2009.03.16 07:44
Our first stop: Munna Beach Apartments in Noosaville, on the Sunshine coast north of Brisbane.
2009.03.16 08:03
Everyone enjoying a delicious homemade breakfast from delicious food from the Noosa farmers market.
2009.03.16 11:30
We go for our first beach hike.
2009.03.16 11:35
One of many beautiful coastal views on our trip.
2009.03.16 11:35
Noosa was definitely very picturesque.
2009.03.16 11:40
A bit of shaded trail is always much appreciated.
2009.03.16 11:40
Nancy takes a break. Graham is getting to be a big boy.
2009.03.16 11:43
That was a nice little natural pool.
2009.03.16 11:43
Graham needed a short break, riding in the front pack is hard work!
2009.03.16 11:46
The waves were pretty good for surfing.
2009.03.16 11:46
The temperature was around 28 C (82 F), a little hot for a hike but not too bad.
2009.03.16 12:10
What a nice place to sit down and have a snack.
2009.03.16 12:47
We saw this beautiful beach from a distance but it was not on our trail, too bad.
2009.03.16 12:48
This butterfly had beautiful turquiose colors on its wings, much more spectacular than the image captured by the camera.
2009.03.16 12:53
Nancy hasn't looked up the name of this rock formation yet ...
2009.03.16 12:54
Both of the kids had an easy ride on the hike ... here's Madeleine in the backpack.
2009.03.16 12:55
I think these are mangrove trees. Or something.
2009.03.16 12:56
Nancy points out the strange root structures - the branches grew roots that stuck straight down into the ground.
2009.03.16 13:33
This is a jungle turkey. We saw it on our way out of the hiking area. We were only alerted to its presence by the dozens of Japanese students who were on a massive field trip and had stopped to look at it.
2009.03.16 14:00
Later on we sat on a picnic bench and rested and while we were there this large lizard came ambling by.
2009.03.16 14:02
This lizard is called a 'monitor' and it was about .75 meters (2.5 feet) long. It had lost part of its tail but didn't seem to mind.
2009.03.16 14:05
It crawled around under the picnic table. We kept our distance.
2009.03.16 14:48
Afterwards we drove to Noosa's main street (Hastings?), which was filled with expensive boutique shops and chic restaurants. We had a nice lunch at **.
2009.03.16 14:48
Madeleine is a ham for the camera.
2009.03.16 14:48
Goofy girl.
2009.03.16 19:06
Graham really wanted to try Madeleine's hair bands out. So we obliged.
2009.03.16 19:07
He looks a little like Pebbles, but pebbles is a girl, right?
2009.03.17 07:58
The next morning we enjoyed another excellent breakfast home made by Nancy.
2009.03.17 07:59
Making your own meals is a great way to stay sane when road-tripping with kids as they don't seem to like to eat out every meal.
2009.03.17 11:08
That day we had a brief driving tour of the Sunshine beach neighborhoos (very swanky!) while Graham napped, and then we hit the beach.
2009.03.17 11:32
Nancy and Graham enjoyed our sunny day at the beach.
2009.03.17 11:32
It's a pretty long, straight beach.
2009.03.17 11:36
No trip to the beach is complete without a big hole in the sand for Madeleine to play with.
2009.03.17 11:36
Nancy was smart enough to rent a beach umbrella. Good thinking, Nancy!
2009.03.17 11:38
Say cheese!
2009.03.17 11:50
The water was just a little cool when first entered but warm enough to be comfortable almost immediately.
2009.03.17 11:52
We let Madeleine stand by herself in the shallow waves.
2009.03.17 11:52
Madeleine has a splash in the waves.
2009.03.17 11:55
The sand on this beach is so clean it squeaks - literally! It's quite funny when you're walking in bare feet and your steps are squeaking just like you are walking in old shoes.
2009.03.17 13:07
Another dad (not Bryan) had the patience to dig a big hole closer to the water, which we took advantage of after he left.
2009.03.17 13:07
Nancy is using sand as sunscreen, while Graham spends his time as usual trying to dump his hat in the water.
2009.03.17 13:12
Bryan dug this bunker that would fill when a wave came in.
2009.03.17 13:12
Graham really enjoyed it.
2009.03.17 13:12
They both fit.
2009.03.17 13:13
Here's a wave refilling the pool.
2009.03.17 13:13
Graham finally succeeded in ditching his hat.
2009.03.17 13:15
Soon Nancy joined in the fun.
2009.03.17 13:15
Nancy ended up getting stung by a tiny blue jellyfish. The sting was painful but not serious.
2009.03.17 18:16
That evening we decided to have a picnic in the park next to the Noosa river for dinner. We stopped in the children's play area where Madeleine rode a surf board.
2009.03.17 18:16
Graham looks a little stunned.
2009.03.18 08:39
We tried to pose Madeleine next to these flowers but she was too afraid of falling off of the wall to sit up straight.
2009.03.18 09:39
The next morning we left Noosa and on our way out headed to the huge market at Eumundi.
2009.03.18 10:01
While Nancy shopped, Bryan took the kids to the playground nearby.
2009.03.18 10:01
This was just one of many, many playgrounds that we'd visit during our three weeks in Australia.
2009.03.18 10:19
There are our cuties.
2009.03.18 10:28
Giddyapp!
2009.03.18 14:12
Some strange woody growth at the David Fleay Wildlife Park.
2009.03.18 14:40
Having a little fun.
2009.03.18 14:41
Madeleine's a cute yellow bellied glider?
2009.03.18 14:42
That's a cute tree!
2009.03.18 14:46
Madeleine and Graham's first koala bear.
2009.03.18 14:50
Daddy holds his babies.
2009.03.18 15:03
That's definitely the first Cassowary that any of us had ever seen.
2009.03.18 15:03
They're an Australian flightless bird found in the rainforests.
2009.03.18 15:12
That looks like a cute house dog but it's a dingo, an Australian Native Dog that's a domestic dog that has reverted to living in the wild and today mostly lives independently from humans.
2009.03.18 15:22
Needless to say, we didn't go for a swim in this water.
2009.03.18 15:23
The kangaroo enjoys a quick nose rub.
2009.03.19 10:13
Madeleine goes for a hike on a tree stump.
2009.03.19 10:14
It was huge!
2009.03.19 10:15
Graham has a climb too.
2009.03.19 10:15
He's a brave little boy.
2009.03.19 10:16
Bryan has to lend a hand for him to go down.
2009.03.19 13:31
The kids take a well needed nap.
2009.03.19 15:02
We make it to Port Macquarie after a long day and a half of driving.
2009.03.19 15:02
Graham quite enjoyed the sunset visit to Flynns Beach
2009.03.19 15:02
What a cutie in his swimsuit.
2009.03.19 15:05
It was a very nice beach.
2009.03.19 15:08
Okay, we took a lot of pictures of him.
2009.03.19 15:09
2009.03.19 15:34
2009.03.19 16:01
Our friend Ray takes a cute picture of Madeleine.
2009.03.19 16:01
2009.03.19 16:02
Daddy gives Madeleine a hand getting out of the little pool.
2009.03.19 16:04
That's a nice photo of Madeleine and Bryan. Thanks Ray.
2009.03.19 16:08
2009.03.19 16:08
2009.03.19 16:16
What a jump!
2009.03.19 16:23
2009.03.19 16:29
2009.03.19 16:30
2009.03.19 18:37
This is a perfect example of Madeleine's gorgeous curls in the hot, humid weather at the beach.
2009.03.20 08:02
This is the south end of Flynns Beach at the start of our day's hike to the lighthouse.
2009.03.20 08:26
Never did figure out what critter made these in the sand.
2009.03.20 08:28
We probably walked about 3 miles along the beach up and over rock formations. It was beautiful, but we those kids heavy!
2009.03.20 08:30
Graham catches some zzzs and our friend Ray whom we were visiting.
2009.03.20 08:37
There's another one of these guys. They're a bit freaky to see in the wild after living in NZ where the largest thing we ever saw wild was a hedgehog.
2009.03.20 08:45
Madeleine thought the tongue was pretty cool
2009.03.20 08:47
Nancy gets hungry...
2009.03.20 08:47
Lucky for the crab, she's allergic to crab.
2009.03.20 08:52
Madeleine doesn't like the suggestion that she get a little closer.
2009.03.20 10:10
This was a lovely hike.
2009.03.20 10:14
Must say that Port Macquarie ranked way up there as one of the most beautiful places we visited.
2009.03.20 10:17
Nancy's wondering when we'll get there and wondering how Graham's gaining weight while she hikes.
2009.03.20 10:50
There were dolphins in the water which you unfortunately can't see in the photo.
2009.03.21 07:47
Uh oh! Graham's found an arcade machine.
2009.03.21 07:48
Does that not look just like his dad?
2009.03.21 07:51
It was a drizzly day so we enjoyed a fun filled morning in Port Macquarie's Jumbo Playland. What fun!
2009.03.21 08:00
Madeleine does the girl thing and find a stroller and baby doll.
2009.03.21 08:36
Then she goes for a visit to the climbing structures.
2009.03.21 08:36
Kids love these places.
2009.03.21 08:42
Graham has a go at driving his own car.
2009.03.21 13:29
Funny, we drove for a few hours towards Sydney and ended up at a second indoor play center in North Wyong.
2009.03.21 13:39
Jump! Jump! This place had an awesome toddler area. It's called Kidz HQ (http://www.kidzhq.com.au/). The owner was super nice!
2009.03.21 14:18
Graham loved it.
2009.03.21 14:18
It's a good thing they didn't ask to go to two different indoor play centers every day.
