Who got hooked, fishing at Tathra Wharf?

Jason had brought back good sized fishes each time he followed Nick Heah  fishing at Tathra Wharf. We heard that Tathra was a small little town, a good 6 hours drive south from Sydney. So after a few years of hearing about the good fishing, 4 Malaysian wives, namely Irene, Trixie, Serena and me decided to follow our husbands to fish there at Tathra from 11 -13th March 2014.

Irene and me were less enthusiastic about the fishing. We prepared for more amusing alternatives- like shopping or sight seeing or playing scrabbles just in case we got bored with fishing. The men however made extensive preparations for fishing by buying and packing new fishing equipment and bringing big old suitcases specially dedicated to carry the fishes they intend to catch  back to Malaysia.

Chris and Peter took turns to drive the 6 hours journey down the Princes Highway  through  pretty scenic towns like Ulladulla and Bateman's Bay.We saw interesting catchy  Aussie slogans "Drinking kills driving skills."

Ladies best foot forward at Ulladulla.

When the men went to purchase fishing licence for themselves and the ladies, Irene specifically and strongly reminded Pastor David not to waste money by buying her a three-day licence. She wanted only a one-day licence. However the minimum time period for a fishing licence was a 3-day licence so we all settled for that. On the way, we detoured to Cuttagee Beach which Nick said was a wonderful place for fishing.

Flyaway ladies at Cuttagee Beach.

5 couples at Cuttagee Beach

Our group of 12 were put in two separate apartments. 4 couples stayed in the cosy Tree House while Pastor David, Irene, Teresa and Agnes were in the Pines. I was totally captivated by the Tree House's natural beauty. The house was prettily garbed in various shades of blue from the bed sheets to the tiles to the crockery.

Blue Bed in the Loft

We are all dressed in blue in the tree house
with all its blue crockery.

Outside the tree house on the balcony, was a pretty blue tiled table with matching blue tiled chairs. Here we sat often, to have tea accompanied by the sound of sweet clear tinkles of the bell birds. Then we discovered the wild rainbow lorikeets fed from the bird-feed plate. We started filming the wild lorikeets and discovered they came nearer and nearer to us. At one stage, we had about 9 lorikeets and they fed from our hands. Playing with the birds reminded me that about 20 years ago, on our first family  trip to Australia, I had read about the rainbow lorikeets and wanted to bring our 3 children to see them. But the children were very young then and the Bird Sanctuary was too far so we skipped it. Now through the wild rainbow lorikeets, God reminded me He  fulfilled  a long forgotten desire. Such a loving Papa God. He remembers our dreams even when we have forgotten them.

Savouring tea outside the tree house.
See the pretty blue tiled table and chairs and blue mugs.

Chris films the rainbow lorikeets

Lovebirds

Come nearer to me

Eating out of Trixiie's hand.

The first night, all of us fished from the wharf even though it rained and there was static in the air. Although we had catches, the men were not too happy with their catches. They ( and Serena and Trixie ) rose early the next morning about 4 am and went fishing at the beach. They brought in salmons and mackerels and ...   We had  fresh fish for brunch and supper.

Irene reels in  her fish.

Jason reels in the flathead in laughter.

Peter at the beach with his fish

Serena is the ladies' champion fisherwoman.

Teresa grins widely at the fish she reeled in.

I would go for walks in the morning and listen to the clear tinkles of the bell birds  and other birds. The trees and flowers I saw on my walks were soul therapy. I loved the view of the beach and the waves when I turned the corner at the highest point.

The yellow young leaves looked like flowers.

Stunning view of Tathra Beach from the hill top

Wattle flower outside our house

At one point I saw the initials TTH and asked Irene Heah what TTH stood for? She said " The Tree House." I laughed and said to Irene "God had indeed prepared for me to stay in  TTH for my own initials are also TTH ( Tan Tee Hwa) Exodus 23:20 says " Behold, I sent an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared." God is truly awesome! He prepares us for the journey and He prepares the journey for us. I also realised Tathra had TTH in it. God calls me by name in a foreign land.

The men fished both in the evening and in the morning. They went to Cuttagee Beach while we ladies under the care of Pastor, fished from the safety of the wharf in the evening. In between fishing, while there was still light we went for walks up the rugged cliffs.

Wild Tathra coastline.

The two Irenes.

Tathra wharf with people fishing from it.
Can you see people standing on the wharf?

All too soon, our last night of fishing arrived. It was the best night's fishing of the whole trip! Very early in the evening, we reeled in fishes. My first fish came up curved! It was hooked in two places, one in the mouth and one at the tail. There was no way it could escape even one as skill-less  in fishing as I. I have now learnt to  bait and I can now cast the line but I am still squeamish about removing the hooks from the fish. Irene Heah laughed and marveled at the way the fish was hooked when she removed the hooks for me! My second fish came in  hooked at the mouth with  the fishing line neatly all around the gill. So God had sent the angel again to go  ahead to hook the fish for me.Yeah!!!

Happiness when I reel in the fish all by myself,

The guys came in early from Cuttagee Beach back to the wharf because they had caught big salmons and other fishes there.  That night we reeled in more than 100 fishes. The men did  the gutting and the cleaning of the fishes. The ladies fished on. At one point the men begged the ladies.to stop fishing but their pleas went unheeded because the fishes were biting each time we cast our baits. So exciting! We only stopped fishing close to 11 pm at night in the full moonlight.

Reeling in more fishes.

                                                     

Men guts and cleans the fish

Men's hands clean the fish

Great catches - over 100 fishes

Ladies' joy in the dark with the fishes.

Fresh Tailor Fish curry.

Sashimi - the freshest of the freshest fish!

Outside my beloved tree house.

We had yummy meals, all pre-cooked and prepacked by Nick and Irene Heah. Muach!!! Then we had fresh fish twice a day cooked Malaysian style courtesy Trixie's culinary skills. On the way  back to Sydney, we went to a pear farm and plucked and ate several kinds of pears. Everyone reached Sydney, happier and much heavier. 

Round brown pears.
We plucked several kilos of various pears.

Jason at Robertsons' pear farm, courtesy Irene Heah's niece.

         At the Opera House  : Note the couples were in matching colours
without planning    - me and Jason in orange,
Serena and Chris in blue and Peter and Trixie in gray

There we found great hospitality both in Judith and Russell Gates' homes and in Nick and Irene Heah's homes and their church. We are blessed by people whose hearts are generous and youthful and who know how be gracious hosts.  Thank you Judith and Russell, Nick and Irene Heah.   Australia family...Muach.

Yummy and healthy food again

The men at Kingdom Covenant Church

Enjoying Judith and Russell's hospitality.

Jesus
at SHOW - Sydney's House Of Worship
is the reason behind our unity and happiness.

By the way, guess how much fish we brought back to Malaysia? 40 kg of fish. Guess, who got hooked? The fishes or the fishermen and the fisher-women?

Valencia and .... oranges 8-10 Jn 2014

Until we reached Valencia, we didn't associate it with oranges. But once we reached the streets and parks, we realized there were orange trees everywhere and then it clicked - I used to buy Valencian oranges even in the supermarkets back home.

Posing below the orange trees

Oranges are so abundant that they are used 
as paper weights to hold down the
tissue paper in restaurants

But Valencia is more than oranges. It's really a very pretty old and new town, lovely to explore on foot, by bike or by bus. The Yeong family plus explored Valencia by bicycle and we thoroughly enjoyed it! You have to get down from the town roads to the park's cycling paths below. These paths were previously in the old sunken riverbed of the Turia River that made its way to the sea. You can get across the entire city by foot or bike using these paths without meeting a single traffic light or junction! Why?  All the junctions and traffic lights are above on the car roads. All along the bicycle paths, you would come across mooring sites for boats ( because it was the river Turia) and many arched bridges crossed above the river bed.

Cute dolls climb ladder in bicycle rental shop

The Yeong family is set to cross Valencia by bicycle
with two oranges plucked from the trees

The only tree where we could pluck the oranges because there 
was a staircase behind the tree. Sue Jan climbed up and grinned 
because she could just stretch out her  hand to finally pluck an orange.

From the busy roads into the park area through the gates

There were nice bicycle ramps in Turia Park that allowed us
 to play Mak Rempit on bicycle in great safety

Pretty girl in pretty arch of grape vines

When we first reached Valencia by train, we were enthralled by the prettiness of the train station.

The ceiling had this pretty tile design. The trademark 
broken tiles design is seen everywhere in Spain

Sue Ann with the old train station in the background

Then we were delighted by our pretty apartment, located very near the market. There was this house we always passed on our way to the market. It  had 3 Santa Claus climbing over the balcony railings. So cute! And the market had plenty yummy fresh food and fruits and ....

The indoor pretty balconies in our apartment block

Pretty and intricate staircase railing

Lovely plaster ceiling

Francesca upstairs in our Duplex

. I have this habit of buying fresh flowers for the apartment or hotel 
when I travel. So I bought pretty peonies, and 
they really added even more beauty to our pretty apartment.

The cute Santas climbing over the balcony.
 Won't they supposed to come into the house
via the sooty chimney?

Fresh market produce

Blue mushrooms? Yes blue mushrooms!

Sue Jan holding this huge capsicum.

Ken Jon and Francesca eating in the market. 
They were the appointed tour guides in Valencia. 
Their  good research enabled  us to explore 
Valencia by bicycle and to cover a lot in Valencia..

Grilled squid - so fresh!!!

There is the ultra modern City of Arts and Science and the Zoo etc. And there is .....yeah shopping!!!! We all got very good buys on Zara and Mango and other Spanish brands. And the food is yummy!

Jason near the Center of Science and Arts

See the pretty reflection. The design is
supposed to remind you of a fish.

Our apartment was also in the old city itself. There are old high towers, forts, squares, fountains and beautiful churches. Here we discovered beautiful designs in the doors, the ceilings, the floors and ....

Climbing one of the many stairs up to the roof.
I lost weight while in Spain.
Must be all the cycling and climbing.

Intricate carved ceiling in an old church

3 D floor in an old church. How could such
an old building be so modern?

 Sue Jan looked so tiny.We had climbed up
the fort and she stayed down there.

Valencia remains fondly etched in our memories. It's my favorite city in Spain.

Barcelona, Mont Serrat - the serrated mountains and La Sagrada Familia.

6th -7th Jan 2014

Barcelona has some very interesting sights both in the city itself and in the nearby Catalonia region. The highlights and cannot missed sites include La Sagrada Familia - an amazingly awesome ( yet unfinished ) Gothic church, Park Guell and of course the football stadium.

Locked in this rectangular maze of buildings, you see the pinnacles of the La Sagrada Familia church. More about that later. Mont Serrat  is a multi peak serrated mountain range located in Catalonia about an hour's drive from Barcelona. It's highest peak is Sant Jeroni at 1236 m height..

Jason and Sue Jan and the serrated mountains
with the Santa Maria Benedictine
monastery in the background

The two red circles show two groups of hikers on the trail.
That is how small and people the trail look from 1/3 way up this trail

There are many hiking mountain trails beginning from the funicular train station up to Sant Joan.  I could only complete 1 and 3/4 mountain trails that day whilst Ken Jon did about 3 mountain trails. Some trails are quite challenging but they are not impossible. It is quite amazing when one realizes  the early monks built these huge monasteries at the end of so many mountain trails without modern technology. It reinforces a very clear point - back in the good old days, people were much cleverer than we actually give them credit for.

Climbers ascending the trail

Ken Jon and Francesca posing above us.
This point is about  1/2 up the trail

Me and Sue Ann are 3/4 up this trail.  After this point,  we girls 

chickened out when we saw the  intimidating steep steps

 ascending an open mountain face. Ken Jon was the only one 

who completed this trail. Note the cave behind us. Here the monks 

could eat at a rock table and enjoy the mountain view 

whilst being sheltered from the biting winds

I am jubilant because I finally finished one trail.
 See the serrated mountains behind me.
Although the temperature is about 6 degrees Celsius,
I feel quite hot after the climb and has removed
my scarf and unbuttoned my jacket.

After we descended to the monastery, I feel cold again
and stayed nicely bundled inside my jacket and scarf.

We spent some time at the monastery where we waited in line to touch the Black Madonna. Then we took the Sant Cova funicular down. Here there was another track with stations featuring different stages of Christ's life. Jason, Sue Ann, Francesca and Ken Jon finished this trail too while I sat it out together with Sue Jan.

At the station where Simeon meets the
Holy  Infant Jesus and his family at the temple

Sue Jan prettily  perched in the pavilion
overlooking the valley below Montserrat

The next day, we went to the awesome Sagrada Familia, a large church designed by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926). Although still largely incomplete, the beautiful church is gazetted a UNESCO world heritage site. You have to see the inside to do it justice. Antoni Gaudi was a devoted Christian who showed his love of God in the extravagant, detailed and at times, playful architecture of the church.

The stained glass windows

The forest like canopy ceiling

Our creed on what we believe.

A bright burst of rainbow color

Gaudi was not afraid to show his playful childlike streak. He incorporated nature in the architecture of the church. He was a mathematician as well as an architect. He calculated the weight of  each beam and lever and made  stringed models to hang  upside down to ensure the weight is supported. We await our turn to the escalator to go to the top. There we gawk and marvel at the playful colorful uniquely different "smarties" placed on each sacred pillar. We descend down this wonderfully symmetrical spiral stairway that looks beautiful both from the top and bottom view.

Gaudi added playful  colorful and different
"smarties"on top of each sacred pillar.

Down the spiral staircase.

Empty spiral staircase  looks so
symmetrically pretty.
See Jason's face on one end

What do I learn from Gaudi? Be passionate about what God has made you to be passionate about. Give to your work or passion, the time and energy above and beyond the call of duty. And God will bring generations of people, both believers and heathen to marvel and gawk at the passion He has displayed through you.