Hiking the Rainforest

Here are a few pictures of our hike in the rain forest and swimming under the "Twin Falls"

Gold Coast

Our plan for the last week of vacation in Australia was to go to the Great Barrier Reef and snorkle. But once we arrived in Australia, we were told that it was not a great time to visit. First of all, there are deadly jellyfish off the coast near Cairnes during this season and second there often Cyclones. Well, we thought we could probably deal with the jellies because there are sting suits you can wear while swimming to keep yourself safe. However, there were two cyclones and a third that only developed to category 1 while during the time that we were going to head to that magical place. We made the decision not to go because of the cyclones - not really safe nor fun! Instead, we looked at the weather and chose the sunniest place for that last week, the Gold Coast. We visited Surfers Paradise last year and had a great time, so we headed there again. We were not disappointed. The weather was fabulous! We played on the beach, hiked the rainforest, swam under a waterfall, ate ice cream and played at the resort. The best way to soak up the sun before heading back to the Pacific Northwest.

Lake Burley Griffin

Last year, Tanner was obsessed with taking a paddle boat around the lake in Canberra. We promised we would do it, but only after work when Colby could go with us. It seemed to get breezy each evening, which makes it really difficult to paddle a little boat across a lake. Finally, the last week we just decided to do it. The kids and Colby had such a great time and the wind died down enough to make it very enjoyable.

Australian War Memorial

We weren't going to visit the Australian War Memorial, because I must confess that it sounded a little boring to me. I know that sounds terrible, but it was not how I wanted to spend our time in Canberra. But I kept hearing that it was a great place to visit, so the Friday before we left, we headed there with our friends. It was fantastic! There were so many great exhibits, clothing, tanks, airplanes and videos. There was also a play area for children where they could dress up, play in a submarine, play in mud bunkers, and fly a real helicopter. We had such a great time and I am so glad that we added it to our schedule.

National Museum of Australia

During our last week in Canberra we visited the National Museum of Australia. This is a most amazing museum documenting the history of the land & people of Australia. We loved it last year, and we loved it again this year. One of the greatest things about it is that it is a beautiful museum with so much information and it is FREE!

More fun in Canberra

Overlooking Canberra at the Telstra Tower.

Bushwalking in Canberra

We had planned on heading to the beach again this weekend, but there were thunderstorms all across Australia. This frustrates Colby so much - rain seems to follow him whereever he goes. We decided to stay in Canberra and do a little hiking, or bushwalking as they call it here. We headed to Cotter Dam and hiked to the Cotter Caves. The main cave was closed, but we were able to find a few smaller ones to explore. The kids loved the caves! It was a beautiful, cloudy day which made the hiking so much more enjoyable.

Friends

The kids have become friends with a few great girls in Australia. Today we spent time at Cockington Green with them.

Australian Institute of Sport

We visited the Australian Institute of Sport today. The AIS is a facility where the best athletes in Australia train for the Olympics. We were able to try a few sports and then see some the the training facilities.

South Coast

We spent the weekend at the South Coast. Saturday was beautiful at Malua Bay. The water is so beautiful here!

Canberra

Our time in Canberra is always relaxing. We have a great apartment and spend our time swimming, going to playgrounds, visiting museums and local attractions and spending time with friends. Since this is our second visit, the kids have favorite activities that they don't want to miss. Within the first couple of days we returned to Questacon - a fantastic science museum that they love.

Down Under

Hello from Australia! What a beautiful time of year to escape from rainy Oregon to Australia's hot summer. We landed in Sydney early Jan. 1, 2010 and spent the weekend in that beautiful city - what a great way to start the new year. Since we were here less than one year ago, we are trying to see and do a few different things. However, the kids are a bit traditional so there will be a few repeats!

In Sydney, we spent the first day walking around, eating ice cream and trying to stay awake.

Sadly, we didn't get to spend much time at the beach since it was a little cool and rainy that weekend - can you believe it?? Colby was so mad! It was still very beautiful. We especially enjoyed our visit to the Wildlife Museum & Aquarium. They have a huge saltwater crocodile there now and the kids even got to touch a baby croc. Very cool!

We also loved our hike at Watson's Bay out to the South Headlands.