The Drawing Rooms of Berry

... lots of nice boutique and homeware shops,
restaurants, cafes and delis.
After the heat exhaustion subsided, we (and really it was Jo's idea) decided to cool ourselves in the many homewear stores and boutiques in Berry, We (again Jo) saw much we liked but unfortunately nothing that went with the current decoration of the tent!!!!! After shopping we decided (and really it was Wes's idea) to further cool ourselves with a ...

... despite grey skies and strong winds... Best beach we'd been so far with amazingly thin white sand (the whitest in the world according to Guiness Book)... a bit like walking in flour. Shame about the weather! Back to the guesthouse.  Enjoyed the sunset on the veranda, sheltered from the wind. Very good dinner at the Seagrass Restaurant. 

... boutique shops and gourmet food outlets, and no we didn't have any pies! The next day we headed to the coast to visit Greenwell Point to relax and feed the pelicans. We did a quick drive through Nowra to complete the loop back to Berry. Just a note before we blog off, we wouldn't hesitate in coming back here to live, we loved it. It was berry, berry nice! Next stop, Depot Beach near Batemans Bay..

... pools. Only the bravest went in the water, and only the clever watched the brave (stupid) people nearly die due to hypothermia. And if that wasn't enough, Christmas Eve ended up being the most energetic Christmas Eve I have spent. Just to give an idea of how Christmas Eve normally goes, it usually starts with work in the morning, finishing at lunch time, traveling home, changing then heading off out for a few pre-Christmas beers with friends before going home, waking up my ...

... to the airport in the morning... still managed to get trollied... they make a mean Mai tai at Bourbon Bar in Kings Cross! This morning was quite an emotional affair, we had to leave Lou behind - see was carrying on with her journey to NZ the following Day. Fortunately there was plenty going wrong to keep me occupied. Our bag that was supposed to be fixed by Virgin Blue after they wrecked it on our last flight, we now found out was not going ...

... as obese the months traveling through Asia, with its cheap food and beer meant that our waist bands were a little snug to say the least. So don the swimming trunks (not speedos') and bikini, cycling shorts, running shoes etc... and off to the beach, cycling, walking and running....we suddenly became fitness freaks. Sal and Mark (another couple who we became friends with) had two dogs, one a husky style called Shagwell and a pedigree sheepdog called Doogle. They were all ...

... back to Wollongong, where more boozy bbq's ensued and mucho touring round the area on mountain bikes. Its only 60k south of Sydney but there's so many cool places to visit all within a roos hop (groan) Next stop was a flight to Airlie Beach to meet up with Rob again, where we planned a 3 day sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands followed by a 4 day trip across to Fraser island for some 4WD and fishing action.

... happens to be the greatest bar on earth (I'm serious)... just incredible. Huge inside, huge exterior deck... great prices... including the "Toss the Boss" game, which, by roll of dice, allows a buyer of beer to either pay full price, half price, or nothing. Genius.
Surfing: I bought a used board for $360. I love it, its my baby. I'm still not a pro surfer, I'm actually finding it difficult at the moment because its ...

... we decided to go out to explore the town and find a place to eat. We didn't see much in the town centre and everything's closed. We found a small but almost empty pub and there's a small restaurant nearby - their specialty is stone grill. Looks like the most popular spot in town for it is where we finally saw a couple of people around. It's been a quiet night for us after the dinner. We needed rest anyway after the long journey we had.

... me to stay in the loop about what's going on in my program, as clients are great at telling Cor who's dating who, and what papers are due soon. I apologize for the shortness of this entry. The reality is that right now it's much like Canada. The fall here is like spring back home. Most of the trees even stay green all winter(except for the ones imported by the British). And the monotony of work and school mean that the fact that we're in ...