A week in FNQ

We flew into Cairns a few days ago, ready to spend the week with our friends David and Ro before we all head off on our 13 day trip to Arnhem Land together on the 16th.

David and Ro never sit still for long so we were only in Cairns overnight and then we were on our way to their property further north, in the magical Daintree NP.

Crossing the Daintree River, north of Port Douglas, on the ferry is always an adventure. David and Ro are locals so they get key position on the ferry, ahead of all the day trippers.

Their cabin on the edge of the rain forest is more than twice as big as it was on our last visit, four years ago...  after all David's additions.

They're still a work in progress, including the main bathroom. But no worries, because look at their solution to an unfinished bathroom  ......... the most luxurious and (mostly) private outdoor shower (with plenty of hot water on offer too!).

Their cabin has the most glorious setting...........

The new kitchen is a work in progress too so David has a temporary set up established in the cabin breezeway. Being David he has no trouble cooking us gourmet meals despite the makeshift set up!

On the edge of their property is the magical Cooper Creek .......

We swam in it today, in crystal clear water, fresh flowing from the surrounding mountains - just beautiful, and over 2 mts deep here in parts!

And a reminder that this is part of a protected Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Site - especially the waters and land around Cooper Creek. David and Ro have special permission by agreement to enter this land.

To access David and Ro's property you have to cross this "shallow" running section of Cooper Creek. Last time we were here we crossed it in our little hire car. I think it would be too deep to do that now after a very rainy season here.

It was running pretty fast in the middle of the crossing (and about 30 - 40 cm deep in parts).

It's like a tropical garden run wild everywhere you look.

Yesterday afternoon we met up with David's daughter Thea at the renovated (by David) property they run as an Airbnb. It's just around the corner from David and Ro's cabin but in a more settled part of Diwan. We thought it looked beautiful - and it's a very popular property on Airbnb - no wonder! 

It even has views of the sea in the distance (this pic was taken from the hot-tub deck).

David's three year old grandson Harlan lives an idyllic, free range childhood here on the edge of the Daintree. This discarded snakeskin was a source of excitement this afternoon.

His nine year old mate is a careful quad bike driver but it's still quite a shock to see them tearing around the property (very safely) and the access road together.

David had a night off cooking last night as it was fish and chips night at the local Thornton Beach Cafe Restaurant. It's a popular weekly event with the locals and it was great fun to meet some of them last night and enjoy the best fish and chips we've ever eaten (a big call I know!)

... and what an outlook - on to beautiful Thornton Beach!

This morning David planned an early morning boat outing and a gourmet breakfast  together, prepared picnic style on the beach.

He launched on Thornton Beach - not the easiest of jobs with the tide a bit lower than ideal. Luckily Thea and her Dave, both experienced boaties were there to give a hand.

Our joy in getting out at sea wasn't to last too long unfortunately as some problem arose with the fuel filter (?) meaning the engine was running too rough and erratic to risk going too far. 

So we landed back at Thornton Beach before too long - and a great place for breakfast anyway!!

Crepes, fresh coffee, tropical fruit salad, yoghurt - all delicious!

Harlan and I dug for fossils!

Horse and Hair and a Birthday

Ella celebrated her great success in her first semester of study at the Uni of Canberra with a new hair colour last week. It's quite a dramatic change, but we all think it looks stunning! It will suit her well as she embarks on her new combined degree next semester.

And Ella's not the only one who gets regular hair treatments either!

Abi's Friday afternoon ride (and lesson with Victoria) was extra sweet last week because it was also the last day of school for semester one - and the start of winter break - yay!

At Pony Club yesterday morning the assembled horses were joining in the FIFA World Cup fever with their own version of "horse ball". Sammy took to it really well after a bit of introductory coaching in "handling" that big ball.

Sammy was heading staright for goals in this shot - yay!

He deserved all his extra treats afterwards 'cos he was the team's MVP for sure.

We finished off our wintry weekend with dinner at Claire and Glen's last night - our first visit to their happy new home in Belconnen. Ella and Abi were immediately at ease amongst the rellos - with an admiring audience all around, including Billy the Golden Retriever looking on longingly at them, through the window.

These two make any gathering the party of the year - lucky us being along for the ride!

... and through good fortune there was even a birthday to celebrate and strawberry cheesecake all around - with lots of candles too!

A good week

As weeks go this past one has been a very good one for us. It started Thursday a week ago with the unexpected bonus of having Ella and Abi's company for most of the day - thanks to an ACT public school teachers' strike and the end of Ella's Uni assessment for semester one - yay!!

The girls came over to Campbell and we were all able to try one of the new dining options, over the road at East Traders Hall. The ramen at World Eatery was very good we thought ..........
 

..... and the lamingtons, courtesy of the iconic Tokyo Lamington in Marrickville, ended off a great lunch with pizazz.

Afterwards, the girls re-enacted the joys of their younger days in our Hassett Park. They're older and wiser now - but still as good on their feet as they were a decade ago when we first introduced them to this park playground, as our apartment was nearing completion.

The day after we made our way to Coogee for a week long stay - via Wollongong where we were able to catch up with Ollie over another delicious lunch.

That Friday night in Coogee looked pretty sparkly from the beach front!

Saturday dawned a perfect Sydney winter day - not a cloud in the sky - and the ocean like a mill pond. We walked along the coast path to Clovelly Beach ......

....and then back to a chilled out Coogee by around 11.00am on Saturday morning.

We were walking back to our apartment up Coogee Bay Road by the time the shark attacked the young woman swimming at Coogee Beach, about 30mts off shore - between the flags!!!

The attack has shocked everyone and had a very sobering effect on the locals understandably. We are all wishing the absolute best for the young woman who is still fighting for her life, 7 days later, in St Vincent's Hospital.

As a complete contrast Sunday was cool and cloudy with frequent rain showers. I spent a few hours shopping at Bondi Junction, marvelling at how many shops and how much stuff there was to buy (in all different sizes too) compared to the mediocre offerings in Canberra. 

Rob stayed home and helped neighbour Greg repair a dodgy Sydney Water repair job at the front of our building. We're feeling more like locals now with chores to do each visit: e.g. window cleaning and garden maintenance as well as the fun bits like interacting more with our neighbours, including getting a dinner invitation or two.

On Monday we ventured out to Marrickville to do a bit of exploring in this very diverse part of inner West Sydney. Wandering up Marrickville Road (home of Tokyo Lamington) from Sydneham Station revealed the suburb's industrial past and its strong migrant heritage - some good Op Shopping too.

We were struck by this distinctive mural on Petersham Road .....

..... and learnt how highly the local Council regards Street Art in public spaces ... good on them!

Illawarra Road in Marrickville looks to be the home of the local Vietnamese population. We chose pho and bao from Pho Viet Xua 1919 for our lunch. We over ordered of course - but it was delicious food!

.... and we enjoyed a wander around the local shops afterwards and the array of exotic looking ingredients and snacks on offer.

On Tuesday I met up with my friend Tania and we had some fun at Sydney Modern where one of her friends is completing an artist in residence stint in "The Tank" in the underground level of this newest extension to the Art Gallery of NSW.

Afterwards Tania introduced me to Parkers Sydney Fine Art Supplies in Cambridge St, The Rocks - a quite mind blowing experience for me - and then this unusual view of the Shangri-La Hotel with its foreground of old terraces and graffitied galvanised iron fences ... as the sun was setting. 

We had drinks at the Baxter Inn that evening (located in a hidden laneway off Clarence St), joined by Rob, Aine and Alan and then dinner afterwards at Jimmy's Falafel on George St - another great dining experience shared.

We spent Wednesday vintage (furniture) shopping in Alexandria - That Vintage Emporium and Mitchell St Antiques gave us high hopes of finding the right piece to finish off our remodelled Coogee kitchen - but to no avail in the end (this time anyway).

However lunch did not disappoint - these Portuguese tarts (for dessert) from Tuga Pastries on McEvoy St were world beating!!

.... and to continue the pastries/cafe culture theme we need to acknowledge the newly completed extensions to our local Bohaus Cafe - out on to the ROAD! I took this pic on the first morning it was open and by the time we walked past again an hour later it was full of people (and their doggies)!

But we were on our way over to Clovelly again on Thursday morning - the long way, including all the hill and stair climbs - so we could visit the homebase of Tuga Pastries on Clovelly Road..... and what a sight it was ........

We over ordered again - but what else do you do when you have to try a pickled pumpkin Danish, a Nutella croissant and another one of those world beating Portuguese tarts? And yes, they were all amazing!

Coogee Beach looked like this on Thursday morning - two people were in the water close to shore, and there was at least one swimmer doing the cross the bay swim ......... and there was a monitored drone criss crossing the beachfront area the whole time. 

It's going to take a while for everyone to feel confident about swimming here again.

Thursday afternoon we met up with Tania again - this time at the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is hosting a very big exhibition of the work of the Aboriginal artist Tony Albert. Tony Albert has been collecting "Aboriginalia" from Op Shops and souvenir shops since he was a boy growing up in Far North Queensland. His biggest collection by far comprises thousand of "souvenir" ash trays depicting stereotyped images of his people. He's used these to create challenging and profound art works challenging Australia's colonial history and ongoing race relations.

These beautiful works in the exhibition's main gallery are a homage to/questioning of the works of Margaret Preston. They are actually intricate collages of tiny cut up pieces of souvenir teatowels (once again depicting stereotyped images of Aboriginal culture) that Tony Albert has combined with areas of painted colour wash to evoke the Margaret Preston works from the 1920s and beyond. 

"Not a Souvenir" was a completely stunning and thought provoking exhibition.

We left Coogee on Friday - after handing over the keys to our apartment (temporarily) to a pair of our Campbell neighbours (for their weekend stay). 

We agreed we have been able to enjoy one of the best weeks of the year so far - here's to many more.