February 16, 2009

Well, we've returned from our trip to the Murray River and  then the beautiful isle of Tasmania.  It's hard to sum up so much, so forgive me for rambling.  Our trip actually started with a week on a houseboat on the Murray River in southern Australia.  So first off we have to give thanks to our friends Kristin,Ben (one of our NTFS friends), and Sophie and Thomas Johnson and Kristin's folks Captain John and Di for one incredible time on the river. (We need to include Kathy and Craig (more of Kristin's family)in our list of those to give credit to--they came on their own boat and joined in the fun for a few days and their company was an irreplaceable addition to the fun factor. There's no way we could have done it without all of them.  We felt like VIP guests on a river safari with private rooms, catered meals, personal tour guides, and action adventures included.  Truly they did all the work while we reaped the rewards.  We saw enough animals to make our own TV show--kangaroos, emus, koalas, pelicans, black swans, kookaburras, giant goannas, and even a wild boar.  The kids fell in love with being pulled in "the biscuit" by the motor boats. We found out Jordan has a knack for paddling, and I'm not too bad on a knee board.  We got to feel some adrenaline speeding through the side creeks entrusting Captain John with many a blind corner that thankfully he knew by heart.  We saw brilliant stars.  And enjoyed a week's worth of relaxing days, and some quality conversation every evening.  After our all inclusive river trip we had one full day in Adelaide.  We got a glimpse of the coast, wore the kids out on all kinds of rides, and  we ended the night with a few rounds of bowling.  In the morning it was off to Tasmania.  The island weather was good to us--one drizzly day out of 20, but we were glad we brought some cool weather duds for the evenings.  We started out South and made our way clockwise around the coast, with only one real venture inland to see Cradle Mountain.  We saw pristine beaches, tubular surf, glacial lakes, rugged mountains, ancient forests, a cave, waterfalls,  paddocks of sheep and cows, countless wineries and orchards on rolling hillsides, historic sites, marinas, plenty of wallaby's and brush tail possums, glow worms, one bilby, one echidna--and when we went to the wildlife centers we saw platypus, seahorses, wombats, and the infamous Tasmanian devils.  The campervan was terrific, but in all honesty the windy roads didn't allow our fearless driver much of a chance to look around. We also have to admit that our little angels must left their wings on the luggage carousel, because they were just about as rotten as we've ever known them to be.  Fortunately, they seemed to come back around quickly enough. Today was Jordan first day of Transition (aka kindergarten).  She came home beaming and I'm happy to report I didn't hear a single scream or cry all day.