I first started writing this blog partly to capture the wide eyed wonder I experienced whenever I encountered something unexpected in this new, foreign country. Now I have lived here for five years this does not really happen much any more, but I was taken by surprise when we stopped off in Akuna Bay during a recent trip to Sydney. 

The bay itself was absolutely beautiful and really convenient for Sydneysiders who want to keep a boat nearby to use at weekends. I had not given much thought to how much demand there might be for boat storage until I saw the Rack & Stack. It was astonishing, a boat house with hundreds of boats stacked in pigeon holes on top of each other that seemed to go on forever. 

Owners have to call in advance to arrange for their boats to be removed from their pigeon holes by a huge forklift truck and plonked in the water ready for them to set off. It all looked very efficient but I can't imagine what it costs to store a boat there.

Next stop was West Head, just to the north of Sydney in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Ian insists I came here when I visited Australia fourteen years ago but I don't remember at all and I'm sure I would because it was spectacular. 

The park overlooks West Head Lighthouse and the beach below in one direction and the open ocean in the other. Pittwater runs along one side where all the houses are accessible only by boat and it all adds up to make West Head Lookout a very special spot and a must for anyone visiting Sydney. There were humpback whales passing by while we were there on their annual migration to calve in the Great Barrier Reef and you will have to take my word for it that the two splashes in the water are indeed whales. We can actually see the whales from where we live too but it is always a treat.

As we got much nearer to home we took a detour to look at Nora Head Lighthouse which is just south of Newcastle and, according to the information board, placed there because the area was the scene of a staggering number of shipwrecks. Ian took the lighthouse tour while I stayed on solid ground and watched more whales going by. They may have been the same ones I saw earlier, I'm not sure how fast they travel. 

We are determined to set off on another trip shortly but have been busy popping to Melbourne and back since the arrival of the gorgeous grandson three months ago. I have also been busy becoming a proper Australian and attended my 
citizenship ceremony last week. This actually feels like more of an achievement than I expected but tinged with a bit of sadness too as it comes at the same time as our status as 
Europeans looks like being lost to myself and my fellow Brits.