High Adventure

We woke to a thick blanket of smoke covering Tathra from another bushfire - this one located in Namadgi National Park and started from an army helicopter that was conducting activities to help control bushfires if one was to ignite!! An unfortunate situation as the landing gear sparked, and a fire took hold and was quickly out of control bearing down on the outskirts of Canberra. The weather conditions forecast for the weekend were abysmal putting everyone on high alert. Although it was slightly cooler in Tathra, we were out early trying to beat the heat. Again a run / coffee / crocheting session began the day.

 

Our main activity this morning was to take the Tree Climb Challenge at Magic Mountain. Advertised as a high ropes course where one climbs amongst the trees, flies over the park negotiating rope bridges, high wires and wooden obstacles along the way.

Arriving at the scheduled time, we were fitted with harnesses and given a safety briefing including the  intricacies of moving between elements. Then we were off. My task was to shadow Ella (or try to keep up!) while Andy accompanied Katy.

We began on the easiest course that had 4 flying foxes with the longest traversing some 100+m. I must say the initial ladder climb up was nerve racking as was the first launch off the platform on to the flying fox.

The next course had more interesting elements to negotiate. We were glad to be up high as we watched the staff members below track and capture a tiger snake!! The only way to descend from this course was via a 6m drop, where you stepped off the platform to free fall a metre before the rope engaged and slowed your descent.

The final course was again harder. The elements were fun but the real test was the 13m drop. On reaching the end and looking down both Ella and I decided we couldn't do it. Luckily another mum came up behind us and after a few seconds took the plunge. We subsequently followed with Andy and Katy close behind. All up the ropes course took us 2 hours and was great, challenging fun and will be remembered for a long time!

 

Here is Katy barely paused before stepping off the 13m drop!! Impressive!!

All sweaty and exhausted, we were ready to cool off! As the main beach looked like a washing machine, we headed for the sheltered harbour of Kianinny boat ramp where we swam over a big string ray!

More Native Animals

The usual ride / coffee started our day followed by a trip to the beach to look for treasure. Unfortunately the previous day's spot was out of bounds due to high tide, so we retreated back to the beach.

 

Instead, we organised to meet up with Harper and Janine at Potoroo Palace, a native animal educational sanctuary. A small place packed with lots of native animals and we were the only ones there! It was hot wandering around the sanctuary spotting animals and feeding the kangaroos and we were soon back in the visitor centre / cafe sipping cold drinks.

 

 

 

Surfing - A Family First

You'd think the 20 years I spent growing up in Perth, I would have tried surfing. Sadly it wasn't the case. I'm not sure why we never did and I don't feel like I missed out on anything. Only armed with our bodies, we would body surf when the waves were good at the beach.  Anyway while at Tathra we were looking for something new to do and with stories from a friend's recent surfing lessons we decided to sign up!

Conditions were perfect - slightly overcast with nice size waves rolling in for our lesson. By 9am, we were down at the surf club, being introduced to our instructors who kitted us up with full length wetsuits. Following a short briefing, we were paddling our boards out past the breakers to play a game of tips allowing us to become comfortable with moving the surfboards around. The girls could easily pop up on to their knees and balance on their boards.

Another short session on the sand taught us the steps to standing up. Younger people definitely have the advantage here..... both Andy and I were struggling with the flexibility to bend!! Then it was time to head back out to the waves to test out our skills! It was fantastic fun. I haven't laughed so much in ages as Andy and I both were falling off left, right and centre. Ella was doing pretty well, while Katy found it exhausting hauling the big board back into the waves. Can't wait to do it all again!!

Here is a compilation of our attempts :)

On The Perch

As it happened, one of Katy's school friends family were down staying with their friends near Tathra so we ended up meeting up with them on most days. This afternoon, we all converged at On The Perch, a bird sanctuary.

Ella enjoyed photographing lots of birds.

Katy spent most of her time cuddling chickens and attempting to coerce Harper into cuddling a chicken too!!

We were sad to hear that this lovely bird sanctuary is closing it's doors forever in a few weeks. The fires in 2018 and this summer have taken a toll on the owners who during forced evacuation could only evacuate part of the collection. Realising that the sanctuary is not defendable from these types of fires and the significant drop in tourism over the summer has unfortunately forced the doors closed. It is a real shame as they were doing a wonderful job in education and conservation. All the birds will be re-homed to zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.

Body Surfers Extrodanaire

Post run and coffee, we made our way down to the beach. Despite the overcast conditions, the weather was warm making perfect conditions to master our body surfing skills with the good sized waves rolling through. Lots of fun!

Beach Time

Last week of January signals beach time for our family. We made our way through Cooma, down Brown Mountain glad to see the big tree ferns were still there and waved at Susie, Patrick and family who were on their way back to Canberra from Tathra. Signs of the recent fires in this area were minimal  - a few burnt sections following the Snowy Mountains Hwy although smoke hung in the distant reminding us that they were still active.





Check in at the Big 4 Caravan Park was smooth. We soon found ourselves splashing in the ocean for a quick swim followed by a dip in the pool. Post dinner, we tested out the skate park and playground. We were all very happy to be away on holidays for a week!

Winner

The winner of the first to knit a jumper in the Hogg / Smith household is....... ELLA!! An awesome effort that started in the spring of 2018 and was completed with some help and assistance from Nana. The verdict - we all think it looks fantastic but Ella says it is too scratchy when she puts it on. Hopefully by the time winter comes around she will be change her mind.

Crazy Weather

Within two weeks we've had extreme weather conditions here in Canberra. Best summed up by the photo collage on the right....


Here we are assessing the damage we've sustained from the hail storm. The veggie garden has been shredded to bits! I think this will be the first year where we won't have a glut of tomatoes!! The tomatoes were pummelled to death as was the rainbow chard, fennel and rocket.

 

 

The basil was stripped of its leaves but has sprouted back to life since and surprisingly the eggplants were unscathed from the hail stone attack!

The corn was also ok but I think it had suffered in the dry conditions as the cobs were disappointing when I did harvest them.










Internally we also noticed a few watermarks on the ceiling in the living area which will require a coat of paint. All of this damage is manageable -  the real worry will be on the assessment of our car...