One Mile Beach

One of our last beach days was spent at One Mile Beach in Anna Bay, Port Stephens. The surf was flat everywhere else, but on this beach the waves were perfect, tiny kid-style waves. We've seen some stormy, choppy surf on this trip, so- we all fell in love- surfing and boogie boarding until the sun went down.
The boards we had were 5'5" soft boards (borrowed from the RV rental company) and not easy to surf. The kids were all used to at least a 9' board (what they learned on in California). I was very impressed when they were all able to surf the shorter boards.

We finally picked up a boogie board in Noosa- over halfway through the trip, but then made good use of the fun little "sled".

M got good at the catching the wave herself, without any push whatsoever.

C started sporting the goggles to keep the salt water from burning his eyes, very effective, he could stay in the water for hours at a time with his eyes covered. He and F would "share" the boogie board...
Method- Steve O would push him into the wave, he would give a little cheer then look back at his feet and kick as hard as he could for the whole ride. He takes his fun very seriously.

Byron Bay

Everyone we've asked for advice has recommended Byron Bay, looking at this picture you can see why. The beaches are beautiful, the town is cute, Steve O calls it "Moab of the Sea" because it's trendy, hip, lots of funky surf shops and art galleries, dreadlocks and backpacks.

The kids are disturbed that "Australien" is spelled wrong, I keep telling them, I didn't make it- it's poached art, I just came across it while walking. I'm not quite sure what language spells it this way...

The water was so clear. Not as warm as Queensland but refreshingly delicious.

Steve O having a special 'breaking the law' moment.

The Aussies sure do like to leave their Christmas decor up just as long as possible.
Not nearly as many bikes as you might think in this country. The climate is perfect, so- what's up with that? There are two possible conclusions we've come up with after discussing it with folks.
1. It's mandatory to wear a helmet. No helmet= big ticket.
2. Motorist don't give a crap about cyclists, (or pedestrians for that matter) so you are taking your life in your hands riding around town. Some spots are trying to change attitudes and streets for cyclists (Sydney) hopefully this is a countrywide trend- wait, make that worldwide.

Lest We Forget

(Hope this is not disrespectful but...)
Sometimes is fun to pretend your baby brother is dead when you are at the beach at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Amen.

The Town of 1770

We are making our way south now. We are in a town called "The Town of 1770." This photo is from a beach day in Agnes Waters in Queensland yesterday. All is well and we are happy. (we are out of internet range so few posts for a while)

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.

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.

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.

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.