Mt Lofty

Last evening we went to Mt Lofty to watch the moon rise.  It was supposed to be something spectacular which we wouldn't see again for many years.  It turns out that the sun, earth and moon were exactly aligned and the moon passed by the earth in it's closest orbit in 18 years.  As you can see from the photos, it doesn't look like anything special, but it made for a very nice evening together!

SOLD!!

The house where we currently live has SOLD today!  Wow, we've been here for almost 3 years now, and have absolutely loved it.  It's been a very fruitful and blessed season for us here.  However, we feel that this move marks the beginning of a new season for us.  There are many things that we have been hoping to do for the past year or so, and we feel that this is a time of changes which will allow us to finally be able to do those!  One of those things is moving to a bigger home, with garden, and a more rural setting.  That is what we're looking for at the moment, and we are waiting to hear about one place which has everything we want.

We have a few months before we actually have to move on, so we have plenty of time to find something if our preferred property doesn't come through for us.

Ulf has also been offered a job painting (part-time hours), which he is considering.  It will mean different work hours (full days instead of half days), and possibly more pay, but nothing is certain at this stage.

So, there are many changes in store for us in the next few months!

To Byron Bay with Esther

A good friend of mine, Esther, was moving to Byron Bay, so I went with her to share the driving and be companionable...

 We saw lots and lots of this... from Melbourne to just south of Sydney, it all looks like this!

 Our first motel stopover - in Yass, after 588kms, several coffee breaks and many toilet stops!

 Forster at sunset - we reached our second overnight location after a further 593kms and a nice long stop at Campbelltown, just south of Sydney, where we hunted out a few bargains at some awesome op-shops!

 Morning of the third day - went for a morning swim at the ocean rock pool at Forster.  Lots of elderly folk in those parts...

Third day lunch pitstop at Saphire Beach, just north of Coffs Harbour... went for a cooling off dip in the warm, gentle waves!  This was my favourite stop of the whole trip.  It was so hot in the car, I just didn't want to get back into it!

 Some of the vegetation at Saphire Beach...

 Our first meal in Byron Bay!  After a further 579kms, we reached our destination and headed straight for Bay Lane, the best place to find good tucker in the Bay...

 My plate of shishkebab chicken, falafels, salad and various middle eastern sauces/dips.

 The ocean meets the rocks at Cape Byron.

 I've got a lighthouse on my head!  No, that's the lighthouse of Cape Byron, the most easterly point of Australia.  After a full-on hike up hill, we made it to the lighthouse and watched some turtles and a sting-ray play in the surf.

Minyon Falls, 27kms inland of Byron Bay... lovely!

We had a great time exploring Byron Bay, enjoying the beach and the interesting shops of this little tourist town.  I was very encouraged by a few old friends there, who prayed for me and generally encouraged me.  It was also a rather challenging trip for me, which I expected it to be, as I'm totally not used to being with another female 24/7!  But overall, it was a very good time with 'the girls'!