Feeling like a winner

That’s a wrap for another year at the Australian Toy Fair in Melbourne. What a show it’s been!

Our stunning new twin aisle stand was awarded Best Open Space Stand by the Australian Toy Association. We can’t believe it. We used this 60 sqm stand for the first time at the AGHA Gift Fair last August. It’s moments like these that make all the hard work worthwhile. It would be fair to say that the last three years have been pretty intense.

Creating our new stand was stressful to say the least. The artwork was prepared by a designer in India. I approached him after shortlisting a corporate logo he’d created for Artiwood. We ran a competitive design tender online to source a new corporate identity. While we didn’t select his design, I was impressed by his work.

However, he ultimately proved incredibly unreliable. It took months of chasing to get our artwork files completed. In the end we forwarded them to the printer two days before the final deadline. So much for giving ourselves a couple of months to get everything sorted. Never again.

In between meeting customers and taking orders, Garry and I also enjoyed an evening of fine dining at Heston Blumenthal’s iconic restaurant, Dinner by Heston. The experience was simple divine. We honestly enjoyed every course on the degustation menu. I can’t recall the last time we walked away raving about every dish we tried.

For example, the meal kicked off with a fruit meat and toasted sourdough dish. The menu's description didn't make it sound all that appealing.  However, we were presented with a pate crafted to look like a real mandarin. It was delicious. We finished the evening with one of Heston's signature Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream cones. The ice cream was prepared on a cart at our table, offering plenty of misty dining theatre.

Mountain high. Fjord below.

Our final day in Khasab was spent driving through the dramatic Hajar Mountains that separate Musandam from the United Arab Emirates.  Our half day excursion saw us travel by 4-wheel cars up winding gravel roads until we reached Jebel Al Harim, the highest mountain peak of the Musandam Peninsula.  Our tour stopped short of the summit soaring 2,087 meters above the sea level. The summit is home to yet another of the area’s ubiquitous military listening posts and thus out of bounds for tourists.

The journey through the mountains was without doubt truly spectacular.  The view as we ascended simply grew ever more breath-taking as we rounded each hairpin turn.  Along the way we witnessed goats defying gravity on the cliff faces while catching tantalising glimpses of rural life. 

Highlights included a brief stop to view the Bedouin village of Sayh. Situated at 1100 meters above the sea level Sayh is a small and peaceful village nestled on a mountain plateau that forms a surprisingly green oasis in the dry and harsh terrain. 

We also stopped in the shadows of Jabel Harim around 1600 meters above sea level to view an expanse of fossils dating back several million years.  It was extraordinary to see dozens and dozens of these ancient shellfish encased rock after rock at such altitude.

The tour ended with a drive to the eastern coast of Musandam.  Here we visited a narrow lookout that revealed the azure blue waters of Khawr Najid, perhaps the most stunning of the region’s fjords. Without doubt we’d saved the best view for last. Khawr Najid proved the perfect end to an adventurous weekend.  We drove back to Dubai that afternoon and flew out early the following morning for Frankfurt and a frantic week of business meetings.