Every few Christmases we are in South West Rocks at my in-laws house. SWR is a great little town that hasn’t been overwhelmed with development over the past 30 years.
It still has many of the traditional post war “fibro” houses right near town. There has been an uptick in new housing but most of it is further west on the outskirts of town closer to Jerseyville.
Every morning I’d go for an early walk to grab a coffee from the best cafe in SWR and go drink it just watching the ocean from Horseshoe Bay in town.
Went for the same walk Christmas morning with no expectation the cafe would be open, but walking into town I saw a few people with takeaway cups and thought could that be…. On Xmas… ?
And sure enough the cafe was open! On Christmas!! Sure enough it was significantly more than usual, not that I cared, awesome coffee on Christmas!! Santa has delivered ! It’s a Festivus Miracle!
Just before Xmas, I purchased a drone. Pic below is from that. Had been thinking of getting one for a while, but after visiting a friend in the Hunter Valley region who has one, the deal was sealed. Will be great for our upcoming trip to NZ.
Coffee at Sixty Degrees, South West RocksOverlooking Horseshoe BayDrone Pictue over Back Creek, South West Rocks
In November we did a cruise from Sydney to Melbourne on a specific “Melbourne Cup” cruise. If you are keen on the cup, this is a great option if you live in Sydney (there is an equivalent cruise from Brisbane too), you just show up at the terminal in Sydney, you cruise to Melbourne, the cruise line organises tickets into Flemington and takes you there by bus and brings you back.
It’s a reasonable deal, if you consider the cost of flights, hotels, food, taxis/Ubers etc, if you book early enough the cruise would be comparable in cost. Just keep an eye on the “extras” you could be charged for on the ship, even though food is mostly free, there are some items on menus and some restaurants where it’s not included. Alcohol isn’t included either. After a few days the ship got renamed the “Carnival Spender”
We were with a group of friends celebrating, two of whom were celebrating their 60th Birthday, so it was a stack of fun spending a week with friends on a ship. After the cup you get a few days to look around Melbourne, the ship acts as a floating hotel and you can come/go as you please.
We had lunch at the Esplanade Hotel in the “Green Room”. The “Espy” is famous for its live music scene and Rockwiz was filmed in its Gershwin room. Totally stoked that we got to see that.
I got to test drive the new Polestar 4, since the centre was only 5 minutes away from where the ship was docked, so I walked over and was pleasantly surprised that they offered me a drive in the new car, even though I had no intention of purchasing one.
The ship had Banoffee Pie on the menu (and strangely on the Breakfast menu – this must be an American thing….). I’ve got a somewhat “complicated” relationship with Bananas after being sick from Banana Cake on a hot day as a child. Sometimes I can eat them sometimes I can’t and they have to be near green, so I’ve never been keen to buy it when I’ve seen it offered. Since it was there and included in the menu, thought why the hell not, give it a whirl !
Never again, it was disgusting. Mushed overripe Bananas with whipped cream on top. Very much less than the sum of its parts. At least now I know.
The ship had two Cafes on board that served espresso coffee (for an extra fee). It was OK, however didn’t touch it when in Melbourne given the number of spectacular cafes just a stones throw from the ship.
On our way back from Orange, we had a night at Lilianfels Resort in the Blue Mountains. We have stayed here before and it’s my favourite hotel in that region. It’s not cheap, but we did get a great package that includes the accomodation, 3 course meal at the onsite restaurant and Breakfast. Wine is extra.
The resort is right near Echo Point, so you want wander down and look over the Three Sisters etc. Hotel has parking so no need to worry about where to leave your car.
We were there on a Monday night and their normal restaurant (Darley’s) was closed, so our package included dinner at their neighbouring resort across the road (Echo’s Hotel). Unfortunately we didn’t have a table near the window so missed out on a view across the valley.
Included breakfast (buffet style) was good with a wide selection. The coffee was Barista made and quite good.
It's all about the coffee 