Fraser Island...

Spent another FULL day today, with Brendan as a tour guide - I'll be needing a vacation to rest up when we get home...

Today our first stop was a place called Lake McKenzie...a STUNNING lake inland on the island. We had a blast there - the water was so gorgeous. LOVE the shot of my 69 year old dad - first time he's worn his swim trunks in years - and the aussie dude checking him out!

Then we went to an area called central station, where we had a sausage sizzle (aussie hotdogs!!)...and went on an incredible hike through a tropical rainforest/jungle. The wild looking tree is a gum tree, with a strangler fig which is a parasite that grows over the host tree and envelops them and eventually kills the host tree - it's WILD looking!

Also found this great dingo cache to lock the kids in when they get out of hand!

Off for more adventure tomorrow...

I'm a BAD blogger!

Wow...I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated. It's so hard to find connections here. We're now at a spectacular place called Kingfisher Resort, located on Fraser Island. We'll stay here for the next six nights.

Last week, we spent a full day at Sea World, which was AMAZING...and also did some touristy things such as hanging out at Surfer's Paradise, eating at the Hard Rock Cafe...all that fun stuff!

So far we've seen koala's, kangaroos, cockatoos, platypus, wallaby's, and a dingo - all in the wild! According to Brendan, this is NOT the norm!

The boys are missing home a bit...but mom and dad are here now, so that helps a bit. Anyways - only have internet for an hour...so better post some photos!

so much fun!

Well, we continue to pack more into a day than I could ever believe possible! Here's our update of what we've been doing...last night, the boys went to a rugby league game - and loved it! Tomorrow night, Brendan managed to swing tickets for the State of Origin game - which I'm hearing is a pretty big deal? Anyways - he and Brian seem quite happy about it!

The family shot of us is just so us! Even though my hair's a disaster...I'm still really loving this shot - it will be blown up for home (not huge, but will have it somewhere!).

The frozen cokes are wonderful - we don't have these in Canada! And - when in Australia, you must have a tailgate picnic on the back of a ute...right???


PS - do you think Brian's settling well into holiday mode???

G'DAY!!!

wow - we've been here for two days now...and haven't sat still for a moment! The first day was spent seeing the sights mostly from Brendan's boat. We spent some time sliding down sanddunes into the ocean (aussie tobaganning???), and then touring Surfer's Paradise by boat.

Today, we spent the day at Lamington National Park...went on a treetop walk (a series of suspension bridges and foot bridges), and then fed the parrots there. On the way home, we saw a platypus, and some black cockatoos...

Keaton had a crazy experience with a pelican (my favourite photo thus far!)...and tomorrow, we get to go to the marina at the Versace hotel, and go on a yacht...Brendan has a friend who's the captain, so we get a tour!!!

Australia is fantastic so far, and we're just getting started!

forever friends...

wow - our time here in Fiji is ending far too soon. Meg and her family have been so AMAZING, and the kids have had so much fun. It's wonderful, how you can have met someone for such a short time, but know they'll be in your heart forever. I'm going to miss Meg and her family a lot - and I know the kids will too...hopefully, we'll meet again one day...

more Fiji...

Wow - it's just gorgeous beyond words here. Parker and Keats had their first Padi dive lesson, and loved it. We didn't do the open water dive yet, but they told us if we come back for 7 nights in March, the dive program is 50% off...hmmm...there's some incentive!
The boys are wishing they could stay here longer...I'm thinking a return trip one day would not be out of the question. We met a guy this am from Vancouver - he's here diving, so it was nice to chat with him. Almost all the guests are from Australia or New Zealand...not many Canadians.
Having lots of troubles posting photos from here, as the internet is very slow - hopefully, it won't be an issue when we get to Australia...
Griff is making friends with the locals - see their great sandcastle!

Bula!

Bula (hello!) from Fiji.

So - I think we've found the most beautiful place on earth. Fiji is absolutely stunning...it's just perfect. We're having a wonderful time, the boys are currently getting ready for their first ever scuba diving lesson, and later today, we'll take a boat out to a coral reef and spend the afternoon snorkelling. Parker suggested perhaps we should just stay here for the six weeks...I would LOVE to come back one day, and I know the rest of the family would totally agree.