Well, it is quite a change from Vietnam, but we now find ourselves in the little village of Morpeth, New South Wales. Morpeth is located a couple of hours north of Sydney, and at 200 years, is quite an old town by Australian standards. The town has a population of just over 1,500 people, so we are quickly coming to know the locals.
Nadine owns a coffee shop called “Common Grounds” where George played and sang (busking it is called here) for a
couple of hours on Sunday. Nathan works at the local butcher where Bonnie bought nice leg of lamb, direct from the family farm this morning. Brook is our favorite bar tender at the local pub.
But the most important individual we have met is Arthur, 12-year-old chocolate lab, who lives with his person, Alison, in a delightful old home here in town. We are looking after the house and hanging out with Arthur for a few weeks while Alison is in Europe on holiday.
Arthur is a big boy, as one local commented this morning he has been “feedin’ in a healthy paddock”. This is just one of many colorful turns of phrases we have heard. One chap outside of the small grocery store commented about the wind, which was “strong enough to blow a dog off his chain”. Another person commented that she did not remember how many it was, but she was “still on her hands”; which we later learned means that it was less than 10, as she could still count them on her fingers.
We were lucky enough to experience the ANZAC day parade and remembrance in
town. ANZAC stands for Australian, New Zealand, Army Corps. It was quite a big event for the little town of Morpeth. Arthur had a great time resting on the sidewalk out in front of the pub, where many folks in colorful attire and a chest full of ribbons stopped to give a head scratch or belly rub.
One more important note about Morpeth; it is home to the original bake house owned by the 
Arnott family. Arnott’s is now the biggest name in cookies (or biscuits as they call them here) in Australia. Most importantly, they are the makers of “Tim Tams”, George’s favorite cookie in the world!
About 40 minutes drive from the house is the Burleigh Heads National Park. There are many walking tracks within the park itself including the Ocean View Walk around the the rocky headland; the Rainforest Circuit which takes you through the park where you can view beautiful plant and bird life. Along the way there are many places that allow access to the beach. We went on a Saturday, so the beaches and trails were busy, but everyone was friendly and we had a great hike of about 3 miles or so. The views were amazing!
George’s birthday dinner was a special evening. We sat at the edge of the lagoon, at the 
In 1970 Steve started working with reptiles at his parents nature preserve in Northern Queensland, at 10 he wrestled his first crocodile while his father looked on. Later Steve married an American from Oregon (Teri) and together tho two launched a film series aimed at raising consciousness about wildlife conservation and raising money to expand the preserve his parents had started.
We generally wake up pretty early (the sun rises a round 4:45AM here). The very first thing we do when we actually get up is take the dogs for a walk. Cuddles generally leads and Honey straggles along behind. We walk into the “village” and back – about a mile and a half round trip. 
Some days I go for a swim in the pool and George works out on the exercise equipment at the house, yesterday we started canoeing on the canals behind the house. Afterward we shower and get ready for the rest of the day. 
We settled in quickly, although it did take a while for us to get used to having the sun come up at 4:45am. After all, ‘if the sun is up, you should be too”.
The house sits on one of the canals that criss cross this area. We will be exploring them, first by canoe and then later via jet ski. But first we have to get licensed to ride the jet ski. If we get caught riding without the certificate, our house (the owner of the jet ski) will get fined.
