Cataract Gorge

5th December

We started the day with a walk through Cataract Gorge and round a park where there were lots of peacocks doing their thing - definitely mating season

one of them tried to take on a wallaby! There were Pademelons and Tasmanian chickens or 'Turbo chickens' which suddenly run really fast across the grass.

We then headed for St Helens on the warmer East Coast where we went to the beach - the Bay of Fires - so called because the explorers spotted the Aborigine peoples fires along the shoreline from their ships - not due to the orange coloured lichen on the rocks. The beach was stunning, with clear blue water and golden sands. 'Day for it' as they say in Australia!

Here is a 'drive through' bottle shop - ha ha! - with 3 lanes

The sea was cold but we swam and ate our lunch. Ramon bought a watermelon for everyone to share - so sweet. A lady in one shop struggled with pronouncing Ramon, for some reason, so said, 'Maybe I should call you Ray' - we decided this would be his Aussie name.

That night we stayed in Bicheno, a really sweet coastal town & we all had dinner together at 'The Lobster Shack' I tried oysters for the first time - they were so fresh! I was told by Aloy, the Indian guy on our trip, that they taste like the smell of the fresh ocean air - and that is exactly how they tasted!

Later we climbed to a lookout point.....easier for those with long legs!

The view was great!

We stayed until the stars came out, watching the moon rise behind the clouds above the sea. We finished the watermelon up there, Ilse shared some wine and we listened to music.