Monkey Beach, Great Keppel Island

The rain let up a little today so we jumped on a ferry to Great Keppel Island to do some snorkeling. Away from the mainland and the murky crashing waves, the water calmed and underwater visibility improved.

We hiked to Monkey Beach a few beaches over from the main beach and were rewarded by having the beach almost to ourselves. Sorry neighbors- we are pretty loud. We run up and down the beach drawing pictures with sticks in the pristine sand and having sand throwing wars.
The dingy here belongs to a Aussie couple who came ashore from their yacht. They live on their yacht and sail all around the world. Sounds like a dream come true, until you factor in the true nature of the open sea and the misery that is feeling seasick (experienced firsthand by most of us on the rough ferry ride today). Not all sandy beaches folks...(but still awesome I'm sure)

The reward for our effort came when you put on your mask and stuck you face in the water. The underwater camera worked it's magic, capturing the events.

We found Nemo...

And the grand finale- swimming with a sea turtle. The kids followed this guy around for about 5 minutes, until he turned around to see who was following him and really freaked Steve O out- do sea turtles bite?

By the way... Happy New Years from Down Under, a little before the rest of you. As I write this I can hear the fireworks on the beach and my family snoring around me- what can I say- exhausting fun day! Happy 2010!

Contest #1

TEDDY OLSEN
FATTY
BUT CUTE
BLONDE
LIKES MUD.
Aussies like to give their dogs first and last names, I just met a lady who was walking Charlie Brown, anyway this is Teddy Olsen’s dog tag. Noelle wonders if you had to wear a dog tag like this what would your dog tag say?
Please reply the winner of the best dog tag will recieve a thoughful gift ftom down under.

Big Wednesday

We can’t get enough of the warm water of Queensland. We don’t even care if rains or the sun is not always out. Crew is getting good at surfing. This 5’ 5” soft board is perfect for him, he likes to run swim goggles, rides goofy and doesn’t mind running his leash on his front foot.

Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia

We busted a move and drove nearly 12 hours straight, about 1000 kms to reach the lower Great Barrier Reef, actually where the reef comes the closest to the shore.
Taking all of the variables into consideration, we decided to get as far north as we wanted to go in one shot, then start working our way back down to Sydney - get all the northerly driving done in a day, partly while the kids slept.
This time of year is tricky on the East Coast of Australia. The further north you go the heat and humidity get unbearable AND then there is the jellyfish problem. Blue bottles are tiny jellyfish (like the size of a tangerine) with bright blue tentacles (we’ve actually only seen them dried up on the beach), that roll in every now and again. It hurts when you get stung but the sting won’t kill you. Above Rockhampton you run into serious “stinger” problems. You can’t swim in the ocean by Cairns because of the “stingers”- this meaning Box Jellyfish, and these can kill you. So, based on this very important fact we’ve halted our journey north at Rockhampton and are very pleased with our decision so far. We ‘ve played in the warm ocean water for hours on end with no worries... and I really like that.
Blue Bottle jellyfish, washed up on the beach. Thankfully, none of us have met up with one in the water.

I don't ever even want to see a Box jellyfish in real life.

swim swam swum

We are in Queensland. The water is warm. Tonight we swam, swam, swam in a rainstorm, swam till it was dark.

I saw 3 kangaroos on Christmas Day

The kids and Steve O took about 1000 pictures with the string of christmas lights and flashlights, I love the abstract eye candy aspect of all of them, but for the sake of internet connect time, I'll just share this festive shot.
Santa found us in a land down under, down a dirt road, in a national park without electricity, surrounded by kangaroos...

The view down the beach on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and don't forget Boxing Day (Dec. 26) , Split Rock at Diamond Head.

At first we were a little wary of the kangaroos lounging in the shade all around the campground. Can you pet them? Cuddle them? Feed them? (the correct answers are- yes, no,no) We watched others petting them, talked to some neighbors- one little girl told us, "Ah yeah, you can pet them. Just stay away from the males, they'll lean back on their tales and kick you in the chest." Ohh, good to know.

Some careful sneaking (in a pack as you can see here) might get you a pet (softer than you might think)- while the kangaroo is busy eating grass. It is just so strange to watch them move, bounce, scratch themselves. I could watch them for hours. We finally saw a couple with joeys in their pouches. All we saw of one joey was his tail, big back feet and ears sticking out. I think he was getting a bit too big to be carried around.

Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day!
To see more pictures look here.

Merry Christmas from the O's

We had a great Christmas on the beach in a National Park campground without electricity, hot water or drinking water- it was fun, more updates soon.

Fingal Bay, Port Stephens, NSW, Australia

Baby Jesus and family, enjoying the view of Fingal Bay

Tim, this beetle photo is for you.

C has become quite a snorkeler since receiving and early Christmas present (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) Here he is practicing in the pool, just biding his time-ready for the big water.

The sand spit, Fingal Bay

Q, getting ready for bed in the RV- our cozy dwelling place, (depending on how clean it is at any given moment). It can be trashed in 2 minutes flat, it's that small. But also cleaned up pretty quickly too. Gotta go make some supper for my people...

For more photos look HERE.

Terry and Alma

Here are our neighbors while we were in Sydney, Terry and Alma from the UK. Sweet folks that are traveling Australia for 5 weeks. They gave us great advice and also bags of stuff they could not take on the plane like food, water, trash bags, soap, sunglasses, wrapping paper and a HAT and a LANTERN.

night lights

All over Sydney for the month before Christmas historical buildings are light up. The lights change on each building, about 4 different patterns per building, that follow the architecture of each facade. We wandered all over the city marveling, snapping photos, eating ice cream family style (this is when you stop into a market as you're walking around the city and buy a 6 pack of ice cream bars, skipping the fancy ice cream shops and saving yourself a bundle).

we couldn't take our eyes off St. Marys Cathedral

This building has the 12 days of Christmas projected.


Looks like candy...

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas week, wherever you are! Peace.

Holiday fun

Baby Jesus made an appearance at Bondi Beach. The day was hot, the water was refreshing and the people watching was at its best.

big boat race

While we at the Opera house we got to see the finish of a big boat race. Billion dollar boats that take a million dudes to sail. Pretty groovy, but not as cool as racing Lasers at Jordanelle.

trains and more trains and sometimes the bus

This is the train station by our campsite, it may be the nicest cleanest station in the world. We are enjoying our "Summer" vacation. North Ryde Station, Sydney AU.

6 days in Sydney

We did 6 days in Sydney, we could stay a month it is a great city. We are heading north today. We will try to update more often. We got our internet sorted out and should post more often. (this photo is a break on the walk to Bondi Beach- Grandpa notice the improper footwear for a long walk)

Maia’s photo assignment #1

Maia had a her first photo lesson or assignment. It is our first whole day in Australia and I told here to talk the big camera and shoot some photos of the camper and what was going on this morning, here are a few of her favorites.
She said, “I didn’t even mean to take one of the coolest photos, I didn’t meant to take the reflection of myself I was just trying to take a picture of the inside of the RV.”
We are having fun and doing a little art work, journal writing, a lot of looking around and a bit of relaxing.

Maia’s photo assignment #1 (part 2)

Sydney

We got there or we got here?
anyway, we are are in Sydney.

in transit

We made it. We are very jet lagged. About 24 hours in airports, planes, waiting for the camper van and getting lost in Sydney. Driving on the left side of the road, in a big van in rush hour traffic had me more stressed than I want to admit. Noelle was a brilliant navigator. We are in a campground in a forest on the outskirts of Sydney. We will leave that camper here for 4 days and take buses into Sydney for a look around. The kids are happy and having fun.
Quinn says, “Jet lag sucks!”
Maia says, “I’m not jet lagged.”
Fischer says, “Party on!”
I say that we are going to sleep great tonight.
Noelle and Crew are in the shower.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I asked Q what I should title this post, she said, "Leaving on a Jet Plane."
Today pack, pack, clean, pack and head for the airport, Monday morning Sydney, Australia.
Good bye friends, family and SNOW!

Australian adventure

We are gearing up for a month in Australia with the kids.
I am getting excited to spend a quiet Christmas on the beach with the kids.

lake powell 9/09

cruise
hike
make up games
eat
explore
swim