Hawks Nest? Sounds like a name for a Bond villain's base.

Thursday the first of December I drove Nico's ute (with Nico on board, obviously) to Hawks Nest, which is.... um... here,

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I should have mentioned sooner, but didn't because it wasn't important, that I have actually been at this here house in Wollombi on my own since last Saturday, because Lesley, Ruby and Banjo were already at Hawks Nest as a birthday treat for Lesley and I was left to do some more jobs without the pain that is a three year old girl being needy and whining all the time, seriously, dogs are so much better than kids.

Dogs are also better at posing for cameras.

There were signs warning about the presence of koalas, but alas I would not see any during my stay, although I would hear them at night, the noisy buggers! Anyway, Nico and I made our way to Hawks Nest and met Lesley at the 4 bedroom house she had rented for the week.

Better than a hostel.

We spent the afternoon on the beach with Lesley's friend, Caroline (a recent Aussie resident from England), who was at the house for a couple of days. I was on hand to kick a ball for Banjo and after a quick beer on the beach we returned to the house for dinner and talking and realising that it was well past the toddler's bed time and some sparkling wine, the usual. As part of the conversation I was asked what I want to do in the future (I have been asked this question before on a couple of occasions by Germans, because I guess Germans like to plan things, even though I believe planning something as big a deal as 'your life' is a sure fire route to being disappointed as too many variables can alter the plan and before you realise it, it isn't your plan at all) I answered the same way I always answer all serious questions, with a light hearted comment that skips the subject quite admirably and does not do anything to expose my lacking in the chosen subject, I answered something along the lines of 'Open a private pension as soon as I get back to Britain' (topical and a doorway into an alternate subject that is in no way linked to me) the real answer is, naturally, more cynical and honest, but I'll write a joke (of sorts) to make you forget that you are wondering what my honest thoughts about the future are because having a pension when your income is smaller than the interest on your credit card is as useful as having an ice cream shop in Antarctica.

These guys actually have more money than me, but they still cannot buy any ice cream on account of their lack of financial expertise.

Friday, Lesley's parents were over to visit for the day (more Pohms), they're those lucky types that spend 6 months here and 6 months back in England. Nice chatting to more English people for a while, but I would be spending the evening talking to a Russian, an Aussie, an Italian and another dog. After a spot of lunch at nearby Tea Gardens, Sian (spelling estimated) and Pauletta (two of Lesley's friends from Wollombi) met us at the house before we headed for a walk up the beach with two more kids and one more dog (called Coda) than yesterday. Another dog ended up joining for a while as his/her master was surfing and we had a football.

We got a big ol' convoy...

In the distance is 'Shark Island', clearly named by an Ian Fleming fan.

All very nice, but Lesley's parents had to get the ferry back home and the wind was picking up, so back to the house for beers and music, once the kids had been suitably distracted by a Tinkerbell DVD. Beer does seem to bring out the best in people as Pauletta, being Russian, got a bit tipsy and told Sian's son that 'he has to look after his mum and be a big strong man, because he has a cock' to which the kid replied 'I don't want a cock'. Brilliant.

The wind had managed to force the Aussie residents to light the log burner (I didn't feel the need, as I'm refusing to believe 18oC is cold). I managed to call home for the first time in ages as it was the first time I had a signal on my phone, but problems still arose thanks to the lack of credit on my 'so called' cheaper sim card. I also found a feature on my camera that makes an ordinary room look spoo000ooky, or like one of those gif files that has something pop out at you.

Don't worry, this is a jpeg.

Saturday, and after home phoned me (something ET's family couldn't even manage) it was back to the beach. Being my last day at Hawks Nest I did what all Brits do when faced with a final day at the beach and turned a fetching shade of pink/red, because dedication is what you need to get a tan in one day! I managed to see a couple of dolphin dorsal fins breach the waves momentarily, but they were quite far away. I also had a walk about a different part of the beach (Surf Beach is 14KM long, so there is a lot to walk across, although the view doesn't change much) and had a bit of a swim, but Surf Beach isn't the sort of place where swimming is good because of the waves, hence the name.

Later I waltzed along the other beach, Jimmy's Beach, which wasn't a dog beach but was remarkably quiet for a Saturday, in December. I got the feeling that Hawks Nest was very much a holiday home haven as there were not many people around anywhere, maybe they're all working overtime in Sydney before Christmas, who knows? Anyway, Jimmy's was a very different place. No waves, no surfers, no kids, no dogs and the water was a bit warmer,

until you go nipple deep, then it's cold again.

I'm not sure which beach I liked best, but I'd say having a beach the size of Surf Beach and allowing dogs on it year round makes it an awesome beach because dogs love beaches, (and bitches, but we're on about beaches for now) plus the scale of Surf Beach means there is no chance it could ever really feel crowded like the ones around Sydney, but if you do go to Hawks Nest's beaches be sure to bring what you need because the shops are quite a while away and if you want a swim, try Jimmy's Beach.

So a good time had at Hawks Nest, a nice little interlude before carrying on working for however long I'm going to stay here. This WWOOFing thing is pretty damn tough sometimes!

Additional Note: As I write this there is a full on storm making her presence known in Wollombi. The damn thing as scared the dog a few times and for those of you who are yet to experience hail on a tin roof, I can assure you it is as noisy as you would imagine! I wouldn't mind, but I have to read over Freddi (spelling estimated) the German girl's thesis before she hands it in... I'll suppose I'll just drown the noise out with some relaxing AC/DC.

Wow, loads of hail. How very Christmassy.