Current Outings . . .

Last weekend Bryan went with some friends down to Mt. Tamborine to the Adventure Parc Ropes Course that they have in the rainforest. We initially thought that this experience was going to be similar to the zip lines we rode in the rainforest in Costa Rica while on our honeymoon. Instead it turned out to be more of an endurance course full of zip lines, platforms, and obstacles. Bryan enjoyed the easier courses (red & green) and attempted the challenging (black) course, but soon realized that it was a little beyond his idea of fun. We are hoping to return to this area when Steph and Justin come to visit . . . so get ready to be challenged guys!!



This past weekend we decided to take Evan (and Kaden) to SeaWorld Australia down on the Gold Coast. We met up with the Leibfried's (other American John Deere expat's in Australia) and enjoyed seeing the dolphin show, polar bears, seals and the rest of the amusement park. Evan REALLY enjoyed the day and getting to see the Sesame Street characters in concert at the Sesame Street Beach at SeaWorld, as well as ride all of the Sesame Street rides. We did decide at the end of the day that an amusement park isn't the best for mums and dads who have a terrible two-year-old though!!

It continues to rain off and on here in Brisbane but the weather also remains hot and humid. Everyone says that we are lucky this year because the summer has been pretty cool for a change. All we can think about is that our family and friends back home are experiencing cold, cold, cold weather and we are getting sunburns and wearing shorts daily!! Everyone is getting geared up for fall here. The stores are getting their long sleeves and pants on the racks and the kids are getting ready to begin their new school year. I'm sure the Perry's will still be wearing short-sleeves and possibly shorts . . . and the Aussies will think we are crazy!

Australian Education: Here are some of the common animal warning road signs that we have encountered throughout Australia . . . not the typical deer warning as we would see in the US!!
Here is the most common sign we see . . . the kangaroo . . . we even have these warning signs on a road right near our subdivision.

OK . . . this one has been altered a little (vandalism) but you still get the idea . . . koala warning.

Here is a common sign you'll see around rainforest regions.

Remember the cassowary from our previous blog post?? Here is a warning for cassowaries, found in or near rainforests. I have never seen how fast a cassowary can move but I definitely think I would be spooked if I encountered one in the wild!

This sign is a warning for tree kangaroos. We found these signs up in the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns. Again, I've only seen the tree kangaroos in the zoo so I'm not sure what they are like in the wild.

Finally, just a cute sign that we found. Didn't see any ducks crossing the road but liked the sign.

Coolangatta

We spent the final few days with G & G Dammast visiting an area south of Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Coolangatta and the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary are located on the Queensland and New South Wales border. Although the rain continued throughout both days (most of the day while we were at the wildlife sanctuary was dry) we enjoyed our trip south and seeing a new area.

The Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary gave us another opportunity to get closer with Australia's wildlife including snakes, crocodiles, spectacular birds, kangaroos, koalas and more. We also took a back lot tour at the wildlife sanctuary letting us view the vet hospital that services all of the wildlife in Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Anytime various animals are found throughout the two states and they need assistance because they are hurt or sick the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is called to rescue them and nurse them back to health. While we were there all of the local news stations were filming a giant python that had been at the hospital for several weeks because he swallowed 4 golf balls. The golf balls were surgically removed and the snake had been monitored for several weeks and was soon going to be released back into his natural habitat.

We stayed at the Twin Towns Resort and enjoyed the great views from our hotel room. The wind and the rain made some viewing difficult but it was still a pretty sight. We ventured down to the beach to take in some of the views as well. The ocean waters were still in quite a rage from the storm so there were some awesome sights with the waves crashing against the shoreline rocks. There was also an area where massive seafoam was gathering due to the water movement at sea and the strong waves and wind from the storm. We were told this is a once-in-a-lifetime sight to see the foam in such large amounts, close to the shore, where people could swim in it. The foam just stuck to the swimmers and was such an interesting sight we would stare mesmerized at all of the people and the fun they were having.

We have had a great month in Australia showing our families around and enjoying some familiar faces . . . and having some help with the kids! Things have now returned to "normal" and the boys are attempting to get back into their regular routine. We have a couple of months before our next set of visitors arrive in March, but never fear, the Perry's have already found several additional trips and sights to see between now and then so we'll keep you posted!!

Australian Education:

No, it's not a colorful ostrich . . . it's a cassowary.
The cassowary is Australia's largest land animal.
Some interesting facts about cassowaries:
- The male cassowaries are responsible for hatching the eggs (on the nest for about 50 days!) and look after the chicks for the first 9 to 18 months.
- The cassowary is a rare and endangered bird with only about 1500 adult birds left in north Queensland.
- The word cassowary comes from two Papuan words - kasu - which means horned and - wen - meaning head. (Yes, that is a large, hard horn on the top of it's head.)
- The Guiness World Records lists the cassowary as the worlds most dangerous bird.
- The cassowary is useful for some of the local trees in the Wet Tropics Rainforest whose seeds only germinate after passing through the cassowaries digestive system.

Cassowary is also now a label in Evan's animal repertoire as well. I showed him a picture of a peacock (you know, a common bird in America), well I was informed that it was a cassowary and there was no arguing with him. It only goes to show how influenced our kids are by the environments they are exposed to . . . Evan also thinks kangaroos and koalas are common household pets that can be hugged anytime you want to hug them!!! Oh boy . . .

More touring . . .

only this time we were showing Grandma and Grandpa Dammast the Brisbane sights. We spent our first few days after Christmas going to the Mt. Tamborine rainforest, traveling to the Sunshine Coast and visiting the Mary Cairncross Rainforest Reserve and Glass House Mountains, and taking them to visit some local wildlife at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We also went the Australian Outback Spectacular dinner show down near the Gold Coast.

We tried to head to the Gold Coast for a day at the beach but Queensland is currently experiencing some rare weather with cyclonic rain and winds (a cyclone on the north shore of Queensland and severe heat in the south of Australia meeting at the Gold Coast.) Needless, to say we definitely couldn't get in the water and it was even difficult to walk on the beach with the wind. We decided to visit the Q1 Tower (20th tallest building in the world) to take in the views of the Gold Coast, including Surfer's Paradise from high in the air.

We also visited the Queensland Workshops Rail Museum as Thomas and Friends were visiting . . . and it was an indoor activity we could do to get out of the rain! Evan had a great time at the museum (check out his website) and we all enjoyed experiencing Thomas activities with him.

Unfortunately it started raining the day after Christmas and hasn't stopped yet! This is the most rain we have had since moving here . . . and of course it would have to be when we have visitors here!

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2007 was very different from any other we have experienced. Besides being away from most of our family and friends we also celebrated in the heat of the summer while wearing shorts and t-shirts.

We started Christmas weekend off by heading to Southbank near the Brisbane Central Business District to attend their sausage sizzle and watch the fireworks. Evan rode a ferris wheel for the first time with me and we were lucky enough to time our ride just right and watched the fireworks from the top of the ferris wheel.

My mom and dad arrived on Christmas Eve morning from Nebraska but all four of their suitcases did not! Evan still had plenty of presents to open on Christmas morning - as you can tell. Suitcases began trickling in throughout the week and Grandma had packed presents in each suitcase, so Evan now thinks that Christmas is actually a week long instead of just one day!

We also decided to attempt a not-so-typical (for Americans)Christmas dinner by making shrimp on the BBQ ("Shrimp on the Baarbie") for our main meal. Actually, the shrimp and the grilled stuffed mushrooms were supposed to be appetizers but we ended up being stuffed after eating all of them.

Oh yeah, and somehow Bryan was volunteered to be the office Christmas Santa for their annual party this year. Not sure if it was because he was on "holiday" and wasn't given the choice or if it was due to others wanting to hear Santa with an American accent this year!

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas in America, we are excited that we will be back next year to experience the snow and a traditional Christmas!!