The Wilde Family

Adelaide Zoo

The Wilde Family — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The kids decided that they wanted to go to the zoo today so we headed back to the city again. We had hoped to see Panda's but it seems their enclosure won't be finished until the end of 2009. Chris and Sally got to feed kangaroos in the children's zoo, and enjoyed looking at all the animals. The zoo wasn't that big but is undergoing a large revamp so will be really great once that is finished.

We headed out of the city to Port Adelaide and encountered a rather strange Aboriginal woman who was less than amusing! The town itself is also undergoing a lot of development and will probably look totally different in 5-10 years. We drove along the coast back to Glenelg and passed some really nice areas along the way. Henley and Waterside were really pretty with lake or ocean views. We stopped at The Buffalo restaurant which is a replica of one of the first migrant ships from England, after a huge dinner we were allowed to explore the rest of the ship which had been turned into a museum.

Adelaide shopping

The Wilde Family — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We went back to Adelaide city to have a look at what it had to offer for the retail therapists in the family. We failed miserably to find Rundle Mall only stumbling upon it at 4.30pm, Karen believes that Shaun was deliberately directing the family to the wrong side of town until it was too late to do any damage to the credit card! The weather warmed up a bit today and is back in the twenties, still need a cardie in the evenings though. We found a nice store which sells Aborigininal prints and the children both picked up a small print each (makes a nice change from cuddly animals say Mum and Dad). We headed back to Sarah's house and they all came over for a Barbie - the barramundi was delicious! The children have been getting along really well (most of the time!), and it has definitely helped having Sarah's children around. Sarah, Andrew and the kids left at around 9pm, and Shaun and Karen sat down to an old episode of the Bill.

Glenelg beach and town

The Wilde Family — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We woke up and sorted ourselves out, did some washing as we were fast running out of clothes. In the early afternoon we headed off to Glenelg and walked along the seafront, the kids built sandcastles whilst Shaun and Karen shivered on a seafront bench (the weather was decidedly chilly as approximately 15 degrees). We went for some lunch at a local chinese and then walked around the town to check out what was there. We came across Haigh's chocolate shop and bought Easter eggs for everyone. We then returned to the beach where Chris and Sally continued to work on their castles. In the evening the Agers came over for a quick drink and Lauren stayed for a sleepover because Auntie Helen's house was full! Sophie was going to stay but didn't settle. Another fairly early night was had by all.

Adelaide 7's rugby

The Wilde Family — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We crawled out of bed a bit worse for wear and caught the train into the city to watch the Adelaide Rugby 7's - loads of BIG beefy men chasing each other really fast with a ball. England's first match left us really disappointed - they didn't score a single point against Fiji. They then came back to beat New Zealand and (best of all) Australia - although that game went to extra time and sudden death. The locals were not happy when we won, but Karen made sure she was vocal about the win (not to mention visual with her George cross flag and mad hat!) No one else appeared quite as enthusiastic (must have been the hangovers!). The other girls spent most of their time on the bouncy castle and on the army tank computer games, they also got their faces painted.

The matches went from 11am until 7pm and South Africa beat Kenya in the final. After it all ended we went for dinner and then made our way home on the train very tired.An early night was had by all!!

Arrive in Adelaide

The Wilde Family — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Today we arrived in Adelaide on a nice sunny day. After a quick 50 minute flight we breezed through the arrivals lounge, picked up our bags and got in the hire car. Thirty minutes later we arrived at the Agers and had a quick cuppa. We were then invited to Sarah's sister Helens for a Barbie. We met a few other couples who had emigrated from the UK in the last few years. Amongst them was someone who goes by the name of Chris who used to share a house with Steve in Brighton! He also attended a wedding with Karen MANY years ago (Richard and Gill's wedding!). The world seemed quite a lot smaller all of a sudden!!! We drank rather a lot that evening, sang on songstar (badly) and then crashed out at about 11pm.

Melbourne - Last Day

The Wilde Family — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Today it started raining :(. After a late start, hoping it would stop, we headed off to the Melbourne Aquarium as it was close to the hotel and watched the sharks and rays being fed. Sally's favourite bit was when they could touch some of the sealife, and the lady tricked Chris into touching the starfish's bum!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When we came out it was stil raining we went for a Hungry Jack's and decided to abort the Mission to the Old Melbourne Gaol as we had run out of time. We headed back to the hotel and then got tickets for the piccies and watched Monsters vs Aliens in 3D.We went for a chinese meal and then came back to the hotel and attempted to chat to Nanny Chris and Grandad Bill on skype - we had sound but no pictures!!!

Scores

SALLY 10/10
CHRIS 10/10
MUM 9/10
DAD 8/10

Portsea, Mornington Peninsula

The Wilde Family — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Went snorkelling today. We had to get to Portsea for 8am so this meant we had a 6am start from Melbourne (boo hoo!). Everyone had to wear wetsuits and the water was quite cold 18C.

After, Shaun went diving and saw Weedy Sea Dragons and a cuttlefish. Spent the rest of the day on the beach where Chris built a large sandcastle with fortifications to hold back the tide; he failed :). We also saw lots of tiny fish swimming near to the beach. Chris and Sally braved a swim but it was only warm enough for knee height for Karen.

Scores

SALLY 8/10
CHRIS 8/10
MUM 9/10
DAD 10/10

Point Cook

The Wilde Family — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Got the tyre repaired/replaced cost $200 (ouch).

Went to Point Cook to look at a new development on the east side of the city, we came across Sanctuary Lakes (see www.sanctuarylakes.com.au) the Australian version of Cambourne! Although this one had the added features of a completed gym and swimming pool, golf club with Greg Norman golf course, bistro, cafe,and nearby shops - all 20 minutes from the city of Melbourne. Another plus is the views from the houses, either a lake view or out to Point Philip Bay. Not sure whether it measures up to Cambourne standards????? Sally really liked it there and wants to live there!!

Finished the day by going to the Skywalk, tallest building in the southern hemisphere. The lift did 88 floors in 38 seconds and travelled at 9m/s and made our ears pop. Shaun and the kids went on the edge experience, where they put you in a glass box and push you out over the edge.Luckily you don't actually fall but there are sound effects that sound like cracking glass!

St Kilda

The Wilde Family — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In the afternoon we took the tram down on the beach at St Kilda. We met an Old German Lady, who was obviously in the employ of the Perth Immigration Department, who told us that all Australians are lazy, Melbourne is corrupt to its very core and if we planning on emigrating we should go to Perth but Adelaide is okay as that was originally settled by Germans.

Philip Island

The Wilde Family — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Got the hire car and took a trip to Philip Island to go and see the Penguin Parade. As we were looking for the information centre to get our tickets we got a flat tyre in the first four hours just as we pulled up to the Chocolate Factory. We are now glad that we got the man from the RACV out as the wheel had in his words ‘rusted on’ and took the use of sledgehammers and long iron bars to prize loose.

Eventually got to the information desk to get our tickets for the Penguin Parade and as we had time we headed over to Nobbies Rocks to see if we could see any seals and Sally saw one through a telescope, but no-one else did. Later as dusk came we headed over to the Penguin Parade location to watch the little penguins come in out of the sea and make a quick dash across the beach to their holes in the ground. Alas we were not allowed to take photos as they wardens didn't want us to scare the little penguins as they scurried across the beach.

MELBOURNE first night

The Wilde Family — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Part 2:

We went for food at Little King Restaurant

ARE SCORES FOR THE RESTAURANT ARE
SALLY 10\10
CHRIS 9\10
DAD 8\10
MUM 10\10

We're back and this time it's personal.

The Wilde Family — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Today we went to ST. kilda! When we got there we went on the pier and got a drink Sally +
Chris had a choclate milkshake Mum + Dad had a coffee!

Later we went to the BEACH and chris thinks he got nipped by a crab! Sally and Chris spotted a JELLYFISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are scores for the beach are
SALLY 10\10
CHRIS 10\10
MUM 9\10
DAD 9\10

Last day in Mission Beach

The Wilde Family — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Today is our last day in Mission Beach, the sun is shining again (we have been very lucky with the weather seeing as, in these parts, this time of year is known as The Wet.)

Spent the day packing and tidying (in this heat you do everything slowly) and hiding in the pool.

Tonight we are going out for a final meal (kitchen has been cleaned and we, Shaun and kids, have been banned from that area.)

Tomorrow we go home but we are not sure which route to take as we have been told that the most direct route may be flooded and we may need to take a 2 hour detour via the tablelands.

Back to Mission Beach

The Wilde Family — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After a morning of waiting for the rain to stop the sun eventually came out to play, so it was pool time, in between sessions of packing and tidying, and BBQ in the evening; sigh, it just had to be prawns again.

Gladstone to Cairns

The Wilde Family — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We caught the taxi to the airport, the security at Gladstone is certainly different to any other. We arrived within 40 minutes of our flight and were checked in and handed our boarding cards to the same person at the gate 30 minutes later!

The funny part was on arrival at Rockhampton we all had to disembark and put our luggage through security! We then reboarded the same plane and sat in the same seats!!

The journey was Split into four parts 25 minutes between Gladstone and Rockhampton, 50 minutes between Rockhampton and Mackay, an hour between Mackay and Townsville. The last part of the journey between Townsville and Cairns should have taken an hour but due to a storm over Cairns we were held outside for about half an hour. We experienced quite a bit of turbulence, which we all thought was great fun - some of the other passengers didn't find it very funny though!!

We landed approximately half an hour late and decided to do some shopping around Cairns. Unfortunately the weather was pretty wet and we came back to Mission Beach after a few hours. We stopped off at Innisfail for some shopping and then drove to our exchange home.

On the way back we spotted our first Cassowary bird - in the middle of the road!! Every time we tried to drive on he kept coming back on to our side of the road!!

Heron Island back to Gladstone

The Wilde Family — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Well this was our last few hours in paradise, the children managed to do some more junior rangers and gained two badges for all their hard work. Shaun and Karen went for one last snorkel. The cases were packed up and we had to leave, but we spent every last moment in the pool and arrived on the catamaran dripping wet!!

A few tears were shed (by Karen) and none of us wanted to leave this fantastic place. But all good things come to an end and we will have to come back another year in order to see some of the hatchlings - which apparently weren't due until at least the 9th January this year!

We drowned our sorrows on the catamaran back to Gladstone and arrived there two hours later a bit wobbly (well Karen was anyway.)

When we got back to the hotel we went for a swim and tried to persuade a family that were going ut to the Island the next day that they wouldn't enjoy it and we would be more than happy to suffer the trip for them - it didn't work!! We went for a meal at the local Thai restaurant and listened to the noisy parrots for one last time.

Heron Island

The Wilde Family — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Shaun went off diving again in the morning, whilst the children did their Junior Rangers again. Karen sat by the pool and read her book ALL day (about time too says Karen).

That evening was the seafood buffet in the restaurant and there were mountains of huge prawns, Moreton Bay bugs, crabs, salmon and almost ever seafood you could imagine.

After dinner Shaun and Chris decided to go on one last turtle hunt. Sally was TOO tired and so she and Karen retired to bed - and missed ALL the action!!!

Whilst on the beach Shaun and Chris came across a Loggerhead turtle laying its eggs and had the opportunity to help the Ranger resite the nest (as the turtle had made her nest too close to the shoreline). This meant that once the nest was uncovered Shaun had to hand out each of the eggs so that they could be transported to the new site dug by the Ranger (129 eggs and one broken one - broken when laid and did not have a yoke.) Chris was one of the lucky ones who helped to move the eggs! Because the turtle had gone back into the water Shaun was able to catch the moment on film.

On their way back to the room they also passed two Green Turtles laying eggs and came back pretty full of themselves!

Heron Island

The Wilde Family — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Shaun had received a passout for diving again today and managed to see 2 octopuses (1 on each dive, if he hadn't have manged to photo them nobody would have believed him). The children became Junior Rangers for the day and went on a Turtle track hunt. They can now tell the different tracks made by Green and Loggerhead turtles. They also learn't about the different types of birds on the island.

Karen spent the morning doing the washing; not quite her idea of tropical paradise but it was all done by lunch. She then spent time at the pool drinking beer and reading her book! In between Junior Rangers the children spent time in the pool and made a few friends with other junior rangers Ben and Josh. Shaun joined them after his dives and had a crisp stolen out of his hand by one of the cheeky restaurant birds that prey on people with food. They in turn have to protect their baby chicks from the seagulls who unfortunately have a pretty good strike rate, we saw quite a few chicks being eaten!

Tonight Shaun went for a night dive and saw a BIG octopus (3 for 3 - poor photo alas), a shark and lots and lots of turtles trying to sleep on the sea floor! Karen, Chris and Sally decided to go for a turtle hunt around the island as the sun set - the turtles must have seen us go by because we later heard that loads had come up the beach as we walked by! We did manage to see lots of baby sharks flapping their fins around in the water so that helped make up for the disappointment.

When we returned to the room Shaun had just arrived back from his dive and told us about a turtle near to the jetty. So we went to see how it was doing, unfortunately it had chosen a spot where there were lots of rocks and it didn't succeed in laying its eggs that night.

Heron Island

The Wilde Family — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Today we set off on the catamaran to Heron Island. The journey didn't go to well as Sally had a nosebleed before we left, and as the sea was quite rough Chris' stomach didn't stand up too well - enough said! Apparently the sea had been so rough over the New Year the catamaran and helicopter transfers were cancelled for 5 days, the day we arrived was the first day the dive boat had ventured out to sea in a while (so Shaun was pleased).

We were out of Mobile phone and internet access for the duration of our stay in Heron Island which was HEAVEN! It was so nice to wander around and not listen to someone else's conversation!Although it did slow down the blog entries.

We went for a snorkel and saw some black and white tip sharks and loads of sea cucumbers. After a quick dip in the pool we got ready for dinner and prepared for the highlight of our trip - turtle watching!

We were very lucky to come across a Green Turtle who very kindly laid some eggs for us and we were able to watch which was truely amazing!! Unfortunately you are not able to use flash photography or lights on the beach in case you upset the turtle (and any others around) so we don't have any pictures to show. But it is definitely a sight to behold and we would strongly recommend it to anyone.

We were kept awake by some really noisy Mutton Birds who had laid eggs all around the island (and four outside our room!). The noise they make can only be compared to that of a wailing baby and they all join in with the chorus as the finale!!

Sydney to Gladstone

The Wilde Family — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This was our last morning in Sydney so it was back to the packing and sorting for Karen. Shaun took the children out to have a go on a bungee trampoline where they both did a backflip! Shaun bought himself a Digereedo and was shown in the shop how to play it - so there should be some interesting music coming from the house when it is shipped back to England!

We caught a taxi to the airport and booked in for our flight to Rockhampton, we then drove to Gladstone and stayed in a hotel for the night in readiness to travel to Heron Island the next morning.

There were some EXTREMELY noisy parrots outside the hotel. Apparently the local council are trying to get rid of them and have chopped down loads of trees thinking they would fly away - unfortunately all it has done is concentrate them all in 3 trees and the noise was deafening.