Kristy's Clip 4

It’s hard to believe but our first month is already over.  I found myself wondering the other day, what would I have to do to drag this out for 12 months.  I’m finding my motivation from all the Grey Nomads that we’ve met.  The conversations always start the same; “So where ya from?” the old fella asks.

 “Oh we live outside Melbourne.” I reply.

”Where outside Melbourne?” he persists.

“In a lovely place near the Dandenong Ranges called Upper Beaconsfield (it’s pointless saying Guys Hill). What about you?” I ask.

“Ah yes Upper Beaconsfield, beautiful part of Victoria.  Where do I live my dear? I live wherever our van is.  We have no fixed address.” He replies with the kind of smile that tells me that he thinks he’s king of the world.

I’m amazed at just how many of these senior citizens are happy to cruise around this beautiful country without a care in the world.  I think I’d like to join them.  Can someone just let my Mum know that we’re probably not going to make it home for Christmas lunch.

We continued our travels north this week with the intention of stopping in Ballina.  We pulled into Ballina Macca’s (always a good way to gauge the quality of a town).  It was at this point that we decided to leg it out of Ballina.  Let’s just say I’m glad we had locked the car, hidden the GPS and stashed our Ipods in our undies.  We were lucky to escape with the clothes on our backs.  It’s had a lasting effect of Ry too, as we were leaving he turned and sincerely said to me, “Mum I don’t think I’d be proud of you if you had your boobs out at Macca’s and they were covered in tatts like that lady”.  Bye bye Ballina.

A day on the beach

We settled north of Byron Bay at a quaint little hippy town called Brunswick Heads.  It was only a short drive back to Byron. We thought the local market would give the kids a good feeling for the Byron culture.  I couldn’t have counted the number of bare foot, cheese cloth clad, dreadlocked individuals we had passed when Tamsyn asked, “Mum, are we in a hippy town”.  Sometimes her powers of observation baffle me.  The kids really enjoyed it.  I’m not sure why but everyone is completely chilled.  There’s no pushing, shoving or rushing, everyone just seems so content to cruise.  Taj seemed to enjoy this atmosphere more than any of us.  He thought it was great to just sit anywhere on the ground and eat sushi, followed by samosa and vegie rolls.  I wonder why he had such a bad case of the munchies.



Taj's munchy attack.



Byron itself was a bit of a disappointment.  Gone is the hippy groove town.  It’s quite commercial now and I’d have to say a little overrated.  I was talking to a retired policeman who said that they’ve cleaned all the drugs out of the area (he was walking a retired sniffer dog at the time).  Perhaps it was all the drugs that had made the town so interesting. I guess there’s hope for Ballina yet.



I wasn’t sad to see the end of NSW.  I’d really had enough of their ridiculous revenue collecting efforts and completely deteriorated roads.  We all flashed a bird at the last fixed speed camera as we left the border. We’ll never say another bad word about Vic road rules and police again!

Queensland offered us Nth Tanborine as our first stop over.  A beautiful, peaceful, simple caravan park set in a rainforest full of, you guessed it, more Grey Nomads.  It was lovely to sit around a campfire at night and have a drink, ahhh the serenity.  We managed a couple of nice walks but our main focus while near the Goldcoast was always going to be theme parks.

 
 
We decided that this year we would only go to one park.  Having said that we purchased unlimited entry tickets.  We’ve managed to go on every ride in the park except the Giant Drop.  I don’t know but there’s something slightly unnerving about plummeting 120mt towards the ground that I’m uncomfortable with.  Poor Taz, I’ve gone on every ride with her but I just can’t bring myself to do that one.  There’s a lot to be said about doing the “Big 6” at Dreamworld, we’re currently sitting of 5.  Surely that’s close enough.  We’re planning one more day at Dreamworld before heading north again.  If I get 10 messages/calls or comments/emails before Monday I’ll do the Big Drop.  My life is in your hands.

Today we moved down the mountain and have found a gorgeous fishing village at Jacobs Well.  What should have been a 40min transition was dragged out to 4 ½ hours after Chris and the kids decided to go fishing.  Apparently they had a great time.  I wouldn’t know, I took the opportunity to have a snooze in the car. 

Well that’s it for another week.  Thank goodness I’ve got internet and phone reception back. Without all my communication tools I got a bit homesick this week.

Love to all,

Kristy

Top right Taj being very brave on a ride
below: Chris and Taz on Wipeout
Below:I always new it would end like this for Ry
Above: Taj and Ry get friendly with the locals.

Glorious Days

Sup Fools!!!!

Absolutely having a wonderful time. Moonee Beach was devine, as picturesque as the Prom, yet the water and weather are 10 degrees warmer, with a similar tidal river running straight of the ocean. Some excellent fishing, great surfing and dolphin spotting, a magic place to sit back and unwind. The wildlife was wonderful and although only 10 minutes from Coffs Harbour you felt in your own little oasis.

Some other highlights of the time at Moonee Beach was definitely the Pet Porpouise pools. It was truly a place where you really got to interact with the amazing dolphins, seals and cute little penguins. Also had a great time walking through some great rainforests up at Dorrigo and the waterfalls were spectacular.

After 6 relaxing days we headed north to the border and found ourselves at Brunswick Heads, another great fishing and surfing spot. Ry caught a massive bream and we all had fun in the turbulant surf.
After nearly a month of putting up with NSW revenue seeking law enforcement we headed over the border into beautiful Queensland. Although the NSW coast provided some breathtaking surprises entering Queensland seemed to relax everyone even further.
Our first stop was a little inland to Mt. Tamborine and found a very peaceful caravan park (but another strange owner.) From this hinterland spot we could take in natures gifts whilst also heading down to the thrills of the theme parks.

It has been great hitting Dreamworld and Whitewater World not in the school holidays. No lines and the opportunity to move around at a more relaxing pace and be able to get onto any ride you want without queues. I absolutely loved the Tower of Terror, even if I was a little concerned before giving it a crack. It provided me one of the biggest thrills I have ever experienced and was totally enjoyable.

Today we headed more to the coast and found an awesome, (I think) only private little community on the Gold Coast at Jacobs Well. We also had an awesome time at an Eco Fishing Farm where we caught Silver Perch, Australian Bass, Sooty and Barco Grunter. It was fantastic to catch the fish and throw them back to fight on.

All in all having a great time, thanks Scotty for the phone call about the great Doggy comeback. I watched them hit the front and then get robbed. Another great thing about moving states has been getting the AFL back. How sad are NSW, NRL is the only sport they focus on and they still can't beat Queensland. They may need to take up lawn bowls.
Catch ya,
Chris

Tazzie’s Talk 4

After another week on the Gold Coast I have found a few more awesome things in my holiday from racing on the hydrocoaster at White Waterworld to spinning round on the wipeout at Dreamworld,  the amazing waterfalls at Cedar Creek Falls and then to a fun fishing farm. They have been my favourite things this week.

White Waterworld

When we got to white water world we raced through the gates and to the change rooms. Once we were all changed we ran off to the hydrocoaster. We thought that this one would be good for the boys but we were wrong! Dad and I had a really good time but Ryley and Taj well....... Taj came off the slide crying but Ryley came off and said “Can we go on that again” But we had to go and try to get Taj on a slide now so we went off to the little easier rides and he went on all of them. His favourite was the Viper slide. My favourite was the little rippers because you went in like a funnel thing. When dad went on he tipped over and I laughter so much. After the little slides we went to the BRO (BLUE RINGED OCTOPUS) and it was a racing slide I lost every time! I found that I needed to find a better slide so I found THE RIP and it was a really cool slide you went in and you can’t see but then you get shot out into a funnel it was really good. Then it got too cold so we went over to Dreamworld to get dry..............

Dreamworld



Dad and I on Wipeout



To start the fast and fun adventure the boys went on the dodgem cars and I went on a Rolla Coaster. It wasn’t that good but was better than the dodgem cars. After a boring start I finally got to go on the Wipeout. It was the best ride ever you go  up and down round and round and you got to go up side down! After an AWESOME time on the wipeout we went to a new ride called shock wave which was really good but I felt sick after because it went round clockwise so I got motion sickness. After the good but illing ride on shock wave we went to the barrel ride with sick dad and Taj. It was a bit boring but we got wet and that was really cool!! Ry and I went on again but this time it was only us so we got to go on with a lovely group of Asians. After more splashes on the barrel ride we meet mum and went off to the log ride. This was where you go really wet. But mum Ry and I found out if you duck at the part where the water splashed up and gets you wet. So we went on the ride and then we went down the hill and ducked and didn’t get wet! So it turned out to be a really good peaceful ride.

Ry and I at the start of the Moto Coaster

After the log ride we raced off to the moto coaster. Even thought it was a school day it was still too long of a line so we went back to the wipeout but this time I was the only one to go on and had a awesome time because I went on the back of the wipeout instead of the front and on the back you spent more time upside down. When the ride stopped mum told me I had to be quick because we had to go to the water park to get our towels and wet suits because the park was closing. So I raced over to mum and we got our clothes and then went back to Dreamworld. When we got back into Dreamworld mum and I raced off to another Rollo coaster but this time we got straight on. It was a really cool Rolla Coaster. Then we had to try to get Ry on the Moto Coaster before the park shut. We got their and there was no line so we got straight on. It was really fast and fun but after the ride your legs were hurting sooooo much. On Wednesday We went for a second round at Dreamworld and this time I had to go for the tower of terror 11 and it was the best ride I have ever been on! It was so fun I LOVED IT!!!!! You started off going backwards at 161 kms per hour, you got shot 3 quarters the way up this 120mt ramp and then we went forwards the same pace and then the ride was over but you went so fast and it was soo cool. Today we finally got Taj on a ride and it was one of the big 6 he went on over and over again! Next time it’s The GIANT DROP time!

Taj being very brave on the Barrel ride.

The waterfalls

We went for a walk to some beautiful waterfalls luckily this time you only had to walk about 3 kms but still saw so amazing waterfalls. This time there were 3 waterfalls and some massive rock pools the biggest rockpools I have ever seen. But the water was soo cold so we didn’t even think about swimming. When we were about to leave we found a t-shirt and Ryley couldn’t help but throw it down the waterfall. It was really funny watching the shirt go down the waterfall. We had to wait for the shirt to come to a place where we could reach the it so Taj could have a go. After Taj had a go we went back to the camp site. I can’t wait to find what fun thing lay ahead and if I can find something better than the Tower of Terror 11.

Fishing Farm

When we were looking for something to do we discovered a fishing farm that had 6 different types of fish. I wasn’t going to fish at first but then I found out that it could be really fun. I was fishing for about 2 minutes when I caught my first fish. I had no problem bringing this one in. But I was scared to pick it up so dad had to hold the fish and take the pic at the same time. The next time was only about 20secs later when I had just put my line in BANG! I had a fish this one at least had a bit of a fight. After that I had to wait about 10 minutes and then I had another one and this one had a massive fight but when I had it on near the bank I thought that it would be nice for Taj to catch a fish so i flicked the bail arm a little bit and let Taj reel it in but it was too strong for Taj so I had to reel it in any way. I didn’t realise that it was so big. After that we had a long wait but then I had another fish and boy did it fight it was the biggest fish we caught!!!! After that they went off the bite so we had to wait about 20 minutes. But I then caught my last fish and It wasn’t that big but it was still a good catch. All together we caught 16 fish and the leader board was

Ryley- 5 fish

Me- 4 fish (Not including the one I gave to Taj)

Dad- 4 fish

Taj- 3 fish (Including the one I gave to Taj)

Mum- 0 didn’t fish she hates fishing!!!

Taj's Tattles 3

How To Catch A Toad Fish

Put on little pieces of prawns.

Then you cast your line in the water.

When the toad bites, reel him in.

At Moonee Beach we stayed at a caravan park that had a dog in front of us and one our left and right.  We went to the beach.  That when I caught my toad fish.  I felt happy because I caught a fish and it was my first fish at the holiday.  I released him back into the wild so that he could make friends with the other toads and grow bigger.  We went bike riding. We went scootering.  We walked into town.  I bought sunglasses and fruit chews.

We went to the pet porpoise pool. I got kissed by a dolphin and seal.  It was cool.  I liked the dolphin kiss beeter because he didn’t do it like the seal.  The seal had a furry kiss and the dolphin had a soft kiss.  I got picked out of the crowd with somebody else and we got to brush Zippy’s teeth.  Zippy was a dolphin.  And Ryley and somebody else got to sing to the seals.  The penguins were really cute.  We didn’t get to pat them.  I saw one swimming in the water.

We saw lots of waterfalls.  Most were baby ones.  I walked 6 kilometers.  It was really cool, my legs got really sore.  We thought Ryley and Tamsyn split up, we thought they went the wrong way.  We found them out the front of the shop. 

We went down the toboggan slide at The Big Banana.  It was cool but i got to hope out of one of them because I had to grab dads hat because it fell out of the toboggan the ride before.  We got a free ride to get the hat.

Tazzie's Talk 3

Tazzie's Talk 3

Another week more great stuff discovered. This week I have enjoyed The Pet Porpoise Pool, the waterfalls and the Big Banana.

The Pet Porpoise Pool

I loved the Pet Porpoise Pool because you got kissed by a dolphin and seal. After you got kissed we got to watch the Pet Porpoise Pool show. It was amazing to see how high the dolphins can jump. I also liked how they trained the seals to pick up rubbish and put it in the bin. They didn’t teach them to perfection because my brothers didn’t end up in the bin. After the great show we got to pat the dolphins and seals and also feed them. But that was not all because hiding in the corner was little penguins. So when we were about to go they told us we could feed the penguins. They were sooo cute.

The Waterfalls

That's Dad, Taj and I behind the falls.

At the waterfalls we had to walk about 3kms before we saw the first waterfall it was massive. It was easily 20mt. We walked about another km and then came across the biggest waterfall I have ever seen. It was like, 30mt tall probably bigger. It was beautiful but I think that the other one was more beautiful but both were amazing. It was really worth the 6km walk to see what we saw.

The Big Banana

When we pulled in at the big Banana we saw that there was a toboggan slide. I was so happy to see that we could be racing down a toboggan slide again. When we got our tickets we were off but this slide was not as good as the ones at Anna Bay, so you couldn’t go as fast. EVEN RYLEY CAUGHT ME!!! That was how slow it was. But it was better than nothing.

We are going to Lennox Heads. I think I liked Moonee Beach the best so far.  



The view from our caravan at Moonee Beach



Kristy's Clip 3

Wow things have really settled into routine now.  We all have our set up and pack up jobs and can master both processes fully in 1 ½ hours.  Not bad really.  We manage to do it in a state of relative calm which I’m sure won’t last.  Well when I say relative calm what I actually mean is that everyone except Ry is calm.  As many of you will know Ry doesn’t cope well with change, so packing up and moving house every couple of days sends him spinning.  Hopefully he’ll settle soon, if not I might just grant him the wish that he made today and send him home on a plane for few days.  Get ready Grandma, you may be getting a visitor.

This week has provided us with the most beautiful location.  I demand all you Melbournians to book your holidays right now!  Actually you can keep reading my page then go and book the following:  Moonee Beach Caravan Park.  A beautiful aqua tidal river ripples over sand bars into a pristine open surf beach.  Rolling sets of perfect waves, one after another.  Just beautiful.  One morning I headed out for a run. I ran out to the point and stopped to enjoy the view.  At the time I was thinking, this just can’t get better.  Then, like God is treating me to complete perfection, a pod of dolphins start cruising through the waves right in front of me.  You’ve got to DO IT.

 

Ry, star of the show

What started as a two day stay turned into a week-long visit.  Most of the days were spent fishing and reading, just kicking back and relaxing.  However we did decide to take on a couple of tourist tasks.  We headed off to the Pet Porpoise Pool in Coffs.  This was a brilliant day for all of us.  School holidays are over now so most of the tourist activities have thinned right out.  The Porpoise Pool operates on the same principals as Australia Zoo.  They encourage the kids to touch and feel all the animals in the hope that they’ll develop a love for them and become little enviro soldiers.  Well it worked for me.  Getting a kiss from a dolphin was certainly something exceptional.  The kiss from the sea lion on the other hand, well, I’m pretty accustomed to those whiskery kisses, the fish breath I could do without.  Ry was lucky enough to be called up on stage to help with the performance.  He had to sing happy birthday to a seal so that the dolphins would dance.  It was gorgeous.  Taj then got called on stage to brush dolphin’s teeth.  It was so cute.

From frolicking fun to flat out fitness.  We drove up into the hinterland to the Dorrigo National Park where all five of us embarked on a little walk.  It starts with a skywalk (check out the view below) then circles around in a 6km mountainous loop.  The highlight of the walk was the two amazing waterfalls.  At one of the falls you could actually walk right through the back of the water and come out on the other side.  Even the kids thought this was pretty exciting.

After packing the van this morning we decided to do the essential Coffs Harbour tourist activity.  We went to the Big Banana.  It is old, tacky, corny and absolutely hilarious.  Taj walked through the banana and said, “Naaaw I thought it’d be better than this.  I thought we’d get to walk through the squishy part of the banana or at least we’d get to eat it”.  Their moods escalated however when they found the toboggan track. 

So we’re planning one more stop in NSW before we bid farewell to bad roads, bad speed signage, excessive  speed detection devices (sneaky buggers), potato scallops, indicating off roundabouts and their silly idea of football (how is it football when you use your hand more than your foot).  Good bye also to the beautiful coastline, gorgeous rainforests and some pretty spectacular skate parks (although I’m sure we’ll see lots more).

Missing lots of you lots, Kristy xox.

Adventures Of Lemur Boy 2

The sand dunes were the 2nd  best thing we've done so far. They were awesome. We went 4 wheel driving over some but got bogged once and then made it through.  The sand dunes were massive. We got our boogie boards out of the car and then climbed to the top of the sand dunes. We went down, we went so fast and i crashed and face planted and I swallowed heaps of sand. I surfed down the sand dunes on my boogie board. I found a surf board with no fins so we used that too. It was the fastest of all of them. Me and Taj walked for ages and then dad told us to come back. We also dug wombat holes mine was the biggest.  If i stood up in it, it would be up to the middle of my belly. Then we had a race. Me and Taz v's Taj and mum. We got off to a great start and then mum and taj caught up and won.  We went back over the sand dunes and hopped in the car and headed off.

The sharks and rays where the best so far.  We got into a wetsuites and got a stick with food and a few cups of food.  We got to get in the shark and ray tanks.  The first tank we went in was the biggest sharks. They were bigger than dad and mum.  We got to pat and feed them.  There was a baby but it was still bigger than me, Taz and Taj.  There was also a Baramundi and a Gummy shark then we went to the little sting rays. They were funny.  They kept biting  our feet, it tickled. Then went in the two massive tanks.  There was a big stingray called Raspy.  She weighed 300kg. There were Port Jackson sharks that kept biting you.  There were also some school sharks that were really smooth and quick.  When we went into the main ray tank there were lots of small Port Jackson sharks that would bite you on the butt.  There were heaps of different stingrays but my favourite was the Eagle Ray.There was a tank of catfish, baby sharks and rays.  I had a great time

The next day we went tobogganing.  The first time I went down I was being very cautious.  Tamsyn just went full speed.  Dad caught up to me and told me to hurry up.  The second time we went on I wasn't cautious and I didn't put on the brake. It was really cool and lots of fun.  Tamsyn went full speed again and Dad couldn't even catch her.  We hopped on a little train to go up to the maze.  We took a long time to get through the maze.  Taj and I were the first people to finish.  Mum and Tamsyn took, like three hours.  The man told me that if I put out my left arm and kept it on the left wall I would finish in less than one minute.We got back on the train and saw heaps of Gymie Lillies.  They are the tallest lillies in the world.

In the afternoon we hopped on a dolphin cruise.  We learnt about some new species of fish.  My favourite is the Jackass Morwong.  It was really rough.  We  didn't see a dolphin for pretty much the whole cruise.  Then right at the end we saw a pod of dolphins.  Not many people got to see them because lots of people were laying on the floor vomiting including my dad.  The rest were Japanese tourist.  There were babies in the pod. We got right up close to them.  We could almost touch them.

The next day we went back to the toboggan park and finished off our rides.  We went tobogganing, rock climbing and played in the jumping castle.  The tobogganing was really wet and slippery.  When you went fast you would almost slip off the track.  It was scary.  The rock climbing was really fun.  we were rock climbing upside down. 

I've loved Anna Bay and can't wait to see where we go next.

I'll report back next week,
Lemur Boy

Taj's Adventures 2





 We went to Anna Bay.  I played golf and I played on the toboggans.  We went on the train ride.  It was cool because we got to go on a tractor train ride. It led us to the maze.  Me and Ryley were the first ones out. We went on the jumping castle.  My favourite was the Scooby Doo jumping castle.

We saw some dolphins when we were going back to the bridge.  Dad got boat sick.  I got boat sick as well.  We had fish and chips on the boat.  Me and Ryley had a coke, Ryley had a coke zero and I had plain.


 
We went to the sand dunes.  Me and Mum versed Tamsyn and Ryley.  Tamsyn and Ryley were flogging us at the start and then we just managed to beat them.  It was fun racing Tamsyn and Ryley.  It is the biggest s and dunes in the world.  Dad got bogged two times.  One, me, mum and Ryley weren’t in. Daddy and Tamsyn had to dig their car out until they got towed out by a tow truck.
<><><><><><>

<>

Me, I am feeding the baby shark.  

We swam with sharks and stingrays.  There was the biggest shark that I've ever seen.  My toes got nibbled by the stingrays but it didn't hurt.  Ky would have loved it.  Mrs B would be scared. there was a sting ray, it was ginormous.  It was bigger than every kid in my grade. I wasn't scared.  It was really cool







See ya, Taj.



Pentz' Prattle - Gorgeous Anna Bay

Hi Ladies and Gents,

It has been a while since my last blog only because I really couldn't be stuffed, I mean have been busy and don't really care about any of you, oops, I mean would like to share with you my experiences.
Anyway a big thanks to the Rigby's and Cathy for their great hospitality at Singleton, the house was awesome and a great piece of luxury.

My highlight so far has definitely been Anna Bay. Couldn't stop thinking of Scotty as we drove around and over the massive dunes and watched the kids run into the distance or surf down the face of them. They were amazing, even more amazing was that some other 4WDers (thanks for the tip Scotty, we definitely needed it) credited my brilliant driving and were in wonder on how I got to some places. One fool even thought to follow me, yes the bloke who got bogged in his own paddock!!!

Other highlights of Anna Bay were the beautiful scenery (amazing), the Toboggan Run, feeding the Rays and Sharks, however, although the kids loved the dolphin watching I did my best effort to feed them some regurgitated fish and chips. It was a bit bumpy. All in all Anna Bay was sensational and anyi\one who gets the chance should call in, you could spend months there.

With my ego in full swing we headed off to Myall Lakes, relaxed in the National Park and I decided to take Taz for a bit more expert 4WD driving. As soon as I hit the beach, my new found confidence evaborated and turned to how the hell am I going to turn this car around and get off this beach. Well, I gave it a shot and got myself so deeply bogged I became a tourist attraction for the passer bye. Slightly concerned, Taz and I began to dig, with very little effect, luckily a true 4WDer came in and snapped us out of our predicament. Soon after we left Myall Lakes, wasn't as we hoped, a Ranger charged us more for staying on a piece of grass than we had at the awesome Birubi Beach Caravan Park at Anna Bay and we didn't catch a fish.

Today we have arrived at Bonnie Hills and the views are breath taking. Looking forward to more adventures and a little less 4WD driving.

Catch ya,
Chris.

Kristy's Clip 2

Beautiful Anna Bay

From grapevines and mountains to beaches and sand dunes.  What a contrast.  We settled into beautiful Birubi Beach in Port Stephens.  So many of my friends had told me about this little piece of paradise but it has seriously taken my breath away.  Some things need to be seen to be truly appreciated.  Morning runs along the cliffs of Anna Bay with the sun warming my back, ahhhh almost enough to get me back into training for the marathon.

There’s so much to do here and the kids have just loved it.  To my gal pals at home I’ll let you know that I’ve ticked off one of those bucket list activities that I told you about.  Keep reading and all will be revealed (yes I took photos). 

After setting up the van we took a stroll down to the beach.  You wouldn’t believe that the beach was just 300m away and there’s a skate park on the edge of the beach.  As we wandered along the foreshore we came upon a cemetery.  Seriously, a cemetery with million dollar views of the cliffs and the oceans.  So you can get million dollar beach views but it will cost you your life. 



The view from the cemetary



We got back to the van and Chris suggested that we go for a drive.  We headed down the road and Chris saw the sign 4wd beach access.  “Let’s give that a crack,” he says. “Alright but if it starts to get tricky we turn around Ok.  Remember we’ve never been 4w driving before”, I reply.  Sharp left off the main rd., whack it into 4wd and hit it! 100m in, we’re cruising, 200m in, too easy, 300m in, “Oh dear lord, hold on kids”.  We were all laughing hysterically as we bounce our way through the deep sand with me urging Chris to keep flooring it.  Finally we make it out onto the beach front and we get to cruise along the beach, smiles from ear to ear.  Up in the distance a 4wd pulls over, as we pass he pulls back in behind us and begins to follow.  We note that he mustn’t feel very confident and has decided to follow us for added comfort.  Chris’ quote of the trip at this point, “Don’t follow us ya dickhead.  We got bogged in our own paddock”.  In the distance we can see silhouettes of people running up sand dunes so we figure there must be a way to get up to the back of the dunes.  We take a right and head inland.  That’s when we come unstuck, or should I say stuck.  We contemplated going over a dune but could see that it was going to be a challenge.  Sure enough we hit the sandbank and stop.  Thankfully we were able to reverse out on full throttle.  We all jumped out of the car and head off into the sunset.  The next day we come back armed with surfboards and boogie boards.  With a little more confidence we got the car over the dune and the adventure began.  Check out the amazing photos.  Again, seeing is believing.

I had told a couple of the girls at home the intention to knock a few items off my bucket list while I’m away.  This week I got to do one of them.  As promised, photos are available.  Yes I faced all my insecurities, stripped off and …….. Swam in a tank full of sharks.  It was amazing.  For all of you who think I’m foolish let me explain my rationale.  You see, I went in with my entire family.  I figured if the sharks were really hungry they’d eat the biggest person, bye bye Chris.  If they were a little peckish then they’d go for the smallest one, see ya later Taj. I figured I was pretty safe!  So straight into the big tank we went.  The big sharks were so relaxed and calm it was just beautiful.  Then I went into the small sting ray tank and had my toes nibbled on causing hysterical laughter and snorting.  Finally I got into the mixed tank with the 300kg sting ray, the Port Jacksons, Reef sharks, Banjo sharks and many many more.  It was amazing.  The sting ray was utterly intimidating, she kept swimming up to Taj and I and pushing on our legs to get us to loose balance.  Later when I got to feed her she pinned Ry, Tamsyn am I to the wall while trying to eat food off our tummies.  It was in this tank that the inevitable happened, a shark bit me on the butt.  Sadly it didn’t take a big enough bite; I’ll need to keep running to stay in my jeans!


Floating smorgesboard





I’m surprised as I write this to think that I got all this and more done in one week.  Funny enough it doesn’t end there.  Today we headed off to the Toboggan Park.  It was a morning of fun and giggles as all of us tried to catch Tamsyn on the toboggans.  She had one mission, get down fast.  Apparently the way to do that is to not use your break at all.  She flew at break-neck speed (seriously has anyone started taking bets on our first hospital visit). Ry, as usual was conservative while Taj tried to roll his by swinging it up to the sides.

Our final adventure at Port Stephens was to take a cruise out on the bay looking for dolphins.  Although the weather has been beautiful this week a strong gusty wind has chopped up the bay in a big way.  Chris rang the tour operator this morning explaining that we have a child who tends to get sea sck, “No worries mate.  It’s very calm in the bay”, was the operators reply.  If that’s his idea of calm it would take a tsunami to get him to rate it as choppy.  We board the boat with 40 Japanese tourists (not really the seafaring type). The tour operator brings on board a yummy box of fresh fish and chips for all the Japanese people (possibly not the best food for a boat trip) and set off in the hope of spotting some bottle nose dolphins.  45 minutes in and there’s 7 people on the floor holding their heads.  Every additional 5 minutes sees another tourist lay down on the floor.  Then the vomiting starts.  They’re vomiting on the carpet, in the toilet, off the side, off the back, it was hilarious.  Looking at my kids I felt a little proud, yeah I have kids with iron guts, kids who can stomach anything.  Then I think, mmmmm, where’s Chris.  Down the stairs he comes with Taj and they make a beeline for the couch, “Arghhh, just move, I’ve gotta lie down”, moaned my hulk tinged husband.  “Me too”, groans Taj.  So that’s the end of my bragging.  At that moment the captain announced that the dolphins were surfacing at the front of the boat.  With that, Tamsyn, Ry and I skip to the front of the boat for an unobscured view of the 7 majestic dolphins.  Taj was then tempted to come and watch, providing an instant cure to his sea sickness.  Chris on the other hand remained on the couch until the boat docked.