More Australianisms

I keep being surprised that I'm still adding to these lists. I think many of them more often than I say them, but the kids have picked up a ton and don't even know it. School lingo I suppose. It's very cute.

hundreds & thousands (sprinkles)
snogging (kissing)
cheeky (usually about baby Summer; mischievous)
clever (smart)
texta (marker)
take-away (take-out)
overtake (pass a car)
tucker (meal)
tick (check off)
fabo (fabulous)
far out (amazing)
arvo (afternoon)
hire a car (rent a car)
Mackers (McDonalds)
bubblers (drinking fountains)
yanks (U.S. citizens)
servo (service station?)
petrol (gas)
runners (tennis shoes)
muck up (ruin)
muesli (granola)
ladybeetle (ladybug)
dummy (pacifier)
cot (crib)
bin (trash can)
drink bottle (waterbottle)
boots (cleats)
play/like/watch sport (never "sports")

Exoticness

Yes, I know it's not a word, but it should be. 

Australia isn't the first country that comes to mind when you think "foreign" so there haven't been all that many adjustments to make or funky new things to try. But I have noticed a heavy Asian influence in the produce aisles and just decided to go for it one day - throwing in my cart as many of the strangest looking things I could find. I figured I could tweak it into a good Family Night lesson on "don't judge a book by its cover" or something.

(I realize I could have done this same exercise at home in the States but there's something about being in a new country that makes you want to get out there and try stuff, you know?)

The kids thought it was all very exciting.

I laid them out with great fanfare. We talked about their outsides. Guessed about their insides. And learned that "the uglier outside, the sweeter inside" ain't always the truth. But "look for the treasure within" was the moral of the story and we had fun.

 mature coconut, durian, custard apple, 

passionfruit, papaya, figs, persimmon

FAVORITES

Mom: custard apple & persimmon

Kids: passionfruit & purple carrot

 Summer was the only one who enjoyed the durian. I'd had it before in Malaysia, but the smell crowded out the taste in my memory so I was curious to try it again. (Found its scent aptly described online as "sweaty gym socks" or "rotting flesh" so I was stoked to show the kids.) We were careful to crack it open outside and it did not disappoint! Memorably awful. Fruit tastes good, although its slightly ruined by the stringy custardy texture. I even left the covered dish of it out there overnight in the cold to avoid the stench. I'll admit I wasn't too disappointed two days later when I discovered some nocturnal animal had snagged the pricey feast - lucky for them 'cause there was no way they were getting through those painful spikes unaided.

young coconut
purple carrots
white radishes
quince
guava



Did you know how much variety there is in a coconut? I didn't. This is a drinking coconut ("Kulaway Nut" or "Thai Coconut") with thin, soft, custardy flesh you can eat with a spoon. Stick a straw right in, because it's full to the brim with that liquid gold "milk." Delectable.

tasty, but give you quite the "bloody mouth" look

When in doubt, I checked online to see how to open & eat them. Some required hammers, others required gloves. It was a kick. But now I'm officially addicted to raw, fresh coconut. I can NOT stop! I'm getting knife-wielding callouses from carving out those chunks of radiant, white goodness...

The Waiting Game

My husband just cut his hair with these. (Maybe I should post a hair pic, too...)

Seriously, it's getting pretty amusing what we're driven to make-do with as we await our long-lost household shipment. (Okay, we're not "roughing it" - they gave us a welcome kit with dishes, bedding, tools, etc. - but there are definitely some things we're anxious to be reunited with!)

I really only packed for two months so Summer's grown out of all her clothes and the rest of us must look pretty homeless rotating through the same few long sleeved options we have. A few things we probably woulda thrown in had we known our stuff would take 4 months to arrive:

stroller
high chair
bikes (or at the very least their razors)
winter clothes (left the Brumbies game at half time due to frozen extremities)
toys (honestly, 2 dolls and a box o' legos was okay for the first... month?)
more SHOES
more than 3 church outfits

Ahhh, The Simple Life!

It's actually been GREAT. I have to say, I'm sort of grateful for the real lesson I'm learning about the significant amount of time, energy and stress that simply the "maintenance" of a house full of belongings demands. Three months of empty closets, bare shelves and clutter-free space has lent itself to all sorts of free time, easy cleaning, and ample room for creative, imaginative play.

But while I've mostly loved having nothing to clean, hide, trip over or pick up... some days we just really want our stuff.

You know??

My four five year old says daily "Mom, where's my....oh yeah, it's in the shipment" as if every family is patiently awaiting theirs too.

We got word last week that at least it has finally docked in Sydney. I hear the customs/quarantine check takes about a month, but at least we know it hasn't disappeared at sea and there's light at the end of the tunnel!

(Now watch me eat my words and resent all the "stuff" we lugged over here when it finally arrives!)

Fraser Island

Since the moment Dare heard of this place, he knew we had to go. World's largest sand island, three hours north of Brisbane with gorgeously scenic World-Heritage sites accessible only by FWD vehicles, it seemed a perfect fit. We miraculously rolled up to the ferry with just seconds to spare (after a frantic grocery run/pit stop/gas up to avoid exorbitant island prices) and set off on our adventure!

Cap'n convinced her to quit dolphin look-out and come drive!

Lake McKenzie's crystal waters (made entirely of raindrops) won us over big-time. Fraser boasts half of the world's "perched lakes" which are above the water table with bedrock beneath a sandy bottom to keep the water from draining.

the fine white sand was much better than play-do

"The Dingo Ate My Baby"

It's not a joke, people! These signs were posted all over and we were briefed repeatedly not to be more than 5 meters away from our children (note the sign: "even small teenagers.") We were laughing about it until we flipped on the evening news to find a 3 yr old girl had been mauled an hour after we arrived. They are not kidding around. Australia's purest strain of dingoes are prevalent on the island with fencing to keep them out of the resorts and camping areas. They seem to be akin to our wolves or bears at home - beautiful and deadly.

Needless to say, the kids were appropriately cautious.

75 Mile Beach Highway - speed limit 80km

Eli Creek - crystal clear fresh water flowing into the ocean

world's cleanest lazy river

Darren earned a year's worth of "cool-Dad" points with this shenanigan. They really ran with it - driving into the surf and everything.  I don't think I breathed for 10 minutes.

Off the pier at Kingfisher Bay on the calmer side of the island.

We tried to take the Beach Highway up to the north end the first day but (wisely) turned around halfway to avoid the swiftly rising tide. Nothing like ruining your vacation by getting stranded on the beach when you could've been snuggled up in your warm lodgings. The prudence paid off though and the kids enjoyed spending our evenings swimming at the resort pools.

I snuck out to enjoy a 6am guided bird walk - saw about 15 of the 350 varietie

northern part of the island - Indian Head juts out in the distance

The famous Champagne Pools are further north but totally worth the drive to bathe in this collection of slightly warmed, bubbly rock pools replenished by the ocean waves. (Used to be used as a natural fishing trap.) The pictures just don't do it justice - it was breathtaking!

In fact, the fam sorta had to drag me out of them at the end there. Sorry, guys.

Stopped for gas at an aged pump and couldn't help being awestruck at the ultimate simple life of the handful of folks who actually live on Fraser.

Dad enjoyed giving Mom heart attacks by risking our very lives over and over.

The 10 minutes our car was waterlogged from the surf and subsequently wouldn't start, I had the headlines screaming through my head...

"Family of Six Carried Out To Sea - 

Reckless Father to Blame"

Stonetool Sandblow, one of 100's where the wind-swept sand overtakes everything in its path

Can you tell Utah's red rocks have spoilt us - catching a pic of The Cathedrals as we speed by?

still unsure how these wormy markings occur

Lake Wabby - gradually being overtaken by Hammerstone Sandblow, DEEP, crystal fresh waters

Fraser Island really is an off-roading paradise. Hours on hours of rough, sometimes dangerous tracks - we had to throw some wood planks down at a couple spots and the kids were bounced into silence on long traverses across the island.

Apparently, I was a bit too stressed in the moment to photograph the most advance tracks, deeper streams and awesome muddy runs, but it was a blast.

beautiful, twisty trees lent an other-worldly character to the sandy tracks

The vegetation is so thick that there aren't a ton of turn-offs from the beach highway. Avoiding that darn tide got us creative at making our way across to the calm side each afternoon. We happened upon the beautiful Urang Creek at a wrong turn and were rewarded with huge fish jumping out of the water every 30 seconds. It was incredible. Later research proved this was prime estuarine 'gator territory so we were glad to escape with all body parts in tact (minus a pint of my blood to 100 sand flies that only liked my sweet flesh, of course.)

Central Station was a gorgeous, wet wonderland with tons of rainforest walks among leafy, viney, enormous trees amazingly growing right out of the sand. Originally the site of the first buildings on the island which was an early logging settlement.

This pic to the left, despite looking like a messy, frond-strewn path, is actually the crystal clear Wanggoolba Creek - you're seeing straight through it. The white sandy bottom made the water run completely smooth.

Such a strange and silent stream - it was mesmerizing.

 Three days and we still didn't get to see everything we wanted to. What a place! Can't say I've been anywhere like it, with such a variety of one of a kind, natural beauties to boast of.

I was impressed with how well preserved and cared for it obviously is. We had to maneuver from out behind a "track closed - too rough" sign posted at the end of a particularly hairy stretch, but otherwise, it seemed so well looked after as to almost be untouched. Like you were discovering these areas for the first time on your own.

One last spot and a photographer's dream: The Maheno. (Too bad it was just me and my point'n'shoot.) The only visible ship wreck on Fraser - you're given an impressive lesson on the crushing powers of the elements. Abandoned on 75-Mile Beach in 1935 after its tow line broke in a cyclone as it was being dragged up to Japan for parts. After unsuccessful attempts at launching it again, all they could do was leave it where it lay. Once a well-known trans-atlantic liner, each year it sinks deeper in the sand, slowly obliterated by wind, rain and crashing waves. Kids thought it was brilliant.

this portion of coast was technically too rough for swimming, but...

All in all a FANTASTIC trip!