Hamner Springs and the West Coast

We flew into Christchurch and spent one night there before heading off on our New Zealand adventure. We found an amazing pizza place (Hells Pizza) and the next morning we checked out the market (some great souvenirs and food) and Botanic Gardens which were beautiful. The devastation of the earthquakes is evident all around town. It was sad to see such a huge area fenced off because the area was so unsafe and broken. It seemed to us that the churches were hardest hit or really anything made of brick.

After spending the morning in Christchurch we drove 2 hours to Hamner Springs which reminded us of Jasper and Banff combined. We headed to the hot springs which had about 10 different pools of varying temperatures.

The kids had a great time swimming, it had been a while! In the morning we wanted to explore the town but the stores weren't open and we had six hours of driving ahead of us so we decided to head out.

After driving for three hours in the rain we finally saw the ocean. The west coast seemed a lot rougher to us, but maybe that was the weather conditions.

We spent the night in Fox Glacier but didn't get to see the glaciers due to low cloud and lots of rain. In fact, this is the Haas Pass which we almost didn't make it through. Chains on your tires were essential and guess who didn't have chains for their rental car! We spent an hour debating whether to try to get through or detour 6 hours and exchange cars. So glad we didn't detour, even though there was snow the road had been plowed and it really wasn't bad at all, we were more scared that cops would tell us to turn back than the actual road conditions!

This country must have the most incredible views. Everywhere we went there were postcard worthy spots!

This is the view from our apartment in Queenstown. Queenstown reminded us of Kelowna. Lots of shops and tons of activities. We decided to do a 4x4 Lord of the Rings tour with the kids. We had the jeep to ourselves other than the driver.

The morning started out overcast and rainy but this is a view of Queenstown from half way up the road leading to one of the ski hills.

This area was used in a scene from the first movie where a boat goes through two greek god pillars. Bungee jumpers were a minute up the river as well, we saw three people jump!

We weren't sure how Miles would like the trip but this is what he looked like when we were going through the river (which we did about 15 times!)

Clint and Izzy enjoyed the bumpy ride too!

This is what it looked like when the jeep went through the river.

Izzy had fallen asleep in the jeep and Miles feet were freezing from our snack break so we got a moment to ourselves on a road to another ski hill.

Te Anau was our next stop. We did two trips out of here, the first to some glowworm caves and the second through Doubtful Sound. Here are some scenery shots of things that we saw, beautiful!

Canada Day Birthday Party

We decided to have a joint birthday party for the kids on Canada Day which falls in between their big days. Miles turned 5 on June 13 and Izzy turned 2 on July 21. We had a big hockey night in Canada party where guests were asked to wear red and white on Canada Day, which they did!

We took an idea form our friends the Masters and had 4 games to get everyone involved and enjoying hockey. We started with a hockey shoot out where each family chose 2 family members to shoot at the net and try to get points depending on if they could get the puck in the net or hit a milk carton, which was worth more points! (Just so you know Clint had to carry the hockey net home while riding his bike because it wouldn't fit in the car! He got a few weird looks on the 10 minute ride!) This is Snake, Clint's assistant principal having a shot.

Next, another family member played Snock Knock. A golf ball was put in a pair of nylons and attached to the players belt. Without using their hands they had to knock over three hockey pictures on the floor. Lots of fun, thanks Scott!! Sarah and Rochelle represented their families although the fastest time went to Ben in another round!

The kids each got to play pin the puck on the faceoff. We had a very close game with lots of pucks piled on top of each other.

The last game was orange art where each family had to use an orange to create something Canadian. One family came up with a hockey player while the winning team included our exchange family and a bear encounter that Bree (the daughter) experienced on a school camping trip.

Our camera ran out of batteries so sorry there aren't any more pictures but hope you enjoy our party as much as we did!


As lots of you know I spent a bit of time cooking Canadian food from scratch and after some failed attempts some things were scraped because they just didn't work with the ingredients I could find here. I made perogies while my mom was here (which people here have never heard of) and we had sweet and sour meatballs, a baked ham and some side salads for our main meal. For dessert the big guns came out, I made Nanaimo bars, beaver tails and cupcakes. After getting over the name beaver tail everyone gobbled up the desserts and there wasn't much left at the end of the night!

Everyone seemed to have a good time, including the birthday kids! I couldn't believe how much the other kids loved hockey, they were out in the back yard all night and the only injury went to Miles at 9:30 pm which was way past his bedtime.

Everyday Life

We do lots of travelling around during the school holidays but there is lots of time that we spend around Port Augusta. Before my mom left we took a cruise up the gulf. Due to the tides, the cruise is in the morning because later in the day the water is too shallow.

A momma dolphin and her baby came for a swim off the front of the boat!

The top area of the cliff is part of the Arid Lands just outside of town. There are pictures further down so you can see both vantage points.

We went for a walk in the Arid gardens the weekend before my mom left. Izzy was lagging a little behind so Miles went back for her!

This is the landscape and plants that grow around here. Usually the skies are bright blue and it is sunny but it is getting very cool at night now. Clint actually bought 2 pair of pants because he has been so cold and if you know Clint you know he hates wearing pants!!

Izzy loves helping out in the kitchen. She pulls up a chair to stand on whenever she sees me starting to make something!

Clint was teaching Miles how to play his new video game and of course Isabella was in there like a dirty shirt!!

The weekend of Miles' birthday happened to be a long weekend so we went out to Wilpena Pound for a bit of fresh air. Still don't get sick of wild kangaroos!!

We went on a 6.5 km hike which exhausted Miles after running most of it. This is on the trail heading back to the campsite.

Isabella and her little buddy Harry helped themselves to the crackers and dip that were served before dinner. There was a little more than just double dipping happening so the dip became there's!

This is a great way to cook dinner, actually a chocolate cake was baked in the pot earlier in the day. A lamb roast and roasted veggies were for dinner. In my opinion it was much better and healthier than our typical hot dog and spagettio dinners when we camp.

This is a picture of everyone at the top of a little hill just beside the campsite. The Anno's and Kitchins have been lots of fun and we had a great time with them. Camping may never be the same again!!

Perth

My mom and I took a last minute trip to Perth. We left on Friday morning and came home on Monday. It was a long way to travel but we were glad that we went.
We arrived in Perth early in the morning and even after going to the hotel and taking an hour long bus ride to Fremantle it wasn't even lunch yet! Fremantle is a beautiful place, although it probably helped that it was sunny and warm and we didn't have to worry about naptimes!

This is the view from the top of a hill where an old jail is located. It looks over the ocean on one side and the town on another. Fremantle is full of shops and a nice little market area. We ate some great food and bought some nice stuff!
On the way back to the hotel we took the ferry which was a really nice way to finish the day. We saw downtown Perth from the water, some gorgeous homes and some of the famous sites like Swan Tower and the Botanic Gardens. Here are a couple pictures from the ferry ride.

On Saturday we were out of the hotel early and spent the day exploring downtown Perth. We went to see the Swan Bells and then the Botanic Gardens. As with all Botanic Gardens in Australia they are beautiful and many places are symbolic.

This is the War Memorial. It sits on a cliff overlooking the Swan River and would be an incredible place to attend an Anzac Day ceremony. Anzac Day is the equivolent to Remembrance Day and is celebrated at sunrise on April 26. This memorial looks right over where the sun would come up in the morning and it is spectacular.

This bridge goes over top of the trees in the gardens. I think you can see it in one of the pictures from the ferry ride. There was a couple getting their wedding pictures done while we were there and it seems like a good place for pictures to me!
After getting some fresh air we took another free bus to the museum. The first floor was full of a variety of animals, some Australian and some not. A taxidermist was kept very busy but it was neat seeing the skeleton of an elephant! The second floor had a section dedicated to telling the story of the Aboriginal people. About 50 years ago kids were taken away from their families and sent to school and faced lots of the same issues that aboriginals in Canada faced. A good place to visit if you are ever in town!
We, well actually I did some more shopping and then we stopped for a foot massage and acupuncture which I really enjoyed!
Sunday was spent on a bus tour to Margaret River. It was our least favorite day, way too much time spent on a bus but we did see a lot. There was a stop a vineyard where I spotted 2 kangaroos snacking on the leftover grapes on the vines.

We visited Mammoth Caves and the place where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. Apparently there has been a Southern Ocean for about 20 years but this was the first time I had heard of it!

It was a quick trip but we were glad we went. Now it seems the only place we won't get to this year is the Northern Territory.

Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is on the eastern coast of Australia, close to Brisbane. It is apparently where Australians go on holiday. There are lots of amusement parks and some incredible beaches. I have been to a few beaches in my life but this is as long and gorgeous and huge as I have ever seen! The waves are great to play in and the sand is perfect, soft, white and absolutely no seaweed or rocks to walk on.

This is the view from our apartment. You never really know what a place is like when you book online but this was incredible! There are rivers all around this area and we faced a river. In the morning rowers were out then later in the day the waterskiiers and jetskis came out.

This is what we saw when we looked out the kitchen window. You can see the ocean in between the buildings. It was a 2 block walk to get to the beach but like I said above, it was gorgeous! This was right around sunrise.

So here is the beach. You can see all the accomodation running along the beach. This was in Surfer's Paradise area so of course there were surfers and body boarders to watch!

The boys were plotting their wave jumps! The beach itself is huge but there are small areas for swimming that are patrolled by lifeguards so that is why it looks a bit busy with swimmers. I promise the beach has more than enough room for the amount of people that come to visit, especially during school holidays!

The Easter Bunny made a visit during our time here. Both kids got a chocolate bunny, some sunglasses and of course an Easter egg hunt! I think Isabella ate 6 eggs before breakfast!

As I mentioned earlier, there are lots of amusement parks here. This is Miles at Movie World. We went on Easter Sunday, which I wouldn't recommend because the crowds were insane. Thanks to this experience we no longer plan on stopping at Disneyland on the way home, Clint just doesn't have the patience for line-ups!

This is Sea World. It was overcast with rainy patches so the crowds were much quieter on the day we went. Not sure if you can see the penguins behind us.

This is as close as I plan on getting to a shark, thanks Sea World!

The last park that we visited was Wet and Wild. It is a water slide park and since school holidays were over for kids in Queenland the crowds were minimal. The rainy weather helped a bit too! The kids played in the kids waterpark for about 10 minutes before they were cold and done! Clint and I took advantage of my mom being there to check out some of the waterslides. Whatever happened to slidding down on your back and laughing? Now all the rides seem to try and scare you half to death! We had a great time, this was Clint's favorite park, the line-ups of 5 people probably helped a bunch too!

The sky was often overcast and we had a bit of rain but this rainbow was beautiful and since it didn't rain all day everyday we still got to experience a lot.

What a great vacation. We didn't make it to Australia Zoo but even if we had, Miles wouldn't have talked to Bindy if we saw her! This may have been our best vacation ever and we would highly recommend both places.