8/27 thru 8/28 - Kawana Island, Parrearra, Australia

8/27/2012 - The trip to OZ started with a quick clean of the condo.  Hilary gave us a pass on cleaning, but I cannot leave things too 'untidy.'   The shuttle van arrived and whisked us off in the rain to Auckland airport in early Monday Traffic.  Our weather karma is holding - rain on the day we leave...Yay!

We checked in quickly and headed to the lounge for an hour's wait... they have a fascinating hammock system that is quite comfy and stretches out to accommodate sleeping.

NZ Air took good care of us on the flight.  Food and wines were great and - of course - we indulged a bit much.  We each watched a movie,  listened to tunes, learned about Australia, and arrived to fine weather.

After an hour and 20 minute shuttle ride right to the door, we explored the Ron & Dot's lovely home, unpacked, and settled in.

Gated entry

Front Door

The house is wonderful - my pictures do not do it justice.

View into the sun room

Patio Dining

Patio for bird watching

8/28/2012 (Tuesday) - A walk to the Beach was in order first thing - not for the sunrise, but that is now in planning. This was a great way to check out the road we'll have to take to go shopping.

What a glorious morning!  The sun was warm and the air was cool - perfect!  

 

We walked through Kawana Island to the beach through the Palkana Park, which reminded me a bit of last year's hike on Long Island with Wayne and Christian.  

Walkway to the dunes & Beach

Spectacular Views

Looking toward Pt Cartwright

 

Looking south toward Dicky Beach

Unfortunately, there were a couple of small and one larger fish that had some trouble with the outgoing tide.  The waves are intense here and it is easy to see how this could happen.  Though these guys will help the sea birds and other creatures by their passing, it's sad that such a pretty fish got stuck this way.  

Due to the wave action, shells were quite hard to find... I got a few.  I'll keep looking though!

On the walk to the beach we saw Mick's Meat Barn and the First Fruit Shed - we checked them out on the way home.  We got some of Mick's "Pre War Sausages" (why 'Pre War'? Because they are made with beef and spices - the old way, without fillers).  We'll try them for dinner later in the week.  

Then we walked home and drove up to the Kawana Shopping world.  There are 2 grocer's in this mall - something we don't usually have in USA malls.

 The Grocer's are Woolworths and Coles.  Interesting foods and prices... and the trolley (the grocery carts) wheels move all ways - love it.

We stocked up and headed home - knowing we'll return to the Shopping World... good place.

It was a great day!