Port Lincoln

Mid March has a long weekend here so we drove south 3 hours to a beautiful spot called Port Lincoln. It looks like it may be the furthest point on the south coast of Australia. Apparently, because it is so remote, the Survivor Outback show was filmed nearby. Port Lincoln is known for the Tuna fishing. They have tourist attractions like swim with the tuna or sharks, we didn't take part in either! Some scenes from Jaws were also filmed in this area.
About a month ago a diver was attacked and killed by a shark about an hour away near Coffin Bay (nice name for a place isn't it?) Needless to say I wasn't too disappointed that it was a bit cool for swimming in the ocean while we were there but it was beautiful and we are glad that we went.

Whaler's Way is set along private property that runs along the coastline. It has gorgeous views, just like this one. The road is basically sand and runs 14 kms with lots of places to stop and get out and take a look. To keep the kids happy we called each stop an adventure and they both loved exploring and looking for treasure!

This was our first adventure. There was a beach just out of the picture in the background that was beautiful. People were surfing and paddle boarding. Miles got a kick out of climbing down crevasses.

As many of you know my mom is visiting us for a few months and she joined us for this adventure!

This was such a nice beach. It was very windy and kind of cool but the kids and the adults all enjoyed it. We had a picnic lunch and then let the kids run around for a bit before heading back to our cabin.

Later that night we went out for dinner and had some delicious seafood and pasta dishes followed by gelato, which is very popular around here.

On Monday morning we went out to Glen-Forest, an animal park. There were kangaroos to play with, a koala sleeping in a tree, some gigantic pigs, an ostrich, emu andsome dingoes and camels.

Of course feeding the kangaroos took top spot in the kids agenda! Clint and I enjoy it just as much though!

Miles was even into feeding the kangaroos from the first minute and Izzy still can't get enough!

The same food you use to feed the kangaroos is used to feed the birds, but no one was expecting the birds to land on them. Clint was the first and he started freaking out which scared Miles who wanted to leave the enclosure immediately. Clint tried to follow but the birds wouldn't get off him!

I was the next to be a standing post. There were five birds on me at once!

Izzy was just minding her own buisness when a bird decided to land on her head. What a trooper, she didn't react at all, just stood still and let us take pictures!

We had a great time and the kids slept over half the drive home so overall the weekend was a complete success! Here are a few more animals that we saw!

Crabbing at the Shacks

One Sunday morning in early March we got a call from our friends the Kitchens to join them crabbing at the shacks just outside of town (what we would call a cabin or cottage). We quickly got dressed and drove the 15 minutes only getting lost a bit! It is blue crab season here and it seems everyone is catching and eating lots of them.

Izzy and Clint took the first turn out in the boat with Ben and his son Angus. They were out almost an hour and caught one crab! Miles, mom and myself stayed back and looked for seashells. This is Miles favourite pastime when we go to the beach now!

This is a view of the shack from the water when mom and I took a turn at crabbing. Unfortunately we didn't catch anything as the tide was going out too quickly and the nets weren't hitting the bottom. On the good side, Ben's father in law came over in his boat and told us they had caught two and a half bucket fulls of crabs!

You can see how they get their name from this picture. They are cooked the same way lobsters are and then frozen or pickled to eat later. They catch so many at this time of year that there is no way they can be eaten fresh.

By the end of the weekend the freezer is full of trays just like this one. Mom and I were lucky enough to get to eat one. It tasted good but was a lot of work, just like eating lobster. The claws and arms are the best part but can be tricky to get at!

We had a good time, the weather was once again hot and sunny with very little breeze coming off the water. We did get to see some dolphing swimming by the shore while Clint and Izzy were out so that was cool, hope you can see their fins in the picture! Apparently sharks can be in the area at times because fish like the warm water that comes out of the coal plant on the other side of the shore and sharks have been known to come close to the plant to eat the fish. We also saw jellyfish while we were out on the boat so I wouldn't plan on swimming there!

Quorn

Our friends the Anno's invited out for an adventure to the little town of Quorn (pronounced corn). Unfortunately most of the places they wanted to show us were closed for some reason so fish and chips for lunch turned into coldcut sandwiches and playing in the creek became going for a walk on some rocks since the water was all dried up!

This was taken at a little resturant off the highway called The Willows. It was all locked up so we just looked around a little and enjoyed the small patch of grass!

This is what it looks like to drive in the ranges ( I think we would call them foothills!). Notice which side of the highway we are on. The Anno's were ahead of us in their new Hyndai Santa Fe which is a 7 seater here.

Poor Izzy was so tired from her afternoon at the park that she missed the walk along the river bank that was all dried up!

Miles, Keyaasha and Bailey had lots of fun picking rocks and checking out the small snails in the river bed.
Quorn is only a 30 minute drive from our place and it has a short train trip called the Pichi Richi that we'll have to try as well as camel riding tours. So that was our weekend, hope you enjoyed!

Tennis Club

Miles has started taking part in a tennis club that meets on Saturday mornings

for an hour. He is in a group with 5-7 year olds and on his first day he won a sweat band prize for having the best hold on his racket while running.
They started with some footwork and small racket.

There are mini nets that the kids practice hitting over with their forehand and backhand holds.

How cute is Izzy checking out the action on the courts!

A week of firsts

This week had lots of first, starting with Miles first swim lesson.

Lessons are held in the outdoor community pool about 2 minutes from our house. I was so proud of Miles for showing his teacher what he could do. He was placed in kindy level and has been practicing every day. He has already improved so much from putting his head under the water, to wearing goggles to see under the water, to getting his arms out of the water when swimming. It's incredible to see how much he has improved already, gotta take video along the way to remember his progress!

Clint had his first day of school (without students) the next day. Let's just say they do things a bit differently here so Clint will have to adjust his usual ways!

Saturday started with Clint shooting a round of golf before we headed to a nearby beach. Did I mention it was 47 degrees?

Point Lowry is about 45 minutes from here. It is a small beach but the sand is beautiful and the water is crystal clear and warm. The kids had a blast playing in the water and sand. Clint even saw a starfish about 50 feet from the shore, that's how clear the water was! After our picnic lunch we went back into the water only to look back and see the beach blanket covered in seagulls looking for our crumbs! If only I had the camera for that it was hilarious!

On Sunday Clint played 9 holes of golf with three other blokes (how do you like my slang!) He then invited them, and their families back to our place for a bbq and swim. It was only 45 degrees that day! Within an hour our house was full with 7 adults and 10 kids under the age of 11! We all had a great time and felt refreshed until it was time to get out of the pool!

Monday was Clint's first day with students. Due to high temperatures over 42 degrees all students in grade 8-10 were sent home at lunch so Clint had no classes to teach in the afternoon. Not a bad start to the year in my opinion! Tuesday the same thing happened so Wednesday was his first full day with students, (the temperature was only 39 degrees!)

Tuesday was also Miles first day of kindy. He was so excited and when I dropped him off there wasn't even one tear. (My little man is growing up.) He stayed for lunch but due to the hot weather I picked him up early. He played with another student, helped his teacher put away lunches and participated in the name game they played at circle time. When I came in to get him he had a huge smile on his face and he told me I was too early because he wasn't done eating his lunch yet! I couldn't have asked for a better first day of school in a new place for him!

That was our week. It rained hard here this afternoon but Miles swim class went ahead as scheduled. The forecast is for 31 degrees the next couple of days. That used to sound boiling hot to me but now I find I'm looking forward to the break from the heat, is that wrong?

Melbourne

Our last trip before Clint starts work was to Melbourne. As usual, we landed in the rain. I'm sure you've heard about all the floods happening here. Luckily we are safe and actually still in drought in Port Augusta so the rain was welcome! Once again we had a nap and when we woke up it was sunny and beautiful. So, off we went to explore! We hopped on the free tram that went along the outside of the downtown area. We got off at the harbour and found a great outlet shopping area that was empty, Costco was there too! Too bad we forgot to bring our Costco cards!

On Saturday we thought we better try to figure out how to get to the tennis grounds before the tournament started. Amazingly, it was open and it was kids tennis day. Miles and Isabella both got a goody bag with a water bottle, keychain and something else that I forgot. Miles also got a free tennis racket and we got a family shot with the Australian Open trophies, how cool!

Miles was so excited about his racket that he bugged his dad for the next 2 days to play in the courts across from the apartment we were staying in!
On Sunday we took a bus tour to Ballarat Wildlife Park where we got to feed kangaroos pet a koala and wombat. Izzy couldn't get enough of feeding the kangaroos, would you believe that roo is one of Izzy's clearest words! Here are some great shots!

Koala's are only awake for about 4 minutes at a time and then they go back to sleep!

Had to finish the day with ice cream!
On Monday we headed back to the tennis grounds to take in the first day of the Australian Open. It was cloudy, windy and cold for summer. Thank goodness we put sweaters on the kids before we left. They both had a nap during one of the afternoon games so Clint and I could watch a game without interuptions! Headed back to the apartment around 4 and Clint went back on his own to watch some tennis under the lights. He also went back on Tuesday on his own and scored cheap tickets to Rod Laver Arena so he got to watch Nadal take out another player easily. Apparently Nadal is very superstious and has to have his drink bottles just so, labels out and in a certain order but who cares when you are that good!
We loved Melbourne, so easy to get around, beautiful to see, lots of grass and parks and some great shopping, did I mention Izzy got some Uggs! Hope to get back before we leave, maybe take in a musical.

Tumby Bay- Beautiful

We took a short road trip down to Tumby Bay. It is about 3 hours south along the coast from where we are living. I guarantee we will return! It is a small little beach town with some beautiful beaches split by a pier type boardwalk. On one side is a windy wavy beach, great for windsurfing and kite boarding which Clint still wants to try! On the other side was a quiet, calm cove that was perfect for the kids to play in. Some beaches along the way looked nice except for the huge amounts of seaweed that was washed onto the shore. We were told the winds were to blame and aren't usually that strong and long lasting. Here are a few shots of our short stay!

The picture on the left is from the windy side. Clint and Miles were watching two people on their kite boards. The picture on the right is the quieter side of the beach. The birds in the background are Australian pelicans, they are huge! One caught and ate a fish right in front of us.

These kids love the beach!