Summer holiday tradition is to do an escape room. This year we went back to the Riddle Room in Mitchell to do the Hotel. Our team included Ella, Katy, Ryan, Mira and newbie Al!
The room was pretty fun and unlike all the previous riddle rooms we have done this one did not have a single key or combination lock in sight! The puzzles were mostly interactive requiring at least four people to participate. We required a few clues and managed to get out under an hour!
Post Christmas, Bolt and Bekele came to stay while Cathy was off on a mountain bike adventure.
Katy got sick with a virus which meant we had to postpone Mira's overnight birthday bsuhwalk.
We visited the shops to pick up some bargains. We all got new snow boots for Japan!
The garden received some attention. The struggling melaleuca out the front finally got removed. Various other trees were trimmed and the green bin was soon overflowing. The rest of the potatoes were harvested. A large quantity of rhubarb was stewed.
Ella and Andy went to the BBL #14 at Manuka to watch the Sydney Thunder vs Melbourne Stars. The game was ok with the Thunder easily wining by 18 runs.
Back home, our morning was quite busy getting ready for our guests - the Hogg family minus Maki and Luca who were with their Dad.
Ella was really under the pump - cooking last minute Christmas presents - a flourless chocolate cake; chocolate bark and gingerbread for various people. She went over for a quick visit and to drop off presents to Ryan (her boyfriend) who was celebrating Christmas at his mum's.
Then back home she decorated the table which has become her Christmas tradition. This year was a palate of silver and blue with eycalyptus leaves as the flora of choice. After picking some many leaves, she made a wreath for the front door.
Thankfully the family was late, which meant we were able to open a few Christmas presents. Katy received a digital camera while Ella opened the Instax (a polaroid typer mini printer). Both were very happy.
Once the family did arrive it was food, present opening, food prep, lots of chatting, lunch on the deck, a sneaky late arvo snooze (for some) and finished off with more food! Funnily we took photos of the table decorations prior to everyone arriving but forgot to take one of the whole group...hopeless!
Our family in our dorky Chrissy pjs!! Notice the girls were too cool to wear the actual pj tops :)
Over 6 days the kids ran 10 orienteering sessions organised by elite and ex-elite Canberra orienteers with some sort of talk or arm chair session every evening.
Andy and Rob ran one of the day's training courses out at Boboyan Divide on the hottest day. No one got lost, bitten by a snake or heat stroke! The only issue to arise was Al getting a flat tyre, successfully changing it only to lock her keys in the car!!
From all reports the kids enjoyed all the training sessions despite the HOT conditions; left the camp motivated to improve and had lots of fun (and drama) socialising.
The chicks have finally moved out into their bigger abode! We moved the little coop inside so they had a spot to retreat to if Noodle and Hope were being mean or intimidating. So far they are all giving each other plenty of space. I'm super happy to get the laundry back and the house smelling nicely.
After earlier harvesting the cherries, I was devastated to realise that both the nectarine and plum trees have not a single fruit! Poached spice plums have become my signature dish for the last three years.
On closer inspection I found a heap of fluff on the branches of both trees plus the cherry tree and also on some of the veggies, the agapanthus and a native. And looking even closer, I could see the fluff moving! A bit of googling and I think the garden has an infestation of woolly aphids. Chatting to the neighbours revealed a similar situation - lots of aphids and no plums. I think that the lack of fruit was not a result of the aphids but rather a late frost that wiped out the blossoms...shame.
Our stay began with light lunch on arrival at the lodge while observing that antics of the black and white Colobus monkeys - Colin, Hallie and their baby. Afterwards, we were greeted by tour guides who were holding a large but friendly python and a blue tongue lizard.
The afternoon was hot as we made our way around the zoo with our guide. Our small group of 6 was treated to a personal tour of the zoo with lots of inside information given and tasks to do. We fed the deer; gave the dingos a stick wrapped with alpaca fur as an enrichment; gave some monkeys (can't remember which specific ones) some fabric as enrichment but the best one was patting Ubuntu, the huge white rhinoceros! His skin was so rough! The tour was extremely hot (thanks to the 34C day) but so great and we ended up at our Treehouse!
After inspecting the inside, grabbing a drink we made our way onto the balcony and were amazed at just how close the giraffes came. Skye and Khamasi were already waiting for us, casually feeding on tree branches and hay buckets strategically placed between the treehouses.
It wasn't long before a knock on our front door and our lovely guide was back with a bucket of carrots! With only 2 of the 6 treehouses being occupied, Katy was able to feed the giraffes lots of carrots!
Skye and Khimasi were beautifully gentle and well behaved. Their heads are really large and their tongues super long. It was only a short but special encounter!
Dinner was in the Rainforest Cove, back at the uShaka Lodge. Pre dinner drinks were enjoyed on the deck, waiting for the white lions, Jake and Mischka to come up for their dinner! For them dinner is a large bone. Again the tour guide chatted away about the lions as Jake took his bone to the platform, crunching through the thick bone easily while Mischka returned to the den with hers.
Dinner was served inside. We had a front row seat to the window looking inside the white lions dens, where they had retired are finishing their dinner and were contently going to sleep. Dinner was a little too rich and fancy for us. Katy tried (unsuccessfully) to eat an oyster! Once completed we were driven back to our treehouse.
Thus Ella arranged to fly up a few days early staying with Andy. She was able to catch the train to the Gold Coast (1 hr trip) to spend a day watching Ryan play before joining the ACT Athletics team for her competition.
On the competition front unfortunately Ella had strained her shoulder 2 weeks earlier and despite physio, it constricted her throwing movement for javelin. She did however get a PB in discus.
She also got recognised by the team coaches / managers...
