Christmas Time in Australia

Another Christmas has come and gone - but for us it didn't feel particularly Christmas-y this year. There was no snow, no bitter cold windchill, no slippery roads...Simply put, it just wasn't a Canadian Christmas. It was, however, a very traditional Aussie Christmas!  Keep reading to hear about how we went full-on Aussie with the rental of a cottage at a beach for the week.

The cottage we rented was located in the Hyams beach area of Jervis Bay. We really lucked out with our cottage as we were within 25m walking distance to a small, private beach called Chinaman's beach.

Chinaman's Beach

Chinamans Beach - Do you see Blair swimming out there?

We lucked out by having access to this smaller, more private beach as most of the crowds tended to be at Hyams Beach, an absolutely massive beach that runs along a large part of Jervis bay. Most of the crowds head to Hyams Beach (as opposed to the smaller Chinamans Beach) as it is home to the whitest sand in the world (according to the Guinness Book of Records).

Hyams Beach - lots of people!

While the weather wasn't perfect each and every day (Xmas day was a 'chilly' 21 degrees due to a cyclone out at sea), we had many days in the low 30s, so we were able to make the most of our visit to the coast.

Some of the locals showed up on Christmas Eve to build a not-so-traditional 'Sandman' -- or 'Sandwoman' we guess :).

'Sandwoman'

The cottage itself was very spacious and very relaxing! It had a full-sized kitchen, a huge living room, two bedrooms, and great upper balcony with a view of the water!

Our cottage for the week!

Lots of room!

Great kitchen

2 big bedrooms

Upper balcony with a view of the water!

All in all, it was a great Christmas week. Hopefully we can do it again next year when our family visits!

Christmas is coming?!?

Christmas is coming!  Christmas is coming?!?

Let us just come out and say it - It doesn't feel like Christmas to us.  At all.  The days are hot and the daylight hours are long. How can it possibly be Christmas time?

It's certainly not like we've never experienced warm and snow-less Christmases before. We've been fortunate enough to spend a Christmas in Florida, and we certainly had our fair share of green Christmases in Maryland.  But this year...it's different. We think it's due to a combination of things:

• Our Christmas in Florida was a getaway for a week. It was a temporary escape from the cold Canadian Christmas. In Oz, however, the days have been getting hotter and hotter since the beginning of October. We often find ourselves thinking that's it's July since it feels like the beginning of summer (as it should, we suppose, since it is indeed summer here). But no, it's not July - it's December and it's only 2 weeks until Christmas.
• The days are bright and long! Christmas, in our mind, is a dark but cozy time: The days are short, which allows you to enjoy colorful Christmas lights everywhere. This is definitely not the case here - it's still bright out at 9 pm, so we're missing all the Christmas light festivities.

Despite the fact that we're not feeling Christmas-y, we're still looking forward to the holidays. We've been told that a typical Aussie Christmas consists of having a BBQ while opening presents in your backyard (can you imagine?!), which is followed up by a game of cricket before everyone hops in the car to head to the beach.

Given that we're not huge fans of cricket (i.e. the most boring sport to ever exist), we've crossed that item off our list of Christmas must-do's (for this year, anyway!).  So how are the Foster's spending Christmas? Well, we've rented a cottage on the beach (Jervis Bay - Chinaman's/Hyams's Beach - which apparently holds the Guiness Book of World Records for the whitest sand in the world). We've been told that the cottage has a nice BBQ and backyard, so voila - all other Aussie traditions will be met!

Check out our cottage rental by clicking here: (Seahaven Cottage)

Chinaman's Beach - Our cottage is located by the grassy area at the left of the photo!

Feeling hot-hot-hot!

What can we say? We were warned that Canberra would get hot in the summer, and boy were they right!  The temperature has been in the 30's for several weeks now, and has only dropped into the high 20's a few times. The heat is dry though, so it's actually quite nice. In other words - we love it!  But we're also quite thankful for our air con! ;)

It's hard to believe that we've been here for 8.5 months already.  We really need the time to slow down! We spent the first third of our time in Australia getting settled, the second third of our time traveling outside of the country, and are now spending the most recent bit of time exploring things locally - as you may have seen on recent blog posts.

This past weekend, we visited the Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets. Why we haven't visited this place before, we have no idea!  We guess maybe we were comparing it to a few other markets we have visited in Canberra (the EPIC Market and the Old Bus Depot Market). Don't get us wrong - both of these markets were quite nice. The former being a typical farmer's market and the latter being more of a crafty market.

The Fyshwick market, however, beat the other two markets - hands down! You could easily spend hours there and not see everything. It had the standard farmer's market areas, but it also had a multitude of other specialty stores. We stopped at a butcher only to find real American-style bacon!  (You have no idea how happy we were to see this, as it's not something you can find in the supermarkets here.) Next up was a specialty pet store and a specialty beer store (we swear, there were thousands of different beers in this store that you could try individually). There was also several fish/seafood shops, a winery front, many restaurants, and a specialty store that sold some American treats that you just can't find anywhere else in Canberra.

All around - a great day at the markets!

Entry to the Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets - Christmas Time!!

Views of Canberra

Now that we're settled in our apartment, and have finished traveling the globe for a month or two, we have some spare time on our hands. With all the travel we've done lately, we decided it was high time to 'travel' around this new city we call home. So this past weekend, we decided to go out and enjoy a bit of Canberra's sites. In a previous post we mentioned a quick visit to the Black Mountain Tower - a visit that didn't have us going inside the tower because we had arrived at dusk. So we figured a return visit was in order.

The observation deck from the tower stands at about 880 meters above sea level and has some really great views. You can see *almost* the entire Territory (Australian Capital Territory, or ACT) from its decks. Certainly, you can see most of Canberra's suburbs from the tower - with the exception being that of Tuggeranong which is hidden behind the southern hills. This is quite a feat since Canberra is so widely spread out over such a large land mass (2,358 sq km, apparently). Anyways, here is a ~180 degree shot of Canberra and its lake from the top of the tower.

Canberra and Lake Burley Griffin

And here is a zoomed in view focused on the area where our apartment is.. which we've circled just for you. ;)

Our Apartment

After taking in the views from the tower, we decided to travel over to Mount Ainslie and take some pictures for comparison purposes. While not quite as spectacular, it's a great view considering that it's free! (Admission to the tower costs $7.50 per person). The War Memorial, Parliament, and City Center can all be seen in their entirety from Mount Ainslie.

War Memorial, Parliament, and City Center

The weather has been slowly getting hotter and hotter in Canberra. Our friends here keep warning us that the weather is not yet 'hot'. We're not sure how much hotter it can get given that it's been up in the mid-thirties already, but we've been assured that we're still in Spring and that Summer has yet to arrive. One of the things we do really love about the weather here is the fact that *almost* every day has skies that are clear and blue. Always so pretty!

Finally Settled

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. The month of October was pretty much a write-off for both of us. Blair was sent to New Zealand for a week, followed by a 3-week visit to Canada. Meanwhile, Stacy was heavily occupied at work, but was lucky enough to get a few visits in with friends/colleagues that were sent down our way for some work trips. We both really enjoyed seeing our friends and colleagues (it's hard to believe it had been 7.5 months since we'd last seen them).

So what's new?  Lots...but we'll split all the details up into several blog posts...starting with this one about an update on our living situation. ;)

As you already know, we've been slowly replacing furniture that was damaged during our move to Oz. Finally - after 8 months of being here - we can now say that we're settled (the last item we were waiting for was our couch set, and it finally arrived at the end of September). While Blair was away in Canada, Stacy took the opportunity to finish decorating the apartment. So, without further delay, here are the pictures we've been promising of our apartment! (See this older blog post for some before pictures)

Front Entry

Main Living Area

Kitchen / Dining Area

Office with a view of the Lake

Master Bedroom with separate balcony

All in all, it's a very cosy apartment and we enjoy coming home to it every day!

As for the fur babies...they seem to be enjoying their new home too. Here are a few pics to show what it's like living with these guys - I swear...these cats think everything in this place is their own!

Time to watch TV? No...we must be the center of attention!

Brady wants to play too!  (Thanks C&S for the game idea!)

Our view every morning - Cats waiting to be fed!

A magpie (evil Aussie bird) provides hours of entertainment

Bora-Bora

While we really enjoyed our time in Moorea and Tahiti, we were most excited about visiting Bora Bora. We had intentionally saved the best for last, and thankfully, the island didn't disappoint. :)


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We travelled from Moorea to Bora-Bora on Air Tahiti - a small domestic airline serving only the islands of French Polynesia (it's parent company is the larger Air Tahiti Nui). Our flight left mid-morning from Moorea airport -- a tiny airport without security / bag screening. It did, however, have many stray cats and roosters strolling around inside. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Anyways, within an hour of taking off from Moorea, we landed in Bora Bora! We were lucky enough to be on the left-hand side of the plane, so we had a great view of the island as we were arriving.

The airport in Bora Bora, although also really small, catered quite well to all of the tourists arriving. Each major hotel on the island had a booth and representative there to greet you with bottled water, a welcome package, and flower leis. The reps then led you around the corner to the boat docking area of the airport  where the hotels each had their own private boats waiting and ready for transport to the hotel. (The airport is on its own motu 'island', so boat transport was a must!).

Having our luggage loaded onto the hotel boat

Within a few minutes, our luggage was loaded onto the boat and we were on our way to our hotel - The Intercontinental Thalasso Resort & Spa. When we arrived at the resort, we were greeted like royalty with the blowing of a conch shell announcing our arrival, a shuttle driver, a bag porter, and drinks awaiting us. As for our first impression of the resort? Our research was spot on - this hotel really did have the best view of all hotels on the island and they really did treat you like royalty (though they really should given the price of the place!)

First view of our resort, taken from the boat upon arriving!

Arrival at the resort

Upon arrival, we found out that we had been given the overwater bungalow that we had requested - it was a 'Diamond' end of pontoon with perfect view of Mt Otemanu. It pays to be Ambassador Gold members!

Our bungalow!

There were a few bottles of champagne, a large bowl of fruit, and several snacks awaiting us in our room.  But we quickly forgot about these goodies once we saw the view! Needless to say, the first thing we did was headed outside to our deck and jumped right in! We then spent the next hour or two taking turns jumping off of our deck into the beautiful turquoise blue waters. It was so much fun!

Having fun!

Afterwards, we headed back to the main part of the resort (i.e. the land-based portion) and had lunch on the beach at their restaurant. They most expensive burgers of our lives, but we like to think that the view alone made up for the large dent in our wallets!

Lunch with a view!

The rest of our 4 days in Bora Bora were spent hanging out in our hut. We did order breakfast room service on our anniversary (which was delivered by canoe!), and also did some scuba diving with Manta rays.

Breakfast being delivered!

But the highlight of our visit to the island was doing a private helicopter tour. It was only a half hour long, and more expensive than most sane people would have spent, but we saw this as a once in a life time experience. Was it worth it? Absolutely!! We both had perma-smiles on our faces for the rest of the day, and it's something we'll never forget. Here are some of our photos from this day:

First time in a helicopter!

We decided to fly in style - with the door open!

Our resort...it really did have the best view of Mt Otemanu!

Our resort again - the water really is that beautiful!

View of our hut from the air (the bottom most left one)!

All in all, our trip to French Polynesia was a great experience and one we won't soon forget - Mauru'uru!

Moorea

After spending a few days relaxing (and practicing our French) in Tahiti, we woke up early on our 3rd morning to head to the Port of Papeete for our ferry ride to Moorea. We wanted to get to Moorea early in the morning so that we could spend the rest of the day sightseeing. Unfortunately this meant being at the port for 5:45 AM, but it was a great experience since the early ferry was full of locals heading over to Moorea to work for the day (Imagine having to take a ferry to work every day as part of your commute!)

Port in Papeete - Ferry arriving at dock

Once at the port, we checked our luggage, hopped on the ferry, grabbed a seat, and ordered some coffee and breakfast. An easy half hour later, we arrived in Moorea (there's only 10 miles between these two fantastic islands).  Departing the boat was just as easy - we walked off, picked up our awaiting luggage, and met our driver who was waiting to bring us to our hotel. This was a great way to save a few hundred dollars, instead of taking a flight between the two islands, as most tourists tend to do.

Ferry once docked in Moorea

We arrived at the hotel (The Hilton Moorea) close to 7 AM. Unfortunately, check-in didn't quite go as planned. We had spent a lot of time researching which room we wanted to book at this hotel (they had the choice between overwater bungalows, land bungalows, and two pool suites). We chose to book a pool suite in the end because a) we wanted to save the overwater bungalow experience for Bora Bora, and b) how cool would it be to have a massive bungalow with private pool to ourselves for a few days?

Upon arriving, however, we found out that both of the pool suites were accidentally booked our first night there. Instead, they were going to put us in their best overwater bungalow and provide us each with a free dinner at their restaurant that evening. Although we didn't want to have to bother moving rooms, it was a pretty sweet deal that we couldn't pass up. We received a free $300 meal, plus the overwater bungalow in Moorea was an experience we are glad we had. The water in Moorea is excellent for snorkeling - much different than the crystal clear water found in Bora Bora.

Our first over water bungalow!

After completing the check-in process, we hopped into our awaiting rental car and headed out to explore the island. According to what we had read, it would take anywhere from 2-3 hours to travel all the way around the island (with enough time to stop and take in the sights/shops along the way). We found it quite strange driving on the right-hand side of the road again, but after a few minutes we were back to being comfortable. Our first stop was the Belvedere Lookout. It was quite a steep, zig-zaggy drive up a mountain, but the lookout provided great views over Cook's bay and all mountains and craters of Moorea's volcano. Quite beautiful.

Fantastic view from Belvedere's Lookout

After our stop at Belvedere, we headed back down the mountain where we stopped at the Agricultural School which we had read served great coconut ice cream. We stopped in to sample it and also scored some great homemade banana-vanilla jam at the same time. We then hopped back into our car and continued to head counter-clockwise around the island, stopping to take in some of the views and shops as they came along. About 3 hours later, we arrived back at our hotel ready to enjoy the afternoon on the deck of our bungalow.

Great landscapes around the island

The Sofitel Hotel

We spent the afternoon snorkeling off of our dock, and then headed to our free dinner at the restaurant - which was fantastic. Around noon the next day, we packed up our luggage and awaited our move to the Pool Suite. Because the room only ended up being ready around 1 pm, we were offered another free dinner - this time to their Polynesian Buffet and Dance Show - for the inconvenience. Honestly, this hotel went above and beyond what was expected of them. We felt very welcome (most of the staff knew our names by day 2) and we would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Overwater bungalows!

Great view of the island and ocean

Snorkelling outside the bungalow

Anyways, we arrived at our Pool Suite around 1 PM - and wow...what a place. It was twice the size of the other bungalows and included its own bar and fully-stocked wine fridge, a nespresso machine and all you could drink coffee, 4 bathrooms, a living room, bedroom, ensuite, and fully-enclosed private pool with lounging deck. It was most definitely too large for just the two of us, but we quite enjoyed it. :-)

Pool Suite Bungalow

Private Pool!

Very luxurious!

Lots of space!

The rest of our time in Moorea was spent relaxing on our deck. We did go to the Polynesian Dance one night for dinner, and went to the hotel's overwater Crepes bar the other two nights for dinner. We particularly enjoyed the Crepes bar, as it attracted many black tip sharks swimming underneath the restantant each night, allowing guests to watch them while they ate.

Polynesian Dance ...

... Including a fire show!

Over water Crepe Bar 

Sharks hang out underneath the bar every night

After 4 days in Moorea, we packed up once again to head to our dream destination of Bora Bora. Stay tuned for our update on this magnificent island!