Friday 14th Oct
There would be no birthday to celebrate without family, so the week of birthday celebrations began with a BBQ at our home. Brothers all live too far away, but my parents, sister and brothers-in-law and sister-in-law were able to join the celebrations with their families.
Birthday cake number 1
and a few photos of the night
Saturday 15th Oct
We were all packed up before the bubbles were popped for celebratory drinks and nibbles in the sunshine on the back deck. Oysters slid down beautifully with the champagne and plenty of other delicious nibbles. We tottled off to bed early ready for an early start the next day.
Sunday 16th Oct
Woke up fresh as a daisy at 4:00am! All ran smoothly with flights to paradise. We met Jackie and Tim in Sydney airport then embarked on our small aircraft to Lord Howe Island (LHI) to find Wendy and Tony at Capella Lodge.
I'd read on the internet that they now had a marine biologist on staff. Caitlin did not disappoint as she took us out on the reef at low tide and discovered fascinating marine life to show to us. Her enthusiasm and love for the ocean shone through as we found nudibranchs, sea slugs, sea urchins and other treasures to admire. To top it off, she prepared a picnic afternoon tea by the beach.
Tony enjoyed a tasty snack
whilst Wendy explained the finer points of cooking seafood!
The week at Capella Lodge 16-23rd October
The gastronomical delights of Capella Lodge have not disappointed. From pre-dinner cocktails and canapes to 4 course dinners to a degustation dinner with matched wines, we have relished the talents of the kitchen staff. The friendly service, especially Leroy's explanations of each dish, have delighted us.
All the delicious food was great preparation for climbing Mount Gower. We even had a bacon and egg brekky burger as we walked down to join the tour guide at 7:15am. It’s a challenging 10km return walk to reach the cloud forest up at 875 metres. With an average gradient of 20%, parts of the walk require ropes and abseiling techniques to traverse. Hiking boots and gloves were a welcome addition this time, but it was still every bit as tough as I remembered it. I was probably the youngest member of the walking party, but still felt I’d achieved a lot to do this epic walk.
It was Tony’s last night on LHI, so the staff assumed it was my actual birthday and presented me with a birthday cake complete with sparklers! Birthday cake number 2!
The first few days of our stay were action packed as we tried to do all our favourite things whilst the weather was good.
Tuesday was a walk to Boat Harbour beach, kiss Tony goodbye then head off to snorkel from Dean’s boat before David sped Cathy back in the golf buggy for her massage with Anna. It was one of the most wonderful massages I have ever had. Anna is so talented and makes the whole experience magical. I felt so relaxed and energized afterwards. I'm sure it added to the delights of the degustation dinner that evening.
My actual birthday was Wednesday 19th October
I awoke to my smiling hubby who had bought a special gift for me. Tim, Jackie and Wendy sang “Happy birthday” as I arrived at breakfast. We relaxed in the hot tub and sunshine all morning then cycled to the jetty.
Jack unloaded the morning’s catch of kingfish 24kg then got us all aboard to circumnavigate LHI and Balls Pyramid. It was a unique perspective that we hadn't seen before and conditions were fairly smooth and warm. Dolphins ushered us on the final approach to Balls pyramid and the birds came out to greet us. It’s actually quite colourful with vegetation and variations in rock colour that you don't see when viewing from a distance.
Back to civilisation and birthday drinks in our Lidgbird pavillion. A delicious dinner was followed by sparklers and birthday cake number 3!
Thursday was another sunny warm day with mild winds so we decided to meet Tim and Jackie at Ned’s beach for a spot of snorkeling after their hike to Kim’s and Malabar lookouts. Cathy and Wendy did the geology walk with Caitlin which was far more relaxed and informative. David was enjoying his morning massage, before he joined us just in time to take Tim back for his scrub down and massage. Ned’s beach was full of colourful fish and coral and Cathy was delighted to see at least one giant clam with its beautiful purple and green display. Cathy was determined to have an AFD but only lasted half way through her mineral water before relenting to have a Tom Collins cocktail! Restrictions are for after the holiday!
Friday was turtle viewing day at Old Settlement beach. One was tame enough to come and explore us in the shallows. Our trusty golf cart chariot carried us there and back again. Cathy felt so clever when she spotted a big turtle hiding out near the coral formations then discovered a large stumpy-nose lobster. Unfortunately the warm currents haven't arrived yet, so Cathy was frozen after 20 minutes and had to head home for a bubble bath where the bubbles were in the champagne and the warm bath was out on our pavilion deck. Luxury!!
Saturday was the last full perfect day to play in paradise, so Cathy ventured up Intermediate Hill with Jackie.
Fabulous views rewarded our efforts.
No trip to the beach is complete without Cathy building a sandcastle and decorating it with shells.
As we drove back, we came across kids selling OJ - for just "5 bucks"! The tasty thick juice made of vitamised orange -possibly including the peel- was delicious - but you had to return the cup or mum might get upset!
Back in time to watch Leroy through the binoculars as he was trying to surf the coral reef. (David thought she was looking fr more presents!) The staff at Capella Lodge were absolutely fantastic during our stay. From when Sally and Adrian collected us from the airport, to when Adrian got us first on the list for a standby flight home (after our flight was cancelled due to bad weather), we were pampered. Anna’s massage, Rochelle's cafe art on the latte, Leroy's culinary explanations, Calliope's smile and Victoria's German precision in fine service. Penny always had our room looking pristine. We had a totally luxurious stay and hope it won’t be our last.
Sunday was a long travel day after our flights were rearranged but we made it home and Cathy tried to catch up on her emails as well as the blog.
In fact we were so early, we had pre-dinner drinks and started eating before the ship left. A small rolling swell after a few beers and I was asleep.
With the weather forecast looking very grim, we decided to head up Mt Wellington.
It was cold and cloudy at the top but at least it was dry. Curt ranked the descent as "One of the Best". Colin said "Worst descent he's ever done". It's going to be an interesting trip....
