Saturday 1 December 2012

Amy & Craig's Wedding

Friday 12 October 2012

It is every parent's desire to see their children grow and mature to the stage where they can enter the adult world and make confident and loving choices.
We had the immense pleasure of celebrating the wedding of our daughter to our new son-in-law, Craig.
Amy and Craig wanted a farm wedding... in particular at the farm of our good friends, Vicki and Michael, in Healesville. It was a bitterly cold day but the warmth of smiles and happiness filled the occasion with a cosy feeling.
Mum and Dad brought the bride to the ceremony.

It was a lovely ceremony with a thoughtful choice of words to unite both families.
After the ceremony the guests all gathered for a photo.

Craig's Mum made beautiful paper flower balls to line the way for the bridal couple.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen are great friends of the bride and groom.
Craig gets congratulated by his parents

Miles, Liz, Craig, Amy, Roy, Jeanette and Duane
 There was then a brief period between the end of the ceremony and the reception when the bridal party went to have some photos taken.






The guests then gathered at the Balgownie Winery, Yarra Glen, for the reception.
A photo-booth was a hit with everyone.
Here's a small selection of the fun.







 
Of course there was the cutting of the cake.

The bridal dance
The practice run before the real thing.
... complete with fireworks
Jimmy did a fabulous job as MC and lead dancer.
Fond farewells
And about 40 enjoyed breakfast together the next morning.
It was a happy occasion for all concerned.

I will add more if new items come to hand.







Thursday 29 November 2012

Our Holiday in NT, August 2012


Our holiday in the Northern Territory

August 2012

Under the Banyan Tree
After much planning and anticipation we flew to Darwin on Friday afternoon, arriving at our hotel in time for tea and to meet our companions who were sharing our AAT Kings bus trip, ‘The Northern Spectacular’.
We were happy with our accommodation in the Vibe Hotel, which is on the waterfront, just near the wave pool.
Cathedral Termite Mound (and family) 
Miles and Magnetic Termite Mounds
We were up early for breakfast on the first day and then headed out to the bus to drive to Lichfield National Park. This park is notable for its termite mounds, cathedral and magnetic. We also enjoyed a short walk to look over Florence Falls and Tolmer Falls, before lunch and a dip in Wangi Falls pool where we swam out to the waterfall and saw the fruit bats in the trees around the water.
Tolmer Falls
Wangi Falls
The bus took us back to our hotel in Darwin for another night and this was when Duane and Miles enjoyed a swim in the wave pool at the front of our hotel.
Darwin Wave Pool
Stock's Hill Wharf
After their refreshing dip we were all hungry so we walked to Stock’s Hill Wharf to enjoy a pick-and-choose meal of Barramundi and chips or anything else we fancied. Then walked back to our hotel enjoying an ice cream from another stall.
The Gorge
On our second day we enjoyed a very cold dip in Edith Falls before we headed towards Katherine via Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) where we saw our first crocodile (of the fresh water variety) and enjoyed a cruise up the spectacular gorge. Our accommodation was in spacious units at the Four Seasons Caravan Park.
Bush tucker walk
Our third day near Katherine was spent at a local indigenous centre where we were shown how to prepare roasted kangaroo tail, enjoyed a bush tucker walk and lunch, were instructed in basket-weaving and spear throwing, aboriginal painting and then entertained with indigenous music. This was a very enjoyable and instructive day with some very friendly locals. After a day in the hot, dry climate we enjoyed a swim in the Katherine warm springs, which flow naturally clear and warm through town and easily accessed by our bus and the locals. Then back to the caravan park for an Aussie barbecue tea with our friendly tour companions.
Katherine Warm Spring
On the fourth day we spent several hours (after breakfast) travelling to Kakadu, with a short stop at Adelaide River and the local war cemetery containing many graves of people who were posted in Darwin and surrounds during the Second World War.
Pine Creek
We then boarded our bus for a few more hours (Via a train-fix at Pin Creek) till we finally reached the information centre at Kakadu were we gained entry to the park and took a cruise on the Yellow Water Billabong where we saw our first saltwater crocodiles and an abundance of birds, which the guides expertly pointed out to us. We then drove to our accommodation at a hotel in the shape of a crocodile near the town of Jabiru. Naturally Duane and Miles were quick to enjoy a dip in the pool while Liz caught up on the dirty washing and downloaded photos from her camera to make room for the rest of the holiday. Tea was a buffet style extravaganza in the dining room. That evening we went for a stroll around to see the ‘crocodile’s eye’ shining red. Apparently the eye is yellow in the daytime and red at night to mimic the case in real crocodiles. We also enjoyed a stroll in the hotels art gallery, which displayed many indigenous artworks from the region.
Yellow Waters Wildlife Cruise
South Alligator River
Early next morning we were up eating breakfast early to be ready to travel to the local airport for a 30-minute light plane flight over Kakadu. It was spectacular and hard to put into words. After various groups had completed their flights we collected our other tour companions and headed towards the Aboriginal art painting area called Ubirr, which allowed us to see, close up, many examples of the local indigenous art on the rock walls in the area and read informative boards explaining the artwork.
Long-necked Turtle
Many of the paintings give instructions, stories and rules to the local tribe whilst others are more like a menu of local food sources. We were also able to climb to the top of the escarpment and look out over the wetlands to see the expanse below us. Then back to the bus for a picnic lunch and, with wildlife stops on the way at various billabongs, we drove out of the park to our next destination, The Wildman’s Wilderness Camp.


Here we spent the night in luxury tents, with all the mod cons, including plenty of insect repellent. This was the final night away from Darwin so the evening was marked with a gourmet silver-service dinner in the dining room as the sun sank behind the termite mounds (in the distance). Here Duane and Miles and Liz also enjoyed a dip in the pool and cooled off after a warm day. This stay was a very memorable experience as the whole camp only runs for the dry season then is packed away until the following year.

We awoke the following morning with wallabies eating grass near our tents. We enjoyed another tasty breakfast before a chance for a photo opportunity with our companions. Our tour guide, Gail, and our bus, driver, Peter, were excellent in showing us the highlights of a Top-End visit. Our travelling companions were similarly friendly and helpful in interesting Duane and Miles in all the opportunities the trip offered. We have the feeling many were retired teachers. After our photo opportunity we drove a short distance to the Mary River Cruise where we all saw more saltwater crocodiles than we could count and many birds and water lilies, with an amusing and interesting commentary from the little cruise-boat captain.
Duane with natural sun protection

After this watery interlude we drove to the Northern Territory Wildlife park were we had lunch and the opportunity to see any wild life we might have overlooked on the trip so far. The park offered a regular motorised train that visitors could board and alight at pre-determined stops of interest around the park. Miles especially liked the monsoon area with the simulated thunderstorm and the aquarium for one last crocodile. By now Duane was having some trouble with a sore knee but was able to see most things with the benefit of a borrowed wheelchair. After a couple of hours in the wildlife park we boarded the bus to return to our original hotel in Darwin. We had one more evening in the Vibe before checking out the following morning. We made a quick and successful search of Darwin for a knee brace and walking stick as Duane needed to return his borrowed wheelchair. Then we enjoyed dinner in a nearby café before retiring for the night.
The next morning we were surprised to see we were sharing our breakfast buffet with the Australian cricket team who we on their way to who-knows-where. After breakfast we checked out and stored our luggage in a secure area then took a short walk to Number Nine Tunnel, which is a very large storage facility left over from WW2, open to the public. Strangely enough there is someone in our family who likes tunnels also. Who could that be? After the tunnel we took a lift up several storeys to Darwin town street level were we did some sightseeing, shopping and lunching. There are still many reminders of Cyclone Tracey (December 1974) and WW2 around town.
Number Nine Tunnel
The ruins of the Darwin Town Hall after Cyclone Tracey
In the afternoon we collected our luggage and hired a taxi to drive us to our apartment at Cullen Bay. This turned out to be a delightful place overlooking the marina and afforded a good view of the sunset. After unpacking, exploring the local environment (pool and spa) and purchasing some supplies we walked to nearby Mindil Beach for the Sunday Evening Market.
Mindil Beach at sunset
This is a popular, twice-weekly event during the dry season, where visitors and locals gather in thousands for local entertainment and to choose something for their dinner from a huge variety of food stalls. The highlight of the evening is to take your food to the beach and sit and eat and watch the sun set over the Arafura Sea. After tea there are plenty of craft and souvenir stalls to browse before returning to where you came from. The walk back to the apartment seemed longer than the walk to the beach but Duane was a trooper and managed to 30-minute walk with a few rest stops along the way.
Our last day in Darwin was spent riding a local bus to Casuarina Shopping Complex to where we enjoyed lunch and looked around at the shops before returning to the apartment to allow Duane and Miles to have one last dip in the pool before a mini bus arrived to transfer us to the airport for our flight home.

We arrived back at home after midnight, weary but relaxed, after an enjoyable holiday.