Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Saving a turtle named George!


The big excite,emt today was saving a turtle! We saw the turtle in the parking lot of a small shopping center, who was literally minutes away from being squashed by passing cars. So we relocated him to the dam in back of our B&B. Posted by Picasa

Car-sick turtle....


Aside from peeing on Nancy while in the car (I think he got car-sick!) the turtle was quite happy with this relocation. Posted by Picasa

More kangaroos...


We saw lots of wildlife in the Hunter Valley, including tons of kangaroos. Posted by Picasa

Llama farms


There were also quite a few llama farms among the vineyards. Posted by Picasa

Huh?


Today we also went into Newcastle and Maitland, two coastal towns with some odd businesses... Posted by Picasa

Beautiful Sunset


All in all another busy day on vacation... Posted by Picasa

Monday, February 27, 2006

A sedate vacation


We usually don't stay so long in one place on vacations, as usually we are birding and moving around a lot, but it was nice to have such a great home base for 4 days. Posted by Picasa

Great Views


This view is from the back porth of the B&B. Posted by Picasa

Better with Age!


We visited quite a few wineries today, including one that specialized in older wines. I liked their slogan... Posted by Picasa

Kangaroos in the Vineyards


That night on the way to dinner we saw the first of many wallabies and kangaroos hopping among the vineyards. You can DEFINITELY tell you're not in California... Posted by Picasa

Shakey Tables


Dinner tonight was at Shakey Tables, a great restaurant set on a vineyard. I has the beef; Tim has the fish... Posted by Picasa

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Arriving at last in the Hunter Valley


We arrived at our bed & breakfast, Bluebush Estates, around 3pm on Sunday. It had a great livingroom / kitchen area overlooking the vineyards. Posted by Picasa

A nice place to stay!


Although it was raining when we arrived, by the time we got our stuff into our room it had stopped. Posted by Picasa

Leaves and Fishes Restaurant


After hitting a few wineries in the last of the daylight, Tim and I had a great meal at a restaurant called Leaves and Fishes. It was overlooking a dam, and served great seafood. Tim had a "bucket o' prawns" for dinner; I had the soft-shell crab with an avocado dressing. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Country Fried Chicken


We set off for parts south today, planning to get about 2/3 of the way down to the Hunter Valley. We stopped for dinner just north of Coff's Harbour, enjoying excellent Country Fried Chicken. Posted by Picasa

Nambucca Heads


We stayed tonight at a coastal town, Nambucca Heads. The motel had an excellent view of the sea. Posted by Picasa

Friday, February 24, 2006

Hunter Valley Vacation


Well, Tim and I are off to the Hunter Valley wine region north of Sydney for a weeks holiday tomorrow. We've been crazy busy with grant-writing and PhD stuff, and are looking forward to the time away. As we're driving we'll be sure to bring back a few cases of nice wine. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Kitchen Possum


We had a possum at the kitchen window last night. I think he (she?) was hungry and wanted a sandwich... Posted by Picasa

Gromit & the Possum


Gromit also wanted a sandwich - a possum sandwich.... Posted by Picasa

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Australia at the Olympics


Alisa Camplin led the 40-strong Australian contingent at the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin... Posted by Picasa

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Breakfast in Paris?


Sunday and back in Brisbane. Tim and I went to breakfast at one of our favorite places, Rue de Paris. The restaurant is in Park Road, one of a string of restaurants under a giant model of the Eiffel Tower. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Saturday Shopping


Kate and I stayed overnight to do a little shopping in Melbourne. We stayed at the Hilton on the Park. Posted by Picasa

Nice Rooms at the Hilton


The rooms at the Hilton were great. We were on the 16th floor, overlooking the park. Posted by Picasa

Bridge Road


Melbourne has the best shopping in Australia. You can find everything from modern malls and outlet stores to the older laneways with boutique shops that Melbourne is famous for. We went to the Bridge Road outlet shops and were definitely successful... Posted by Picasa

Friday, February 10, 2006

Grand Hyatt


Today my meetings were in the Grand Hyatt, which is a lovely hotel right in the middle of very upscale shopping (think Chanel and Gucci) in central Melbourne. Posted by Picasa