Little Things

Posted on by
1

We are sitting in the LA airport waiting for our flight home to Toronto.

We left many hours ago from Cairns, Australia and flew to Brisbane to await our flight to LA.

In Brisbane, we got a special treat! Aunt CJ (Rob’s sister) came to meet us for a quick visit. It was so great to see her in Australia – which she has called home for a couple of years (but will be heading back to Canada shortly).

We boarded for our 13 hour flight finally. It wasn’t as bad as I anticipated it would be. Qantas fed us lots of food, there were a ton of movies, and everyone slept quite a bit. However, everyone is still a bit tired.

But as we wait our last flight (our 9th flight of this trip), I’m thinking about some of our best moments.

There were so many:

Swimming in Fiji, walking the beach, various sunsets throughout the trip, Auckland Sky Tower, Devonport, Glowworm caves, Geysers, Sheep Show, Falls, Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Kuranda, Great Barrier Reef…. everything was spectacular. Truly a trip that lived up to all our expectations.

But, when I think of the moments that I think I will treasure the most – they are the little things:

Watching everyone parade through the airports, sitting on floors doing homework, opening up hotel room doors to see what cool room we would be in, fighting over who would sleep where, driving around in the the red van listening to some tunes and admiring the landscape, picniking for meals, playing in the parks, laughing at jokes and replaying funny events, falling asleep with exhaustion, finding plugs to plug in all the electronics, searching through endless gift shops, sitting on boats and ferries, going through endless lines of customs and security, talking about favourite moments and future dream trips, listening to the kids laugh as they watched endless episodes of  “The Big Bang Theory” (and having Josh give me the play by play of each scene), enjoying the sunsets – knowing it was rising at home (and knowing that we will always think of it doing the opposite of what we see at home), saying good night at weird hours and in different rooms…. There was something so amazing about being on the opposite side of the world – together.

It was all the little things that can’t be captured by photo or video that really made this trip. The time together. It was so worth it. I’m so glad that I documented it all (and the kids did too!), have thousands of pictures (and I truly mean thousands)…but the memories I will cherish the most are the ones written on my heart forever.

For all the frustrating moments (yelling at kids:), packing and unpacking (living out of suitcases with 5 kids is HARD), feeling frequently tired (and hot and hungry), dealing with whiny and fighting kids… I love my family. I love travelling with them. I will always cherish this adventure:)

The Great Barrier Reef

Posted on by
2

Can I just say the Great Barrier Reef is as spectacular as I dreamed it would be?

We headed out for our last day to snorkel on the reef. We were originally supposed to go yesterday, but the sea was angry, so we changed it. It was still a bit rough today though.

We headed out with Great Adventures Tours, and stopped first at an island off the inner reef called Green Island. There, we rented our stinger suits (so we could look like Ninjas – and be protected from the deadly jellyfish this time of year) and snorkeled off the beach.

The water and beach were gorgeous. The underwater world was ok…not many colours, a few fish, but it got everyone back into the snorkeling groove.

After a couple of hours on the island, we headed back on the boat to continue out to the Outer Reef. The sea was a little rough, and combined with the 3 pieces of chocolate cake quickly ingested, Sam had a little relationship with the barf bag. Everyone felt a little queasy by the time we reached the pontoon (yes, below is a pic of everyone with their heads on the table:).

Once there, it was all good. We had a quick lunch (no one really felt like eating) and then got all suited up again to meet our private tour guide, Desmond.

I’m so glad that we took a private tour, because Desmond brought us around and showed us all sorts of things including Nemo, a sea cucumber, a star fish, some giant fish, a sea turtle, and yes, we got to see some sharks (4 in fact!).

After an awesome snorkel tour, we went into the semi submarine and toured around in that. Finally, we hopped back in the water, and snorkeled around some more before we headed back to the boat. This time, we stayed on the upper deck and allowed the wind to blow us around! It was truly an awesome ride back – being blown by the wind, in the warm sunlight, looking out at the Great Barrier Reef.

From the port, we walked back to our hotel along the Esplanade. It was the perfect way to end our day – and our great adventure!

Kuranda

Posted on by
1

Talk about an action packed day!

We were out the door at 7:30 to catch the “Kuranda Classic Tour”, which was taking us up into the village of Kuranda.

We boarded a train at the cute train station about a 20 minute drive away from our hotel. The train took about 1.5 hours to climb the 1000 feet windy path up to Kuranda. Gorgeous views along the way.

Once there, we had some time to do some shopping. Super touristy, but the kids liked it. We snacked on some meat pies and sausage rolls, and bought some interesting souvenirs.

We then headed to the “Rainforestration Park” and had a BBQ lunch – where the kids loved the chicken:)

Right after lunch was the best: the kids held a koala bear and each got a picture. The koala was so soft and cuddly! We had to buy the pics from them (Australians are soooo nice to families – they gave us a deal since we had 5 kids:))

We then took a tour in a “Army Duck” truck/boat and went deeper into the rainforest. We learned about some of the plants and creatures – would not want to wander the rainforest with all the poisonous things!

We got to see a cultural show with the aboriginal people, and they also taught us how to throw a boomerang!

We also learned about spear throwing and how to play the didgeridoo. This was pretty cool since we had watched it being played on the streets in Sydney and even bought a CD.

Finally, we got to see some native animals – which included feeding the kangaroo, and watching the koala and crocodiles. So cool:))

We took the “Skyrail” back down – like a gondola ride – stunning views again.

I must admit, we were all exhausted. Wiped. We had dinner, kids swam, and then everyone headed to bed in preparation for our last day of this great adventure…on the Great Barrier Reef!

PS….In case you wondered, Shaun the sheep has accompanied us every step of the way, and has been photographed in many a picture….we had a near miss yesterday when Josh thought he left Shaun on the skyrail; fortunately he was just stuck in the sheets of Josh’s bed. Phew!!

Last Stop – Cairns

Posted on by
1

Up this morning, we bid Sydney farewell and off to the airport we went!

I wish I could say we had a great flight like with Air NewZealand  – but JetStar was not the best. However, we arrived – to pouring rain:((

Luckily this was a “down day” for us. We checked into our hotel/apartment called Vision Cairns Esplanade, which I have to say is a great place to end our trip. It’s gorgeous! We have a poolside, 3 bedroom condo.

Rob and I headed out to do some grocery shopping, while the kids relaxed. We were pretty excited to buy food for the next few days so we can cook in the gorgeous kitchen. You get a little tired of eating out….

After having lunch, Josh and I headed to the stores to switch out some flipflops that we had bought yesterday and were defected. When we came back (after getting stuck in the rain), the weather cleared and the kids played in the pool right beside our room,and then Rob joined them. I joined them after putting a few loads of laundry on. Funny how the little things like cooking and laundry can give you some satisfaction after living out of hotel rooms and suitcases.

We just hung out the rest of the day and evening. Everyone was a bit tired:)

I can’t believe that we are in the last stretch. Josh turned to me as we were getting off the plane in Cairns and said he was sad it was nearly over. It made me happy that he obviously was enjoying himself and like me, had mixed feelings about heading home.

Our next two days are jammed packed with activities. Hoping that the rain clears!

Sydney Cont’d

Posted on by
1

I wish I could say our legs weren’t killing after our walking day in Sydney, but they totally were.

City travel is exhausting. City travel with 5 kids…well…it’s exhausting.

But awesome!

We packed up our day bags and headed down to the harbour. There, we caught a ferry to Manly Beach.

What a cute little beach town!

We walked to Shelly Beach and swam there (where the surf was much calmer). We did enjoy watching the hundreds of surfers though – obviously much better equipped to handle the waves! We also watched some surf schools – which looked really cool!

We wandered through some shops, and had a picnic lunch on the beach.

We headed back on the ferry, and then walked through the area called “The Rocks”, where we shopped some more and Zandra was thrilled to get some UGGS.

Back at the hotel, we saw how tuckered out everyone was (the little boys broke out into a fight) so we decided to bring some Pie Face to our hotel room. Rob, Josh and I went to get the food.

When the little boys went to bed, the bigger kids watched a movie, while Rob and I went to the  little pub next door to the hotel join his cousin Scott for a little adult time. It was really nice getting to know someone from Rob’s family a bit better:)

Obviously everywhere we travel we wish we were staying longer, and Sydney is certainly no exception. A beautiful city – one that I certainly hope to return to one day.

We’re headed up north for our last pit stop: The Great Barrier Reef.

On to Sydney!

Posted on by
Reply

In North America, you arrive 2 hours at the airport before international travel.

Apparently there is no need in Rotorua. We arrived to an empty airport. It was kind of funny.

The kids spread out and got some work done.

We then headed to Sydney via Wellington on Air New Zealand (awesome airline; the kids were seriously impressed).

We flew into Sydney, dropped our bags at the hotel, and headed out to meet up with Rob’s cousin Scott, who he hadn’t seen in years. It was nice to meet him, and we had an enjoyable dinner at a pizza place on Darling Harbour.

The kids were wiped (there is a 2 hour time difference again for them between New Zealand and Sydney), so were getting a bit ansty in the restaurant so I took them out to blow off some steam. It’s funny though, you only really notice how high maintenance and high energy your kids are when others are around! We deal with it, and are so used to it I think we have higher tolerance levels. However,  when you see it through someone else’s eyes, you can see how they might be seen as annoying:))

We all had a nice sleep, and were up and  ready to hit the streets.

I had found a great walking tour of Sydney on Wikitravel (great new site!!).

And walk Sydney we did.

It was awesome! We saw everything we wanted to see: parks, cathedrals, gardens, buildings (town hall, parliament, library, war memorial). Again, I will spare you my 300 shots of scenery and put some family pic highlights:

Of course the highlight was seeing the Opera House and bridge – something that is iconic for Sydney and we’ve seen for years in pictures.

We stopped for lunch at “Pie Face” and had an amazing picnic lunch of pies and sausage rolls.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Sydney Aquarium. The kids loved it.

After the aquarium, we were all a little pooped so headed back to the hotel for a little siesta.

We were a bit unpopular with the kids because we banned electronics unless we are on an airplane. Entering the teenage phase, I can’t stand them turning to their earplugs and games every second they can. So they made up their own little game of Jeopardy. See what they do when unplugged??

We headed back out again and walked across the bridge for sunset. We saw the Opera House in the dusk lights and watched the sun go down and the city lights start to twinkle. (Some pics are in above collage too). It was awesome.We had a yummy sushi dinner at this tiny place and talked about how this trip has been awesome! Beach, nature, city, planes and road trip….and loads of fun. It’s the kind of trip people take when they are retired. Well, our house won’t be paid off any sooner, but we feel like it was the right choice for us to take the trip now when our kids are this age. No regrets.

We walked back across the bridge. Josh had a run in with a security guard:)) He was a lovely man and acted a bit as a tour guide, giving us some bridge history.

Incredible day. Again.

Exporing Rotorua and Lake Taupo

Posted on by
1

We woke up this morning and headed right to the long awaited (by Josh at least), sheep show at the Agrodome.

The kids had a lot of fun watching the actual show. Josh was selected to keep the gate closed for a sheep. Of course, the sheep just ended up jumping the gate and he was fired as a gate keeper:)

The kids were also selected to come up on stage and were asked to drink some milk from bottles. Of course they ended up feeding some baby lambs.

We took a farm tour where they had a blast feeding the sheep (and other animals), got to taste some kiwi juice, eat some honey and visit a kiwi grove.

After visiting the Agrodome, we headed down to Lake Taupo, where we viewed the lake as well as walked the trail to the stunning Huka Falls.

Finally, we went to Wai-o-tapu, another geothermal park. Although we didn’t see the geyser erupt (it only erupts once a day), we got to see the craters, mud pools and gorgeous coloured pools. It was stunning (a bit smelly however).

To end off our New Zealand experience, we went to the Mitai Village for a traditional Hangi feast. Before the feast we got to learn a bit of Maori history, see them come in on a war canoe, demonstrate using their weapons, and perform some traditional songs and dance – including the Haka.

Dinner was an amazing feast cooked traditionally in the ground (Hangi). This was where I set the table on fire:))) After putting the fire out, we ate the amazing foods and the kids gorged themselves on the yummy trifle, chocolate log and pavlova. We then walked through the forest with flashlight and viewed some of the flora and saw some more glowworms. The star speckled sky was pretty perfect too for our starlight starbright:) (I threw in a pic of the cutest older couple at our table. Still holding hands:))

All in all, we are definitely coming back to New Zealand!

Heading to Rotorua

Posted on by
1

 

This morning we set off for a little driving adventure.
 
I say adventure because, for one, they drive on the wrong side of the road here! And two, we have the craziest RED truck that is transporting us and screaming tourist!! Rob picked it up this morning, and we all had a huge laugh when we saw it.
 
It was particularly funny when we were a bit lost and went around in a round-about a couple of times
 
We headed to Rotorua, which is about 2 hours south of Auckland. However, we wanted to stop and see the Waitomo Glow Worm caves. It’s quite the detour but it was so cool. 

 

Unfortunately, you can’t take pictures inside the cave of the actual glowworms, but I got a a few from outside.

The cave is totally black and you are in a boat and everyone has to be silent. The glowworms are like twinkling stars up in the sky beautiful! The kids loved the gift shop too. Actually, they are loving every gift shop – so many cool things that are so different for us!

We then had lunch at a cafe nearby before we drove another 2 hours to get to Rotorua. We drove through some gorgeous scenery. Unfortuantely they have had not had a lot of rain this year in New Zealand which is causing drought like conditions, so the rolling green hills are a bit more brown…
 
We headed straight to Te Puia, which is a Cultural Village of the Maori people. Quite touristy, but I figured we’d  get a feel for things. We saw a geyser erupting, the mud pool bubbling, then got to visit some Kiwi birds (no pictures allowed there too:( We also saw the carving school, and weaving, as well as learned a little bit about the Maori culture. The kids again loved the gift shop!

We settled into our hotel which is nice and spacey. I must pat myself on the back, our hotels and been quite good:) Although I keep forgetting to take pictures of them upon arrival, and 30 seconds after we have arrived with all our gear they are no longer picture worthy.
 
Rob and I went to do some groceries for breakfast and lunch the next two days, then we headed out for dinner. Rotorua is not known for their restaurants I gather, because when McDonald’s looks like the best choice….
 
We finished off the evening by going to the Polynesian Spa where we had our own geothermal pool to soak in. Pretty cool to be out under the stars, soaking in the naturally heated hot water. I daresay it could have been quite romantic, but with 5 kids in there with you…not so much. BUT, it was awesome. And relaxing.

We are all having a great time, but I think everyone is a touch tuckered out. We could do with some down time I guess that will happen on our next flight, because tomorrow we have a full day!

In case you wondered…

Posted on by
1

Just a few travelling tips…

1. If you ever go to a Traditional Maori Hangi feast with 200 other people, and get seated at a table that has cute little candles like this:

Please note that IF you try to be proactive and  get lots of napkins for your 5 kids, and quickly throw them down on the table, and then race back to the buffet line to help your two littlest ones, the napkins MAY just start a fire right there on your table, and when you return to it, it will have spread and you MAY be lucky enough to have a husband who creatively takes off his flip flop and tries to pound it out (successfully of course) before they arrive with water to put it out. By the way,  throwing additional napkins on it in a panic DOES NOT smother the flames.

It also helps if your family has a tremendous sense of humour and think it’s the funniest thing ever.

(If the thought goes through your mind to take a picture – I would suggest you do so, because even if it is not recommended at the time of the fire, it would make for a great picture for your blog).

Just saying.

2. If you decide to try to get a great picture with you right beside a giant sheep, just be careful. The sheep doesn’t really want you getting too close, and they could head butt you which will cause you to be totally surprised and the photo will show that surprise…and be completely unflattering (although the sheep will look perfectly natural like he didn’t just totally head butt you) , but your kids will vote it the best picture of the trip and make you promise to put it on your blog (so you know how it feels to have pictures you may not like of yourself on your blog – and because they think it was a priceless moment).

Just saying.

3. Ostrich hurt when they take food off your hand. Just ask Josh (Take a good look at his face seconds after he has fed an ostrich):

Just saying.

4. Beware of who you leave your baby lamb stuffies with. Some people are loving and will take care of your stuffie and cuddle and love it (keep it warm and protected in their jacket and allow unflattering pictures to be taken):

Others are just mean.

But then they make it up.

Just saying.

Touring Around Auckland

Posted on by
Reply

Can I just say that New Zealand is STUNNING. I mean, I want to live here. (I’m mainly posting pictures of us in it due to the nature of this blog, but I have hundreds of gorgeous scenery too….)

We had booked a private tour guide to take us around today and it was amazing. Peter, our guide, was a native from Auckland and was so knowledgeable and shared with us so much history and knowledge. We squeezed so much into the day!

First, we headed to Mount Eden, and then One Tree Hill – which were two extinct volcanoes. You get fabulous views from them and you can see all the volcanoes spread around Auckland (about 7 or 9 – can’t remember). We then went to the Waitakere Ranges National Park area and stopped at the Arataki Visitor Center. The views, again, were incredible. We had so much fun taking pictures in the giant frame!

We headed to Piha Beach (part of “The Piano” was filmed on this gorgeous black sand beach) and watched some surfers and dipped our feet in the Tasman Sea.

We then drove a ways to the other side of Auckland and had lunch, and then swam at the Orewa beach (Pacific Ocean) – two oceans touched in one day!

We finally headed back to Auckland, over the bridge and experienced some of the traffic.

We picked up some pizzas for dinner, and the kids ate while watching “The Hobbit” (pretty perfect considering it was filmed right here in New Zealand). Tomorrow we are driving by the exact location!

We have a jammed packed few days as we are renting a car and heading to Rotorua and Lake Taupo.

So far, Rob and I decided we are coming back to New Zealand to explore a lot more. It is so beautiful, the people are lovely, and the weather is perfect.