It was a dark and stormy night ...

... when we arrived down south, but that made it even better. And topped up the rainwater tanks.

Then the sun came out and the sea calmed down and everything was beautiful for the whole week.

Even Yoshi had a swim.

And then a spin-dry.

Mack and Will were almost inseparable.

They dammed the creek, which had just begun flowing and reached the sea after the weekend's rain. It's that yucky colour because of all the minerals in the soil it flows through on its way to the beach.

They scientifically observed monster bull ants

which Mack carefully and gently coaxed from their nest and into a jar.

He's never been bitten by one, so he is still courageous in their company, though he did take heed of all our warnings. (Oh man, do those suckers hurt - and their bite, swollen and itchy, lasts for months.)

Lily and Nick were already down there, at the farm, with Lil's mates who are the hot young band, Pond.

The band had transformed the tiny little shack on the farm into a recording studio — you couldn't move for all the cables and instruments, and they were forced to sleep out in tents in the home paddock. Over ten days they managed to record 14 tracks for their new album.

David was fascinated at what they could achieve with compact, modern recording gear and a laptop.

Such lovely guys. We were incredibly impressed at how hard they worked, and how dedicated they were — and that they found a quick ten minutes to play frisbee with Mack when we visited!

:: Thanks for all your lovely comments and good wishes for our anniversary. We are such an old married couple now!