March 30th - April 15th 2012, Australia ...
| Long time planned (flights booked already a year ago) we used our Qantas Miles and flew to Melbourne again ... |
Melbourne I
After arrival on Friday morning - and having loads of food in lounges and on the plane - we did the "Aussie" shopping (items we don't get in Germany) and then - more food - had some tapas @ Tender Trap, our favourite restaurant ... fantastic as ever ...
We were lucky that we could stay with our friends Caroline and David. It was their son's birthday (Sam), so we could join the birthday dinner @ a Thai restaurant in Warrandyte ...
On Saturday we met Sue and Garry, long-time acquaintances ... we went for lunch @ Yerring Station in the Yarra Valley ... here Sue and Cynthia ...
... and the four of us @ lunch there ...
Here all of us @ the terrace overlooking the area ... it was good to meet them (first time for Thomas)Hayman Island
So Sunday morning we got up @ 4 o'clock to get our flight to Hamilton @ 7am ... after arrival we were greeted with a glass of champagne on the boat that brought us to Hayman ...
This is the pier of Hamilton Airport ... such a huge Airport, that it is subdivided into East and West ;-))) ...
Here our plane - starting again ... no taxiways there ... so a u-turn must do ...
Upon arrival @ Hayman we were picked up by the buggy train ... here a first glimpse of the resort ...
... and on our way to the entrance ...
... where we were greeted by staff ... each party had its own staff member who showed everything and guided the guests to their rooms ...
As our room wasn't ready yet, we had a lunch @ the pool ... and some more booze ...
After moving into our room we had this spectacular view of the pool area and the sea ...
... here a little bit towards the evening ... alright it's time to be jealous now ;-))))
After dinner we had a welcome sparkling wine (Yarra Valley) at the Club Lounge ...
Next morning - again - beautiful blue skies ... all week around 28° ... We were very lucky with the weather as it had been more or less raining for the last two months ...
Here an overview of the pool ... a huge salt water pool around and a smaller sweet water pool in the middle
Breakfast and lunch were accompanied by a lot of cheeky cockatoos ... here you see what happens when you leave food on the table ...
Sun down view of the beach in front of the resort ...
... and us enjoying an oriental dinner one night ...
And as you can see, it was stressful work all the time ... lying around, swimming, drying, reading, ordering drinks, sleeping ...
... more work ... btw for a whole week the mobile phone and the office email was switched off !!! ... believe it or not, the world survived without Thomas being available ;-)))
Two permanent visitors everywhere was a couple of ducks ... we believe they owned the pool and just allowed us to be there too ... here Cynthia with one of them ...
One evening we had a night walk to spot some animals ... we saw wallabies and - surprisingly close - this possum in a tree ... just lit by a torch light ...
Enjoying a pre-dinner drink at the bar ...
... and - last afternoon - we were brought to a beach around the corner of the island to watch the sunset ... including a picknick with a bottle of champagne and a 5-star-food-supply ... consisting of two (!) pieces of cheese and two crackers ;-))) ... ... but this was the only complaint about Hayman Island ... surely a five-star reference!
This picture you can buy for - friend's bargain - 1.490 Euros ... incl. frame ;-)))
As a last dinner we had a fantastic seafood buffet ... Cynthia was in heaven with her unlimited supply of oysters ... Thomas suggested to move her chair in front of the buffet ...
So all in all it was a fantastic 5 1/2 days @ Hayman Island ... totally relaxing, doing nothing, just what we needed!
Melbourne II
Back in Melbourne the catching-up-marathon started ... nearly every day lunch and dinner ... The start was a lunch with Craig, Jared's roommate ... good to see him again after he's done so much for Jared ...
... this was followed by a wonderful barbecue @ Joan and Ken ... she's the mother of one of Jared's oldest friends ...
Easter Monday was spent with Lucy ... the whole day was one eating-frenzy ... wonderful dishes and terrific company including the whole family ... we were lucky that our hairdryer on wheels (Holden Cruze) was able to drive us home ...
Next day it was great to be able to see Kirsten for a coffee and catch up on news ...
We also had a lovely dinner at Taipan (Doncaster) with our friend David ... the food - and again the company - was excellent ... we're looking forward to seeing him again this year in Germany ...
One night was reserved for Sally and Vince, who have done so much for us after Jared passed away ... dinner at our favourite restaurant Tender Trap in Doncaster ... excellent as always!
The "old" colleagues of Cynthia were not left out ... here at lunch with Heather, Anna, Claire and Tristen ... wonderful to catch up with them and to stay in touch ... (Errol and Greg were missed ... especially by Thomas, the only male at the table ;-)
One afternoon was reserved for Glynis, Cynthia's sister ... we had lunch together with Cynthia's niece Ingrid and her kids ...
A Thai restaurant was missing ... so we met Jill and Trevor in Eltham ... accompanied by Pam and Laima ... as we could stay with them during difficult times for so long we were very happy to see them again!
Cynthia's friends Alicia and Ivana we met too ... here for coffee in Eltham ...
Last but not least, we invited our friends (and hosts for a week) Caroline and David to our - yes it's boring ;-) - favourite restaurant for a wonderful dinner ... thanks a lot for your hospitality ... @Chris from Tendertrap: Thanks for the wine ... it made it to Germany!
Last thing to report is this little project: After seeing a life-size kangaroo @ Healesville Zoo in 2009, Thomas wanted to have one of those at home in Germany ... so after phone calls with Qantas it could be shipped with our luggage ... ... here still in Warrandyte ... firmly wrapped in bubble foil ...
... and it made its way from Melbourne to Syndey to Singapore to Frankfurt ... it even arrived first thing ... before the bags! So all Aussie visitors have the appropriate welcome in our house now!
Well we really enjoyed Melbourne and Australia again. Hayman Island was a fantastic experience and we loved catching up with all our friends. We had emotional moments when we were at the pier in St. Kilda where Jared's ashes were scattered but also many hard laughs with our friends! We're looking forward to seeing you again ... either in Germany or next year down under!