Coffs Harbour I

25-28 February 2007

It seems pretty apt to end the summer holidays with a trip up to Coffs Harbour (1st March marks the start of Autumn). And a long and ardous 8.5 hour journey ride up north via the train it was, as Coffs Harbour is actually situated nearer to Queensland Brisbane than Sydney.

We thought that Coffs Harbour being a place with beaches, we would be able to see scenes of the ocean beside us during the train journey, only to be disappointed that all we ever saw were farms, farms and more farms, with their sheeps, horses and cows. And as you can see from the pictures, gloomy skies as ever. I realise that every time when I go on a trip, the skies would always be unfriendy to me…

Finally, we arrived at our destination, Coffs Harbour station. And with half the day already gone, all we did was orientate ourselves to the area after checking into our hostel, and planning for our walking path around the area for the next few days.

First up on the touring agenda the next morning was the Big Banana. And yes, when I say banana, I mean that elongated yellow fruit.

I am not sure why they have such a name for an attraction, but yea, it was quite a place, for they had banana plantations, toboggan rides, a nature walk and lookout, a candy shop, and a puzzle shop.

They had a little bridge-lookalike structure as well, so I was trying to get an abstract shot of it.

On the left is the entrance to the attraction, while on the right is the walkway up to the scenic lookout, with lots of banana trees surrounding us. Although the latter was closed, we still were able to catch quite a lovely view of the place from an almost bird’s eye point of view.

And with it being a banana place, of course I had to have a banana split before leaving the place, hahaha =) Yummy!!

Along the way back to civilisation as the Big Banana was along the highway (where we had to run across to prevent being knocked down by oncoming speeding vehicles), I spotted a butterfly resting on a plant. So, this is the very first time that I took a picture of a butterfly in the wild. It sure was a patience-testing task, as I waited pretty long for the butterfly to open up its wings. In the end, I gave up, and out came the shot with its wings folded as seen above.

Here are the scenes of the area while we were trekking beside the Pacific Highway, aka their expressway.

We made our way to the visitor information centre after that, hoping that through them, we would be able to get a day tour to bring us to Bellingen and Dorrigo. Alas, even when we got there, all tours were not in operation, which means that we would have to entertain ourselves for the nest few days! Tis truly a little regret on my part, for I really wished that I could have toured Bellingen and Dorrigo. Nonetheless, we came up with a Plan B, and went on with our walking tour of the place.

That’s when we chanced upon this place. They called it Solitary Island Marine Park. But it looked more like a swampy area than a marine park. It was then that we realised that they had many places being called Solitary Island Marine Park! Quite a bewildering thought…

And before we knew it, we reached the Promenade. It is supposed to be a place of shopping and dining. But when we went there, we found out that you can finish touring the place in 5 minutes, as it was really a very small area, with exorbitant prices for clothes and food.

Still I got a lovely snap of tranquility from the Promenade despite its low excitement value.

It was more walking in the blazing hot sun before we finally reached Jetty Beach and the Historic Jetty. Before that, we caught sight of Park Beach, where we also took some pictures. But that was to be explored on the next day.

Anyway, I was hoping that somehow, I would be able to catch the area during sunset, which would give me a different set of pictures altogether (I was getting a little tired of having day pictures only). But as luck would have it, I reached the place at about 3pm, and we were just too lazy to hang around for another 5 hours for sunset. So, make do with day pictures, I have to.

Jetty Beach and the Historic Jetty

Under the jetty

And the scene of the city from the jetty

As usual, we had our fair share of photo-whoring =)

At last, off we went for our much needed rest for the day. In fact, we were so tired, we slept at 8 plus at night. The blazing sun somehow sucked up our energy that we all felt exhausted. What’s more interesting was that we did not even have to go to the beach get a tan, for just walking under the sun got us brown and crisp. Imagine what the next day at the beach would do to us!

Coffs Harbour Here I Come!!

A little trip up north before the semester starts once again.

With: My housemates Kay Sing and Yingying
When: 25th – 28th February

Meanwhile, pardon my absence during this period of time, though I’m sure you’ll be treated to photos when I get back =) Cheers!

Lara

The past 3 weeks have been a good experience for me. Being attached to the HIV/Haematology Occupational Therapy department of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, as much as it was an acute setting, the pace and style of working here in Australia is indeed very different from Singapore’s. Over here is not so much about meeting statistics, but more of the quality of care that we can provide for the clients, while also tackling issues like Safe Work Practises and Quality Improvement. It’s not all about clinical time, but also administration hours, of which is part of your 8am-4.30pm working routine. Besides, there are also times when you drive out to other hospitals or organisations where you have your network meetings, focus groups etc, all of which are part of your job scope.

Anyway, while tomorrow is the official last day of my 3 week placement, today was my supervisor’s last day before she heads off on her week long holiday. So this entry is dedicated to my wonderful supervisor, Lara, who was not only a really nice and lovely lady, but also a patient person who helped me improve my skills as a therapist.

She’s truly a personification of ‘Sunshine Girl’, always smiling, courteous and sincerely generous. I wish her all the best in her future, as well as have a wonderful time during her holiday. Cheers mate!

Happy Lunar New Year!

Gung hey faat choi!!

The year of the Pig is here! And according to the cycle, 2007 is the year of the Pig ascribed with the element of fire. A nice festive cheer of prosperity don’t you think? But that also means that it will be only one more year before I hit the big 24. Time sure passes quickly…

Anyway, this is something that I got from Chinese Horoscopes:

The Pig is a fun and enlightening personality blessed with patience and understanding. People born under the sign of the Pig enjoy life and all it has to offer, including family and friends. They are honest and thoughtful and expect the same of other people. Pigs can be perceived as oblivious or gullible because they do care about others so much that they will do just about anything for a friend in need.

I thought that the above might be something interesting to share with you guys =) The website has a lot more information too, from ‘East Meets West’ Pigs to the various characteristics of Pigs, be it in health, business, love etc. Not that I’m into such subjects, but they do make interesting reads when you have time to kill.

My housemates and I decided to head to Chinatown to get a feel of the festive season in Sydney. And even though it is of a smaller scale as compared to Singapore, it was still pretty crowded.

As usual, the place is always decked out in red.

I miss the festive season so much… The food, the cheer, the people…

Anyway, with it being Chinese New Year Eve when we went out, we decided to treat ourselves by indulging in a steamboat session.

Bon appétit! And once again, happy lunar new year, especially to the piggies!

Music by Moonlight

The Sydney Symphony celebrated its 75th year by performing at Sydney Olympic Park on a February Friday. Showcasing a full orchestra, which included the Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion and a Harp, soundtracks of famous movies like Breakfast at Tiffany were played, much to the delight of the audiences. Not only that, they performed the tunes of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, while a lady narrated the romantic story.

Having grown up with Disney’s Swan Lake (the cartoon), I never knew that the lovers of the original Swan Lake story died together by drowning themselves in the lake in order to escape from the evil wizard. I guess it’s pretty much like ‘The Little Mermaid’ story where in the original tale, Ariel turned into bubbles, while in the Disney cartoon, she married the handsome Prince.

So with that, I think I shall stick to the Disney stories, for they have much nicer endings – Happily Ever After =)