We are off again on another adventure and everyone is super excited about this one!
Our day started early with a domestic flight to Melbourne, and then international bound. We are on our way to New Zealand for some adventure and family time. Both the kids have been to NZ as babies but don’t remember any of it, so the airport and plane rides were very exciting for them. They did fantastic, taking it all in.
After a big day of travelling we went out for a beautiful dinner overlooking lake Wakatipu, had icecreams, and then the kids fell asleep easily in their big queen bed back at our hotel 😊
We have begun our journey back towards SA. This morning we stopped in Holbrook, a small town in Southern NSW. The main reason for stopping here was to see a submarine – HMAS Otway.
To honour Lieutenant Holbrook, the town’s namesake, the Holbrook council acquired a portion of the hull of HMAS Otway, an Oberon-class submarine, after it was decommissioned by the Royal Australian Navy in 1995. All of the outside casing of Otway above the waterline is on display in the park – the kids loved climbing on it. They then went into the Submarine Museum, where they got to look through a real periscope (and found our car parked on the side of the road), and see some cool photos and memorabilia.
After a few more hours driving we crossed the border into Victoria, and our next stop was Rutherglen. Known to most for its wines, but a MUST stop place for Stephen due to a bakery that he says sells the ‘best pies in Australia’, Parker Pies. We may have spent $200 on frozen pies to bring home 😆
We did enjoy a lovely lunch in the sunshine at Parker Pies, before walking down the main street and having a play at the playground and scoot at the skate park. Such a nice little town.
We left Seal Rocks this morning after a leisurely pack up and made our way down the coast towards Newcastle. Stephen flies in and out of the Newcastle airport for work quite frequently, which is right next to the RAAF military base (Royal Australian Air Force). He sometimes sees fighter jets fly over and thought the kids would like to see them, so we made our way there.
Right next to the RAAF base is Fighter World, a not-for-profit incorporated association that has been appointed by the History and Heritage Branch. Fighter World is dedicated to preserving the proud history of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operations in the Newcastle and Hunter/New England regions.
Exhibited in two hangars, you can get up close to some of Australia’s most iconic fighter and training aircraft. There are more than 15 aircraft and replicas on display, including a hand built Sopwith Camel, the Australian designed Avon Sabre, the French lady, the Dassault Mirage III and the last Australian aircraft to shoot down an enemy jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor, A77-851.
The collection also contains the first jet engine aeroplane built in Australia; the deHavilland Vampire A79-1 and their latest addition, the recently retired F/A-18A ‘Worimi’ Hornet.
Mac was excited because he bought a little plastic jet plane in the gift shop, and then soon discovered that that very same jet was in the first hangar – the mighty F-111C.
The kids were also able to sit in the cockpit of a Macchi jet trainer and a Mirage jet fighter. There were so many buttons and switches and gadgets – they loved it!
After checking out all of the aircraft indoors we made our way outside and were lucky enough to see a few different planes overhead. We had no idea, but we were there on the day that the F-22 Raptor, an American twin-engine all-weather stealth fighter aircraft, was making its debut in Williamstown. This was a major highlight for us all. It was incredible! I couldn’t get any good pictures of the jet in action using my phone camera, but I’ll get a few images off the Internet to give you an idea.
We have spent the last 2 days at Seal Rocks. A small, and very beautiful, coastal settlement in the mid-north coast region of NSW. The caravan park has a quaint seaside vibe, nestled between untamed rainforest and pristine beaches, the perfect coastal retreat for us for a few days R&R.
Morning sunrise strolls on the beach, swimming, collecting shells, exploring rock pools, building sand castles, playing on the playground, scooter and bike rides. Stephen wished he had a surf board, as the waves rolling in were perfect to muck around on.
The area had lots of wildlife. A big sea lion was on the beach this morning, having a rest before heading back out to sea I presume. There were also some very persistent brushturkeys around the park, which posed quite a nuisance (and somewhat entertaining). We couldn’t leave any food or our bins out at all or they were straight into them. They even took my teabag box and started pecking it open!
We could have easily stayed in the area for a few more days, taking it easy and exploring nearby beaches. Will definitely come back again if we have the chance.
We arrived at The Peach Farm yesterday afternoon. The sun was shining and we were all relaxed and happy. Casey and Adam had arrived the day before and the kids knew the lay of the land so off Harri and Mac went and we enjoyed a beer in the sun.
The Peach Farm Campground is an iconic, eco friendly, off-grid animal rescue farm. Privately owned and publicly loved! Gypsy, the caretaker, does an amazing job looking after the property and animals and making it fun for everyone. Each morning at 8am she goes around and feeds all of the animals and invites everyone to join in if they wish. Of course the kids were ready and eager to help out this morning. They helped feed the chickens and ducks, donkeys, goats, sheep, cows, alpacas, as well as guinea pigs and bunnies.
After feeding the animals and a play on the playground we jumped in the car and we are now headed to Seal Rocks.
Even though it was my birthday yesterday we decided to celebrate it today. Yesterday was a travel day, and we had lots of washing and boring things to catch up on after spending 5 days on the island. So Stephen organised for us to spend the day in Byron Bay.
My day started with the most amazing present ever – a 2 hour spa treatment at Osprey Spa in Elements of Byron (a very well known high-end place). My two hours consisted of a buttermilk vinotherapy Foot Soak, Full Body Hot Stone Massage, Guasha Stone Facial Massage, Head and Scalp Massage, and complimentary antioxidant elixir and Loco Love chocolate to top it all off. Oh.My.Gosh. It was heaven.
Stephen and the kids picked me up afterwards and we headed into the heart of Byron to get some lunch. We walked through the streets, enjoyed the sunshine and stocked up on a few essential bits and pieces at the supermarket before heading south to the Peach Farm.
We had very little phone coverage on the island, so we spent 5 days pretty switched off from the outside world (and loved it).
Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) is an island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay on the coast of South East Queensland. It is the third largest sand island in the world and 98% of the island is national parks. We drove onto the Micat ferry at the Port of Brisbane, caravan and all, and got to the island 90 minutes later. The ferry ride was super smooth with great conditions. We even saw some humpback whales.
We found our camp spot and quickly set up before venturing down to the water. It was picture perfect and we all felt so lucky to be there.
We explored the island from top to bottom. Majority of the tracks on the island are only accessible by 4WD, so I was very thankful for Stephen’s driving skills and our capable car. We saw so much wildlife and the bird life was incredible! Sugar gliders, possums, a bandicoot, humpback whales, dolphins, stingray, mantaray, sea turtles, starfish, curlews (the most interesting birds I’ve ever seen!). Harriet made friends with a beautiful butterfly too.
Below are some snapshots of different things around the island. The wrecks, Tailor Bight, Honeymoon Bay, Champagne falls, Cape Moreton Lighthouse, Castaways cafe, the Blue Lagoon, Little and Big Sandhills, Gutter Bar, Tangalooma wrecks.
What can I say? The last four days have been amazing! On the glistening shores of Pumicestone Passage, a stone’s throw from the iconic Bribie Island is BIG4 Sandstone Point Holiday Resort, and it did not disappoint. It was like a tropical oasis, and a far cry from traditional camping! Resort style everything – two pools with a swim up bar, splash park, mini golf course, playground, jumping pillow, tennis and basketball courts, games room, arcade room, bike hire and more! Harriet got her hair braided, the kids made snap bands and build-a-bears, all within the resort. The kids were fully entertained at all times, and the parents were very much taking advantage of the poolside food service and happy hour beers and cocktails! If only the grandparents were here to watch the kids so we could fully unwind 😆
We spent a lot of time at the resort and a little bit of time exploring Bribie Island and surrounds. We spent one day at Australia Zoo, but I’ll do a separate post for that. Stephen did the Saturday morning Park run and I caught up on lots of washing. There wasn’t much time where a drink wasn’t in hand and the weather was great (no snow in sight! Ha!) Mac managed really well with his cast on, playing golf and riding his scooter and even swimming (as we managed to get a special cast bag thing that allows him to still go in the water). Harri was desperate to make a little friend and she made one on the last morning. Her and Rosie played right up until the van was hooked on and we drove out of the park.
We spent a full day at Australia Zoo and it was great.
Australia Zoo is a 700-acre zoo on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains. It is an amazing conservation and wildlife education and rehabilitation centre. The grounds are beautiful, spacious and really well maintained. We saw so many different animals as we walked around. Then we had lunch and watched a show at the Crocoseum. The keepers and their amazing animals put on a really cool show full of slithering, swooping, and jaw-snapping adventure of epic proportions! Highly recommend.
We stopped off at the Glass House Mountains lookout of the way back to the caravan park and got a great view of all around.
After a 600km drive we arrived at Sawtell. The campsite was a bit squeezy, but we were right next to the beach and the sunset was beautiful. We went for a quick explore before dinner.
Unfortunately, not long after these photos Mac fell off the log and landed on his left arm. He’s a pretty tough kid and not much phases him, but he was VERY sad. He wanted to go straight to bed and not even eat dinner. We had a very restless night, and even after giving him some analgesic he still didn’t sleep much.
We had planned to go to a butterfly house and dinosaur park in the morning, so we got up in the morning and made our way there. The butterfly section was a little disappointing, but the dinosaurs were great. Mac, who is pretty dino-obsessed was not interested at all – just miserable really.
I was hoping his sore arm was nothing serious, but my gut feeling was we needed to get it checked out. So we spent the next few hours at the Coffs Harbour emergency department.
Everyone at the hospital was amazing. We were seen to so quickly, Mac had some X-rays taken (which was really painful for him and I felt terrible) and then the disappointing news came – he has a fractured elbow, requiring a cast for 3 weeks.
Not the best news when you still have 3 weeks of holidaying left and you’re heading north to warmer weather (think swimming and water parks). Once the cast was on and some more pain relief Mac did seem a little more comfortable, so we drove to the harbour to look around. It was really windy, but we saw some dolphins and did a little bit of walking.
The next morning we packed up and left to start our journey north into Queensland.
On our way out of Coffs Harbour we took a mandatory photo with the Big Banana.
Steve & Meegs 