heinpit.de

Life saver boat in Clovelly

Snorkelling. Australia's coastline is more than 35,000 km long, and almost 60,000, if the islands are considered as well. A lot of room for a bit more than 20 million people. Hence, there is absolutely no need to reserve your spot with a towel before breakfast :-) Of course in Sydney with its 4 million population the situation is different. But even here you can easily find crystal clear water. Clovelly Beach is such a spot, the bay being narrow and secluded. A reef at its entrance ensures that the water stays relatively calm and sheltered: A perfect spot for snorkelling! On a Saturday we catch up with the "Brownies" Irina, Matthias, Maya, and Max, as well as Andrea and Ingo. But of course it's not the physical exercise which is in the centre of our attention. Rather it's chatting and a picnic. But eventually we hop into the water, and the famous Blue Groper fish approach us as close as a few centimetres. Fascinating!

Before renovations...

...and 8 weeks later.

First room renovation completed. Such a big house keeps you quite busy! Around Christmas we had started to rejuvenate our new home. Step by step the touch of the 70's is going to disappear and being replaced by modified floorplans, fresh colours, new lights. The living room is the first one to be addressed — hmm, actually it's the second one, but the first room only got painted which doesn't really count —, see our monthly report December 2005. 8 Weeks later, and we proudly can announce that timber walls are gone and replaced by plasterboard, that two new windows have been constructed — one as a pass-through between kitchen and dining room, one as a feature window with spotlight —, two doors including their frames have disappeared, lights been pulled out, the remaining holes been patched, ceilings, walls, timber beams, and skirting boards have freshly been painted. However, this modern appearance is a bit spoiled now by the unsightly air condition. The polished copper fireplace doesn't fit any more, neither does our glass cabinet. Hence, this episode should rather be titled, First room renovation almost completed. But more about this in a later report.

A bit of everything: During and after the race.

Kayak race for WaterAid Australia. On February 12th we are sweating for a good cause: A friend of us has organised a kayak race and donates all revenues to water extraction projects in Africa. The sun is shining, we happily pay the entry fee and hop into our boats. The 10.5 kilometres long return course leads us through Middle Harbour. That's where the famous and the rich have their properties directly on the water with own boat moorings. Thus, our race rather resembles a house inspection tour. Both of us are competing in the same starter group, and we stay together until shortly before the finishing line where Claudia wins the sprint. If only she had worn her life jacket, she would have won the overall competition, compare the external WaterAid web site. Instead she gets disqualified. Anyway, that doesn't really matter. It's more important that Claudia proves to be fit for paddling. But more about this in our next report.

New for old: The rooster (2005) gets replaced by the dog (2006).

Chinese New Year. While Claudia spends another day — guess what... — kayaking Peter decides to pursue another leisure activity. Chinese New Year celebrations are a welcome opportunity to grab the camera and go hunting colours. The whole festival is on for more than a week; but the highlight is arguably the parade in Sydney's city centre. Many carriages reflect Peking's upcoming role as host of the 2008 Olympics. But traditional costumes and arts are still in the limelight: Be it acrobatics or walking on stilts performed to perfection by school kids. Which year we are writing, dog, rabbit, rooster, dragon — at the end Peter doesn't really care ...