Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Until we meet again Australia!

A long journey ahead of us, Cora Lee and I on the plane somewhere over the Pacific ocean having one last toast to Australia!
It is so sad but true...all good things must come to an end at some point...farewell to Australia and all the friends we made along the way...of course until we meet again!

Road Trip!! Canberra here we come....

Here is the gang on the roof of the Australian Parliament House in Canberra...one last group photo opportunity!



On top of Mount Ainslie looking over the capital city of Canberra...it was a whirl wind trip down and back but very much worth it!

Our Farewell Dinner

A sad farewell presentation and last exchange of banners...a few tears were shed as many of our previous host clubs were in attendance as well. It was so super to see everyone once again and thank them for their extreme hospitality.


Many of the folks from the Upper Blue Mountains Rotary Club!


Cate (Outbound GSE memeber) and Stuart and some of the fine folks of St.Marys and Mt. Druitt Roatary Clubs!




Some of the friendly faces of the Blacktown Rotary Club... we will miss you all!




TAFE just like NSCC


I spent the day at a campus of TAFE college (Technical and Further Education) as it turns out they are structured almost exactly like NSCC and have both a Tourism and Culinary program. This the table where I was a guest at for their degustation menu (8 courses over 2 and half hours....I was in heaven)!!! Also in attendence was the regional tourism director, the campus director and food and beverage lecturer of a nearby International Hotel Management School plus faculty and management from TAFE.

Some of the culinary team at the TAFE busy preparing for the degustation lunch service!


The Hunter...One Last Time!

Here I am with some Shiraz vines at Peterson's Winery, it is a small and family owned vineyard and cellar door, this is called the "back block"of vines and were planted in 1971. The winery is in an area called Mount View....which is higher elavation and overlooks the valley...just beautiful!

I just love this shot taken out front of the coffee shop in Broke where we begun our last day in the Hunter Valley. A simple country coffee shop, gas station and wine bar all in one stop...oh ya and they have beer on tap!



Some of the many tanks at McGuigan, one of the oldest and largest of the Hunter!


All Along the Hawkesbury

Mixing and Mingling with the Hawkesbury Rotarians after a full day exploring the region.
Taking a tube ride down the Hawkesbury River, oh my....what fun!

One of our stops along the Hawkesbury Farm Gate Trail, was a small 300 case producing winery, growing and making wine only from the Chambourcin Grape! Very interesting...











Thursday, March 25, 2010

Life at a Zoo

Well...you never know what kind of creatures you will find at the Toronga Zoo in the heart of Sydney:) Yet another adventure and beautiful day exploring this amazing hillside zoo!!

All I want to be is a professional whistler!!

Oh my!


How crazy cute are these two with the harbour bridge in the very back drop... those two flags flying on top of the arc of the bridge is where we reached at the apex of on our bridge climb!



On Top of the World!!


How cool is this...the Burwood and Concord Clubs gave us the gift of a Sydney Harbour Bridge climb! The whole experience took us just over 3 hours but the adventure and amazing views of the city were breaktaking despite a little rain!!




Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Bondi or Bust!

A quick change of clothes after swimming in the surf and we were off to enjoy the sunset over Bondi Beach while enjoying a great meal at the Icebergs Club!
After a hard day of vocational visits aour hosts for the day took us to Bondi Beach to enjoy the sites and some more wave surfing!

i I had another wonderful vocational day today which began with a tour of the Sydney Convention Center...what an amazing facility, and we finished up with a walk around and lunch at the fish market!


What a Circus!




Well, it is final night of the Rotary District Conference...and guess what it is a theme party!! You know how much I love those...this evening the theme is the Circus and we, the Canadian GSE team, are playing Gypsies for the evening...a quick trip to the mall and to the local thrify store and we are ready to go and to hit the dance floor!

Another Day, Another Beach!





We spent the weekend at Forster, which is a beachside town for the Rotary District Conference. Lucky for us it included a day at Foster and Pebbly Beach and of course it wouldn't be complete without some vocational time sipping bubbly from the Great Lakes region!















Surf's Up at Avoca!!!

What an amazing part of the world Avoca Beach is...it is about a couple hours drive north of Sydney...a true surfing beach...they hit the waves at day break and don't stop until dusk!
Wahoooooooooooooooo....here I am body surfing, holy crappers....sooooo much FUN!!!!

Only a few seconds later...I have arrived...beached on the beach:)

Happy St.Patricks Day



Oh what a beautiful morning...oh what a beautiful day...We just landed at Avoca Beach to a holiday cottage for a few days of rest and relaxation! And since it just happens to be St.Patricks Day there is no better way to start the adventure then with a Guiness! Cheers....

Monday, March 15, 2010

Katoomba and Goombla

What a day we had exploring the surrounds of Katoomba, a village up in the Blue Mountains. This is my favorite plant I discovered in the bush...it is a fern....and it is a tree....it is best known as a Tree Fern....go figure!
Here is most of the team with Goombla, a performing Aboriginal, who performs and tours with Xavier Rudd, how cool is that! he also read my energy flow...very strange and a story I will have to tell you all over a glass of wine!
Tee Hee.....here i am the fourth sister of the famous three sister rock formations in the blue mountains!

Orange you glad for Cool Climate viticulture...

MMMMMMM....check out these JUST picked Sangiovese grapes up in Orange...New South Wales coolest climate! We had an amazing tasting at the Mayfield winery and cellar door...a super yummy Pinot Noir was discovered in the decanter that you see...
Cora-lee and I standing under a huge oak tree overlooking the vineyards of Orange, they were picking some Sauvignon Blanc on the day we visited!

Up in the Mountains

Here is the gang up in the Blue Mountains, it was so nice and relaxing to be out in the country for a few days. We did some hiking, had a wonderful BBQ where we all tried Kangaroo, and spent a relaxing weekend exploring caves....very cool indeed!
The is an amazing waterfall coming off the limestone cliffs and falling to the bush lands below, this waterfall is in a place called Govett''s Leap.

On the Sea Cliff


This is the famous Sea Cliff bridge on the South Coast about 45 minutes away from Sydney...it was quite cold (plus 17) and windy on this particular day but absolutely beautiful scenery and the weather certainly didn't stop us from hitting the beach and going for a swim, the water was warmer than the air(plus 19)!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

AMY hearts MUDGEE!

It was love at first sight, it was at Lowe, an organic vineyard, the great dividing range in the background, a bush head pruned Zinfandel vine...and well the rest is history!
Check out this beautiful terra rossa soil of Mudgee...the things only textbooks where made of before for me!


Okay...not a great picture because this is an action shot of me standing on a plank over an open fermenting vat of Shiraz, having a go at punching down the cap...life doesn't get much better!


Need I say more other then, yummy, yummy, yummy!


My lovely wonderful hosts, Brian and Kerian, at the B&B having breakfast before setting out to explore the vineyards and cellars of Mudgee!




Tubin' on the Lake

YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!



We spent the day on Lake MacQuarie, just north of Sydney with the clubs tubing and water skiing...fun was had by all and the good news is....noone was hurt!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

What a Hat...What a Club!!


I am the luckest girl in the world to have met and been a part of the Wetherill Park Rotary Club...as a parting gift they honoured me with an official australian "crocodile dundee" hat...how cool is that!

Fun in the Sun and Waves

Playing in the waves at Manly Beach...it was a hot day and the water was just perfect!
A very happy GSE team...enjoying the sun, waves and a day of relaxation!