Anglos Down Under

The day before we were due to go to Australia Malcolm and Tzvi went to Jerusalem for Tzvi’s Grandfathers stone setting. About an hour after they left Jerusalem Tzvi rang. “Nothing to worry about but……..” They had been driving on Road One when the traffic suddenly slowed. Malcolm also slowed but the car behind didn’t and smashed into them. The police came very quickly and the traffic was brought to a standstill. Although no one involved seemed to be hurt, the police insisted that they were taken to hospital. The nearest hospital north of them was in Rishon. I took Gila and the children back to their apartment and then used their car to drive to the hospital. Fortunately Malcolm and Tzvi really did seem to be ok. Tzvi was discharged soon after but Malcolm was waiting for the results of an X-ray on his back. Gila had been able to get Malcolm’s post operation X-rays from his Maccabi account as the doctor wanted to compare the X-rays to check that nothing had changed. The doctor confirmed that everything was ok and, with warnings about whiplash and a recommendation to rest for a few days, he was given the all clear to fly. Thankfully we had already packed as we didn’t get home until midnight.

We were picked up by the minibus driver from our homes and travelled together, flying Fly Dubai to Dubai and then Emirates to Melbourne. Our travelling companions were Andrea and Michael Bentley, Elisheva and Jonny Lieberman and Annette and Frank Wineberg . Arriving in Melbourne we were again collected by a minibus and taken to the Kimberley Gardens Aparthotel.

We had paid for the kitchens to be kashered but weren’t sure what to expect. Very impressive. I had been in regular correspondence with Raizel from Eshel catering, and as discussed, a lovely meal was waiting for us at the hotel. We played cricket charades over supper, naming squads from various seasons. The next morning they delivered sandwiches for us to take to the cricket and food for Shabbat lunch.

Getting on the train and walking up to the ground with fellow cricket fans was the beginning of the cricket experience we had all been waiting for. Just being at the MCG for the Boxing Day test was a thrill. The cricket itself was crazy. 20 wickets fell, an Ashes record for Day 1, so we got to see everyone bat and bowl in one day. We had great seats which were fortunately in the shade as the sun was very hot. We had a lovely meet up with Gary Davis, a friend from our university days, and had excellent picnics with the food provided by Eshel.

During my email conversation with Raizel, when ordering food for Shabbat, Raizel mentioned that she lived near where we were staying and invited us for Friday night dinner. When I reminded her that there were eight of us she replied ‘Even better’. Unfortunately, as we were walking Andrea tripped and fell. Before we had time to react Hatzallah appeared, as if by magic, out of nowhere. It was quite extraordinary. Poor Andrea was obviously in pain but with her arm in a sling gamely continued with us to dinner. Raizel and her husband turned out to be Beltz Chassids, warm, friendly and excellent hosts. Our Jewish lives are so different and yet we found so much to talk and laugh about. We had such a lovely evening, strangers at the beginning, friends by the end.

After Shabbat we turned on our phones to discover that England had won, the match was over and there was no cricket for us to watch on Sunday! With Andrea and Michael at A&E, we stayed up to watch the full days play, finally giving up at 2am with the last session of play still to watch. With a spare day we took a boat trip through Melbourne. The weather was nice but we were not inspired.

The next day Malcolm and I took a coach trip into the rain forest where we had a brief walk before being taken to Puffing Billy, a lovely historic railway.

The next day we visited Phillip Island with Elisheva and Jonny. The koala sanctuary was great, our first close ups with Koalas but the highlight was the penguin parade. At dusk, with very clear instructions we walked to the beach head to a bank of benches. Along the way we saw an Echidna, an Australian porcupine. Although we all had hoodies with us it was absolutely freezing. It was worth it however to watch the darling little penguins coming out of the surf onto the beach. As people left we were able to go right down to the front. The penguins came out in groups, hesitantly at first and often dived back in several times before finally coming out. They then set off along a path up the cliff towards their nests. After a while we followed them up a lowly lit boardwalk designed to keep us away but give us a fantastic view of their march up the hill. We were only a foot away from them. No photographs were allowed but they gave us a QR code to download some. They don’t do the experience justice.

On New Year's Eve we flew to Sydney. We stayed at The Shangri La overlooking Sydney Harbour and getting to our hotel was challenging. Not only had a lot of the local roads been closed to traffic, some had also been closed to pedestrians. The taxi driver dropped us somewhere allegedly near the hotel and we eventually found it. It was great fun watching the crowds and the boats arriving throughout the afternoon in preparation for the celebrations. I had ordered food for the evening which had been delivered, earlier in the day to the Weinberg's accommodation . The Liebermans were being joined in Sydney by their Perth family and so we all convened, with some difficulty, at our hotel. The food was perfect, worth the struggle of shlepping it to the hotel. It was a lovely evening, with bonus family fireworks at 9pm and games to occupy everyone until midnight. The fireworks were absolutely magnificent but it was weird sending New Year messages in such a different time zones from our family and friends.

The next day we got up early for a day trip to the Blue Mountains. A rather grey drizzly day but a good afternoon at the wildlife zoo.

For Friday, another day of mixed weather, we had all booked tickets for the same open top bus tour but as we were starting from different bus stops at different times it seemed unlikely we would meet up.

We completely randomly met up with the Liebermans on the way and then managed to coordinate to meet the others at the end of our route at Bondi Beach. First stop was the memorial to those killed at the Chanukah celebrations.

When Frank and Annette returned to Sydney the following week they attended a memorial to mark the end of Shloshim, thirty days after the funerals of the victims. A very moving rendition of Waltzing Mathilda was sung in memory of the youngest victim, 10 year old Mathilda. Frank videoed it. Her father is wearing a yellow hat.

Next stop the SCG for the New Year Test. The first day of the 'Pink' test started with a ceremony to remember the shooting on Bondi Beach. Unlike in Melbourne, where it was mentioned but no mention was made of the victims being Jewish, in Sydney they specifically mentioned the Jewish Community. They also welcomed onto the pitch some of the first responders and individuals who had helped during and after the attack. The biggest cheer of course was for Ahmed Al Ahmed who disarmed one of the gun men.

We saw a good days cricket but were frustrated by the slow over rate and play ending early due to bad light, and then rain. It did give us the opportunity to meet up with UK friends Caroline and Jon Lawrence but what sort of summer is this? On Day 2 we had the joy of watching Joe Root score a magnificent 160, leading England to 384, but Australia's Travis Head and Steve Smith dominated with Head nearing another hundred by stumps, putting Australia in a strong position with a lead and we were not sorry that that was our last day at the test.

At this point. after two weeks, we bade a fond farewell to our companions, and we all went off our different ways, with us heading for three nights at Kangaroo Island via Adelaide. We stayed at the Sea Dragon Lodge for three days of nature and well....kangaroos. They roamed freely around the grounds and although you were not allowed to pet or feed them you could stand really close. Apart from the habit of staring at us they were totally unphased by our presence. At dusk, as the day cooled down they were everywhere and the best thing was sitting on the veranda of our lodge watching them. We did tours of the island seeing some spectacular sites and a couple of seal colonies but the highlight was definitely the kangaroos.

For our return to Adelaide we were told to be ready at 8 am to go to the airport. As it took an hour to drive to the airport and our flight to Adelaide was at 10 Malcolm obviously had palpitations but they insisted that was plenty of time . Given that there are only two flights a day, one check in desk and one luggage belt, an hour at the airport was more than enough.

From Adelaide we took a day trip touring some of the regions wineries. Everywhere we have been on the trip everyone has been interested to hear that we live in Israel. At the second winery the owner was very excited to tell us that he had been on a trip to Israel to visit wineries there. He loved it! The d'Arenberg Cube not only hosts wine tasting of the Winery's wine but we went for the art experience. As well as a Dali Exhibition there was an eclectic mix of eccentric art and both the ladies and men's toilets were extraordinary.

After a quiet Shabbat we had a morning to spend in Adelaide before we were collected for the airport at 2pm. Our Friday guide recommended we visit the State Library. It was a great recommendation. We had a lovely walk in the sunshine through the city's shopping district to a road parallel to the river, where we found the library, the State Museum and the State Art Gallery. We visited the Aboriginal exhibition at the museum but the highlight was the library. There was a very interesting exhibition covering a range of Australian interests and a sample of Bradman's bats and balls. The Mortlock Wing was opened in 1884 and is still open to the public. Absolutely beautiful. Like Sydney there was a very interesting mix of old and new architecture.

A number of people have asked what the highlight of the trip was but there were so many to choose from.

The buzz of being at the SCG and MCG;

Shabbat in Melbourne;

Fireworks on New Years Eve;

Getting so close to the wildlife;

But I think I have to choose the friendship and camaraderie of our group. We took a chance, travelling with friends we have only known for five years, or less in one case. We were not a natural fit as a group - but boy did it pay off.  The disappointment of England’s poor performance was mitigated by sharing the frustration; and the thrill of just being there was enhanced by being with friends who are fellow cricket supporters… and that really applied to everything we did together, from the travelling, to our Shabbat experience, to seeing new places; it was all even better than it would have been by being together. New experiences and new places were all enhanced by seeing them with friends. Our different holiday skills complimented each other and everyone pitched in. I can't remember a single cross word or point of friction. We had a lot of fun together and laughed a lot - what more could you want.