Here's hoping I look suitably refreshed after traveling for 24hrs to Sydney and then driving north to North Curl Curl. Its a beautiful spot, transport connections are great; if we dont want to use the car we can walk or hop on the bus to Manly and get the ferry . Or we can just stare at the view, remind ourselves there was a frost last night back home and crack open another bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

The flights were actually a breeze, we flew non stop with a break for an hour in Hong Kong (Been there done that and yes Mickey is smaller). Seriously though' I dreaded the whole length of time on a plane issue, but I think the fact your always leaving in the evening and your always heading East combine to make it a non event. We didn't even leave the barn till after 3.00pm following a great lunch so we had had a great sleep the night before. Compare that to the usual restless sleep whilst you worry if your going to get up in time for the flight and the idiotic early check in to Orlando and this was actually less stress.

Quick summary of the first day.. Arrived; picked up car; cursed that it was too hot, drove to North Curl Curl; dumped cases at the cottage, showered. Drove to Woolworths in Dee Why and did a bit of shopping ; cursed some more at how much food costs here; found a nice bakery and bought a sausage roll .. Sat on a golden beach cursing at how hot it is (whilst eating a hot sausage roll) and why I hadn't changed to less clothes. Back to cottage , cooked fresh Bream fillets from the fish market in Dee Why (fish luckily is cheap and plentiful)..  Early night but its going dark, just hoping my body has sleep on the agenda.