Cold trip to Sydney

A very cold and wet winter visit down to Sydney to see my brother and his family.  Purpose was a Led Zeppelin tribute band.  Milly loves to come with me and I have to admit it's great to show her around the city and have her spend time with her cousin.  We always get the train and each time we do this she is more familiar with the city metro train system.  I imagine one day, she'll move to a big city.

She loves visiting all the old buildings.  On this trip I introduced her to The Stand Arcade and the Queen Victoria Building.  Plus no trip to Sydney is complete without visiting the harbour to see the bridge and Opera House.  Although the weather was foul.

It was just myself and my brother going to see the Led Zeppelin tribute band "No Quarter".   Milly instead got to spend time with her cousin and be treated to a lesson on nail art by Auntie Yin.

As for the band No Quarter, they sounded exceptional and very like Led Zeppelin.  A nice little trip, despite the cold and rain.

School photos

Year 11

 

Year 9

Year 7

2022 Junior Huckers

 

While we were packing our things to leave sunny Queensland, the kids sat down for their first game of Huckers together.  There was only time for one game but we hope it is the first of many.  

Watching them play it was clear someone of them had observed the adults and taken on some of our strategies and game habits.  It can be a cut throat game and it was nice to observe the kids keeping their emotions together when things became challenging for them.

In the end it was a close game between Casper and Milly, with Milly the final victor.

2022 Huckers Tournament

This was the Huckers tournament of the decade.  A tournament that spanned multiple days and set new levels of play.  One player even earned a new nickname.  It was a serious battle royale for the trophy and Grandad's ashes.

The Players:  Grandad Bryan, Tiffany, Corin, Michael.

Game 1:   Won by Michael (blue).

Game 2:  Won by Corin (red).  Due the the amount of knocking offs this was recorded as a long game.

It was already late in the night and all players were tired.  It was agreed play would be suspended and carried over to the following evening.

Game 3:  Won by Grandad Bryan (green).  This was a very tense game that lasted two hours.  During play a spectator was reaching across the table and smashed their wine glass, spilling their drink all over the table and Tiffany.  Play was put on hold to allow clean up and change of clothes.  Twice Tiffany was very close to winning.  Michael endlessly rolled numbers that enabled him to consistently knock out all players as they got close to home.  This earned him the nickname "The Terminator".  

Due to the lateness of play, it was again agreed the tournament would be suspended another day.

Game 4:  Won by Tiffany (blue).  Another incredibly intense game.  Corin only needed to roll a one to win the game and tournament.  Four turns of rolling and and he was not successful.  This allowed Tiffany to get her final piece home and roll for the win.

Game 5:  Won by Tiffany (green).  A brief and straightforward game for the tournament decider.  Tiffany only had one piece knocked off and managed to keep all her pieces together until the home run.

The winning board.

Hugging Grandad's ashes in celebration.

The traditional presentation of trophy from previous champ to current champ.

 

Sunshine Coast - Day 6

Our final morning was spent packing and saying goodbyes.  Corin and family had a mid-morning flight back to Sydney, and we needed to drive back to Brisbane for our plane.  The kids managed to fit in the inaugural Junior Huckers tournament (this will be a separate post) before going our separate ways.

As always we extend a massive thank you to our hosts Dad and Tracey who looked after us and put up with the noise and disruption to their new tranquil live in Queensland.

 

Sunshine Coast - Day 5

Just as there is no trip to Coffs Harbour without visiting the Big Banana, there can be no trip to the Sunshine Coast without a visit to the Big Pineapple.  The only difference is the Big Banana still operates as a tourist attraction, while the Big Pineapple does not.  Sadly, this Big Pineapple is hoping for redevelopment and the only thing to do here is have your photo taken next to... which is all we pretty much wanted to do anyway.

Next to the Big Pineapple is the Wildlife HQ Zoo.  This zoo was established when another zoo closed down and the animals needed to be rehomed.  While it is a small zoo it is set in a small rainforest and there is some exotic animals and Australian native animals as well.

No better way to end our last full day in the pool with another game of Marco Polo.

Sunshine Coast - Day 4

 

Hidden in the suburbs of Buderim is a beautiful rainforest and waterfall walk.  The walk itself is not that long, though some parts were tricky due to the recent rain.  You can hear the waterfalls as you make your way along the trail.  It was a gorgeous little adventure.  

There were a few families in the water and under the falls.  I got in up to my the top of my legs, but the water was cold and I'm a bit nervous about entering any water where I can't see the bottom, especially when it's rocky. 

Tracey had told us about an aqua park that might be fun for the kids.  My brother booked us all in for a late afternoon session as the day was quite warm and we didn't want to be under the sun during the middle of the day.  Unfortunately, by the afternoon it had turned overcast and drizzly.  When we were standing by the banks of the aqua park in our swimmers and life jackets, it started to rain and the wind picked up.... I immediately started wishing I was anywhere but about to get in the water.  

How wrong I was!  This turned out to be the most fun I've ever had at a water park.  I could not stop laughing at myself and my brother as we wobbled through the obstacle course, tumbled off the obstacles countless times, and tried our hardest to haul ourselves out of the water and back on the rafts.  Michael, Dad and Tracey were watching and cheering us on from the bar deck.  It was just was entertaining for them as it was us.  

We got home, showered and presented ourselves to the Buderim Tavern for dinner.  Great evening views across the Sunshine Coast but the food was pretty disappointing.  Nonetheless, we all went to bed early with smiles on our faces from an awesome day spent together.