Always look on the bright side

Expat life can be pretty tough. Much though I love our life here under the Australian sun, with all the opportunities this country provides, the amazing friendships we’ve built and the breathtaking scenery we get to enjoy each and every day, we’re always two long haul flights away from home.

Two long haul flights, a car journey and a ferry in my case. That’s 40 hours door to door. 40 hours away from parents, from grandparents, from siblings, from friends raising their children, from weddings and births and just simple hugs that will never really be simple because every moment you spend together is extra special.

There’s extreme happiness, linked so closely to extreme sadness. You have, and then you have not. That can be pretty tough.

But against that there is a lot of beauty. This country really is amazing, and we are so privileged to be able to call this place home. On top of that, we are lucky to have flexible careers, to be able to work from anywhere in the world, to be able to take our children on long holidays and – if you add it up – spend a lot more quality time with our families than we would if we lived in the same country and saw eachother on weekends, rather than in holidays.

Last month was one of those holidays, spent at Seal Rocks and in Port Stephens. The weather was glorious, and we got to enjoy long days at the beach, followed by gorgeous sunsets, barbeques and campfires. Spending every minute of every day together for such a long period of time has been simply wonderful.

Here are some of these memories that will last a lifetime...

Port Stephens was just as magical...

And now the countdown has begun to our next Europe trip! Only 5 and a half months to go...

xxx

 

Bula Fiji

Fiji. It’s one of those places that conjures up images of remote islands, with white sandy beaches fringed by palm trees. Sipping cocktails in a beach front hammock while your kids are at kids club (okay, so not that remote, Fiji caters to everyone) and permanent sunshine.

Reality can be a little different, at least where the weather is concerned. The first time we booked a trip to this bucket list hotspot, our holiday was cancelled at the last minute as a result of a devastating cyclone. The second time, earlier this year, we were considerably luckier. While the week before had seen solid rain, we were blessed with ten days of blue skies and sunshine. The day we left, the rain returned.

On every other level, however, Fiji very much lives up to its promises. I’ve seen many beautiful beaches in my lifetime, but Fijian beaches have got to be in my top ten. The people are warm and friendly, and magnificent with kids. The flight is relatively short (4 hours from Sydney), the island transfers straightforward and the time difference with Sydney is only two hours meaning you don’t have to worry about jetlagged kids. In fact the only downside to our travel story was the impossibly early departure time, which was entirely our own fault. If you can avoid it, don’t take the 6am flight, it’s just not worth it!

Here are some highlights from our holiday.

*We travelled in August to Malolo Lailai in the Mamanuca island group where we spent 10 days in a garden bure at plantation island resort. This resort is “child friendly” and offers all traditional resort style features. However, we found it was easy to escape the masses and enjoy the Fijian island beauty by exploring other corners of the island.

 

Endless summer

As a child, winter was always my favourite season. I lived for skiing and summer – for obvious reasons – doesn’t make for ideal snow conditions. It's been years since I picked up a pair of skis (too long in fact, that’s life with toddlers for you) but these days I much prefer summer to winter (at least in Australia, because yes it gets cold down here, and who doesn’t love a good Australian beach day...)

Luckily for us, this summer, which finished nearly 3 months ago, appears in no hurry to go anywhere. Temperatures are still in the mid 20s, the water is still pretty warm and apparently we’re heading for a record "endless summer" (that's the press talking, not me).

Either way though, I’m not complaining. This is how we’re spending our free days...

On a completely different note, next week I'm off on a photography course! I've been meaning to get used to shooting in completely manual mode for ages, but when push comes to shove I always end up reverting back to aperture selection and autofocus (there wouldn't be many pictures even vaguely recognisable, let alone worth publishing otherwise).


The problem though is that it's forever leaving me with slightly blurred images (like the one above), particularly during my favourite golden hour with that gorgeous sunflare streaming into the lens.


I'm not quite sure whether with two fast moving objects (that is of course my children) using manual focus is simply ambitious or plain crazy, but apparently it can be done and I can't wait to find out how.


I'm looking forward to sharing the results with you here and wishing you all an equally sunny Spring/ Autumn wherever you are,

xxx

Our highland adventure

I love the simple life. Give me basic comfort and nature and I’ll choose it any day over high end luxury in the city, so imagine my joy when I discovered these shearer's quarters in the Southern highlands of New South Wales.

Located in Tarlo, a place we hadn’t visited before, on an actual working farm, amid stunning scenery. The place itself was basic, but kitted out with everything we needed and even featured a piano, much to the delight of our girls.

The views were incredible, the peace and quiet exactly what we wanted for our long weekend break, and aside from the flocks of sheep and kangaroos darting around, we had the place all to ourselves. It was simply magical.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We loved the stunning sunsets, and magical misty mornings...

Enjoyed strolls around the paddocks

And even visited the Wombeyan Caves, which we all thought were very special  and worth exploring further.

I can't wait to come back here for another weekend break.  

xxx