Kangaroo Valley Wedding

Sorry for not posting until now but we didn't have access to the internet the last few days in Australia. We are now home safely and not impressed with the weather that welcomed us off the plane. Like all holiday's, things have to come to an end so this will be our last post on our Great Aussie Adventure. Thanks to everyone who has followed us and hope we gave you a little more on what it's like in Australia. Can't think of anything bad about that country. Oh wait, that's right, spiders, snakes, sharks, drivers on the wrong side of the road and sunburn, which we were all lucky enough to avoid. Thanks mum and dad for making sure all the kids had sunscreen on every day.

Great idea. Stores selling sun protective products in local Australian shopping malls.

Well, let's just dive into the last few days we had in Australia and the big wedding.

But before we get into the wedding and Kangaroo Valley, we thought this would be a great opportunity to post a few pics of Aunt Mary's house and the surrounding areas to give you an idea of what it's like to live there.

Looking down the main street in Toronto, Australia where aunt Mary lives

Typical Australian pickup truck for all those farmers back home

Toronto Australia. Great place to live.

Traditional looking old Australian farm house. Looks like it needs a little work

Countryside just outside Toronto

Kieran is never shy of the camera

Kilaben Bay on Lake Macquarie. This bay is at the bottom of the main street in Toronto

Lake Macquarie is a boaters dream leading out into the ocean

Aunt Mary's favourite coffee shop on the water

More pics of Toronto

Aunt Mary's house is really cool, and surrounded by native gum trees. You actually feel like you're living among the tree tops. Like most Australian homes, her house is filled with windows and balcony's making you feel like the outdoors is an extension of the house. They also have lots of windows to let the air flow through. Australian's love to be outside, and they love being by the water. Surfing, boating, or just walking on the beach ... who doesn't like that?

Looking out the back of Aunt Mary's garden

Back of Aunt Mary's house. You can eat outside all year round in Australia

Driveway is really steep. Notice the little bridge leading to her front porch

front porch with 2 couches and coffee table outside. Even has a ceiling fan for those hot days

Looking off one of the balcony's

Very relaxing listening to the native birds 

Outdoor table we sat at most evenings for dinner

Aunt Mary's living and dinning room. Look at all the windows

Last Friday we did a big 4 hour drive from Aunt Mary's, who lives 2 hours North of Sydney, down to Kangaroo Valley, which is 2 hours South of Sydney.  We were heading to a Golf Resort in Kangaroo Valley for Uncle Chris's wedding.

Stopped half way down to stretch our legs and nibble on a snack

Kangaroo Valley is a tiny town at the bottom of a massive valley. The road down the side of the hill into Kangaroo Valley is like something we had never driven before. It was filled with steep sharp winding turns stretching nearly 20km. The road is so winding it causes some to get motion sickness. Down and down we went never knowing when the last curve was upon us. Eventually after what seemed like 100 turns to the left and right, we finally reached the bottom. Lots of motorcyclists visit this area for the thrilling roads.

Main street in Kangaroo Valley

Great little pub everyone went to for dinner the night before the wedding

Mum and Aunt Mary getting the essential supplies for our cottage

Looking out our cottage onto the golf course

Papa and Colin scoping out the course

Kangaroo Valley is well named. Lots of little jumpy friends. Best time to spot them is early morning or evenings

Driving up the golf course road to our cabin. Couple of Kangaroo's decided to say hello

Kieran and Sean had fun at the traditional Australian pub

Great times with everyone

Who's going to win? Pete with mum in the sidecar, or Uncle Chris?

The wedding took place Saturday at 11am followed by a wonderful reception until late in the evening at the golf course clubhouse. The morning started out overcast, but the sun quickly appeared just before the service began. Absolutely perfect day with sunshine and temps around 28C.

Looking sharp for the wedding Eamon

I love the bow tie Kieran. Thanks for the loaner Papa.

Kieran checking out the rose pedals on the ground. You can look, but you can't touch!

Guests are gathering on the 8th tee for the big wedding

Uncle Chris and his 3 groomsman went on a vacation to Bali a month before the wedding. While there they visited a local tailor to have the wedding suits made to be shipped over to Australia in time for the big event. Uncle Chris told us the suits were a bright blue, which raised some eye brows before seeing them. As it turns out, all the men looked handsome as ever. Just don't know what other occasion Uncle Chris can use this suit at?

Big congratulations Chris and Michelle

The crew

Sean quickly discovered the sweets at the reception

Beautiful setting for a wedding

As the afternoon went on, so did the temperature. The boys were all starting to feel the effects of the sun and decided the best thing to do was go for a swim. The resort had a lovely pool for guests, which we took advantage of before heading back for round two at the reception.

The locals told us to watch out for funnel web spiders near the pool. These, not so friendly creatures, like to hide out in the cracks around the tops of pools. Yes, they are poisonous, but the locals said 'No worries, you have eight hours to make it to the hospital if bitten'. After a good search of the pool area the kids jumped in.

These signs were posted all around the pool area

Malcolm and Sean cooling off before heading back to the reception

View off our balcony overlooking golf course

Uncle Chris's favourite car in the world

The happy couple

The beautiful bride

On Sunday morning we all packed our bags for the drive back up to Sydney. This would be our last night before boarding the long flight home Monday morning. Dad made numerous trips from the cabin to the car loading suitcase after suitcase. At some point in the loading process he looked up and discovered a furry little friend tucked inside the back tailgate of the car. Thinking it was a deadly funnel web, he quickly sent for backup. Eamon raced across the golf course seeking a local Australian's advice. Our dear friend Colin and his son-in-law Gareth came to the rescue. As they approached the car for a closer look, dad could hear them laughing. To dad's relief, they said 'no worries, that's just a friendly Huntsman spider which are harmless'. They went further to say 'it's just a little baby. Full grown one would be twice that size!'
Colin then tried to sweep it off using a piece of paper, but before he had a chance to get our little friend out of harms way, it fell onto to tailgate of the car and quickly scrambled into the hole of the tailgate hinge. With all the coaxing we could muster, the little furry friend didn't want to come back out. It was then decided our only option was to take him with us. As dad's do, he turned to the family and said 'everyone in, the spiders gone'. Sometimes it's ok to tell wee little fibs! With everyone's mind at ease, they all piled in, only to discover the spider travelled with them after the journey was over. Hope the little guy likes his new home in Sydney as it's a long walk back to Kangaroo Valley even with 8 legs.

Saying goodbye to Aunt Mary. We love you.

Colin and Jane were kind enough to put us up the last night and drive us to the airport early Monday morning at 6am. Colin thought it would be a great idea to follow the coastal road back to Sydney rather than the big highway. Great idea, but he forgot to tell us it would double the travel time and then decided to get lost several times on the way. Even though there were a few hiccups along the way, it was a wonderful and scenic drive, just as he promised.

Typical small coastal town in Australia

Great old Volkswagen camper driving through beach communities

new coastal road that actually expands over the ocean

we are now driving over the ocean below us. notice the gap between the road and the cliff

Back at Colin and Jane's for the last night. Check out Eamon feeding a wild Kookaburra bird on his arm 

Last sunset of our trip

Eat up boy's. It's a long flight home in the morning

Great picture of Aunt Vanessa and mum. We love you both

wild possum came out to say hello our last night. This little fella has a nest just above Jane and Colin's balcony

Thanks again to everyone reading our blog. It was great fun sharing our Australian experience with you. Special thanks to everyone in Australia who helped make this trip such an unforgettable adventure. Can't wait to get back to school to see all our friends and teachers.

We are now officially signing off

Kieran and Sean Kelly