Left for Sydney about 2pm after haircut for the boys and lunch at Curtin. Did not stop and arrived not long after 3 hours. Uneventful drive. Hit a bit of Friday night traffic. Takeaway dumplings and ribs from Lynn Shanghai Cuisine. Fried rice missed from the order, so kids didn't eat much. Nicholas and Catherine were overexcited and didn't sleep until late.
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| From Winter School Holidays 2014 |
Sydney - Saturday, 12 Jul 2014
Up early. Went out for morning tea at a new place called The Dough Collective. Got the free coffee deal with $5 purchase. Had cream cheese ring, chocolate surprise pack and chocolate scones. Went next door to McDonald's for kids' milkshakes and Ryan's egg mcmuffin.
Walked slowly to Darling Quarter to meet up with the rest of our Sydney friends. Kids excitedly ran around and went on super slide. Ate lunch at Umi Sushi. Party of 14. Good food, but bad service. Phil missed out. They never brought out his order.
6 kids had a fun play at the usual playground and some managed to get very wet. Walked to San Churro at Darling Harbour. Catherine hadn't had a nap and had a big tantrum over not getting ice cream in a cone. She finally settled down when she got ice cream even though it was in a cup.
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| From Winter School Holidays 2014 |
Back at Ryan's, Themy and family and Mandy hung out for dinner. Takeaway food again, this time from Home (Thai). Delicious food but this time Nicholas didn't eat much. Watched mediocre fireworks at 8.30pm. Catherine fell asleep early at about 7pm and didn't miss much.
Cairns/Palm Cove - Sunday, 13 Jul 2014
Another early wake up call at 6.30am. Left Ryan's place after 7am. Parked the car and walked slowly to the terminal. Got a wheelchair from Virgin and check-in was quick. Small hiccup at security when I went through quickly and the rest of the family were slightly delayed. Boarded early and deplaned last. Kids and my knee did really well on the flight. Once at Cairns, we had to weave our way through the cattle. Lots of people lined up and walking in rows. Luggage was first out after a bit of a wait. Moments later, got into our silver Toyota Corolla hatchback for the week.
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| From Cairns |
Another wait at Oasis at Palm Cove. Eventually settled into our spacious two bedroom (really three bedrooms with one locked room) ground floor apartment with slightly dated furniture and decor. Phil left us to do a little exploring by himself and to buy groceries. Dinner at Palm Cove Tavern across the road where kids meals were only $3 each. Good value dinner and kids were entertained by the video games. Phil took Nicholas to the freezing hotel pool for a swim before bed time.
Palm Cove - Monday, 14 Jul 2014
Took our time to get ready in the morning. Drove to the farther end of Palm Cove Beach. Despite the wind and strong surf, we had fun hanging out and playing at the beach. Walked down to the playground where kids made a couple of friends. Back at the apartment for lunch on our balcony and stayed the rest of the day there. Read, watched The Princess and The Frog and swam. Cooked pasta and garlic bread for dinner. Played charades for the first time with the kids. When Catherine had a go, she surprised all of us with her public speaking skills. Addressing each of us with eye-contact and saying, "Good morning preschoolers... my pleasure!"
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| From Cairns |
Palm Cove/Kuranda - Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014
Phil and Nicholas went out after breakfast to pick up some things at the chemist. They came back with tennis racquets and balls in addition to their shopping. We had the tennis court for the next hour. Yes, I even got to play a little stationery tennis. Phil and I had a few good volleys. Lost a ball at the very end which cost us $10! Went to the pool next to cool off. It was a hot day.
Had our leftover pasta for lunch on the balcony before we drove to Kuranda. Nice scenic drive as we climbed up to the village. Catherine fell asleep and Nicholas was getting a bit grumpy from the drive. Walking around Kuranda was a challenge with my knee. Afternoon tea was at the Petit Cafe before we explored the Kuranda original markets. Phil and kids had a bit of a cultural experience when they checked out the local park across the road and encountered an indigenous group drinking and smoking. They were told it was a dead end.
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| From Cairns |
We then drove to Barron Falls lookout. It was a nice walk which I took slowly with Nicholas. Phil had to take Catherine to the toilet. They eventually caught up. I turned around at that point. Got an offer to catch a ride on a pram, which I didn't take so I was pretty tired after that. Still had time for a stop at the Kuranda Heritage Markets which were mostly closed. Managed to find postcards and a magnet.
Quick stop back at the apartment before we went into the local village for fish and chips at Pete's Place. We had takeaway and ate at the beach. A really enjoyable end to the day. Kids didn't want to leave. We bribed them with ice cream before bed.
Cairns - Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014
Pancakes for breakfast! Had fun eating them outside on our balcony. We were stuffed and ready to go out for the day. Headed to Cairns. Hot day reaching up to 29 degrees on the car outside temperature gauge. Stopped at Muddy's Playground first. Big outdoor space with lots of families around. Spent about a half hour there before Catherine got hungry and wanted morning tea at the cafe. They played a bit more afterwards. One mum lost one of her kids for a moment. He was found by the time we left.
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| From Cairns |
Drove to the lagoon on the esplanade. Lots of people sun baking and swimming in the pool. Spent nearly two hours there. Nicholas swam and did a few hand stands. Catherine paddled a bit but mostly played in the sand. Phil and I got to sit back and relax for a while. Late lunch at McDonald's. Saw a couple of helicopters land near our parking spot. Would love to go on a helicopter tour one day.
Made an impromptu stop at the Botanic Gardens on our way back to Palm Cove. It was a pleasant surprise. Enjoyed our short explore. Lush foliage and lots of interesting flowers. Bangers and mash for dinner back at the apartment.
Palm Cove - Thursday, 17 Jul 2014
A mostly quiet and relaxing day. Stayed at the apartment until the afternoon. Watched kid shows, ate, wrote postcards and read. After we had lunch and Catherine had her nap, we headed to the local beach. Kids had fun paddling in the water with Phil. Got brave and slowly walked to the edge of the water to get my feet wet while holding on to Phil. Water temp was 23 degrees again.
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| From Cairns |
Phil made a few quick stops at the post office for stamps and a look at an art gallery. He bought a couple of fish prints for the kids. Back at the apartment we watched Fantastic Mr. Fox and had chops for dinner.
Port Douglas/Palm Cove - Friday, 18 Jul 2014
Another excursion day. Went further north to Port Douglas. Scenic and windy drive. Passed sugar cane fields and drove along beautiful coastline. It was another sunny and warm day. Went up to Flagstaff Hill lookout overlooking Four Mile Beach and a posh house directly below. Kids had an apple break before we drove down to the beach. Popular beach and quite flat. I was able to walk along and put my feet in the water for a bit. Nicholas attempted body surfing when he and Catherine weren't paddling together. Had a fun time at the beach and ate a filling lunch at Beaches Cafe across the road.
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| From Cairns |
We drove out to another lovely spot at a playground at Anzac Park near the Marina where the kids had a quick play on the pirate ship. Then checked out the Reef Marina where most of the reef tours depart. Saw that the Wavedancer, the sailboat I went on nearly 18 years ago was still in service. We had an ice cream break before we headed back to Palm Cove.
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| From Cairns |
Nicholas insisted on another swim at the pool before dinner. Phil took the kids to the pool while I started organising and packing for tomorrow. Had dinner at a pizzeria, Il Forno. Popular place and the food did not disappoint. We shared a meatlovers pizza, caprese salad and garlic bread between us. Walked slowly to the Friday night markets afterwards. Didn't use my crutches so I was struggling. The kids and I bought bracelets and Phil got a calendar. Had yummy gelato on our walk back to the car. Late night for the kids.
Cairns/Sydney/Canberra - Saturday, 19 Jul 2014
Up early. Finished up most of our food supply at breakfast, packed up, washed dishes and took out the rubbish before checking out about 9.45am. Drove to Cairns airport, returned the car and checked-in for our flight. Once at the gate it was already 11.20am. Check-in was hopeless this time. A Virgin flight got cancelled so the service desk was busy taking care of those passengers. Then the check-in attendant insisted that I needed medical clearance which Phil already went through when he requested the wheelchair. So that all took longer than it should have. Still managed to get lunch before boarding. Flight crew didn't seem to care about me after all that fuss.
We were the last to collect our luggage at Sydney after waiting for everyone to deplane, stopping for toilet breaks and waiting for lifts. Walked back to the car park to get our car. Finally left Sydney about 4.15pm. After an hour dinner stop at Sutton Forest, we arrived home about 8.20pm. Long day!
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