Andy & Gillie's Big Adventure!: May came...

‘We remain upbeat and optimistic however and will be in Sydney next Tuesday come what may…’

And indeed we were! Not long after posting the last blog, we received a phone call from the auto electrician (didn’t know those sorts of people really existed) to say our campervan was fixed. Full of trepidation at the potential bill, we trudged across the bridge to the garage (or Auto-Electrician Diagnostic And Remedial Centre possibly?). After regaling us with all the tough, complicated and wonderful work he had valiantly done to get our camper back on the road, none of which meant anything to either of us – something about alternator bearings that he’d had to shoot – he calmly said ‘that all comes to…$359 plus change’.

With the insouciant air of a Del Boy or Arthur Daley, I asked ‘Discount for cash?’ He seemed somewhat surprised that a Pom could suggest such a devious thing and responded with ‘$300?’. A deal was hastily struck and we drove off, much relieved, having expected some desperate tale involving at least four figures and a weekend in Moruya, which, nice as it is, didn’t figure heavily in our itinerary.

Anyway, we made it that night to a lovely spot called South Durras, where we saw a family of kangaroos calmly noshing away at the grass just feet from our campervan.

The next day we moved on to Huskisson in Jervis Bay, with the most wonderful sand and beaches and bay and seasidey things, plus a lovely restaurant called the Stonegrill, where they serve the food on hot rocks and you cook it to your own preference – great for steak lovers, bit of a no-brainer for the average seafood dish. But it’s also a BYO – bring your own booze, so an excellent evening involving three courses each for $74 – about £38.

As we were slightly flush as regards our itinerary, despite the unplanned stop in Moruya, we decided to have two nights in Kiama, just south of Sydney, to organize ourselves before meeting our house sit ~~victims~~ people.

Kiama is a lovely part of NSW, with more gorgeous beaches and amazing surf. We spent a day watching the surfers brave massive rollers and reading (us, not the surfers) on the beach.

On the way to the house we were going to sit in for three weeks, we called in on Holly’s restaurant – The Portico in Killara. We have to confess we drove past it about four times trying to find out where we could park (bleedin’ car park height restrictions), but eventually managed and Holly was surprised and delighted to see us, to the point of treating us to lunch – Manager’s Shout, she called it!

We then went on to meet our ‘hosts’ Peter and Michal, who were charming and treated us to a lovely dinner after showing us the ins and outs of looking after their three chooks and their lovely house. Michal flew off to Israel early the next morning, but Peter had one more day at school (I vaguely remember that) before he could set off.

On the Wednesday, we set off intrepidly for Bondi Junction to find the health food restaurant that Emily is running (a means to an end). After having to work out a completely new route into the centre, courtesy of a burst water main at the train station, we turned up – once again in time for lunch (coincidence? we hear you ask…). We had a lovely and healthy lunch before making our way to the Opera Bar and yet further iconic photo opportunities (would that be the settings, the opportunities or the photos that are iconic? Answers on a postcard).

Thursday saw us all on our own with three chickens and a rampant vegetable garden. Omelettes, eggs scrambled and fried are on the menu continuously. Not much else happened, but we spent the day cleaning and clearing and sorting. Did very little on Friday, although I spent nearly 40 minutes working out how to pump up the tyres on Peter’s bike before we went for a short explore of the area.

Went into the centre of Sydney on Saturday and frequented a couple of Emily’s pervious places of employment – Hemmesphere and Jamie’s Italian, where we enjoyed wonderful hospitality and victuals. Say no more…Sunday was another quiet day and we went into Bondi again on Monday for a day on the beach and dinner with the girls to plan Christmas day.

Sad news about a couple of true legends of theatre and music – Billie Whitelaw and Joe Cocker (listening to Mad Dogs and Englishmen as I write this).

Also can’t leave this blog without comment on a couple of events that have rocked the Australian psyche recently. The first was the tragic death of Philip Hughes, the Australian batsman. I was taken by surprise at how personally Australian people have reacted to this sad event. Cricket, despite the attempts of Aussie Rules and rugby league, is still the national sport and Hughes’s death became a symbol of everything great about Australians and their approach to life/sport. The sad truth is that he was a very good batsman with a flaw in his technique against fast bowling, but to listen to everyone in the days after his death he was close to having Bradman-like skills. Sadly, I suspect the same, or similar would have happened if it had been a young English player.

The other thing we experienced was the outpouring of grief after the Martin Place siege. When we went in to central Sydney on Saturday, the sea of flowers had stretched in a carefully- arranged flow about 150 yards from the first tributes. The right wing in Australia did and are still doing their best to make capital out of what they are still trying to call a terrorist attack. The truth is that it was a heartless and cold-blooded murder by a self-seeking psychotic who exploited his Middle-eastern background to obtain maximum publicity. If he had been from any other ethnic group (including white Caucasian), it would have been sensational headline news for only a couple of days and the grieving would have been much more restrained and private. Politicians and commentators are still desperately trying to keep it at the top of the news because it suits their anti-terrorist/liberty-restricting agendas. Rant over.

Been shopping today for Thursday. That’s about it really. Wishing everyone a happy and joyful Christmas and a peaceful and healthy new year.

PS. Gillie here. Doesn’t he go on?? I admit it has been very ‘over the top’ but the flowers smelt lovely!! I can’t believe Andy hasn’t mentioned the highlight of our day today (apart from finding the last turkey in Sydney!) as after shopping, we went to get some petrol and paid $1.06 a litre, about 55p!!!! Have the prices gone down in the UK, as it’s been big news here?

We really can’t believe it’s Christmas Eve tomorrow, the turkeys have disappeared but other than that the supermarkets are calm and peaceful. We head over to Emily’s tomorrow with Molly full of Christmas goodies, storms are forecast for the big day, so we are keeping our fingers crossed. Holly is working Christmas Eve but will join us for all the fun on Christmas Day after a good kip! We return here on Boxing Day as we have our chicken duties to attend to! (Our experience in the chicken department will look good on our c.v.s)

We’d like to thank everyone who has shown an interest in our travels and wish you all a lovely, lovely Christmas and a peaceful and safe New Year. G. xxxx