Garden, Nature and Animals

Garden is doing well - potatoes growing great, the various seedlings still surviving and the broad beans were harvested prior to the possums discovering that they were there and lots of parsley.

On my walks with Indi we admire the everlasting flowers that are blooming out on Wybalena hill!

I also created a leafy nibble patch for the chickens and am keen to see how it does. The idea is to plant grass and edible greens in a small bed and place mesh over the top. The chickens can only nibble once the greens grow high enough. Then as the greens begin to die, you can remove the mesh and let the chickens scratch around in the remains. And then when they have exhausted that reseed, placing the mesh back on top and the cycle begins again!

Barunguba Island Tour

Our family plus Mira headed off on Friday afternoon down to the sleepy coastal town of Narooma. We found a new and delicious spot in Bateman's Bay for dinner - pizza and pasta overlooking the bay and also randomly bumped into friends!

Barunguba Island is about 9kms from Narooma, is home to large colonies of fairy penguins and fur seals plus numerous bird species. Our interest was sparked by the lure of snorkelling with the seals and so we booked a tour with Montague Island Adventures for Saturday afternoon.

There was a request for a sunrise viewing session on Saturday morning. Despite the low lying cloud on the horizon, the colours were still pretty and the eventually the sun peeked above the clouds.

Unfortunately our tour was cancelled mid morning due to strong winds and large swell. We were disappointed and decided to book for the next day.  With our plans changed, we were at a loss as what to do. After much discussion and indecision and sitting around playing Block Crush, we settled on a trip to Tilba Tilba for a spot of shopping and lunch out.

On the way back, we found the most sheltered beach for a spot is swimming and beach combing. The blue bottles were out but luckily no-one got stung.

With the tour being in the afternoon, Sunday morning was spent doing a long run (Andy, Ella and Mira) or a bit of a walk (Katy and I). Then it was a late breakfast at the nearby beach cafe all while waiting nervously for the tour company to give us the go ahead for the tour. Finally the text came through confirming the tour was on. We packed up our stuff and headed into town to peruse the local markets filling in more time. 

Finally it was time to go to the boat shed but we were still early so we wandered along the boardwalk looking for starfish and stingrays.

 

Barunguba Island is about a 20min boat ride however it took Aus a little longer as we stopped when we caught sight of a couple of whales! Docking at the island is interesting, with the jetty significantly higher than the boat and thus involved a ladder climb. 

Once on the island we spent the next hour in the baking sun listening to tales about the penguins, birds and settlement. We climbed the lighthouse for great views over the 1.4km Long Island. We all agreed it could make a great o map with the scattered bare rocks and topography of the island. Oh we can dream!

 

Glad to get back on the boat and all excited to finally to be heading for the seals, we donned our wetsuits, fins and had our snorkels ready. The seals weren't far away and you could smell them before you caudal see them. The skipper looped up and back on the north west edge of the island looking for the best spot and then dropped anchor. We all plunged into the ocean and were surprised about how cold it was even with wetsuits. The water clarity though was fantastic. Unfortunately for us many of the seals were more content with lying on the rocks rather than coming to investigate us! Ella was able to capture some of those who dared to come close!

  

New Family Members!

Introducing - Beyonce, Soup, Penny, Groot and Ducky! We bought these 1-2 week old unsexed chicks from a lady in Gundaroo. They are all different breeds - grey australorp, silkie, wyandotte, araucana (who is suppose to lay blue eggs!) and a leghorn? For the next little while these tiny chicks need warmth and will therefore be housed in the laundry until their real feathers emerge.

 

Back Home

 On our return home we discovered beautiful irises blooming and the vege patch doing well.

Both girls were exhausted and glad to have one more week before school started.

Little aths began. Ella, who is now too old to participate, has taken on the coaching role of the 'On Track' program. This program is for the under 6 athletes introducing them to the basic skills of athletics in a fun way prior to incorporating them into the main program. 

Katy is a stand in coach for the tiny tots - that's the 3-4 yr olds who do 45 mins a fun games. Both girls are enjoying these roles.

OZ Champs Wrap Up

After another rest day so while Andy was working, Cath and I walked around another waterfall - Dangar Falls in Oxely Wild Rivers National Park. We bumped into several orienteers although not as many as on Monday. Our walk took us out and back to McDirty's Lookout giving very lovely views over the gorge.

 

 The final events for the National Carnival were the Long Distance Champs and the Sprint.

The Long Distance Champs were held on Glenburnie, about 30mins southwest from Armidale on fairly open farmland with areas of complex granite. It was a long day out for Ella who completed her 8.4km course in 105 mins coming in 13th. Katy came 10th in W16; Andy 6th in M50 and I ran W45AS placing 2nd. It was an enjoyable area.

The final day was the Sprint at the University of New England. It was another warm day. The courses were fast and furious. Katy was 16th in W16; Ella 22nd in W20E; Andy 3rd in M50 and I was 10th in W50. We were all glad to finish and carnival but were not looking forward to the 8hr drive home. Andy and I took the slightly inland route to Singleton joining the freeway near Newcastle. The girls were on the ACT bus which took the same rally inland route back. Our drive was good and we arrived home by 8pm. the girls meanwhile rolled into Canberra at midnight!!