Sydney Stop over

We took a mini break this weekend & stayed a couple of nights in Sydney

 

 

We visited Sydney Tower so we could show the kids the view

 

We stayed at Darling Harbour, my son was obsessed with the military ships at the Maritime Museum

 

 

 

I got to enjoy some early morning photography

 

I love the mix of old & new when it comes to the cities architecture

 

Ah the Harbour bridge, its always a thrill to drive across it, one day I would love to do the bridge climb!!!

 

 

The Sea Life Aquarium was fantastic & a real high lite for the kids

 

I probably should have used a lens hood for this pic to eliminate the glare from the sun.

 

We really had a great time & I look forward to going back again soon, there is so much to see & do in Sydney not to mention all the fabulous restaurants you have to choose from.

 

Good Times ahead I would say!!!!

 

What great stuff did you get up to this weekend?

 

CHEERS

Trish xxx

 



A trip to the Red Centre

The dream guy & I had an amazing time at Uluru (Ayers Rock)

This is Uluru at sunset.

It really is a magical place, you can watch it change colours throughout the day, but the changes are dramatic at sunrise & sunset!

Sunrise at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

Sunrise, the sky was incredible

Kata Tjuta at sunrise

Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) has 36 domes & looks so different depending on where you are at, but like Uluru it changes colours before your very eyes

Kata Tjuta at sunset

Also Kata Tjuta at sunset, you can see what I mean about the colours changing...

We actually went out there to climb the rock, you know, conquer one of the 7 wonders of the world, but on the day we planned it, the climb was closed due to gusty winds...I was very disappointed about this.

The next day we had a tour booked that included a base walk & there was enough time for us to climb part of the way.

I have to say that after starting the climb I realize I wouldn't have gone all the way after all, its extremely steep & I found it a little terrifying. This is a pic of the dream guy & I sitting on what they call chicken rock, apparently if you make it past here, you can make it all the way!!!

This is the view looking down from as far as I managed to climb, which is approximately 25metres up, the entire climb takes you to a great height of 346 metres. I can only imagine how incredible the view would be!!!

These incredible chairs are placed at all the viewing areas throughout the national park & each one is individual, apparently you can have them made for your own place, you just have to get on the end of the 2yr waiting list!!

We attanded a Sounds of Silence dinner, which was at a secret location in the desert with incredible views of the sunset & a variety of Australian cuisine & wines.

I sampled crocodile, Kangaroo & of course barrumundi. The food was superb & we got to meet some really lovely people.

I have to say, this really is a place you have to see for yourself, the sheer size is overwhelming, the colours are stunning & the history behind why it is so sacred to the aboriginal community really does make you feel priveledged to be there.

If its on your travel wish list, then you must go ASAP, you wont regret it!!!

CHEERS

Trish xxx

P.S Ive been catching up on everyones blogs & really would love to leave some comments, but, unfortunately blogger wont play fair.

Thank you so much for dropping by, hopefully blogger will get it togethor soon & I can let you know I dropped by to appreciate your work.

Downloading photos for this post took FOREVER!!!!!

( I actually took 360 photos in 4 days, LOL..... I luuuuurve my new camera & all of the tricks I have been learning from the internet on how to use it)













Home gym inspiration

Well my friends the time has quickly arrived for  the dream guy & I to head off on our little kid free getaway to the centre of Australia, Uluru

But I think when I get back i will be needing to hit the gym!
After shopping for a few new bits & pieces I have discovered I don't like what I see in the mirror at the moment, so a serious workout on a regular basis is whats in order!!!

A large wall of mirrors certainly helps to add a bit of light if you don't have a lot of windows, which is exactly the case for the space my gym will occupy in my dream house. It will be in what you would probably call the basement, so I think I will need to keep an eye out for some mirrors.....don't think the weight will  sneek on then, LOL!!!

On that note, we will be sitting down with our architect in about 2 weeks to get the ball rolling on some official house plans ....
YIPEE!!!

I will post some pics of my holiday as soon as I return.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

CHEERS
Trish xxx 



Advice needed for A trip to the red centre,

Later this month my dream guy & I are taking a 3 day KID FREE trip to Australia's red centre or as most Aussies would know it

AYERS ROCK

 also called by its traditional aboriginal name

 ULURU

Uluru is the largest monolith in the world standing 348metres above ground level & has a circumference of 9.4km . I have booked to climb it after watching the sunrise & the next day a base walk with sunset canapes & wine. I think that should be a spectacular sight.

We will be attending "The sounds of silence" dinner on the first night, which is basically dinner under the stars,  in the middle of the desert, sampling some traditional Aussie cuisine & a star talk....

sounds rather romantic!

We will also be doing 2 different treks at Kata Juta, which is also known as The Olga's.

Kata Juta is a series of 36 big round domes that rise up from the desert floor, the highest being over 500 metres tall.There a 2 different walks you can do, so we will experience one at sunrise with a lovely picnic breakfast & then after the second trek we get to watch the sunsetting over the Olga's, whilst sipping champagne, so glad my chatterbox children wont be there to talk me thru such serene moments!

There are so many tours you can do in the area,  as well as many other places to see, it was extremely hard to decide & now I am concerned I may be missing something fantastic by just choosing  only cover two destinations.I figured we might as well experince the most of the rock & the Olga's rather than only seeing half of each location. I am also trying to keep in mind we only have 3 nights there & we would like to relax a little as well.

I have dream't of travelling to Ayers Rock for what feels like a lifetime now, so this really is a dream come true. I can't wait to take photos out there with my new camera, thank goodness for sd cards, I can snap away as much as my little heart desires!!

There is a safari you can do to a place called Mount Connor which is situated within a large cattle station, you get to see some  salt lakes & all the flora & fauna that live amongst it, as well as experience sunset at Mt Connor & dinner at the homestead, I would have enjoyed this alot

OR

there is the Kings Canyon tour which is a 300km trip from the resort & then a spectacular 7km trek around the rim of the canyon with some pretty incredible views to reward you, after climbing 500 rocky steps at the start of the trek. This tour last 12hours, starting at 4am. The thought of being on a bus for 6-7 hours all up was a bit of a turn off,but you can have an overnight stay out there & do sevaral different walks, so perhaps that would be better as a whole other trip!

Mmmmm, so many choices & to top it off the dream guy says

 " you choose, its your trip, its just a rock to me"

he is NO help!!

Have you been to Ayers Rock & do you have any advice of whats good & whats not, all tips are greatly appreciated!
Check out the website if your keen to visit this incredible part of Australia, you can book everything right down to your air fares .

Ayers Rock Resort

Any way I am soooo excited, I can't wait to share with you all!!!

CHEERS

Trish xxx



Holidays

Well the school holidays are over & we are rested up & ready for another term of rushing around & trying to maintain some sort of routine.

I feel rather fortunate that none of my kids have chosen to play a winter sport , leaving our weekends free for rest relaxation or whatever we choose...YAY!!!

Through out the holidays we opted to stay home again & just enjoy the things on offer in our local area. I get the kids to write a list of the things they would like to do & we work our way through it!

We did a little fishing at the Hunter River, which is only about 2km from where we live

the kids love fishing & building a camp fire

we stayed here until after dark & had a bit of a picnic afternoon tea with my sister & brother in law

it was lovely weather & a nice way to relax.

My neighbor & I took the kids to The Hunter Valley Zoo. Its only a small zoo which is perfect for small children

 You can feed a lot of the animals & every hour there is some sort of educational display & the opportunity to pat some of the animals that are normally untouchable

We spent a bit of time working on our block of land.

The kids love to sit by the chiminea in the evening & have a bit of a picnic or do some drawing!

We baked cup cakes to celebrate my mums birthday

Maitland is packed with old historical buildings & the Hunter River runs through the centre of town, so they have created a really lovely river walk that is always fun to do.

(excuse my bad hair, it had rained on us a litle bit)

Its also a good path for riding scooters!

We trekked off to Hunter Valley Gardens for an afternoon out, with my brother, sister in law & 2yr old nephew

The story book garden is always a hit with the kids...

It really was a fun & relaxing holiday, my two older daughters spent the holidays in Bathurst with their father.  Dream child no.1 did a weeks work experience as a photo journalist at the Western Advocate Newspaper & loved every minute of it. This was a great opportunity for her & has helped her make a definite career decision. She will now apply to universities to study to be a photo journalist. I think this is the perfect career choice for her, she is very creative, a fabulous writer & loves photography, perhaps she will get lucky enough & become a travel writer, what better way could there be to see the world!

I hope everyone else had a FANTASTIC Easter  break!

CHEERS

Trish xxx



all photos are my own!

The Cane Curse

Hi everyone!

Ive been a little absent when it comes to posting on my blog of late!

We have had 2 weeks of school holidays to contend with & this doesn't leave a lot of, ME time, but we also decided last minute to head to the beautiful Port Stephens on the NSW coast for a quick get away!

It was a great 4 day break, the weather was fairly average but the kids didn't mind, they still paddled in the surf & swam for hours at the resort pool, as kids do!

Don't you just have to have a little giggle when your kids have their goggles on...he he he!

Now my dream guy isn't a fan of holidays, so we never go away & if we do, its only for 3-4 days MAX.

He just hasn't mastered the skill of relaxation!!

Now he likes to stay some where comfortable, so when we booked our last minute accomodation

( as we always do, I mean who plans a holiday in advance. Oh that's right, 90% of the population!!)

He was pleased to announce that we would be staying in a 2 bedroom self contained unit hat had been fully refurbished...sounds lovely!

Now don't get me wrong, it was clean & tidy, but more dated than refurbished.

We have a little history of EVERY WHERE we stay ALWAYS has an uncomfortable CANE lounge

& what do you know, there she was, in all her uncomfortable splendour,

Yes my friends we had once again been bitten by

THE CURSE OF THE CANE LOUNGE!!!

We certainly had to laugh when we saw it

Does this happen to you, are you holiday stalked by cane lounges?

We explored many beaches

 Did a lot of fun things, like building sand castles

We went on a 4wd tour along Stockton beach.

 Its a 32km long beach & covered with constantly moving sand dunes.

You can take a camel ride, but boy did they smell! 

Going up & down sand dunes, was heaps of fun...

We did sand boarding on the dunes, which is definitely something everyone should try, just be sure to keep your mouth shut, I was crunching on sand for hours after!

We then went on a dolphin watch cruise & saw a fair few dolphins frolicking, the highlight of the trip for my dream child No.3 was riding the boom net out the back of the boat.

It was a fabulous break for the 4 of us, my older two girls spent the week with old friends in the Blue Mountains & they also had a great holiday, it was kind of strange going away with out them, I felt like I had forgotten something.

I highly recommend Port Stephens as a great family holiday destination, with endless things to do for all ages. Restaurants & beautiful sights galore!