Weekend Notes

Sydney Australia


Dean and I subscribe to a newsletter called 'Weekend Notes' which highlights cool things to do and see in and around Sydney. I've titled this blog post Weekend Notes 'cause I'm going to write a few short posts about some of the events we've attended.

Welcomed by a T-Rex

Night at the Museum
Have you ever wanted to pull a Ben Stiller and hang out with the dinosaurs at night in the museum? Well we thought that sounded cool, so off to the Sydney Australian Museum we went. From the looks of it many other people had the same desire, the line up to get in was about half an hour long but so worth the wait.

The Jurassic Lounge where the band played with a backdrop of skeletons.

For a few nights only the museum opened it's doors after hours with an exhibit called Jurassic Lounge offering performances, live music (a wicked local indie-rock band) and booze! All set against a prehistoric backdrop with dinosaur skeletons and random stuffed dead Australian animals.  We've never had so much fun at a museum in our lives. Amazing what a drink and some good music can do to improve the vibe.

There were lots of interactive exhibits to try ie. archaeological dig site, silent dance party (not sure what that had to do with dinosaurs but looked interesting) basically everyone dancing had head phones on listening to a DJ but to an outsider we could only see them dancing but heard no music.. weird. There was even a life size brontosaurus walking around scaring people. lol.

Good times at the museum.

Billabong Launch Party
Thanks to a few purchases I made at the new Billabong store in Pitt Street Mall, we were cordially invited to their new store launch party. The event was called "Trade in your Trunks" and all we had to do was drop an old swimsuit or "swimmers" they call them here and we'd get a free entry pass.  FUN!  Not exactly sure what they are going to do with our old swimmers but I was excited for the $1000 shopping spree draw and to see the rock band Van She play live. So take my saggy swimmers I say.

So like the fashion Deva's we are.. Dean and I show up fashionably late and enter the already hoppin' party.  Free food, free beer.. not bad for a free event. We mingle the party not knowing a single soul apparently brushing shoulders with famous surfers that we would never recognize 'cause neither of us knows a thing about surfers. It was a great people watching event, we quickly became amazed by the extremity of short skirts and high shoes worn in this city. It's almost not even possible. We checked out the new store which is three levels featuring a section for their Bob Marley line.

We quickly lost interest once Van She came on stage.. they really blew.. I'll give them the benefit of a poor sound venue.


Living in Australia 101 (Lesson #2 - SPIDERS)
On April 16th Dean and I hosted our first Australian house party!!  Out in the back patio Dean is BBQ'ing up a storm like usual and I'm chatting with a friend when his eyes open large gazing above my head and he mouth's "oh my ..."  Immediately I know something is not right.. swing around to find a giant spider webbed only inches from my head.  For those of you who don't know me I'm seriously not cool with spiders.  Our friend Austin whisked the spidey away with a broom into the back ally but I still fear the day he returns.  This incident motivated me to research Australian Spiders. Which brings me to

Lesson #2 of living in Australia- Know Your Spiders.

Redback Spider
The infamous redback spider belongs to the same family as the American Black Widow Spider.

Size: female 12mm, male 3mm. Pea size body.
Habitat: Found all over Australia in dry sheltered areas around homes, gardens and parks.
Afraid factor: The redback is dangerous and venomous, but not aggressive as it spends most of it's time in the web. The bite is not painful initially but intense pain develops after about 5 minutes. Symptoms include localized sweating at the site of the bite, muscular weakness and even paralysis.

Funnel-Web Spider
This guy is SCARY! The funnel-web spider is very aggressive and it's venom is deadly (one of the deadliest spiders in the world)

Size: Male 20mm, female 30mm
Habitat: The funnel-web is found in rainforest and wet eucalypt forests but can also be found in damp shady areas of private gardens in Sydney.. YIKES! (but according to a friend only north sydney- I'll believe that) They burrow in the ground under rocks or logs not in webs.
Afraid Factor: HIGH! BE AFRAID! The bite of this spider is one of the most dangerous in the world. Bites can be fatal if not treated. An anti-venom is available. Seek treatment if bitten.

Mouse Spider

This spider got it's name because similar to the funnel-web they dig deep burrows (like a mouse) Probably also 'cause they have furry little bodies.. eww look at this one's furry back-side.

Size: male 15mm, female 30mm
Habitat: Burrowing spiders found in the east coastal and highland regions of Australia (Yay! this one's not in Sydney!) Burrows in creek banks and sometimes in suburban gardens.
Afraid Factor: This one is toxic and it's bite is potentially life threatening. However, the mouse spider is less aggressive than the Sydney Funnel-web and doesn't always inject venom when it bites.

This is almost making me barf just writing and googling these spiders so I hope you appreciate my efforts to educate you on Australian spiders. This will likely give me nightmares tonight.

Huntsman Spider
This is a large spider with crab-like legs and is fast moving. He hunts his prey instead of catching it in a web.

We saw one of these in our room in Bali. Thank goodness I did my spider 101 lesson before we saw this monstrosity. Yet, still a scary site.

Size: up to 15cm across the legs
Habitat: Houses, gardens, under rocks, logs.
Afraid Factor: Non toxic and doesn't usually strike humans. Bites only cause mild local pain.

Garden Orb Spider

This is the crazy dude that we found in the back court yard at our party. Just inches away from my head!

Size: female 2-3 cm, male 1.5 - 2cm
Habitat: Gardens
Afraid Factor: Orb weavers are afraid to bite. Symptoms include mild local pain, numbness and swelling.

Wolf Spider


The wolf spider has a distinct Union Jack impression on it's back.
Size: 15mm to 30mm
Habitat: Found Austraila-wide this is a ground dwelling spider that hunts it's prey instead of catching it in a web. Found around homes and garden areas.
Afraid Factor: The bite is poisonous but not leathal. They are non-aggressive but this doesn't mean poke them they will bite if aggrivated.

CONCLUSION:  Be careful around gardens, wooded areas and forests. General rule of thumb;  brown spiders BE AFRAID but black spiders be VERY AFRAID. And never mess with a funnel-web.

Bali's Crazy Scooter Driving

Bali, Indonesia


Sorry, we have been lazy with our blog lately. For those who think this blog is interesting, we apologize but there has been a lot going on here.  We hope to update more often.

We just returned from a nice long weekend in Bali. Easter weekend here in Australia was a 5 day holiday this year with ANZAC day (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) falling on Easter Monday. Nancy and I decided to take the opportunity and head to Bali for some wedding planning.

It was a jam packed weekend visiting potential hotel locations. We arrived late Thursday night in Denpasar, the capital of Bali. A friend arranged a "rental" car for us which was a local's mini van. We were advised it had no insurance and if pulled over by police to state that we owned it. That's just the way things run around Indonesia. It was also my first go with a manual transmission vehicle with right hand drive. It is really odd switching gears with your left hand.

We headed off to our first resort to check out, which was in an area called Seraberata. It is about 55km from Denpasar up the west coast of Bali in a beautiful remote location. The drive was a bit hair raising, driving in Bali is a bit like playing a video game. Roads are very narrow, very windy, and full of pot holes. To add to the excitement there are dogs running around, scooters riding the wrong way and almost no street signs. You have to be incredibly alert and never, ever take your eyes off the road. The 55km trip took us 2 hours of driving. It was a long drive with never a dull moment, we saw one bus half over a cliff and had to navigate coconuts falling to the road from a truck while driving.

The effort was rewarding, we ended up at a beautiful small resort on a peninsula. The beaches in this area are dark black volcanic sand with glittery gold bits, the feeling on your feet is really different. The sea was powerful and awe inspiring and except for the few fishermen, not a person in sight for as far as we could see.

We enjoyed a 90 minute massage in a hut on a point high on cliffs above the ocean for only 200,000 Rupiah (about $20). The hut on the right is the massage villa, the building on the left is a honeymoon guest house.

We spent the next few days in Ubud, which is a small town in the centre of Bali. Ubud is known for its arts, culture and craftwork. It is also known (for good or bad) as where the book/movie Eat, Pray, Love was set. So yes we did eat great food, and pray, but only when on the scooters. And love - that should be obvious shouldn't it?? Ubud is a town that can be hot, steamy, chaotic and busy. Frequently there are scooter traffic jams around town, it can be faster to go on foot than by car or scooter.

Have you ever seen a parking lot like this?

The other side of Ubud can be very different. It can be very peaceful, calming, and has many hidden treasures. The dingiest looking restaurants from the street can open up into the most beautiful patio backing onto a rice paddy in the middle of the city - a balinese oasis. The perfect place to enjoy local ice cold Bintang (Indonesian for star) which comes in my favourite "Big Bintang" 620ml size.

Rice paddy in middle of town...

  

Ubud has great variety of foods to suit all tastes. It is a quirky town of locals and expats. Accommodations can range from the simple guest house, to ultra luxurious resorts. In the same week, you can take a cooking class, go white water rafting, hire a scooter for a tour, shop for bargains, or enjoy some great live music. All of this is within reach of beaches, diving, volcanoes and temples. 

We visited Monkey Forest in Ubud which is a sacred site, but as expected, full of wild monkeys. A bit unnerving as they crowd around you, kind of like going to a deer feeding park - but monkeys! Here is a monkey terrorizing a tourist for his bananas, complete with a baby in tow.

The last few nights we stayed in some really cool places around Ubud that were great value for what they were. We had everything from jungle valley views, to thatched roof huts, to outdoor showers.

But in Bali, it's all about the infinity pools...

We finished off our weekend with a scooter ride back from Ubud to Denpasar where the airport is, about a 25km ride. We only had one scooter, so it was me, Nancy, and two large backpacks on a 50cc scooter through crazy Denpasar traffic. Navigating can be tough, a local SIM card in the iPhone for service and Google Maps got us around without issue.

For those that will hopefully come here for our wedding, never fear, we will have a real car for you (and will get you at the airport).

Being Tourists

Sydney Australia


As new residents to Sydney we decided it's important to get all the touristy stuff out of our system asap. This way we'll know where to take visitors when they come to visit and have a better understanding of the area. Maybe these photos will help entice you to come visit us!!

Oprah House & Harbour Bridge
One evening Dean and I decided to go for a picnic at the Botanical Gardens. We rode our bikes through the city which has an amazing bike system complete with designated lanes and signal lights to the park entrance (passing Russell Crow's house on the way)

We set up on the grass with a perfect view of the Oprah House and Harbour Bridge. Here I taught Dean a short yoga class and then we popped a bottle of wine and picnicked until the sun went down. And a beautiful sun set it was.


The Blue Mountains
Last weekend we took a road trip out to the famous Blue Mountains (aprox. 1 1/2 hour drive from Sydney). We had a quick stop along the way at a farm shop to pick up duck food for a friend (who obviously has pet ducks) a bit random but gave us the opportunity to see a bit of the country side.

Once we hit the city of Katoomba we took a lunch break at this really cool Cafe called the 'Common Ground Cafe' which had a warm and welcoming vibe, very unique decor and excellent home made organic food. The setting is hard to describe but had this lord of the rings kind of feel. It felt a bit like being in a fantasy world tree house with it's squiggly wooden booths, stools made of old wheels, hand paintings on the actual wall itself, wooden barrels for sinks in the washroom and apple baskets lamp shades.



Next, headed on to the trails..

The Three Sisters
The infamous Three Sister Mountains. Each standing over 900 meters tall (3000 feet).

Legend: As the Aboriginal legend goes - three sisters 'Meehni, Wimiah and Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe yet tribal law forbade them to marry (this sounds like an Aboriginal's version of Romeo and Juliet) The brothers were not happy to accept this law and decided to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle (well duh.. holding hostages rarely leads to eternal happiness)

As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed (would have been smart to have an understudy maybe?). Only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come (and reminder to always have a plan B)

And here they are, the lovely Three Sisters in rock formation.

Next we ventured down the Giant Stairway which is literally over 900 steep steps down into the lush forest below. Excellent workout for those glutes!

The steps varied from stone to wood to wire of random sizes and steepness. It took us about 40 min to go up and down and definitely got our hearts pumping.

Kangaroo Scrotum "a genuine Australian Souvenir"

Like a true tourist onto the gift shop we go!  Postcards, books, hats, toys, candy and other australian paraphernalia. What is this? Kangaroo Scrotum on a key chain or if you prefer a bottle opener!?!  A "Genuine Australian Souvenir" yes I suppose it is but oh that is wrong in so many ways.

Aboriginal man playing the didgeridoo

And his lovely boomerangs for sale

Funny Foods

Nancy & Dean - Sydney Australia


One thing I'm noticing is it's easy to live a "sustainable life" here in Australia. Most if not all foods and products are grown and manufactured locally. There is a much stronger respect for organic and ethically farmed foods and overall I find the efforts pay off as the food has more flavour and quality is noticeable.

While on the topic of food. Here are some funny foods I've come across so far:

Meat Pies from 'Pie Face' - These single serving pies make a great late night snack on the street.  Pie face is a chain that sells a variety of meat and sweet pies each with unique little faces drawn on them. Best enjoyed with a blob of mashed potato, mushy peas and gravy smothered on top.

Kangaroo Kebabs- kangaroo meat is obviously produced in Australia and since 2010 is now exported to more than 55 countries.

While shopping at the weekend Farmer's market I stumbled across this yummy stand selling muffins and pastries. You can't see the name tag in this photo but it reads "Spotted Dick"  Excuse me? 


Wikipedia explanation:
Spotted dick is a steamed suet pudding containing dried fruit (usually currants) commonly served with custard. Spotted refers to the dried fruit (which resemble spots) and dick may be a contraction or corruption of the word pudding (from the last syllable)

Vegemite Scrolls- not quite as scrumptious as a cinnamon roll but I will respect and continue to not participate in the love of Vegemite.

Golden Bananas -  at $11.98/kg the banana is not a staple fruit in my household anymore. I bought two for smoothies and they came to $4.00!!  I found out later that this is not normal for Australian banana's. Due to the floods in the north the banana farmers crops were devastated causing banana and some other produce prices to sky rocket.  A friend of Dean's said "No one buys banana's now, except tourists maybe." no comment.

Happy Cappuccino - my mornings begins on the right note with a home made cappuccino. Thanks Dean! This guy even has eyebrows.

The Initiation

Nancy & Dean- Sydney Australia


After an uneventful 23 hour flight I arrived safely in Sydney early Friday morning (Australian time). Dean was waiting at the arrival gate with flowers and a  big smile on his face. Finally the long wait was over and now we can start our adventures together here in Australia.

First, we loaded my hundreds of pounds of luggage into the car and headed home to check out our new place!  I LOVE our home! It's roomy but not too big, clean, modern and so novel to be living in a house instead of a high rise building for once. It instantly felt like home and was exciting to be re-united with all my possessions that set sea way back in December. Even Railey's bed is here ready and waiting for his arrival. Next week I'll begin to decorate, hang pictures and find a place for everything.

Dean took me on a short walk around the hood so I could get my bearings. It feels so strange to have no clue where you are or how to get around. I imagine I'll feel a bit displaced for a while.

I could barely wait to go to the beach.. so we pulled on our bathing suits, hopped in the car and headed to Bondi Beach. We walked up the rocky coasted trail from Bondi to Tamarama Beach, sat on the rock cliff and watched the surfers below battle the waves while we chatted and caught up on some of the events of the past few months apart. I noticed flags down on the beach below.. "what do you think those flags mean?" I asked Dean. "Oh probably no surfing or something?" After about an hour or so we walked back down to Bondi beach and decided it being my first day in Oz, I needed to be initiated to the ocean. It wasn't the warmest day so the water was quite cold but we both bravely ran in, jumped the waves and eventually became fully submerged. It was all fun and games until there was a sudden change of events.

I noticed on shore a blue lifeguard cart and one of the guards yelling at us with a loud speaker but I could not hear a thing he said. I figured it must be dangerous where we were swimming, "We have to go in Dean, swim in"  I yelled and began to swim in toward the lifeguards. Suddenly I couldn't touch bottom and the currents seemed to get stronger. Dean who seemed calm and collected but admits later he was freaking kept yelling to me "swim sideways" but I was beginning to struggle in the water with the current and the large waves crashing over me.

We were stuck in a rip tide, and no matter how hard we kicked we were not moving, if anything we were being sucked out further.  I consider myself a strong swimmer but began to panic as I was struggled to keep afloat and began to get quite tired from the effort of kicking in such strong water.  It wasn't long until I saw someone appear in front of me on a surf board. "Climb on" he said. It was the lifeguard who came to save the day and thank god he did otherwise I think we would have been fish food. Even on the surf board the waves made the return back to shore a challenge.

I soon noticed there was a guy with a video camera and on the beach stood a dude with a boom and microphone.  "What's with the video equipment?" I asked. "Oh we are filming for a show called Bondi Rescue, a real life lifeguard rescue show" (Which apparently airs in Canada too, so if your flipping through the channels and think you see us being pulled from the ocean on Australia's version of Bay Watch, yes that's really is us.)

Once we were both safe on shore again, they asked us to do a short interview about our experience. We explained what happened and honestly I felt pretty stupid to say I'm from Canada and this is my first day in Australia. However, another part of me thought it was pretty funny that we had become such spectacles the first time in the ocean.

Today we learnt valuable lessons. Obviously we didn't understand the true meaning of flags on the beach is to swim between the flags because the other areas are too dangerous not Dean's version of 'do not surf on beaches with flags'. Also, we learnt the power of a rip tide and strength of the ocean. Although this was an unfortunate event, I consider us lucky to have experienced it sooner than later and on a beach where there were watchful lifeguards there to help us.

Exhausted by the day's events we drove home laughing about the fact we will be on Bondi Rescue, but shaken by such a close call.

Living in Australia 101:  Lesson of the day - swim between the flags and never underestimate the power of the ocean.

This is it...

Nancy- Toronto Canada

So this is it. My bags are packed, my apartment is sold, signed and pretty much cleared out, the seemingly endless "To Do" list is about 97% complete. I have three more sleeps in Canada, one last day at work and one final meal with my family then I'm off to explore my new life and home in Australia. Believe it or not, it still has not really hit me that this is actually a move not just another vacation or trip.

Yet again here's a picture of my skilled packing. I've managed to widdle my possessions down to 4 bags for the first trip and a small pile that can wait until I return at Christmas or possibly sooner for a visit.

Oh how I wish I could fit Railey in my carry on. I'm going to miss that little wiggly fur ball sooooo much and pray that everything goes smooth with his flight in May. I don't think I'll be able to feel settled until all of us are safe in Australia.

With India and the work trip to Italy it has been a rushed departure. However, I'm feeling very thankful for all my friends and family who have found the time to hang out one last time before I go.  I feel really fortunate to have such amazing people in my life and I'm going to miss you all very much. Thankfully social media can keep us connected in the mean time until we see each other again.

I have no idea what my "new life" will be like in Australia, it's exciting and scary all at the same time. But one thing I learned in India is to trust myself and the ability to handle whatever life throws at me. No point worrying about it, I'll figure it out... and intend to have a tone of fun in the process. 

New Home And New Wheels!!

Dean - Glebe, Australia

I missed a week on our blog, a lot has happened in a short time. After seven frustrating weeks, countless inspections, we finally have a home. It has been a difficult journey, but well worth the wait. It may seem odd for some people that this has been such a big deal, but lot's was stacked against me. A shortage of rental units, lot's of immigrants, hot economy, no rental history here, our great little dog Railey, and my pickiness. All these together meant a very difficult time getting someone to accept us. Lucky enough, I found this great place in inner west Sydney called Glebe.

The house is what is called a terrace, which is basically a row house with a small back area. It is in a great location where we can walk to markets, local shops, parks, and even the water where there is a trail system. It really feels like home to me. It is under 10 KM from my office which can be reached easily by car or transit. It is 3 bedroom with lots of space so we can spread out and have lot's of room for visitors. The owners are really nice people that ironically have the same first names as Nancy's parents.

I was also able to get our shipping container delivered last Friday. So all our belongings we said good bye to way back in December for the long trip here arrived. Amazingly, over 14,000 KMs of shipping by train then boat, out of the entire container, there was only one broken wine glass. The Australian quarantine service (AQIS) opened a few boxes that had shoes and our bikes in them, presumably looking for soil, etc.

I am extremely happy and will be able to start cooking again for myself and soon Nancy. Best of all I can finally sleep in my own bed. I am very lucky that new friends and new co-workers here were extremely helpful to me, lending a hand, offering a couch and giving great advice.

To add to the completeness of this week, I was able to pick up our car, so I am now mobile. Nancy and I are proud owners of a 2011 VW Golf. A great practical car which will get us around town and on some road trips comfortably.  It was a bit of an adventure learning how the whole system works with car registration and insurance. Every car must be registered with regulated CTP (compulsory third party) insurance, which basically covers any third party liability to other driver's health only. Then you add comprehensive insurance which covers damage to your vehicle and others. The two forms of insurance can be purchased from two different insurance companies. The insurance can be done completely online, as it was the morning I picked it up, and no special slips are required. Car registration ("rego") is done by placing a special sticker in the windshield. Here is a shot of our car and the cool "euro" style plates they have here.

I'm driving a bit like a grandma now, left hand side of the road, roundabouts, and a maze of inner city streets all keep me a bit nervous. I am sure it won't take long to get used to it. I also have to rely on my iPhone GPS to get around as the streets are very confusing.

Good thing about this car is it's easy on the gas (petrol). Next time you pull up to the gas station and think it's expensive, think of what I pay. For any of my American friends who may be reading this, that's about $5 per gallon.

So next steps are getting some essentials for home, like a BBQ, TV, and a coffee machine. I am working hard to have everything sorted for when Nancy gets here in just 11 days. Seeing Nancy after two long months will complete my happiness :-)