Quite the Slacker!

I have been quite the blog slacker since we returned to America!!! As I'm sure you can imagine things have been rather hectic since our return to the US. Needless to say, it has been hard to find time to finish up the Perry Aussie Blog.

First, I'll share a slideshow of our last outing while in Australia. It was a rainy hike near Binna Burra Lodge . . . another rain forest area near our home there. Bryan, Evan, and Grant bared the rain and wind and hiked out to see another waterfall. Evan got a little wet on the trip and so Grant was inventive and came up with a way to dry Evan's shorts. (Evan can't stand to have wet clothes on, so something had to be done!)

Additional pictures include some shots of our final days in Australia and some of the landmarks that we wanted to remember. Make sure to take a look at Evan and Kaden's websites as well and you can see some of their favorite landmarks and people.

After moving out of our rental home in Australia we stayed in the city in a nice high-rise apartment for a week. You can see that Evan really enjoyed loungin' around and the view that we had of the Brisbane River.

We departed Brisbane, Queensland, Australia on July 10, 2008, en route to Sydney and then on to Los Angeles and Denver in the US. Our total trip to Denver would be 24+ hours from door to door . . . uugghh! BUT, it wasn't as bad as it sounds or as we had feared!! After losing Evan's luggage several times and enduring a 13+ hour flight to America with two small children we finally made it to Kimball, Nebraska . . . just in time for dad and Evan to help with wheat harvest! Although our land was not ready for harvest in Kimball there was other ground that was ready so dad and Evan had alot of fun on the farm! Here are some pictures of the trip to Kimball.

We arrived in Moline, IL and returned to our beautiful home on July 15th . . . only to discover a few weeks later that we would be moving AGAIN! We are now in the process of relocating to Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa (just crossin' another midwest state off of our list of places we have lived!) Bryan accepted the position of Export Marketing Manager for the Waterloo John Deere factory. It has been a long process trying to get our house (that needed some TLC) back in order to show and unpacking our Australia shipment at the same time but everything is finally in order! Bryan has already moved on to his job in Waterloo and the boys and I have stayed behind to sell the house. We'll keep you posted as everything continues to unfold and with our new address when the time comes!

As for the Perry Australia website. It will now be a memory . . . you will, once again, have to rely on the annual Perry Christmas letter to keep you updated on our monthly happenings. I will continue to update Evan and Kaden's websites though, so keep those in mind and look often as the boys continue to grow!

Natural Bridge

A few weekends ago we traveled back down to Springbrook National Park to hike to the Natural Bridge. It was a great hike through another beautiful rainforest and the Natural Bridge was an awesome sight as well.

We do have a few more pictures/slideshows to share with you so I will keep posting on the Perry Australia sight for a little while longer . . . so stay tuned!

News Bulletin

I just realized that I sent an email with this slide show to alot of people but I hadn't yet posted it on our website for all of our avid readers to know.

Yep, we're departing Australia . . . tomorrow . . . July 10th! We have been busy the past few weeks getting everything in order to move home. We'll keep you posted on our trek home!

Our One-Year Mark!

Today marks our first anniversary in Australia! One year ago today we left the US en route to Australia. (Today also marks another year for Bryan . . . it's his birthday!) It's hard to believe that its actually been an entire year. I'm sure most of you are surprised too, thinking that we just left not too long ago! Well, it has been a great year, full of trials (having a baby in another country isn't as easy and as similar to the US as you may think!), memories, exploring, and fun times as we have discovered Australia, it's culture, and everything that it has to offer.

We went whale watching on Saturday off of the Gold Coast at "The Humpback Whale Highway" and it was SPECTACULAR!! The humpback whale season is June-November as they are now migrating north from Antartica to have their babies in the warm waters of the Great Barrier Reef. We were somewhat unsure of what we would see or if we would even get to see a whale and boy were we surprised! There were TONS of whales out! At one point there were 4-5 whales "mugging" our boat (that is what they call it.) One even swam right up to the boat. Evan and I were standing on one side of the boat and got to watch it swim under us while Bryan and Kaden, on the other side of the boat, got to see it emerge and were able to hear the low rumbling sound it made. We witnessed all of the "tricks" that the whales can do as well. Such as a full-body breach, half breach, lobbing/slapping of the tail, and fin slapping. At one time one whale continuously completed about 30 tail saps while lying on his back. It was an exciting tour and a unique opportunity, even the skippers on board told us that we had received quite a show.

Here is a video clip of one whale doing a half breach and a tail flap. It's kinda blurry and bumpy but considering we were on a boat and constantly rocking back and forth it came out fairly good.


We also took many photos . . . more than you can imagine . . . so here are some shots for you to see. We were never able to get a good full body breach photo though. By the time it was happening our reaction time to take the picture wasn't quick enough and the photo just ended up looking like a big splash. (I have included a photo I found though so you can see what a full-body breach looks like!) The slide show I used is also called "magnifier" and comes with a magnifying glass that you can use to scan over the pictures and get a better look at the whales.
I also included some photos of some pretty posh houses that we rode by through the channel getting out to the ocean.

Here are some additional pictures of our time with the Davison Family. We hit alot of our favorite spots during their trip here, as well as some new locations.

The Whitsunday Islands

Our friends, The Davison's, arrived from India last Saturday. Chris works for John Deere in Inida on ex-pat assignment from America and they decided to take one of their rest and relaxation trips to see us in Australia before we depart. (We're not so sure about the rest and relaxation part of the trip though . . . they are coming to see The Perry family after all!!) Their plane arrived later than scheduled on Saturday evening and on Sunday both families headed back to the airport en route to Hamilton Island for a 4-day trip to the Whitsunday's.

We stayed at Daydream Island Resort & Spa, one of the islands located in the Whitsunday's. It was a beautiful location with lots of things to keep us busy and with a welcoming and friendly family atmosphere. The Daydream Outdoor Aquarium was very unique and is believed to be the world's largest, man-made living coral reef lagoon system. It's a complex and stunning network of reef lagoons containing thousands of tropical fish, live coral species and diverse sea creatures such as sharks, sting rays, anemones, sea cucumbers and star fish. We enjoyed watching the barramundi and sharks be fed on several mornings, as well as getting to explore the many unique star fish and sea cucumbers in the lagoon. Most of the species we were able to view from this lagoon system are often unseen by humans in the natural environment as they live at great ocean depths. Some of the other additional perks of the island that we enjoyed include watching a movie at the open air cinema one evening (Chris & Bryan were able to do this), swimming in one of the many pools, and hiking through a rainforest located on the island.

The highlight of the trip though was taking a one day cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef. We booked all of the kids into the Skipper Club on Daydream Island for the day so that the adults could enjoy their one day out . . . kid-free. We rode out to Knuckle Reef with Cruise Whitsunday's Great Barrier Reef Adventure. (On our way to the reef we were also lucky enough to catch a quick glimpse of a humpback whale migrating north.) Once we reached Knuckle Reef we all decided to go snorkeling. It was nice but alot of work as the waters were somewhat choppy and difficult swim through. We then all decided to try scuba diving so that we could get down deep to enjoy one of the 7 Wonders of the World. None of us had ever tried diving before so this was a new experience. AND it was spectacular! It took a little while to get used to breathing under water without panicking but soon we were all swimming near the ocean bottom checking out the beautiful reef. We like our first dive so much that we decided to go for a second dive before leaving the reef . . . and enjoyed it the second time even more than the first! It was definitely an experience that we will never forget.

After four days in the Whitsunday's we headed back to Brisbane to explore and share our city with The Davison's. More to come about the rest of our trip . . .

Stradbroke Island

This weekend took us out to Stradbroke Island just an hour off of the coast of Brisbane. We went out with friends to stay the weekend and explore. The only way to get our car there was by ferry. We stayed at a place called Amity Bungalows (or "dumbalows", as Evan would call them.) This was a resort located at the northern tip of Stradbroke Island right where the Coral Sea meets the South Pacific Ocean. It was a quiet and tranquil location that really made you feel like you were camping in the heart of the rainforest. Our bungalow was called "Possum Lodge". We also had our own private jetty, pool, and kids playground. We were told that wild dolphins would come to our jetty every night after dark to feed. We stood out on the jetty for quite awhile and the dolphins kept going back-and-forth between the jetty's around us but never got right underneath us. It was still very interesting to watch. There were also friendly kookaburras that would perch on the deck of our cabin (and would wake us with their cackling/laughing every morning.) We caught Evan on several occasions going out and having conversations with the kookaburras.

We spent some of the weekend hiking and 4-wheel driving on the island. Our friends brought their 4-wheel drive vehicle so we all piled in and drove several of the beautiful beaches on the island. This is a very unique and fun experience, but kind of just felt like driving on snow, without the cold, in America. We also went "back-roadin'" on the island to see the sights.

Our first hike took us along the whale watching path. There were several platforms along this one mile track where you could sit and watch the ocean for the whales migrating north. Unfortunately we were never able to locate one because the waters were too choppy but the locals did tell us that there were whales in the area (whale watching season is June-November.) We also took a hike on the Gorge path. This was a beautiful walk along the rocky coast of Stradbroke.

Kitefest 2008

We traveled to Redcliffe, north of Brisbane, for their annual Kitefest event.

Just a few interesting tidbits about Redcliffe . . . It is the site of the first European settlement in what was to become the state of Queensland and is a peninsula that sits right on the ocean and looks out onto Moreton Island and to the open sea. In the early 1900s "holidaymakers" came to Redcliffe by steamboat because there wasn't a road/highway easily accessible from the mainland. We were able to travel easily over to Redcliffe on a looong bridge.

We enjoyed yet another new town and adventure but the day was actually so windy that we didn't get to see alot of kites up in the air. Can you believe that? Too windy to fly a kite!!

I added some additional interesting pictures to the slide show. One is of the Bee Gees' house in Redcliffe. Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb lived in Redcliffe from 1958 to the 1960s and their old house still stands much as it did then. We have also discovered a unique way that Australians "add-on" to their homes. There isn't alot of room to expand homes on the ground level, because most houses are built too close together. But, instead of adding to the top of the house and adding a level upstairs, it seems that most will raise the house up on stilts/beams and build a level underneath.

This past weekend Bryan and I were also able to have our first date night since moving to Australia (can you believe that!?) Well, it will also be our last date night while in Australia! (See our Australia education below to understand why!!)

Australian Education:
OK . . . this may not exactly be "education" but it was a BIG eye-opener for us!!
Here is the pricing low-down for our "date night":
Dinner (semi-casual restaurant): $138.00
Movie: $28.80 ($14.40/ticket)
Parking for the Car: $12
Gas to get downtown: $10
Babysitting: $75 ($15/hour) . . . Don't get any ideas Kaitlyn!!! :)
GRAND TOTAL: $263.80
Now you understand why "date-nights" are few and far between when living in Australia!

The Great Ocean Road

We left you in Queenscliff, Victoria, after our last post. The remainder of our big Australia trip took us through some of the most beautiful scenery and views that we have ever seen. Starting in Queenscliff we drove along The Great Ocean Road. This highway is very windy and drifts along the coast of the Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean at the southern point of Australia. The ocean views were spectacular. The waters looked so clear and turquoise that we ended up stopping often to snap pictures and try to capture the beauty of what we were seeing.

Along the Great Ocean Road we spotted an awesome house that overlooked the ocean. We took several pictures of it from the main highway/road (see slide show) but then decided to try to go explore it further. Yes, we were trespassing but we couldn't resist! We found the entrance of the house and took several more pictures. We found that this house is the most photographed house along the Great Ocean Road . . . you can see why.

We soon entered the Otway National Park, filled with lush and beautiful rainforests and great countryland. We stopped off at Maits Rest, a sub-temperate rainforest, and took a short hike through. The sub-temperate rainforests are different from the tropical rainforests in Queensland (where we live) because they are alot cooler. Everything was VERY green with tons of unique ferns and trees all around.

Our next stop was the Cape Otway Lighthouse. This is the oldest lighthouse on mainland Australia. We were able to climb to the top of the lighthouse and get great views from the deck at the top. It was very interesting to hear how this lighthouse played a role in helping vessels as they approached "the shipwreck coast." As we drove the road between the lighthouse and the highway we found a wild koala hanging out in a tree close to the road. We have never seen a koala in the wild before (it looked exactly like the ones in the zoo!) so this was a great experience.

Our final stop for the day was at the Twelve Apostles in the Southern Ocean. The Twelve Apostles are giant rock stacks that rise majestically from the Southern Ocean. The Twelve Apostles are the remnants from constant erosion of the limestone cliffs of the mainland that began 10–20 million years ago. The stormy Southern Ocean and blasting winds gradually eroded the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches and when they collapsed rocks stacked up to 45 metres high were left isolated from the shore. It is not known exactly when the limestone stacks became known as the Twelve Apostles and why. Conjecture is that they exude such power and awe that visitors could only stand in awe of nature and its creation - hence the name's biblical origins. There were actually 13 original rock formations and you could see 9 of them from the viewing platforms . . . until July 3, 2005. The disappearance of one of the fabled Twelve Apostles into the Southern Ocean on July 3rd, 2005 was a reminder to the world that this majestic coastline is a work in progress. (See a shot of one of the postcards we bought so you can see the disappearance of one of the Twelve Apostles.)

We decided to retire for the night and get up to visit the Twelve Apostles again the next morning. We were up bright and early the next day (imagine that . . . with two small children!) and decided to view them at sunrise when there would be fewer tourists around. When we arrived there were probably only 5-10 people total there . . . it was breathtaking . . . and we had it all to ourselves (almost!!) We also decided to take our first family helicopter ride to view ALL of the Twelve Apostles from the air. Again, spectacular views! The ride was only 10 minutes long but worth every cent. We thought Evan would enjoy the ride but he really was only interested and mesmerized by the headphones and microphone that he got to wear . . . Kaden couldn't figure out what we were doing to him!

We then drove on towards the end of the Great Ocean Road and stopped to see several other rock formations along the way, including London Bridge, The Arch, The Grotto, the Bay of Martyrs, and the Bay of Islands.

We started to trek inland towards Adelaide (countryside driving) for the last leg of our road trip. We enjoyed the farming and agricultural views as we don't often get to see this side of Australia living in Brisbane. This is also the areas of great winerys so there were TONS of beautiful vineyards along the way. We also spotted wild emus while driving! This section of our trip took us out of the state of Victoria and into the state of South Australia.

Once in Adelaide we just had to visit the largest rocking horse in the world . . . and believe me, it is BIG. Bryan then spent a day in Adelaide completing another round of training for John Deere. Evan, Kaden, and I then flew from Adelaide to Brisbane (a 3 hour flight) while Bryan flew to Sydney for one last day of training.

It was a great vacation and a wonderful way for us to see more of Australia.

Australian Education:

Australia is made up of 7 states: Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, and Western Australia.

There are 3 time zones in Australia - Eastern, Central, and Western.

But here's the kicker . . . South Australia, the Northern Territory, and one small city in New South Wales (Broken Hill) have a 1/2 hour time difference from the rest of the country. Nope, they can't make it simple and round it to a one hour difference . . . it's a 1/2 hour!

Needless to say this really messed us up while we were on our trip. While staying in Cunnawarra, South Australia, we had dinner reservations for 6PM. Well, we showed up at 5:30PM (thinking it was 6PM) and wondered why it took them so long to make our food, etc. Halfway through the dinner we realized that we were still functioning in another time zone!!

Melbourne & Phillip Island

Happy Mother's Day to all!

We recently took a two week family holiday down to Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and drove The Great Ocean Road to Adelaide in South Australia before coming home. This post covers the first few days of our adventure.

After returning from several days in Sydney we turned around and flew to Melbourne the following evening. Bryan had to spend our first few days teaching a class for John Deere so the boys and I hits the streets of Melbourne to find things to do. I know, I'm getting very daring to head out in a big unfamiliar city on my own with two children . . . but all turned out well and we had a good time in Melbourne.

On day one we found a Krispy Kreme store and made sure to stop for a few (expensive) donuts for breakfast, then it was on to the Melbourne Aquarium. Evan enjoyed running from room and room to see all of the different fish and sharks. We even got to watch the scuba divers go into the large bubble tank and feed the sting rays, sea turtles, sharks, and other fish.

Day two took us in search of a park and on the way we passed a major taxi cab protest that was occurring right in the middle of the street at Federation Square (the busiest city intersection in Melbourne for taxis, trams, and the train.) Nothing could move because there were 200+ protesters, police officers, and red cross workers covering the streets. A young Indian taxi cab driver had been stabbed the night before and was in the hospital in critical condition. They were protesting for more protection from the police and respect from the community. I believe the protest went on for almost 24 hours before decisions were reached. The city agreed to put screens up in all taxi cabs between the front seat and back seat, as well as agreed to pre-paid cab rides for all night time fares. It was quite interesting to see everything unfold right in the heart of Melbourne and not far from where we were staying. After getting around the protesting we arrived in Federation Square, a famous section of Melbourne. The park that we were in search of was behind Federation Square so we enjoyed our morning at the park after all of the commotion we had witnessed.

Bryan's training was complete and he wasn't due to teach again until the following week in Adelaide so we hit the road in our Holden Statesman and headed for Phillip Island. Phillip Island is known for the Penguin Parade that occurs every evening at dusk. The Fairy or Little Penguins arrive on the island (from the ocean) and head to their burrows for several days before heading back out to sea to fish. We spent the afternoon buying winter coats for the boys . . . we hadn't realized how cold it was going to get in the evenings on Phillip Island, and touring around the island. While walking along the boardwalk Bryan spotted a fairy penguin that was apparently growing his winter feathers and then I spotted another one under the boardwalk (that looked more like your typical Fairy Penguin.) That night we took our places on the platform to view the penguins arriving from the ocean. It was a spectacular sight! It was chilly out but nothing like the cold we have experienced in the US!

After viewing the penguins we then headed to Sorrento, Victoria so that we could catch a car ferry the following day across the ocean/bay to Queenscliff and start our journey along The Great Ocean Road. (Stay tuned for more on the rest of our journey in another posting!)

Australian Education: The Fairy Penguin (Australia) or Little Blue Penguin (New Zealand)
This is a close up picture of the Fairy Penguin that we went to see at Phillip Island.

Here are some interesting facts about the Fairy Penguin:
- Fairy Penguins are found on the southern coast of Australia and New Zealand.
- The Fairy Penguin is the smallest kind of penguin.
- The Fairy Penguin lives in a burrow. These penguins don't live in the snow and ice like most penguins do. Fairy Penguins live for six years in the wild.
-Fairy Penguins come ashore after dark when most predators are not around. Then they move inland in small groups to their nesting groups. Most penguins go back to sea one or two hours before sunrise.
- They have little heads and big bodies. They have two little holes for their ears, one nose and a mouth. They have webbed feet and they have dark blue feathers on their back and white feathers on their front. The shape of their body helps them to swim and dive easily.
- At sea the penguin's predators are sharks, seals, killer whales. On land foxes, feral cats and dogs, sea eagles and large gulls are the penguin's predators.
- Like most seabirds, they have a long lifespan. The average for the species is 6.5 years, but flipper ringing experiments have recorded individuals that have lived for over 20 years.

Our trip to Sydney

It has been a couple weeks since I've posted . . . sorry!! We decided to take a family trek down to Sydney a couple of weekends ago as there was a national holiday on Friday (Anzac Day) and Bryan had a three day weekend. Well, we no sooner got back from Sydney and did laundry then headed out on another two week Australia adventure trek (more about that trip in another post though!)

Anyway, we arrived in Sydney on Wednesday evening, April 23rd, and hit the sack to prepare for 3 1/2 days of sightseeing. We started our vacation with a Sydney sights highlights bus tour. This tour took us all around the city for great stops and photo shots. We stopped at Macquarie's Chair in the Sydney Botanical Gardens with great views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. This was a specially designed chair for the governor's wife to look out over the harbour. Other great sights/areas that we visited included The Rocks, Circular Quay, Chinatown, Darling Harbour, and Kings Cross. We also stopped at The Gap, the heads of the harbour and had our "morning tea" at the world famous Bondi Beach. It then rained for much of the afternoon so our options were limited but we did ride the Monorail tram around Darling Harbour and managed to remain somewhat dry.

On Friday we took a tour of the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney. Our friends from the US, another John Deere family, were also in Sydney and went on the tour with us. We did a short bushwalk to Wentworth Falls but it was foggy out (or as Evan says - there is "foggy-fog everywhere") so it was difficult to see. We stopped in a small garden town for lunch, Leura, before heading to Katoomba and Scenic World right in the heart of the Blue Mountains. At Scenic World we rode three great rides so that we could see the rainforest from many different viewpoints. We first rode the Scenic Skyway over the rainforest and Jamison Valley. It gave us a 360 degree view of the rainforest and also had a glass floor so that we could watch the rainforest below us. We were easily able to view Katoomba Falls and the Three Sisters rock formation from the Skyway. We then took the Scenic Cableway down a 545 meter drop into the rainforest - quite an exciting and breathtaking drop! And finally, we rode the Scenic Railway . . . backwards . . . up a steep incline out of the rainforest. This railway is the steepest railway in the world with a 415 meter accent/decent. Evan (and the rest of us) found this very exhilarating . . . even Kaden got to ride! We then made a quick riding tour through the Olympic Park in Sydney before taking a river cruise back home. It was a long but FUN day!

On our final full day in Sydney we rode the ferry through Sydney Harbour and got off at the Circular Quay so that we could go on a tour of the Sydney Opera House. We learned alot about the opera house and enjoyed the tour, even though Evan was quite bored throughout! As we were exiting the Opera House a performance was starting outside so we were able to watch a live show from the steps of the Opera House. We then took a ferry ride back through the harbour so that Evan could claim his reward (for putting up with so many adult activities) . . . a trip to the IMAX theatre. We watched an African Safari show for 45 minutes - a perfect length for Evan's very first "movie" trip. After the IMAX movie we walked the busy streets of downtown Sydney to the Sydney tower so that we could travel to the top and take in the 360 degree view of the entire city. After all of the walking and activities we were beat and the boys were longing for home so we called it a night.

It was a great family vacation filled with lots of adventures and great sights!

We did have several celebrity sightings while in Sydney as well that some of you may find interesting. We have been watching The Biggest Loser Australia while here and while in line at the IMAX we recognized Cosi, one of the contestants on this season's The Biggest Loser, that had just recently been voted off the show. He lost an amazing 75+ lbs. so it was great to recognize him and note that he still looked slim! Then, while waiting for our flight the next morning, while in the Qantas Club Airline Lounge, we had another celebrity sighting. The MTV music awards for Australia had just taken place the night before in Sydney and 50Cent (the American Rapper) was one of the lead guest performances. Well, 50Cent and his posse were hanging out right by us in the club lounge. Believe me, they REALLY stick out in Australia so it's hard not to miss them!

Well, tune in soon for more blogging about our most recent Australia trek - we have some exciting pictures and stories to tell!

Australian Education: DONUTS ARE EXPENSIVE IN AUSTRALIA! (Like many other things . . . ) We thought Krispy Kreme were expensive because of the American name but we have found that donuts are often $2 - $2.50 each everywhere you look! Needless to say we don't get donuts often!


While in Sydney Bryan also found a store that sold Dr. Pepper by the can . . . my favorite . . . that you can't find anywhere in Australia. Well, one can cost $2.80! Which seems like alot but all pop is expensive in Australia as well . . . a small bottle of pop from the gas station usually costs around $3-$3.50.

Hervey Bay & The Great Sandy Straits

We just returned from spending the weekend with friends at their beach house located about 3-4 hours north of Brisbane at Tuan, QLD. This area is called The Great Sandy Straits. We also traveled to Hervey Bay while in the area. We were able to do some fishing and learn about the different fish in the area, as well as the different techniques used to get bait, etc. Rather than paying for bait, they pump yabbie's from the sand and use yabbie's as fish bait (see pictures in slide show.)

We went up to Hervey Bay for lunch and to see the area. Hervey Bay is where alot of whale watching tours take place during whale season (June - October.) During our stay we were also able to see across to Fraser Island (the largest sand island in the world.) We weren't able to travel to Fraser this weekend but are hoping to get there in the next few months.

On Sunday morning we went onto the beach when the tide was out to visit the soldier crabs (see slide show.) The sight of the thousands and thousands of soldier crabs running away from you as you walked was phenomenal! There were all different sizes and they were a beautiful blue color. When they sensed you were close they would burrow themselves down into the sand and disappear. I was totally in awe of the sight!

A couple of weekends ago we went to Brisbane Forest Park to visit yet another beautiful area of Brisbane that was right at our doorstep. We enjoyed several different lookouts along the drive and a lunch up on Mount Nebo. Before heading home we went through the wildlife zoo with the boys and got to see pademelons and wallabys (smaller kangaroos) and I finally was able to see my very first duck-billed platypus!! I had wanted to see one before leaving Australia so I've now seen most of the unique animals that I had on my list! Here are some pictures:

Wivenhoe Lake/Dam: This is where Brisbane gets most of its water from, and as you can tell the lake is somewhat low, thus resulting in the water restrictions we are under.


Jolly's Lookout from Brisbane Forest Park - you can see Moreton Bay in the distance


Australian Education:
Local elections were held recently and here is a picture of a church that housed voting booths. They have TONS of signs up outside of the voting booths and people continue to hand you ads, etc. as you enter to vote, I guess hoping you'll change your mind on your way in to vote. I recently heard on the radio that almost 5,000 individuals did not vote in the QLD elections like they were supposed to (they are required to vote here) and would be fined $75 each for not showing up. They also said that the QLD Government might override the fines this election. Interesting.


Also, here are some pictures of a popular sport here in Australia . . . lawn bowling. I haven't seen alot of younger people doing it but it seems like a popular retirement sport. They don their matching uniforms and hats and seem to have alot of fun.

Our Activities Continued

Now to sum up the rest of our time while Steph and Justin were here visiting . . .

We returned back to Brisbane and on the way home from the coast stopped at Springbrook National Park for a day of hiking. We had wanted to hike down to Purling Brook Falls again so that they could experience the sight but it turned out to be a dreary, rainy day so everyone except for Kaden and I ended up only hiking down to Twin Falls (another circuit at Springbrook) that day. When they reached Twin Falls Stephanie spotted a unique creature . . . a Lamington Blue Crayfish. These are quite rare and only emerge when it rains - so they were pretty lucky to spot one!

That evening Steph, Justin, and Bryan went river kayaking on the Brisbane river. They were able to enjoy the night skyline of the city from the Brisbane river and kayaked for about 1.5 hours before returning to the Adventure Centre for beer and prawns following the trip.

On Friday, we all headed down to Mt. Tamborine to Thunderbird Park so we could complete the ropes course at Adventure Parc. Bryan and Justin went first while Steph took Evan digging for Thundereggs at the Thunderegg mine and I fed Kaden. The ropes course has three different courses - green, red, and black. Bryan and Justin made it through all three courses while Steph and I only made it through 2 1/2 courses (had to cut the black one short due to time.) It was very challenging but a fun time by all!

In the evening we headed into the city and Steph, Justin, and I completed the Story Bridge Adventure Climb. This climb is one of only three bridge climbs in the world. (Bryan did the Harbour Climb in Sydney and there is another one in Auckland, New Zealand.) It was a beautiful night as we did the twilight climb. We started up the bridge while it was still light outside and by the time we reached the top it was dark and we were able to see the city lights and get a great 360 degree view of Brisbane and the surrounds.

Here are some facts about the Story Bridge:
- The Story Bridge is the largest steel bridge designed, fabricated, and constructed in Australia by Australians.
- The summit is 74 metres (242 feet), similar to a 22-story building.
- The bridge is repainted every 7 years using 17,500 litres of paint.
- Approximately 70,000 cars cross teh bridge daily.

Over the weekend we took a quick trip to Lone Pine so Steph and Justin could have their turn at feeding the emus and kangaroos, and could cuddle a koala. We all also went abseiling (repelling) off of the Kangaroo Cliffs by the Brisbane River. Bryan and I had never been repelling before and going off the edge was scary at first but got easier. We celebrated Easter by going to downtown Brisbane to visit the cathedral, completed some souvenir shopping, and dyed Easter eggs with some Australian friends in the evening.

The last day of their trip we spent out at Tangalooma. We were able to snorkel "The Wrecks", old ship wrecks along the coast of Moreton Bay, and Bryan and Justin went sea kayaking. The snorkeling wasn't as good as Byron Bay earlier in the week but was still fun.

Australian Education: Here are some interesting foods and food items we have encountered lately . . .

Hot Cross Buns - all the grocery stores have these around Easter time. They come with fruit and fruitless.


The lychee - we discoverd this fruit at the Chinese New Year Party and Evan loved it. You had to peel away the outside and then eat the sweet part around the pit.




Some items used to make a cake . . . the Golden Buttercake is the closest I can find to a yellow cake mix and the icing mixture is . . . powdered sugar . . . took me awhile to find that one!


Here is a picture of a common fruit that Bryan likes to put on ice cream . . . passion fruit. Interesting color, texture, and "look" to go on food!