Australia
Yarra Valley
The Yarra Valley, with my parents.It was sad to say goodbye to New Zealand – we loved it so much – but we were excited for our next journey: the Yarra Valley in Australia with my parents.
I’ve been thinking a LOT over the past month about how much social time I need, and with whom, and what that looks like. Even though I’ve been with Sean and the kids this whole time, I’ve felt quite lonely some days – really feeling the lack of friends who I can take a time out with.
I’ve also felt quite smothered at other times; it’s been full-on parenting with no breaks. At home I head off to work and the kids head off to school and we all have our own activities… here it is everything.together.all.the.time. I’m sure the kids have felt similarly sick of me during this trip.
So, you can imagine how excited we all were to see my parents. We found a gorgeous little three-bedroom B&B on a working farm, and were treated to hot air balloons landing in the yard upon waking there our first morning. So cool. Days were lazy – we did a bit of school one day but mostly spent the time hanging out, playing cards, reading, cooking, catching up and visiting a few excellent wineries in the area. My favourites were Giant Steps and Dominique Portet; my dad and Sean loved Coldstream Hills; we had a charming picnic at Yering Station. I could go on… we tried a lot of wine!
Encountered a spider the size of my palm!
We spent one delightful afternoon at the Healesville Sanctuary which surpassed expectations. It reminded us very much of the Living Desert in Palm Desert – hi, giraffes – in its layout and overall feel, only with koalas, emus, kangaroos, platypuses (platypi??), dingoes, kookaburras, echidnas, wombats and monitor lizards. The koalas were a standout, looking so cuddly with their big black noses and wizened furry faces. But perhaps the most action was at the Tasmanian devil enclosure where we happened upon feeding time. Tasmanian devils in the wild eat a big meal when they can find one and go days without eating, so the sanctuary tries to replicate that behaviour with a “starve and stuff” cycle of feeding. On the day we visited, the two male devils we saw hadn’t eaten for three days, and the carnage was real! The alpha would not let the poor little one anywhere near the carcass and as he ate (and ate and ate) we could visibly see his stomach expanding. A very cool experience. Devils are the world’s largest living carnivorous marsupial and unfortunately their population is in rapid decline (the Sanctuary is actively trying to support the dwindling populations by partnering with the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program).
Because Sean’s birthday was a few days after our week together, we celebrated on our last night with a lamb dinner and an impressive seven-layer rainbow cake (nope, did not make it myself). The morning of our departure, packing up last items and getting snacks ready for the car trip back to the Melbourne airport, I popped into the bathroom and encountered a spider the size of my palm. If you are a “put it in a glass and take it outside” kind of a person, don’t read the next sentence. My dad knocked it down from the wall and I slapped my flip flop down on it hard… even all curled in death it was bigger than a twoonie! We all agreed we were VERY glad we only saw it the day we were leaving.
Giant spiders aside, our week together was so easy and relaxing. It was amazing to have some help with the kids ie. other people to help entertain them. And it was SUCH a treat to be able to catch up with my mom and dad in a beautiful place over beautiful food and wine. We said our teary goodbyes at the Melbourne airport – Mom and Dad were off to Adelaide for the last stretch of their trip – and we were off to Sydney for the next bit of ours.
Will write soon,
Caley
Wollongong
Early DaysWell, hello there from Wollongong! Where, you say?! It is a little seaside city about an hour south of Sydney. We have Canadian family friends who are now here, and we were so excited to visit them.
First up, the excellent train system that we used to get from the Sydney airport to Wollongong’s central station. The trains here are double decker, much to the kids’ delight. The train trip was about an hour, super easy to navigate, and a cool way to see some of the countryside. Luckily our apartment was a short 4-minute walk from the station; it had been a long day of travel from the Yarra Valley to Melbourne (via van) to Sydney (via plane) to Wollongong (via train). There’s a joke in there somewhere about planes, trains and automobiles…
It’s been a whirlwind two days here so far. Sean and I have gotten back into a morning gym routine – can two days constitute a ‘routine’? – and it’s a beautifully walkable city like the Mount. We’ve explored parks, playgrounds, the local library, a lighthouse, the beach, a nature reserve, and the pedestrian-only Crown Street full of cafes, shops, restaurants and outdoor market space. There is a free bus here that does a loop through the city and a huge free saltwater swimming pool on the shorefront. There are amazing fish and chip shops on the boardwalk and brightly coloured skydiver parachutes floating down through the clouds. Best of all, our friend here is currently fostering three kitten brothers, each under a month old. Much catcon was created today!
We have two weeks in this area and are really looking forward to spending time with our friends, getting great local insights, and lots of exploring (plus kitten time). We’re also going to ring in Sean’s birthday here and take a train trip back up to Sydney to show the kids some highlights of that incredible city. Much more to come!
Cheers,
Caley
Wollongong
Part IIOur time in Wollongong was fabulous, despite a few setbacks (more below). I mentioned some highlights from our first few days in the city and will add to the list with these gems:
- Lovely ‘guided’ walks (thanks, Janet!) through the Puckie’s Lagoon nature preserve area and the Botanic Gardens, where we saw lots of gorgeous birds and even more gigantic spiders!
- The BEST gelato at Cow and the Moon – they won the title of Best Gelato in 2014, miffing many Italians, I’m sure (The Guardian wrote about the win)
- Gorgeous and casual harbourfront seafood at Levendi
- Spotting a lyrebird at Budderoo National Park followed by savory and sweet pies at Robertson Pie Shop – too good to be able to describe in mere words
- Visiting the Wollongong Library using our friend’s card to take out books for the kids – so lovely after not being able to travel with them for weight reasons (we all have the Libby library app so we can borrow e-books and audiobooks through the Greater Victoria Public Library)
- Visits to the small but refreshing rooftop pool at our apartment, as well as morning workouts at the building’s gym followed by coffees down the street at Boston’s
- Sean and I enjoying a date afternoon thanks to the lovely Janet who babysat the kids while we relaxedly worked out, ate, wandered, shopped, chatted and café-ed sans kids, a huge treat
- An amazing ladies’ day with our friends here, including a must-mention bottle of Idee Fixe bubbly at Balthazar; also must mention excellent meals at Kneading Ruby (the performance of their garlic bread!), Lower East, and Samara’s
We really did have a lovely time in Wollongong. And also, as I mentioned, there were a few setbacks (mixing high and low, like any good outfit). We had to visit three doctors for a non-emergency but very painful toe issue. Our apartment flooded because the weekend warriors upstairs left their shower on all night. And our day trip to Kiama and Berry was dampened – literally – by a massive downpour, so while we did get to see the blowhole at Kiama an eat delicious tacos, our view of Berry consisted solely of the candy shop and a gift store just near it. Candy selection was worth the trip, though…
Perhaps one of the best memories I will carry away from Wollongong, though, is cooking (Street Cart Chicken to the rescue, again!) for our friends in their home, spending afternoons there with the kittens and Old Frankie (also a cat), and generally being with friends and in a home situation again. That is a feeling that has been greatly missed and I know I couldn’t do this trip for the whole year if I didn’t have the solace of knowing that friends and family are coming to meet up with us and vice versa, as well as our short trip home in August.
We are starting our descent so I’ll sign off there. Cheers for now,
Caley
Sydney
To celebrate Sean’s birthday, we headed to Sydney for an overnight adventure. We successfully caught the train (did I mention the train system is very easy and super clean in New South Wales?!) BEFORE 8 AM and even had time to grab a coffee and to-go granola beforehand. Side note: we had noticed that coffee shops in New Zealand and Australia had little apothecary jars of homemade pink and white marshmallows on their counters and finally asked what they were about. The server in Boston’s Espresso told us that they were mostly for putting in kids’ babyccinos or hot chocolates; nevertheless, Sean got me one the next time we went, lol.
After 90 minutes on the train, we arrived in downtown Sydney. Because we had only brought two small backpacks and the scooters, we figured we could explore without checking into our apartment (bit of a mistake… see below). A whirlwind of walking ensued… we took in the Rocks neighbourhood, Circular Quay, and the Opera House, then took a quick ferry to Manly Beach where we had a delicious (but spicy!) lunch at Miami Rice, part of the very old (1859!) Hotel Steyne. This was, of course, followed by gelato which is a staple in Sydney – gelato places everywhere you look! Then onto the beachfront walk where we came across the most delightful saltwater rock pool called Fairy Bower. After a refreshing dip there, we moved on to Shelly Beach for another splash in the waves, plus lots of birds-stealing-picnics action.
We ADORED our time at Manly (which, did you know, what was the site of the very first world surfing championships way back in 1964, and which is the place that made surfing really take off as a sport in Australia!?). I love a good waterfront promenade. The rock pool was dreamy. The Corso a delightful blend of old and new architecture and businesses. We ferried back to Circular Quay just before 5 PM (tired! sandy!) and had a rooftop cocktail overlooking the Harbour.
We figured we could walk to our apartment, which was in the Woolly Pants (just kidding! It was actually called Woolloomooloo. But Sean couldn’t remember the name and Woolly Pants stuck) neighbourhood. We got waylaid by a construction site we couldn’t walk through and then sidetracked by some cool sculptures outside of the art gallery, so by the time we arrived it was 7:30 PM and we had missed our check-in time (nobody at the desk after 6 PM). We had to tailgate someone else into the lobby (eek, I know, I’m sorry!!!) where luckily we found a phone number to call and from there were directed to a lock box with our key. After our 22,000 step day, I was imagining us walking back to the city centre and trying to find somewhere else to stay for the night… not a pleasant thought with exhausted kids.
Friday brought a visit to a visiting Banksy exhibit at the Sydney Town Hall which was so interesting. I knew of his most iconic images and acts, but really enjoyed seeing and learning about his whole career, his political activism, and his subversion of the high art institution.
From there we (sorry, Banksy) popped into the Queen Victoria Building across the street. Lo and behold, as I stepped into its iconic glass-domed halls, I realized I had been there 20+ years before and actually purchased my high school grad dress in one of its shops; a bit of a trip! We stopped for coffee and cupcakes at one of its lovely little cafes and then headed up the Sydney Eye tower. The Byrne fam has seen our fair share of tower-eye views so we felt we should do this one too… alas it was VERY expensive, a bit cloudy, and not super high, so it may have been our last. However, it was still cool to see Sydney from that view, especially all the little ins and outs of the harbour.
Friday brought a visit to a visiting Banksy exhibit at the Sydney Town Hall which was so interesting. I knew of his most iconic images and acts, but really enjoyed seeing and learning about his whole career, his political activism, and his subversion of the high art institution.
From there we stopped for margaritas, tacos and tableside-smashed guacamole at Mejico. The food was delicious, and Sean loved that they had such a HUGE selection of tequilas and mezcals. We ended up rolling the ‘tequila wheel’ (price, flavour profile, intensity) and each got a shot which we mostly sipped as they were soo very smooth and delicious. And with that, our trip to Sydney was officially complete! We headed back to the train and relaxed all the way home.
I know there is SO MUCH MORE to see in Sydney and we didn’t even scratch the surface. Where is your favourite place in Sydney?
Bye for now,
Caley
Love reading your adventures. Miss you guys!
Miss you too! <3
Sounds so fun!!! Love that you were able to see Banksy art!
You are seeing such incredible sites and living experiences that most people only dream about. I know there are times you miss other members of your family and your friends but they are all with you. I absolutely love being a part of your adventures through this blog. Love you all !! 🤗💕
Thanks Auntie Nancy for this lovely comment! Love to you too xo
I just met Sean and your kids at a little restaurant in Tirana.
Love what you guys are doing!!
It was great meeting you, Bob. Great advice on the drive down to Sarandë, winding road with overpassing cars! Don’t forget to subscribe to our email list to get an update on our time in Albania. https://byrnebook.com/subscribe/