Rainie & new friend
April meets kangaroo
Koala with baby in pouch (click on image to see full size)
Tasmanian Devil 
Murray, April, Ret, Trish, Rainie 
See the paraglider? Rainie, Murray & April can...
Two sisters at Lennox Head overlook 
Bill, Gemma, Murray, Rainie, April, Aunty Dympna 
The dinner guests 
Aussie Poetry ReadingOur American friends Rainie & her sister April arrived from Florida on Friday, and planned to spend 3 nights with us. We met them at Brisbane airport and spent the day at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo. They thoroughly enjoyed patting the cute kangaroos and koalas, as well as a fat wombat and an ugly Tasmanian Devil. They didn’t get to touch the rest of the animals such as the echidnas, crocodiles, pythons, birds, cassowary & dingoes! All four of us were thrilled to see a koala with a baby in its pouch. Too cute for words. We spent the first night in Caloundra which is a pretty coastal town.
My sister Loretta was unable to join my brother Tony & his wife Yudian with our group for lunch the next day so we made a quick detour to the Sheraton on Main Beach where she was having breakfast with family & friends. She met Rainie & April after all.
On top of Mount Tambourine at the back of the Gold Coast we sat and watched a paraglider catch the prevailing winds and sail off down the mountain. The view was quite beautiful. Our drive meandered through the back of the Hinterland before connecting with the M1 heading south to Ballina. We left the M1 to visit the popular seaside city of Byron Bay. If you follow the path around the cliffs you will be on the eastern most point of Australia.
The next day we all walked to church then had morning tea overlooking the ocean. Sadly the dolphins were being evasive that day, but they are a regular sight where they live in Florida. We collected some shells for their sister in law Dusty who was unable to join them on their trip. She will join them on their Sydney leg. They enjoyed the view of Lennox Heads from a lookout that also afforded a great view of the many surfers out there catching the waves. After a brief wander through a local market and devouring a sausage sizzle for lunch, Murray taught Rainie the finer points of Australian Football. Later we all sat to watch his team play, but sadly they lost to a better side on the day.
Last night we had dinner at my sister Gemma and her husband Bill’s home. Our aunt Dympna joined us and we were treated to my special request, Gemma’s roast chicken dinner followed by individual lemon puddings (my mother’s recipe) that on this occasion were topped with whipped cream and pomegranate. Delicious. That will be my last special roast chicken dinner for 4 months until we return later in the year.
Apparently April’s family (she has 7 adult children) back in Florida have long been fans of the movie ‘The Man from Snowy River’. It is their all time favourite movie. She didn’t realise it was based on a poem written in 1890 by Banjo Paterson about local bushmen. As post dinner entertainment, Gemma & Bill bought out their book of Australian Poetry, and Bill and I alternated to read in turn all 13 stanzas (each stanza had 8 lines). It gave April & Rainie a glimpse back in time of life in Australia for bushmen in the late 1800’s. April’s family love the scenes with the wild bush horses (brumbies) in the movie, and Bill presented her with a bottle of wine which explained (on the back label) how the term for brumbies originated. We wrapped the bottle in bubble wrap, so I hope it makes it home safely.
After an enjoyable 3 days together, Murray & I put them on their plane to Sydney this afternoon where they will join Dusty. Now they will have a great time touring Sydney and the Blue Mountains for the rest of the week until Rainie flies to Canberra for a work meeting. It was great having them visit...
My sister Loretta was unable to join my brother Tony & his wife Yudian with our group for lunch the next day so we made a quick detour to the Sheraton on Main Beach where she was having breakfast with family & friends. She met Rainie & April after all.
On top of Mount Tambourine at the back of the Gold Coast we sat and watched a paraglider catch the prevailing winds and sail off down the mountain. The view was quite beautiful. Our drive meandered through the back of the Hinterland before connecting with the M1 heading south to Ballina. We left the M1 to visit the popular seaside city of Byron Bay. If you follow the path around the cliffs you will be on the eastern most point of Australia.
The next day we all walked to church then had morning tea overlooking the ocean. Sadly the dolphins were being evasive that day, but they are a regular sight where they live in Florida. We collected some shells for their sister in law Dusty who was unable to join them on their trip. She will join them on their Sydney leg. They enjoyed the view of Lennox Heads from a lookout that also afforded a great view of the many surfers out there catching the waves. After a brief wander through a local market and devouring a sausage sizzle for lunch, Murray taught Rainie the finer points of Australian Football. Later we all sat to watch his team play, but sadly they lost to a better side on the day.
Last night we had dinner at my sister Gemma and her husband Bill’s home. Our aunt Dympna joined us and we were treated to my special request, Gemma’s roast chicken dinner followed by individual lemon puddings (my mother’s recipe) that on this occasion were topped with whipped cream and pomegranate. Delicious. That will be my last special roast chicken dinner for 4 months until we return later in the year.
Apparently April’s family (she has 7 adult children) back in Florida have long been fans of the movie ‘The Man from Snowy River’. It is their all time favourite movie. She didn’t realise it was based on a poem written in 1890 by Banjo Paterson about local bushmen. As post dinner entertainment, Gemma & Bill bought out their book of Australian Poetry, and Bill and I alternated to read in turn all 13 stanzas (each stanza had 8 lines). It gave April & Rainie a glimpse back in time of life in Australia for bushmen in the late 1800’s. April’s family love the scenes with the wild bush horses (brumbies) in the movie, and Bill presented her with a bottle of wine which explained (on the back label) how the term for brumbies originated. We wrapped the bottle in bubble wrap, so I hope it makes it home safely.
After an enjoyable 3 days together, Murray & I put them on their plane to Sydney this afternoon where they will join Dusty. Now they will have a great time touring Sydney and the Blue Mountains for the rest of the week until Rainie flies to Canberra for a work meeting. It was great having them visit...
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