A one month trip downunder saw a visit to family, friends - old and new - sightseeing, beaches, a zoo visit, a tree top adventure, ATV sand dunes experience, and, of course, learning (both traditional academics, zookeeper for a day experience, and the natural leaning that comes from travel - especially to a foreign country - albeit a familiar one).
The trip got off to a rocky start with a valuable item left at security in the airport, a delayed first flight, and a subsequent missed international connection. A hotel stay and a 24 hour delay was followed by a relatively uneventful flight.
The first day was intentionally a relaxing day followed by Em's birthday. We planned the trip around her birthday as she wanted to spend the day with her grandparents (as her brother did several years earlier). A nice birthday with cake, gifts, decorations, and family.
One of her gifts was a horse riding experience. It was fabulous weather on the spectacular Hunter Valley and they were the only 2 people on the ride (other than the 2 guides). They got to see a wild joey kangaroo in the pouch will they were riding. Too cool! One bit of drama though: one of the guide's horses bolted and as she tried to turn hard to stop it she fell off. Two sore knees but no major injuries.
Week 1 - 2. The first week and a half was spent with the grandparents. We saw wild kangaroos every day (some days from their house and some days on the 10km drive to town). I love being in the Australian "bush" (basically the area just inland from the coast before the "outback" starts). My favorite spot in the whole world is a view from a corner of my parent's property - mountains (OK, more like hills), ponds, creek, that uniquely yellowish tinged grass in the paddocks, kangaroos at sunset... just heart-warmingly calming. Unfortunately, we couldn't spend as much time outside as we would have liked during the trip as the magpies were relentless, dive-bombing whenever we went more than a few few from the door. Take it from me, it doesn't feel good to be pecked on the head by a magpie at full speed.
The next adventure was a week on the central coast of New South Wales. We stayed at the NRMA Holiday Park on Umina Beach. A terrific location and fun resort - pool (although not warm enough), beach access, bounce pillows, playground, bike rentals, cafe, etc. We stayed in a 2 bedroom cabin and it had everything we needed for a week away. Em and I hit the beach a couple of times - although cold water, I love bodysurfing and boogie-boarding with her. She is so enthusiastic it is contagious. She absolutely loves water. Tom prefers to play in the sand when the water is cold. We went to the pool only once - although if it was summer I am sure we would have been regulars.
The kids did a Zoopkeeeper for a Day program at the Australian Reptile gardens and it was the learning highlight of the trip. They got to hold, touch, and pat, many animals, - baby Tasmanian Devil, koala, kangaroo, snake, giant tortoise, saw giant croc feeding, etc. Tom also got to see and learn about the Corroboree Frog which we had recently learned about. A fabulous experience. I got to walk around to zoo for 4 hours and watch all of the shows. I love small zoos for their shows and accessibility to animals.
A highlight of the week at the beach was having lunch with a college friend. I hadn't seen Amy for 16 years and I got to meet her lovely kids. I hope it is not another 16 yrs before I see her again.
Newcastle trip - I went with my brother and my kids for a trip to Newcastle. We went to the Newcastle Museum with was was better than I had imagined. It is small - only 4 different exhibit areas (I think they had a fee one that we didn't investigate). One area was a history of Newcastle area but it wasn't the usual collection of old furniture and trinkets. It had small rooms with different themes like sports, war, the story of the earthquake through the people who were there. It was actually interesting and I wish I had a little more time there (but it is not really designed to hold kids attention). The main exhibit for us was the hands on STEM exhibit. They had about 15 different hands on activities (like lifting a car to learn about pulleys, a reflex time device, some learning science principles and some just for fun (like a machine to measure your throwing speed or a small play area for the youngest kids). The next area was about the steel industry (important to Newcastle's history). They had a 6 minute automated "show" to watch (actual moving parts not on a screen) which was unique and worth a watch. It runs every hour. The museum was free and I think it was a gem for a 2 hour activity. Note parking is paid in the area and you may need to download an app on your phone to pay for it. Next, we headed the Queen's Wharf for Fish and Chips on the water's edge. Although the water was too cold for swimming we headed to Nobby's Beach to play in the sand and watch the surfers. It was a good trip and nice to spend time with my brother since I only see him every 18 months.
Adventure trip - Every big trip I go on I like to find some adventure activity for the kids to try (whether its water parks, ropes course, amusement park, ziplines, alpine slides, joyride, etc). This trip we did two thrill adventures. The first was at Tree Tops Adventures ropes course - ziplines, obstacles, ropes, etc. The weather wasn't expected to be prefect and had to be postponed once but it the kids like these types of adventures. But after a very brief storm the weather cooperated beautifully. I had to go with the kids (until age 16) as they were old enough to go on the adult courses (on kids course the parents can supervise form the ground but the kids have to be 9 and under). It was hands down the most physically challenging thing I can ever remember doing. We have done a lot of ropes courses, ziplines, and the kids have done a tree top adventure in Arizona, but this one was very challenging, especially for me. Tom offered tons of encouragement and I managed to get through 3 courses (it took 4 hours of physical work - climbing ropes, ladders. balancing on so many moving/wobbling ropes, etc). Em was a super leader and went first on 2/3 of the courses and worked through the any fears to lead the way for us. The kids, of course, got through it with more ease but we were all exhausted at the end. The scenery among the blue gums and kookaburras was beautiful and we had the course to ourselves (a benefit of mid-week activities).
We then headed to Caves Beach to explore the caves at low tide. Pretty cool to walk through the caves and to check out nooks and crannies. We didn't stay too long as we were a little delayed due to traffic getting there and we had to leave before the tide came in.
After a delicious dinner of fish and chips and thick-shakes we headed back to our AirBandB content and exhausted.
The final adventure on our Newcastle getaway was ATV riding on the sand dunes at Stockton Beach, NSW. I have to say, the largest moving sand dunes in the Southern hemisphere were pretty cool. The kids were old enough to ride their own ATV but they are less powerful (90cc) than adults and they had to go on the "Slow" tour. Parents are required to go on the kids tour and they stay on the smaller dunes and the flater areas. The kids loved it and wanted more. It was just us and the super nice guide. We stopped for sand play, to take in the views, and get some pics but the rest of the hour was riding on the dunes. It was the first time the kids have been in control of there own motorized vehicle (they have newer had motorized scooters, boards, etc) and they loved it. As I rode behind them through this neat place I couldn't help but feel happy for the experience they were having. I had my own motorcysle when I was a kid and loved it. I don't want that for them but I was happy that for the ATV tour they could ride their own quad bikes.
For these adventures we spent 2 nights in an AirBnB. It turned out really well: 20 -30 minutes away from the activities (they are in opposite directions from each other), a 5 minute walk from a shopping center and restaurants, etc), and a nice clean apartment. It was a good experience but it reminded me that I really prefer longer stays in places (1-4 weeks) rather than a couple of nights.
The last few days in Australia were spent recovering/relaxing. We went to a park, to the pool, and went late night frogging ( I was glad for Tom that he got to catch frogs in Australia). Em was really into it too so perhaps we can get her involved in more frog trips next year (she didn't go on most of them this year).
More info to follow - check back to hear more
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