Wet and Wild Weekend

After our big day at the Royal Easter Show on Friday, Saturday morning we went to the Penrith Whitewater Stadium. We were able to watch the end of the kayaking competition for the Olympic qualifications. It rained on us a little for the first time on the trip. This facility was built for the Olympics and is a great place. In the afternoon we had our opportunity to go Whitewater rafting. Evan Whitley joined the five of us and our guide Joel (?) to start our adventure. It was a sometimes tense but great experience going down grade three whitewater. The course runs in a loop and at the end you go up a conveyer belt to do it again. We had about6-7 runs in all. Amy Beth and Kate got dumped and went under the boat but came out fine in the end. The guide kept working to get some of the rest of us in the water but we managed to stay connected to the raft. It was a great experience that will be remembered for a long time to come. Check out the stadium website: http://www.penrithwhitewater.com.au

After showering we went to the Penrith Panthers rugby game. There was a helicopter that touched down in the middle of the field with Jon Bon Jovi who did a song or two. He apparently was the lead singer in a tribute band that was performing at the Panthers club. The game was great. Pete, Amy Beth and I went to Avoca Beach with the Whitleys after the game where we were hosted by John and Jan Duckworth. They had a great location on the beach that we really enjoyed.

Sunday morning we had a great morning swim at Avoca Beach with Pete, John and Amy Beth. It is a beautiful beach where a lot of surfers enjoy the waves. Check out the photos at http://www.avocabeach.com/pic.htm Pete left for Sydney to spend Easter with a friend. After breakfast we went to the Ken Duncan Photography gallery where we saw some amazing photography. We also went to Terrigal where we saw the beach and scenery from a great lookout point. We had coffee in the village before returning to the beach house. After lunch, we could relax, walk along the beach, swim and boogie boardand even take a nap. I had a little book time before our barbeque in the evening. Steve was able to invite some friends from the Newcastle area to join us.

On Monday, Steve and Amy Beth played tennis at 7 am. After breakfast we took a stroll around the rocky ledges surrounding the beach. This is a beautiful area! The John and Jan Duckworth and Evan and Karen Whitley were wonderful hosts.