Author: judedent

Mum asked me what I’d like for Christmas…..tickets for the Glow worm caves in Te Anau please!! After a boat trip across the lake & a chat about the rare, flightless & frankly stupid Takahe birds who live there (most of them have died because they go out for a walk & fall off of the cliffs!!) we went into the caves.

All we could hear was the raging torrent of water coming through the caves, which freaked me out & was slightly more scary than Wookey Hole! After walking further through the caves, we got into a little boat. It was pitch dark but thankfully the water was calm & we saw loads of beautiful glow worms lighting up the cave roof.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to take photos there but if you Google it, you’ll see just how stunning it was! Thanks Mum & Dad!!

A couple of other special encounters on our travels have been meeting up with our cousins Julian, Lynfa & Nick. Why is it that it takes a trip to the other side of the world to meet up with family who only live an hour or so away from home?!!!

We loved Wanaka & the weird #thatwanakatree!

I’ve also added a couple of photos of our palace on wheels, so you can picture where we are living it up!!

Arriving at our brand new airbnb house after an overnight flight was definitely a welcome sight for tired and sore eyes! We’re only the 3rd people to stay here and everything is new – it’s like staying in a 5* hotel!

Today (Sunday 18th) we went to the Antarctic Centre and rode on a Hagglund (v bumpy!), experienced an antarctic storm (v chilly!) and saw Little Blue penguins (v cute!)

Then we headed back into Christchurch, which feels just like Oxford and visited the 158 white chairs, a memorial to those people who died in the 2011 earthquake. We were invited to choose a chair that “spoke to us” and you can see our choices below.

We then went to see the ruins of the original cathedral and went into the Cardboard Cathedral, which is very impressive and yes, it is made of a lot of cardboard!

There’s apparently a tropical cyclone on it’s way, so we can’t wait to pick up our campervan……..

Apologies for going quiet on you for a week or so but the WiFi in deepest Western Australia is not the best!

After driving on the straightest, emptiest roads we have ever been on, having lizards, goats, cows, kangaroos, emus and pigs crossing the road, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn (good photo opportunity for school!) and even resorting to listening to some of Simon’s Alan Partridge to relieve the boredom, we arrived in the oasis better known as Coral Bay! It didn’t disappoint!

It was simply paradise! The sea was as warm as bathwater and really shallow in the bits that look turquoise on the photos, but where the sea looks a darker shade of blue, is where the coral starts! So you could easily snorkel and see the most stunning and colourful corals and fish just from the beach!

There were loads of little, blue spotted rays swimming in the shallows and they were very inquisitive, coming up really close to you! We went on a glass bottom boat trip to snorkel a little further out & saw even more amazing corals and fish and even got to swim with turtles!!! The large coral you can see is called a mushroom coral and is over 2000 years old!!

We chickened out of swimming with the manta rays this time but then maybe that’ll give us an excuse to come back, and swim with the whale sharks too?!!

Where to begin……??!!!

Australia Day? The kids embraced the spirit, as you can see………. Simon dressed up, I went shopping……..!!!! But we did have a BBQ!!!

Rainforests? We went up to Tamborine Mountain & walked on a skywalk above the rainforest. It felt like being on the set of I’m A Celebrity! And the cicadas were deafening!

Beaches? Here are just a couple of the stunning ones we saw.

But, most importantly, the trip was all about seeing Kay, Ed, Dan & Paddy. What a kind, loving, laid back and huge-hearted family of friends we have! We never thought that we would be able to come over to Australia to see them and we had the most unforgettable time with them that we will all treasure forever. Just beautiful xxxxx

Now, some of you may be aware of my slight obsession with the fabulous Ozzie soap Home & Away, which is filmed in Palm Beach?! So, how excited was I as we drove there this morning, hoping that they would be filming & that I would get to hear a “Flamin’ Gallah” from Alf or be called”Dall” by Irene……..

Sadly, it was not to be today (their loss, I know!!) But it didn’t stop me from dragging the kids up to the lighthouse to enjoy the stunning (if rather blustery!) views & buy some ice creams from the Bait Shop. Hope some of you recognise a few of these scenes from the show? 

We’ve arrived at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains now, so expect some amazing photos from the kids tomorrow!! Jude x

It’s my turn to write again! So I thought you might like to see what some of the houses look like in the ghetto that we are staying in! 

We went for what we thought was going to be a quiet early morning walk along the beach today……..at 7am it was heaving with people doing all sorts of exercise & the cafés (which open at 6am!) were packed!! 

The sun finally came out today, we’re all a little pink but loving the surfing lifestyle – Simon has even bought some flip flops!!!

We’re not missing the cold in Bath yet!! 

Jude xx

After a few fond farewells! See you all in 6 months 😘