Spring Break 2012: Hawkesbury River

This is What Spring Break is All About

*Another 48 beers were bought on top of this

Spring Break has hit...in the States that is. Any mention of it here reminds those around me of American Pie or MTV references to Cancun. Although I'm living in Oz now, I am not going to waste this glorious 'Spring Break' weekend especially since the forecast is for few showers and sun - it's been a shiesty summer full of rain this year.

Beaming from a fantastic weekend with our American friends on a houseboat on the Hawkesbury River in January, we convinced our Manly friends to do it too. This time, they booked in March just as the seasons are turning and roped us in to join a party of nine Spring Breakers.

It's been a tough few weeks. Since I got the promotion to Marketing Manager, expectations are higher, hours are longer and stress has hit the roof. Just like a university student, I desperately needed a vacation with good friends, booze and sunshine. Hello Spring Break Hawkesbury River 2012!

A Mighty Task

All nine of us on this boat are expats. Is it weird I don't have that many Aussie friends? Being expats and saving for a rainy day in case we're a) without a job or b) kicked out of the country, none of us own cars. Also, none of us could take off from work, with exception to two girls who are teachers and luckily don't have class on Friday. Taking the one hour and twenty minute train ride from Sydney, they picked up the houseboat from Brooklyn Marina and were out on the river by 4pm. The rest of us left work at our usual time and jumped on the train. It's all well and good to get us all out there, but what would we survive on? Dave did bring his fishing gear, but there's no way we would survive on his catches...if any. One girl's family emigrated here from England. Luckily, her Dad was around with a car to drop her off at Brooklyn Marina, 50 minute car ride away from Sydney. The night before, she picked up supplies for the weekend, perhaps enough for the week! Shopping at good ol' Aldi, the bill came to less than $200 to feed nine people for the weekend.

After some mis-communication with the hired water taxi and extortionary fees ($30 if you don't show up, $100 if he has to wait), we were all on the boat by 9pm.

All that excitement got us hungry and thirsty. We unpacked the enormous Aldi spread with beers in hand. Dave's German colleague, Jutti, who organised the entire weekend, brought cheese-filled German sausages for that dinner. Sitting on the open top deck, we caught up with a group we hadn't seen since for weeks over sausages, onions, peppers, garlic bread and beer.

After dinner, we took on the night finishing mine and Dave's Halloween winnings - a 1.5 litter bottle of Gentleman Jack Daniels. At first glance, we knew there was no way we would put a dent in the bottle. We were wrong. By 5:30am, we had danced, sang, got into deep conversation about money and love and finished the entire bottle plus many more beers and ciders. This party was driven by Sydney late night radio (the only source of music because we had not connection for our cell phones or MP3 players) featuring top 40 pop songs played over and over. We did belt out a few times to the weekend's anthem, 'We Are Young' by Fun...yes, that's the name of the band.

Late Night Fishing

*Thought he lost his fishing pole the next morning only to find it on the top deck

The next morning, we woke late, but still giddy from the night before. After some eggs, bacon and toast, we were ready to set sail around the river, but still very close to the marina.. The night before, we didn't move because by the time everyone was on board, it was too dark to travel safely. 


Before we set sail, a few Spring Breakers decided that we didn't have enough drinks for the rest of the weekend because of last night's shenanigans. The marina was about 500 meters away, and four of them decided to row over to visit the beer store. We judged the distance like Leonardo Di Caprio in The Beach and decided to go for it for the love of a boozy weekend.

How Does this Work?

Emily & Lee

All Balanced

Lee, Emily & Jutti

Ready? Set? Row!

Dave, Emily, Lee, Jutti

The Boat Beer Run

Once they were back with an additional 48 beers in tow, we set out for the greater Hawkesbury River. We finally docked at Refuge Bay, one of the most popular spots on the river for the small beach, waterfall and abundant moorings.


We were then visited by the river favourite - the coffee boat! We desperately needed to nurse our hangovers and this boat would supply the coffee we craved.


*The boat had six of nine English expats. We were drinking teas and coffees all weekend long.


The coffee boat also sold ice cream. Mel went for the Golden Gaytime.

Proud of Her Purchase

I've Got to Try a Golden Gaytime

Dan's New Fishing Gear

We had another unique purchase from the coffee boat. Dan was jealous of Dave's Kmart fishing gear and wanted to take advantage of all the river had to offer. He took one look at the fishing gear on the coffee boat.

"Do you have a fishing rod for sale?"

"No."

"How about that one?"

"That's my fishing rod."

"I'll give you $30 for it."

Wife urges husband to up the price

"$50."

"Let's make it $40 with some hooks and weights."

Wife smiles. Husband reluctantly sells his fishing rod.

For the rest of the day, Dan and Dave fished while the rest of us laid around inside due to spitting rain.


A bit of sunshine peered through the grey sky and everyone was ready to get rid of the cabin fever. Emily, Mel and Rachel decided to jump off the roof, but once on the ledge, they backed away. Dave had done it with ease on our last trip to the Hawkesbury, so I urged him to do it first to relax the girls' nerves. He did, hitting the water in a cannon ball - back first.

Red Back

Pre-Dive Hesitation

Dave's Splash

 

Girls Finally Jumped

Mel & Rachel

For the rest of the day until dinner, Dan and Dave continued to fish (losing a line to a 'big' Flathead), Lee read and the girls painted nails over a game of Scrabble. It's been probably over ten years since I've played, but it was surprisingly fun and competitive!

Ready for Dinner

Try to make a dent in our Aldi purchase, we had dinner spread fit for...definitely more than nine people. We enjoyed porterhouse steaks, pasta with pesto, pasta with aubergine and tomato sauce, Greek salad, grilled corn and beer for dessert.

Constant Snacking

Late Night Scrabble

We played another round of Scrabble, this time with the boys on one team and girls split into three teams. M-O-U-S-E-S was played at one point and the boys had unforgivably won when they knew the 'M' was a blank that stood for 'H' in H-O-U-S-E-S.

What Happens When Cabin Fever Settles In

On our last night, we expected to rage on, but we didn't. We nursed beers wincing at every gulp. We enjoyed good conversation and good laughs until 1:30am.

Refuge Bay with Waterfall in the Background

The next morning, everyone was up by 8am except for me - I woke up at 10am. Dave and I opted for the dining table-turned-into-a-bed for our sleeping quarters and it was very comfortable. Dan and Dave continued to fish, Lee read and the girls rowed over to the beach to see the waterfall.

Rowing to the Waterfall

This Grill Can Handle Anything

Dave and I prepared one of the best breakfasts ever. Lee had the idea of using the last of our eggs for 'Toad in the holes'. I prepared the table, a platter with breads, cheeses and salami. Dave handled the grill for the 'toad in the holes', bacon, left over steak and hot cross buns.

All Around the Table for Breakfast

Enjoying the Sunny Day...Finally

We had to return the boat to the marina by 3pm. For the next couple of hours, we lounged around with our teas and coffees snacking on as much of our food supply as possible. No matter how much food we ate,we still had enough room for Mel's birthday chocolate cake on the ride back to the marina.

Happy Early Birthday to Mel!

We're all well beyond our uni Spring Break years working full-time and having to pay rent and other bills. But like our Spring Break anthem, "We are young!" and can still party like it.


What a memorable weekend. It was the get-away we all needed. Next get-away is Christmas in July in the Blue Mountains...



Arriving back home in Sydney at 5:30, I browsed through my cell phone pictures to find some truth to what happened on Friday night...

We're on a Boat!

Enjoying Sydney's Finest Late Night Radio

Air Guitar

I Ate All The Chocolate Covered Cornflakes!

Oh Happy Day!

The Letter I've Been Waiting For

I've done it! I graduated in May 2008 and it took me nearly four years, but it's all paid off! No more college loan!


For government Stafford Loans, there is a six month grace period after graduating until the first payment is due. I was in South Korea at this point. With all the fun and new experiences I was having, I completely forgot about it...resulting in building interest. I started to get my act together paying $250-$500 per month. I had a little over $16,000 in loans and by the time I got to Australia, I had a little over $10,000*.


*This is a fairly decent loan amount considering Fordham University costs over $40,000 per year in just tuition costs, not to mention room, board, food and travel.


For the past few months, I've been watching the Forex rate like a hawk. In January 2012, Australia saw the Aussie dollar come into parity with the US dollar. Week after week, the Aussie dollar continued to surpass the US dollar cent by cent. I promised myself that when the Aussie dollar hit $1.07, I'd transfer. There's always the worry that after transferring the rate could go higher like $1.10. On the other hand, there's the worry that if I didn't transfer now, tomorrow it could be $1.03. A dollar and seven cents was the happy medium. The truth is that I needed to add some cents padding because the bank's rate is always lower and there is about a $30 transfer fee.


In late January, I transferred $8,000 hard earned Aussie dollars to my bank account in the US. Once transferred, I logged into my Sallie Mae account to make my last payment**. After clicking 'submit' I expected fireworks and a huge CONGRATULATIONS sign...but there was nothing, just the figure $0.00. Mostly people would be satisfied with that figure, but I needed written proof from my loan provider. I wrote them an email asking if there was anything left for me to do. A month later (today), I received that confirmation. It's indeed a happy day.


**When I paid off my loan in January, I also finished my 3 month probation period and received a promotion to Marketing Manager. 2012 is shaping up to be a very exciting year!