini mitts while walking. Ya, Ya, Ya, I'm a wimp! But believe it or not it is a bit chilly here in the winter. Not as bad as Saskatchewan but I didn't like the winters there either.

Well, let's go back a few months here and I'll give you a quick run down on what we've all been up to since January.

FEBRUARY 09 - As posted previously we went to Manly Beach and watched the sunrise.

MARCH 09 - We took the bike and went to Lithgow, NSW. It is about 1 1/2 hrs Northwest from where we live. We also took in the Ullysses Annual General Meeting which was held in Penrith (1/2hr from us) and found a wonderful new bike which we put on our wish list.

APRIL 09 - We went to 'Shoel Bay' for the Easter Long Weekend. Very nice weekend. The place we stayed was the one with the red roof on it in the picture.

MAY 09 - I surprised Bryan with his belated birthday gift. Diving with the sharks. We also went on a weekend bike run with the Ulysses Bike Club to Coonabarabran - 4 hrs from us.

JUNE 09 - Our 1st Wedding Anniversary was spent in Sydney CBD (central business district). The view from our hotel room was breathtaking.

JULY 09 - We went to the 'Hunter Valley' region. Wine country! All I can say is beeeautiful! We also found the end of the rainbow as in the picture below. Honestly we saw the end of the rainbow but found no pot of gold!

Well, that is the breakdown of the past few months. Please keep checking the blog for more detail of each adventure as mentioned above. I will try very very hard to get the details of everything on the blog as soon as possible. It seems that after working on the computer all day that it is hard to sit down again at it for the evening as well. But, I will keep plugging away.

Just a couple of more pics and then I shall sign off for now. Mom Paur and Mom Willett these next few pictures are especially for you two. The birds we have around here are phenomenal. The cockatoos are always around our place sqauwking very loudly but what a sight to see! Lately there has been heaps of them hanging around. There is another bird that I always see at work. I don't know what it is called though. The Kookaburra's come and visit every once in a while by us as well. The Myna birds are always around in great numbers. They like to sit on our balcony railing too.

Cockatoos gathering for a 'loud' chat. Just across the street from us.

One of the many kinds of birds I see at work by the hospital. Beautiful!

A Kookaburra perched on the building across from us.

Magnificant Myna!

Well, that is all for now. I apologize for not keeping up with the blog but I hope to get all our past adventures done very soon. Again, keep checking the blog for more details of the events described earlier. I hope you enjoyed this brief post and remember we love you all and are missing you too!

HUGS AND KISSES TO ALL!

Bryan and Maureen

SUNRISE ON MANLY BEACH FEB 09

A HUGE HELLO to family and friends back in Canada. Fall is here in Sydney and the weather is cooling down. Yes, it does get cool in Australia. Last week in Southern Australia they even had snow. A dirty word to us!

Now that I have things caught up from our trip back to Canada I need to get things caught up on our adventures in Australia since we've been back home here.

One of the first things we did after we got back and got over our jetlag was a bike trip of course. We decided one weekend that it would be nice to see the sun rise over the ocean. And that is exactly what we did. We rode to 'Manly Beach'. It was the closest beach to us where we could see the wonder of the sun rising over the big beautiful blue ocean. What a wonderful peaceful sight it was. I was a little shocked to see so many people out at that time of day. They were either walking, jogging, surfing or swimming.

Enjoy the pictures!

We hope you can feel some of the peace & tranquillity that we did!

After we watched the sunrise we went and had a lovely breakfast. Upon returning from breakfast we had the opportunity to view the skies in a different light. I wonderful bright double rainbow was streaking across the skies!

That concludes our sunrise at Manly Beach. Awesome sight to see and a fantastic experience to feel.

Keep checking on the blog for our Easter Weekend at Shoal Bay is coming next. The coastline is fantastic there and the views we were able to see were breathtaking.

Take care of yourselves and of each other. Till next time.

Love you all and missing you!

Bryan & Maureen