Black and Orange

BOO!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all of you in the Northern Hemisphere! We experienced a Southern Hemisphere Halloween last night and I must say, there are some MARKED differences!

Firstly, the climate. As you know, it is Spring here in Oz and so it feels like Easter or Canada Day rather than the cool temperatures we typically have at this time of year. The landscape is also very lush and green and the air is filled with the perfumed scent of many roses and flowers. Instead of bare branches on our trees, they are a lovely green and many have fragrant blossoms on their branches. Also, the days are getting longer ,so rather than being dark and spooky by 6pm, it was bright as midday still at 6:30.

Secondly, Halloween is a "new" holiday here. Stores are not busting with decorations, costumes and candy from August onward. You find the odd little item but not much. As mentioned previously, the local grocery store carried orange pumpkins for the first time this year. The pumpkins were advertised as being for Halloween and gave instructions for carving a jack-o-lantern. Some people remarked that "it's just not Australian" and abstain from the celebration and all of its trappings. It is kind of surprising to me that such a "lolly loving" nation, wouldn't hop on the Halloween ghost (gravy) train and fill up on sugar this one night of the year but I can see how the calendar timing doesn't fit.

Luckily for us, our school celebrated Halloween this year with loads of fun! I provided some history of Halloween to the teachers and it was decided that we would have an orange and black dress up day and some Halloween stations that the entire school could experience. We did this on Friday, October 28.

The dress up day included a coin drive to raise money for the Missions - a great fundraiser! There are 3 house teams in our school and the house that covered its flag with the most coins earned points for their team. It didn't matter if they were only 5 cent pieces, it was about the number of COINS, not the total amount of money. It was great to see all the orange and black around - even in nearly 30 degree temperatures.

The school was divided into 14 teams and the rotations began. Some examples of stations were apple bobbing (the water was refreshing), a toilet paper mummy wrap, costume relay, create a monster, musical pumpkins and many more! It was so fun and I think the kids got a feel for what Halloween is all about. We had some Halloween fun for about 2 hours and it was great!

After the stations were finished, my class looked at Artist Pablo Picasso and cubism and then created some spooky Picasso Monsters! FUN!

I even flavoured our weekly staff meeting with this Halloween prayer...

This picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Sydney in a day

Beautiful Darling Harbour!

We arrived back in Sydney before 10am on Sunday. Our flight was uneventful and the in flight movie was Mr. Popper's Penguins - a good one for the boys although Mom and I enjoyed it too. We checked into our hotel which was right at Darling Harbour and then set about exploring.

Darling Harbour is very picturesque and bustling with activity - especially on a Sunday! Check out just some of the sights we saw!

Jake and Jack on the BIG slide! Organized chaos?


The boys on the pedestrian bridge. When a tall boat comes, this bridge swings open to allow it to pass through.

We also toured the outdoor part of the Maritime Museum which included several ships. It was like stepping back in time as we boarded and took in the beauty and function of the various ships.

Jack at the helm of the James Craig. A cargo ship from the 1800's.

The James Craig.


The boys on the "pirate" boat.

The Maritime Museum included this warship and submarine. Perhaps Pippy Chevalier worked on a ship like this in the war.

Entertaining Street Performers. One was from NYC and the others were from Australia. Their performance was witty, packed full of dance moves and engaging to the audience. Definitely worth a few gold coins!

A highlight for Sam: lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Sydney
Angus Rocks!

A highlight for Jack: The carousel, which he rode a few times.

We did go looking for "42 Wallaby Way, Sydney" but had no luck. We saw jellyfish at the harbour but no Nemo - although we think we saw him at the Reef. Maybe next time...

We had a great day in Sydney and Mom, Dad and I had a fabulous "Thanksgiving dinner" at a Brazilian restaurant on Darling Harbour. It was delicious and a new experience for all of us. Once we determined what we were supposed to do, we enjoyed the many kinds of food they brought us and left more than satisfied! The boys were happy to have a McDonald's feast in the hotel room with the TV. They were pretty wiped out from the day as we had been up since 3am.

We realized that the next time we are in Sydney, will be on our return trip to Canada. Wow, only 10 more weeks and we will be home!

The next morning, the boys and I boarded the train for Narrandera at 7:30am. We had a tearful goodbye with my parents at the train station and off we went. Mom and Dad had one more day in Sydney and boy did they make the most of it! They boarded a double decker tour bus and were able to get on and off all day wherever they wanted. They saw EVERYTHING they could including the Harbour Bridge and Opera house as well as the Fish Market and of course, the casino! Mom was lucky as usual and they came out ahead. What a great way to end their vacation!

We are so thankful that they came to visit us and that they were able to experience Australia. I can't even speak for what they gained from the trip. I know that for us, they provided a much needed dose of home. They spent time with the boys and I, which we loved, they helped us with things around the house and even brought us much missed goodies like chocolate chips, the boys favourite treats, and 72 packets of Tim Horton's Coffee for me!!! That should just about get me home...

Thanks Mom and Dad. We love you very much and are so thankful that you journeyed all around the world to see us! We loved having you and wish it could have been longer!

See you soon

XXOO

Cuddles and Close Encounters

A "must do" for us while in Oz - Cuddle a Koala

Here are some pics of cool things we saw and did in Cairns in our "spare" time. We got up close and personal with more of Australia's iconic creatures and loved every minute of it! These photos were taken at the Cairns Tropical Zoo. It is a small, immaculate zoo that encourages you to meet and greet most of its animals.


The not-so-cuddly cassowary. It is a very vicious creature that can run fast and strike even faster. It has very sharp claws and can disembowel a human with one swipe. Trust me, it HAS happened. We heard a story about an unfortunate jogger in Queensland. Good reason to not go out for that run ... in Queensland anyway.
This is one of the MANY crocs at the zoo. Can you imagine being an unsuspecting swimmer??? Mom and the boys saw this bad boy at feeding time and there's no question about their power and ability to leap out of the water to catch their dinner!



Jacob and Jack feeding the Lorikeets. They are so vibrant and beautiful.

Sam and the pigeons.

"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree ..."

These carnivores are vicious! We got to feed them and they bash their prey (in this case fluffy yellow baby chicks - that were dead) until they are tenderized and then they eat them. "Nature isn't always pretty" is what our tour guide said.

A wombat eating his dinner. He is a herbivore.

Farewell to Cairns

Deserted beach on a Saturday.

We woke up on our final day in Cairns to warmth and sun. We decided to head down to the pool with plans of packing and hitting the beach for the rest of the day. The water in the pool was gorgeous and some other families we had met during the week were down there as well. I peeked at the beach and although there were a couple families on the sand, the water was deserted. It was Saturday and I found this surprising given the weather and that it was the weekend. That was when I noticed that the lifeguard station's flags were a solid red. Hmmmm....

We started chatting with some other people in the pool and it turned out that 2 crocs had been spotted swimming along the beach an hour before. One croc was about 5 metres, the second I don't know. There were boats moored out from the beach to keep watch and of course signs were posted to keep people out of the water until it was deemed safe. I learned that the wind had changed and was coming from the north. This brings warmer winds and with that, the tropical humidity and rain. When the wet season arrives, it signals the crocs to move to their nesting grounds, which is what these two crocs were doing. Apparently the nesting ground is just south of where our beach is. Yikes! Eventually, this wind will also release those box jellyfish spores and send them south as well. That is when people must be VERY careful and wear stinger suits if they want to swim in the waters. They are especially lethal to the young and the old. Double yikes!

For us, that meant extra time in the pool and a walk along the beach to explore. Dad and Jake threw the footy around on the empty beach. At about 4:30 that afternoon, they put up the sign to say the beach was now clear for swimming so we went down for a couple of hours before dinner to play around in the surf. Well, Sam and Jake did - dad, mom and I kept careful watch. This turn of events made it easy for us to leave this beautiful, yet dangerous paradise the next morning. We loved our time there and are thankful for the beautiful weather, incredible scenery and amazing experiences! Thanks Cairns!

Jack and Jake exploring the rocks. Dad and Jake throwing the footy.

The Great Barrier Reef

This was how our day started ... a gorgeous sunrise that told us we'd have a picture perfect day! As you can see, we were up at dawn for our trip to one of the most beautiful wonders of the world: The Great Barrier Reef. Our catamaran was about 80 feet long and weighed 102 tonnes EMPTY. It was called Ocean Spirit and it was taking us to an area of the Reef called, Michaelmas Cay. Basically, Michaelmas Cay is a giant Sandbar surrounded by coral reef and host to over 20000 migratory seabirds. It is one of the most important nesting sights in the southern hemisphere. The island had a roped off area for people and the rest of the island was for the birds only.
We left our hotel at 7am and were sailing out to sea by 8:30 in the morning. We were excited to see marine life that we've only seen in zoos, on TV or in Finding Nemo. We would spend the day snorkeling and swimming. They also have a semi-submersible submarine for those who want to take in the reef life but not get their faces in the water AKA Jackson, Mom and Dad.

We found a spot on the deck of the catamaran and settled in for the nearly 2 hour ride out to the Reef. It was a beautiful sunny day and the breeze on the deck was refreshing. People were laid out all over soaking up the sun. On the way out we had a dolphin swimming with us for about 10 minutes. We were able to just stand on the bough and watch. It was awesome. The colour of the water was the bluest blue and turquoise and the closer we got, the more patches of reef you could see.

When we arrived at Michaelmas Cay, I signed Jack and myself up for a snorkel lesson, with the hope that perhaps I could get him to put his face in the water on this special day. We got as far as the flippers in the lesson and Jack was done. We sat on the beach and watched the rest of the lesson. After all the snorkelers made their way out, Jack and I played on the beach and in the shallow water. There were fish who came up to the shallows so Jack was able to chase them around without going past his waist. Ideal! Sam and Jake took out the underwater digital camera we rented in order to document what they see.

After a while, Sam came in and offered to hang out with Jack so I could go out and snorkel. Jake and I took off together and quickly were into the thick of the reef. It really did remind me of the little reef Nemo and Marlin lived in. There were bright pink anemones, giant clams, mollusks and lots of coral. I have never seen anything like it in my life - even snorkeling in Mexico is nothing like the Great Barrier Reef. It is also like roadways in the reef. There will be a sandy bottom path in between the giant mounds of coral and other reef plants. We would try to swim in "roadways" in order to avoid damaging the coral and other life.

As Jake and I flutter-kicked about in the reef, we saw so many vibrant fish. We saw bright blues, multicoloured parrot fish, striped fish, Dori fish and even Gill from the tank. I just kept thinking about how fortunate we are to be able be here. I was greatly startled though when a reef shark blew past Jake and I as we were admiring the parrot fish. I grunted loudly at Jake and signalled to get the *&%$ out of there. He didn't see it go by and he couldn't figure out why I was moving at a speed of 20 knots! Once we were safely out of the reef, I explained the situation. We went straight to one of the crew and asked if we were safe and they assured us we were. Nevertheless, we took a break and headed to the ship for a yummy buffet lunch.

After we had our fill, Jake and Jack went with Mom for the semi sub ride. They went out in a submarine that is half under water and all windows. The driver stays above water at the helm.
The sub goes farther out than the snorkelers are allowed to so they can see different types of life. They saw sea turtles, valleys of coral of many colours, lots of different fish and sea cucumbers. It was really cool to be so close to the magic of the reef.

While Jake and Jack were on the semi sub, Sam and dad and I went to the beach again to snorkel. I was much more nervous this time and kept my eye out for a shark but didn't see another one. Instead we just took it all in and swam about the reef until we were summoned back to the boat to head back.

The ride home was relaxing as we took in the magnificent colours and enjoyed live music and champagne (well, the adults did) all the way back. It was a memorable day for all of us. We have one more day in Cairns before we head back to Sydney. It will be a relaxing beach/pool type of day - the perfect ending to a magical week.

Please check out Sam and Jake's underwater photography below. For some reason, some underwater pics are on their side - don't know why that happened?

The Daintree Rainforest

We were on the steps of the hotel at 7:00 am to board our luxury BMW mini bus with Roger, our guide to spend the day exploring the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. There were the 6 of us as well as a nice couple from the Netherlands so it was a very personalized tour.
Roger is a fountain of information about the local area and the country so it was pleasant listening and learning about the sites we were to visit.

The drive to the Daintree was 1 1/2 hours and along the way Roger pointed out sites and gave us loads of history. We saw a barrimundi farm, sugar cane fields, wallabies and gorgeous ocean lookouts. The road was a bit windy so we had to stop, get air and make seating adjustments as Jake and Jack were feeling a bit wonky. They moved to the front to sit with Roger - another reason we like him so much - and then it was clear sailing from there. At about 9:00, we stopped at a Cafe in the Rainforest for Morning Tea. We loaded up on ginger ale to settle those tummies and had coffee tea and assorted cakes and cookies. It was yummy. The cafe is also home to some baby crocs, a python (I couldn't look) and other critters as well as a cockatoo, two gallahs and 3 budgies, a black lab and 5 kangaroos/wallabies. The kids were busy petting the birds and checking out the critters while we relaxed and enjoyed the snacks. We got to know the other couple a bit better and chatted with Roger about the day.

Jack, Bear and the baby crocs

Feeding red kangaroos and wallabies.

Before we left the cafe, Roger invited us back to the kangaroos to feed them. Armed with bread and sweet potato scraps we were able to feed the kangaroos and mom even got a hug from one of them. All was good until the kangaroo REALLY started hugging her and had to be pried off. We all got to feed and take pictures with the kangaroos and it was really cool. Only mom got a hug though - must be her Ace Ventura side that the animals can sense!

We left the cafe and continued north until we entered the Daintree. We parked and took a guided walk with Roger along a government constructed boardwalk. Up until the 1970's it was illegal for anyone other than scientists with permits to enter the forest. With the entry of a sealed road, came tourism so the government developed this area for the general public to explore.

Future Botanist? Jacob and his pocket microscope.

Trees that grew around a larger tree. The "host tree" died and decomposed leaving a hatchwork pattern of the parasite trees - gorgeous. Roger said that the largest one he has seen could fit 15 backpackers (packs on) in the hollow where the host used to be - imagine that!
Immediately, the thick and lush vegetation envelops you as you enter the rainforest. It is like being in Jurassic park or a Predator Movie as the plant life is larger than life. The Daintree is THE oldest living rainforest on the planet. It contains plant species that were once thought to be extinct and date back millions of years. We saw a tree that is one of 19 in the entire world that were thought to be extinct.

Jacob tasted an ant that is filled with toxins that will cure your ailments. It has a very strong citrus flavour that Jake said felt like a sting on the tongue. Roger said that if you find a next you scrunch it up and inhale deeply and it will cure your flu or sinus troubles. He tried it himself and we really want Sam to give it a go before we leave. He's not too keen.

We happened upon a lizard that is very rare - some sort of a dragon that is only found here. It had a plate with spots around its head and was dark in colour. Jacob wanted to catch it but we wouldn't let him.

"Bird nest ferns" that grow in the trees at all elevations.

We saw an area that was matted down and learned that there are 50 000 wild boars loose in the rainforest. They are up to 300 kilos and ugly - black with tusks and dangerous. There is a trapper who's job is to catch them but he cannot shoot them. They are incredibly destructive and it would be a daunting task to have to rid the rainforest of them. Last year, he only trapped about 130.
We took lots of pictures in here and felt truly privileged to have had the chance to visit a place so ancient and natural on our earth.

Where the forest meets the river.