.the princess portal.

This morning we got up nice and early to finish packing and get ready for our Vacation. The lovely Lee planned a trip for seven of us to the southern coast of Australia, near a little country town called Denmark and we were eager to be off! Mirai and I were just finishing making Onigiri for lunch when Doug and Lee arrived in a big van they had rented for the trip, it was new and very comfortable even with the seven of us squished in together. We picked up the rest of the travellers and stopped for breakfast quickly (I had pancakes) before beginning the five hour journey to Denmark.

On the road down it was raining heavily and for part of the drive nothing could be seen out the windows but driving rain and long forks of lightning, it was nice to be warm inside the van chatting and playing on our DS’s. We stopped for lunch at a fuel station and as we drew closer to our destination the clouds parted and we were greeted by incredible emerald green hills all about us, steep rolling hills with pockets of forest and grazing sheep and cattle. It was how one imagines the english countryside and I as happy to just stare out the window and drink in the scenery.

We arrived in Denmark shortly after noon and drove to our little rented house. It was so cute and cozy inside, painted in cornflower blue with buttercup yellow curtains. There were two levels and Lee, Tang, Ze, Doug and Ben slept upstairs while Mirai and I claimed the downstairs bedroom. There was also a wood fireplace that heated up the whole house nicely.

As it was still early, we decided to stop by a few of the local attractions. Our first visit was a Meadery, just down the road from where we were staying. They made delicious honey wine and we all had tastings, though I don’t drink myself I did enjoy trying the different types, it was so sweet and you could smell the honey too! They also sold different flavoured honeys, like ginger and chocolate. Mirai bought a jar of hazelnut honey and I had a honey, almond and rose icecream which was delicious!

Our next stop was the Toffee Factory, we tried sticky confectionary in many different flavours and they also made yummy sauces and chutneys. The building itself was surrounded by beautiful green fields and we said hello to a friendly goat.

Before the sun set we headed to the beach that was only five minutes drive from our accomodation. The beach is called Greenspool and it is like a lagoon, a small sheltered back edged by big rocks that keep it calm even when the waves outside are high. The sky was still quite cloudy and the reflections of the setting sun on the water were magical. Lee and I played on the shore and both ended up getting wet and sandy. We all explored the rocks and found little baby fish in the rock pools.

Refreshed and exhausted we headed back to the house and enjoyed hot showers before dinner, which was Okonomiyaki cooked by Lee and myself. It was quite a challenge cooking for so many people, and I think it would have been better to start earlier but it was fun to do communal meals. After dinner we settled down to watch movies, play cards and chat before tucking in for a good night’s sleep.

Although the trip down was a bit tiring, it was a great start to our holiday and I was looking forward to the next day and all the things we had planned!

(photos courtesy of Mirai and Ze)