Robinsons at Christmas

Happy Christmas

This was our family room at 7am Christmas morning!! All the presents open and Christmas morning TV on.

Hope you all had a wonderful day.

Back to reality

Today we left Heron Island for our 2 hour launch back to Gladstone. We left Paradise behind. On arrival at Gladstone airport, we realised we had a 3 hour wait 'til our flight (I didn't book that very well did I??) It worked out fine though, as there were flights every half hour or so and we managed to get on an earlier one, giving us enough time to enjoy a hot chocolate at the airport before our 55 minute flight back to Brisbane. What a wonderful few days....now back to reality!

Going deeper.....

Today I did my first ever scuba dive along with Kev's Mum. It was awesome! I was really nervous about it having had a 3 hr build up with a video followed by a question session and a practice in the resort pool! At one point I really thought I'd have to wimp out, as I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to breathe. My instructor assured me that once we got down under the water (about 12 metres) that my breathing would just come naturally as I'd be so consumed by what I was seeing: well, she was right. What an amazing experience? I saw sharks, octopus, jelly fish, turtles and even more beautiful fish. It was incredible just floating along under water with nature. I want to do it again! Kevin's Mum was also in absolute awe. We both felt quite sick on the boat as it took us out to the reef's edge, but coming back in was a breeze! When we got off the boat we could see stingrays in the water beside the jetty.

Meet 'Stubby'

The girls getting ready for snorkelling today!!

The day ended with a sunset cruise for me and Kevin. We drank plenty of wine and met 'stubby' the seagull. (he has no feet!)

Another day in paradise....

This place is stunning: I feel like I'm on a film set! I have never been anywhere so beautiful in all my life! Today we got all the snorkel gear (including wet suits and fins) and swam in various spots around the island. The underwater world is amazing. There must be hundreds or maybe thousands of varieties of fish in all colours of the rainbow. I've also seen a turtle, sea cucumbers, and starfish.

Paradise

Today we took the two hour launch to Heron Island from Gladstone harbour having had two nights in Tannum Sands. It was an awesome sight as we cruised towards the island. In fact, it really was just like arriving in paradise! Very beautiful indeed.

We were met at the jetty with the other arrivals and taken to a room in the resort and given a quick talk about 'island life'. Amongst other things we were told that there were earplugs in each room as the mutton birds (which really do sound like a crying baby!!) were nesting and were very likely to disturb our sleep. We were also told that the island is a national park and that we weren't allowed to take shells off the beach as souvenirs!

Another holiday?

Today we travelled to Gladstone by air (otherwise it would be a good 7 hours in the car!!) to take a short holiday. Kev's Mum arrived in Brisbane 3 days ago, all the way from the UK, and is here with us for a month over Christmas. As a gift to us, she has paid for us all to come on holiday before all the Christmas celebrations get going. We are travelling to Heron Island in two days time, but thought we spend some time in Tannum Sands before we go. This is our beautiful villa (a home on stilts) for the next two nights.



This afternoon we spent some time on the beach and then headed for some food at a local hotel. We saw some galahs and lorikeets feeding on the waters edge outside the hotel. It was a lovely relaxing atmosphere.

The photo below is a typical scene in these parts of Queensland: what you can see is actually a coconut net on the tree. It stops the locals getting a headache everytime the coconuts fall!!

Dancing on the ceiling....all night long!

Last night Kevin and I went to the Brisbane Entertainment centre to see Lionel Richie in concert. He was awesome! The man is fantastic for his age (58!). Some of our friends here laughed at us, but he really is a great performer. Kevin and I first dated in the early 1990's when his 'Back to Front' album was very popular. Standing in the entertainment centre singing long to all those songs was great...a real feeling of nostalgia for Kev and I. We happened to be seated next to another English couple who have lived in Australia for the last few years also!

Anna is 8

Today we celebrated Anna's 8th birthday with a pool party! She has several classmates over for a swim followed by a sausage sizzle. Our good friend Lorraine bought Anna a beautiful cake and Anna had a special guest arrive in an MX5!!

Will this thing fly??

It never ceases to amaze me how these things stay in the sky. I know the old paper trick where you blow underneath it and it stays up, but REAL planes are so big and heavy!!!
Anyway, this one did get us back to Brisbane safe and sound after a fabulous 21 days in the UK catching up with friends and family. It was an exhausting time, especially travelling alone with two children, but worth the stress and expense. It has also confirmed to me that Brisbane is now 'home'.

Best friends

It's so lovely to know that despite 2 years apart, your friends are always your friends.

Here are some snapshots of the last few days:

Grace with Megan (her guinea pig that we had to leave behind when we emigrated.)

Anna with the Peggs (not the washing line type here!!!) Kerenza is one of Anna's school friends.

Grace with Caitlin,

and finally, me with all the Mummies............

You reap what you sow....

I'd like to think I've been a good friend over the years....today confirmed that I do have some very good friends. We've been at the church centre today in Lordswood. The idea of this was so that people could come and see me and the girls and that we wouldn't have to drive for miles catching up with everyone. It's been a lovely day and again I'd like to say a big thank you to all my friends for coming to see us, and for those who organised the day and helped clear up.



The pegs were out in force today also........






The teenagers were in fine form: they asked the adults who started it, and so I don't need to tell you who this car belongs to do I???

The 'post it' notes all said 'pegged' on them!!!!

Pegged

It all started on that first day I spent with the Lordswood girls a week or so ago.....When we walked round to school to pick the children up, Pauline had put a couple of pegs on people. Yes, you know the pegs that are normally used to peg ones washing on the line?


Well, today the situation got worse...much worse!

The idea of the 'game' is to get the peg on someone so that they are totally unaware of it. At first, the kids kept telling people, but now they're onto it, and unfortunately have become very good at it!!

But hey, they weren't the ones to start it, and what goes around, comes around...........

What a fantastic day!

Today I spent the day with all my friends in Lordswood.....I'm on such a high!! It was just so lovely to see everyone. Sarah (my NZ travel buddy!) picked the girls and I up from the ferry terminal in Southampton as we got the boat across the Southampton water from my Mums, and she took us to Starbucks for a hot chocolate for nostalgias sake. After this she took us back to her house for lunch. What she hadn't let on was that all our other friends were coming for lunch too!! It was just wonderful to see everyone...words fail me. They all turned up one by one gradually over an hour or so. Was lovely to see their kids too: one of whom was just a few weeks old when we left for Brisbane and one who was still in her Mums tum!

After lunch and lots of catching up (during which time I was ribbed continuously over my 'Aussie twang'), we walked round to the school where Grace and Anna used to go to pick up all the children. When we got to the playground, you could feel the buzz. Grace's old classmates could see her from their classroom window and the atmosphere was incredible!! It brought tears to my eyes to see Grace and Anna's friends so excited to see them.

After school we went to 'Serendipty Sams' (an indoor playarea for those who don't know it). One of my friends had hired the place exclusively for the afternoon and all the kids from school came with their mums so we could all catch up. It was brilliant!!! My face aches from smiling so much!

It's been a wonderful day...thanks guys for making it so special!! It's awesome to be here and spend the time with you.

We're in England!

We left Brisbane at 23.45hrs on the 22nd and arrived at Mum's house in Southampton around 6pm English time yesterday (the 23rd I believe?, which was in fact about 2am on the 24th in Brisbane!) It was a long long flight. I'd forgotten what a horrible journey it is. Everytime I drifted off to sleep, someone called 'Mum' or tapped me! I guess that is the downside to travelling with two children on ones own. It it wasn't one of the girls, it was one of the cabin crew asking me something about Anna's 'nut free' meal. I've never been called 'madam' so frequently in such a short period of time! My first impression of the UK having left there almost 2 years ago was how busy Heathrow airport was!! So many people!! Anyway, it was lovely to see Mum, Chris and my Uncle Mike who kindly collected us from the airport and drove us to Mum's house.

As for jet lag: I don't feel too bad. The girls spent about 3 hours awake last night between about 2 and 5am though!

Swimming

Today was our first proper swim in our new pool. Well, I say 'our', but actually I wimped out as it's still a bit chilly, but Kev went in with the girls. It's amazing how fast your body acclimatises in a new country: the air temperature may be high 20's but the water is yet to warm up to a 'comfortable' temperature. It's currently 22 degrees, 24 is much more bearable, but 28-30 is perfect.....give it a few more weeks and I'll be in!

From Christchurch back to Brisbane

We arrived home from New Zealand yesterday after a brief stop in Christchurch following our fun in Hanmer Springs. At Hanmer we said an emotional goodbye to Sarah, Dan and Cam, as they got the bus back to Nelson to spend the rest of their holidays with family. It won't be too long before the girls and I see them again though, as we're off to England in 7 weeks time!!

Thanks guys for a super holiday!!!

Christchurch was very English we thought, and that wasn't just the weather! Whilst there, we visited the cathedral and the museum, and met up with an old work colleague whom Kevin and I worked with at Southampton General Hospital. We went up on the gondola. We also took a tram ride around the city. Anna and Grace had a great time with one of the entertainers in cathedral square.

Outdoor swiming?? It's only 9 degrees C!

Imagine this scene...you are in New Zealand in August, it's winter, there is snow on the mountains and frost on the ground; BUT, you are in your togs, (swimming costume/bathers for the non-aussies reading this), you are in a pool, outside, and the air tempertaure is only 9 degrees centigrade!!! Are you completely mad??

What an awesome experience. Hanmer Springs are a selection of thermally heated pools, which are suitable for bathing in whatever the air temperature. To be honest, I'm sure the experience would not have been quite so exciting at a warmer time of year. The pools temperatures ranged from 29 to 41 degrees. There was also a family pool with warm hydroslides which was great fun. We started off there and it was freezing walking up the steps to the slides but lovely when you landed in the water. The pools in the rocks were heavenly and the scenery around us just spectacular with snow-capped peaks. It was all very surreal! The really hot ones (40 and 41 degrees) stank of sulphur but it was so relaxing. We spent nearly two hours wallowing in the pools, getting frozen moving between them but then having an exhilirating feeling stepping back into the warmth.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow......

Yesterday we made our way from Nelson to Hanmer Springs (about an hour and a half north of Christchurch) via the Lewis Pass which is pretty high up and we were so pleased when it was snowing!! This meant Kevin had to put some snow chains on the wheels of the car: was a bit like something out of the Krypton factor!!!

Anyway we were very glad of them as the snow came down pretty hard as we got higher up..it was fantastic. We managed to stop for a few minutes so the children could have a snowball fight(Grace got Dan a beauty with a snowball that ended up sliding down his pants!!!) and then we moved on to Hanmer Springs.

Seeing the sights...

We've had 3 nights here in Nelson on the South Island and today we leave for our journey across the snowy mountains, but thought I'd update this before we leave.

Our acommodation here in Nelson is a converted train carriage. Very unique. Very clean and comfy. We would have been very welcome at Sarah's sisters just up the road, but due to the fact that Anna and I are both allergic to dogs, we thought we'd better not risk staying with them. My fears were proved after we stopped with them for dinner when we first arrived in Nelson on Friday night and I ended up at the local doctors surgery Saturday morning having had an asthma attack!! Anyway, it was short lived due to prompt treatment and I was feeling much better by Sunday afternoon.

We have seen some stunning scenery whilst here: Rabbit Island Beach; Kaiteriteri Beach (where Shania Twain owns an appartment apparantly!!) and we visited Abel Tasman National Park.

We're definitley feeling the cold having lived in Australia for the last 20 months, but it's just wonderful being able to travel and see these parts of the world.

More smells!!

Our journey to Wellington from Rotorua was uneventful (although Sarah was very impressed by the kiwi loo, and you can read more about this on her blog at: http://sarwrly.blogspot.com/)

We has a beautiful meal in Lone Star for Kev's birthday last night: the portions were enourmous!! So nice to smell the food cooking as we sat close to the kitchens.

Today we have had brunch in Mojo's (more beautiful smells!) and then we sat on the ferry for 3 hours whilst it sailed us from Wellington on the North Island across to Picton on the South Island. We were accompanied by a truck full of sheep so the smell of Rotorua haunted us yet again!!!

oooh, what's that smell?

Well, we've been in Rotorua for 3 days and we're glad to be leaving this morning as it really doesn't smell very nice!! To be quite frank: it smells like rotten eggs!! I really don't know how anyone could live here...the locals tell me that you get used to it, but I'm not convinced!!

Have had a fantastic few days of adventure.....Our first stop on the day we arrived was Skyline Skyrides; a fantastic place where you go up the mountain in a gondola and you come down on a luge. Now a luge is a bit like an overgrown tea tray, with handles to steer and a non-sophisticated braking system. Very good fun!! Especially in the rain. (Yes, it's still raining: a bit like being back in the UK!!)

On Tuesday morning we visited Waiotapu Thermal Park: this place had some stunning scenery (the place to see all the geothermal activity that NZ has to offer!!)

Tuesday afternoon saw us have some real adventure!! We went to Agrodome where you can do all sorts of weird and wonderful things, and today I did a thing called Swoop with Dan and Cam . There was an elastic rope which winched us up 40 metres in the air and then let us go. We were in sort of hang glider pouches...very scary... a cross between a bungy jump and a pirate ship. Supposed to be a 'flying experience'. I'm now ok with the fact that I don't have wings!!!

We also had a go at 'Zorbing' this afternoon....where you roll down a hill in a big rubber ball!!

An hour or so drive away yesterday morning took us to our next lot of thermal activity in the form of an area called 'Craters of the Moon' - it resembled the film set for Jurassic Park really and was quite spooky!! Yesterday afternoon we went to Huka Falls on a fantastic Huka Jet Boat. The ride lasted 30 minutes and was absolutely amazing !! The boat went about 50mph and weaved in and out, going very close to the edge of the cliffs, almost touching trees and doing fab 360 degree turns. We saw the waterfall half way thro the ride which was quite impressive and the water was a lovely green colour. The river views were stunning, and it was a fantastic ride. Our evening entertainment took us on a Maori night. We were greeted by warriors arriving by kayak and treated to a Maori show of dancing and Haka. A Hangi feast followed...Hangi means it has been cooked slowly underground for hours in the thermal heat so the meat and veg end up really tasty and tender. The Maori dancing was fascinating with lots of strange faces and tongues poking out! We were then taken on a walk through some of the bush area to see the glowworms around a spring. Very cold outside but a fun evening and a real insight into a very different culture.

Today is Kev's 38th birthday, and we're driving down to Wellington. We'll be going out to dinner tonight to celebrate.