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2 January 2007

2007 Highlights

Settling into Sydney life and trips to Cape Town and Northern Queensland




Priceless Moments


2007 in more detail


2007 has not been quite as eventful as 2006 on the experience front but that's hardly suprising considering we were not travelling for 6 months of it! It certainly has had its fair share of highlights though.


Work
On the work front, 2007 was a year of knuckling down and often (certainly in the first half of the year) putting in long hours. Not that work was all slog and no play. We merged with Ixion to form "Blackglass" and I got to enjoy a whole new bunch of zany work mates - and we had some really hilarious moments. The Christmas party was also a lot of fun. As was our Melbourne Cup lunch.

The work itself also had its fun sides. The project I think I enjoyed most was developing Fabricmatcher - a one stop shop for designing quilts and dresses online. Other memorable clients included Dulux, Hansons, La Trobe University, Virtual Medical Centre, Hot Dockets and Spring Day.

Another aspect of work I enjoyed tremendously (believe it or not!) was the daily commute. Getting the the ferry to Darling Harbour provided a wonderful low stress way of getting to and from work with beautiful sunsets thrown in. And being situated right in the centre of town was a great lifestyle location close to lots of lunch spots and camera shops (for lots of browsing and occasional buying).


Fireworks
The year began with an enormous bang with some wonderful New Year's fireworks at Mc Mahon's Point (enjoyed in style from the comfort of Blues Point Towers) and we had lots of fun with Doug, Claudia and Matt.

Later on in the year, we also got to enjoy the Australian Idol Fireworks over the Sydney Opera House. Beautiful.


Living at Mc Mahons Point
We have really enjoyed living in our flat at Mc Mahons Point - and particularly sharing it with wonderful Kerry who moved to Sydney in March. Mc Mahon's location is pefect, 3 minutes from the ferry landing, with access to beautiful picnic spots on the lawn , close to the Opera House (by day and night) and Luna Park and a beautiful public pool for swimming.

It is also close to where the action is, be it views of the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary when they came to stay, the festivities of the Harbour Bridge's 75th birthday . And to finish things off: friendly parrots who eat from our hands from the kitchen window.


Doug and Claudia
Talking of Doug and Claudia; they have been wonderful friends. Early in the year, we spent an awesome 3 days with them houseboating on the Hawkesbury River. We also weekended at Hunter Valley where we pigged out on wine, cheese and delicious chile pickle. We had a relaxing day on their new Tinnie but didn't have much luck in the fishing department!

It was very special to celebrate Mother's Day with the Fletchers and it was particularly sad and poignant for us when Doug's mum passed away from cancer later in the Year. We will always remember her very fondly as our "mum away from home" and memories of our yacht trip and Xmas 2005 will always be fondly remembered.

We were delighted for Doug and Claudia when their first child, little Lucas was born - what a cutie he is.


Brendan and Eva
2007 was the year that Bendan and Eva arrived in Sydney , much to our delight. We enjoyed many a delicious meal at their beautiful place in Mosman, celebrated the victory of the Springboks in the Worldcup Rugby (Go Bokke!) and I got to take some photos of Rebecca, Abigale and Ella at Manly and the beach at Mosmon.

One of my favourite moments was trying out the wine that Brendan and Eva made on their farm in Melbourne the year before last. Delicious it was. Ally also got to introduce Eva to beading and she became a convert. Eva now has her own blog using blogger. Good to know I'm in good company! Ella is as cute as ever and we got to share some fun swims.


Visitors to Sydney
We were also very excited when Dorothy from Volvo came to stay . With her, we enjoyed the Manly Scenic Walk, the beauty of Rose Bay, Yum Chow in China Town and the Sidney Fish Market. It was great to see Dorothy again.

2007 was also the year that Roger (Boet) and Lucy came to stay. They are based in Melbourne. On their visit to Sydney, we enjoyed an outing to Manly and had dinner at the revolving Tower Restaurant . What an excellent meal it was and the 360 degree views were superb.


Family Events
There were also some big life events for our family in Cape Town this year. Sammy started "big school" and looked cute as a button in her school uniform. We were very excited to be in Cape Town in April when Sam had her Brats birthday party. Mike was re-united this year to his family and he got to see his grandkids - very special. Also Rolo joined the family and grew very fast . Mum and Mike moved to their new flat - and are comfortably settled after some initial hiccups. Poor Robyn had a tough time this year with injured shoulder and wrist. We hope 2009 is a much better year for her! On the London front, Bronwyn and Mark got married this year and we are delighted for them.


Our visit to Cape Town
While we were in Cape Town, we also attended Colleen and Steve's wedding. It was a very special event and we are delighted for them both. Before flying back, I also got to climb Myburgh's Ravine with my best mate, Russel, who we miss terribly. Russel had an interesting year as always, starring in Hollywood movies and leaping in Lesotho . He has now moved to London to be re-united with Colleen and Steve and Dave, to mention but a few.


Sport - or lack of it
On the sport front this year, we attended a few games at the Sydney Stadium including the Sydney Swans verse the West Coast Eagles and the TriNations . Then of course there was our glorious World Cup Rugby win.

From an exercise year, 2007 was a rather sedentary year. I joined gym but never really got into it. I bought a bike but have not ridden it much. Towards the end of the year, I took up paddle skiing and that's been more of a success. I'm enjoying it immensely.


Outings around Sydney
We had several fun outings too as we explored Sydney and her surrounds. Our walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee was awesome. There was our trip to the Blue Mountains where we had our memorable view of The Three Sisters. We visited the beautiful Bobbin Head, Palm Beach and the Cumberland State Forest. Also Deep Creek , Bicentennial Park and two trips to the wonderful Royal National Park. We also enjoyed the Sydney Noodle Market and North Sydney movie festival. And there were some photographic safaris to Taronga Zoo. Not to mention a fantastic (if rather nausea inducing) Pelagic trip to see Petrels and Albatrosses and a great weekend in Capertee Valley.


Holiday
We had a wonderful holiday to North Queensland this year - an idyllic two weeks of birding, exploring forests and mangroves, resting and lazing on the beach.


Nostalgia
2007 was a year of nostalgia and special memories. Mum found a whole stack of letters from childhood and old essays which are now on the blog. Also, we had Gramp's war stories transcribed. Not to mention the fact that I got in touch with a whole bevvy of old class mates and friends through Facebook which grew like wildfire this year.


House Hunting
We did lots of house hunting - must have seen over 75 houses on an array of Saturdays. The perfect house (Number 57!) came along but we were not quick enough in putting in an offering - gutting. Since then we have not found the right one. We'll be continuing to look in 2008.


Entertainment
On the entertainment side Potter mania ruled this year. We got to read JK Rowlings final book and it did not disappoint. We also watched the 5th movie. A big highlight was our enjoyment of the musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert . What a fun show - one we can heartily recommend! We also went to some great parties at friends - the most memorable was our Bogan party.


Xmas 2007
We spent Xmas with our Australian family in Brisbane.


Wildlife and Nature Outings


Life Goals Achieved this Year


Favourite Movies
  • The Prestige
  • Into the Wild
  • Pan's Labyrinth
  • Children of Men
  • The Illusionist
  • Apocolypso


Favourite Reads
  • Lee Child's Jack Reacher series (brilliant!)
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (JK Rowling)
  • Cider House Rules (John Irving)


Looking Ahead
  • We are looking forwards to a great 2008, particularly our trip to New Zealand in March with Mum and Mike.



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