Moffat Rocks!

I just love this pic taken on my mobile phone's camera of "Rock Star" (!) Banx standing on the jagged rock pools at Moffat Beach last weekend.. We took time out from furnishing the little beach pad to get back to Nature.. the waves were about 4 metres high, the weather was dramatic and thunderous and it somehow brought back many childhood memories of spending hours at rock pools at the seaside, time just slipping away, imagination running wild as to whom or what lived in each little salty pool. The strata of the rocks is fascinating, years and years of water wearing away stone, producing a stunning natural slate floor! Soon enough it was time to get back to assembling flat pack bedside tables and we had to tear ourselves away....

Langkawi

We have just returned from an idyllic week's holiday in beautiful Langkawi, Malaysia... aaaah! sheer bliss! We have actually been a few times before, the only place we return to frequently in all of our travels.. not sure why - we just 'click' with the place - the people are gentle and don't hassle you to buy things you don't need or want; the weather is amazing (bordering on a tad too hot!); the Indian Ocean is wonderfully warm to swim in; the food is absolutely delicious (especially for my curry-and chilli-aholic partner!; the pace is relaxing to the point where we just STOP! As Banx says, we go on holidays to DO NOTHING and we do it very well! What is always amazing is that a day can pass so quickly doing nothing! Time evaporates when one's own natural body clock and body rhythm kicks in - eating when we feel hungry rather than by the clock (watches, along with shoes are confiscated in the Villa on day one anyway, to be replaced with swimming togs, sarongs and flip-flops!).. whether to eat, nap, swim, or read become the biggest choices of the day.. ah! we never take holidays for granted! Enjoying the "now" is paramount..

Caloundra

As we strolled towards Bulcock Beach early on Sunday morning in search of coffee and breky, I was reminded of one of my favourite poets, Emily Bulcock. Her poetry is so visually stumulating, she was prolific, her love of the region easily recognisable in so many of her poems. What a wonderful woman too..kind and generous of spirit and very helpful on a practical level to young writers and children.. Below is an excerpt of one of my favourites of hers entitled simply 'Caloundra', it makes me see the place through new eyes..

She has dawns of wonder, and flaming sunsets!
When soft strange lights on the waters lie.
I have no words to paint the marvel
Of opal colours of sea and sky,
When the ocean chants to the day "Good-bye,"
'Ere back of Beerwah the last rays die!
The weird Glasshouses catch the glow,
Then dark with mantling purples grow!

If a painter stood at the gates of Heaven,
And caught the gleam of the streets of pearl,
Then, as they opened, glimpsed the vision
In the radiant eyes of some ransomed girl,
Watching the banners of beauty unfurl:-
He then might picture with artist hand
These rare rich colours on sea and land!