Bathurst and Beyond

Our journey towards the Murray River took us through some NSW’s most renowned regional centres. After leaving the Blue Mountains spent three nights progressively making our way southeast towards Euston, where we’d planned our first sighting of Australia’s landmark river.

On Boxing Day we drove inland towards Bathurst and then on to Cowra for our first overnight stop. As all good tourists do, we took time out in Bathurst to drive the Mount Panorama racing circuit and enjoy its scenic views across the town. No speed limits were broken during our circuit!

We stopped for a picnic lunch on the shores of Lake Carcoar. Picnic lunches have become one of our signature activities on these road trips, both here and overseas. Over the years we’ve built out an impressive “picnic basket” stocked with all manner of cutlery, crockery, and utensils. However, for this trip Garry has taken things to a new level. He’s bought a mobile fridge Eski that plugs into the car during the day and then into a regular household socket at night.

The following morning was spent touring Cowra’s war-themed tourist attractions. During the Second World War Cowra housed a major POW camp. More than 4,000 Axis military personnel and civilians were detained here in a massive complex built on the outskirts of town. Almost half of those interned were Japanese soldiers and officers.

At 1.50 am on the clear moonlit night of August 5, 1944, the largest Prisoner of War breakout in modern military history occurred at Cowra. More than 1000 Japanese prisoners launched a mass 'suicide attack' on their guards.

Armed with crude weapons, four groups each of approximately 300 Japanese threw themselves on to barbed wire fences and into the firing line of Vickers machine guns. Protected only by baseball mitts, blankets, and coats and using their comrades as a human bridge to cross the tangled barbed wire, more than 350 Japanese clawed their way to freedom.

All escapees were captured during the following week. A total of 107 POWs were wounded, and 234 prisoners died along with 5 Australian soldiers. This tragic event has since been immortalised on the camp’s original site with a series of interpretative signs. The site’s most compelling feature is a reproduction of one of the camp’s original guard towers.

Cowra is also famed for its Japanese Garden. It was established as a symbol of peace and reconciliation between Australia and Japan. A commemorative drive connects the Cowra Japanese Garden with the site of the POW Camp and continues to the Australian and Japanese War Cemetery.

The gardens, opened in 1979, cover five hectares of a landscaped hillside, They’re simply stunning. Garry and I spent several relaxing hours exploring its many hidden features.

Blue Mountains Bliss

Garry and I have abandoned Sydney for Christmas. This year we’re celebrating the Yuletide season at Echoes Boutique Hotel in the Blue Mountains. This hotel is part of the famous Lilianfel hotel complex sitting on the edge of a spectacular escarpment in Katoomba. We’ve talked about dining at Lilianfel for years so this is another of those bucket list moments for us.

We booked two nights at the hotel, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The weather kindly played its part and after a few brief showers, we enjoyed plenty of sun-speckled experiences during our stay. The view from our hotel room was magical. While the room itself was a classic hotel room and slightly cluttered, the view outside was breathtaking.

Every morning we sat in our courtyard looking out over immaculately manicured gardens that fell away in a series of hedged tiers to reveal the neighbouring valley in all its glory. I’ll let the photos in the post speak for themselves.

Our Christmas degustation lunch was equally memorable. We debated endlessly which option to choose as the hotel complex offered several Christmas meal options during our stay. However, the menu and venue we ultimately settled upon proved a real winner. A copy of the lunch menu we enjoyed at Darley's restaurant is posted above. The Lamb Rump was insanely tasty.

We also took time out after our hearty Christmas lunch to wander down to Echo Point (just a block away from the hotel) to soak up the classic Blue Mountains vista that is the Three Sisters and Jamison Valley below. These first two days on vacation have certainly set the tone for what’s to come.

Oh yes, the scrambled eggs below? Just a fancy breakfast I made myself before we headed off on vacation.What better way to kick things off than fresh ground coffee and scrambled egg brioche sliders finished off with truffled cheese.

Business loan bliss

We've just paid off our business loan, three years ahead of schedule. Our big bet has clearly paid off. For the last seven years, Garry and I have kept a roof over our heads and successfully grown a thriving, reputable business. A proud milestone!

UPDATE: 14 August 2022

I've just edited this post to include an image of our new re-designed trade show booth. We erected it for the first time at the Reed Gift Fair in Melbourne earlier this month.

The final tweak

Almost two decades ago I brought a corner TV cabinet from IKEA. When we moved into Crescent Street we'd always intended to replace it with something more in keeping the new apartment's look and feel.  18 months later we relocated to London and these plans went on hold. At the time the cabinet fitted reasonably well with the look and feel of our home in London.  

However, when we returned to Australia in 2011, the cabinet was once again no longer fit for purpose once we'd refreshed the apartment. For the next decade it became a daily reminder of unfinished business. Last month I finally decided I'd had enough. I searched online and eventually found a suitable, interim replacement.

Garry thought I was mad buying furniture, sight unseen, online. Incredibly the cabinet I bought came from the USA. Remarkably it's survived four weeks of air travel, moving in and out of multiple transit depots before finally arriving this week.  The physical product isn't too bad.  Its finish is a little "cheap" but it's a vast improvement on its predecessor!  What took us so long?

Garry's also gone shopping and bought us a portable car fridge.  He's decided we're doing enough road trips that it's time to ditch the old Eskis and replace them with something that'll keep everything cold without the need to constantly buy bags of ice or refreeze chiller blocks.

Oh yes, I should also give a quick shout-out for the "new" rug. We bought it last year while shopping one afternoon for a microwave to go in our office kitchen. On a whim, we decided the rug we'd brought with us from London was well past its use-by-date. We saw this rug on sale and ultimately came home with it, but no microwave.

Myall Lakes Redux

With borders still closed and COVID still floating around the state, Garry and I have taken the opportunity to get out of town for a few days - away from the infectious crowds and the endlessly depressing COVID headlines. 

We''ve returned to Myall Lakes National Park to spend four nights at Bombah Point Eco Cottages. This is our third stay in one of its luxurious glass-enclosed cabins nestled among the eucalypt trees.

We first discovered this place when we booked an overnight stop here while on the road to Ballina in December 2016. It’s great to be back. We continue to marvel at the way these cottages have been maintained. They still look just as pristine as on our first visit five years ago. The owners also continue to book us into the same private cottage located at the end of the property’s private road.

This trip we’ve not gone very far. However, we did break out one afternoon to visit the lakes and take the car ferry across the channel that separates us from the coast. We then spend several hours making scenic stops to walk the beach and breath in the fresh sea air. While waiting for the ferry to depart, we were delighted to spot a large goanna stalking prey among the trees. These creatures are always an impressive sight.

We also had an impromptu visit one morning from a cheeky bush turkey. He strode the length of our cabin's wrap-around outdoor deck without fear or trepidation. Very entertaining - and a wonderful way to celebrate Garry's birthday.

Lockdown 2.0

Sydney’s now into its 15th week of a comprehensive COVID lockdown. Without a doubt, this second lockdown has been a lot harder to handle. Last year the whole affair was new and exciting. This year, the novelty factor has gone. As a result, the whole experience had been emotionally draining, to say the least.

I’ve been working alone in the company's office for months while the staff work from home. To help maintain morale, we've been hosting daily debrief video calls with everyone before we finish for the day. They've become the high point of our day as we spend 30-40 minutes catching up with one another and letting off a little steam.

We’ve also entertained ourselves with a series of photo competitions (a new theme each day like garden life, nature, colour and so on), shared highlights of our favourite travel experiences and given each other’s favourite recipes a try. The team has become more creative, proposing plenty of novel activities as each week passes.

On the home front, Garry and I have been keeping ourselves busy. Garry's repainted the kitchen ceiling. It's been waiting for this final flourish after a leak was repaired in the skylight several years ago. I've made friends with IKEA and recently replaced our kitchen table. The old table was purchased almost 30 years ago.

After months of restrictions, the light is finally at the end of the tunnel. We’re scheduled to hit 70% double vaccination in NSW tomorrow and 80% by 18 October. If the current trend continues, we’ll pass 90% coverage of the adult population in NSW by late October. Garry and I have had our two shots, the first in May and the second in August, shortly after the latest lockdown began. We'll then have a booster shot sometime in January next year.

The State Government has announced that restrictions will start easing next Monday (11 October) as we pass 70% and then some more around 25 October after we pass 80%. This means non-essential retailers will start reopening again on 11 October. Supposedly we’ll achieve “COVID normal” living by 1 December. That is, some health restrictions will remain in place for the foreseeable future, but life will effectively become as normal as it’s likely to be by this date.

International borders are also slated to start opening by late November. However, home quarantine and testing regimes will remain in place. There’s also still a lot of confusion about vaccine passports and other requirements. We’re also being warned that restrictions could change overnight if a major outbreak occurs internationally. Ironically, within Australia, state borders may not open before Christmas. We may find ourselves able to fly to London before we can fly to Perth.

Delivered by FedEx

COVID is back.  The entire state of NSW is now in total lockdown again as Sydney enters its eighth week of increasingly draconian restrictions. Statewide we reported record case numbers today: 633 new cases – a jump of 200 in a single day. 

The source of Sydney's initial outbreak has been traced back to an infected pilot on a FedEx freighter plane that flew in from San Francisco on 16 June.  He passed it on to a limousine driver* taking him to an overnight hotel. The infected driver then went shopping at Westfield Mall in Bondi Junction and the rest is history.

Since then, cases have been popping up everywhere. Currently, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, and all of NSW are in total lockdown. In essence 2/3 of the country's population is now stuck at home. 

Melbourne has been battling the Delta variant for weeks and despite its best efforts, it can’t get newly reported cases below 20 a day.  Last night, New Zealand also went into national lockdown. Today it reported 7 Delta cases in Auckland. They’ve traced the genomic sequence back to NSW. 

Our COVID Zero world looks like it’s coming to a rapid end.

UPDATE: 22 August

Local COVID cases continue to soar! NSW recorded 830 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. It looks like we've yet to peak during this outbreak.

UPDATE: 17 October

New Scientist magazine has published a superb summary of this latest lockdown. It sums up the last 107 days very nicely. You can read more here.  Daily cases fell to 301 today.

*Updated link that now references the history of this driver's subsequent trial by media.

Hooray for bubbles!

For three brief months in mid-2021, Australians and New Zealanders could travel freely between their respective nations without being forced into mandatory two-week Government quarantine upon arrival. The Trans-Tasman Bubble, as it became known, opened on 19 April 2021 before being suspended indefinitely on 23 July 2021.

Within days of the bubble’s announcement, while on vacation in Nambucca Heads, I'd booked flights across the Tasman. Thanks to the pandemic it had been more than 20 months since I’d last crossed the ditch. At the time borders closed in March 2020, I had tickets to travel the following month. At the time, Air New Zealand gave me a credit when my flight was canceled. I used this to book my bubble ticket.

I flew out on 4 May and returned home on 10 May. The entire experience was surreal, to say the least. The international terminal was empty and its lavish luxury boutique stores were shuttered. The departure board listed a total of 17 flights for the entire day – of which 9 were destinated for New Zealand. The terminal itself was empty. I counted barely a dozen people waiting in the main atrium – a public space designed to accommodate thousands.

The flight itself was uneventful. After hours of wearing a face mask, it was an odd feeling to walk out of customs and immigration in Auckland into a bustling terminal filled with unmasked people. Before I could fly, I’d had to complete a COVID PCR test (within 72 hours of flying) and present its results at check-in.

While in New Zealand, my brothers and I worked hard to create plenty of wonderful memories for Mum and the extended family. This included a late McGregor Christmas lunch complete with party hats and Christmas crackers. As a belated Christmas gift, I took my Mum for a scenic helicopter flight around the Mount and the surrounding area. 

The day of our flight dawned with clear and sunny blue skies. We flew a long and leisurely circuit over Tauranga city to Omokoroa, then crossed the harbour to Matakana island, before making our way along the coast past the Mount and back to the airport. However, the highlight for both of us was a brief landing at a harbourside beach on Matakana Island. As we flew past Tay Street, Matt went out onto his balcony to witness us flying by.

 

Now that the bubble has closed, who knows when I’ll be back again?