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To oma and opa
On the first Sunday in April, mum took Piet and Emma to Bendoc. The kids discovered that opa had put up two
tyre swings, which proved popular. Autumn wasn't noticeble yet in Sydney, but in Bendoc it was already in full swing, so Piet and Emma could collect
acorns and build a
leaf cubbie house. With opa we build a
road on the driveway. We had green flatbread as a
snack. Piet enjoyed watching
roadworkers maintaining the gravel road. We
baked
gingerbread men with grannybunts. We went for a picknick near a tunnel that gold diggers had built during the goldrush to divert a
stream. We watched the
water flow and took
close up
pictures.
Fishing
Piet and Emma also discovered the joy of
fishing. After coming home without a catch, Piet decided next time they had to catch five fish as there would be five people. Pappa arrived on Good Friday and joined the next
fishing trip. While Piet and Emma kept themselves busy throwing rocks into the river, the
usual suspect concentrated on the actual fishing. This time we caught an eel, which was in fact big enough to
feed five.
The next day, friends from Melbourne joined us for a one night stay. We did a walk through the back paddock. Piet and Campbell walked (nearly) all the way, while Emma and Callum took advantage of the rucksacks. We all threw sticks into a pond. Piet and his friends also did some
The next day was easter. The easter bunny had put easter eggs all over the garden, even in the tire swing. We needed a wheel barrow to collect the harvest. We had chocolate eggs for breakfast and drove to the Errinundra Rainforest Boardwalk. This is a short walk through temperate rainforest with giant gum trees. Along the walk are a number of signs to read. We ran around and had a rest.
Back to Sydney
Our drive back home to Sydney on easter Monday was uneventful. We unpacked the car and the next day dad went back to work. Guess who arrived from Melbourne (via Bendoc and Merimbula) for a three night sleepover? Callum and Campbell! They brought their parents too. It was great to catch up.
The next day, we took the fast ferry to the center (a standard question when dad comes home, is: "did you take the slow ferry or the fast ferry home?" Mum always guesses the slow ferry, while Piet and Emma typically go for the correct fast ferry answer). Most kids enjoyed the small ferry bouncing on the large swells near the harbour entrance. We admired the Sydney harbour bridge and went on to the opera house, where we walked around. We played in the nearby botanical gardens and had a little tourist train ride. We returned home on the slow ferry.
North Head
The next day, we (again without the working dad) went to the
North Head, a park to the north of the entrance to Sydney harbour and walking distance (by pappa's standards) from our house. We parked the car near a
lookout. The central business district (CBD) is just above Piet's head. We watched a
cargo ship leaving the harbour (the ocean is to the left) with the aid of a pilot boat (barely visible on the portside of the cargo ship). A yellow and green slow ferry can be seen sailing towards Manly. We walked to a deserted
beach for a play.
The next week, mum baked a cake for dad's birthday. Ideally, she would have left it in the fridge overnight, but Piet insisted on decorating it with the zoo animals right away, making the cake to unwieldy for the refridgerator. The next morning, we unwrapped the presents during breakfast. Dad got a boogie board, while the kids received a dinosaur puzzle from the Netherlands. In the evening, we finally had our cake for dessert.
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P.S. Since both Europe and the relevant parts of Australia have moved their clocks, the time difference between Sydney and the Netherlands has dropped from 10 to 8 hours.
