One of the things we have really been looking forward to doing is a trip on a whale watching boat. We are so lucky to live in a bay where the whales pass by on their migration and we have seen them from the beach in nearby Anna Bay, but we wanted to get up close. The whales migrate from May to November each year, travelling to the Barrier Reef to calve and then back south again. At the moment they are on the northern part of their migration, the peak of which is the end of May to mid July and the whale watching trip operators are so confident whales will be spotted during this period, they offer a second trip free if yours is unsuccessful. The peak time for the return journey south is October so we will see if Zoe and Shaun can visit during that month to catch it. The whales do not eat during the migration period so follow currents to use less energy on the trip but, on the return journey they have their calves with them who are lively and curious, so jump out of the water (breach) more and get closer to the boats. 
The picture of the double breach was not taken by us, all we got were fins, backs, blank sky and handrail pictures as the boat lurched about, although Ian got a fairly good dolphin shot, but it was taken from our boat a few days before our trip.
We chose to go on the Imagine Cruises catamaran as this would get us closer to the water unlike some of the bigger boats on offer, and we were pleased with our choice. The weather has been a bit wet lately so we waited until we knew it was going to be a clear calm day and booked at the last minute. 
Morning saw us heading into Nelson Bay, which is about 10 minutes by boat and 30 minutes by road from us but much closer to the mouth of the bay than our little town, so all the cruises go from there, and we grabbed a quick breakfast before getting on board. Captain Crusty gave his safety talk and offered round the seasickness tablets, neither of us suffer but we did start to wonder about the wisdom of having the breakfast, and off we set out of the bay.
The conditions were ideal and it was good to look back at our bay from the sea to get the whereabouts of the towns into perspective, we learned some interesting facts too like Port Stephens is bigger than Sydney Harbour but has never attracted the development of large cities because the bay is too shallow for big ships. 
The catamaran headed out to sea for about 30 minutes before we were told to start scanning the horizon for whales. Because the whales follow the currents it is fairly straightforward for the boat to find them and the whale watching boats (there are 3 companies with a boat out each at the same time) all keep in touch by radio to let each other know of sightings. We saw plenty of breaching on the horizon but none really close, apparently whales sometimes breach because they have an itch and it dislodges a few barnacles, but then we spotted some Humpbacks up close and followed them along for some time. They are magnificent and it is hard to appreciate just how huge they are until they are seen up close, the boats have to keep a certain distance away from them but the whales don't know this so sometimes come closer.
We were joined by some Common Dolphins who bobbed alongside for a bit then Captain Crusty received a radio message from another boat saying they had spotted a pod of False Killer Whales, this was apparently very unusual so, without further ado, we were off. No time to retake seats or even get into a reasonably safe high speed position, I had been doing my best Admiral Nelson pose up front hoping to get some good photos and had to stay there, hanging on for dear life as we shot across the ocean at top speed (it probably wasn't top speed but it felt like it). The False Killer Whales were quicker than us though and had gone by the time we got there so we sauntered back, visiting some Bottlenose Dolphins on the way, many of these live inside the bay and are the same as the ones we see passing the beach at the end of our road.
All in all, a wonderful day out which I am sure we will repeat every time we have visitors but, back to reality today. It is raining and we have to get rid of a huge pile of branches we removed from our, very overgrown, trees. The free green waste drop off is only open once a month so it has to be today, I am sure you feel really sorry for us!

We were very excited to do our first stint as volunteers at the Tilligerry Habitat the other day. The Habitat is a wonderful place, it started out as an area that had been sandmined and has gradually been re planted with native plants and is now a beautiful habitat for wildlife. The visitor centre was built of straw bales and the woodland has paths and boardwalks so visitors can enjoy it without damaging any of the flora and fauna. There is also a nursery where plants are propagated for the habitat but also sold to the public. All this work and the running of the place is carried out entirely by volunteers so, now we have a bit more time, we put our names down - there are far worse things than spending a day at this gorgeous place every so often.
We managed to open up and set up without any trouble and looked forward to a day of showing koalas to visitors. We had a look round and couldn't see any but, when one of the people who run the place turned up to check we were OK, we were confident he would spot a couple we could show off. He went for a walk round and returned saying there were no koalas that day but plenty of whelks on the beach. That was a bit of a let down, I'm sure tourists don't travel to this place to see whelks!
There were plenty of birds, however, including black cockatoos and I saw an echidna - my first monotreme!
We didn't have many human visitors but that was no bad thing as the Habitat is a tourist information centre and we will be a bit better informed once we have worked there a few more times and it gets much busier in the summer.

Last Monday morning we set off at 6am for Melbourne with our trailer and the back of the car full of Zoe's furniture and possessions from England. It is about an 11 hour drive but with comfort breaks it ends up as just over 12. We wouldn't usually do it in one go and prefer to take the caravan and make a trip of it stopping overnight at various places on the way, but this time we had all the goodies on board so went for it. We drive a couple of hours each then swap so can pretty much keep going but it is a long day so we popped the tent in the back to enable us to stop on the way back. The city was all lit up as we drove in and looked fantastic.
It was our first visit to Zoe and Shaun's home and it was lovely. They live in Elsternwick, a very smart suburb just 8km from the city centre. The tram stops at the corner of their road and goes straight into the heart of the city, but they are also only a 20 minute walk from the nearest beach.
Zoe had booked for us to go to the World War 1 centenary exhibition at the Melbourne Museum, it is the one from the Imperial War Museum in London and was excellent.
 Melbourne is described as a very livable city and it is quite true, we hopped on the tram and were in the city in no time where it was very easy to find our way around. It is also a very beautiful place with a marvellous mix of old and new buildings which should not look good together but they do. 
Over the next couple of days Zoe impressed us with how well she has familiarised herself with the area in a relatively short period of time. She took us to visit Brighton, which is the suburb next to Elsternwick and has wonderful beach huts. She took us to  look at the beachside towns along the coast and then back into the city to the Queen Victoria Markets and Melbourne Gaol where Ned Kelly was hanged. The visit to the gaol was in three parts, a tour of the police cells, a look around the gaol and a re-enactment of the trial of Ned Kelly in the court house. While we were in the queue for the court, a guide came along asking for volunteers to take part in the re-enactment, Ian put his hand up along with nine other people and they were taken off inside. They were gone for some time before we were allowed in and when we entered the court, look who was the Crown Prosecutor!

We had a wonderful visit and left at 10.30 Friday morning agreeing that Melbourne was a very nice place indeed. We had had planned to stop off in Canberra on the way back and had the tent with us but it was pretty cold and Canberra really does get nippy this time of year, so we kept going again on the way back and pulled into Lemon Tree Passage at about 11pm.

There was great excitement a couple of nights ago. We were walking Monty on the little beach at the bottom of our road when three dolphins decided to join us! They must have been less than 12 feet from the shore and they were just bobbing along happily with Monty running beside them. People had told us it was not unusual to see dolphins here but we thought they would be far out in the marina and only seen with binoculars, not joining us on our evening walk.
The tenant moved in to our house this week so we have had a little more time to ourselves so we decided to find out whether there were any spots near us where it was possible to see the whales migrating from the beach as the area is gripped with whale watching fever at the moment. The middle of winter,so last week in June and first couple in July are the really busy times although the whales can be seen from April to November. No chance of seeing Migaloo, the white whale though as he was spotted in Byron Bay last week so has already passed us. The lady in the tourist information office suggested Anna Bay so we went to Birubi Point which is nice and high. 
We settled down with binoculars and cameras fully expecting this to be one of those occasions when you convince yourself that the little splash you saw on the horizon was really something out there, but no, there was a constant procession of whales in the distance! They could be spotted by the spouts of water coming out of their blow holes, they were a long way off but this could be seen with the naked eye. They were very difficult to photograph because wherever the camera was pointed, one would jump out of the water somewhere else but I did manage to get a snap of a bit of a tail and a back. 
Now we no longer have to work on the investment house we are turning our attention to this one. It is OK on the inside but the plan is to enclose some of the underneath area and terrace the garden so we have started the first of what will be many retaining walls. As you can see, the garden is currently like the North face of the Eiger so it is going to take a bit of work.

Every travel book I read before coming to Australia had mentioned the 'Big Things' which can be found in towns all around Australia, usually featuring something the town or area is known for but not always. They occasionally double up as something else, like a cafe and can sometimes be completely random like the Big Uluru which is in the Port Stephens area while the real Uluru is nearly 3000km away!
Anyway, I have been sorely disappointed as far as big things are concerned. I enthusiastically set up a special page on the blog just for all the Big Things I was going to see but I've been here seven months now and only seen three, The Big Peach, Big Prawn and Big Uluru, which was a bit rubbish and smaller than the real Uluru so I'm not sure it counts as a Big Thing. Hopefully we will see more now we finally have a bit of spare time to get out and about.
Another group of Big Things are heading our way now, the whale watching season has begun. Between May and November thousands of whales swim north from the Southern Ocean along the New South Wales coast and we live right by one of the best spots for seeing them.
The first sign that the season has begun is when the seals arrive at Cabbage Tree Island then the whale migration starts. There are so many that in the first week of July the whale cruises guarantee whale sightings or your money back. The whale watching crews are obviously very used to whale sightings but even they get excited if they spot Migaloo, a white whale who is spotted every few years and has been seen as far away as Hawaii.
We were going to wait until Zoe and Shaun were here to go on a whale watching trip but they can't get away until September now and we can't wait so will just have to go twice.

It was the Queen's birthday weekend last week and Zoe flew in to Newcastle airport on Thursday for a five day visit, which is the longest period of time we have spent together in the past 18 months.
On Friday, Ian dropped us at the station to catch the 7.30am train to Sydney. We had decided to go on our own because Ian is not that bothered about having a touristy time in a city that was his home for many years. I have only visited Sydney a few times since our arrival and Zoe has not been there since 2005. Even though Ian and I stayed in the city for a few days when we first arrived, we were running around buying cars and camping gear so I didn't have much time for sightseeing.
We were in Sydney by 10am and started the day with Jaffles (toasted sandwiches) in a cafe in Circular Quay. Then it was off to book ourselves onto a Captain Cook's harbour cruise. Ian had told us to go on the Middle Harbour route so we managed to get booked for the 2.30pm trip.
We strolled off around Circular Quay and, after a few failed selfies in front of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House because of our lack of a selfie stick, a nice lady offered to take our picture for us. We watched the groups of people taking the Harbour Bridge walk, there are about six groups doing the walk at any one time and it is like that all day, but we knew that would never be for us, especially not for me.
Next was a stroll through the beautiful Botanic Gardens and a look at Government House then onto The Rocks which is the historic area next to Circular Quay. The Rocks Market was great and the whole neighbourhood really gives you an idea of what the area would have looked like when Sydney was first starting to develop.
The time had now come around for the highlight of the day, the Captain Cook Cruise. It was 2 hours long and an excellent way of getting the layout of the city a bit more sorted out in our heads, the commentary was informative too, all this came with tea, coffee and cakes, what more could we ask for?
We had noticed when we first arrived that Vivid Sydney was still on. This is a festival of light where the buildings are lit up with light shows and animations so we decided to stay and see a bit of it. The lights came on as soon as it got dark at 6pm and they were sensational, especially on the Opera House which is a perfect canvas for a light show.
The remainder of Zoe's visit passed quickly with days out in Newcastle, where we introduced her to Nobby's Beach and the Olive Tree Market and Nelson Bay where we encountered a shark on a bus (?).

We are really enjoying the wildlife at our new house, it is in the same street as the previous house but the experience is quite different. This is the quieter end of the road and we have a balcony and a garden with plenty of trees so we get lots of visitors.
The Rainbow Lorikeets came to check us out as soon as we arrived and now turn up at 7am and 4.15pm waiting to be fed, if we are more than 15 minutes late they give up and presumably move on to the next person who feeds them. We can get as many as forty on the balcony at any one time, which brings its own problems poo-wise so Ian is going to make a feeder that juts out from the balcony. The Rainbow Lorikeets are now being joined by Scaly Breasted Lorikeets and Eastern Rosellas, which are more shy and take longer to risk trusting us. They put on a good show when we spoke to my Mum and sister Gill yesterday, we set up a Skype call for 6.45am to make sure they would see them.
The Kookaburras are starting to show an interest in us too, they are meat eaters so we have to be prepared with bits of bacon or sausage. We have seen people feeding Kookaburras by hand but they are a bit big with very large beaks so I don't know if I will be going that far.
We had a real treat a couple of days ago when Ian spotted a Tawny Frogmouth (a type of owl) in the front garden next door, they have such confidence in their camouflage, you can walk right up to them and they won't move.
It is officially winter now but, as you can see from the picture of our evening walk, the weather is still very pleasant. We have acclimatised however and think seventeen degrees is freezing, when we spoke to Mum and Gill it was the same temperature here as in England and we were shivering while they were just thinking they were having a bit of a disappointing summer day.
The big news this week is that the washing machine we managed to drop down seven steps and ended up in several pieces, all dented....still works! Our good fortune doesn't end there either, we won a staggering three prizes in the seafood raffle on Friday, these things are free so what with our regular quiz night prizes we have worked out that Club Lemon Tree had given us more money than we have spent there!
Zoe arrives today and is staying until Tuesday, it is a holiday weekend here for the Queen's Birthday - Australians get a day off for this - so we will see what events we can go to.