Surf's up, Mate!

We thoroughly enjoyed our first beach holiday in Australia! The boys had great fun with their daily surf lesson with Gary (pictured here). I was impressed they stood up on their first day. They have a ways to go to get proficient but they have definitely caught the bug! They asked to rent a board on the last few days so they could practice and have added surf boards to their Christmas list. Lucas said he likes surfing better than skiing without hesitation; Jonah is on the fence. I can check surfing off the list of things I promised them once we got to Australia...

We had a hard time getting them out of the ocean on most days. The weather was warm but not too hot. It was actually cold when you got out of the water with the breezes. We didn't even have to use the air conditioner in our apartment.

To give their board rashes and sun exposure a break, we took one day to go to the Australia Zoo (about 20 min. down the road). It was interesting to learn that it actually started off as the home of Steve Irwin's family and that's where he grew up assisting his Dad rescuing wild animals, to include crocodiles. Today, it's a 1500 acre zoo. There didn't seem to be a huge variety of animals but what they did have were very well cared for. The habitats were very clean and spacious. Some of the animals we saw included dingoes, koalas, wombats, echidnas, a cassowary bird (very cool looking bird with a head that looks like it's painted blue), tasmanian devils, indigenous birds, Asian elephants, and tigers. The boys and I got to feed an Asian elephant, pet a wombat, and pet kangaroos of course. There were several pools of saltwater crocodiles separated by pairs (male and female) with a sign that explained why they were captured and what their personalities were like.

The rocks by the beach also served as a source of some exploration as there were many tidal pools with all kinds of mollusks and sea life. They also attracted some exotic birds that fed there. Next time, we will have to take our snorkeling gear.

Well, we are back home and getting prepared for school to reconvene on Monday. They will start their 4th term (last term for the school year). They will then get out for summer vacation on Dec 5th and return the last week in Jan 2010. I am still getting used to the opposite seasons here. It's getting warmer here when I expect it to start getting cooler. It will be an interesting Christmas as we celebrate in tropical weather...