Fun and games!

G'day!  How ya goin', mate.  All right!  (Said as one word with minimal lip movement.)  Aussies, do you ever really say that to each other?

Callala Beach

Busy, busy, busy!  On Thursday, our host took us to Callala Beach in Jervis Bay, about 45 minutes away from Road Ends (the property's name) in Kangaroo Valley.  We were able to walk onto the beach before the thunder started.  Callala is a beautiful beach with nice white sand.  Sometimes, supposedly, you can see dolphins from the beach.  Not that day though, the tide was out and the wind was blowing hard.  I thought the blustery wind was refreshing; the others thought it was cold.  I guess I'm used to the colder windy NorCal beaches.  Then it started raining.  We drove 45 minutes to spend 20 minutes at the beach.  Ah well.

Neung, Leonie, Sara where River meets Ocean

Then we went to Greenwell Point where the Shoalhaven River meets the Pacific Ocean.  Nice small town with a small jetty, fishing boats and a huge pelican.

Huge pelican

Next stop: Jindyandy Mill, a cluster of little shops in a reclaimed wood mill with 22" thick walls.  (Did you know that Australia once used the same Imperial measurement systems that America still uses?  I vaguely remember a worldwide effort to go metric in the 1970's.  Obviously, it didn't take in America but in Australia, it did.  I try to convert measurements into metric as I speak but it's not easy, especially liquids.  It's such a relief when I speak with older (60+) Aussies because they know what I'm talking about without translation.)  

There was a couple of high end gifty shops, a cafe, a fruit stand, a large scrapbooking store, a lolly shop with antiques, toys, garden art, jewelry....  A  semi-shady garden with sculptures, benches and a gazebo provided a rest area for those who needed it while a small playground could keep tykes occupied.   On this rainy Thursday a week before Christmas, it was fairly deserted.  I guess Christmas shoppers go to the shopping districts in the larger towns.  Us 3 wwoofers bought nothing; our carrying capacity is very limited.  Our host and cousin Sara who was visiting for a few days from Maryland USA bought some things.  It was so nice to hear another American accent!!  I sometimes feel that my accent sounds exaggerated because it sounds so different from Australian speech.  Sara felt the same way.


After one last stop for groceries in Nowra, we went home to watch the first day of the third test match of the Ashes Cricket Series.  That is, the first of five days of one game of Cricket in the third of five matches for the Ashes trophy.   Australia batted first because England won the toss and elected to bowl.  We (Australia) started off poorly but ended nicely with more than 200 runs and using up almost the entire first day.  England didn't do very well during their innings on the second day.  We increased our lead during our second innings to more than 300 runs on the third day.  But England gets their last innings.   All they had to do was get one run more than we had.  The game up till now was pretty quick.  Each team's innings had lasted less than one day. That means that the batsmen were dismissed fairly  quickly.   I think only 1 or 2 batsmen got more than 50 runs.  Many had fewer than 25 runs.   Australia persevered and dismissed England's 10 batsmen in their second innings very quickly and won the match less than half way through the fourth day of play!!   Yippee!

Gorgeous Fitzroy Falls

So now the series is tied with each country having one win and a draw.  It had not looked good for Aussies after the second match because England had played so well.  Now with this decisive win, Australia again has a real chance to win the Series.  The fourth test begins on Boxing Day, 26 December in Melbourne.  The  fifth and deciding match begins on New Years Day in Sydney.   I will be following them.




On Friday, Sara made pancakes for brekkies.  Aussies aren't familiar with pancakes. They might recognize crepes which might be called pancakes.  Anyone know if there are any differences between pancakes, flapjacks, or hotcakes?  Size?  I think they're synonymous.  What are johnny cakes and hush puppies?  Sara gamely wwoofed with us as she helped to "shovel the cow shit into the ute and bring it up to the veggie patch".   Utes are pickup trucks.  Only large trucks are called trucks.  (I have to admit my back hurt that evening.  Manure is MUCH heavier than Eucalyptus mulch.)

The balancing cube/boulder

Then we went to Fitzroy Falls. Gorgeous falls with a long drop from perpendicular walls and we are at the top of it.  I don't know what kind of rock, but the cleavage is blocky/in cubes.  You can see this massive cube balancing high above the valley floor.   I would love to visit again and hike at least one of the rim trails.  I might bring my twin sister, Sandy, and her family here when they come to Australia in January.  It is THAT spectacular.

Are you ready for Christmas?  I've got a Christmas treat for you soon.  Keep reading!
Cyn