Ok so last time we spoke I had just had my Birthday. Well that was over three weeks ago so a little catching up to do me thinks.
Firstly it was goodbye to my Dad and Mum who have had a wonderful time in Oz.
We enjoyed having them and it was especially great for the kids to have their Gogs and Grandpa around. See you soon Dad and Mum! x
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| Ice cream in mid winter. |
They left on the Tuesday and we were leaving the next day to go to Uluru which is/was Ayers Rock in the red centre so things were a little rushed around the house. The kids were very excited to be going on an airplane again and stupidly we had to fly from Adelaide to Sydney and then from Sydney to Ayers Rock. Let me put this into perspective for you. We flew 724 miles to Sydney (totally opposite direction) and then 1355 miles back the other way to Ayers Rock. A total of 2079 miles. To fly from Adelaide to Ayers Rock it would only be 981 miles. More than TWICE the mileage, not so much 'carbon footprint', more 'carbon Stomp all over the planet' hmmmmmmm!
The kids were excited by the first flight and after a fifteen minute wait and then a short taxi into take off position Tom took of his seatbelt as he thought we had arrived! The second flight flight showed that they were now seasoned flyers as they both got on, put on their seatbelts and plugged their headphones in without promting. I expect that by the end of our Oz trip they will be able to recite the safety briefing verbatim.
Ayers rock was good to see. It is definitely rock and although it sounds obvious it really is quite, quite big emphasised by the flatness of the surrounding landscape. It holds the title of the second biggest rock in the world, the first being in Western Australia which is twice as big as Uluru but having said that I remember some really large pink rock from Sandown on the Isle of Wight when I was a kid so I'm not convinced.
The Ayers Rock resort which is 13 miles from the rock and the only place to stay in the region was ok but filled with miserable staff who clearly spent their time wondering why oh why they had signed up to work somewhere that was 270 miles away from the nearest civilisation. With only tourists and travellers and each other for company, it was clearly beginning to tell. I am being slightly unfair, it was actually only the front of house staff that had faces like bulldogs licking lemon off a thistle, the domestic staff were lovely and always said hello and spoke to the kids but as you probably guessed they were from overseas!
We obviously wanted to go the extra distance and actually go right up to Uluru having come this far so we booked to go on the only transport available other than camel train (I'm not joking). It costs $160 dollars for the seats on a minibus and a further $50 for tickets to enter the National Park making it a total of $210 to go 13 miles which at today's exchange rate is £135. A staggering £10.40 a mile in the Queens own coin, now that must be a record of some sorts or a total stitch up.
The rock is actually quite dramatic up close with the deep red of the rock contrasting beautifully with the vivid blue of the cloudless sky. There are great beautiful ancient rock paintings juxtaposed along side 'Taz and Dawn Tour of 82' and some incredible rock formations displaying an interesting patina that I hope Rachel's mum (resident geography/geology expert) may explain to us.
The whole area is considered sacred by the Aboriginal people and they ask that you not take photo's of some sections and that you stay outside of roped off areas and don't climb up the rock. Needless to say there were lots of people climbing up it and it was very steep looking indeed. We obviously have more respect and didn't. We did however take a walk around a portion of it, as far a little legs would allow and it is at this point that I feel I must make a confession. A short while into our walk I hear a little voice.....' Daddy, need a poo'. Oh.....my......god! No there are no toilets anywhere around so I grab my precious daughter and run off into the bush to allow nature to take it's course. I have no option but to leave the deposit where it fell and return to Rachel and Tom with Lucy beaming and saying 'Mummy. I did a poo'. We decide to move on and politely ignore the issue when some ten minutes later I hear Tom sing out. 'I need a poo too'. Mortified I run him into the bush and repeat the process. Whilst we had the respect to not climb Uluru I am ashamed to say that both my children have defaecated within a stones throw of a most treasured spiritual site. I can only hope that the Spirits have had children and can see the funny side and forgive us! I herby promise that I shall not allow this story to be recounted at either of their weddings.
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From Ayers Rock we left for Brisbane and the Sunshine coast. We arrived at Brisbane airport at about ten pm and by the time we had collected the hire car and driven to the house we had rented the kids were on their knees and crashed out as soon as we got there. The house was lovely and had large stainless steel fans on the ceilings which the kids thought were really cool and immediately named the house 'The Helicopter House'.
One evening we all watched 'Monsters Inc' and both our kids cried at how sad it was. I'm sure it was not designed to elicit this response from a 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old.
We went to the Australia Zoo which is the 'Steve Irwin' (crocodile hunter) zoo. It was superb in every respect. There was crocodile feeding, thankfully by the Rangers, great enclosures, plenty of hands on animal contact and lovely staff. A definite 'Must see' for anyone who goes to Queensland.
We also visited the Underwater World which the kids loved especially the shark tunnels which housed some spectacular specimens.
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| Craig, Brenda, Me, Michelle with Matilda and you know the rest! |
On the Thursday we caught up with Craig and Michelle and their daughter Matilda. They are on Rachel's side of the family and the connection is that Rachel's Grandma and their Grandfather were cousins. Rachel stayed with them 12 years ago whes she was backpacking around Oz and they made her feel part of the family. They now live in a beautiful area just outside Brisbane up in the hills in a great house and gardens. Their hospitality was faultless as with all Aussies we have visited and the kids were great together. We hope to catch up with them again if we can.
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Left to right - Rachel, Karen holding Lucy, Me, Troy with Abigail,
Cousin Rachel with Billy and Cousin Martin with Tom. |
On the Friday we left the gold coast to go and visit my cousin Rachel and her husband Troy and their kids Abigail and Billy. They live about an hour west of Brisbane on a large farm where they produce some 30 or 40 million kilos of veg per year for the Australian domestic market. Their farm got wiped out by the recent floods and they were airlifted out but at least they were safe. They are back up and running again although output has suffered but as they say 'You can't keep a good (wo)man down'. The kids again had a great time running around and driving on forklifts and tractors and got on famously with Abigail and Billy. As a bonus Martin (my cousin and Rachel's sister (not my Rachel!!)) and Karen also came to stay so we had another chance to catch up with them. We bought some muffins and cookies which seemed to disappear from the kitchen worktop. We spent ages looking for them wondering if the kids had snuck away with them or perhaps the dog. We eventually found them in the wheelie bin outside. Martin had decided to be helpful and take the rubbish out but just grabbed everything in sight and dumped it. Doh!!
We had a great holiday and met lovely people. Brilliant.
Other things....
Tom could barely speak when he saw this Road Train at the Ayers Rock Resort. He was like a grin on a stick for hours after and couldn't understand why I couldn't take him for a ride in it!
Tom was asked to write a story at Kindy (kindergarten) and I have included a photo of the page. enough said!!!
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| Mummy is the monster in the night! |
An interesting fact - The Ayers Rock Post Office receives half a ton of rock pieces from Uluru every year that are returned by people who have broken a bit off as a souvenir. These people are convinced that they have had bad luck / Karma whatever since they took it and that by returning it they are hoping that their luck will change.
I can picture this post office having a really lovely red gravel drive courtesy of all these daft people.
Tom was asked at Kindy if he would like to talk to the other kids about Ayers Rock as most of the kids had never been. We had brought some sand and some stones back for him to show so we put it together and the result is below. This was his practice run the night before (I didn't make him do it at Kindy in his pyjamas!). He was sooooooo excited he could barely get to sleep that night. We are so proud of our little man and this will be the first of many presentations he will have to give. Next step - Power Point Aarrrrrrrrrrrrgh!
I hope that fills in some of the blanks of the last three weeks.
Love to you all and we miss you!
A special 'Hello' to Janet back in the UK. We're thinking of you and wish you a speedy recouperation! Dr Rachel prescribes a daily dose of Tea, cake and an episode of Countdown (feel free to substitute the program choice to suit!) xx
Night night xx
Ad vitam paramus
