Leaving Townsville, we stopped in at Frosty Mango and enjoyed some morning tea and more delicious mango sorbet. Continuing north, we were unsure what the days travelling would be like. Only 5 months earlier, Category 5 cyclone Yasi had ripped through the area between Townsville and Cairns. 

Not long after leaving Townsville, we were already seeing forests with giant trees literally blown over. Our first stop was Cardwell, one of the places that bore the brunt of the cyclone. The little town would have not been protected at all because the main strip is right on the beach, which then opens up to the expanse of the ocean. The gorgeous beach had been mostly destroyed and there were many buildings still undergoing repair. We were amazed, yet touched to walk along what was left of the beach, and discover a couple of tomato plants, ripe with fruit, growing amongst the rocks. We believe seeds/old fruit would have washed up on the beach, took hold and blossomed amongst the destruction. A sign of life against the raging weather.

The Big Crab had also survived the storm, so Joe had a pic in front it- hoping that he will also have a ‘big catch’ somewhere along this trip! We enjoyed delicious Barra Burgers for lunch in Cardwell.

We then continued up the coast to Tully and paid a visit to the Big Golden Gumboot. The 7.9m high gumboot represents the height of the biggest rainfall Tully has ever experienced- certainly one of the wettest Queensland towns. The kids had a great time here as they could actually climb up the inside of the boot and look out at the neighbouring sugar mill. It also had a nice picnic area and facilities.

Arriving at Innisfail, the boys went fishing off the wharf, while the girls opted for cake and coffee (or baby chino in Kaytlin’s case!). As the sun was setting, we headed towards Cairns, stopping just south at a free camp- Babinda Rest Area.

Leaving Mackay, we headed for our lunch stop at Bowen. Of course, you can’t visit Bowen without a stop at the famous Big Mango. We also enjoyed some mango sorbet in cones and Mel had some scones with mango jam- yum!

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Driving into Bowen, we picked up some lunch and headed down to the marina area for a picnic. There was a lovely park by the water and the kids enjoyed a play. We then headed out of Bowen, across the longest bridge in Qld. Crossing it for 1km, we all had a good look out for crocs in the river below. Arriving at Townsville, we checked into Magnetic Gateway Caravan Park, a spacious and simple park.

We really liked the atmosphere of Townsville city- small enough not to be too busy, yet big enough to have all the modern conveniences. Mel was in awe of the landscape; the city was totally flat apart from a couple of massive mountains rising right next to the city. Castle Hill rises right in the middle of the city, with some houses even built on its’ rising slopes. We opted for the drive up to the various lookouts, although there were many super-fit people doing the climb! The views from the top were stunning, especially as the hill is located right in the middle of the city. From the north-east angle, we even had a great view of Magnetic Island.

We then headed into The Strand and went to the Townsville Water Park. As most North Queensland beaches are closed due to crocs, a number of local councils build free water parks for the locals (and non-locals!) to cool down. The kids had a wonderful time here and we also enjoyed a BBQ lunch and a play in the adjoining park.

After a play at the Mackay water park, we headed down to Homebush and joined a tour of the sugar cane farm. This was a great hands tour, where we were able to tour one of the fields and watch an old harvester in action. The kids loved watching the cane being pressed and made into sugar cane juice for them to drink and the boys munched on sugar cane all afternoon. We were fortunate enough to be able to watch a deisel train engine hook and take a load of cane off to the mill. It is interesting that most sugar cane farms have a series of train tracks in front of them connecting to the mill. We also had a lovely afternoon tea after the tour and the kids enjoyed chasing the farms chooks around. Once again, I really recommend this tour!

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We then continued north and checked into Big 4 Airlie Cove, where we would stay for the next 4 nights.

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The following morning after an early rise, we joined the lorrikets for their breakfast feed. The boys loved feeding them, though Kaytlin was a little wary of their claws and the fact that she was ‘blessed’ by them…twice! We then enjoyed our own gorgeous BBQ breaky by the pool, followed by a long leisurely swim and waterslide. We also pulled out the snorkels and masks and the kids practiced snorkeling ready for the reef the next day.

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After much deliberation, we decided to head off to Long Island for the day. This was very special as we honeymooned there just over 10 years ago. It was quite strange, however, to now be returning with 3 kids in tow! Following our cruise out there, we joined in with the resort activities. Firstly, we all enjoyed a kayak around the beach area and Zach even learnt how to paddle his own kayak. Whilst Joe and the boys hired a jet ski for some fast action on the water, Kaytlin enjoyed a fruit cocktail from the dive-in bar, followed by a hot spa. A true little miss!

After a buffet lunch, we caught the train back out to the wharf and joined in on the fish feeding. It was amazing to see the many batfish being fed right off the wharf- the kids were quite surprised to be feeding them lettuce! After the fish feeding, we attempted to snorkel off the beach. Due to troubles with the tide and the oysters, we opted for a spa before heading back to Airlie Beach on the boat. We had a great day at Long Island and the kids experienced many new things.

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The following day, we had an early rise again and took a 7:40am transfer down to the marina. Today, we headed out for a two island cruise- first stop Daydream Island, followed by an afternoon on Whitehaven beach. We were particularly looking forward to seeing Daydream Island as neither of us had been there before. Once on the island, it proved to have a surprise around every corner! Daydream was such a big island with so much to do. We enjoyed the adventure playground (complete with sound effects), spotted sharks/rays/fish/coral in their man made reef and joined in on marine feeding show. We also headed down to a beach made purely of dead coral (lucky we bought beach shoes!) and had a snorkel. It was a lovely beach to snorkel off and we were really impressed with Josh who learnt to snorkel by himself. There was quite a few fish as well as live coral to see and we also had a visit by a couple of wallabys on the deck area above the beach. After a lovely 2 course lunch by the water, we once again joined the boat for a cruise to Whitsunday Beach.

Whitsunday Beach is a must visit whilst at the Great Barrier Reef. It’s crystal clear water and gorgeous white sand is so inviting! We were transferred to the beach from our boat via a smaller boat and enjoyed a couple of hours swimming and making sandcastles on the beach. Melinda taught the kids how to make a drip castle and they proved to be very patient as their castles got higher! We also had a walk along the beach and you could venture into part of the national park if you wished. Heading back to Airlie beach, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over the islands.

After breaky and a chat with fellow campers, we headed slightly east to the gorgeous Lake Awoonga. Joe had heard about the great barra to be caught there. Whilst the boys had a great time fishing, the actual fish proved to be allusive yet again! Apart from the lack of fish on our part, Lake Awoonga was stunningly beautiful. The mountains rose high above the lake and there was even afew cabanas built over the lake for a truely peaceful picnic. If you are lucky, one of your children may even bring you a dead cane toad!

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For a complete change of scenery, we then headed into Gladstone, a city known for its industries. Heading into the Information Centre, in the gorgeous new marina area, we realised that we wern’t in Gladstone on one of the free tour days. Gladstone is the only city in Australia where you can tour its factories at no charge. Instead, we were able to pick up a self- drive tour, which completes a loop around the city and takes in the many vantage points of the factories. One notable factory is the Aluminium Smelter, which is the 2nd largest in the world. The vantage point on the adjacent hill has all the information regarding the smelter and is quite an interesting read.

I might at this point mention lunch. Only because we had trouble finding any beach side food and headed back to a Fish and Chip shop that we saw along our self -drive route. Fordy’s Seafood, on Tank Street, ended up to be brilliant freshly made seafood shop and I recommend a stop here if you are touring the city.

Heading south to head north (major road closures caused us to back track 50km!), we travelled towards Rockhampton- the bull city of Australia. We first stopped at the Spire- marking our crossing of the Tropic of Capricorn. Thanks to Wikipedia-  the Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. We will cross it a possible 5 more times during this trip.

After checking into Big 4 Discovery Caravan Park, we headed out for a juicy steak at the famous Great Western Steakhouse. Mmmmm- great food- great service. And if we came on a Friday night, we could have ridden a bull in the adjacent rodeo!

The following day we ducked off to the Rockhapton Zoo and then booked into our first tour, seeing the sights of Mount Morgan and the gold mines. Mount Morgan is about 25km south-west of Rockhampton and is a town full of history! We really enjoyed this 1/2 day tour (and the price was really affordable). Aboard a mini-bus, we toured the town and its historical features (including a walk across the suspension bridge) before heading into the old gold mine. We first stopped at the museum and got a feel for what life was like as a miner. We then travelled up to view old mining equipment and pulley systems, as well as the expanse of the open cut mine, now full of acidic water. The highlight of the tour was a walk through the clay caves and a viewing of many ancient dinosaur footprints. Delicious home made pies from the local pie shop was a great lunch stop.

From country to coast, we headed east to Emu Park to see the Singing Ship. This ship was built right on the coast, with the masts made of various lengths of piping. As the wind blows, the piping tunes to various notes, creating a ‘singing’ effect. The Singing Ship was built and dedicated to the discoveries made by Captain James Cook.

Heading back into Rockhampton, we stopped to watch a cattle truck being unloaded. Realising the adjoining buildings were an abattoir, the kids received an education into where their meat really does comes from!

The following morning, we said goodbye to Rockhampton and headed towards Mackay. On the way, we stopped at Capricorn Caves and went on a guided tour of the caves. We all really enjoyed this tour. The kids were amazed at the different rock formations inside the caves and tried to come up with various shapes. I particularly loved the Cathedral cave and the treat we all had in there (which I won’t spoil for you all in case you go there!). The acoustics in this cave have been tested to match that of the Sydney Opera House- just amazing. These caves are definately worth a visit.

On the way to Mackay, we noticed quite a few entertaining signs the QLD government has put beside the Bruce Highway. Kept us busy for a bit on the long drive! When we reached Mackay, we checked into The Park Caravan Park for the night. We had planned to free camp as it was only one night- but there were no camps in the vicinity at all!

We headed down to the city centre to the famous water park, but found out that  as it is lifeguarded, it was just closing. We did have a wonderful time the following day playing in the park and pools there- the water park is definately a main feature of the area. Neither of us were particularly wrapped with Mackay and found the bustle of the traffic quite annoying!! Perhaps we have forgotton what city traffic is like.

We arrived at almost 9pm at our free camp spot- Wallum Reserve- just south of Bundaberg. ‘Free camping’ is where you can ‘camp’ at a designated spot for free; we use a book called Camps 6 to help us find a camp to stay in overnight. They are great little places to stop when you are on the way somewhere, and many have facilities such as toilets and water. Usually, there are restrictions as to how long you can stay in a free camp and you generally have to be self-sufficent. We found it to be a very safe and lovely spot and even chatted to the ‘neighbors’ over breakfast.

Heading into Bundy, we visited the ‘Bundy Barrel’, which is home to Bundaberg ginger beer. We enjoyed an interactive tour and samples of all their products. They were very generous in their sampling and we really didn’t want to look at any more soda drinks after it! Nethertheless, we took advantage of the 2nds shop and a few cases of ginger beer later, we were adding more weight to our van.

We were now in Croc territory and we were quite pleased with how much Zach was able to recall about Crocs from the show at Australia Zoo!

We then headed to our caravan park, Big 4 Cane Village and spent a few hours housekeeping while the kids explored the playground. Melinda then drove into Bundaberg Library to research her family. Mel’s Dad was born in Bundaberg and the library has a wonderful research facility of records. She found out quite a few things about her grandparents and great-grandparents. Most interesting to note was that her great- grandma was German and travelled to Australia as a 16 year old! There is even a ‘Steptoe’ (Mel’s maiden name) street in Bundaberg.

The following morning, Joe decided to do a tour of the Bundy Rum distillary. After Mel dropped him off and took the kids to a nearby park, Joe learnt quite a few things about making rum! Rum is actually a by-product of the sugar industry and is made from the mollasses left over from processing sugar. During the process, it is actually stored in 70,000 litre vats for at least 2 years. Given that each vat is worth $16 million and there are about 315 of them- you do the maths!!! A funny story was that in 1936, lightning struck the factory, causing a fire and requiring the vats to be emptied out on the street. Apparently the locals fillled every container they owned and the river was alight for 3 days due to its alcohol content!

Mel took over driving for a bit as we headed out of the beautiful Bundy and made our way up to Rockhampton.

Having just missed a few festivals along the way (including Brisbane’s famous Ekka), we were happy to be around for the festival in Moore Park Beach- 25km north of Bundy.

We had a fantastic afternoon there. As you can see in the pictures, the kids enjoyed horse riding and a show, trying (although unsuccessfully!) to make fire from wood and shavings, and making a candle,  which  was cleverly crafted into patterns when they had finished. The family also enjoyed camel rides through the festival, as well as flying our kite on the beach. We decided to free camp again and stopped at the Boyne River Rest Area, just west of Gladstone (south of Rockhampton). This was a gorgeous site along the river, with even a few concrete slabs for those who arrived early! The caravan industry is huge and it amazes us how many people are travelling around our beautiful country. It’s wonderful how local communities support the industry with these spots; providing and maintaining them.

We had an early start this morning as we packed up the van, put it into storage (at the park- $5 for the night) and headed off to catch the Barge from Inskip Point. Accessed from Rainbow Beach, Inskip Point is the closest Barge crossing to Fraser Island. Although it’s only a 10min trip, it still costs $100 per car return! Money well spent though, because Fraser Island was amazing! It is the world’s largest sand island and the 75 mile beach is actually a registered highway.

Yes, it does have a speed limit of 80km (30km) in parts and we did see a police car (4wd of course!).  We came across a couple of dingos feasting on a washed up dugong and the most amazing sunfish. It was very unusual to see the sunfish as they often swim in water as deep as 200m. Although, we were informed by the ranger that if you swam off the beach and kept going- you would hit Chilli- so it could have come a long way!

Driving through the rainforest of Fraser was incredible. You can see how it is literally made up of sand- pushing through the tracks was almost like dredging sand. After stopping at Eurong for morning tea, we made our way through to ‘Central Station’ and enjoy a boarded walk through the rainforest.

After doing a couple of laps to find Josh’s shoes (left beside a tree!), we headed to the gorgeous Lake McKenzie for a dip in the crystal clear, fresh water and a picnic lunch. It was freezing and the boys quite delighted in pushing Melinda in. We then headed up to Kingfisher Bay Resort, where we had booked to stay for the night. We enjoyed a swim in the pool and spa and had a delicious pizza for dinner.

Kingfisher bay is a popular resort as it has direct ascess via barge from Harvey Bay. People can come this way to the island without a 4wd and then tour the island via organised tours from Kingfisher Bay.  After the kids had gone to sleep, Joe enjoyed fishing on the wharf and brought back a few fish for dinner the following night. The resort, along with a couple of other places on Fraser Island, have dingo proof fences.

The following morning, Josh and Melinda joined a bird-watching tour and ventured out through the dingo fence and onto the beach. Josh was delighted to follow some dingo tracks in and out of the water and we learnt quite a bit about the local birdlife.

After breakfast, we headed through the island tracks again and back to 75 mile beach. Then we headed up the beach to Eli Creek, another great place for a dip where the fresh water meets the sea. We kept going up the beach and saw the Maheno Shipwreck. Being low tide, it was amazing to get right up close to it. Apparently, the story behind it was that the ships’ propellers had been sold and it was being towed back to Japan. The towing line broke and consequently, the Maheno washed up on shore. Opps!

We then headed all the way back down the ‘highway’, met the barge at Inskip point and headed back to Rainbow Beach. Following a good car clean, we picked up the van and headed for Bundaberg. On the way, we were flagged down by a couple of guys who had managed to bog their truck. Joe unhitched the van and proceeded to tow out an 8 tonne truck with trailer! Lucky it was empty! The Disco 3 has really done well (oh, yeah…and Joe’s driving too!)

We had to stop in Maryborough to reinflate our tires again. Joe was very patient as his beautifully clean car was now covered in mud! Cars and kids- they never stay clean! We enjoyed the best noodles out of a box from a little place called Natural Noodle before we headed for a free camping spot overnight, situated 25km below Bundaberg.

The gorgeous Rainbow Beach is located below Harvey Beach and to the South of Fraser Island. This place was recommended to us by our great friends Rob and Alison, who toured part of Australia last year. After checking into Rainbow Waters Caravan Park, we headed down into the small town, purchased our national park permit and went for a small drive on the sand.

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The following day, we celebrated Zach’s  7^th birthday with a beach party back on the beach.  We even had a rather large lizard come to join the party! This beach is amazing because it is made up of a large variety of coloured sands. The kids (and Joe!) enjoyed collecting as many colours as they could find and placed each colour in a little clip bag. Later on, we did a bottled coloured sand craft- it’s amazing the variety of colours! I read that the beach boasts 72 different colours! During low tide, we enjoyed a trip up the beach, through the Leisha Track (a partially boarded track cutting through the trees) and a swim amongst the rock pools on the other side. Coming back before high tide, Joe quite enjoyed using his recovery kit and pulling out not one, but two 4WD’s stuck in the sand. We learnt quite a few handy tips from our guided tour back on Stockton Beach (Nelson Bay) that we were able to use and pass on!

We then headed up to the Carlo Sand Blow (drive then 1km walk).  It was amazing to see the force that the wind had on blowing the sand right up and over the mountain, thus covering and killing off the vegetation. The kids looked like ants as they ran across it. Heading back to the van, we made full use of our wonderful kitchen and made Zach one of his favourite dinners- Kebabs and Cheesy Vegetable Bake!

Situated right in the middle of the Sunshine Coast is Forest Glen. We decided to stay for 4 nights here and travel around the sunshine coast to the different places we wanted to go.

Upon arrival, the kids enjoyed a few a games of mini golf and a jump on the jumping pillow. There was a lovely community camp kitchen, so we ate dinner in there and got talking to some other travellers from Holland. We shared some very interesting stories, but Kaytlin was quite confused as to why the children couldn’t speak English! It was amazing to find out that there was no possible way of doing our trip if we lived Holland as there is no such thing as home school or distance ed. The family had to limit their stay in Australia to the summer school holidays.

On Friday morning, during some odd weather, we decided to head into Underwater World at Mooloolaba. It was a wonderful morning and the kids really enjoyed the touch pools and the otter and seal shows. They were also quite facinated by the moving tunnel, and having the fish/sharks/stingrays swim basically all around them. Zach enjoyed the challenge of hunting down a lion fish, rock fish and cow fish.

We then crossed the car park for a late lunch at the Wharf Tavern. I thoroughly recommend this. Not only was the food great and very affordable, the staff were very friendly and even brought the kids little gift bags. To top it off, we sat right next to the river and watched the boats go by!

After lunch, we headed up to Yandina to the Buderin Ginger Factory. This is actually the worlds’ largest ginger factory. We got there just in time for the last tour, but Mel did it by herself as all 3 kids were sleeping! A very interesting tour, followed by some yummy taste testing. The ginger scones were also delicious. The kids woke just in time for the last train ride, so we all enjoyed a steam ride around the park.

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As we were close to Coolum Beach, we were able to meet up with friends Colin and Jan and have some lovely dinner and a great chat! Colin and Jan used to attend our church at North Ryde before they moved up to Coolum and even attended our wedding. It was was lovely to spend the night with them and catch up.

The following morning, we headed out to the famous Eumundi Markets- a must see for those who visit the area. There is such a vast array of products to look at, with plenty for everyone. There are so many things to admire and it is very easy to spend your money here!  After stocking up on some gifts for Zach’s upcoming birthday, we all enjoyed playing some chinese drums. The atmosphere of the place is so upbeat and enjoyable, we had to move our car twice so we didn’t overstay our parking! We also enjoyed the biggest Veal Schitzel that we have ever seen!

Zach had seen quite a few people (including children) busking thoughout the markets. He had been wanting to busk all trip, so we asked around and found out he could just go ahead as it was pack up time. He made $20 in about 10 minutes! A very excited little man! We had planned to spend the afternoon in Noosa- so we headed down to the beach area in Noosa Heads.

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 Not wanting to stop there, Zach pulled out his dance moves on the beach foreshore. He drawed a crowd of about 50 people at one point-another $40! With his new found financial freedom, we headed to Hastings St (main strip) where he splashed out of Boost Juice for the family (very generous) and a dinosaur egg that hatches in water. Joe and Josh also managed a bit of swim at the gorgeous Noosa beach, before we headed back to the park for a movie night. Forest Glen has a wonderful little cinema and the kids felt like they were really going to the movies!

Sunday dawned a bright and sunny day as we headed for Australia Zoo. Josh had been waiting very patiently for this as he LOVES animals and, just as equally, LOVES Bindi Irwin. We hoped we might see her- but no luck. The Zoo we excellent. The Wildlife show in the Crocaseum was very interesting and incorporated a lot of animals, including the much anticipated Crocs. I think Kaytlin was much in awe of how big ‘Snappy’ (Gindy joke!) was. We all enjoyed feeding and patting the animals in the kids zoo section. It was also a real treat to feed the elephants and pat the koalas (at no extra cost too!). The tiger show was also wonderful as they played around and jumped into the water right next to the glass.

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After leaving the zoo, we stopped at the famous Ettamogah Pub for dinner. Mmmmm….gorgeous lamb shanks and mash- delicious!

On Monday, we packed up and got ready to continue heading north up to the Fraser Coast. We made a small detour to ‘Strawberries…Yum!’ for some strawberry picking. The kids loved this and probably could have picked the whole field! We also enjoyed a lovely strawberry smoothie, scones and icecream. They also got to watch the packing process too.

We then stopped by the Big Pineapple- the Queensland icon. This place broke my heart as the complex has now been sold and is running derilict! Many people growing up would have had photos in front of the Big Pineapple when they visited Qld. Fortunately, the government heritage listed the actual Big Pineapple and it cannot be knocked down.

We then headed for Rainbow Beach on the Fraser Coast…

After leaving Sea World- we headed for Brisbane to stay with the Thomas Family.

We made it just in time for the boys to attend Scouts with the family- where Tim and Shannon are both leaders!

The kids all enjoyed having ‘sleep overs’ and rekindling their friendships with Corban and Jodie. On the Tuesday morning, Zach was able to attend Chess Club with Corban at his school. Corban then had a day off school and joined us at the Brisbane science centre. This was brilliant, with lots of hands-on activities. Zach and Corban were lucky enough to join in on a science show with a visiting group of year 2 students- a very interesting show on magnets and electricity. We then ventured down to South Bank, followed by a walk and a play.

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We picked up a City Cat and went for a small cruise along the Brisbane river- around to the gorgeous Story Bridge. That night, we were treated to a feast by chef Tim. Shannon and Melinda then went out for another girlie night of desert at ‘Mud’ and a movie.

Wednesday was a business, homework, washing day. Tim picked up Corban a little early from school and we headed into the Roma Street parklands. What a beautiful place! So many areas to explore- such a sea of color and water! Although we missed it, I would recommend joining one of the free guided tours. Joe and Tim had a night out that night, while the girls chatted as girls do!

The following morning, we enjoyed a lovely morning tea in Oxford st, Bellinga before saying a sad goodbye to our wonderful friends. It has been such a great time with them! We then stopped in at Steve and Lindi’s house north of Brisbane (our neighbors from our first house at Toongabbie). It was a short, but sweet stop before we headed for the Sunshine Coast and Big 4 Holiday Park- Forest Glen.

After checking into Big 4 Treasure Island- we went off to explore the park. What a gorgeous place it as! The kids quickly changed into their swimmers and headed to the pool, enjoying a swim, waterslide and lovely hot spa.

Much to the kids excitment, we headed across the road to Sushi Train for dinner.They loved watching the sushi being made, especially with the blow torch! We then headed out for a night out in Surfers; going for a walk around Cavill ave., before going to Timezone for a 2 hour games night. We all had a ball playing the different games, including dodgem cars and laser zone.

For our 2nd day in Gold Coast, we had decided to go to Movie World. The boys had been particularly hanging out for this and we had conceeded to paying just over $300 to go. As we were getting ready to leave, a lady approached our van offering us a free family pass that her family no longer needed! How wonderful!! So many blessings!!

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We had a wonderful day at Movie World. The kids loved the shows- especially the stunt driver show. We discovered that Kaytlin has no fear and is a real girly screamer on the rides! It was disappointing to find out that they have closed the Looney Tunes ride permanently- but they are building something nice and new there! Mel LOVED the Superman ride- which is such a thrill!!

That night, while Joe and kids had a rest, Melinda met up with her friend Shannon and went to see Outback Spectacular. And spectacular it was! A brilliant night of food and drama, mostly performed on horseback. I don’t want to spoil it for those who havn’t been- but there are some very unique and clever scenes!

Mel brought Joe home a small gift- and so now the Bulldog has been replaced by a bulls horn! Joe is turning to a country man!!!

Sunday 30th, we attended church at the local baptist church and had a lovely morning there. We then went into the Broadwater fishermans co-op for another lovely seafood lunch. What else would we eat when it’s a lovely warm day by the seaside!!!

The afternoon/ evening was spent back at the park with some wonderful visitors- Tim, Shannon, Corban and Jodie Thomas joined us for swimming and dinner! The Thomas’ family used to live in ‘the shire’ and we saw each other weekly. They moved to Brisbane last year and this is the first time we have been able to catch up and ‘see how the children have grown!’.

On Monday, we decided to make use of our free pass and head to Sea World. The kids enjoyed the seal show and feeding sting rays- which was a real treat. The dolphin show is of course, a must see and then we headed to a new section of the park- Treasure Island. We spent three hours in there! The kids -including the big kid- LOVED the pirate ship ride and basicaly wetting everything and everyone in sight.

There was also a wonderful adventure/ climbing thing that Josh and Kaytlin ventured in, whilst Joe and Zach hitched up for a climbing adventure. At an extra $5 per person, Joe and Zach mastered any height fears and ventured right up!