Archives for January 2013

On our first road trip up the east coast we made a quick stop at South West Rocks. I honestly can’t remember exactly why our visit was so brief. I think we decided to stay longer on our way back down the coast, but who knows! Well, on our way back down we didn’t stop at South West Rocks due to time constraints and I wasn’t going to let Mike forget it.

As we were planning our second trip up the coast I made South West Rocks a priority. Whenever Mike asked me what I wanted to do along the way, I always answered with, “Camp at South West Rocks!” And this time we actually did!

We camped on the beach below the Trial Bay Gaol. The weather was particularly windy at night but still pleasant. We spent our time exploring the beach and preparing our Thanksgiving dinner. (Now you know how behind I am in blogging!)

We were also surrounded by kangaroos most of the time!

Another great camping experience!

xo, jill

Just a few photos from our second time camping at Myall Lakes. A nice, quiet, and peaceful place to spend the evening in a tent. Added bonus: the pay machine was broken and the ranger never came to collect – free night of camping! Our first visit to Myall Lakes here.

xo, jill 

(Now that’s it’s summer down here and winter up there (sorry, everyone!), this post isn’t that relevant. You’ll just have to humor me.)

When you live abroad in a region that doesn’t experience autumn and then move to the southern hemisphere just before spring, you come to dread the fall. It’s not easy seeing everyone else experiencing your favorite season. Pumpkin patches, apple picking, falling leaves… it’s so hard to watch from a distance. I’ve now missed four autumn seasons in a row and lamented every one.

This time, however, I had a little something to help me combat everyone’s gorgeous photos of fall foliage: spring flowers.

I first noticed the purple flowers of the Jacaranda trees in mid November. It seemed like everywhere we went these purple trees were cheering up the neighborhoods. Mike’s friends in Manly had a giant one in their backyard. I really love the purple color. I feel like it’s a somewhat unique color to see such a cool shade of purple in nature.

Jacaranda trees are native to Central and South America and have been introduced to parts of Asia, Africa, North America, and Australia.

Next, I was equally delighted when the Flame Trees began to bloom. It might be obvious where their name comes from but here’s an interesting fact: The tree drops its leaves after the dry season leaving the branches covered in only the bright bell shaped flowers. It’s an intense color experience!

Flame Trees are native to the east coast of Australia but are now grown worldwide. The little fruit pods, called follicles, were traditionally eaten by Aborigines. Beautiful and useful!

Frequently, these two varieties of trees are planted next to each other because they bloom at nearly the same time. The contrast of the two colors is truly striking. It’s just a shame that the flowering season is so short-lived. I always want flowers to stick around just a little longer.

A few weeks ago a couple of my friends were in Sydney for a few days before heading to New Zealand for a bike trip. Not wanting to miss their smiling faces, Mike and I jumped on the train and headed down to meet them. We spent a few hours chatting on Bondi Beach and it felt so good! I guess I was lucky while living in Abu Dhabi because with Molly there, I always had a connection to home.

Being at Bondi Beach reminded me that I never shared photos from when Mike and I visited back in October. I used my point and shoot so the files were in a different folder.

So…

…way back in October between leaving Newcastle and heading to Hillston, Mike and I spent an afternoon at Bondi Beach. Getting there was a little bit of a pain. We had to take a couple of trains and a bus. Unfortunately, we got off at the wrong bus stop, so there was a pretty long walk involved too. Fortunately, we ended up at Sculpture by the Sea so the walk wasn’t so bad after all.

Sculpture by the Sea is an annual event that turns the coastal walk from Tamarama Beach to Bondi into an outdoor sculpture park. While the sculptures made the walk much more interesting (it’s really beautiful on its own), they also slowed us down. It was a popular place to be!

After finally arriving at Bondi, we relaxed on the busy beach.

With so many gorgeous beaches in Australia, I can’t say Bondi was my favorite… but it’s something you’ve got to see.

xo, jill

*I always sing this Ben Lee song to myself when I think of Bondi…and I just realized I’ve been singing it really wrong. Oops!