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.