Frangipani: the frozen soundtrack

Diana Kontoprias, of Frangipani Gelato.

It's summertime in Cronulla and the living is easy. With the warmer weather comes the crowds who are drawn to the area for the simple pleasure of being by the seaside on a sultry summer's day where there are breaks and points and beaches to suit all comers.

When it comes time to turn your back on the curl of white sand at South Cronulla and dust off your bucket and spade, join the crush of visitors queuing at Frangipani Gelato Bar, located within a cluster of shops near to the train station.

A rainbow of flavours
This gelateria focuses on a high-quality artisanal gelato with a rainbow of flavours that is as diverse as the crowds: it's elbow-to-elbow with teens flirting over which flavour to try; grandparents committing blatant acts of bribery; and the grommet brigade cooling their heels between surfs.

Kontoprias was taught to make gelato by an Italian when she was living and working in Greece more than a decade ago. She has since gone on to scoop one gold and more than 20 silver medals at Sydney's Royal Easter Show, received third place in the Oceanic Australia and NZ division of the Gelato World Tour and a special award for her pavlova flavour at the global gelato event held in Rimmini, Italy in September, 2014.

Pavlova perfection
Kontoprias was joined in Italy by representatives from Gelato Messina (which has just opened its new premises at Westfield Miranda) as well as the Cow and the Moon, which went on to beat 23 other finalists from around the world. The three Australian teams were chosen out of 16 Australian and New Zealand competitors to travel to the finals in Italy. As one of the top three contenders at the Oceanic Australia global gelato event, Kontoprias was proud to have a crack at the world title with her Aussie-as pavlova flavour, which received a special mention as voted by her industry peers.

Pavlova is the perfect summer flavour.

"As a Greek-Australian the fact that I have received recognition for my artisan gelato is such an honour because I am competing against Italians who have been making gelato for generations. Frangipani is such a small artisan gelato shop and it holds its own against some heavyweights," says Kontoprias, who founded the gelateria in 2002.

A formula for success
The pavlova-flavoured gelato, which features a meringue-flavoured base, passionfruit puree and meringue pieces folded throughout, was created just a year ago and has gone on to become Frangipani's fourth most popular flavour behind cookies, Snickers and salty caramel.

Her award-winning formula adheres to the artisan principle of makes the creamy confection fresh every day using highest quality ingredients and she then tweaks the flavours according to her own taste.

"Once I learnt the basics of making gelato I was free to experiment and that's what I love doing. I've been back to Italy to study the art of making gelati, but my approach is to be as experimental as possible and throw out the rule book when it comes to traditional flavours," says Kontoprias.

'Tis the season
The flavours change as different fruits come into season. This summer, Kontoprias says the hottest flavours are cool and refreshing, such as lime, coconut, raspberry coconut and toffee. She says the sorbets - which are essentially non-dairy gelati - are also really popular.

Frangipani has recently had a facelift, with a berry-flavoured feature wall and pendant lamps illuminating the sleek gelato counter; coffee nuts should also note that Kontoprias is also obsessive about coffee, which is made using The Little Marionette boutique beans.

Expect the gelateria to be smashed this weekend following Slam, the World's Largest Beach Volleyball Festival, to be held at South Cronulla Beach this Saturday, December 6.

Savour the flavour of Frangipani Gelato, which is near to the Cronulla Train Station.

Blue-sky thinking on the Central Coast

Family frilled to be at the Australian Reptile Park.

There’s something a little bit wicked about sneaking off on a Sunday for a jaunt up to the Central Coast. While most Sydney-siders are returning to their busy city lives after a weekend away, we’re blasting Triple J, playing spotto with Jacaranda trees and feeling a little bit smug about skiving off work and school in favour of play.

Despite it being a flat-out scorcher of a day, we’ve somehow managed to beat the heat and file away a few happy family memories in the back catalogue for future reference.

Web of intrigue  
The first stop on our traipse-around the Central Coast, on The Legendary Pacific Coast, was The Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, just one hour’s north from Sydney. What the children learnt at this hands-on zoo today adds layers to what they might have otherwise learned from a textbook and then some, with the exhibits identifying Australia's vulnerable species as well as our most venomous snakes and spiders. While snaking our way around the park increased our understanding of the eight-legged inhabitants of the park, the experience of scurrying around the caves of creepy crawlies saw me outed as an arachnophobe from the get-go.

Snakes alive
The displays are fun, informative and categorically creepy as they help identify various species of spiders that have apparently infested our house. Despite reading the sign that 'hairy doesn't mean scary' and seeing the safety net of inch-thick glass, my reaction when confronted with tarantulas is one of abject terror. What the children loved most about this den of predatory arachnids was dropping foreign objects into my hair and freaking me out.  They also enjoyed learning about the park’s long association with the production of funnel-web spider venoms.

If you arrive at 9.45am, you can observe the funnel-webs being milked. Incredibly, since the advent of the anti-venom in 1980 there have been no further deaths attributed to bites from this – the world’s deadliest spider. Go Australian Reptile Park, go.

Other highlights of the park included seeing venomous snakes, a legless lizard, learning about the zoo's efforts to save the iconic Tassie devil, having our photos taken with Polly, the koala and watching in awe as the zookeepers feed Elvis, NSW’s largest crocodile and a gang of ‘hangry’ gators.

The lagoon becomes a broiling pit of hangry gators at feeding time.

After enjoying a welcome picnic of sandwiches and fruit at the Hard Croc Cafe, we motor back out on the highway and head to the Glenworth Valley, which is heaven for outdoor adventurers. Despite being scheduled to go horseriding, the heat flowing down into the valley precludes this an option as the engines of both horses and humans are overheating. According to my phone, it’s 42 degrees in the shade. So the suggestion to go kayaking is the kind of blue-sky thinking that the outdoor adventure centre is renowned for.

Too cool for school
After patting a few palaminos, we follow our guide James on his quad bike spiralling through a speckled stand of eucalyptus trees until we reach a pretty crook of the Popran Creek. We drag our kayaks down onto the river bank and flop in unison into the mineral-rich water for a swim that can be best described as life-changing, with the creek a delicious mix of rainwater from the mangroves and saltwater from the Hawkesbury. I know it’s not rational, but with the alligator feeding frenzy still front-of-mind, I keep a close eye out for any croc-ologs.

What better way to spend a broiling hot day than paddling in a kayak in Popran Creek.

After an hour slicing through the silky water, we board the family wagon for the short drive to Umina, which is still so accessible from Sydney. “You say You Miner, I say You Meena,” says my husband, which prompts a Dad Joke Alert from the back.

Fun, fun and then some
The air smells delicious at the Ocean Beach Holiday Park, briny from the sea and fragrant with the blossoms of the flowering gums. Our cabin is clean, comfortable and modern and the park is purpose-built for kids and parents: think jumping pillows, water park, half-size tennis courts and adventure playground.

The Central Coast has large pockets of national park and hinterland as well as its stunning coastline.

Kiddies' Corner is a safe and sheltered cove at the southern end of Umina Beach.

While our boys, aged 10 and 11, affix their faces into the joyful position for the afternoon – doing backflips on the inflatable pillows, racing each other on go-karts and doing potentially illegal bombies in the pool, we then stroll along Umina Beach until we hit the local surf club, where, for the sum of $6 we enjoy a sundowner at the session the locals call ‘Sips’ while the kids splash about in the shorey.

The park is protected by Broken Bay at the southern end of the Central Coast and the children have pinky-sweared we will enjoy the 4km return journey again along the talcum-soft sand tomorrow morning.

Pub Grub at Patonga
Any pub awarded Best Regional Pub and a whopping three schooners by Fairfax’s Pub Food Guide is worth travelling to. Patonga means ‘little oyster’ in the Guringai people’s language, whose country stretched from the north side of Port Jackson to the southern end of Lake Macquarie.

Patonga is a very sedate and picturesque fishing village on the Central Coast.

The Patonga Hotel scored a whopping three schooners in Fairfax's Good Pub Guide. We concur: Top pub grub.

It's only a short drive to the Patonga Hotel where we pull up a table in the beer garden and observe as a boy and his father walk past with their fishing gear, their faces tanned by the sun; a couple of families arrive with their children dressed in their PJs and a table of touros sit obsessing over the view. We order burgers for the kids, grilled barramundi for the grown-ups and rejoice at just how sedate this setting is, how relaxed and reasonable the staff are and how seductive the overall experience is.

While we can see Palmie and the City of Sydney in the distance, it feels like we are a world away. Worth noting is that you can walk to Pearl Beach from Patonga via a fire trail, a picturesque trip that will take about 2 hours. It’s another reason to return to this stretch of coastline, where we stay until the scene has been smudged away with nightfall.   

Jumping for joy on our jaunt to the Central Coast.