Hello All!! I am back so soon because we just went on vacation!!!!

This past weekend was Australia Day so our clinic was closed both Saturday and Monday for the public holiday.  We did the Bay Run a few times during the week and Saturday morning we did the parkrun with Neirna, and Fi, Sam, and Nils were able to come as well.    We had a sausage sizzle with some of the people from Sam’s running group,  then we headed home for showers and to pack the car.

Brandon and I rented an Airbnb in Jervis Bay which is 3 hours south, down the coast from Sydney for the rest of the weekend.  Our place was adorable and so my style.  Saturday night we checked out the neighboring town and had a Thai supper after church.  Sunday we got up early to go diving.  We did another Discovery Dive that you don’t have to be certified for since you go with a guide.  We tried a few spots before going by the north east cliffs of the Bay.  The wind was proving a bit problematic for the other spots they had tried.  Brandon passed his skills no issues, but I had some trouble with water in my mask and panicking.  I did it my next go and we were off.  Our guide’s name was Cameron and he was very nice and knowledgeable.  There was another two older women diving with fancy cameras and a girl doing her Advanced diving course for her Marine Biology schooling.  There was also two girls doing snorkeling.  Diving this time compared to Cairns was a bit different.  Our wet suits were a lot thicker since the water is much colder. I noticed especially when we would get in the shadier places or colder currents while diving.  I came out of the water a bit chilled.  We did see a lot of fish, sea urchins, and a ray which was really cool.  We cut the dive a bit short as I was having mask problems.  It was too tight and sliding off my head, filling with water.  I am glad it waited until the end to be a problem.  Brandon also lost his flipper, then recovered it.  Both of us felt a bit discouraged after our first dive.  We had only gone for 20 min or so.

We headed across the Bay to Murray’s beach for a break and morning tea to warm up.  You have to wait 30 min between dives for your ears to readjust.  I was too busy with snacks, hot chocolate, and getting my wet suit back on after using the bathroom, that I missed the time to snorkel.  We then went to the East side of Bowen Island for our second dive.  It was too wavy and windy to put the ladders out or anchor, so we all just hopped in and went. This time I has my camera and my mask on better.  It was amazing!!! We saw a female Sand Tiger shark (3m long) as soon as we got down there, then a male as well (2m long).  SHARKS!!!!! At least that is the sex and sizes Cameron told us they were, though they call them Grey Nurse Sharks in Australia.  We saw so many fish including a Blue Grouper that was hanging around Brandon.  We saw two sea slugs and star fish and a bunch of sea urchins.  I tried to get a selfie of Brandon and I, but it did not go well.  When we were on our way back up, we saw a Wobbegong shark as well.  So cool!!  We went for 45 min or so, but it was not nearly as cold.  I felt a lot better in my confidence and skill after the second dive.  Cameron thinks Brandon and I for sure should go do our Open Water PADI course to get certified.  We are thinking seriously about it.  It is a really amazing feeling to be breathing under water and experiencing this whole other world.  Pretty epic.  Brandon’s stomach doesn’t handle the boat ride part very well.  Neither of us took sea sick meds since we were on Jervis Bay, not the open ocean. I didn’t think we would need it.  Next time, we will be sure Brandon does take it.

We headed back to our Airbnb for showers and some relaxing down time.  Brandon took a nap and I watched the first Pirates movie.  We then went to dinner at a fancy restaurant at a campground.  They had a delicious set menu and the seafood paella was divine.  Monday started out a bit rainy as we headed to the Booderee National Park to do some hiking.  Thankfully, the rain was done and we had a lovely, cloudy, cool day for exploring.  The road was closed to a few trails that we wanted to go to, but we saw enough bush and beaches that we were happy.  We also saw kangaroos, a wallaby, and a Red Bellied Black Snake.  We walked past Hyams Beach which was voted one of the top beaches in the world and we were a bit meh about it.  There are so many amazing swimming, snorkeling, water sports beaches in the area that we saw (like 19?! beaches in one weekend), it was a bit underwhelming.  We had a sandwich lunch in the Botanical Gardens.  We searched all the tide pools we came across for an octopus, but only found shrimp and shells.  We stopped back in Vincentia for some cheesecake and a shake/juice.  Then went back to the Airbnb to rest and watch the 2nd Pirates movie.  They had an amazing collection of movies, games, brochures, and guide books.  It was a great Airbnb!!

Tuesday, we checked out and headed off to explore the east side of the Bay.  Brandon made a Kookaburra friend on our way out of the Airbnb.  We bummed around some beaches, saw 2 rays and a pelican, then tried to get to the light house, but the road was closed.  They do military training during the week on the land, so there is no public access.  We found a gravel road that lead to two other beaches in the National Park instead and got our bush walking in.  So beautiful and peaceful!!  We decided to check out the Shoalhaven Heads on our way back and check out Seven Mile Beach and stopped at Two Figs Winery for a tasting too.  It was the first winery I liked nearly everything from (there was 12) and debated at joining their wine club.  Instead, I just bought their fun decanters full of dessert wine, and know I can always go back or get it online.  🙂

It was a great vacation!!  So many cool experiences, especially with the wildlife of Jervis Bay!  I can’t believe something so close is so different from Sydney.  I can’t wait to explore more of this amazing country in future trips. Our car did so well with her first road trip with us.  It was a success all around!! A big thank you to Nerina for watching our cats while we were gone!!!