In transit
On the bus
In Oxford
Running through Port Meadow with the cows
Visiting our old house
Visiting Ella & Katy's old school
Saying hi to Jeff
Having a pint
Playing with Ricardo
Playing with Emma & Sophie
Friday, October 31, 2014
Wombie's Escapade
Andy smuggled a little brown plastic wombat of Katy's in his hand luggage on his recent trip to the UK. Wombie took regular photos of his travels and emailed them back to the girls. They thought it was very funny :)
Picnic at Hanging Rock as seen by Ella
With camera in hand it is interesting to see through the eyes of a 7 year old!!
On the way to Tidbinbilla
Start of the Hanging Rock walk.
Hanging Rock
Pelican Feed
Spotting wildlife - lizards and wallabies, cockatoos en route to koalas
Koalas
Self timer!
Funny faces :)
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Our first real adventure for the school holidays involved a road trip - no not to Victoria's infamous landmark but rather to Tidbinbilla, our favourite nature reserve. We were invited by one of Katy's preschool friends to meet up for a picnic.
On the way there we listened to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory audio track which the girls enjoyed. In fact they loved it so much that they didn't want to get out of the car on our arrival at the adventure playground!! However I pointed out all the fantastic stuff on the playground and our time restriction due to meeting up with the others and instantly they were off.
After climbing to the top of the spider web, sliding down the very steep slide too many times to count and conquering the flying fox it was time to depart. Always sad to leave this great playground.
A short drive through the park led us to the carpark where Michaela, Kate (her Mum) and Tom (her little brother) were waiting for us. Quick organising of our the backpack and we were off. The 500m loop took us along a little creek, through tall eucalypts to magnificent granite tors. Hanging Rock, a large rock shelter was used by the Ngunnawal people. This rocky outcrop was also the perfect hiding spot for the bogong moth who each year migrated to the mountains regions in search of cooler conditions. Aboriginals would collect and roast the moths. The Tidbinbilla region was also an area used for male initiation ceremonies where the boys became men.
The girls explored the tor circumnavigating the based several times like real explorers! Under the overhang, we enjoyed a picnic choosing to have avocado in our wraps rather than moths! Soon it was time to head back so Tom could have a day time nap. As we were all still happy, we decided to join the pelican feed at the sanctuary.
Slowly we made our way to the feeding spot at pond 4. Walking across the boardwalk the wind was quite strong, I just said to the girls you might want to hold on to your hats.About 10 seconds later Ella's hat goes flying off landing in the pond. Luckily the wind blew it along and I was able to retrieve the now soaked hat.
A wildlife officer soon appeared. Yah! While feeding George and Mildred, she gave an interesting talk all about Australian Pelicans. This large wetland ecosystem is home to many more animals and those to make an appearance while we were there included numerous turtles, a black swan sitting on its nest containing 7 eggs, a platypus (although we were too slow to see it) and loads of other black birds (that like to be fed lettuce) whose name has escaped me.
The pelicans enjoyed their lunch and with full bellies were no longer interested in the fish on offer. That was our signal to move on to the koalas. Nicely located a short walk from the sanctuary we popped over to say hello. The koala population earlier this year was boosted with the introduction of 6 new koalas from Victoria. The little enclosure you see when you first enter now holds two koalas both who were sleeping as per usual. On our way in I read a sign that showed recent spotting of three koalas in the Eucalypt forest. We ventured along the path for several hundred metres before arriving at the rough location and began scanning the trees. It wasn't long before we identified a koala (again asleep) at the top of a big tree. We were all very excited to see a koala in the 'wild' for the first time.
By this stage it was the middle of the afternoon and time to begin our journey back home not before stopping for an ice cream at the visitors centre!
On the way there we listened to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory audio track which the girls enjoyed. In fact they loved it so much that they didn't want to get out of the car on our arrival at the adventure playground!! However I pointed out all the fantastic stuff on the playground and our time restriction due to meeting up with the others and instantly they were off.
After climbing to the top of the spider web, sliding down the very steep slide too many times to count and conquering the flying fox it was time to depart. Always sad to leave this great playground.
A short drive through the park led us to the carpark where Michaela, Kate (her Mum) and Tom (her little brother) were waiting for us. Quick organising of our the backpack and we were off. The 500m loop took us along a little creek, through tall eucalypts to magnificent granite tors. Hanging Rock, a large rock shelter was used by the Ngunnawal people. This rocky outcrop was also the perfect hiding spot for the bogong moth who each year migrated to the mountains regions in search of cooler conditions. Aboriginals would collect and roast the moths. The Tidbinbilla region was also an area used for male initiation ceremonies where the boys became men.The girls explored the tor circumnavigating the based several times like real explorers! Under the overhang, we enjoyed a picnic choosing to have avocado in our wraps rather than moths! Soon it was time to head back so Tom could have a day time nap. As we were all still happy, we decided to join the pelican feed at the sanctuary.
Slowly we made our way to the feeding spot at pond 4. Walking across the boardwalk the wind was quite strong, I just said to the girls you might want to hold on to your hats.About 10 seconds later Ella's hat goes flying off landing in the pond. Luckily the wind blew it along and I was able to retrieve the now soaked hat.
A wildlife officer soon appeared. Yah! While feeding George and Mildred, she gave an interesting talk all about Australian Pelicans. This large wetland ecosystem is home to many more animals and those to make an appearance while we were there included numerous turtles, a black swan sitting on its nest containing 7 eggs, a platypus (although we were too slow to see it) and loads of other black birds (that like to be fed lettuce) whose name has escaped me.
The pelicans enjoyed their lunch and with full bellies were no longer interested in the fish on offer. That was our signal to move on to the koalas. Nicely located a short walk from the sanctuary we popped over to say hello. The koala population earlier this year was boosted with the introduction of 6 new koalas from Victoria. The little enclosure you see when you first enter now holds two koalas both who were sleeping as per usual. On our way in I read a sign that showed recent spotting of three koalas in the Eucalypt forest. We ventured along the path for several hundred metres before arriving at the rough location and began scanning the trees. It wasn't long before we identified a koala (again asleep) at the top of a big tree. We were all very excited to see a koala in the 'wild' for the first time.Wednesday, October 29, 2014
School Holidays Begin
As the first week of school holidays begins, Andy departs for the UK!! This untimely scheduled meeting put a stop to our original planned trip to Perth for the national orienteering carnival. After dropping Andy at the airport on Saturday afternoon, I was feeling rather flat and slightly sick. I definitely wasn't looking forward to spending a large chunk of my first night struggling to put the girls to bed.My solution - a movie sleepover night in the loungeroom!! The girls were pumped for it. This clever strategy had many advantages - showering and generalised getting ready for bed routine was quick and smooth. No nagging needed as everyone was focussed and stayed on task.
We all snuggled down just after 7.30pm to watch 101 Dalmatians as agreed upon by the girls. At the conclusion of the movie, lights went out and everyone drifted off for a longer than normal sleep. This did wonders for the cold that I felt was sneaking up on me.
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