A brief visit across the ditch

Last minute decision to hop on a plane and go visit a friend for the weekend in Brisbane. I emailed the school on Friday to let them know Kien wasn't coming in on Monday. Jef dropped us off at the airport on Saturday morning...minus 1 koala which we forgot at home! Oh the tears. Koala, Kien's sleep buddy and comfort soft toy - how can Mummy forget to pack it? Oh man, it's going to be a tough weekend for Kien without his best friend.

We waited for our departure at the wonderful AirNZ Koru lounge where I ate by self silly on their delicious breakfast buffet. We were so comfortable we almost missed our flight. 

We had to run to the gate, but we weren't the only people still boarding, thank goodness. 

I love how Kien still likes to holds my hand (finger) whenever he can. 

I've come to Brisbane a number of times to visit my childhood friend, Justine. We spent most of the weekend eating and drinking copious amounts of coffee. Her girls are low energy, so everyone is happy just to hang out at home. By the late afternoon though I knew that Kien needed to burn off, so we went over to Justine's sister's place for some trampolining action.

Kien and I conked out pretty early since there is a 2 hour difference between Auckland and Brisbane. 

On Sunday we went to Eat Street Markets - yeah, that really is what it's called. I discovered plantain, which is part of the banana family but used like a vegetable. It's delicious. 

After stuffing myself silly the kids and I got, well, silly.

We then headed home, and although the pool looked very inviting it was a tad too brisk and windy for a swim. The kids broke out the play dough instead and all was quiet for a while.

Then just like that Monday was upon us and we were back at the airport waiting for our flight home.

He was adamant he wanted to eat everything on that plate. He did alright with his attempt.

Good bye Brisbane. 

Sydney - part deux

The last of our 3 day jaunt to Sydney consisted of us going to a few hot spots, namely Bondi Beach, Sydney Opera House, and the botanical gardens.

Bondi Beach

It is just one of those famous beaches you have to visit while in Sydney. Even though the sky was blue and the sun as shining it wasn't a particularly warm day, but that did not stop the droves of near naked or skimpy-bikini cladded youngsters strutting around there. We couldn't find a parking space anywhere near the beach, so we stopped at end of the stretch at the top of the hill.



Kien was just itching to run around, so we let him lose.





He collected rocks to throw into the surf.







He also befriended this couple, and when Kien is on a roll he becomes animated and very chatty. They engaged with him, which was a relief, because I never know if he's annoying or endearing people when he does that.

The Opera House

I've seen this structure a few times now, but I'm still amazed by it's beauty.



We had breakfast/lunch in the sun after we checked out of the hotel on Monday.





Kien wanted to run and chase the cheeky seagulls that terrorised anyone attempting to eat their meal.





After breakfast/lunch we went for a walk around.









We shaded from the sun and had a rest in the botanical gardens situated right next to the opera house. It was such a fabulous spot.





Kien likes to gather twigs and things to build a camp fire. So he spent ages doing that.







We then headed to the airport, stopping at this great playground to kill some time...








...and then our holiday was no more.

Journey to the Blue Mountains

We flew on the new Air New Zealand Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Sydney on Saturday for an extended weekend getaway. It was such a comfortable flight, and Kien was really taken with the state of the art inflight entertainment. No matter how often I fly I just love being up above the clouds.





He watched some of his favourite cartoons, and then decided he wanted to follow along with the flight path.



I booked us a suite at the Novotel with fabulous views over Darling Harbour. That night we were very fortunate to witness the fireworks from our window.







I must get myself a lightweight travel tripod instead of trying to balance my camera on footstools in an attempt to do some long exposure shots. In the end the only semi non blurry photo I got was this one, and it doesn't do the view much justice.



On Sunday we headed out to the Blue Mountains in our little green rental car. It was rather crowded at Echo Point - much to be expected really. This popular destination definitely delivered spectacular panoramic views.







The Three Sisters sandstone rock formation - awesome sight.





We took the track down the cliff into the Jamison Valley. Beautiful trees lined the path that took us to the stairs.

Kien was extremely adventurous. We left Jef behind at the lookout point, and Kien wanted to go all the way down the Giant Stairway to see where it would lead us. I kept on reminding him that we also had to come back up, and I knew that more than likely he would not have the energy to climb the steep path up again.

We didn't get to the bottom; I wasn't sure where the bottom actually was or what was down there. So we got to this point before turning around and headed back up again.



Of course I had to carry him!



I certainly worked off everything I ate and drank that morning!

...to be continued...