I believe in paradise. I am not sure if paradise will be found in Heaven however, down here on Earth it certainly can be found here at Jervis Bay.

This morning J and I walked across to the beach, a slight breeze, the crystal clear water sat like mirrors reflecting the sky and the only movement out on the bay were about

six dolphins gently slicing through the
soft waves. It is so beautiful here. J and I often debate with the locals about the value of tourism to the area; of course the locals hate tourist time each year. J and I love this time as it brings renewed life to the local economy as well as the beach.

I particularly love seeing people enjoy what I love about Jervis Bay, the beaches, the wildlife, the floral and fauna life. It is certainly a beauty to be shared and each time that come and stand in awe of all of this I think about how lucky we are. The sounds of the waves soothe the tension of everyday life in the city; the stressful sounds of construction, traffic and crowds all become alien to this environment. The feel of the waves washes away the tension and strain of being so constantly busy; The gentle breeze and the smell of salt air silently instructs our bodies to wind down and let everything go. A while back we seized watching television whenever we visited here; the stressful news stories about crime, social struggles and war are kept away here. This is a place where life is simple and tranquil. Paradise is where one can do all of this.

Well my last day at HMAS Cresswell has passed and what a magical day it was. As I left, as always in a hurry, I decided to drive along the waterfront past the captin's house for one last look at the bay. After weeks of rain followed by days of extreme wind the sun was shining and the bay seemed amazing. It shone sapphire blue with white sands. Along the roadside the kangaroos nibbled on the grass and stopped to watch my car pass as if they knew it was for the final time. Further up the road several mothers stood feeding their joeys in the sunshine and the tree above them was filled with chattering parrots. I drove around past the new gym and swimming pool center, still under construction, and waved to our boys for one last time. The biggest surprize waited for me at the front gates where several of the officers waited to say good bye and left me with a salute, that brought tears to my eyes. I will miss them all. It is time to move on to the next project and carry these wonderful memories with me. I went to Cresswell thinking that I was happy to remain fishing and exploring for another twelve months and now I have left, leaving with new friends and experiences. Life has been good to me, I have had the opportunity to encounter so much that I would not otherwise have...ANZAC morning service with our Naval friends, the NEOCs passing out parades, camping out experiences, and so much more. Thank you to friends along this part of life's journey.
I did a quick drive down past Murray's Beach, Greenpatch, Caves Beach and many of the haunt's which J and I visited. After packing the car I looked about Callala at the many Banksia's, Bottlebrush, Wattle and Gums all out in flower and listened to the ocean for one last time. As I turned out of Calla Beach Rd. standing on top of the Callala Beach sign was a lone Kookaburra staring at my car. I stopped to take a photo and say goodbye.
Thank you to my dear friend Gaza who took me to work at the jail and hence, my time at Jervis Bay. This will always be considered a special time in our lives and I will treasure it. Had you not have taken the time to ring me that afternoon I would have missed so much. It has been a fantastic two and a half years with so many breathtaking views, excellant experiences and wonderful memories. I know that my friend Mick will also read this blog so I want you to know that I value your friendship and company highly, I hope that we have the chance to work together once again some day. Life is always filled with smiles and laughs when I am around you. You left me with fun memories of Wellington and now Jervis Bay. Go the blues. Some other names whose company I want to note in my blog are Don, Paul and Barry from Richard Crookes, Lewis the homeless man lol, Rob Planet, Paul Stowe and Sue (everyone knows to be nice to the cook lol)from the jail, Daniel, Steph, Tina, Rebeckah, Tom, Ben, Miss Sally, Steve from DOD, Max and Cameron, Pete from Lamonts, Glen, Hugh and a very special Ryan. Gosh you lot bring a smile to my face when I think of you at any time. What a wonderful gift you have all given me, a smile at any time is something very special. I am going to make a collage of photos from both sites so stay tuned.

Our time here at Jervis Bay is soon to come to an end, perhaps three weeks or so. I lay in bed last night listening to the sounds of the ocean's waves pounding down onto the beach reminding me that once I leave, those sounds and sights will be left behind. So although I am excited to move onto to the next phase in life I leave behind many many hours of beach walking and fishing and surfing and boating and seashell collecting and bird watching and the list goes on and on. I have my memories, my blogs and my photos to remind me of what once was. I also have another group of friends whom I will remember through out the rest of my life.

How lucky have we been to have had this experience down here. Sometimes I feel like a witness to something very special here on Jervis Bay; a mother whale nudging her calf to swim, some dolphins frolicking around the bottom of the boat as we left harbour, an Australian Parrot dancing along the banister of the front verandah trying to get our attention through the front window to come feed him, the whitest sands of Cresswell and the beautiful rocks of Orient Point, the giant stingrays swimming the waves behind me at Caves Beach, the black cockatoos that we hear before we see them...their sounds so individual and distinct, the magnivicent sunsets at Callala and the beautiful sunrises of Boodeerie.

One day J and I will return perhaps as Grey Nomads knowing that all of this will still be waiting for us.

Theses photos were taken at Taronga Zoo 2009

Gone Fishing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Years ago I never understood the fascination that men have to master the sport of fishing, in fact I never understood why it was considered a sport. But spend a day fishing with me now and the addiction catches on.

Over the years J has taught me to fish, catch prawns, squid and bait and each and every time I go fishing these days I thank him for teaching me.

After having spent three years working down at Jervis Bay I thank him even more often now. The bay is surrounded by several national parks and as I have said so many times before...its waters are beautiful, usually turquoise blue but can quickly change with the weather. In fact, I have seen the bay change from brilliant blue to dark blue to drab grey in a matter of ten minutes when the clouds move in.

Likewise, the waters have an abundance of marine life, dolphins are about all year round and the whale population moves in from mid year to November to rest on their migration south. One can fish from just about anywhere in Jervis Bay.

I have cast my line in from many a location here. It is a practice that makes one relax instantly and forget the business of the day because you concentrate on that movement under you finger, the sign that indicates a fish is nudging your line, seeing if anything edible is going to move. I stand that and feel the tension leave my body and the enjoyment of free time take over. And just when you think about moving to a spot several meters up the beach ....it comes...the nudge....that feeling under your finger. Firstly there is a slight movement and I ever so gently move the line up and down so as the fish thinks it is another fish moving about. Then just as it swims in towards its goal I quickly lift the rod backwards and up. The fish is hooked and begins to fight. Now I tell you that when a fish is hooked it struggles to get free. Some fish make a run for it and leave your reel spinning madly, others swim around rocks and wharfs possibly hoping to tangle the line into freedom, those in the shallower waterways usually jump and create a comotion.

Some small fish fight like crazy till you imagine a whale must be on the end. One's imagination at what must be under the water can be amazing, often I think it is under the water along side of the fish. The fish tugs and tries to pull away frantically and all the while I stand imagining that it will be successful and escape lol. Then I begin to gently lift the rod backwards all the while winding it in. Then relaxing I learn forward and continue to wind in, relaxing backwards, forwards again, backwards winding in and so the exercise continues until the fish is close enough to be seen flopping about in the water. He makes one last ditch effort for freedom and then surrenders. I have found that smaller smoother strokes seems to work for me rather than large abrupt sweeps.

Thats fishing, thats the exercise for what is elusive yet attainable, reigniting the excitement of hope. So after years of fishing all over the country I have decided that HOPE coupled with skill is what men aspire to when challenged with fishing.

More often than not we throw our catch back into the water for another day, the larger ones we keep and J turns them into a delicious feast. I look forward to those evenings, fish in Thai red curry, BBQ fish with warm chilly and pasley sauce, steamed fish, rice and vegies. Not matter what, J makes a treat of our fishing efforts. Now thats a skill!

Give me a home among the gum trees...

...There's a Safeways up the corner

And a Woolies down the street

And a brand new place they've opened up

Where they regulate the heat

But I'd trade them all tomorrow

For a little bush retreat

Where the kookaburras call

Give me a home among the gumtrees

With lots of plum trees

A sheep or two, a k-kangaroo

A clothesline out the back

Verandah out the front

And an old rocking chair

On my way to and from work I drive through the Jervis Bay National Park. It is actually an enormous national park of some 4,211 hectares and from the road (as I am racing to and from work lol) it simply looks like a lot of gum trees. Well, this afternoon as I was driving home I noticed a lot of white flowers everywhere.

How odd I thought. It was amazing to see so many and I wondered what tree they belonged to. Could you believe that they were attached to gumtrees. I was gobsmacked.

I never knew that gumtrees flowered. I knew that they had gumnuts but I never realized that they had flowers as such. So I eventually pulled over to the side of the road, got my trusty camera out of the boot and went for a stroll throught the bushes. It was an amazing walk and I learned a lot very quickly.

The flowers changed colour further in and some were cream, some red and some looked a very pretty pink colour.

Because they were so high up in the trees it was hard to initially look close at them however, patience and a further walk lead me to some lower lying flowers.

Up close they actually look as though there are no petals. They look more like a group of showy stamens.

The older flowers towards to the tops of the trees look as though the stamens have split away from the base which is the shape of a cup.

I can not wait for Autumn and Springtime down here now. Can you imagine what else I am going to find on a simple walk throught the national parks.