Life Trove: Indomitable Russell comes to Sydney

It's been totally wonderful having my good friend, Russell, to stay in Sydney. The last time I saw him was in April 2007 for Colleen and Steve's wedding in Cape Town which was far too long ago.

Here are some highlights of Russell's stay in Sydney:

Lying on our bellies photographing mangrove crabs from the boardwalk at Bobbin Head. Who cares if everyone had to step over us - we got some great shots.
Finding our first geocache in Sydney at the Baha'i Temple in Narrabeen and finding out all about this interesting religion from the man in the bookshop.
Practising Myburghian leaps at sunset at the Narrabeen rock pool - the two original jumpers re-united again
Making fun of silly Australian signs
How Mack took to Russell from first go - dogs have an instinctive knowledge of character
Discovering a rocky outcrop high up on the cliffs above Manly with amazing views of the sea. Once again, we had geocaching to thank for discovering this place.
Geocaching in the dark in Manly. We felt our way up a steep, dark path to a statue of a kangaroo on the top of a hill overlooking the town. Feeling around in the dark under the rocks in search of the cache was a scary experience.
Geocaching at Chinamen's beach and discovering an old, forgotten light house that I never knew existed
Clambering over rocks covered in bright green algae in Manly in pursuit of yet another cache.
An amazing three hour hike in the Blue Mountains down into the valley created by the amazingly beautiful Wentworth Falls. We teamed up with another friendly chap called Terry.
The bracing exhilaration of skinny dipping in an ice cold mountain pool and swimming beneath a beautiful waterfall.
Discovering a rustic restaurant in the Blue Mountains and enjoying a delicious dinner of pork, followed by a decadent chocolate dessert.
Making lots of use of my new GPS navigation system to help with directions. The navigation system has a sexy, female voice with an Australian accent. We called her Sheila.
Our raucous laughter when I showed Russell the toilet at our local park that talks to you in an American accent and plays an elevator music version of "What the world needs now is love, sweet love" while you spend a penny.
Leaping from the top of a waterfall into the emerald, green lagoon of Watamola in the Royal National park followed by a laze on the beach. We went there with Lisa, a friend of Russell, who has a lively, sunny personality.
A walk along the cliffs of the Royal National Park with its beautifully shaped and colourful rock formations and doing more Myburghian leaps.
Russell's head for heights and me feeling extremely nervous just watching him sitting and standing on the edge of extremely high cliffs at Manly and the Royal National Park.
Bomb dropping into a mountain weir in order to wet poor Russell. He wasn't very impressed.
Visiting Brendan and Eva and Ella for tea and kayaking along the beach with Russell and Ella.
Russell and Ella playing together in the sea off the rocks, followed by leaps into the pool. Ella has great potential as a leaper.
Playing three great games of tennis so I could work on my forearm in order to play tennis with a girl I fancy. My forearm is still extremely dodgy so the only way I was able to beat Russell was with tricky slice - not exactly beautiful tennis.
Dinners at our local Thai restaurant
Brainstorming riddles for use with my class. Two heads are definitely better than one.
The comment that someone left on one of Russell's easier caches that he set up a while ago: "At last a Discombob cache that didn't fill me dread or confusion." Russell is famous in the South African geocaching community for leaving caches in very tricky places to get to.
Playing retro cool, old arcade games on Craig's computer.