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| The private swimming pool for our exclusive use. |
After days of preparation to leave Hawaii, constant activities on the ship over 17 days and nights, 22 hour time changes and now getting settled into our new home in Trinity Beach, Australia, we’re particularly pleased to have slowed down the pace a little.
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| The side yard off the kitchen. |
Today, we’ll complete washing and drying the seven loads of laundry we created after unpacking. With all the germs on the ship and many passengers very sick, we’ve decided to wash just about everything we own.
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| Beautiful fern inside yard. |
We’ve yet to go and do the major grocery shopping instead of picking up enough bottled water and food to get us through the next several days. By Monday (it’s Saturday today), we’ll return to the nearby Smithfield Shopping Center, one of the most comprehensive malls we’ve seen in years.
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| This lime is growing in a pot on the veranda, almost ripe for the picking. |
Before arriving in Australia we speculated that it may be hard to find certain ingredients and products we frequently use. Ha! There is as much abundance here in Trinity Beach, a cozy resort town, that we’ve seen in major cities throughout the world. We’re impressed and in awe, to say the least.
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| Familiar Hibiscus found in most tropical climates. |
The Aussies have it all figured out. In their relatively low population (23.6 million) continent compared to many other parts of the world, these resourceful people have adopted a modern-day lifestyle that can hardly be matched.
As for our new home, it has it all; working, albeit slow wifi, cable TV, modern kitchen appliances (no dishwasher), lovely décor, and a view that takes our breath away. Sure, some things are missing, one, in particular, that makes life particularly challenging for me…no screens on the windows.
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| Yellow Daffodils. |
And, yes, at the moment, I have no less than a dozen mozzie bites, red, inflamed, and swollen. But, as of today I’m back to wearing repellent around the clock and have learned my lesson about not doing so, once and for all. Tom, as always, is exempt from bites for whatever reason.
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| The gazebo by the pool. |
The shower and bathroom are superior. There are powerful ceiling fans in each room and we have plenty of closet space. Oddly, there are no empty cupboards for storing food so where we’ll put grocery baffles me at the moment. Otherwise, the cupboards are filled with nice pots, pans, cooking utensils, and dishes.
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| Fence required to enclose the pool area. |
The refrigerator and freezer are tiny making grocery shopping necessary two to three times per week. There are one miniature ice cube tray and we Americans like our ice. Soon, we’ll purchase a few more ice cube trays forfeiting much-needed freezer space.
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| More Hibiscus. |
There’s no coffee pot although there’s a teapot. In Hawaii, we had to purchase a teapot. Here, we’ll purchase a coffee pot, the cheapest we can find to use and leave behind in 85 days.
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| Our exclusive use hot tub. |
The lovely owners, Sylvie and Andy rousted up a few good beach chairs for us and when the skies clear, we may venture down the steep steps to the pool or simply lounge on our veranda for the most amazing views we could imagine.
The comfortable bed, covers, and powerful ceiling fan have allowed us to sleep well these past two nights for which we’re very grateful. At the moment, Tom is sitting at the outdoor table and chairs enjoying his favorite US radio show, Garage Logic, and the views while I stay indoors away from the mosquitos. Once the cloudy skies are replaced by less humid sun, I’ll certainly be able to spend plenty of time outdoors as well.
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| Long vines hanging from the trees. We’ve begun watching for wildlife which is abundant in the area. |
Now, back to the piles of laundry. By next week, we’ll start venturing out to check out the beach and this beautiful area we’ve joyfully landed in here in Australia.
Photo from one year ago today, June 13, 2014:
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| What a view, one year ago today, from our veranda in Madeira, Portugal. Surely, we’ll have equally amazing views here in Trinity Beach over these next many months. For more photos, please click here. |