The weekend in Australia

 Hi,

Our flight on Friday went so well. Love this 4pm flight time compared to the 6am one. Hahah. Even saw Jen from our old work there boarding the same flight. They were off to support the Warriors in Brisbane. With a lot of others!

Smudge struts

Moxley loafs

Wellington airport very civilised time

Janine was on a flight an hour behind ours. So we saw her briefly too. We got called up on the tannoy and it turns out our decision (ok, mine) to only use the flight app was wrong as they did not have our passport numbers at the gate. Given it was in the app and we came through customs, it was odd. But not surprising. IT systems.

Lesson - always get a paper ticket.

Lovely view of the top of the southern motu as we left. But before long we were flying into dusk and then sunset. And it was dark by the time we leanded at 1800 local time in Brisbane.

Hello to the Marlborough Sounds

Got our Avis car easily and ate some food at Coffee Culture at the airport before heading north to Peregian Springs. We got there about 2030 I guess. And it was so good to see my parents. My mother is so well. Standing upright. And so mobile. Made me so happy.

And... I was not long out of bed. Hahah. Slept well. Up really early Saturday to do parkrun behind Noosaville. They start at 7am here to avoid the heat. We got there at about 6.50am and started the beautiful park run track. It is all paved and in bush. And slightly undulating. I was exhausted and a bit slow. 36 mins. But Mike did a second lap and did okay.

Following a Woolworths delivery - we're in Aus now

Park run apprehension

Lovely morning - just super early at 7am!

Post parkrun haze of sweat

After brekkie at home we drove to Aussie World to meet two lots of people. Brent and his boys (Jack, 14, and Harry, 12) and Steph, Jason and their children. We ate at Banana Bender  with everyone. A bit chaotic and I hardly got to speak to Brent. But he caught up with Mike. I chatted to Stephanie and found out about her work. Some medical marketing job - seems perfect for her for now.

Brent headed back to Brisbane and Mike went off to do messages and Mum and I went to Aussie World with Steph, Jason and the kids. It was such fun.

Wee Riley and an evil kangaroo behind us - on a surfboard

Aussie World

Me and Riley have fun

Riley kept calling me "Grandma" which was a bit funny. I didn't realise for ages. And then I said I am actually Great Aunt Angela. Bit of a mouthful. Riley said: Okay, Grandma.

Mum and Peyton

Steph, Imogen and Lincoln behind us

This looked terrifying

Lincoln's cup of tea

Okay - this was the worst

Ice cream time - Lincoln

Riley

Peyton

Imogen

We explored a lot of the park.  I have only been here with Toby. Hahah. It was fun to see the kids so happy on all the rides.

Lincoln didn't like anything - the train the and teacup was about it. But he is only 3. And such a cutie - and so smart. Like - genius level. Teaching himself the Cyrillic alphabet. And how to count to 10 in different languages.

After the day, we all drove back to Peregian Springs and we fed them. But they wanted to get to their motel and left fairly quickly after that.

Sunday saw us sleep in a bit more. Mike is still on NZ time, really. We did a wee run together (I did 3k) before Mike did 13k. That's his prep for the half marathon done. Some taper runs with me to come, that's it.

Orchid for Mothers Day looks beautiful

Cinnabon for Toby

We went to Sunshine Plaza to get jeans for Mike. Just Jeans staff were very good at their customer service. They spent 20 minutes looking for jeans that fit Mike's weird body shape - his legs are longer than his waist is round. One shop assistant couldn't believe he was shaped like that until he actually put some jeans on. "Oh - you really are all legs aren't you" she said. 

Picked up Dad when he was done and back home for a quick tea and a visit from a baby magpie. Or maybe a butcher bird. Mum said it has hung around since it was born. 

Is this a baby magpie? Or a butcher bird?

Off to bed after watching Barbie - still not a great movie in my opinion but Mike weirdly likes it. 

And now up for work.

Home made iced latte

Disconcerting to see my pic as I work

Have a great day! Thank you for looking after the cats, Sally and Ange. Lovely weather here. Highs of 23C. Cold in Wellington I see. Mike has just asked Alexa to run the heatpump tonight for the cats.

Take care,

Love,

Angela

The week visiting my parents in Sunshine Coast

Hi,

What a fabulous week in Queensland.  So glad I went.  Good to see my parents and nieces and nephew too.

Toby and Tessa's flight was supposed to leave WLG at the same time as mine - 0615.  But my plane sat at the gate for 30 mins and theirs left on time.  So they were waiting outside customs when I got there.  We had brekkie there (which was so slow!) and got the little Peugeot 308 and headed out of Brisbane.  Picked up Krispie Kreme donuts at Nudgee services - as usual.

Arrived at Peregian Springs the day after Michael got there.  Tyler and Abby got in a few hours after us into Sunshine Coast airport around 1750.  Dad collected them on the way home from work.

Next day was a pool day!  So good!

Swimming with Tyler

Even the eggs sweat

Mum got us into a pantomime - Sleeping Beauty.  It was actually good fun.  The wee arts centre did so well.  Weyba Road - go there and see something if you are in Noosa.

Pantomime time!

Toby ready for inflatable world fun

Dad and I took the kids to the inflatable world place.  They all loved it.

They enter the park!

While I have a very nice iced latte

We also went to karaoke at Strike in Maroochydore.  Woot!  Such fun!  Everyone loved it.

Huge fun!

Dad cooked a lot of dinners for us all - and we all ate in the outdoor enclosed area (which was actually my bedroom).

Typical dinner

Iced latte time - Tyler has her iced Americano.  Abby - iced choccie.

Tessa and I have similar drinks

Should I get these?

Abby and I got out for a run or two.  Which was hard work.  So hot and humid.

Running with Abby was hard work in that humidity

We got to visit the beach a lot.  Peregian Beach had a lot of jellyfish that Abby did not enjoy.  She watched some kid pick one up from the sand and throw it back into the sea with his bare hands.  And that still didn't convince her to swim with them.  Tyler asked the lifeguard and he said they hardly hurt at all.

Hmmmm.

Noosa Beach had almost no jellyfish.  Sea lice though.  But I know now to keep moving spots in the water and they don't settle on you and sting you.

Lots of beach fun!

Good iced latte at Acai Bros.

Iced latte - somewhere.  :-)  I think it was our lunch place below.

Yep - iced latte at the lunch place by the marina

Acai Bros iced lattes are good!

Control yourselves.  Beach feet!

Tyler and I discovered Acai Bros at Noosa Heads - their iced latte was so so good.  The bowls were tasty - but so sweet.

Dad did an Escape Room with all the kids and by all accounts they loved it.  Certainly got them all talking.

Mum was so sore after the first few days of crazy activities.  It's a shame for her.  She needs new joints!  Hips.  Knees.  Then she'd be back chasing us easily.  I hope she recovers quickly from the onslaught.  Thinking about her lots.

So happy I went with everyone.  Tessa and Tyler got along like a house on fire.  Michael was quiet with everyone, but when it was just the cousins he sparked up.  Shona said he rated the holiday 11/10.  I agree with him.

Dad got a new computer (laptop) from his work for their house.  And we got them Alexa!  Mum was so pleased and now she has someone to chat to all day when Dad is at work.  :-p

Saturday morning saw me driving Toby and Tessa to Brisbane for their 8.45am flight (had to be there by 6.45am).  I was back home by 7.15am.  Went with Dad to see Michael onto his 10am flight from Sunshine Coast.

Sunday saw Tyler and Abby to Sunshine Coast for their 1345 flight home.  And me driving back to Brisbane for my 1715 flight.

Tired today at work after getting in after midnight with 2 other full plane loads from Aus.  Mike picked me up and I went straight to bed.  Up at 6.30 and into work to find I left my PC at home.

Oh dear.

Hahah.

Thank you to everyone for such a lovely holiday.

Love,
Angela

The time I went to the Sunshine Coast

Hi,

Ok - it is so hard writing this after 3.5 hours sleep.  I hope to get through my unread emails without too much effort and wrestle my workload back under control without a heck of a lot of cerebral power.

The trip to Queensland was such fun - and when I think at this time yesterday I was paddling in the sea at Surfers Paradise in my t-shirt and shorts, it is rather difficult to get my head around.

Anyway, I got an Uber to the airport for my 5am check-in without any bother.  Sat and waited for my flight.  The weather was stunning as we left Wellington, and I saw Ruapehu and Taranaki like huge lumps in the landscape. Watched a movie on the Virgin app and dosed a bit.  Landed, hurtled through customs (don't queue for the first machines - walk through to the main customs hall - plenty of machines there) and tried to ring for a pick up for Apex but the phone kept hanging up.  Anyway, a van came.  I jumped on.

Turns out I was super early.  It's much easier going through customs with no checked luggage or a child.  Or any duty free purchases (well, I did get some cream for Mum!).

Mt Ruapehu from my flight to Brisbane

Picked up a Holden Astra from Apex on Nudgee Road and jumped onto the motorway north.  I plugged the phone in and sang non-stop.  Ummm.  I stupidly took the Caloundra exit again (I have done this before) and added about 20 mins to my journey as I searched for the Sunshine Motorway again.

Note:  never take the Caloundra exit.  Even if the signs suddenly no longer show the Sunshine Coast as an option.  It really is an option.  Just a little further up the motorway.

Got to my parents place around 11am and chilled with my Mum for a while.  I may have fallen asleep on the floor a bit.  Hahahah.  Dad got home from work and we had tea out at a Thai place in Peregian Beach (or maybe it was Coolum) before I finally collapsed into bed.

Up early (5am) and away in the car by 6am for my drive into Brisbane.  I couldn't get the GPS on my phone to call out the directions, so I winged it, getting to within 500m of the Transit Centre carpark before I had to pull over and check the map.  Oosshh!  Parked in the carpark there, and walked over the pedestrian bridge to Southbank.  Had such a lovely walk to Nonna's Deli Espresso where I met Susan for breakfast.

Brisbane

Nepalese temple

Iced coffee with Susan @ Southbank - Nonnas Deli Espresso

 I was so happy to catch up with Susan.  It quite possibly might have been 2010 the last time we actually caught up.  When she lived in New Farm (or somewhere there - and Mike got blisters from walking on hot pavements with his barefeet before he ducked into a chemist and bought emergency jandals).

Susan is now a high school teacher, and I reckon her students must be some of the luckiest students in the country.  We chatted about our family and work and general life stuff for a few hours.  The food and iced coffee was so good too.  Great choice, Susan!

Susan then walked back with me to the city.  We said goodbye and I hope we see each other much more regularly.  I got back to the Transit Centre 10 mins before Jo was due on the Greyhound bus from Sydney.  16 hours on a bus!  Overnight.  OMG.  I feel a bit sick just thinking about it again.  Her bus got in at 11am (delayed due to traffic) and it was so good to see her step through the doors from the parking bay.

Selfie with Susan!

My feet arrive in Peregian Springs

Jo and I retraced my steps (so to speak) in the car back to Peregian Springs - although this time I didn't get lost on the motorway.  Phew!  We went for a swim in the pool in the late afternoon.  Nice.  I did miss Toby (and Tyler and Abby) at this point.

We went to Coolum for dinner with Jo.  Some family pub place.  It was ok - I had some baked avocado stuffed with blue cheese.  But the cheese was too strong for the avo flavour.  Sadly.  Vanilla ice cream for dessert though.  Mmmm.

And my feet get wet in the pool

Next morning we wandered down to Noosa marina (in Tewantin) and ate brunch there before jumping on the ferry to Noosa and Hastings St.  Mum and Dad checked out the surf club while Jo and I chilled on the beach.

Iced coffee at the Noosa Marina cafe

Jo - bored.

My feet @ Noosa's beach

Jo checks out the beach scene

Ma and Dad on the Noosa ferry

Jo wasn't feeling very well, so we didn't do a lot.  While we chilled at the beach, I went to find a pharmacy to get some medicine to help with her nausea.  But it didn't really help an awful lot.  It meant eating wasn't a lot of fun, and then Jo had no energy because she wasn't eating.  Poor Jo.

Dad and I got caught in a massive thunderstorm when we got back and decided we needed some groceries for tea.  When we came out of the supermarket, it was hosing down.  I ran to the car and got soaked.  Dad was soaked just trying to get into the car when I pulled up to the under cover section.  A small taste of the mad weather they have had recently.

I married a male model!  Yes - this is a random photo.  Mum has it on her sideboard.

We watched a movie at home in the evening.  Darkest Hour.  About Churchill.  Excellent movie.  Next day we had a lazy start and then drove up into the hinterland behind Sunshine Coast to visit Montville.  Very nice part of the world.  Tried a cafe.  Cute wee shops.  Hilly, even.

Iced coffee in Montville

My mother was checking out my hair - so she took a pic!

After making my mother traipse around hills, she decided against joining us in Surfers Paradise.  Too much strain on her joints.  I was sad.  She was sad.  But, actually, it was totally for the best.  She has a holiday soon, and needs to be as well as she can be to enjoy that.

In the end, Jo and I left Peregian Springs at around 8.45am and drove down through Brisbane to Wet n Wild and spent the day there.  What a hoot!  We loved it.  I loved the wave pool.  And the funnel ride.  And the other rides were great too.  Not much of a queue.  The weather was nice and hot.  Not a lot of drinking fountains.  We hired a locker for our gear and had to pad around the place in barefeet a lot.  I have blisters now from the hot, rough footpaths.  Should have worn jandals.  Should have taken jandals to Queensland.

Had fun here!

Ibis - for Toby.  And some rubbish.  And my rental car.  

Left Wet n Wild at about 4.30pm and headed into Surfers.  Navigated mostly to our hotel.  Watermark.  Or, depending on where you are at night when you read the sign:  WAT MARK.  Or: WATE ARK.   Or:  WATER RK.  Turns out at night they light up the sign, but there is a massive part of the building obscuring the sign.   Weird.

We parked and walked back to find the hotel, checked in, and then drove back.  Deposited our bags in the room and went to find something to eat near Cavill Ave.  Checked out the moon above the sea on the beach.  Ate an awesome "Viking salad".  All salads should be fit for Vikings!

Jo checks out another beach.  Surfers Paradise this time.

I cannot do a proper selfie.

Lazy start to Wednesday morning.  Found brekkie at Coffee Paradox - which paradoxically was next to the Transit centre where we actually needed to take Jo and her luggage.  So, after a lovely smashed avo on toast, we wandered back to the hotel and drove back to drop Jo off.  Said goodbye to my lovely friend.  Not sure when we'll see each other again, but I am convinced she is positioning herself for the next exciting chapter in her life. 

Iced coffee @ Coffee Paradox in Surfers

I want to go for a swim!

I drove back to Brisbane airport (GPS said 1 hour 6mins - and it wasn't far off it).  Found a small petrol station on Nudgee Road about 3kms from Apex.  Perfect!  As I pulled into Apex, the shuttle bus came.

It was smooth sailing through to my gate.  Waited around, reading.  Then boarded.  Easy flight back and a surprise collection by Mike from the airport.  I thought I had to Uber.  My plane touched down at 12.20am and I was hugging Mike at 12.36am.  How fast was that?  Benefit of no luggage and nothing to declare.

Woot!  Awesome time away.  So good to see Ma and Dad.  Good to see Jo on her travels before she leaves the southern hemisphere.  Lovely weather.  Not enough sea swimming - but hopefully next time won't be just after mad weather that churned up the sea!

Thank you.  I loved it.  Thank you to Mike and Toby for letting me run away (briefly).

Love,
Angela