Went to stay with Denise and Dennis for the weekend – in case you don’t know, I met them on my travels.  They were going north to find a sunny paradise to retire to, and they chose Hervey Bay!

I did not take too many pictures of their house, to attempt to preserve some anonymity, but rest assured it is very pretty and awesome.  This is what you see coming in the front door:

The entire house is like that – beautiful and spacious, and well-decorated.  But I was mostly in love with the backyard.  This is the outdoor dining area:

The pool – and the large, square-thing in the corner is the spa:

The rest of the backyard, including the path to the Bali hut:

The Bali hut:

See the fence in that last shot?  There’s a gate in it, and this is what it opens up to:

Pretty spectacular, huh?

That lake also boasts an impressive collection of birds:

I’ve taken some videos of them – first, just some of the usual ducks:

 

An Australasian Pipit:

 

Some Plumed Whistling Ducks:

 

And the crown jewel of the lot – a black swan:

That wasn’t using the zoom or anything.  He came right up the fence for food, and looked very put out when I didn’t have any.  I took a close-up of his face:

And this picture, just because the coots looked like attendants or something, neatly on either side like that:

I also have some video, of course:

 

Dennis threw some bread for him and the ducks, and they were much happier after that.  I caught some of the ducks in a bread chase:

 

And an argument among the purple swamphens:

 

These turtles weren’t at the lake, but at one of the many watercourses around Hervey Bay:

My first night at their house, we experimented with a new dessert – I’ll walk you through how to make it.  First, take some Ferrero Rochers:

Then crush them up:

Take some fruit yoghurt (I used mango, but it can be whatever flavour floats your boat):

Add a few healthy dollops of yoghurt:

Mix well:

Sounds bizarre, but it was actually really delicious – I’ll have to make it again someday.

On Saturday, we all woke up early and went walking on the beach nearby – Dennis and Denise do it regularly.

This is the beach:

Pretty spectacular, huh?  We walked almost all the way along it in the early morning.  Dogs are allowed on it, and I got some video of two very happy pets:

 

Denise on the beach, at the spot where we turned back:

Then we got coffee at a little shop where we could hear the waves and feel the sea breeze.  The ceiling was decorated with fake grape vines, which I found rather charming:

Sunday was the day I’d have to drive back, so it was a much lazier day – no walk along the beach, for one, just a nice leisurely breakfast and then I took off.  It was an awesome weekend; Denise and Dennis are great people.

I stopped at the Strawberry Fields before I went home, just because I crave fresh-picked strawberries:

The fields:

My haul:

Despite the temptation to hoard them for myself, I was generous and shared them with the family when I got back.