So there it is!

Saturday, April 28th....a celebration of family, birthday's missed and what we consider the end of the adventure. We gathered our dear ones together to hug and laugh and fill our faces with food. It was a treat.

Here they are....with the exception of Bob's Mom (who had a prior engagment) and our daughter-in-law Maggie (who was on a gruelling shopping trip to New York City...ummm.....could any shopping trip be "gruelling" to a woman?).
Photo's: Daughter Jenn; Sharon's "wee" Mom; Siblings - Sidney and Sean

Sharon and Kim; Kim with hunky sons Shane (L) and Alex (R)

Shane and Alex playing that crazy BC game. Actually, they are swinging Australian aborigine Bull Roarers we brought back for all the guys.




Back row L to R: Shane, Sidney, Steve (son), Alex, Tina holding Sean
Front row: Matthew, Bob, Mom, Shanelle, Jenn (daughter), Kim, Paul (son) holding Ben
Next picture...swapped Sharon for Bob

So there it is! The finish to a fabulous adventure. We are looking forward to our summer boating on Georgian Bay. ...a change of plans from our intended trip to Quebec....the reason being our trip this September to China. This was organized while we were in Australia, by the friends we travelled with to Ecuador. We are certain that this will be an extremely different experience and one we are very much looking to.

All the best to everyone! Enjoy your summer (you Canadians) and winter (for our Aussie friends).

Sharon and Bob

Sydney to Vancouver via Honolulu then HOME!!!

Ok, so I didn't get to blog while in Vancouver! You know how it is.....dudes and dudettes who love to party hearty in Lotusland. Ya gotta go with the flow babes......(deep inhale....).

Where was I....oh yes, Sydney (it seems so long ago) and our last night.

We met the charming and talented Jesse down by the ferry docks at Circular Quay and he took us for a drink, to a beautiful revolving restaurant/bar called Orbit overlooking Sydney. We arrived in time for the sunset. What a beautiful sight as we floated above the city! An hour or so later, we were back on the ground and headed for Wolfie's restaurant right on the harbour and directly opposite the Opera House. As Jesse said "it's almost surreal"...and indeed it was.

Jesse is a Canadian who has been in Sydney for almost a year now and will stay for at least one more. He is a true technical guru and markets Global Gossip (we are members), a fast-growing internet corporation with great growth ideas. He loves the Australian laid-back attitude of working the hours you choose and finishing by early Friday afternoon to enjoy life. Awesome!

Jesse; the three of us outside Wolfie's

Up at 5:30 the next morning, we were at the airport by 7 for our 10 a.m. flight.

We had a ticket that indicated we would fly direct from Sydney to Vancouver however we soon discovered that we had a refuel and crew change in Honolulu (by this fall all Canadian flights will be direct to Sydney and back). Same plane so we didn't have to get our luggage. We did however have to check through security again. It was kind of spooky arriving at midnight since we were the only plane on the tarmac at that time and kind of lonely inside the airport with all the lights dimmed and only the passengers wandering about trying to find their way to the gate with no assistance.

1 1/2 hours later we were on our way for the 5 hour trip to Vancouver. We arrived at the same time and date as our departure from Sydney.....cool (that's BC-speak) man!! Total trip time....17 hours.

We flew through Customs and Immigration with them not the least bit interested in our loot (thank goodness!) and as we exited, there was our daughter Darla with an armload of flowers we hadn't seen since leaving Canada 6 months ago.....TULIPS!!! Could she have chosen a better flower? It was fantastic to see her and after a couple of tears and many hugs, we were on our way to our friends (Ray and Janet) home.

What a welcome! They had balloons and a dinner party with their daughters, Denise and Claire and their partners Edan and Ari as well as dear friends Helene and Don. Darla's husband Peter was on a work related canoe trip and didn't arrive until Monday. Everyone in attendance had lived in Ontario so it truly was a fantastic reunion with so much laughter. We were also celebrating the news that Claire and Ari are expecting. What a joy!

Darla was in Vancouver for the week working on her artwork for an art show at a gallery in Victoria. She gave Bob his choice of one of her paintings as a 60th birthday present from her and Peter. He selected a gorgeous dragonfly painting. Unfortunately, we forgot to take a photo of it to put on the blog before she took it to Victoria to frame it. Her work is now in two galleries in town and sales are steady. We are thrilled for her!

Peter arrived the next day with a new round of energy and the party continued with more visiting and more fun. Our sides and faces ached from the "happy's".

Back row: Don, Edan and Ari; Middle row: me, Darla, Denise, Janet and Claire; Front row: Ray with baby Norton and Helene; Best friends, Claire and Darla hammin' it up

Ray and Peter playing some bizarre game that only BC'ers can play. I can't explain it because it's secret...shhhhhh

Scenery in beautiful British Columbia; fun at Don and Helene's

Saying "farewell" at the airport on Wednesday.

It is wonderful to be home! We had such a fantastic time; the time of a lifetime. We flew thousands of km's and drove 31,000 km in the 6 months we were away. Of course the blog is not quite finished....not until we load the photo's of our Ontario reunion with the rest of our kids next weekend.

We learned so much and we made many friends. Life is good and we are truly blessed to be on this planet.

Three photo's we wanted you to see; two were in the 50 lb's of mail when we returned home and the other I forgot to upload in earlier blogs.

Remember the ballooning experience in New Zealand? Well this is what it looked like from the company's camera.

The Captain and passengers; The drag landing

Aussie fly......now THAT is a fly!!!!!

A very special "thank you" to our wonderful neighbours, Serge and Charlotte, for taking care of our home while we were away. Everything was perfect when we arrived home. Even the mail was sorted in a way that made it simple to plow through. We had such a sense of comfort knowing you were in charge.

Thanks also to our next door neighbours, Shant and Soola for raking the autumn leaves and shovelling the snow from the sidewalks during the winter.

Thanks once again to all of you who kept us in your thoughts, who emailed and wrote comments on the blog and who left messages via email and voicemail for our return. You were in our thoughts as well and we appreciated every connection.

More travel is on the books starting with boating this summer.

We look forward to catching up with you! Be well!

Blessings.

Sharon and Bob

Coff's Harbour to Sydney

After spending a couple of days at Coff's Harbour we made our way slowly down the east coast to Port MacQuarrie where we had a campsite beside a wonderful breakwall in the middle of town. This was a fabulous place sit by the water, drink fresh ground/brewed coffee and sit on the patio to watch dolphins in huge pods come into the lagoon to feed. Lots of walking trails through the very hilly town.

Port MacQuarrie Lookout

April 8: On to Stockton/Newcastle and on the way, we see this amazing sight..




Can you believe that we found Marilyn advertising a pie shop????? Not just any pie shop; one that is top rated in the country. Don't even ask why this statuary is here...it just is! The shop sells 160 kinds of pies including croc, emu, kangaroo and vege stuff as well. Great pies I might add!

Stockton is just a 5 minute ferry ride from Newcastle; one of the largest industrial cities on the east coast. We were surprised to see 30 tankers sitting at sea, waiting their turn to get into the port. There is a huge controversy here at the moment. Apparently the ports haven't been developed rapidly enough to handle the ships and the mining companies do not wish to involve themselves with shipping so their is a huge backlog that is costing Australia as well as the rest of the world. It has been going on since we got here so no doubt it will continue for months to come.

The breakwalls in Stockton are built on top of shipwrecks that got blown onto the dangerous sandbar near the entrance to the harbour. Most (there are 18 there) cannot be seen however here is one they left above the surface.





We stayed one night then moved on to The Entrance and the campground at Blue Lagoon. It was a beautiful spot nestled among the hills and on a beautiful...you guess it....blue lagoon.

One last close look at the surf!

We arrived in Sydney on April 10th and stayed at a new Big4 Campground north of Manley which gave us a great opportunity to explore Manley since our last visit when we arrived was very brief.

Bob called Jenn's friends, Merryne and Dave and we arranged to meet them for dinner in The Rocks district of Sydney at a German restaurant called Lowenbrau. It was real oompapa stuff and great fun. It was great to end our adventure in Sydney as we started, with these two lovely people.

Merryne, Bob, me and Dave....dinner at Lowenbrau, The Rocks, Sydney

Yesterday we visited the Taronga Zoo in Mossman district and I tried to make new friends. As you can see, I was less than successful.

I don't know why he's ignoring me!

Tonight, our last night, we are having dinner with Jesse, the nephew of our good friends Linda and Yves. Jesse moved here a year ago and we are excited to see him.

We returned our beloved WALUT to the Maui dealership and are now in the beautiful Stamford Plaza Hotel overlooking the airport.

Tomorrow (or whenever because we just can't figure out that international date line stuff!), we will be in Vancouver and back in our wonderful country.

This truly has been a fabulous experience and we have loved every (well almost ) moment of it. We have seen the most incredible sights and met amazing people. How grateful we are to have been able to enjoy six months away from home.

Thanks to all our Australian friends for giving us the time of our lives.

Now....we look forward to seeing our loved ones and great friends at home.

I will have a couple more postings once we get to Vancouver.

Love to everyone and we'll see you really soon!

Love and light.
Sharon





Look closely....can you spot the confusing message?

What d'ya think; my best side????

Who loves ya baby?

Brisbane to Coff's Harbour

After I blogged the other day, we walked the Queen Street pedestrian mall and had a beautiful lunch at an outdoor cafe in the middle of the mall. Throngs of people were passing by and we began to wonder if they were all tourists or if no one works in this city. Very, very casual city!!!




Photo's: Brisbane scenes; a Honeyeater and Lorikeet beside our van


Brisbane is divided into North and South Brisbane by the Brisbane River that winds prettily through the middle. We climbed onboard the CityCat and toured the river. The Cat is all part of the city transit system and we travelled the entire length as the Cat criss-crossed the river, dropping off and picking up passengers. This system is enhanced by small ferries that take passengers directly across the river at the busiest stations. Having boarded on the North Shore stop, we got off at the South Bank and walked around the night market, the lagoon then took the Cat back to the north side where we caught a bus back to our camp.

March 31st: We walked to the local shops which were 300 m from the back gate of our camp. Bob was walking in front of me and let out a gasp then backed up. On the ground a couple of metres in front of him was a large snake coiled. It happened to be dead but did not appear to be so when we first saw it. This was the first and only time we've had an up-close look at a snake outside of a wildlife centre or as we drove along the highways.

April 1: We left Brisbane early in the morning and drove to Surfer's Paradise and the Gold Coast. If there is anything Australia should feel embarrassed about, it would be the 35 km of Gold Coast. Think of Vegas on the ocean and you get the drift. Chock-a-block highrise hotels, motels, restaurants, surf shops and tourist shops with one objective....to part you from your money. The architecture is bizarre and it would seem that the architects had a contest to see who could build an even uglier structure than the one before......so directly opposed to anything else in Australia that it left us open mouthed. It must be what tourists and natives want since the place was buzzing with surfers even now, at low season. Interesting to see; nice to get out!

The drive through the mountains was magnificent and we arrived in Byron Bay by mid-afternoon. All we could say was "Groovy!!" Shop names like "Twisted Sista", "First Sun", "Bay Kaz-bah" and "Grooven" reflect the laid-back atmosphere of this hippy-haven. Old, middle-aged and young hippies live here and own most of the town. MacDonalds is NOT ALLOWED!!! Neither are big box stores or chain restaurants. Small business owners only in this town my dears! This too is a "must do" surfer spot.

Byron Bay Beach (above)

Views from the lighthouse (below)

We visited the Sunday market a block away from our beautiful campground on the beach and watched and listened while hippies of every age drummed and danced until late into the night. It was fantastic!

April 2: Our site was a couple of metres above the beach and about 50 metres from the surf and we were about to walk the one block to the main drag when Bob overheard an older surfer tell two younger ones that no one was allowed on the beach. We didn't hear why so headed to the shops. We called our mothers and Bob hung up a few minutes before me. When I was finished my call he nodded toward a sign in a restaurant window. It said "Closed due to the Tsunami". We thought it was a joke and asked a shopkeeper what it meant. She told us that there was a threat that the Solomon Island earthquake could cause a tsunami that could hit the east coast around 11 a.m.

It's funny how one reacts when faced with that kind of information. We didn't feel fear however goosebumps arose on my arms. We wondered how we ever would have known of the danger when no one came to our camper to warn us. People told us that the authorities pretty much relied on everyone either watching tv or listening to the radio. Also kind of strange when we realized that Byron Bay is the most easterly point in Australia. People on the beach were warned by police that they should leave however no one in the camp was aware.

April 3: We left our camp and headed up the mountain to the beautiful lighthouse that stands guard over Byron Bay. Following a nice healthy walk, we headed west, inland about 70 km to the town of Nimbin. The roads were twisty and the views were unbelievable. We arrived in Nimbin in time for lunch and found a very interesting story.

In 1973 the Nimbin phenomenon started with the Aquarius Festival drawing jaded students and dropouts. Many stayed and it is now a mix of young and old flower children. Pot is sold openly on the street in spite of a police presence in town. We bought some fresh veg and fruit at very reasonable prices then moved on to Lismore to do a bit of research for our friend Ray. No luck Ray! No one was able to help us with your query.

On to Bellina; a pretty little town with an huge prawn at the entrance to the town. It marks a shop that sells prawn "stuff" and is known to terrify small children and two-pot screamers (please see next blog entry for a definition) when illuminated at night.

Photo's: Yep, "The Prawn"; Bellina redeemed by the sunset

April 4: HAPPY AUSTRALIAN BIRTHDAY to our son Steve! It's not bad enough that you are this old, we INSIST that you celebrate it with us two days in a row!!! We will call you tomorrow.

We are now in Coff's Harbour, another lovely town on the ocean. Our site is well back from the beach you'll be happy to know and we plan to stay here a couple of days then will move on to Port McQuarrie.

Eleven more sleeps!!!

Two wonderful messages; one on a hat: "Wot flies?" and the other, a bit of graffiti on a loo wall

"There will be world peace when the love of power becomes the power of love". Awesome!!!

Love and peace to each of you.

Sharon