Camping on the South Coast

This past weekend we were invited to go on a young, married couples (i.e. no kids) camping trip loosely organized by some couples in our church stake.  We drove down to Jervis Bay with our friends Jade and Levi, and arrived at the Green Patch camping area a little after sundown.  

The first sign of wildlife we saw as we drove into camp was this giant boa constrictor!  

With no lanterns and only a few torches (flashlights) we were able to set up the tent and cook our sausage sizzle dinner.  So greasy and satisfying!

The next morning Levi and Clark set sail on the deep blue.  

The small marina left little room for error...if you enlarge this photo you'll see that all the people from the other boat are staring and Clark and Levi, hoping to avoid a collision.  It was really windy.

The wind was so strong that the sail couldn't be put up all the way at first... Clark wants me to make it clear that they were "lost at sea" because they couldn't get the sail up, thus they didn't have complete control of the boat.  And apparently they "discovered" a deserted beach, but neither Clark nor Levi claimed it for their respective countries.  What a shame.

While Clark and Levi were navigating the waters, the rest of us were lounging on this gorgeous beach.  This water was incredibly cold, but we got in!

The girls: Jade, Bec, Marieke, and Emma.

After a couple hours of wondering where Clark and Levi were, we spotted them from afar, sail finally up and working!

And here they come!

Heading for shore!

Later in the afternoon I went on a walk around the camping grounds and spotted wildlife in full force.  Here's a mommy and baby wallaby.  The little Joey even has it's head sticking out for the camera!

And here's a kangaroo teasing me with it's tongue out.

 Rosellas are beautiful little birds we see around Caringbah all the time.  They seem pretty friendly and harmless, but I have yet to hold bird feed in my hand and test their friendliness.

So bright and so vivid...

Later in the evening we stopped by a historic lighthouse on the way to dinner.  The sign said to watch out for cliffs...

I guess the sign wasn't joking!

Awwwwww

Nothing like an intimate photo on a cliff overlook!

So not much remains of the historic lighthouse.  I believe it's been out of comission since the 1930's.  Here are the vestiges of a lighthouse that really didn't serve it's purpose very well (many, many ships sank off these shores).

The next morning Clark and I tried to capture a jumping photo with the self timer.  It didn't work out so great.   Next time we'll just drag someone to the beach to take the photo for us.

Ahhh, loving the white sand.

Group photo of the whole five couples on the camping trip.  We had so much fun getting to know new people and seeing the Southern Coast of New South Wales.  

Camping was a blast.  Thanks Jade and Levi for providing us with...well...everything we needed for a successful camping trip!  

Questionable Sunrise

The other week Clark and I had the fantastic idea of waking up super early on a Saturday morning to watch the sunrise over Cronulla beach.  It's seemed like a good idea in theory, even if we were forgoing one of two days of sleeping in over the weekend.  We prepped Friday night by buying breakfast so we could enjoy our morning meal in awe of a magnificent sunrise.

Super stoked to be up at the crack of dawn on our day off!

Ugghhh, too early.

At least we came prepared.  Strawberry milk and donuts?  Breakfast of champions for sure!

While sitting and waiting for the sun to rise, we stayed entertained by surfers AND a feral cat.  Too cute to be a feral cat? Nope, it's a bonafide living-under-the-rocks-by-the-beach feral cat.

Semi friendly, semi skittish.  I miss Gretchen.

Mmmmm...Clark enjoying his tasty breakfast.

Mmmmmm, there I go enjoying it, too.

Looks like the sun is about to make an appearance!

And moments later...uhhh, I think the sun is up and has been up for a while.  Damn you overcast skies! Our clever idea to watch the sunrise was thwarted by nasty clouds.  Maybe next time?

At least we got to watch surfers catch some waves and enjoy a delicious and most unhealthy breakfast together.  The feral cat was an added bonus.

The old men club was out in action early in the a.m.

Super sexy bods.  We're so lucky to have witnessed such a sight.

Our homestead

Here's a glimpse of living conditions here in Oz.

Only kind of crack house-ish.

As we struggled to find an apartment in an area that has a chronic housing shortage, we spent much of our time in the youth hostel on Cronulla Beach.  Here is Clark sitting atop our bunk bed.  Truly a romantic place to stay on a wedding anniversary (which we did.  WE HAD LITTLE CHOICE).

 After nine grueling, nightmarish days of thinking we may be homeless for months, we got approved for an apartment!Check that beauty out!

Laundry is extremely expensive to do here.  $4.50 to wash a load and $5.00 to dry.  So we set up a little clothesline outside on our balcony to help offset costs.

And we bought a clothes rack as well.

We bought our twin mattresses at a pool store.  We've shoved the mattresses together on the floor and yes, our bedroom truly resembles a bedroom you'd find in a crack house.  No box spring or frame, just mattress and floor. And sheets.

 Interestingly, apartment units in Australia do not come with refrigerators!  So we splurged and got ourselves a massive one.  

The first item placed in our fridge? Sunkist orange soda, generously given to us by the cashier girl at our favorite pizza place down in Cronulla.  She loved our accents and welcomed us to the country with a free 1.25liter bottle of soda! We see her at least weekly.

Our mini stove/oven.

Australian staples. These food items were found in the first hotel we stayed in here in Caringbah.  We didn't know Weet-Bix was a cereal so we spread Vegemite all over the Weet-Bix.  Big mistake.  Vegemite tastes like bullion and Weet-Bix is similar to shredded wheat. Not a great combo.  Weet-Bix has become my favorite breakfast food.  Not just because it keeps me regular but because it's filling (TMI??).  We haven't become accustomed to Vegemite yet.  Ne'er shall I say will we ever.

So we stayed in some sketchy hotels when we first arrived.  The worst hotel was so bad, we didn't even take pictures.  We were so upset by our circumstances we wanted to die of frustration (well, maybe I did).  This is the bathroom of our first accommodation, the Taren Point Hotel.  Classy bathroom.  Loving the chipped paint and multi colored tiles.

I hope this gives y'alls an idea of what living conditions are like for us nowadays.  Really, it's not bad.  Life is good.  We have a roof over our head and even though we had to bug bomb three times, I feel safe at night.  Just hoping we never see a Huntsman spider in our place!

Symbio

The other weekend we got all friendly with some Australian wildlife.  Our friends, Jade and Levi, were gracious enough to give us a tour of a wildlife park in the area.  It was a blast and it was so cool to see animals that are native only to Australia.

Super stoked on wildlife!

A tired Tasmanian Devil.

Poor little guy.

An overactive spider monkey.

Feeding little ponies.

Bambi.

Check out that Mohawk on the cockatoo! 

Mommy kangaroo with a little Joey!  I guess there is a larger type of kangaroo found in the Outback, this happens to be the smaller species.

Clark thoroughly enjoying his kangaroo interaction.

I'm thoroughly enjoying my interaction, too.

Awww, I think I'm falling in love.

A sleepy Koala.  Apparently the eucalyptus leaves don't provide much energy, and koalas only eat eucalyptus leaves.

Quoting our friend Jade: "I want to feel how he looks."  

Our tour guides Jade and Levi, and a koala.

The first time we've ever pet a koala!

A Meerkat doing a Meerkat pose.

A Dingo.  Clark was disappointed because it looks just like a regular dog.

Freshwater croc.  We didn't get to pet it.

Just had to get our couple's photo with the kangaroos.

Clark taking the rare opportunity to hug a kangaroo.  Not all kangaroos like hugs. Prior to this picture, a different kangaroo tried to punch Clark in the face for getting too friendly.  Clark just wanted a hug!  

Isn't he/she so adorable?!  I want one as a pet.  Being that kangaroos are considered nuisances in Australia, the country shouldn't mind if I take one home...I just need to figure out how to get one through customs.

A red panda. 

After the exhilarating tour of Symbio, we drove down and over the sea Cliff Bridge.  It was way too windy to get out and walk it, but we'll do that in the future.

People were hangliding off of this cliff, so Clark decided to practice his form.

Careful, it's a long way down!

Since visiting Symbio, we've seen plenty of kangaroos and wallabies in the wild. We're always excited to see them; it's just such a novelty for us Americans!