Flying high

In a few weeks we'll celebrate the third anniversary of acquiring our wonderful small business. The time has simply flown by. Since its acquisition, the business has doubled in size. As you can imagine we’ve been incredibly busy managing this growth.  This included renewing most of its systems, processes and infrastructure.

Projects we’ve completed to date include:

• rolling out a new accounting system,
• introducing a customer relationship management system, 
• rebuilding its website on a modern e-commerce platform,
• refreshing its sales and marketing program - an exercise that’s included a new catalogue, new email marketing campaigns, online advertising and a new custom-built trade show booth,
• refreshing its corporate identity, and
• adding four new suppliers.

At the same time, our outsourced warehouse has relocated to larger premises and we’ve taken on dozens of new customers nationwide.  A second phase of projects is now underway.  These build on the foundations we’ve put in place; and once finished; should allow us to double the size of the business again.  This includes a software automation project that will ultimately see orders flow from our website into our business systems and then on to our warehouse with little or no human intervention.  We’re also adding new functionality to our upgraded website and building additional websites designed to enhance our customer service.

It’s been an astonishing ride filled with plenty of highs and lows.  Highlights to date have included winning four industry awards; Supplier of the Year, two Toy of Year awards and more recently Best Stand at the annual industry Toy Fair.  As sales have doubled we've been delighted to witness one of our brands quietly establishing itself as an emerging market leader in its category.

However, the most transformative change in recent times has been the much-anticipated appointment of a part-time business manager.  This role is progressively freeing Garry and I from an increasing array of administrative tasks.  We’ve suddenly found ourselves with free evenings and weekends; along with an ability to finally plan a few business trips and vacations that were previously impossible without closing the office.

Qantas must love us!  Over the next seven months we have no fewer than six trips scheduled.  This includes a ten-day business trip to San Francisco to meet with two of our largest suppliers, a week’s vacation in Fiji to celebrate Garry’s 50^th birthday and a Christmas vacation in New Zealand. We also have our regular trip to Melbourne in August where we exhibit at an annual Gift Fair, plus flights to Hong Kong for its annual toy fair and our annual trek to Nuremberg, Germany in January next year to meet with our suppliers.

Our trip to Nuremberg next year has been routed via London.  This gives us an opportunity to attend the London Toy Fair and hold planning meetings with one of our key suppliers.  We’ll be flying on the new non-stop Qantas route from Perth to London in its uber comfortable Dreamliner.  Then while on our way to Nuremberg we’re spending a weekend in Krakow, Poland.  This will give us an opportunity to experience firsthand the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

This flying visit to Poland, and our week in Fiji, will add another two countries to my travel map and bring my count to 70 countries (if you include three very fleeting visits to countries where we briefly crossed the border but didn’t stop for more than a few minutes).  Garry worked out that by Christmas both of us will have done enough travel to finally renew our Platinium status with Qantas.  It's been more than five years since I lost my Platinum status and even longer for Garry.  Garry recently celebrated achieving lifetime Gold status with Qantas, a milestone I’d achieved several years ago.

While in New Zealand for Christmas we're planning a week-long road trip through the Taranaki region.  This will be my first visit to the area.  Once completed I'll have effectively visited every corner of the country for the first time in my life (with the exception of Stewart Island - which is on my travel bucket list!).  Finally, we're taking a weekend off while in San Francisco to spend a few days trekking through the Redwood Forests of Northern California.  We drove through the area without stopping six years ago so it will be fun to spend quality time among the forest giants.

After three years of hard slog it's wonderful to finally find ourselves with more time and flexibility to travel again.  Long may it last!

Tilba Surprise

Our new business manager is already making a huge difference.  With another person involved in the business we finally have a little flexibility in scheduling time away from the office.  Last weekend Garry and I took a day off to enjoy a three-day weekend in Central Tilba.  Friends invited us to join them for the annual Narooma Oyster Festival while enjoying the comforts of their spacious holiday home on the outskirts of Central Tilba.

Tilba proved to be a wonderful surprise.  This village of fewer than 300 people is protected by the National Trust.  As a result, it’s historical country cottage buildings and picturesque village atmosphere has been carefully preserved.  The town is filled with all manner of adorable tourist stores including a traditional candy shop, cheese factory, art galleries and a double-storey pub with a classic balcony façade.

The locals also maintain flower gardens, herb gardens and orchards that give the entire village a postcard-perfect look and feel.  It’s no wonder the Australian edition of River Cottage was filmed here for four years from 2013 to 2016.

It took us almost five hours to drive 370kms down the south coast on Friday morning. We left home shortly after 7am, stopping briefly in Milton for a hearty vegetarian breakfast at Pilgrims, before finally arriving shortly after noon.  We couldn’t have picked a better weekend.  The weather was warm and sunny for the entire trip. 

The festival the following morning was a bustling affair with plenty of oysters, live music, local artisan stalls and country food stalls.  Afterwards we visited the ocean mouth of the Wagonga Inlet to watch sea lions frolicking and relaxing on the local breakwater’s rocks.  Our final day in Tilba was spent walking the shore around the delightfully scenic and picturesque Mystery Bay; located a short 10-minute drive from Tilba.

We then finished our weekend with a late Fish & Chips lunch on the waterfront at Bateman's Bay before heading home via the inland route of Crookwell and Goulburn. We arrived home shortly before 8pm on Sunday feeling wonderfully refreshed. Tilba proved well worth the drive.  We hope to return again before the year ends. 

Back in the Mount

Garry and I recently appointed a part-time office manager. Sue is proving to be a godsend. As she's come up to speed we've suddenly found ourselves with time to spare at the weekend - and even better - greater flexibility to take time off or plan a vacation.

I took advantage of this change in the business to fly back to New Zealand for Easter. Sue's appointment meant that I could fly on dates with cheaper airfares and not worry about leaving Garry to fend for himself in the office.

The Mount put on a spectacular display of warm weather. Mum and I took advantage of this one afternoon with a leisurely walk around the Mount. We also walked out to the headlands of Moturiki Island, a small island located off Mount Maunganui's main beach. The island has gone through several transformations since the first humans arrived.

It began life as a Maori Pa. European settlers then opened a quarry on its western flank before the abandoned pit was transformed into a small marine park housing penguins, seals and dolphins. I recall spending many fun afternoons here as a child watching the animals perform tricks for an appreciative audience. Today, Marineland is gone and the area has been restored as a nature reserve with bush walks and grassy picnic spots.

We also took my niece and nephew for a walk out to the Moturiki headlands one afternoon. Once again, despite the season, the Mount delivered perfect weather for a fun afternoon outing.

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.

Tent Pegging - but not as you know it

Every so often Garry and I get lucky in our travels and find ourselves in town during a festive occasion.  Perhaps the most memorable of these was in Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca.  The day we arrived the town was celebrating its annual festival day with parades, processions and thousands of colourfully dressed locals dancing in the streets.

During our recent weekend excursion to Khasab we found ourselves staying at the Atana Hotel whilst it was hosting an international sporting event.  However, this was no ordinary event.  By chance we'd stumbled upon the world’s first International Women's Tent Pegging Championship. What’s that you ask?  We honestly had to Goggle it ourselves.

The competition involved a series of action-packed horse-riding events hosted on a beach near the hotel.  A temporary stand had been erected in front of a sandy track that ran along the shoreline.  From a boat offshore we watched competitors racing down the track while attempting to be the first to spear or capture targets in the sand.

Competitors from six nations participated in the three-day event including a contingent from Australia.  It was quite a surprise to see the Australian flag fluttering away on a beach in northern Oman.  The Australians came second, beaten only by the South Africans. Who knew Australian women were among the world’s best tent peggers?

Kumzar

Our second day in the Musandam region was spent on a private day trip to the remote village of Kumzar. This delightful little village is perched in solitary splendour at the northernmost tip of Musandam, hemmed in by sheer mountains and accessible only by a 2.5 hour boat trip. Garry and I spent 45 minutes visiting the town with our guide while our boat captain waited offshore.

Until 2015 tourists were prohibited from coming ashore making this a truly unique destination.  I was keen to visit simply because it looked postcard perfect online. I also loved the idea of somewhere unspoilt by hordes of day-tripping tourists. However, the more I read about the town the more fascinating it became.

Geographically, Kumzar is a paradox. By land, this is one of the most remote and inaccessible settlements in Oman. By sea, however, the town overlooks the Straits of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Its unique location has created some fascinating cultural quirks that make Kumzar unlike any other place in Oman. 

The locals speak their own unique language called Kumzari. They trace their ancestry back to a hotchpotch of ethnic groups ranging from Yemeni to Zanzibari.  The 700-year-old village is also said to have become home for European and Indian sailors shipwrecked off the nearby coast.

Kumzar’s population currently stands at around 5000, with its own school, hospital, power station and desalination plant. The inhabitants live largely by fishing for nine months of the year, netting barracuda, tuna, kingfish and hammour (much of which ends up in the restaurants of Dubai).  During the scorching Summer months locals retreat to a second home in Khasab.

The ride to Kumzar was almost worth the entire journey itself.  We cruised past the magnificent sea cliffs that fringe the coast, past the entrance to the fine Khor Ghob Ali, and then Goat Island (Jazirat al Ghanim), ringed with fluted limestone cliffs. 

In the past, local Kumzaris would often bring their sheep and goats across to Goat island by boat to graze, given the lack of suitable pastureland around Kumzar itself. Today much of the island is out of bounds. Its northern headland is populated by military buildings housing a growing array of sophisticated electronic surveillance technology.

Beyond Goat Island you enter the Straits of Hormuz, with magnificent seascapes, craggy headlands and a considerable number of oil tankers.  It’s here that we passed through a narrow strait where three rocky islands collectively known as the Jazirat Salamah form the most northerly piece of Omani territory. We also saw the UK’s Royal Navy on patrol including the rather large and imposing RFA Cardigan Bay.

Ten minutes or so later we rounded a final headland and got our first glimpse of Kumzar, with its colourful huddle of buildings backed up against a sheer wall of mountains behind it. Space is very much at a premium here. Buildings crowd together.  The main street is effectively a wadi flood channel with houses perched on the highest points of the surrounding gravel beds.  

The town even has its own distinct urban zones.  Lots closest to the cliff face are reserved for dozens and dozens of goat sheds, the centre of town houses the inhabitants and the pebble beach foreshore is home to a handful of stores and cafes where the locals congregate for an afternoon of sweet tea and gossip.

Three highlights stood out from our day trip.  The first was the town's children.  They followed us everywhere we went.  One small boy dashed off suddenly only to reappear a few minutes later carrying a baby goat that was almost as big as he was. It was clearly his pride and joy.  Our guide subsequently encouraged us to buy a large bag of chocolates which we then proceeded to hand out as we walked through the town's narrow, gravel-paved alleyways.

The second highlight was an opportunity to witness Iranian smugglers racing across the Gulf in powerful speedboats.  Every day dozens of boats make their way to Khasab to load up on contraband in a brazen display of contempt for international sanctions. However, the Omanis demand that they vacate the port before sunset resulting in whitewater armada of speedboats racing from the town at the same time each day. We later learnt that smugglers are granted a 12-hour pass to visit but aren’t allowed further into town than the Old Souk.

The final highlight was rather more terrifying.  We'd made our way up the coast in a local dhowl boat in relatively calm seas.  However, as we round the northern headlands for home we discovered the Gulf had been transformed into a roiling sea covered in white-capped waves.  It took us almost four hours to return to port riding up and down the surging waves.  I valiantly locked my eyes on a relatively stable horizon and quietly prayed that I wouldn't get seasick. Fortunately my stomach held out as we gained an unexpected insight into the perils of sailing in the Persian Gulf.