CITY 2 SURF....World's Largest Fun Run!!!

CITY2SURF

We took a bus full of kids and hit Sydney for the City2Surf Fun Run... iti s a 14km run from Sydney CBD to Bondi Beach. We left early Saturday afternoon and got into downtown Sydney around 7pm. It was awesome to be able to take our country kids to the big city; we even had one student who had never been there before! It was a great and sometimes hilarious experience as our kids navigated Sydney's CBD, the 85 000 people at the race and all the other City things we don't have in Cooma :) 


The race itself was AMAZING! I am sooo glad we were able to partake in it. We got to the starting point for our group about 45mins early and just took it all in. Many busy streets we have previously walked in Sydney were shut down and there was wall to wall people everywhere. When we actually started the race it takes about 2-3 kms before you actually run consistently as you have manoeuvre around all the people. In the first few kilometres I ran past Elmo, Big Bird, about ten bands, and countless other people lined up cheering and singing. This continued for the whole race; it really makes the time fly by! There was even a residential area near the end and little kids lined the sides of the road with homemade cookies and other treats for runners. Adidas sponsored some amazing big screens along the way with music and messages from famous athletes. There were LOTS of people dressed up and running which was AWESOME! The sights along the run are not to be missed either, you get to run along the edge of a marina with beautiful sail boats, at the top of one of the hills you can look out and see the Sydney Bridge, and the last leg of the race brings you into beautiful Bondi Beach. It was insane; a totally incredible experience! 

All ready to go! 

Silly.

Look at the mass of people... NUTS!

85, 000 people leave behind a lot of cups...

I found some SMURFS! About 30 of them!! 

Hello Sydney Bridge :) 

Adam killed it with a time of 79 minutes. I took a bit longer and came in at 108 minutes; if someone had said to me five years ago I would be able to take my lil back on a 14km run I would have thought they were nuts which made being able to do it here even more special. 

After we finished the race we got all the kids and waited for a bus and train back to the hostel to shower before heading home. It took us two hours to navigate the people and the transportation and get back to the hostel. We got some food and hit the road! It was a long 4 hour drive back after running that far but we made it.. with a few stops and driver changes and a lot of water and treats! 

GORGEOUS SUNSHINE... Winter Holidays PART 2

Day Eight: I HUGGED A KOALA! 
AND I jumped up and down like a little kid. I also almost cried. Then I talked about it all day. And then I made Adam take me back to the Koala petting area two more times after to visit them again. Ooops. This was also after I spent half an hour watching baby wombats. I have a problem. 

I digress... 

So after we left Brisbane we hit the Australia Zoo. This is the Zoo owned by the Irwin family; it was originally a Reptile Park owned by Steve Irwin's Mom and Dad. He married Terri Irwin and the park grew into the amazing zoo it is today. They have huge enclosures at the park, many native animals and are building and expanding other areas as well. The profits from the zoo go into supporting, helping and saving animals which is pretty amazing. We even got to visit the Animal Hospital that they have opened there as well. It is open 365 days a year 24/7. It was such an incredible place. 

We were really lucky because the day we were there was the last day of school holidays and so the whole Irwin family was there. Bindi sang some songs, and Terri and Robert came out and did the Croc show with Bindi. 

We loved watching the Wombats. There was also a bunch of babies running around!! So cute :)

First time at the Koala area...

In case you don't get how HUGE he is... check out the next picture... 

She's about my height.. MASSIVE TORTOISE!

Second time at the Koala area!!

BABY Rhino :) 

BLACK SHEEP!! 

And the THIRD time at the Koalas...

Adam's new buddy.

Finally found a sign with SHEILA on it...

 Day 9 and 10: Noosa

We drove to Noosa and were welcomed by GREAT weather. We walked around, had some lunch at the AWESOME surf club and shopped a bit. We went to Despicable Me 2 at night; great end to a pretty incredible day. 

View from the Surf Club 

When we woke up the next day, the weather wasn't as nice so we went for a hike up to Hell's Gate. It was INSANELY windy but the view was awesome. On the way back into town, for the first time ever, we saw a koala in the wild and a SNAKE. He was massive and just hanging from a branch 10 feet or so above us. We finished off the day with a beach run, a swim in the outdoor pool in the rain (people thought we were nuts!) and some incredible Thai takeaway. 

Day 11: Surfer's Paradise!
 When we got up, we drove to Surfer's Paradise and checked into the Crowne Plaza hotel. Our room was GREAT! It had a jacuzzi tub, a king size bed and lots of other great luxuries to end our trip off with. We walked along the beach, shopped a bit and went out for a great Italian meal at Mario's. 

Day 12: MovieWorld! AWESOME!!! 

We hit MovieWorld.... and managed to get the whole park done in one day. 
1.  Green Lantern Roller Coaster (Really upside down with just a LAP belt?)
2. Superman Roller Coaster (0-100km in 2 seconds! EEK! But so FUN!)
3. Arkham Asylum Roller Coaster (Feet dangle... nuts!)
4. Ice Age 4D Show!
5. Food Break :) Burgers and Fries!
6. Batman Show (With a car just like in the new movies!)
7. Car Stunt Show (Cars rode on their sides, and jumped from one building to another... well sorta.. I was tricked!)
8. Scooby Doo Roller Coaster (Really well done... I was terrified haha) 
9. Wild West Rapid Falls (Backwards Drop!)
10. Superman's 3D Shooting Game (Adam kills it!)

It was a great day... so distracted by acting like little kids that we did not take any pics. 

Day 13: SeaWorld! Another AWESOME day! 

We hit SeaWorld and just like yesterday got through the whole park! 

1. Fish Detectives Seal Show (Really well done!)
2. Dolphin Show (Wicked!)
3. Dinosaur Island
4. Penguins!! 
5. Shark Tanks
6. Swimming Polar Bear! 
7. Touched Rays swimming in the water. 
8. Jet Rescue Roller Coaster
9. Viper Roller Coaster
10. Spongebob 3D Film
11. Ropes Course
12. Jet Stunt Extreme Show (Saw a cool Water Jet Propulsion machine. It was insane!!)
13. Parade 

We ended the day with a great meal at Finnigan's Irish Pub and got a good night's sleep before starting our journey home! 

Day 14 and 15: These were our driving days back... 

Needless to say we had a long way to go back home but it was totally worth it!! 

Winter Holidays...on the Coast in the GORGEOUS SUNSHINE! Part 1 :)

For this set of holidays we planned a LONG but AWESOME road trip!

Day One and Two: We headed to Wollongong to see our FABULOUS friend Nic. We had a great and hilarious night with her; some much needed silliness and fun to help us relax after the end of term two! The next morning we had some breakfast and then headed to Maitland to see our friends Andrew and Penny:) 

Day Three: The next morning we woke up and put on our CANADA shirts!!! HAPPY CANADA DAY TO US!! We headed to Port Macquarie with the intention of hiking along the coast. The wind, however, had a very different plan. So instead we took a couple windy pics and the headed back to our hostel with some movies, snacks and pizza! 

Just a little bit windy.... 

Day Four: Today we drove into Coff's Harbour. It wasn't the best weather but we were able to meet up with some past Exchangees and visit Muttonbird Lookout. 

Run on the Beach? Yes Please!! 

Day Five: The next morning we got up early to head out to Byron Bay... but we did manage to make a quick stop at the BIG BANANA. Australia is FULL of Big Somethings... we have a Big Ram nearby and have apparently missed a bunch of other BIG things.. lol. 

When we got into Byron Bay, we wandered around town, the beach and got some food before we checked into our bed and breakfast! The Cavvanbah Beach House is the MOST INCREDIBLE BED AND BREAKFAST ever! Adam and I love love LOVED it here. It is owned by a lovely couple who make it feel comfy like home but add lots of special touches :) 

The view from our Balcony :)

One of our amazing all homemade breakfasts. Homemade bread, muesli, fruit compote, fresh squeezed orange juice, yogurt and coffee. All finished off with homemade jam and delicious honey!And yes we bring a jar of peanut butter with us on road trips... who wouldn't?

After our amazing breakfast, we drove to Watego Beach and walked up to the lighthouse! We ran into some fellow Canadian exchange teachers! 

It was beautiful up at and the lighthouse and on the walk back down... from there we headed back down to Captain Cook's beach and took our first ever SURFING LESSON!! 

It was INCREDIBLE! To be honest, I was super nervous and did not know if I would like it, let alone be able to stand up. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. Adam and I readily got up on our boards and worked hard to get a little bit better over the 3 hour lesson. We were totally exhausted by the end of the day! We are looking forward to more surfing soon!! 

Day Six: The next morning we got up and hit Dreamworld! It was a pretty awesome day... we manage to jam pack the day!! 

1. Cyclone Rollar Coaster

2. Escape from Madagascar Show

3. Tower of Terror II

4. Motocoaster (a roller coaster on motorbikes)

5. We met PO!!! 

6. Thunder River Rapids Ride (not nearly as exciting as it sounds!)

7. The Giant Drop (120 m ~Adam did this one on his own!)

8. BuzzSaw (A circle rollarcoaster, Adam did this one on his own 2x)

9. World Wildlife (Awesome animals ~Koalas and a MASSIVE Croc!)

10. Tower of Terror II (Again cause it's fun!)

11. Cyclone (Again!)

So we were first in line to meet Po!!

The Giant Drop is 120 m. You sit up there for over a minute before the drop. Another ride (the Tower of Terror) also comes up this tower and rattles the whole thing while you sit there and wait... no wonder I took a seat and watched Adam! 

 This is Adam on the Buzz Saw,a roller coaster that goes in a complete circle!

 And here come the Koala pictures... I have so many. I love them so much!!

 After 10 minutes, Adam helped move me along. Otherwise, we might have been there all day!

Just a fat little wombat. Love them too. 

Day Seven: Today we spent some time in Brisbane exploring. We walked around the CBD, went to two art museums, and hit Street Beach ( a man made beach on the side of the river). Afterwards we went to our first AFL game! It was SOOO much fun! The field is RIDICULOUSLY massive, and the players are INSANELY athletic. It is a GREAT spectator sport!

 My handsome date!

Glorious sun... did get in the way a bit but it was so gorgeous out!

 Goofing around :)