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. 

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. 

More kangaroos...

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

Llama farms

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

Huh?

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

Beautiful Sunset

All in all another busy day on vacation... 

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. 

Great Views

This view is from the back porth of the B&B. 

Better with Age!

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

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... 

Shakey Tables

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

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Nambucca Heads

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

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. 

Kitchen Possum

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

Gromit & the Possum

Gromit also wanted a sandwich - a possum sandwich.... 

Australia at the Olympics

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

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. 

Saturday Shopping

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

Nice Rooms at the Hilton

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

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... 

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.