Having picked up their camper in Adelaide before cruising up the East Coast of Australia they finally arrived here on Thursday. We'd asked that they give us 24hours notice before arriving so that we could clear up and get their room sorted after all the DIY of the previous days. In the end we got an hour as the weather closed in and the attraction of a warm bed ... inside... tempted them up the coast to Newcastle. We know Steve and Wendy through Exeter Aircooled, (although it has to be noted that we have never seen their van running on the road... serious work has been going on to make something very special!) and we were so pleased to see them. It also gave us the opportunity to celebrate their wedding having missed their big day.
On Friday we took the trip up the coast to give Wendy and Steve the experience of a 4x4 dune safari, something which was one of the highlights for us during a previous visit. Having got all the way there we found wet and windy weather and a deserted beach. We considered our options and decided to come back to Newcastle and check out some of the local beaches finally ending up in the pub for something to eat. Back at home it was time to catch up, an opportunity for Wendy and Steve to do some catching up via the internet and some games of Buzz on the playstation.... oh and the odd beer or two!... (our neighbour commented how long to took me to put the empties in the recycling bin!)
Saturday took us to the Big W (like Woolworths!) to get the new Harry Potter Book (now completed no doubt!) for Wendy. Steve and I decided that we should have created "Harry dies.... get over it!" t-shirts as we joined the queue (I don't know that this is fact by the way Harry Potter fans!) We spent some more time hanging out in Newcastle watching my football team lose again before a BBQ and the opportunity for Steve to burn stuff (I was busy burning stuff on the BBQ!). Those of you know Steve know that this is something that he enjoys! :0) The evening went into the Early hours of the morning and the PlayStation got another good work out and somehow Alfie managed to sleep through our renditions of 80's classics!
Bleary eyed Wendy (Who was up at silly O'clock reading Harry Potter!) and Steve started Sunday by trying to repack their bags for the first time in three weeks... harder than you may think as you pick up so much stuff along the way! With the bags finally packed we travelled with them towards Sydney to the Australian Reptile Park despite the fact that Eric the crocodile, something of a Reptilian celebrity, died during the recent storms!
We had a fantastic day there looking at all the exhibits and listening to the talks from a man with a very dry sense of humour... I guess you need it working with the top 13 of the worlds most dangerous snakes (all Australian!) and the Tasmanian Devil which wasn't at all keen to be picked up! Perhaps the highlight of the day was the Koalas which we managed to touch and have our own private chat with their keeper.
The day and the weekend was over too soon and we waved Steve and Wendy off on their way to Sydney and their flight on Tuesday. It was a sad moment for us as we so enjoyed having friends here to share Alfie and our new life here.
I think we underestimated how hard it would be to leave friends behind... :0(
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