Another long day looms ahead. Hunter & I bounced out of bed for a walk on the beach at 6.30. I think he was actually trying to con me into letting him buy a souvenir but, unfortunately for him, the souvenir shop was closed !!
We headed off for Kuranda Skyrail at around 9am. As usual, a balmy day in Cairns around 26 degrees. The kids loved the ride. We stopped at a couple of stations in between then out into the lovely village of Kuranda. Tanya, Mike & all the kids dived into the snake attractions (lots of slithering things, spiders & scorpians) while Tony & I took a stroll through the village, picking up the odd souvenir.
By about 1pm we'd had enough & started the trip back down on the skyrail. Once at the bottom, we moved on to Cairns for something to eat at the food market, Tate & Hunter chose to swim in the huge public pool on the Esplanade. Eventually, the group went separate ways before meeting up again back at the house for a well earned rest & Thai Red Curry.
As I write this at 8pm, all the 3 boys are splashing about in the pool.
Snorkeling tomorrow so we'd better get a good night's sleep.
Ciao for now
Lynne
About Me
- Foxy
- Noosa, Queensland, Australia
- Hope walks through the fire, faith leaps over it.
My favourite place in the world...
Santorini... Breathtaking !!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Hello beautiful, sunny Cairns
June 28, 2009.... Day 1
It was a bright & early start to the day. The alarm went off at 3.15am & we hit the road at 4... I was surprised how talkative Tate was given that when we travel, I usually just pick him up out of bed & drop him into his seat in the car - you barely get a grunt out of him :) The flight left at 7 getting us into Cairns on time at about 9. Stepping off the plane, we were met with 25 or 26 degrees & a balmy winter's morn... I picked up the hire care Kirsty had kindly arranged for me (Ferrari red, Ford XRS) & we were on our way. It's about a 20 or 30 minute drive to Palm Cove where we've rented a house. Another fantastic find (thanks Mike). The kids were all straight into the pool which made it easy to head off to the nearest Coles for our week's supplies. Spent the day kicking around the pool, down to the Esplanade for burgers & chips, an evening walk to the jetty to watch the fishermen then finished off with a glass of wine/beer & Mike's sensational kebabs on the the barbie - by the pool.
Day 2
Woke up early, although Mike, Tanya, Taylor & Jaren had already headed off to the beach for the sunrise. Got our gear together & set off for Cape Tribulation. Our Jungle Surfing was booked for 1.30 so we had quite a bit of time to make our way up the coast. Stopped in at Mossman for a snack then on to Mossman Gorge where the kids were keen for a swim (like they weren't already water-logged). After eventually dragging them out of the water, we kept moving north. We arrived at Cape Trib in plenty of time to have a bit of a scan around, an icecream & fill out the medical forms for the "Surfin' Safari".... WOW, what a great activity. The kids were jumping out of their skins to get to the "ride". We were kitted up with helmets (all with appropriate names for each of us) & full harnesses. The kids loved it... the 3 little boys only hesitated to do the last run.... upside down !!! They chose the upright position - maybe next time for the thrill seeker's version, after all, they're only 7, 8 & 9 :)
The Kuranda Markets look like tomorrow's destination so off to bed we go after a huge & exciting first day.
It was a bright & early start to the day. The alarm went off at 3.15am & we hit the road at 4... I was surprised how talkative Tate was given that when we travel, I usually just pick him up out of bed & drop him into his seat in the car - you barely get a grunt out of him :) The flight left at 7 getting us into Cairns on time at about 9. Stepping off the plane, we were met with 25 or 26 degrees & a balmy winter's morn... I picked up the hire care Kirsty had kindly arranged for me (Ferrari red, Ford XRS) & we were on our way. It's about a 20 or 30 minute drive to Palm Cove where we've rented a house. Another fantastic find (thanks Mike). The kids were all straight into the pool which made it easy to head off to the nearest Coles for our week's supplies. Spent the day kicking around the pool, down to the Esplanade for burgers & chips, an evening walk to the jetty to watch the fishermen then finished off with a glass of wine/beer & Mike's sensational kebabs on the the barbie - by the pool.
Day 2
Woke up early, although Mike, Tanya, Taylor & Jaren had already headed off to the beach for the sunrise. Got our gear together & set off for Cape Tribulation. Our Jungle Surfing was booked for 1.30 so we had quite a bit of time to make our way up the coast. Stopped in at Mossman for a snack then on to Mossman Gorge where the kids were keen for a swim (like they weren't already water-logged). After eventually dragging them out of the water, we kept moving north. We arrived at Cape Trib in plenty of time to have a bit of a scan around, an icecream & fill out the medical forms for the "Surfin' Safari".... WOW, what a great activity. The kids were jumping out of their skins to get to the "ride". We were kitted up with helmets (all with appropriate names for each of us) & full harnesses. The kids loved it... the 3 little boys only hesitated to do the last run.... upside down !!! They chose the upright position - maybe next time for the thrill seeker's version, after all, they're only 7, 8 & 9 :)
The Kuranda Markets look like tomorrow's destination so off to bed we go after a huge & exciting first day.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
June, 2009 - North Queensland Adventure
Well, it's been a while since last I posted... We're heading off on Sunday for a much awaited break with the family. This time, it's a short trip to Cairns for a week in the sun with our friends, Mike, Tanya, Taylor & Jaren. The boys are looking forward to an afternoon of Jungle Surfing on Monday & they're trying to convince us to take them snorkeling. We'll take the sky rail to the Kuranda Markets & probably do a bit of day-tripping around the area - I'm just planning on spending some quality time by the pool, not really interested in anything else :).
This will be my only opportunity to relax & collect my thoughts before the big trip to Europe 2 weeks later. Our very first Swiss student gets married on the 8th of August & we'll all be there to celebrate with her. We've tried to maximise our time so plan to be in Paris for 7 nights then off to Switzerland for a few nights, continuing on to Bologna, Italy, for about 4 or 5 nights then back to Switzerland for the wedding. I know the 4 weeks will go so quickly but I can't wait to head off.... next post I'll hopefully have some Jungle Pics :)
This will be my only opportunity to relax & collect my thoughts before the big trip to Europe 2 weeks later. Our very first Swiss student gets married on the 8th of August & we'll all be there to celebrate with her. We've tried to maximise our time so plan to be in Paris for 7 nights then off to Switzerland for a few nights, continuing on to Bologna, Italy, for about 4 or 5 nights then back to Switzerland for the wedding. I know the 4 weeks will go so quickly but I can't wait to head off.... next post I'll hopefully have some Jungle Pics :)
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Tate & Hunter in Union Square
Tate had a ball in Union Square, San Francisco, where he met some hiphop & breakdancers who were filming a "Bollywood" movie. While they waited for their camera crew to arrive, they showed Tate some moves! This is Danny 
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
7 November, 2007 - Takeoff !!!
Well folks, here it is, the first instalment on our road to discovery....
6/11/07
A busy night with our wonderful neighbours Mike & Tanya cooking dinner for all of us. This was a welcome relief ... as it was, I stayed up until 3am sorting & packing, testing the GPS & other gear, email lists, phone lists, etc. By 3am, all seemed in order & I slept like a baby 'til 6am when it was time to rise & shine to head off to the airport.
7/11/07
Surprisingly, I bounced out of bed & we managed to be gone by 7:30am. The boys were showing some signs of excitement & anticipation. We checked in smoothly, through immigration without a hitch (I was patted down but couldn't call that a hitch - must've looked suspicious) & made our way to the departure gate. As expected, the flight was long & sleepless. I administered the Polaramine early on in the flight, however, one body appeared to go into a state of confusion over what to do with the drug. He wandered around the plane in somewhat of a daze, going to the toilet several times but unable to settle & get some sleep. Eventually he was out to it & had to be woken when the plane landed. We disembarked & yet again smoothly cruised through the immigration/custom process - no pat downs or cavity searches !! All representatives were wonderful & kept us moving. Picked up the hire car, Kia Sportage & we were off. Tony's brain is having a hard time adjusting to the other side of the road with me regularly reminding him that perhaps he might like to move to the right side before things get too ugly :) With GPS in hand (& in car) we set off for Santa Barbara. First stop was Ventura for a much needed coffe & choc chip pastry twist... mmmm. We made it to SB by roughly 1:30pm to quickly check-in then set off to the 2pm Courthouse Tour which we were told was a "must see". Tate showed quite a bit of interest, taking lots of pics, but the littlest trooper slept through the majority - yes, as I write this, he is bouncing around the room while the others are out cold, clearly more sleep than he needed! We finished the tour after climbing to the top of the bell tower then headed off for a look at the mission (nothing special) & finished up at the playground.... what a beut!!! Santa Barbara is a beautiful little town, perhaps a cross between Toowoomba & someplace else that I can't think of just now. After quite a good play & a chat with a local, we headed off to find a supermarket before sunset. We decided to go to the pier to watch the sunset & ended up having dinner at Moby Dick's restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf. The other restaurant on the pier grossed out the kids a bit too much (live lobbies & crabs in a tank) so the former was the choice of the evening. Not bad dinner, both boys actually ate the chicken tenderloin strips, which was a pleasant surprise. Both of them were still quite wobbly from the flight - I don't know how I feel right now, I've never stayed awake this long after a flight so it's gonna be interesting to see how I pull up in the morning. We're off to San Simeon & a tour of Hearst Castle. Anyway, I'm starting to have "Disney spells" now so I'd better get off to bed or I'll never get up tomorrow !!
6/11/07
A busy night with our wonderful neighbours Mike & Tanya cooking dinner for all of us. This was a welcome relief ... as it was, I stayed up until 3am sorting & packing, testing the GPS & other gear, email lists, phone lists, etc. By 3am, all seemed in order & I slept like a baby 'til 6am when it was time to rise & shine to head off to the airport.
7/11/07
Surprisingly, I bounced out of bed & we managed to be gone by 7:30am. The boys were showing some signs of excitement & anticipation. We checked in smoothly, through immigration without a hitch (I was patted down but couldn't call that a hitch - must've looked suspicious) & made our way to the departure gate. As expected, the flight was long & sleepless. I administered the Polaramine early on in the flight, however, one body appeared to go into a state of confusion over what to do with the drug. He wandered around the plane in somewhat of a daze, going to the toilet several times but unable to settle & get some sleep. Eventually he was out to it & had to be woken when the plane landed. We disembarked & yet again smoothly cruised through the immigration/custom process - no pat downs or cavity searches !! All representatives were wonderful & kept us moving. Picked up the hire car, Kia Sportage & we were off. Tony's brain is having a hard time adjusting to the other side of the road with me regularly reminding him that perhaps he might like to move to the right side before things get too ugly :) With GPS in hand (& in car) we set off for Santa Barbara. First stop was Ventura for a much needed coffe & choc chip pastry twist... mmmm. We made it to SB by roughly 1:30pm to quickly check-in then set off to the 2pm Courthouse Tour which we were told was a "must see". Tate showed quite a bit of interest, taking lots of pics, but the littlest trooper slept through the majority - yes, as I write this, he is bouncing around the room while the others are out cold, clearly more sleep than he needed! We finished the tour after climbing to the top of the bell tower then headed off for a look at the mission (nothing special) & finished up at the playground.... what a beut!!! Santa Barbara is a beautiful little town, perhaps a cross between Toowoomba & someplace else that I can't think of just now. After quite a good play & a chat with a local, we headed off to find a supermarket before sunset. We decided to go to the pier to watch the sunset & ended up having dinner at Moby Dick's restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf. The other restaurant on the pier grossed out the kids a bit too much (live lobbies & crabs in a tank) so the former was the choice of the evening. Not bad dinner, both boys actually ate the chicken tenderloin strips, which was a pleasant surprise. Both of them were still quite wobbly from the flight - I don't know how I feel right now, I've never stayed awake this long after a flight so it's gonna be interesting to see how I pull up in the morning. We're off to San Simeon & a tour of Hearst Castle. Anyway, I'm starting to have "Disney spells" now so I'd better get off to bed or I'll never get up tomorrow !!
Friday, October 26, 2007
12 Sleeps before take-off !!
The time is drawing near &, as most would know, I've been running around like the proverbial headless poultry... We recently acquired a new computer - HP Tablet, wow, what a lovely machine. I'm doing my best to find my way around it so as to be up with everything while we're away. For those of you with a little more advanced techno ability, we have Skype so visual & audio communication will be enabled. This should prove fun for the kids as they'll be able to see their friends. Let me know if you have it & we can hook up - maybe have a spot of practise before we head off.
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Cairns, June 29
Tate & Tony
Captain Jack Sparrow is ready to fly !!
