Human nature and alpaca encounters

Before leaving the coast, we visited Hyams Beach in Jervis Bay, which was purported to have the whitest sand in the world. The sand was fine like sugar and was very white. But what we liked the most was the feel of the sand itself, which squeaked and sang under our feet when we walked on it. I don't know why this was so. One theory is the fine sand grains are uniform in size and shape and somehow resonate when the particles rub against each other like crystals. The kids must have spent a good half hour jumping around in the sand before they tired of it.

When John and I had our hair cut in Sydney last week I chatted with the barber. He was very interested to find out we were from Canada and lamented that he wished he had four seasons including winter, since it's too hot in Sydney sometimes. I was surprised and didn't know what to say. Maybe I should have told him to be careful what you wish for, or you might end up with five months of winter. I've had a few encounters like this with Australians who clearly think the grass is greener on the other side. It really must be human nature on display - we are a restless species.

The next time it happened we were at the Cambewarra lookout, 700 meters above sea level, with views of the flat valley below including the ocean shore line, Gervis Bay, and the meandering Shoalhaven River. At the tea room lookout we saw a sign that said the lawn was a hang glider takeoff point, and that the local naval base should be contacted before lift-off. I don't know why - perhaps the hang glider will show up on military radar scopes? After being greeted by the restaurant dog, a grey Great Dane, we met an English woman who was sitting on the veranda with her two smaller dogs, feeding them bacon appetizers from the restaurant. I marvelled at the view and told her so. She said it was nice but certainly couldn't compare to Canada. I just said that every place has its charms.

Later in the day we stopped in at Fitzroy Falls, another pleasant surprise. The falls drop 80 meters straight down over sheer black and tan limestone cliffs. The kids enjoyed releasing stones over the side of the railing and counting how many seconds it took to hit the bottom. The falls reminded me of the Angel Falls in South America, which I've only seen on television. The Angel Falls are so tall that I understand much of the water turns to mist by the time it hits the bottom. At Fitzroy Falls, the cliff is so sheer that it seemed as though some the water also turned to mist by the time it reached the bottom. It was very mesmerizing.

We eventually arrived in MossVale at a bed in breakfast affectionately called Nana's Place, since the attached residence used to be home to the owner's mother before she passed away. Later we chatted with the owner on the back porch. I mentioned to Denise how beautiful the countryside was and how special I thought Fitzroy Falls was. Denise was self-effacing and qualified that it couldn't possibly compare to Canadian scenery. I begged to differ. Come on Australians - the goal is not to see who's country's mountains are taller. I personally get a kick out of anything new and different. The scenery here is definitely unique and worthy of admiration. Like I said, every place has something to offer.

We've enjoyed the last couple of days in the southern highlands around MossVale and other small towns, so called because this area is on top of an escarpment, 700 meters above sea level. The high ground makes for cooler weather and four seasons, unlike the sub-tropical coastline around Sydney. The area feels a lot like Canada in many ways - maybe it's just the quaint smaller towns that remind me of Perth or Westport in Ontario.

We certainly enjoyed spending time at this bed and breakfast, which is really a home in itself and so well appointed. We've had great luck with these types of places so far. This one has been a real treat, and everyone has enjoyed the animals especially. There's Boris the Dalmatian, Smokey the grey long-haired cat, Honey the tan-coloured horse, and a dozen or so alpacas in all shapes and colours. Elizabeth and John both were able to ride Honey today, and we were all were able to pet the alpacas, who were not too skittish.

Here's John and Elizabeth on Honey.

Baristas and the open ocean

On our first day in Australia I walked down the street from our apartment in Sydney and stopped in at a 7-eleven convenience store to grab a sandwich. The attendant was chatty and after discussing his trip to Vancouver Island, he talked up their coffee maker and suggested I try the coffee. I wasn't expecting much from a 7-eleven but thought what the heck. I was confused by the options though. Did I want a long white or a short black? I went for the long white - whatever that was. It was very good and tasted much like a latte. By contrast the next day we visited a Starbucks and I didn't find the coffee as good.

Australians are not a pretentious bunch, but they could be about their coffee. It's excellent and they're willing to pay a few dollars more to have it made to order. No ready to pour drip coffee pots are to be found here. Starbucks tried opening up some stores in Australia but most of them closed down a few years later. It turns out Australia already had great coffee on offer from many independent cafes, which have been in operation for decades. I was intrigued to learn why - Australians don't strike me as too picky when it comes to food and drink in general.

For example, just today we stopped at a very popular local burger place and ordered the burger with 'the lot', which included the beef patty, fried onions, cheese, bacon, pineapple, a fried egg and a beet - this artery clogging concoction isn't subtle cuisine. It was really good by the way. As I understand it, the country has a large Italian community, and had a very large influx of Italians after WWII. These immigrants brought their love of espresso machines with them, and spread coffee to a bunch of tea drinkers. I understand many Australians will drink an instant coffee at home, but they will take the time for a barista to make them a flat white or perhaps a cappuccino when they're out.

We're staying in an area a few blocks from the beach that looks like a suburb. After a while things started to look like other mundane suburbs, with people walking their dogs or mowing their lawns. Then out of the blue we spied a group of kangaroos hopping down the street. There are other unusual things about this neighbourhood. We heard a cacophony of strange sounds from the birds overhead, and we saw succulents taller than me growing on the front lawns. Walking by the shore we saw a half dozen large pelicans standing stoically in the water a few feet offshore while young kids fed the seagulls bread. But it's the kangaroos hopping and grazing throughout the suburbs in the parks and brush that strikes us as most strange. What an unusual animal to see.

This morning we took a whale watching boat tour from Gervis Bay. We had high hopes since October to November is prime humpback whale-watching time in the bay, where the whales come to feed. Sadly there were no whales to be seen today, but we did see a pod of dolphins swimming by, their dorsal finds and open bodies breaching the surface as they propelled themselves along. We also saw a couple of pods of seals, resting near the shoals with one of their flippers waving out of the water to either cool themselves down or heat themselves up. After leaving the bay we travelled for awhile along the sandstone cliffs, feeling the rolling waves from a open ocean with no land heading east for thousands of miles. What an awesome feeling to be on the open ocean with massive waves crashing on high cliffs, creating a mist. It all had an alien, eerie quality to it.