Goodbye Darwin, Hello Ballina

Darwin City from Fannie Bay
Darwin Wave Pool

L-R Back Row: Lincoln, Shae, Gemma, Lisa, Georgie

L-R Front Row: Bailey, Bridgette, Mark & I

Kate, Nick holding Rebecca, Anna, Me, Mark

Ballina Shelley Beach

My 10 days in Darwin went so fast, but it was wonderful to catch up with the family and familiarise myself with how the city is growing. I enjoyed my time weighing & packing beef jerky with my niece and nephew who have a family business in Darwin, as it gave me the opportunity to hear about their comings and goings.

My son Mark & I joined in two family dinners - the first one was held at my niece Rosie & Mark's home where I was living. In the photo you will also see Rosie's daughters Georgia & Bailey plus my other niece Bridgette (Rosie's sister), her other half Rob, their young son Lincoln and Bridgette's two daughters Gemma and Shae. Gemma also bought along her friend Lisa. As everyone had worked that day (except me) I made a spaghetti bolognaise to have with a tossed green rocket salad and garlic bread. What I pity I forgot to take the salad out of the fridge and didn't find it until everyone had gone home. Blame it on the tropics...

The second dinner was at my nephew Nick and his wife Karen's home. Their delightful daughter Rebecca and my 2 nieces Kate & Anna, Nick's sisters joined in the BBQ. Nick sells very good quality meat that he gets trucked up from down south, so the porterhouse steaks we had for dinner were top notch.

Finally it was time to say goodbye and leave Rosie knowing she only has 2 weeks before her baby is due. She will be glad to be able to walk instead of waddle! After my 3.5 hr flight from Darwin to Brisbane, Murray met me at the airport and we drove the 2 hrs south to Ballina. He had the B&B set up very comfortably and had even bought us a new full fridge as the B&B only had a small bar fridge which we found out very quickly last time that it was not big enough for us PLUS Murray's bait PLUS his fish catch! The next day we went for a drive around and then had a walk along the sea wall. I took a photo for you all so that you can have an idea of our environment.