Annabelle's Visit: April 23-28, 2007

One of Zoe's oldest and dearest friends, Annabelle Wax came for a very quick five day visit after she had been in New Zealand for several months. We hung out in Melbourne, eating, dancing, walking and talking. We went out with our good friend Zane and Anna killed us in Texas Hold 'em poker. Anna had just gotten her first taste of the sea in NZ, and had fallen in love with sailing. So we tried to help Anna make her decisions about whether to return to the US or sail off into the Pacific Islands or enter a skipper school to get some sailing and boat chartering credentials. It was a breif but really lovely time together.

We went on a camping trip down the Great Ocean Road, to our longtime favorite camping spot. Annabelle and Craig had a surf, we had a few walks by the coast and even ventured a dip in the icy sea at an amazing cove.

Craig, Joel and Andy still looking at the waves after a good morning's surf

Craig and Annabelle

Morning walk to the beach from our camp site

Wallabies camped with us too

Sleepy Koala still manages to keep his balance

Picnic Breakfast and Morning Yoga on the wild beach

Fresh from the cold Autumn sea, we had this spectacular beach to ourselves

Anna developed some sort of rash after arriving at our house, we wondered if it was the New Zealand sandflies, or perhaps German Measles or some kind of disease. It was after the camping trip and a sleepless night in the tent for Anna that we realized she had picked up bedbugs in New Zealand sleeping on a boat. Thus most of the end of her trip was spent thoroughly cleaning all of our sleeping bags and then drying them at the laundromat. But two months on, there is still no sign of bedbugs in our house.