March 31, 2:00 PM Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
Showers all morning so we did a little shopping in Ballina. I bought one book, by one of my favorite Australian authors:
- "The Street Sweeper" (2011) by Elliot Perlman
We each had a meat pie (my first for this trip) from the local bakery. No trip is complete without one of these culinary classics.
Not a good day for photography, nor for birding.
9:00 PM We are back from a delicious dinner at a Thai restaurant in Lennox Head. I think that I now have the name of the singer that I heard when last here - Emmylou Harris.
Some days are for relaxing. This was one such day. Mmmm.
March 30, 8:00 PM Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
Today was planned as a visit to Byron Bay. We arrived about 9:30 am, parked the car in an area that provided 4 hours free parking, and then had a cappuccino and a passion fruit square for breakfast at a large open air restaurant/pub. Then we hiked up to the famous Byron Bay lighthouse and back through the path through the rainforest. Once back at the car we drove to Lennox Head where we had a delicious grilled chicken/asparagus/avocado sandwich. Then back to Ballina where we went across the road to the hotel/pub for a super chicken parmesan dinner. A very satisfying day.
March 28, 12:30 PM Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
We arrived at Lennox Head to have a coffee with a real estate agent that we first met about 10 years ago. This was a lovely chat as we brought each other up with what we had been doing.
March 27, 3:00 PM Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
We then drove to Lismore for a fine lunch with friends. Barbecued fresh prawns were delicious.
Dinner back in Ballina was fairly light - a fresh fruit salad plus some spreads on rice crackers. A relaxing evening after a full day.
March 26, 1:00 PM Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
We stopped at our favorite fish & chip shop in Lennox Head, The Bream Hole, and ordered 3 John Dory filets (Crumbed), Chips, and Calamari Rings. The John Dory was much better than what we had in the two Ballina shops, but the chips were not as good. Good fish trumps potatoes.
We returned to our unit so we could eat the chips with ketchup. After the meal we both fell asleep and didn't wake up until 5:30 PM. This was our first jet lag crash since we arrived a week ago.
March 25, 11:30 am Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
We were a little late arriving at the markets and our "regular" parking spot by a church was taken but we found a spot in the normal parking area as soon as we entered it (someone was just leaving). Our primary goal was to buy some Lemon Myrtle soap and we accomplished that in short order. We met Allan & Katie as soon as we entered the shops area, and soon found Steve & Sue as well.
We left the markets and returned to Lennox Head where we had a BLAT (Bacon, Lettuce, Avacado & Tomato) sandwich. Delicious.
March 24, 10:00 am Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
Allan picked me up at 6:30 am and we headed up to Byron Bay for a BEST2012 (Burnett-Ellis Symposium on Technology) meeting. Unknown to the world at large, these symposiums have been meeting pseudo-regularly for almost 30 years. This one had a walk to the lighthouse from the Beach House Cafe (aka "The Office") with a stop along the way at the eastern-most point of Australia to search for, and find a geocache. This is the first geocaching activity for the BEST group while in Australia although there had been earlier such activities in Banff.
First view of The Pass with BEST2012 member
Best2012ers
March 23, 6:00 PM Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
We then drove up to McLeans Ridges for a very special lunch: roast lamb and oven-roasted veggies on a bed of cous-cous. There were 6 of us, all friends from the many trips to this area when I was with the university. Great fun was had by all.
A culinary masterpiece!
March 23, 6:00 am Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
19 C forecast high 27 C with some showers
There is a light rain falling but we decided to visit the Centennial Park in Ballina to try a little birding before driving up to McLeans Ridges for a special lunch with a few friends.
The ground in the park was absolutely saturated. If one ventured off the paved pathway it was squish, squish, squish.
March 22, 4:00 PM Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
The weather has remained overcast with intermittent showers all day. We focused on trying out a new fish & chips shop only a short walk from our unit. This was actually the same location (and even decor) of one of our favorite spots about a decade ago, but which had closed shop. We have now tried 2 shops from the Ballina CBD and liked them both, with a slight preference for the one we visited today.
Frangipani blossoms
Earlier in the day, we had our first cappuccino at Pelican 181. It was still first-rate! Later in the afternoon we visited a new coffee shop and bought some Toby's Estate coffee which was recommended to us by our friends.
Cappuccino at Pelican 181
A bottle of red with some Costello Blue cheese on some Vita-Wheat crackers made for a relaxing afternoon. This cheese is not available in Canada because it is not pasteurized. Pity.
March 22, 6:30 am Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
The sound of the birds is truly delightful as the light begins. We will be sitting on our balcony in a few minutes with a fresh cup of coffee (Caddies coffee) and a bowl of fresh fruit. We are rapidly getting ourselves settled.
The fridge is very small and a challenge to figure out how to put much food (and beer & white wine) in it. The manager was able to locate a microwave and so we now can heat some things in it. Life is good.
March 21, 4:00 PM Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
Another full day with friends. We drove to Lismore early this morning and then sat back while Allan & Fran took us north past Nimbin to a place called Crams' Farm which provided facilities for picnics as well as many historic buildings. It also provided us with an opportunity to do some bird watching. We had a lovely picnic lunch and were then driven to Uki where we had a nice cappuccino (our first on this trip to Australia). The roads in the Northern Rivers area are essentially narrow paved roads that were once cow paths or dirt tracks connecting remote farms. The terrain is very hilly and the roads very windy, so the drive is quite fascinating. Nimbin appeared to be thriving.
Roadside mailbox
Butter churn at Uki
Grevillea 'Sandra Gordon'
When we returned to Ballina we stopped at the Ballina Fair shopping mall, which had a Coles grocery store, and bought a few basics such as fruit, cheese and meusli. Then I went to bottle shop near our unit where I bought some wine and beer.
March 20, 5:30 PM Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
We are beginning to re-learn the rhythm of the local culture - most shops in Ballina are closing at either 4 or 5 PM. Restaurants and pubs begin serving dinner at 6 PM.
After walking to a new seafood restaurant near our hotel, we discovered it was closed on Tuesdays. We then returned to a place on River street (the main street) where we had bought fish & chips on previous visits to this area. We bought a couple of packages of fish & chips (with the fish being John Dory) and returned to our balcony where we had our first fish & chips, with a lovely bottle of Australian red wine (a very thoughtful gift when we arrived yesterday).
(The cans of coke were necessary as we were still dehydrated from the airplane journey.)
March 20, 4:00 PM Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
This is what life is all about. We drove up to a friend's home where we were treated to a home-made hearty soup with fresh multi-grain bread, plus fresh fruit (the pineapple was deliciously sweet). A perfect lunch - healthy food and great companionship. A Grey Butcherbird joined us on the veranda for a bit. The view over the valley made for a perfect setting. Lots of laughter and good fun for all.
March 20, 4:50 am Life - Ballina, NSW, Australia
20 C forecast high 26 C with some showers
It is still dark outside. It is raining hard at the moment. It will take a day or two to get used to the tropical rain that just buckets down one minute and stops the next.
This morning we will head to a shopping mall called Ballina Fair to buy a few groceries. We are still looking forward to our first cappuccinos at the Pelican 189 just outside our hotel. I think we will drive to Shelly beach for breakfast (unless it is raining, hard) when we set out.
Here is the first picture I took on this trip, while parked at the lookout overlooking Shelly beach.
We really do love this part of the world.
March 19, 5:30 am Life - Ballina, NSW Australia
We are now settled into our unit in Ballina. We arrived via a Virgin Australia plane at 3:35 PM (right on time), and were met by the shining faces of Sue & Steve. It is really nice to be welcomed back as soon as you enter the airport. Our luggage arrived safely, and we had no difficulty renting a car. To top it off, we were presented with a basket of goodies to help us get started. In addition to some food essentials there was a delightful bottle of Australian red wine. We are truly back, and it feels like we never left.
Well actually, it does feel a little strange. I went to the wrong side of the car to get in, and then once we were moving I turned on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal. Fortunately driving on the left side of the road presented no problems. I have the traffic circles under control (the cars come at one from the right).
We had decided to head off to the Riverside Holiday Apartments by ourselves as a shower was eagerly wanted and then we needed some sleep. The unit is fairly small and has a small fridge but no microwave or cooking facilities. The manager said he would try to get us a microwave tomorrow. That will help.
As we were registering I asked if there was Wireless Internet and was told yes. Great! Well, actually, not totally great. There is an extra charge for the facility (about $70 for 2 weeks). We talked it over and decided to sign up as we want both email and news. The actual process for setting up the account was relatively simple once I overcame the problem of registering. The web site kept rejecting my application because I left the cell phone field blank (we don't have a cell phone as we turned our iPhones off to avoid the high roaming charges). Fortunately there was in interactive chat window on the web site so I typed in my problem and quickly received a reply to type in "na" in that field. After that we were operational.
Then for some food. Once again, surprises. We thought we walk to an Irish Pub about a block from the hotel. On the way we passed a Coles grocery store that we planned on using and noticed that it was closed and boarded up. Then we got to the pub and it had changed owners and didn't look like it was serving food. Also, there were only "blokes" at the tables so we decided to try another hotel on the main street with an outdoor patio. We had eaten there before and this turned out to be a good choice. The food menu does not kick in until 6 PM, but we were only a couple of minutes early so "no worries". That is something else we need to remember - most places that serve food do not begin until 6 PM. There are lots of little differences that add to the experience of being in Australia. Ordering from a blackboard, ordering the food from one place and the beer from another, paying when ordering, and not tipping (there is not even an option for this on the charge card machines) are all little adjustments -easily made and adding to the sense of being in a different culture. Phyllis had chicken parmesan and I had a truly delicious prawn fettucini (honestly, one of the best seafood pasta dishes I have had anywhere!). A couple of beers (in a schooner glass - slightly smaller than a pint. My guess is that it is what our pubs often call a pint) and we were set.
We noticed the following birds while walking to the pubs:
- Silver Gulls
- Pied Butcherbird
- Rainbow Lorikeets.
Not a great birding start, but we were not really bird watching.
We opted to save the bottle of wine we received for tomorrow and quickly went to bed.
March 19, 7:30 am Life - Sydney, NSW Australia
We arrived in Sydney at 7:30 am and were checked in for our flight to Ballina by 10:00 am.
A check of the weather indicated that Lethbridge is experiencing a "winter storm warning". The weather here is a bit better: +26 C.
March 18, 8:00 am Life - Over the Pacific Ocean
The flight from San Francisco to Sydney is 13 hours, and with the change in time zones, plus crossing the International Dateline, we arrive in Sydney Monday morning at about 7 am.
March 17, 8:30 am Life
Today is a travel day. We fly from Calgary to San Francisco and then take a plane to Sydney, Australia
The flight from Calgary to San Francisco was smooth and very quiet.
While walking to our departure gate in the San Francisco terminal we met a lady who asked us if we had heard an announcement about a change in gates. She said that she had been on a United flight to Australia yesterday but the plane had to return to San Francisco because of some problem and she was now trying to figure out where she go to catch the make-up flight tonight.
I hope our flight is uneventful.
The first surprise was that there was no wine, or any alcoholic drink, with the hot meal. I am beginning to suspect that there will be no scotch either.