Sunday, 14 April 2013

Visit from Grandma

Grandma came to visit this weekend.

It was a much anticipated visit and had been talked about for some time.

She came Friday afternoon in time for tea and had planned to stay for 5 nights.

Saturday came and we were all excited to show Grandma some of the amazing places that we had found while down here.

 
This is a river that flows through Mt William National Park. It is a popular place and one that we would like to take the kayak one day. After a short stop here we went on to Musselroe Bay.
 
It was a little overcast, but a beautiful day. The colours in the sky were amazing against the pristine water of the north east coast.
 
 
I love this one. It shows the amazing colours.


We had a quick visit here. Just long enough to collect a few shells, take a few photos, and sit and take it all in.

 
We headed back towards Gladstone, with a quick stop at a lookout situated in Mt William National Park.
 
By this stage we were going a little crazy from empty stomach syndrome.

 
Ahhh just what the doctor ordered... Some warm noodles, an apple and a banana. We were ready to go again.


We were almost at the wind farm when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I could tell it was an eagle... a BIG eagle.

He was being tormented by some crows. We were lucky enough to watch it for several minutes, before it flew away. Just look at those claws.... big enough to grasp a pine cone with ease.


We made it to the wind farm. Took a few photos......


The girls went a Little CRAZY!... thanks to their Mum.


What you can't see in these pics is Mariah standing beside me striking the same poses as the girls. She was encouraging them to play up for the camera.. here is a small sample of what we caught.




 WIGGLE THOSE BUMS GIRLS...
 
** Remember Mariah is demonstrating the pose!
There was a little bit more driving, an ice cream, and then a magnificent drive through rain forrests before reaching home and ending day 1.


Day 2... how could be ever top off day 1? Easy... go to the beach.

We first explored a new area as we thought there might be some nice rock pools for us to look through. We didn't find too many, but we did have a great adventure at Skeleton point.


 
 
Our personal guide awaited us.
 
 
Chester looked at me as if to say, " I'm not so sure about this guide!"
 
We let them race ahead to ensure that the path was safe, and that there were no Skeletons ahead.
 
 
They assured us that it was safe.
 



We had a great day playing on the rocks and watching the schools of fish swimming and feeding on bait fish. After a while it was time to go. Hanisi, Mummy and Chester ran ahead. While Grandma and Milly took their time to explore and investigate the abundant beauty.


Looking at moss growing on the rocks I think.

 
Grandma spotted a mushroom growing on the side of the path.

 

We made it back safe to the car and can report that we didn't find any skeletons at Skeleton Point.

The last stop for today was our favourite beach. It is a nice sheltered spot where we can drive on the beach, set up a little haven and play to our hearts content.


The water was so clear today. We were able to see fish of all sizes swimming around. We were even lucky to see a HUGE sting ray  swim in close to investigate all the toes in the water.



Wow... Hanisi is almost as tall as Grandma.


Chester LOVES the water. He gets so excited when he sees that we are going to the beach. He also gets so upset when we take him away from the water. He grunts with disgust that he is no longer allowed in the water.


This was the end of day two.... A little shorter than day 1. We had a lamb roast to cook for tea...


I asked Hanisi what score out of 10 would she give for the two days that we had spent with Grandma......


Thinking........

Making the decision........



A TEN!!!!



Yet another great weekend here on the beautiful East Coast. It was good that we could spend it with Grandma and share some amazing experiences with her.