Bodalla NSW 2010

A quick visit by J and myself found us in the little town of Bodalla, south of Jervis Bay. The name Bodalla is usuaqlly recognised as the name of a cheese, just have a look in any supermarket and one can find Bodalla cheese there. As you can imagine the township of Bodalla is preimarily a dairy town and is nestled in the hinterlands of the Tuross River Valley. We stumbled across Bodalla quite by accident whilst on route to Narooma and ended up spending a number of hours here exploring the area.

The original cheese makers came from England back in 1870 and since then many small cheese making factories have sprung up.We stopped to sample many of the cheeses and purchased a few to enjoy at home. I was fascinated by the All Saints Church which dated back to the early 1800s. The woodwork and glasswork is absolutely beautiful. Some years ago much of the masonary was restored and whilst pulling much of the damaged and aged stone away many little surprises were found such as old wares and tiles. You casn stand and follow the dedication stones to generation after generation of various families that lived in Bodalla and worshiped at the church.

There is a peace and serenity to be found in Bodalla. The countrysides are lush and green as a result of the rain and the pastures were shared by horses, cattle and sheep. After lunch J and I made our way home.

Early Morning Colours......

The world is a carousel of color,
Wonderful, wonderful color.
The world is a carousel of color,
History, comedy, fantasy,
There�s drama and mirth,
There�s old mother earth
With all of her secrets to see.












The world is a treasure-trove of faces,
Fabulous, faraway places.
The hopes and the fears,
The joys and the tears
Of people like you and like me.
The kingdoms of magic science,
The glorious story of art,
The world of romance,
Of music and dance,
This world where we each play a part.








The miracle of imagination,
The marvels of earth, sea and sky,
These wonders untold
Are ours to behold
In the funny world,
The sunny world,
The wonderful world of color.

How beautiful the early mornings can be here, I am often left in awe of Mother Nature's pallet of vibrant colours. I wonder how much we constantly miss by sleeping until noon. The words above are from a song I knew as aq child by Walt Disney called "A World of Colour".

New Beginnings......

I have just began work on a new site out at Jervis Bay. It is part of a navel base and a completely new experience for me as the base is totally different to any work environment that I have previously known.

Upon entry one drives down a winding road which passes through a golf course. The golf course is interwoven throughout beautiful gardens and many beautiful Australian antive trees. Dotted around are a few historic houses that the personnel live in as well as the college and adminstration areas which date back to 1911. However, all have been retained to blend in with the natural environment and are ever so serene to walk amongst. There is not just a beauty about Creswell but also a peace and tranquility about it. Initially when J first asked me to work here I imagined a gloomy atmosphere which reflected navel ideals and the military's way of life, instead there is a distinct calmness to be found. For example, one can think clearer there, the sounds of birds and the ocean come from all directions as Creswell is located out on a penninsula. There is a stillness about the grounds that is interupted occassionally by a wallaby or kangaroo making his/her way into the Boodewree National Park which surrounds the base. The gently sloping hills and lawns give such a feeling of harmony that one tends to forget the stresses of everyday life. It has taken a week for me to appreciate just why I feel so relaxed here indeed, I have spent a week away from most of my habits. there is no television here, no shops, no advertisements anywhere. It takes a while to slow down and then one realizes that your brain is at rest, free from the commands of noise, the consuming frenzy of stores, the business of time constraints and obligations to meet. Yes, over many decades Creswell has grown to embrace a quietude that the rest of the world can only envy. Few cars are driven here and those that are used on the roads travel throughout the grounds at no more that 25kms. My developed urges to hurry, hurry, hurry have become not so rushed or panicked to hurry onto the next task. It has been almost a soulful experience.

What was that word???? Ahhhhhhhhh yes...."just beathe".

Last weekend J and I decided to take some time for ourselves and have the weekend away exploring a lovely little town which we saw on "Getaway". The town was called Bermagui and is located at the start of the Sapphire Coast. We set out on the three hour drive and enjoyed lunch at Ulladulla along the way.

The entry into that section of the south coast is absolutely beautiful with the coastline as blue as it's name "sapphire". There are many penninsulas and small townships along thr way however, we loved Bermagui, it was everything that was talked about on Getaway.

The smalltown was built around a harbour back in the mid 1800s. It is obvious that fishing is a very important way of life for many of the permanent residents there as it is mid winter here and there were many people out still casting their fishing lines late into the evening. J and I had read that the continental shelf is only a mere 20 kms away hence, the deep sea fisherman fish for marlin there. I stopped to shoot some photos of a very beautiful sunset and was captivated by the beauty of the harbour with small fishing boats dotted around.

J and I visited the Bermagui Country Club for dinner and sampled some of the local catch which was delicious and then headed back to get settled for the evening.

Early on Sunday morning I awoke to some noisy honey eatters overhead. I think they were fighting about some leftover cones on a Banksia Tree. J made a quick coffee for us and we headed off to find the famous Bermagui Blue Pools at the bottom of the cliffs.

This is a most beautiful sea pool which was built back in 1936 by a local philanthropist Bill Dickenson. The pool follows the natural form of the rock and blends in to the cliff area beautifully.

As I stood taking some photos J and I marvelled at the ocean which was only a few meters away. The surf's swell crashed into the side of the pool and at times was twice as tall as us. In all it was a very exilerating experience.

From the blue pool one can see further along the coastline to some magical beach views filled with enormous waves roaring in on the white sands. We stood enthralled at the scene and all I could think of was a song I had heard recently called "If This Is It".... no one move, no one speak, please don't say it's only me....it's just not me. And even though I won't forget I just don't want this to end just yet, not just yet......and one look on J's face said that he wanted to stay a lot longer too.

Farewell Merinko

This evening we farewelled a workmate named Merinko. Merinko migrated from Crotia a number of years ago leaving his war torn homeland to begin again in a new country. He worked hard to build a home and eventually met a woman here whom he had hoped to marry. Unfortunately this did not work out and loneliness and isolation soon set in. J and I met him onsite. He was a strategic concretor and very good at what he did. We often stopped to ask him how his day was going or what he had done during his weekend. I commented to J many times that Merinko must have been a very lonely man.
Tonight we all gathered at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church Vincentia to remember him and say a final farewell. I remarked to J and other collieges afterwards that one can never show too much kindness to another human being as we never know what life (or death) holds for us around the corner.
The world is a lesser place for having lost you from it Merinko
Rest in peace

If I could catch the sound of waves I would do it just for you And share with you a flower’s beauty on the days you're feeling blue.

It is a glorious day here down in Jervis Bay and so full of beauty that it makes one want to take your camera out and go for a walk until the rest of the household gets out of bed lol. Billy Joel floods the house with the most motivating of sounds. The smell of coffee coming from the kitchen and floating down over the back yard.

Windows and doors open, letting the sounds of autumn mingle perfectly with the music and believe me when I say that the sounds of autumn include kookaburras that like to let each other know when they are awake. They sit in the tree outside of my bedroom window and stake out their daily claim by being very vocal.

One can touch the depth of your own soul on such a moment in time, feel all the beauty within and enjoy the little things such as these. Have a good day everyone.

Easter 2010

It was the Easter Weekend of April 2010 and J and I had tickets to see Carol King and James Taylor in concert at the Hunter Valley. It seemed to good a chance not to pass up and with seats up close to the stage we set off to Polkolbin on Good Friday.
The weather was perfect and we both enjoyed every minute of the drive there. Our accommodation was at the Villa Province which was very lovely and made me feel like I was experiencing a touch of French provincial Europe.

We visited only three wineries out of the 120 wineries that we could have visited but J and I decided to explore the country side and Cessnock as well. Upon our next visit we will take in a few more wineries then. The three we chose were the lovely Allison Wilkinson winery, McGuigans Winery and Tempus Two Winery.

Now I have always enjoyed Mcguigan’s wines but was delighted to find out that Tempus Two Winery was also owned by McGuigans.

The views all around the Hunter are spectacular and well worth taking your camera along and even the individual vineyards are very beautiful up close and personal.This is the strikingly smart Tempus Two Winery.

The opnly way to describe the Hunter region is to picture rolling hills everywhere. There are views across the vineyards to the Brokenback Ranges in all directions and as the clouds came and went their shadows moved across green terrain with dams and vineyards woven in and out.

Within the wineries themselves we browzed and tasted and listened to talks about grapes and production. There is an amazing amount of science involved in the production of wine and we tasted to our hearts content from the lightest to the heaviest and purchased several bottles to enjoy back at home too.

We also stopped at several cheese shops and a chocolate shop.

Come Saturday night we made our way to the Hope Estate Winery where the big concert was to take place. Our friend Garry and his wife were also attending the concert however with 15000 people present it was like looking for a needle in a haystack lol.

So after dinner we settled back to enjoy the music and the memories of the 70s and what a wonderful treat it was.

Now apparently King and Taylor came together in Las Angeles at a club called the Troubadour and the evening was such a magnificent success that they sat and planned a reunion world tour with James’s original band. Carole King is now 68 years old and James Taylor is 60 years old and a look around the audience said that most of us were over 40 lol. Imagine 15000 people all of a similar age, all gathered together in an air of excitement to celebrate the best songs of two pivotal singer-songwriters. It was a magic al evening

We woke Sunday morning to another beautiful day. At the front of the villas is the loveliest fountain and the birds enjoyed frolicking there. I shot a few more photos before we left to head to Sydney for a few days with the family. It was such a relaxed and peaceful weekend that we did not want to return to the rush and bustle of work.

From our family to yours....we hope that you had a safe and Happy Easter. If your holiday break seemed to fly by much too quickly please do not dispair because the Anzac Weekend is only a few weeks away..