Wildlife

The wildlife over here is something else.  Wyatt and I have been here for just over a year and it hasn't seized to amaze us.  Marg and Dale have been here for a little more than a week and we have already bumped into Kangaroos, Koalas in the wild, Monitor Lizards, Cockatoos, a Blue Tongue Lizard, a type of small shark (possibly a Leopard Shark) and an Octopus. 

The weather has improved lately and whilst snorkelling yesterday Wyatt found an Octopus under a shell. It was pretty small, so we kept it in the goggles in a bit of water to get a closer look.  Whenever you touched it, it would turn into a beautiful fluorescent blue pattern.  After a day on the beach, we came back home and googled it.  It turned out our pretty little Octopus is one of the most poisonous of the marine life... it turns blue when threatened.  Luckily for us it's pretty docile.  I will never ever touch or poke anything from the wild again. Ever.

Apart from being amazed- and scared by animals, we've also been sampling some wine from a couple of the hundred vineyards in the Hunter Valley.

 The Lace Monitor came a little bit too close during our picnic

 Monitor traces in the sand

 Waiting for the low tide (that never got low enough) at the Spit to cross over to a neighbouring island.

Well, it's just another half an hour here until New Years Eve, so Happy New Year to all of you! We're heading to Sydney tomorrow, and are looking forward some spectacular fireworks!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you! Hope you had a good, relaxed holiday with family and friends.  Some of you are probably busy right now celebrating, and for others it all took place a couple of days ago.

As I mentioned before, it doesn't really feel like Christmas over here, but thanks to Marg we now have a little Christmas corner on our TV bench with snow and a little tree all the way from Canada! It was a nice surprise and very much appreciated.

Coming from different countries has it's benefits. We got to have two Christmas dinners! One on Christmas Eve (that's when we celebrate Xmas in Sweden) with meatballs and some Gluhwein (almost like our Swedish equivalent glögg) and one on Christmas Day with a big Turkey dinner and Australian Pavlova for dessert.

The weather has been cooler than normal for this time a year, but the last two days were really nice, so we've been on the beach, having BBQ:s and going for hikes during the day time.

 Santa sneaked in during the night:)

 Meatballs!

 On our way up Mount Tomaree

 Zenith Beach

 Christmas lunch on the beach!
 

Pavlova, Aussie Xmas tradition

 

 We went for a Xmas swim at the Ocean Baths and while I enjoyed the sun...

 ... a sunburnt Wyatt didn't

Gifts all the way from Canada, thanks uncle Charlie, Cass' and Grandma!

Visitors!

We've got visitors again! Wyatt's parents Dale and Marg arrived a couple of days ago and it's really good to have them here.  It's been over a year since I last saw them so we have a lot of catching up to do:) I'm looking forward to the next two weeks and hope for the weather to improve...

A visit to Newcastle Museum and a BBQ (as long as it stops raining...) in Nelson Bay is on today's schedule.

Giant Ants

We came across this huge Red Bull Ant last week in Salamander Bay when we were looking for the mama Koala and her baby.  I much prefer the Koalas.

Master Chef

We spent yesterday evening in great company and had some really good food.  Quintin and Sal were hosting us at their place, but we all contributed by cooking a dish each.  After a beautiful asparagus starter by Kim and Simon and prawns for a main dish, it was Wyatt's and my turn to show off:) Our lemon cheesecake turned out a little bit less firm than we wanted but it was still pretty yummie!

                            Solomon loving the attention