Back to Nature

Mar 4-6, 2011
This was by far our best weekend out in Australia so far and we have Bill and Carmel to thank for that.

Bill and Carmel are parents of Brian (our exchange partner) and live in a beautifull little town 3 hrs South of Sydney called Greenwell point:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwell_Point,_New_South_Wales
Be sure to check out Jervis Bay, Hyams Beach, Callala Bay and Currarong from the link above; these were all areas we explored.

Our adventure began with a scenic trip by rail from Central Station in Sydney to Bomaderry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomaderry_railway_station

A photo never does the scenery justice

Highlights of the weekend were fishing, all of the beaches and the wildlife - it was great to get out of Sydney and see some of the abundant flora and fauna.  We saw several varieties of birds and dozens of Roos playing golf and even a couple of Wallabies.  The other highlight was Amber... you'll see in the photos

It was Bill's job to suck the Nipper's (similar to a prawn) out of the ground...



...it was our job to get them in the bucket - if you look closely you can see the pincher at the bottom of the little critters - hence the dynamic photos!





Scott caught the first fish, a small sting ray and then this little whiting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_whiting



Jack was not to be outdone and caught several fish too, including this

Mom and Dad caught a few too; all were good for their stories, sadly not eating.

The boys got to camp (and wrestle) in the shed

They never have enough running on the beach

Carmel with the Waller's at Jervis Bay

Poster Boy

Crystal clear water and white sand at Jervis Bay...

Eastern Grey Roo's on the golf course with Bill and family
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Grey_Kangaroo

We all got great photos and videos

This is a Wallaby, smaller than the roo's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallaby

Kookaburra sits in the old Gum Tree - they can be pesky and will snatch your lunch right out of your hand but man is their laugh amusing!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kookaburra

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos are everywhere and have a piercing screech
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulphur-crested_Cockatoo

 Beautiful Galah's



The Aussie Pelicans will be anywhere there are fish being cleaned, this was right at Greenwell Point dock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican



They look even more stunning in the air

Even a regular Magpie is beautiful here



This was the other highlight, Amber, the 13 year old family dog.  She loved to chase her green bone...



... she ceratinly wasn't acting her age this weekend!

The highlight of my weekend was the short snorkeling trip we did... I'll add names of the fish when i can confirm them.

It's hard to see him but there is a fish between the rocks

This large sting ray swam right underneath me and freaked me out so i only got a shot of it swimming away  He was about 4 ft. across!

One last shot - Jack's top tooth finally made an appearance about three weks ago. 
 He went about 5 years with the gap!