This month Laura has graciously allowed me to put down my razor so that I can let my inner Magnum P.I. out and grow a Mo (moustache) for Movember. Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache,
highlighting men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer and
depression in men. It's actually somewhat of a big deal here and pretty amusing to see all the mos that have started to appear around the city recently.
I put together a time lapse compilation for you to enjoy, and if you want to learn more or sponsor my Mo you can visit http://au.movember.com/mospace/201317/ . If I raise enough money it might even warrant Mocember, although I think Laura might have something to say about that.
Over the weekend I had the opportunity to take an overnight offshore sailing course in Sydney. I decided to do it both as a way to get out on the water as well as to brush up on my skills. During the trip we had some good parts and some bad parts. The bad part was the lack of wind (5-10kts) and low seas (1-2m) which didn't really give me much of an adventure on the open ocean...
Now for the good stuff (which was everything else)...Mild wind/seas were the result of a high pressure system which meant sunshine and 70+ degree weather. Not bad to be able to sail in the dead of winter in shorts/t-shirt. We headed out on a 40ft. Beneteau which gave me some good experience on a bigger boat. The instruction was a great success, I had a chance to iron out some bad habits that Kevin and I had inevitably picked up over the last few years in SF. I learned some new things about navigation, especially at night, as a bonus we were able to see meteors, an offshore lighning storm and glowing bioluminescent plankton. The plankton were incredible to see glowing as the boat churned up water (click here to see a youtube video - ours wasn't quite this dramatic but looked similar) We also moored overnight, so I picked up some new tips for mooring/cooking/cleaning, etc. Coincidentally, the bay that we moored in was at the head of the hawkesbury river about 2 miles away from where we took a trip on the Riverboat Postman.
The highlights came on Sunday during the ride home. After waking up in the middle of a nature reserve with a waterfall at the end of the bay, we took care of some anchoring practice then headed back out to the ocean. We had breathtaking sights of the headlands, spotted a pod of dolphins in the distance, and eventually the spout of a humpback whale ahead. After disappearing for about 5 minutes the whale resurfaced directly behind the boat and only about 20 meters away. For the next 15 minutes, the whale followed us through several course changes as we tried to get out of the way (video below). Luckily no collisions, but an amazing up close experience. Overall a great weekend and can't wait to get out again soon.
I heard about the Riverboat Postman shortly after arriving in Sydney and for some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I did some online research and came across a recent Wall Street Journal review of the trip - exactly the endorsement I needed! I promptly signed us up.
The Riverboat Postman is just what its name suggests - a boat licensed by Australia Post to deliver the mail to the tiny communities that dot the islands and shores of the Hawkesbury River, some of them accessible only from the water. The Hawkesbury Riverboat Postman claims to be the last of its kind in Australia. I’m not sure how long they’ve been welcoming tourists aboard the boat, but at $50 a pop it’s a nice little moneymaker.
After an easy one hour train ride north of the city, we arrived in the town of Brooklyn. We grabbed some coffee at JJs - a little fish n’ chips shack near the station and then headed to the marina. We joined two other Aussie couples on the boat for an utterly relaxing cruise up the Hawkesbury River. We stopped at probably 6-8 tiny little communities with names like Little Wobby Beach, Dangar Island and Marlow Creek. At each stop someone was waiting for us at the dock (usually with a dog or two) to pick up the mail and possibly some food goods. The boat hand made small talk and tossed biscuits to the dogs, who were always very excited to see us! Living on the Hawkesbury has got to be the epitome of ‘getting away from it all.’ The pace of life just seemed otherworldly.
The Riverboat Postman also proved to be a great way to see the Hawkesbury, which is an extremely scenic waterway that’s navigable for over 100 kilometers. Meandering and tranquil, the river is home to fisherman and oyster boats, which harvest the famous Sydney rock oysters.
After the four hour cruise we arrived back in the town of Brooklyn. We checked out the lunch options and decided to head back to JJs for a salty dose of fish n’ chips. We had some time to kill before the train arrived so we got ice cream at the local hardware store and wandered around a park where we spotted some beautiful gray and pink parrots. A divine day!
We recommend the Riverboat Postman to tourists and friends. To make a booking call 02 9985 7566. Boat departs Brooklyn at 9:30 am Mon-Fri and returns at approximately 1:15 pm.
As most of you are probably already aware, we were working on a goodbye video before we left San Francisco. I'm happy to report that it's all done and you can check it out below. To get the full HD experience, you'll need to follow the link to vimeo. it's best to view it in fullscreen mode. Thanks to everyone who co-starred with us, we hope to send out more soon.
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