Sydney

I ventured to Sydney on my Term 2 holidays with my colleague Kerry and her three kids.  It took about 8 hours from Inverell to Sydney, but had a beautiful day to drive up and over the mountain range in the first picture.  Kerry had booked a lovely B&B in a 1920's home on the Manly side of Sydney.  Our first day involved not getting lost as we navigated our way to Ella's ballet school.  We dropped her off and Angus, Nick, Kerry and I headed to the beach.  Angus had money in his wallet that burned like kryptonite, so we snooped around the beach and checked out the surf shops.  After picking Ella up from ballet, we headed down to catch the ferry across to Circular Quay in the heart of Sydney's tourist area.  We walked and shopped until it was time to head back.  We went to the Taronga Zoo the next day.  When we arrived we took the gondola over the zoo and were amazed at the view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House in the back ground.  They had a beautiful selection of animals.  Another trip on the ferry allowed me to meet with the Australian Coordinator for the Teachers Exchange.  I met with Helen and we had a lovely lunch. It was nice to finally put a face to all the emails I had over the past year getting myself through the paperwork flurry to get here.  Kerry, crew and I headed back to Inverell after three fun filled days in Sydney.

Last Day of Term 2

My last day of the term was Friday June 27th, so I decided to celebrate Canada Day with my students.  My colleague Cath and I combined our two classes and she had a competition as to who could draw the best Canada Flag ... she made me draw an Australian flag!  From the Smart board, I showed them the words to "Good Old Hockey Game", by Stompin Tom Connors and Oh Canada and we belted out the two songs.  They all slapped on Canada tattoos and we headed outside to play hockey.  Cath made a cake for the occasion!  The afternoon was a masquerade themed social in the hall for students who created their own masks for the occasion.  Cath made mine, a koala bear and glued on a piece of ecualyptus.  We danced the afternoon away and sent the kids home for two weeks.

Immediately after school my other colleague, also named Cath, picked me up from school with her two princesses, Charlotte and Georgia, (they call me Zoozann) and we headed out to a little town called Weewaa!  Cath was invited to a Mad Hatters Tea Party in this little town so we stayed overnight at her mother-in-laws house.  Anna had a beautiful lasagne meal waiting for us upon our arrival.  In the morning we were up and out the door to attend the tea party.  One of the photos shows the cake that they actually cut just before we left.  I was armed with souvenirs from the store hosting the tea party and we headed back home.  Along the way Cath took me sight seeing.  We stopped at an observatory with the most ginormous satellite dishes I've ever seen.  They run along a 9 meter wide railway to track outer space 'stuff'.  Back into the car and our next stop was Sawn Rock.  A little 800 meter walk into the bush lead us to this spectacular rock face in the Mount Kaputar National Park.  Once I arrived home I had to pack my bags as I was heading to Sydney in the morning.

Weekend Adventures

June was a month of weekend adventures.  My colleague Cath invited me to go to Tamworth with her for her daughters netball training.  So I tagged along and brought my running gear with me as we planned for a quick run as she and I are training for the Sydney to Surf 14km run in August.  Tamworth is know for its country singing roots and has a Golden Guitar at its tourist information centre.  Before heading home we stopped downtown for lunch and I had my picture taken by Slim Dusty, a well known Australian country singer.  Tamworth hosts the country music festival every January which attracts big names like Keith Urban and alike.

My other weekend get-a-way was to a little place called Gostwyck.  It is located just outside Urella and it consists of a little church on the edge of a tree lined private driveway.  My colleagues from work, Deb, Jen and Kim took me to the local "Upper Pub" for tea (lunch) and drinks.  We popped into  a local shop called the "Wool Room" to browse their wool products.  Beautiful items to keep you warm and cozy through the winter months.  We also visited the local book store and I picked up two old maps from turn of the century Encyclopedia Britannica's.  Really cool!

My trip to the Byron Bay Teacher Exchange weekend was very eventful.  There is a couple who live 40 minutes from me who have been on exchange twice.  Steve and Karen and their two sons picked me up on Friday night and we headed to Ballina to stay with their friend.  On Saturday morning I went and had my picture taken under the "Big Prawn".  I will be adding that photo to my "big" picture collection!  We went to the Clarke Beach location to meet other Canadians on exchange and those from Australia who have been to Canada.  I met Mary and Pat from Airdrie who are currently on their third exchange.  They took me under their wing and I spent a lovely time following them to the beach to watch Mary, Pat and their son and daughter practice surfing.  I got a shot of life savers practicing their skills on the beach while there.  We headed to the Byron Bay lighthouse.  The view was spectacular.  It is whale migration season and we did see one whale frolic in the water.  We did however see a school of dolphins having fun in the water.  So cool!  After that we all went to the local RSM club (Retire Service Member's Club) for dinner.  These locations are like our Legions, but way nicer.  They are busy with patrons and are beautifully kept.  

The next morning we ventured to the Channon Market near Lismore.  There were over 250 stalls of hand made items and many yummy items to eat.  On the way to the market, our convoy of cars spotted a koala crossing the road and head up into a tree.  Like any good tourists, we all pulled over and got out to take pictures!  Lots of Aussies say they have never witnessed a koala cross the road, so I feel fortunate to have seen this!  From the Channon market we went to Nimbin.  So, Nimbin is the cannabis capital of Australia ... hence the Hippy Happy Herbs sign.  Mary and Pat have been here previously, so Mary kept the kids on the main street while Pat and I ventured into the alley.  Within seconds we were offered some lovely brownies and green cookies.  Politely refusing any offers, we returned to the street.  There were some cool carved stones that I had to have my picture taken by to mark my time in Nimbin.  

On the Sunday night we went to the Ballina RSM club and they had a tribute room with fantastic memorabilia.  I took two photos in honour of my brother.  

The group also visited the Thursday Plantation.  This place manufactures Tea Tree Oils and many oily products.  I purchased some lemon grass oils to make my house smell yummy.  While there, I ventured to their gardens.  I'm not sure what the two pillars represented, but they were covered in boogie!  Yep, lots of them.  Couldn't resist another photo.  

I've included a mountainous picture that shows the route I need to take to get out of Inverell to get to the coast.  The pass is called the Gibraltar Range and when it says that its only 350 km away, that means about 4.5 hours of driving time.  It's kind of like driving into B.C.  Up, up, up and then down, down, down ... with a whole lot of curves thrown in.  

It was a great weekend and I have plans to meet with the Canadians in Hunter Valley to do some wine tasting!  

Never a dull moment when adventuring through Australia!  

Celtic Festival in Glen Innis

On the first weekend in May, cooler weather dampened our trip to the Australian Celtic Festival in Glen Innis.  I pulled out my winter clothing to brave the +3 degree weather.  Don't laugh, I know it was above zero, but when you have been basking in +20 degree weather and take a 20 degree plunge, things begin to feel really cold.  My teaching colleagues, Kim and Trish, came with me and we got to listen to the various pipe bands and see a quick glimpse of highland dancers.  We walked around to see some the sheep herding competitions and the musical talents they lined up for the day.  There was an open fire roasting a large chunk of meat which I bellied up to, to warm my hands:)  We indulged on baked potatoes but were disappointed to hear that the later part of the afternoon events were cancelled due to poor weather.
The Glen Innis Standing Stones were set up by the local Celtic Heritage Council.  All the stones were located within 50 km of Glen Innis and stand over 3.7 metres from ground level.  Every year the town hosts a celtic festival for all the celtic descendants and clans in the local area.  There were numerous musicians that were from Ireland and England that weekend.  It's a huge attraction for the town and was a great day despite the cold weather.