We finally got away for our family holiday – one in which I
am cooking D’s wedding, and spending a few days at my future work conducting a
handover. So not so much a holiday, but a break away nonetheless. We need this
one – we are really tired, having spent most of the weekends this year in the
car travelling between Wodonga and either Canberra or the farm.
I stayed up late on the night before we left to make a chocolate fudge as the
dessert for the wedding, and let it set overnight. I flubbed the recipe, as it
was still far too sticky to cut this morning. I had a minor conniption, before
throwing it back in the pot and playing with extra ingredients until I was
happy that it might work. The jury is still out, but we will have a grand
unveiling tomorrow! (The fudge was fantastic)
The first three hours of our holiday were a bit of a drudge
– we were back in the car, driving the road much too frequently travelled. On
arrival into Melbourne the mood picked up considerably, as we called into the
Melbourne Zoo. Jane particularly wanted to see the new baby pygmy hippopotamus,
and MacK particularly wanted to see everything! We did get to see the pygmy
hippo, along with many others. A couple of highlights for me were the lowland
gorillas (also with a baby in tow), the orangutans (just so incredibly
beautiful) and the majesty of the lions.
All of the primates were pretty special, and MacK was again
taken with the antics of the meerkats. Melbourne Zoo does an excellent job with
their animals. At no stage did we feel that the animals were stressed or
distressed, and my residual thought was that there are no animal enclosures,
but genuine habitats. It also helps when the kitchens where all the food for
the primates is prepared has plate glass walls, so that patrons can see the
care with which the food is prepared.
We then parked our car and checked in with plenty of time to
spare. We had dinner at the same restaurant we patronized last time we flew
out. “Able Baker Charlie” is an excellent pizza restaurant, where the pizzas
are cooked in a hearth oven. The beer was also good… Not a bad start to ten
days away from home.
Tomorrow will be a slow day, as we get used to the end of
winter, Darwin style. I think today was 23-32 degrees Celsius. Wodonga matched
the humidity levels, but was 6-15 degrees… Methinks we will end up in the pool
sooner rather than later!
Darwin was not as hot as I had expected, which was really a
rather pleasant surprise. The first night in we spent at a YHA Hostel with
Peter, Phyl and Aunty Carmel having arrived in at midnight. On our first day we
collected our car, spent some time in the pool, and made our way out to Berry
Springs to see David and Jess. They have a beautiful and unique space that sits
nicely in the environment – Treading lightly, I think they call it.
We checked into our new digs, at the Tumbling Waters Holiday
Park. We ate in their café that night, with the food being excellent. MacK
enjoyed his Barramundi so much he ordered a second serve! We stayed at Tumbling
Waters for three nights before moving into Darwin City proper.
Friday was a work day for me – I spent the day preparing all
the food for the wedding. It has been a long time since I have spent a day
cooking outside, and the tropical heat posed a few unique challenges. Butchering
15 chickens makes a lot more sense in a cool space – when all you have is
permanently set at 35 degrees Celsius, you need to work a little quicker!
Jane and Dave found the cool room - a perfect place to be on a warmish tropical afternoon.
Plenty of colour...
So, the lads from Canberra are so used to sitting around a fire at a party that they couldn't stop themselves, even when the temperature was in the mid thirties!
MacK sitting quietly so that he might be able to go for a swim after the ceremony
MacK, and 'the Cousins'
The catering might have posed a few unique challenges, and I
might have had my cranky chef pants on for a bit, but the wedding itself was
brilliant. I think it was lovely for the family to be able to come together for
the organisation of the wedding proper. I cooked, Jane, Jasmine, Clare and
Philip kept food up to the buffet, with Phyl and Aunty Carmel doing a lot of
the post dinner clean up. I have to also acknowledge the contribution of Leigh,
who ran point on keeping me lubricated and provided invaluable assistance in
sorting out the spit and the pigs! As compensation, both he and I had a
complete roast pork shoulder for dinner. It was magnificent!
Siblings three... apparently Jane suggested that they should all poke out their tongues...
Peter wanted a photo of us all in berets drinking Guinness
And apparently something was a little funny...
The ceremony happened at Berry Springs, which is a lovely
dry season swimming spot (the wet season brings with it a requirement to share
the space with crocodiles…), and all were typically laid back. Floral corsages
for the bridal party were dispensed with in favour of matching fishing lures. I
think the bridal party even splashed out on new jandals for the wedding! The
wedding space was in an open shed which came up really well. Jess has a really
good designer’s ‘eye’, and had some really good concepts.
Sunday was a rest day for us all, before moving back into
Darwin city. I worked a couple of days to do a handover for 2016, and then
finally had a chance to rest. Jane and MacK went out on a jumping croc tour
while I was at work, and had a great time watching Aggro and his ladies.
Just like in the "Swamp" cartoon...
The sunsets are really something to see. This one was over the Mindil Markets
We had another wedding to attend in Darwin on the Thursday
night, which was again celebrated in true Territorian fashion. The groom again
wore jandals, which were perfect for a beach wedding. Jane and Mack stayed in
Darwin until Sunday, and attended the wedding reception/party on Saturday
night. MacK told me that there were a lot of kids there, and that he had a
great time at the party – and that he had also gone to bed really late!
I flew to Brisbane on Friday to attend/coordinate Tyson’s
buck’s party. We had a great day, starting at 1000 h with an hour or so of
karting. After the karts, the lads lunched at Victoria Park golf course before
settling down for nine holes of golf which could best be described as the good,
the bad and the very, very ugly. I had stocked the apartment with beer and
nibbles, and the boys were suitably lubricated before we headed out to dinner
at about 2000 h. We had a great night out, and the Buck was suitably looked
after, and home by 0200 h.
After a very busy holiday, I headed home for a rest…
