Tuesday 31 January 2017

New Years' Evie

This is Mark on the maiden voyage of the camping gear that he got for Christmas. We spent an evening up in Seymour on the night of the 30th Dec so we could get to the New Years Evie festival early doors. 


The view from the tent 


Look at the colour of that sky!!!!


This was the gates that welcomed us to New Years Evie - yes that's really what it's called. 


The hulk hand stubby holder. I think this will feature in lots of future posts. 



The damn at the farm. This makes it look like it was slightly less hot. It was sorchio. 


It was good fun. We met up with a friend, Natalie, and met her mates too. Went to bed early doors though - my bad. #toryfail

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Christmas Past


Well after the event and a long time since our last post!!!!

This Christmas was always going to be a bit different as we found ourselves so far away from the UK but we teamed up with our lovely Dutch neighbours, Paul and Inez, to celebrate our Orphan's Christmas down on the Mornington Peninsula (about an hour and a half away from Melbourne). 

We took a strange little Air B'n'B whose main saving grace was the hot tub. There we shared an epic Christmas meal that started at about 6pm and finished at 3am with the final, side-splitting cheese course. In between there was handmade pumpkin and feta ravioli (cooked by Paul), steak with a lovely cauliflower salad (made by Mark), a palate-cleansing sorbet followed by panna cotta (that Inez lovingly made).  


I am not sure why we chose to pose inside this vine but here we are.


Mark sporting Christmas glasses from my parents. 



Paul on a mission to find a fabled rock pool for us to cool off in. It was about 1 million degrees and there was no shade! 


Looking down onto the Blairgowrie rock pool. This was a great find, it was a large, deep rock pool that (braver) people jump into from the above rocks.


This is a picture of Mark, Paul and Inez taking the easy way into the rock pool. I think that If the three of them made an album, maybe this would be the cover shot. For the record, Mark wasn't naked.


On our return we opened presents from the family. Here's a little video of Mark opening the tent from the Roberts family. Cue lots next post about camping! 



The Garforth-Bles State Visit

Just a few photos from my Mum and Dad's visit to Melbourne 10-28th Nov. 

Although they had been to Australia some 30 years ago this was their first visit to Victoria so it was great to be able to spend time with them showing them why we're here now and all of the great little spots we have been discovering. 

The first photos are taken on the first weekend of their stay. Here from the Puffy Billy railway. 





Last stop Menzies Creek. 


The following day we (casually) took a helicopter from Melbourne down to the Great Ocean Rd and back to mark my parents' 40th wedding anniversary earlier in the year. 


Dad in the front seat of the helicopter. 


And us in the back. 


It does seem like a bit of a tradition that when we visit The Twelve Apostles it's raining. Here's us  being very British just before having a picnic. 



The view from the helicopter. 



We took the following week off travelling down with them by car (to the tunes of Bruce Springsteen) to the Great Ocean Road. Here's Mum and Dad at first stop Urquhart's Bluff  (also my birthday). 


 A Rosela babysitting Dad at the first house.  


 Teddy's Lookout looking down onto the Great Ocean Road. The weather was (finally) phenomenal. 


Below, post-ice cream at Apollo Bay. 


Apollo Bay 


A really bizarre photo of us ducking under the waves fully clothed. 


Mum and Dad at the G. We went to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (or the MCG, or just 'The G') to watch cricket - we were very confused, even though Dad knew all of the rules!


It was a great visit with hi-lights for me, a day in the helicopter, several key Australian wildlife spots (roos, koalas, dolphins),  introducing them to our friends and swimming in the sea with Dad and them being there for my birthday. Thank you for coming all the way to see us. x