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October has come and gone being rather uneventful. The continued lockdown which started to be lifted at the end of the month only meant that we did not stray too far. Instead we stayed around the home enjoying the start of spring; birds and bees have become much more active, the lemon tree shows a promising harvest and the Honeyeaters have become very active. We have a lot of them around and hear their distinct calls on a regular basis.
Christy did a fantastic job on my hear. Lockdown has also meant that there are no barbers open. So Christy has de-developed a talent from her young age and cut hear for the family.
Thomas has been spending some time to practice flying his new drone - the pictures show the Oakleigh (old settlers) cemetery and the house we currently live in from above.
(click on individual pictures to download or see higher resolution images)
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Hard to believe but not only November has gone by but we are almost at the end of December as I write this post.
Let's rewind to the beginning of November. Melbourne has still been in lockdown. We recognize that the end of it is coming as the vaccination rates increase and head towards 90% fully vaccinated. At this time, only the vaccinated have access to some services and retail.
The highlight of the month was Sydney's school camp (Hartzer) that finally took place. She spent three weeks in Beechworth (VIC) with her class. There she a chance to learn while away from the regular school operations, become more independent etc. The camp got changed, from NSW to VIC and from 4 week to 3 weeks as a consequence of the ongoing COVID pandemic. Christy, Coco and Thomas visited her on the second weekend. We drove up on Fri night and stayed on a farm with the dog. Sat and Sunday we had perfect weather and visited Sydney. It was great for all of us.
Some of the pictures from the weekend as well as pictures taken and published by teachers can be found below
(click on individual pictures to download or see higher resolution images)
Of course, the drone had to come along. I took some shots from our Sunday excursion to the Woolshed Falls. (Still not stabilized ... but the flick shows the how nice the place is.)
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Sydney got to go to a one night camp with our church youth group. Since the owner of the camp site was one of Thomas' best buddies he went along and visited.
(click on individual pictures to download or see higher resolution images)
The night was rough with gusty winds exceeding 30km/h. Luckily the tents were built well and withstood the wind. Thomas decided to sleep in a hammock which just swung around but provided a wonderful view of the stars in the sky. Being well out of town reduced background lights and we also had a clear sky.
The next morning was warm and after a short bushwalk (uphill) Harri used his drone to take some good group shots and movies.
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After many months in Victoria with no break from work we decided to spend the Christmas/New Year Season in Queensland. The uncertainties of the COVID19 situation and the lack of care for our dog Coco meant, that we decided to drive up the pacific highway to Brisbane on the 19th. We had a great plan that would have seen as drive to Sydney and stay there for two days. Christy had organised the accommodation and we were all ready. As so often these days this plan had to be changed and adjusted. On the 18th we learned of new COVID19 cases in the Sydney area. As there was a risk of the QLD borders closing on us, we decided to drive on the 18th, a day earlier than planned and do so without stopping over in Sydney. In addition we also chose to drive through the inland (not on the pacific highway), as this border would be closed later than the direct connection from Sydney.
Having worked long hours the weeks before the break, Thomas was tired and Christy did most of the long drive. Some 23h later, with several stops to fuel up and and two quick stops for power naps we were in Brisbane. Cross the border was uneventful. No checks, nothing. We were tired, but grateful for Summer opening up her home for us.
(click on individual pictures to download or see higher resolution images)
Christy celebrated her birthday with family. After a high team with her mom and summer we had dinner at one of her favorite places, an Indian restaurant in Brisbane. Leah and Tyler attended this one.
The next day we moved to an apartment in Brisbane that Christy had organised for us. We stayed right next to the Story bridge and had a great view onto the Brisbane river in a central location. We had a great time and celebrated two Tyler's birthday there. He stayed with us for two nights before we all went to Summer and Jay's for Christmas.
The way back was no different. We heard that the borders to Victoria would be closing on 1 January 23:59. A hard lock down seemed to be in the cards. We did not really want to risk being stuck in NSW (i.e. not being able to go into Victoria but also being rejected by Queensland). So we packed up and rapidly traveled the 1,800km home again. This time, Thomas was driving more and we chose an easier route following the A39 (see below). Some 22h later we made it back home and were super tired. First year in many, many years that we had not celebrated on New Year's Eve. Instead we continued driving, again few stops to refuel and 2 catnap stops. Upon entering Victoria there was about 1h delay to get through checks.
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On the 30th we drove up from Brisbane to Maroochydore to visit Jill. The intent was to meet up with the rest of the family and enjoy the Sunshine Coast. For various reasons Jill (and Asha) drove back to Bribie Island, where Jill lives.
(click on individual pictures to download or see higher resolution images)
We enjoyed the day and had booked dinner with the Whatleys in the Maroochydore RSL. It was good! We enjoyed their company and got a good nights sleep. The next day we all made it to the beach and got to dip in the warm (albeit rough) ocean. We loved it.
Shortly after having returned to the apartment we learned about the impending border closure by Victoria and hence had to leave in a hurry.