The Oz (Nostalgia) Files

The Vino Connection

Australia has an incredible passion for wine. Every region has atleast one beloved and well-known wine valley that people will travel across the continent to have a holiday in the vineyard.  We have beautiful wine in the US as well but the passion for wine doesn’t seem to be as widespread, likely due to the difference in geography. The US has so many States without wine and just more States in general while in Australia each of the 7 States has a popular wine valley the may be the most identifying factor of the region.  Every restaurant all across the continent has a carefully and proudly selected wine list that they almost expect you to want to drink.  You can drink wine at most cafes, even the ‘healthy burger’ fast food joints, and just about every venue movie theater, museums, sporting events, etc…You name it, they have wine. And if you ask, all places will give you a tasting to be sure you find a glass of wine you will definitely enjoy. Everyone loves to learn and talk about wine and whether drinking it casually or elegantly, it seems to be a strong thread connecting the people of an entire continent, with a common passion for a simple pleasure.

Buggies Away!

Hamilton Island is a fabulous little patch of land that is part of the chain of islands that makes up the Whitsundays. Hamilton Island is known as the “Great Barrier Reef” island as it provides snorkeling just off its beaches as well as a gateway to the deeper outer reefs in the area of the Whitsundays. There are a few ways you can reach the Whitsundays. You can fly into Airlie Beach which is on the mainland and take a ferry to any of the islands or you can fly right into Hamilton Island and ferry anywhere else you would like to go. We flew into Hamilton Island and although it was a little overcast through the clouds you could get a glimpse of the green islands sitting in sparkling blue water. It was very exciting! Upon arrival to the small island airport, all of the hotels are awaiting your arrival to take you to your accommodation via buggy (golf cart) or small van. Car hire here is actually Buggy rental as this is the primary mode of transportation on the island. Ah, simplicity!

We arrived at the Reef View Hotel, which had the most amazing views of the surrounding islands. Our first day was somewhat cloudy and rainy but by the next afternoon the sun was shining for the remainder of our stay. We rented our buggy and toured around the little island checking out all the tiny roads and passing by peoples homes, some with really  ‘high class’, buggies parked in their small driveways.  Everyone on the island was extremely friendly and they had shuttle buses running throughout the island all day so when you didn’t have a buggy you could walk or take a shuttle bus anywhere you wanted to go. The weather cleared up perfectly for us to enjoy a beautiful island sunset at One Tree Hill where from 4pm on they set up a small bar for sunset cocktails on the cliff.

Views from our hotel room

Our buggy for the day

Sunset Cocktails

The next morning we took a fabulous day tour to the reef and Whitehaven Beach. Our catamaran, On The Edge, was fast and comfortable with a great crew and a small group, which made it a really great day. We first stopped at one of the outer reefs where we snorkeled through the chilly water. (I couldn’t feel my hands!) We did see lots of soft coral, which I hadn’t seen before and Jaime spotted our first reef shark and manta ray!

We then made our way to Whitehaven Beach, the third most beautiful beach in the world! It was really stunning. The sand was so soft and white and the water was so clear! We had a few hours to just lounge and enjoy the beach. We played a little footy ball and walked through the water checking out the schools of fish swimming by. One little fish was very curious and if I wiggled my toes he would make his way over and come in for a quick nibble. I have never seen a fish do that! He did it over and over again. I tried to get him to nibble Jaime but I think he may have liked the flash of my nail polish.  We took turns riding in the dingy to get back to our boat and leisurely sailed back to the port.

 That night we played some island mini-golf  (I was kicking Jaime’s butt but then we decided that the last hole was for all the beans and the world champion title which I lost to Jaime’s only hole-in-one for the night!) and then took a walk down to the marina for dinner. Sitting outside on the patio we noticed a little visitor coming in sniffing around for scraps. From far away it looked like one of those cute little Bandicoots that you rarely ever see! But once it got up close we realized it was a really rough and mangy looking Australian possum. We continued on with our dinner but I did put my feet up on the chair next to me.  Later that night I randomly discovered my expert skills at Angry Birds on Jaime’s ipad. I'm an addict. 

Bandicoot-what I thought I saw

Australian Possum-our actual dinner guest

The next day we had some time to lay by the pool and explore low-tide at the beach where we saw tons of marine life particularly hermit crabs and a feisty little sand crab that nipped my heel!  We were sad to leave such a relaxing and beautiful place. We wished we had more time to explore the other islands as the Whitsundays are another easily accessible gem in Australia! A place to enjoy so much natural beauty and get re-accustomed to that laid-back “Island Time”.

To view all the photos from Hamilton Island follow this link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1938690639459.2110188.1608184181&l=50db23499c

The Oz (Nostalgia) Files

Accidental Lamb Chili

I have no idea how to make lamb. Australia loves lamb! You can get lamb in some way anywhere you go and at every venue from the supermarket to restaurant to small eat-in or take away café. There is always a lamb dish. I have eaten lamb every now and then but even with it so readily available I haven’t attempted to make lamb at home.

I do make chili though. A really yummy and easy chili now that I have my ‘chili con carne’ spice from my dear little local spice shop.  Now that winter has arrived here in Melbourne it is a perfect time to make my next chili concoction. We had two packages of frozen meat purchased from a local farm in the Yarra Valley, so I decided to use the one labeled “Burgers”.  The chili came out very good and I commented to Jaime that I used the “burgers” in the freezer and that the meat was really tender and had a slightly different flavor and texture than the usual ground beef, it was good, just different.  And Jaime replied, “Yes, those were lamb burgers.”  Apparently, aside from the fruits, veggies, and wine, this farm raised lamb. And so, my first lamb dish!

Where else can you accidentally add a little Aussie flavor to your Paula Deen chili!

The Oz (Nostalgia) Files

The countdown to our ex-expat status is now two months. This year has flown by faster than I ever thought possible. We will be making our way back to the US in August to settle back into Boston for a little while. In the meantime, this is my new sporadic mini-series of the little things I will miss about Australia.

The Sweat Sock

As mentioned before, Australia, Melbourne in particular, is a delicious cultural food mecca. Jaime and I were lucky enough to live right down the street from the BEST Pud (pad) Thai I have ever had.  Ying Thai 2 is a 100% Thai run establishment that is always busy and even missed on Mondays when it is closed. We love it!  The pad thai is always delicious, the sticky rice is warm and sticky, and everything else we have tried is good too.

All of our visitors have eaten the pad thai from Ying Thai 2 and all have given rave reviews, even those who don’t really like pad thai went back for seconds! However, all of our visitors have only eaten Ying Thai 2 outside on the sidewalk tables or at home as take away.  No one has ever eaten inside except us.  This is due to the warmth of the kitchen heating up the small restaurant and its distinct spices resulting in a very distinct smell, I whispered to Jaime, “This place smells like a sweat sock!” Its not a pungent sweat sock, more like a subtle sweat sock, but sweat sock it is. We don’t let this deter us since we know the food is so good and the place is always busy and I have found subtleties of the smell in other Thai restaurants and so the aroma must be part of the ethnicity.

And so we love it and we will definitely miss the nights that Jaime asks me what we should have for dinner and I promptly reply “Sweat Sock!” and he always agrees.

Frangipanis, Camels, and Sunsets

Australia just gets better and better...

Let me take you on a special trip. 

Across thousands and thousands of miles of dry and barren land all the way to the very northwest corner of Australia. The loved Kimberley region is one of nine regions that make up the vast state of Western Australia.  The Kimberley Region is a 163,000 mile expanse of land that is known for its beautiful colors during sunrise and sunset that fill the sky and amaze even the locals who get to enjoy it everyday.  The region is three times the size of England and was named after the Kimberley diamond fields in South Africa due to the similar landscape and the similar discovery of diamond fields.

We flew four hours west of Melbourne to Perth, WA.  From there we hopped on a small Qantas jet that took us two hours north to our weekend getaway. Broome is a sparkling seaside town full of natural beauty that you can only find in the Kimberley Region of the outback. It is a tiny little dot in the southwest corner of the region with a a population of 15,000.  Broome used to be known for its pearling and mining industry and has since become a popular holiday destination due to its colors, climate, and the famous Cable Beach. With the tropical climate comes a wet season, which is very wet and a dry season, which is quite dry and hot during winter. We visited Broome in the middle of March, which turned out to be the most perfect time. The wet season was on its way out and we had been told it had ended a little early, so we had no rain, and since dry season, which was peak tourist season, had not officially started, the town was quiet. No rain, no tourists and just a long empty beautiful beach for us to enjoy.

We arrived at the tiny Broome airport just prior to sunset and on our way to our hotel, in a minute the darkening blue sky burst into the most beautiful colors that inspired Jaime and I to both say “Wow!” at the exact same time. 

We settled into the Bali Hai, an Indonesian-inspired hotel lined with Frangipani trees, that upgraded us to our own little villa with the traditional open-aired outdoor 'Mandi' shower. Which Jaime enjoyed several times each day and night as it was really hot in Broome. 

Entrance to our villa

Artsy frangipanis!

As a small tourist town, there are only a few restaurants. We went to the one local restaurant/pub the night we arrived but after that we mainly ate the Old Zoo Cafe, which was delightful for every meal. It's crazy, but each time we were excited to go back to see what they were serving! 

We drove a few kilometers down the main highway to check out the red sandstone cliffs at Gantheaume Point. Broome, like the rest of the region and most of WA, appears red and dry. However the contrast of the red earth with the blue sky and the stunning red rocks with the sparkling blue sea is magnificent. (The colors don't show up as well when uploaded to the blog).  This is the southernmost point of Cable Beach, where you can walk aboriginal heritage trails, see 130-million-year-old dinosaur footprints at low-tide, and visit Anastasia's pool, a rock pool carved out of the stone by the lighthouse keeper for his arthritic wife. This pool fills up during high-tide and allowed her to bathe in the clear waters of the Indian Ocean at low-tide to ease her ailments. 

Red Earth

Anastasia's Pool

We spent the rest of the day enjoying Cable Beach. 14 miles of soft white sand and we were practically the only ones there! The water was invitingly warm and just cool enough to refresh you from the 10 minutes you could bear to sit in the hot outback sun. Low-tide during the day allowed for much exploring of marine life around the rocks. And the day was ours. 

View of Cable Beach just past the rocks

Towards dusk we hurried back to our hotel to change and for Jaime to take another outdoor shower, grabbed dinner at the Old Zoo, and headed for our highlight of the weekend. Broome, known for its beautiful sunsets, is also really well-known for the viewing of its sunsets on an hour long camel ride along Cable Beach. It was awesome! Our camel was named Ghan, after the Great Southern Rail that travels across the heart of Australia. Ghan was a sturdy and sure-footed gentle giant who has been walking up and down Cable Beach for 15 years. It was a wonderful experience all around, from the people, to the camels, to the beautiful scenery, it couldn't have been better.  

Ghan and I getting acquainted

Our waiting caravan

Huge feet!

As the sun began to set the sand and sea sparkled bright. 

As it got lower and darker, the sun became the only shimmering light and commanded full attention.

The sun disappeared from the horizon and all of a sudden the sky literally burst into fiery colors...

First fiery orange and yellow...

That began to fade into a soft purple/pink...

That mixed together into perfect layers of colors that magically illuminated the entire sky before dramatically fading into the night.  

Jaime and our boy with an exquisite grand finale!

The next day we had plenty of time for more outdoor showers, breakfast at the Old Zoo and a 20 minute drive down a dry, red road to a little town called 12 mile that housed a tiny establishment called The Mango Place. This little hut sat amongst the shade of tons of mango trees. After the mangoes are picked they are put in a machine that peels and removes the pit so all you are left with is the pulp. They then take the pulp and put it in the blender to make the most delicious mango smoothie, perfect for a hot day! And it didn't stop there, mango everything was carefully crafted, Mango jam, chilli, chutney, vinegar, dressing, tea, ice cream, fudge, candy, and wine. It was a mango-lovers dream. 

Red creek running along the Broome Highway

The Mango Place

Wallabies among the mango plantations

We then took our time and reluctantly headed to the little Broome airport for our flight back to Perth. Broome was one of our most favorite spots and there were still things we hadn't seen. Three nights each month, from March to October, when conditions are just right the full moon rises over exposed mud flats at extremely low-tide creating the optical illusion of a staircase to the moon. 

The sun began to set as we boarded the plane. We were sad to leave such a special, peaceful and wonderful remote place but as we flew southward, level with the horizon, the sky burst into colors for a special send-off. I gazed out my window until the very last spec of color faded and then a brilliant star-studded sky, bright as ever, took over the night. 

We love Broome!