Rob Roy Walk

With the Covid 19 social distancing restrictions I haven't been riding as much, still getting out but on my own. Instead I have been doing some longer walks. Recently walked up Rob Roy which is at the back of Conder, I have always seen the trig station at the top of the steep hill which I have always wanted to walk to, finally found a friend mad enough to come with me- socially distancing of course!

It was a fairly cool day so good for walking, an initial 1 or 2 km up a steep fire trail which was sealed, then undulating unsealed fire trail up to the open fields at the top, there were other trails to head off to be we headed right out to the trig point where we got lovely views across the Lanyon Valley.

Some magnificent trees along the way and lots of bird life and a number of birds nesting in their bird holes.

Bermagui

Amy was staying at Tathra the night before the wedding and then at the winery the night of the wedding,  so I stayed Thursday night and Friday night in Bermagui. It was nice to just be by myself for two nights. I did go to the wedding on the Friday, but had the Friday monring and Saturday morning to explore. I enjoyed two long walks on the beach which was good for the soul and the weather was just lovely.

I remember going to Bermagui on a family holiday as a child but I had no memories of what the place looked like, I really enjoyed Bermagui, it had shops and cafes but not as big or hectic as Merimbula or Bateman's Bay. I enjoyed discovering the town and finding new places to walk.

Had the beach to myself in the morning.

I went to the wedding on Friday afternoon then back to Bermagui for the night. Amy was staying in a cottage on the winery so I picked her up around 11am the next morning. A lot of the guests met at Bermagui for fish and chips for lunch so after that we headed back to Canberra. We had come down Brown Mountain so headed back  via Batemans Bay. First stop Cobargo, we checked out a few of the shops and made a few purchases, all the shop owners thanked us for visiting. Corbago had been badly hit by the fires and some of the shops in the main street were destroyed by fire. We also called in at Tilba Tilba and Bodalla and purchased various cheeses and dairy products. 

Lots of evidence of the fires as we drove along, including Batemans Bay and coming up the Clyde. It was hard to imagine what it was like. The black burned trees contrasted with the green following the rain and the begining of regrowth. It was a nice little break away and just before all the lockdown measures came into place so it was good to get away now that we no longer can.

Amy the Bridesmaid

Before the COVID 10 restrictions came into force Amy was a bridesmaid at her friends Pete and Karina's wedding. It was down at Mimosa Winery on Friday 22nd March. The wedding was 70 guests so at that stage was under the 100 people limit, must have been one of the last weddings allowed to go ahead, on the following Monday things changed considerably. Amy and I drove down on the Thursday, we met the bridal party and families at the Winery and helped set up and there was also a rehearsal. I left Amy there and she was going back to stay at Tathra with Karina and her parents before getting ready for the wedding the next day. I headed to Bermagui where I was staying for the next two night.

It was an unplugged wedding so we weren't able to take photos during the ceremony. I did get a few of Amy and we are now able to buy some photos from the wedding photographers website which we need to get around to!

Amy looked lovely, so did the bride of course! It was a lovely relaxed wedding, beautiful weather and a lovely setting. Here are a few shots from the day.

Out and About in March

After my brother Simon's funeral I drove mum back to Melbourne and stayed with her for a few days before heading back to Canberra. It was a wet drive down with rain most of the way. We stopped overnight at a bed and breakfast in Rutherglen to break the journey which was nice. On the way home I called in at the Fern Tree Gully Market and caught up with mum, then walked up the 1000 steps at Fern Tree Gully- quite a steep climb and lots of people but the Dandenongs are such a lovely place to be.

A week after I got back Amy and I headed out for a walk, we walked through the Cork Forest at the Arbouretum always and interesting place to visit.

We also checked out the National Rock Garden which has some amazing rocks.

Rain Finally Arrives in Canberra

Canberra has been struck by drought and it has been very brown and dry over the last few years. While the drought hasn't really broken over the last couple of months we have had some decent rains which has seen Canberra green up which is so lovely to see.

It has been a while since we have seen wet bricks!

The ponds around Gordon which have been so low are finally filling up.

So lovely to see green again.

It has been a long time since Point Hut crossing was closed

We walked our bikes across the crossing as you can see there was a lot of mud!

Bill, Amy and I went for a drive out to Tharwa to check out the fire damage and enjoy the green view. As you can see Beau came with us and enjoyed being up on the tree.

Family Photos

Simon's funeral was an opportunity for the family to gather together and be together and an opportunity to get some family photos.

Below is a photo from of Pam with her grandchildren.

In the back row from L to R- Nathan, Matthew, Mia, Ben, Nicky, Kelly, Natalie, Joshua and Daniel.

Front Row L to R - Lachlan, Amy, Pam, Charlie and Ella.

Nicky lives in London and was out in Australia for a wedding when Simon passed away, it was good that she was here and able to attend the funeral, otherwise it would have been a hard time for her back in the UK

Below is my cousin John Goss, with mum and then Fiona and Geoff Goss. John and Geoff are my cousins- there mother Fay Goss was one of mum's sisters. Fiona and Geoff flew over from Adelaide for the funeral, which was so lovely of them. John lives in Canberra.

Kerrie Jones, another cousin- daughter of Geoff and Jill Hocking- Jill was my dad's sister. She lives in Melbourne and flew up for the funeral. Their efforts to come at short notice was so touching and appreciated.

Here is a photo of Pam and I with my other 3 brothers, Kim, Michael and Gary

Slide Show From Simon' s Funeral

This the the Slideshow that Bindi put together for Simon's Funeral

A Post I Have Been Putting Of

I have been putting off posting on my blog for a couple of months now and the reason for that is that on Monday 24th February my youngest brother Simon Mamouney was in a single car crash on his way home from work, he passed away instantly. I got a distressed phone call from my sister in law Bindi around 8:30pm at night, I dropped everything and headed over there trying to process what she had just told me. I am one of 5 children and Simon was my youngest brother by 14 years. It was such a shock to get this news and even today over 7 weeks later it still doesn't seem quite real.

Simon and Bindi moved to Canberra nearly 17 years ago, just after Mia was born. I was so excited to have family in Canberra in particular my younger brother and his family. We have enjoyed many family dinners, picnics, holidays over the years and in particular have enjoyed visiting them in Austria and Ireland on their various postings with Simon's job with the Department of Foriegn Affairs and Trade.

This is probably one of the last photos I would have had taken with Simon, it was in Ireland when Bill and I visited them in October 2018. It was on a beach near Grange, over on the West Coast near Sligo where we met Bindi, Simon and the kids for the weekend. This beach was where some of the Spanish Armada was shipwrecked- Simon always loved his history.

The funeral was held a week later on Monday 2nd March with the Mamouney Family from Melbourne all in attendance and the Snow Family from Melbourne and Perth  also coming to Canberra. 

The funeral was a sad occasion but at the same time a wonderful celebabrtion of his life. Simon and Bindi had probably packed 40 years of adventures into the 20 years of life they had together.

Below is the program and photos of the funeral.

Photos adorned the walls, Bindi was a keen photographer so we are fortunate to have so many photos of him to help us remember the wonderful times we have had with him,

Bindi, his wife with their children, Charlie 14 and Mia 17

The funeral was held at Lyenham Chapel, it was a huge funeral, with people travelling from all around Australia. Cousins unexpectely came from Melbourne and Adelaide. Fellow workers from DFAT were there. It was quite a day. We were very fortunate that this all happened before the COVID -19 Pandemic took hold and were were able to gather together to mourn and process this tragic event. There was a private cremation later but we didn't attend this.