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Fearless Silvia in the double kayak at South Head

Going for a swim. On 9. January we struggle to get out of bed very early: At 6:15am Silvia will be waiting at our frontdoor, at 7am we are expected to be ready to launch at Clontarf Beach. We had hoped for no wind and calm sea conditions. However, a strong breeze and rough seas are reality. Rain, clouds, sunshine, southerly winds, we get them all on our way around South Head. Silvia "buddies up" with Kevin in the double kayak. But Sue and Peter look a bit apprehensive and tippy in their boats. The head wind challenges Sue, and we decide to return back into the Harbour. But now the following waves and seas are troubling Peter. A high wave catches him from the side, he tries to stabilise in the wrong manner, and out of a sudden finds himself hanging in his kayak upside down. Silvia gets a surge of adrenalin: It's the first time for her in a kayak on the open ocean, and here is Peter swimming next to his boat! We easily get him back into the kayak again, however, now Sue and him are even more nervous than before. Just between the heads he repeats the whole exercise and capsizes again. But in the meantime Silvia has gained confidence and experience and knows how to rescue him. Finally, we are back in the Harbour's sheltered water. At Quarantine Beach we all go for a swim. The water is beautifully warm. Maybe this is the real reason why Peter wanted to test it before?

Blow Fly and Koala

The Great North Walk. After doing the Overland track in December we are addicted: Bush walking in Australia is a great — and dry! — experience. After a long period of high temperatures the weather forecast for 16. January is 35 knots of wind and temperatures cooling down. Hence, we stay clear of the water and start with the first section of one of our goals to be achieved in 2005: The Great Norht Walk connects Sydney and Newcastle along a 250 kilometres track. We start in the city, more precisely: at our Birchgrove ferry wharf, and cross the harbour to Woolwich wharf. 9.5 hours later we arrive in Thornleigh and take the train back home. In between there are 27 kilometres of walking tracks through the Lane Cove National Park wilderness, a lunch break at Claudia's favourite Kookaburra kiosk (unfortunately, they do not offer the Kookaburra burger any more and have replaced it with Chicken burger...), lots of chocolate bars, and litres of liquid to prevent us from heat stroke, because the weather change lets us down: The whole day we have temperatures in the high 30s...

That much fruit must be healthy!

Traditional "Feuerzangenbowle". Even in Australia it's January, and January is...? Right, time to have a traditional Feuerzangenbowle (i.e., red wine punch with rum which has been flamed off). While the year before the inaugural event took place in August (see our corresponding monthly report, this time all German expats had to wait a long period of pregnancy for the repetition. No wonder everybody is thirsty, and it doesn't take long for two sugarloafs and a bit of liquid to disappear. Especially, sonce Irina after a long time of renunciation and abstinence finally does not have to cut down any more. A huge thank-you to her and Matthias for a very special evening and a great BBQ as "foundation".

Dusk on Sydney Harbour

Paddling I. While talking about tradition: Thursday got established as the day when Claudia and Kevin go for a nicht paddle. And this month Peter and some of our kayaking fellows join in for the first time. Especially remarkable is 27. January: After we have crossed Manly bay coming from Clontarf Beach and heading towards the harbour exit, two sharks cross our way. The first time that we spot "real" ones (not Hammerhead of Port Jacksons as we had them before). It's like in your wildest dreams: Two triangular fins crisscrossing the water right at the surface (BTW: A major difference between them and dolphines who would dive and surface again and again). But something is different from what we expected: Rather than paddling away and bringing some distance (and other kayaks) between oneself and the sharks, everybody paddles towards the fins to have a closer look. Our sharks are small, approx. 1.5 to 2 metres long, stunning and grand. On our way back into the harbour we have a view like on the photo above: The ripples on the water echo the gold of the sunset, and everything is incredibly placit.

Feeding the fish at Fly Point

Paddling II. On the last January weekend we are heading towards Port Stephens. Right now in the middle of summer the water is beautifully warm. We spot two dolphins, two Hammerhead sharks, even a Loggerhead turtle. We paddle through mangrove forests and muck about with exciting phenomena of the strong currents. On this weekend there is a tremendous southeasterly swell, and the coastguard reports the highest surf accident numbers ever. The outgoing tide meets this swell at the entrance of Port Stephens resulting in towering waves of up to four metres all across the stretch between the headlands. Entrance into or exit from the bay is next to impossible. But in the harbour itself it's calm. We take our old bread and go (i.e., paddle) for a lunch break to Fly Point, a marine park. Thousands of fish surround us, and it's like having fallen into Sydney Aquarium, absolutely surreal.