Well the time has come to explain myself, has it not. The shameful neglect of this ‘ere blog and of you too, dear reader.
In many respects not much changed whilst I was away:
A spot of garden visiting..
..in pursuit of the odd beautiful bloom.
There was rain (of course there was)..
but not enough to spoil a walk in the woods..
an occasional stroll on the beach..
or even a quiet afternoon drive..
errr..
Yes, there was certainly adventure..
and some burning of the midnight oil
Quite enough to wear a person out
Streuth mate, there were even critters helping themselves to the garden
Eat local, got to be done.
And there’s always room for a glass of something. Or should that be two?
As clues go it wasn’t much of a challenge was it.
So will you join me over the next few posts as we explore.. Australia? There might just be a tale to tell…
pin it?
Australia is my next big ambition! So, hoping you will give me some steers….
It’s a beautiful country. But definitely big! Even with six and a half weeks we barely scratched the surface.
Glad your back, it looks like an amazing trip looking forward to the next instalment
I really, really didn’t want to come home. It’s a fabulous place to go.
Can’t wait, looking forward to hearing all about it!
Just the first skim through the photos took me a day.. there’s some serious editing to do first!
Welcome back and I’m looking forward to hearing about your adventures!
Thanks TT. Holiday of a lifetime.
What a gorgeous adventure – and I look forward to more stunning images.
I bought a new camera for this trip. A bridge camera to give me a bit of zoom zoom. Really pleased with some of the shots.
Wow, I wondered where you’d gone – thought it might have been a pesky internet connection but, no, far more exciting. Tales from afar? Just what we need to cheer us through a wintry January! Welcome back, Jessica!
Thanks Caro. It seems to me unbelievable that we could get superfast internet in the middle of the outback.. and yet now that I’m home it feels like we’re back in the dark ages!
Yay! You’re back!
Thanks Charles. I wish it was a bit warmer though. 37 deg C to 37 deg F, in one day, hurts a bit!
This is you, Jessica – of course there’ll be a tale to tell! Can’t wait.
I do sometimes wonder why it always happens to us..
What a wonderful selection of photos ….. I trust there are a few more to show us 🙂
We took thousands, I need to whittle them down a bit! Thanks Sue.
definitely on my ‘bucket list’!!! can’t wait to travel with you!!!!
It’s still top of my bucket list. I’m busy working out how we can get back..
Looking forward to hearing about it….and seeing some fabulous photos. xxx
Thanks. I think I (we) took far too many photos. Thank goodness for digital.
And here was I thinking you had fallen foul of the blogging blues.
It’s a bit of a struggle to post in winter. It’s also the only time I can really get away, so works well.
Oh my, how FANTASTIC! That picture of the koala is divine. I am looking forward to hearing everything. Lovely to see Uluru, my partner climbed it many years ago when he was living in Alice Springs. CJ xx
We spent a couple of nights in Alice Springs. It wasn’t the most luxurious stop of the trip but it was probably one of the most interesting. We did the base walk around Uluru (12km!) and saw the climbing point. Not for the faint hearted!
First, I have missed you. You are part of my e-tribe, which is all ready small. Your not posting along with the disappearance of my Peacock Prairie friend have made my tribe tiny. Secondly, I am so happy to get to enjoy Australia. I have always wanted to go there and now I can enjoy it through your eyes vicariously. Don’t leave out any unusual plants. I will pretend I am Marianne North on a plant-finding adventure. Have fun. Do not injure that foot while on a walk-about with a wine glass.
I do have some plant pics but mostly NoID. The botanic gardens are not quite so fastidious as the English RHS when it comes to labels! And of course they’re mostly alien to me. I only wish I could grow some of them. I shall have to resort to google. It’s funny how much I missed the blog, it’s in my blood now.
Looks wonderful! Looking forward to reading more about your trip down under:)
Thanks Rosie. Exhausting but truly wonderful.
Looking forward to hearing more, and of course welcome home! x
You could have arranged for warmer weather Gill, it’s bloomin’ freezing down here! p.s. that witch hazel is looking marvellous. It was one of the first things I looked for when we got home x
G’day
G’day mate.
I am looking forward to that, I adore Australia, can’t get enough of it!
Me too. The government bond is a killer. If not for that I’d be moving for good.
Hi Jessica, so nice to see you posting again! I have never been to Australia and I am looking forward to seeing your photos of your trip. The ones that you have given us today are already spectacular. Love the bird with the blue neck. Any idea what it is called?
Warm regards,
Christina
The bird is a cassowary, a bit like an emu. It lives in the rainforest in the far north of Queensland and is sadly endangered as its habitat is disappearing. A beautiful bird, but just as testy as it looks.. there was a fence between us when I took the photo, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have been hanging around!
Glad to have you back, are you feeling the cold?
It’s bloomin’ freezing! -4 at Heathrow when we arrived back at 4.30 in the morning..
Welcome back, old bean. Looks like you had a jolly ticketty boo time! Marvellous.
Thanks mate. I have a photo of Bondi for Mrs Miggins. Complete with talent.
Welcome back, I’ve missed your posts. Sounds like you’ve been on quite an adventure.
It was certainly that. Catch up with you soon, hope you’re well x
Great to see you back, Jessica, and glad to see you’ve been having lots of fun down under in the sunshine.
Hi Kate! Yes, it was a welcome break from the English winter. But even in Australia the weather has been strange this year. They’ve had so much rain in the Northern Territory the Red Centre has gone green!
I did wonder where you had disappeared to. It sounds like you’ve had a wonderful adventure and I can’t wait to hear about it. Welcome home!
Thanks Gina. It’s so cold I’m comfort eating. Please send cake!
Well you have been having quite the set of adventures! Can’t wait to hear all about your time down under rusty possum style! Hope it was wonderful!!!
Possums are much bigger than I thought they were. And wombats for that matter..
And here I’ve been worried about you collapsing beneath the weight of wall plastering, roof repair, and who knows what with the heating systems… 😉 What a fabulous trip! Am looking forward to seeing more… Love that shot of the kangaroo, who seems a bit dubious about her portrait being taken.
The work has carried on without us.. definitely the best way! And I’ve come back with loads of ideas from uber chic Australian residences. I think the kangaroo was more dubious about being caught red pawed with plants in its mouth. They turned up around our holiday let every dawn and dusk. Great to see. Especially as it wasn’t my blooms they were eating.
So glad you are back. Good you had a fabulous time.
I wish I wasn’t back to be honest. But we did have a wonderful time. Thanks Jill.
Hello Jessica!
Nnnooo! I’m in Melbourne- I like to hear all about the UK!
Just joshing! It will be interesting to hear what you think about us! You have probably seen more of Australia, than me… for one thing, I’ve never been to Alice Springs. I hear there were water falls coming off Uluru after the recent rains…That would be a spectacular sight!
Anne-Marie.. hello and welcome!
There were mini waterfalls when we were there but two weeks earlier the national park had been closed after flooding. The walk around the base of the rock only re-opened three days before we did it. I couldn’t believe how green it was. I kind of expected the red centre to be a desert. They were saying it’s a 1 in 50 or even 1 in 100 year event.
I am so jealous, I would love to live in Australia. It’s a fabulous country and everyone is so friendly!
I look forward to experiencing Australia through your eyes and lens! I often dream of spending six weeks in Aussie land (Vegemite excepted).
Vegemite is quite nice. But Marmite is better. Thanks Hoov.
that beady stare from the electrifying cassowary, is quite startling when I expect peaceful rusty ducks …
You wouldn’t want to meet one on a dark night. I was desperate to see one in the wild but sadly it was not to be. They are so rare now. We only saw them in wildlife parks in pens that were far too small. Heartbreaking.
Good to see you back Jessica. I was beginning to think of launching a search party. It sounds and looks as if you have had a most memorable holiday. I’m looking forward to hearing more about it.
Aaah, you’ll always find me back before the snowdrops come out. Even if it is a tad chilly. It’s taking a bit of getting used to!
I look forward to seeing Australia through your eyes, Jessica! After all, some of my favorite plants come from there. Maybe I’ll find some new genera or species that wants to relocate to Southern California in your posts.
You’ve a better chance than me Kris. We came home to sub zero temperatures, the contrast couldn’t have been greater.
I have never visited Australia and it is our aim to do so in 2018. Your wonderful photographic tour inspires me. Of all the photographs, the cassowary is the most striking in my ever so ‘umble opinion. Is this not the most dangerous bird to see eye to lens? Very beautiful however.
Hi Ian and welcome!
True, it’s not known as the friendliest bird on the planet. But I do have a sneaky affection for them and would have loved to see one in the wild. These days feeding them is discouraged so they are rarely seen. We went to all the most promising spots but to no avail.
Yay! You’re back! I was fearing you had fallen down the precipitous bank, or got plastered into a secret fireplace!! Bet the wildlife is glad to see you too… or at least glad to have you supplying the bird-table again!
We deliberately didn’t start feeding the birds as we would normally do last autumn. Better that than leave them high and dry in the middle of winter when they were most at need. So we must start them off again. The robin is still around but otherwise it’s very quiet. He perched on my study windowsill briefly yesterday as if to say “Come on, get on with it.” On the plus side, no squirrels either!
I loved my taste of Antipodean life. New Zealand is in our future for sure if we get the chance.
It is so lovely to see you back Jessica – I had the feeling that you must have gone ‘walkabout’. I love forward to seeing your photos – I have never been to that part of the world – I am always hesitant due to the length of the flight.
Thanks Rosemary. The flight is the hard bit, it feels never ending. I spent a lot of time watching the map on the in flight entertainment screen to see where we were and it seemed progress was interminably slow. Hardly any jet lag on arrival but it’s caught up with us big time now.
Lucky you, what an adventure. I wondered what you were up to. Nice to have you back and look forward to reading all about your trip.
It’s taking a bit of adjustment, being back. It would be nice if someone could tweak the temperature dial up a bit.
So looking forward to it! What a wonderful time to escape. And six weeks…wow!
Six weeks seemed such a long time at the start, but it’s rocketed past!
I’m happy to see that your blog-away time wasn’t spent in jail or a kidnapping. Australia!! Your photos are amazing and have fully whetted my appetite for more posts. I hope that is a plane cockpit photo and that you went skydiving. Maybe? Welcome back to blog land.
It is a plane cockpit picture but no skydiving! Something far more sedate. We did do a lot of walking though, or hill climbing might be a better description. Hopefully we’ve returned a bit fitter than when we left. Thanks Brenda.
Looks like you had some some fun. Back to the damp and cold now!
Yes, I’d noticed the damp and cold! First inspection suggests that it’s been quite wet in our absence. No doubt I will find out how wet when I put a boot on the soil.
Outstanding and amazing! I’m excited for you and looking forward to the posts.
Getting away from winter was the biggest pull for me, I know you’ll understand that sentiment! It wasn’t always as warm as I’d have liked but a considerable improvement on here.
Wow! I can’t wait to read more.
Of course, I could always have come to Texas to keep warm! Thanks Dorothy.
What an adventure, can’t wait to read about it.
Definitely an adventure. And one now greatly missed. I shall just have to relive it through the posts. Thanks Linda.
I think we are all relieved that this is the reason for your long absence – must have been a wrench to leave the homestead for such a long time, but such fun rediscovering it now you are back!
The wrench was in leaving Australia, especially to come back to this cold and miserable weather. Hard to believe just a few days ago it was 37C. But I’m sure I will settle back soon enough. The witch hazels are helping!
Welcome home. I’m so pleased. Looking forward to the Aussie adventures. J
Thanks Jackie. It’s a good time to be away, when there’s not much gardening to be done.
Fantastic Jessica, oh so looking forward to hearing about all your travels. Looks like an anazing trip from your photos already. Bet it was nice to get home as well though.
It was nice to be able to put the suitcase away for a bit and tip most of the contents straight into the washing basket to be sorted out! The trouble with touring is all the packing and unpacking and I was getting bored with that.
Hi Jessica!
WOW!!! Enjoy…
Cheers!
Linda :o)
I did enjoy! Just wish I could do it all again.
Welcome back – good to see you again. Looks like you had a fantastic trip and I look forward to seeing more photos. I can thoroughly recommend N.Z as well – one of the places I would love to visit again.
Thanks Sue. NZ is definitely on the list for next time, stunning scenery down south. And no crocs or snakes!
Big yes! Have actually read your post the moment the link appeared on FB, sorry for the delayed reply 🙂
No worries! Looking forward to hearing more about Japan too..
I wondered where you’d disappeared to, now I know. Can’t wait to hear all about it. I absolutely love that photo of the koala, awwww.
The card from my camera is full of koalas, I couldn’t stop taking photos of them. They are just as cute as I’d expected them to be.
I’m very much looking forward to hearing about your Ozzie travels. I’m also happy to say that we’re moving to Devon at the moment, and would love to hear which gardens you’d most recommend visiting 🙂
Welcome back!
Whoo hoo! Where in Devon? I’d be happy to recommend gardens and there are plenty. I’ll email you (remind me if I forget).
We’ll be in Exeter, (hopefully) embracing a bit of city life, though our plans seem to involve spending weekends on Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Coast Path… 🙂
That sounds wonderful. There are so many great places for walking down here, as well as beautiful gardens. We must compare notes!
G’DAY Jessica! I’m with Mark and Gaz. Got super excited reading your post in the car as soon as you published it, but couldn’t quite cope with responding on my phone. Your photos are amazing, although did make me super envious and a little sad of what we have left behind. But I can’t wait to hear more. I’m so in love with that country. Just thrilled you seem to love it just as much as I do (you’ve looked into government bonds??!). Roll on the next post!
I’d move tomorrow if we could. I’d looked up the ‘retirement’ visa and the requirement to purchase a substantial number of government bonds! We met people out there who’d emigrated years ago (for about 20 quid) and none of them seemed to regret it.
Oh wow, so looking forward to reading about your adventures!
Thanks Caroline, it’s been fun going through the photos. Just wish we were back at the start of it all again.
I’m waiting with bated breath to see if my home state of Tasmania featured in your Australian travels, it tended to fall off the bottom of the map until MONA came along. The Alice Springs landscape is stunning, the combination of coral red earth with jade eucalyptus and glaucus grasses, so beautiful
Hi Susan and welcome!
There were so many places I wanted to go but even with six and a half weeks it’s impossible to get everywhere. Tasmania was on the early list, Melbourne and the Ocean Road, Perth and up to the Top End. In the end, to reduce travel time and flights, we decided to concentrate on the upper east half of the mainland and save the rest for a later trip. But having fallen in love with the country one thing is for sure.. there WILL be a later trip!
It looks fabulous I am looking forward to hearing more about your adventure 🙂
Thanks Cherie. It was fabulous, a brilliant holiday destination.
Looking forward to seeing how you found Oz. It must have been so hot when you were there. How did you cope?
I loved it! The country and the heat. I’d much rather be too hot than too cold. The weather has been iffy in Australia this year and in places it was actually quite cool. In the outback we just took a siesta approach. Most of the hotel run activities started very early.. 5.00 a.m. (!), then we relaxed through the hottest part of the day and hit the road again once it started to cool down.
It is so good to read your posts again and I look forward to all the tales of your adventures. The photos are marvelous.
Thanks Cheryl, good to have you back.
Looking good, Jessica. Made me smile – and excellent photos (as usual).
Thanks Mike.
I’m happy for you that you had a grand adventure and happy for us that we get to read about it here. I’ve never been to Australia but very much admire their native flora, much of which is well suited to our own climate. Looking forward to more posts!
It’s such a huge and diverse country and a great experience to be able to see such contrasting areas, from the south right up to the tropics. I saw many plants that I grow at home, although mostly those that I grow as houseplants!
An amazingly diverse country !
Love that you are sharing it with us….
~Jo
It really is. But then when it takes four hours to fly from one coast to the other there are going to be plenty of different things to see. Thanks Jo.