Tropical Getaway

Ever wanted to cruise away to a deserted island?
Robert & I did just that on the 27th December, 2010 when we sailed out of Sydney onboard the stunning ship "Rhapsody of the Seas" headed for the South Pacific nations of New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands and Vanuatu. 10 nights of discovery, rest and relaxation to look forward to...

The beautifully decorated "Centrum"

We left Sydney on a blustery, cold evening with 2 "sea" days ahead of us before arriving at our first port-of-call, Noumea, New Caledonia. The first sea day was a bit rough with 5-7 metre seas & high winds, so I experienced some mild sea-sickness for a few hours that afternoon. On our first sea day we passed another cruise ship headed for Sydney.

The seas had calmed on our second day at sea and we joined in a special fundraising event called "Walk for Wishes", raising money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.


On Thursday morning we sailed into Noumea, New Caledonia for a day of fun activities. We chose to do 3 separate shore excursions - a glassbottom boat ride to view tropical fish & corals, a 2 hour tour of the city on a "Tchou Tchou" train and a visit to a forest bird sanctuary in the afternoon. The weather was a steamy 35 deg C - just perfect!










Swaying palms.............French Pastries............. Stunning colour

The beautiful Kagu, the national
bird of New Caledonia.









Tropical parrot fish swimming around the
glassbottom boat waiting for a feed of bread.






Views across Anse Vata
beach in Noumea.





We sailed out of Noumea in the evening headed for our next port of call, Port Vila, Vanuatu. What an experience it was to sail in to the port at 10 am in the morning past stunning tropical islands covered in dense, green vegetation against a backdrop of aqua blue waters.

I was really looking forward to our shore excursion - a ride on a
semi-submersible and a chance to snorkel amongst the corals and
tropical fish - I loved it!














I had fun playing with my new underwater
Olympus camera.
The fish were amazing!



















We sailed into the sunset away from Port Vila. I was amazed to see
this incredible kangaroo cloud appear on the horizon. We were treated to
a beautiful rainbow over the city of Vila in the late afternoon.







Our next stop....Mystery Island


























This cute little boy was posing for photos and making a
tidy profit at the same time!



Robert enjoyed wandering around the island taking many photos with his new camera. The children were getting ready to head home to the neighbouring island with their parents at the end of the day.

Lifou, Loyalty Islands was our next port-of-call.













I managed to climb to the top of the hill to the little church and the view from
the top was well worth the climb!! Doesn't the "Rhapsody" look gorgeous anchored
out in the bay?

Lifou was set aside as a chill out, beach day. I couldn't wait to get in the water. On
the back part of the island there was an amazing bay filled with coral outcrops.
I've never seen so many people snorkelling in one place before. Once again my new
camera captured some of the beauty...



























After lunch a storm started to approach in the distance and I managed to capture this image of "Rhapsody" as the sun broke through the clouds.





Robert and I "lost" each other on this island as we were both moving at different speeds. Robert enjoyed wandering around the island with his camera discovering all kinds of interesting and beautiful things to photograph while I enjoyed getting into the water and laying on the beach!
At lunch time there was a very long line of passengers waiting to board the tender craft back to the ship. The islanders were very friendly on Lifou and the kids welcomed everyone with hi 5s as we arrived and departed.



Our last stop - Isle of Pines
Unfortunately the weather deteriorated as the day wore on which was a shame as I could see that this island would be a stunning location in full sunshine. Instead I treated myself to a one hour spa session getting the full treatment - neck & shoulder massage, full facial, indian scalp massage followed by a hand and foot massage - did I say I was in heaven for an hour - you bet!!!
I'm glad I didn't get in the water here because we heard later that 2 people were bitten by sea snakes and needed medical assistance.











Everywhere we went we were treated to stunning flowers - these were two of my favourites!

After leaving Isle of Pines we spent our last 2 days at sea. Rhapsody is a fantastic ship. We were treated to 5 star meals every day, a large variety of activities to join in with, a chance to attend a show in the Broadway Melodies theatre each night before dinner, the opportunity to meet so many lovely people from different parts of Australia and around the world. The music on board was top class and, on many occasions, I felt like I had been transported back into the 1940's and 1950's - live bands playing a variety of music each evening in the dining room and throughout other locations on the ship.




Arriving home in Sydney...
Sydney Harbour is stunning at any time of the day. We sailed into the harbour at 5.30 am in the morning and it was well worth the early start to be up on deck as we approached the Opera House and Harbour Bridge before breakfast.



































After 10 days and nights of amazing food, new friends, incredible scenery and loads of pampering it was time to say goodbye to "Rhapsody of the Seas" as we left the ship for the last time. I hope its not too long before we get to have another unforgettable holiday like this again!!!

My Christmas present to us both!

Just two weeks after Oprah did it, we also climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge!!!




We flew in to Sydney on a sunny afternoon on Boxing Day (26th Dec 2010). I had booked a twilight climb thinking we'd get to see an amazing sunset from the top of the bridge. I should've known better!


We arrived at the Bridge Climb centre at 6 pm and went through the safety protocols - filling out medical forms, getting breath-tested, etc. before starting the lengthy process of getting kitted out in all the gear - special grey suit, belt with multiple clip attachments - safety belt with clip to keep us attached to a steel rod all the way, raincoat clipped on, cap clipped on and headset to hear the commentary from our guide along the way.

Its a long way to the top...

The climb starts out along level platforms under the roadway. Then a series of vertical ladders have to be scaled - with only one person at a time allowed on each ladder. Once you get past the ladders you find yourself at the bottom of the arch with an seemingly endless set of steps to be climbed. About half way up the bridge we could feel the southerly change blowing in from the Blue Mountains. The sky began to get darker and darker and we could hear thunder in the distance. We had our individual photo taken about 3/4 of the way through the climb. By this time it was blowing a gale and pouring buckets of rain!!! Thank goodness the wet weather gear they provide is top quality!!! What a great experience we were having - nothing like we expected!!!


We had 14 people in our climb group and after we made it to the top we had to wait for another set of climbers to have their group photo taken. By this time a message had come through to our guide to tell us we had to get down off the bridge immediately because the lightning storm was closing in on us fast!
We had to turn around and head back down the bridge the way we had come without getting the group photo taken or crossing from one side of the bridge to the other. It seemed to take forever to get back down off the arch, down all the ladders and back onto the platforms under the roadway. After arriving back at the bridge climb centre and removing all our gear we were told that due to the weather issues our climb was classed as incomplete. What fantastic news!!! This means we get to fly back to Sydney some time in the next 6 months and climb the bridge again - for free!!!

Our year in Nursery, 2010

Launceston West Ward Nursery, 2010



Robert and I have spent a little over a year as nursery leaders at church and were released from our calling today. Its been lots of fun working with everyone; seeing so many different personalities and traits developing throughout the year. We spent time playing with toys and playdough, singing lots of action and nursery songs, reading endless stories, mopping up tears and runny noses, co-ordinating morning tea (or should I say refereeing morning tea LOL), teaching basic gospel lessons - lasting approx 30 sec to a minute - its very hard to keep 2 year olds on task, and being constantly rewarded with loads of hugs.

Robert and I had our photo taken with Owen on his last day in nursery before his family moved to live in Victoria. Comfort, our wonderful nursery assistant, is hiding in the background.

Each member of our class has been so much fun to get to know and teach and we'll miss them so much!!! Thanks to all the parents who shared their precious children with us.

Arden loved playing with the red bucket this year.

Eden has grown up so much this year.

Chloe (our climber and class problem solver) sitting at the table working on her lesson handout.

Hannah (with her Dad) and Ava - 2 of our newest class members.

Chloe and Rachel enjoying their fruit at morning tea time.


Tarquin and Arden loved having Robert in the class and spent a lot of time getting special hugs and stories.

Aiden enjoying one of our bubble blowing sessions at the end of class one Sunday.


Ella always came into nursery each Sunday with a smile on her face.

Chloe loves books and enjoyed sharing a story with Hannah.



We welcomed Matilda into nursery recently and she settled in so quickly. She is a very determined, and bright, young lady!

How can you resist this face! Arden has been the most sensitive member of our class this year. He has an eye for detail and has never failed to notice, or make comments on, my jewellery each Sunday.

Robert working with Ella and Aiden during a colouring in session. Aiden loved Robert's drawings of racing cars that always ended up on the back of his colouring-in pages each week.







The highlight of each Sunday for the children was the time spent blowing bubbles just before mums and dads started arriving to pick them up. There were always lots of squeals of delight and cries of "my turn" when the bubble containers came out of the cupboard. Chloe learned to say the word "bubbles" very quickly in her first couple of weeks with us!

2010