Surf Beach - Part 1

DAY 1 - Saturday January 14

We are beyond thrilled to have a place to plunk ourselves down for six straight days with nothing to accomplish.  We drive the whole stretch from Jervis Bay to Surf Beach during the kids' nap and we are feeling very peaceful as we pull into our next home (no Tom Tom countdown this time!).  Time to relax and really get into vacation mode. 

The apartment (flat) that we pre-booked is amazing.  Upon our arrival there is a welcome basket with various teas, chocolate and other goodies.  There is a huge tray of marinated shish-ka-bobs, sausage and steak in the fridge and ready for the BBQ (Barbie), along with lemonade, milk and water.  There's a big flat-screen TV with video games and DVDs, and all kinds of board games and toys for the kids to play with.  Rusty finds a giant stuffed shark in her bedroom and is over the moon about it.  The outdoor space is amazing with a fenced yard that looks out onto Surf Beach (right across the street).  There is a big lounger couch, beer fridge, dining table, fire pit & BBQ to complete the package.  All for the same price as the motel room in Jervis Bay.  We have arrived!!!



View of Surf Beach from our backyard

DAY 2 - Sunday January 15

We have a lazy relaxing morning and check out our surroundings.  Surf Beach is pretty and sandy and has a nice grassy picnic area complete with playground on the foreshore.  Clark checks out the waves and thinks it a perfect spot to take up surfing again - time to buy a board.   We pick up some groceries at the local IGA and head back to the house to wash Rusty's pukey clothes.  Rusty finds a big red ball and we have some laughs chasing it around the yard.

Playing ball in the backyard

We decide that a good routine will be to spend the mornings doing something fun with the kids, and then head back to the house for lunch and a nap (we have learned our lesson the hard way trying to squeeze in an activity or mission just prior to naptime).  Plus, this keeps the kids and us out of the sun during the blistering times and gives Clark and I a chance to put our feet up and enjoy some free time while the kids are sleeping.  We aim for simultaneous naps around 1:00 every afternoon.

DAY 3 - Monday January 16

Audrey's first hike.  We head to Discovery Trail, a short 1.5 km loop around Durras Lake.  Rusty walks almost the whole trail by herself - what a good little hiker!  We see some pretty cool stuff - chicken-like birds with peacock-like tails, spotted gum trees over 300 years old, and a huge (1+ m long) iguana-type lizard thingy (my animal identification skills in this country are sorely lacking).  Rusty is beside herself. 

It is a novel concept to hike in a country completely devoid of large predators.  The rustling and crashing in the bush just piques my curiosity as opposed to sending fight or flight signals (or in my case flight or flight signals) straight to my gut.  The only thing that bothers us is a leech (which Clark finds glued to his ankle partway along the hiking trail).

Clark does choose this hike, however, to remind me that Australia is the world's most venemous country - home to countless spiders and snakes - just waiting to jump out of the trees and get a bite of you.  I'm left pining for the devil I do know - a soft and cuddly grizzly crashing around in the bush. 

Audrey's 1st hike

Rusty and Ellen under a Spotted Gum tree

Rusty checking out the local vegetation