Noosa

 Blog 3 of 5…

We had the amazing opportunity to visit Noosa in Queensland for 3 days. This was hands down my favorite place so far in Australia and I would go back in a heartbeat! Noosa has amazing white sand beaches surrounded by a bay with warm ocean water. We had fantastic weather while we were there and loved every minute of it!

We stayed at Noosa Rainforest B&B that we found through www.airbnb.com.au. We got great rates and it was in a perfect location just a few minutes’ walk to the beach and to Noosa National Park. It was a 20 min walk into the main part of town. The hosts were so friendly and provided us with a delicious breakfast every morning.

On our first day we went on a very long day trip (13hr) to see the world heritage listed site of Fraser Island. We did the tour through www.viator.com.au. We traveled with Fraser Island Discoveries and had a great tour guide. Fraser Island is completely made of sand with a unique fungi component that allows vegetation to grow on it. Fraser Island is 125km in length and contains several lakes that are insulated with tea tree leaves and allows it to contain fresh water. This comes in handy since you can’t swim in the ocean because of all of the sharks and jelly fish! It was a very bumpy drive as the whole drive out to Fraser and around it is on sand. We really enjoyed the trip and understand why it is so unique to Australia.

The Drive out to and on Fraser Island

Lake Mackenzie (The Tea Tree Lake that left our hair and skin so soft!)

We decided to spend our second morning exploring the Noosa National Park. We did a few of the amazing walking trails and saw several of the amazing beaches. We stopped by the infamous “nudie” beach but since there was only an overweight old man there we decided to keep on hiking. On our way back through the Eucalyptus forest we saw our first Aussie snake. Lucky me I looked over right beside me to see this brown snake slithering up an embankment away from me, I promptly gasped and ran away quickly. I told Neal that I saw a snake and of course Neal was like “oh cool where did it go?” and he went trying to go see it! He responded with “Oh Laura it’s just a little brown Gardner snake.” Later on we described the snake to a local to which we were told that it was actually an Australian Brown Snake that is venomous and you should actually stay away from it. (Therefore… I told you so Neal!)

We spent to rest of our time in Noosa enjoying the great food and getting some sun on the amazing beaches!

Thanks Noosa, we miss you already!!

xoxo

Laura & Neal

Christmas in Sydney

Blog 2 of 5...

Since we got to share the holidays with Neal’s parents Arlene and Brad; we all headed to Sydney to celebrate Christmas with their family (Arlene’s Brother) Grant, Jamie and Aiden. We had some fun filled trips to the Taronga Zoo, Blue Mountains and seeing the Christmas sights around Sydney and had an amazing Christmas Day Feast.

We also got to have a lovely dinner with my cousin Caroline, her husband Graham and their son Tom. I got to meet my Grandpa Cooke’s brother Robert who is a sweet man that we really enjoyed getting to know. Thanks again for having us!

Sydney weather did not cooperate yet again and it poured rain all of Christmas day. I was a bit disappointed since all the Aussie’s like to brag that they get to go to the beach on Christmas Day. For the second year in a row Christmas day was definitely NOT beach weather!! Oh well, there could be worse things to complain about…

Thanks again to the Le Helleco’s for welcoming us into their home and sharing another wonderful Christmas with us.

xoxo

Laura & Neal

The views of Sydney from Taronga Zoo are spectacular!! To get there you can take a ferry from Circular Quay that takes you right past the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.

We got to see some of the famous Aussie Animals that Aiden quizzed us on throughout the day. Below are some of them. The Tasmanian Devil, Quokkas, Blue Penguins, Echidnas & The Huntsman Spider. I even made it through the spider exhibit and the snake house!!

Great Cousins Day Out! Thanks Aiden!

Jamie took Neal and I out with Aiden to see the Blue Mountains. They have this name because in the heat the Eucalyptus lets of fumes that make the mountains look blue. We did a walk out to the "Three Sisters;" it was fitting to see the Australian Equivalent of the mountain we got married in front of in Canmore, Alberta.

Our Delicious Christmas Day Feast. We had French Toast in the morning and a Seafood Lunch. As you can see below Jamie knocked this out of the park, Amazing!! Thanks Jamie!
Despite the weather Neal, Brad and Aiden were determined to get to swim on Christmas Day. They didn't last too long in to pool after this photo was taken!
Aiden got Light Savers for Christmas and naturally Neal was all over taking part in an epic battle... The force was not with him and Aiden won!
In the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, they had a 3-storey Swarovski Christmas Tree. It was stunning!

Finally getting to meet Robert Cooke (Grandpa Cecil's brother) with Tom (my second cousin).

Caroline, Tom, Robert and I. The Cooke Clan! Thanks for the lovely dinner Caroline and Graham!

A Shananigan Christmas

Hello Everyone!

We hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and happy 2014! What and incredible year it has been and we are very much looking forward to seeing what adventures lie in store for us this year!

This is Blog 1 of 5 by the way so stay tuned...

Neal’s parents Brad and Arlene returned to Melbourne following their adventures in New Zealand, Sydney, Barossa Valley, Adelaide and the Great Ocean Road. Needless to say we took it easy for their first few days and allowed them to recuperate. We got to show them the highlights and what we feel are the best parts of Melbourne. They did their own trip to Philip Island to see those adorable little blue penguins and saw the Great Ocean Road on their way back from Adelaide. We had a wonderful trip with them over the week and a half and even got to enjoy an early Christmas dinner.

Thank you Brad and Arlene for your wonderful taste in wine that you couldn't finish before you left. We think of you often! 

A trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Yarra River

The Infamous Hoiser Lane off Flinders Street that has all of the impressive Melbourne Street Art.

The Mornington Peninsula where we visited Mont Alto (and had a delicious lunch), Paringa Estate, Red Hill Winery and the beach houses of Mornington Beach.

The Yarra Valley where we had incredible cheese at Yarra Valley Dairy (yum!), We visited Coombe Farm, Yerring Station and Innocent Bystander/ Giant Steps Winery. We definitely stocked up on some amazing wines on those trips!

Our early Christmas Dinner!

Blog 2 of 5 will follow shortly about our Christmas in Sydney!

xoxo 

Laura & Neal