Bouddi National Park

There is so much to see and discover in the area we live in, and last weekend we decided to head south of Newcastle for a change.  We ended up in hiking in Bouddi National Park with surrounding beaches and bays.  A beautiful area and a lovely day despite a sudden downpour of rain and a few arguments as to wether or not it's wise (not to mention safe) to poke around with long sticks in the nearby bushes during our hike, looking for exotic creatures (snakes, salamander and spiders) to pop up... You can probably guess who the guilty one is...

   McMaster's Beach

The start of our hike

Getting ready to poke...

Heavy rain

Soaked

Nearly there!

Maitland Bay. Like Cast Away, completely deserted

Welcome to the world!

We've had quite a busy week and weekend, but our adventures pales in comparison to the arrival of two beautiful little babies in the last week.

5 days ago,  Emma and Oystein welcomed their little daughter Linnea to this world, William is now a big brother and I'm a very proud auntie!! Grattis till hela familjen!

Today in Canada, Cass and Cassandra welcomed their little son Lucas James, Abigail Grace is now a big sister and I'm a very proud uncle! Congratulations, good work Cassandra!

At times like this is really tough to be so far away, but you're all in our hearts and minds and we're with you despite the physical distance.

Newcastle Showgrounds

Tro det eller ej, men trots att vi spenderar en hel del tid med var nyfunna hobby fiske, hinner vi faktiskt med annat också! I söndags spenderade vi ett par timmar på Newcastle Horseshow/Market som bjöd på äkta marknadskänsla med spåtanter, hundutställning, hästhoppning, karuseller, vedhuggningstävling, massor av marknadsskräp till försäljning och sist men inte minst massor av mat!! (det blev chili korv med ost och lök för vår del!!)

Diverse fåglar...

Världens sötaste lilla Shetlandsponny föl!

Färgade höns påsken till ära

Kaktävling!

Kingsley Bay....

Located in Anna Bay and within Port Stephen's, Kingsley Bay is a small but impressive inlet where during high tide the calm waters suddenly turn very violent. Although the pictures do no justice, the waves easily reach 10-15 feet tall and create a snow like landscape churning up sea spray and foam. Easily an ideal place for a picnic with the Lintott's or Koping-Lind's. Hard to believe that people still surf in the mess..

Finally Something we can eat...

Me in the surf at Shoal Bay Beach

Jo and her Tailor

Rock fishing and a low carb beer (watching my figure)

The massive Blue Mackerel 

Blue Mackerel prior to entering my gastrointestinal tract

Finally we caught something to eat....or so we thought. After a day of rock and beach fishing we finally landed a fish larger than 30cm. Excited with the prospect of a nice dinner we hurriedly gutted the poor Blue Mackerel and dressed it with butter and herbs. Delicious! It was only later that evening while surfing the internet for possible recipes that we discovered the Blue Mackerel needs to be at least 60cm to be kept. Shame on Johanna! Anyhow its pretty cool to fish of the beach but you tend to get pulled into the surf while trying to avoid hooking little tykes swimming beside you casting.

Green Peace, Hippies and a Protests...

The last days of summer has just ended and a cool fall has already arrived. LAst weekend at the tip of Newcastle, Nobby's Head Lighthouse was open for a display of some work by local artists. On the walk up the path through the Dog beach (Australian dog park) we were suddenly surrounded by (100+) a hoard of free-wheeling, dread locked protestors that were using the fine day to protest......the end of coal use. As Newcastle has the largest coal port/mine in the world these slick citizens used kayaks, canoes, and small fishing crafts to block the entrance of the bay to the large container ships. Largely unsuccessful, they soon gave up and went back to tea and discussions over who really shot Kennedy.

On we went undeterred, up the hill providing us with a great view of the city we live in.

Night time Fishing....

Wyatt decided to go out and do some night time fishing.  He came back looking like this....

He was out on the rocks, got a bite and slipped when trying to pull it out....He went one way and the fish and rod another way....I showed more sense and stayed at home with a glass of good red wine watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory :)  

IN MY DEFENCE THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A HUGE YARD SALE, MY IPHONE IN THE WATER, MY ROD LOST, AND MY GLASSES, GEEZ MY GLASSES.  BUT NO, MY QUICK THINKING TO LOOK PAST IMMEDIATE FIRST AID, JUMP BLINDLY INTO THE SHORE AND VICTORIOUSLY GRAB MY ROD ONLY TO FIND ALAS, THE FISH WAS GONE. THE NIGHT WAS OVER AND I GAMELY RETREATED BACK TO THE CAVE.

We've been doing quite a lot of fishing lately and even found (what we think) is an Abalone (havsöra).  A delicacy and a pretty rare thing to find close to shore these days.  There is quite a lot of money in Abalone fishing and they are normally caught by professional divers.  An Abalone diver recently died after being attacked by two Great White Sharks up in Queensland, Australia...

So far we've only caught small fish but are trying new places and new techniques in the hunt for some big fish that we can bring home and cook!!

Here are some more pics from recent fishing!

Abalone?

Plant Update!

Wyatt and I decided to start our own little garden out on the balcony some weeks ago.  As you can see, we chose quite different types of plants...It's a lot of fun watching the plants grow, and there's nothing better than picking your own fresh herbs when cooking! Wyatt takes it pretty seriously and goes straight out on the balcony after work to check on his babies and to water them....

Here's a little update!

My Basil is doing great!

Coriander

Chilli Peppers

Wyatt's spring onions (salladslök) a somewhat odd thing to grow in a pot...They look pretty scrawny to me:)

Parsley

Wyatt's carrots, I'm sceptical....



Fishing Part Deux

The fishing is fast becoming a favorite. Again, 2 hours of fishing and 2 fish each but both too small too keep. However just because they are small does not mean that they have no fight. I had a massive battle with the Tailor you see on the bottom of the page when it pulled me in getting me wet to my thighs. I had the last laugh however as you can see in the last picture. Jo is fast becoming known as a take no prisoners fisherwoman, 3 out of the 4 fish caught so far have been hooked in their eye...arrrghhhhh.

Ahhhh...in the water.

I am pissed off, Jo is laughing.

But to the victor go the spoils...loser fish (Tailor).

Jo's catch a Sweeper.

Fishing in the Sunset...

Jo and I have a new hobby and no its not throwing shrimp on the barbie, but fishing! For a mere 80 dollars total at Kmart and two season long fishing licences, we are legally able to catch the variety of fish  within New South Wales. Unlike home where the fish are smart and avoid suspicious food from strangers, the Aussie fish come plentiful and often. Using shrimp and only 1 hour over the previous 2 days, Jo and i have caught 2 fish each. Although too small to eat, we probably would have let them go anyways as the harbour is slightly contaminated with oil, coal and other undesirable stuff. One tip we discovered on our own is that when you run out of shrimp, Pastrami meat for sandwiches work just as well, no concerns for the fish that the meat is Italian. Hopefully we can catch something to eat soon even though we both haven't a clue how to gut one.

                          Jo's mystery fish. Either a rock cod or emporer fish.

                     I am all dressed up for Break-dance lessons but alas, fishing was all that could be found.

                                               Beautiful Sunset in the Harbor.

My massive Brim.

Enjoying a cup of Joe along with the lazy fishing.