Kurnell, Australia - 5th May 2007
By: becka_kate
Finally we made it to Captain Cook's landing place. A huge obelisk was built here in 1870 to mark 100 years since he landed here.
But this is not Captain Cook's actual landing place! It is really out across some rock pools and surrounded by water.
It is assumed that Cook landed at low tide, as when it is high tide this point is surrounded by water and Cook would have carried ashore by his men and there is no mention of this in any history books! Anyway, we bravely set out to cross to the landing point and saw tiny crabs scurrying deeper into their rock pools to hide. We had to step carefully as to not get our feet wet or fall off! But, here we are!!
Can you see all the rock pools we had to cross to get out to the point!!!
According to the plaque, Cook's nephew, Isaac Smith, who was a mid-shipman is thought to have been the first Englishman to step ashore on April 29, 1770.
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Posted May 5, 2007, 2:06 pm
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Cape Solander, Australia - 5th May 2007
By: becka_kate
We walked back to car and drove further into the National Park. We passed a sign for Yena Picnic Area so thought we'd have a look. Bec was glad that we were driving in her 4WD and not her old little hatch as it might not have made it across the bumps!
When we got to the bottom there was a fantastic view of the sea. (photo 1)
We drove a little further up to Cape Solander (you remember - the botanist with the monument?) where if you are lucky you can see whales on their way to Antarctica. A sign said that they pass between May and November, but it must still be too early for them as sadly, we didn't see any. The view was still beautiful to look at! (photo 2)
The Cape marks the entrance to Botany Bay.
This was as far as we could drive. We would have liked to have seen the Cape Bailey Lighthouse, but it was a 1 hour walk away and it was already 4 o'clock - too late to start and be back by dark, so we decided to head home.
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Posted May 5, 2007, 2:48 pm
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Wanda Beach (Cronulla), Australia - 5th May 2007
By: becka_kate
On the way home we made a slight detour so I could visit Cronulla Beach. We decided to stop at Wanda Beach.
Wanda is an Aboriginal word for beach or sand hills, but the sand hills aren't very big any more because of all the sand dredging they've done in the area.
When we got to the beach, I heard a loud screeching noise. I looked up and there were all these crazy sulfur crested cockatoos hanging from the electricity cables. They were hanging upside down and flapping their wings and pecking each other. Amazing!
It was a bit cold on the sand, so Stef let me borrow her handbag to sit on!
We decided to sit and watch the waves come in for a little while, which was very relaxing, especially with the sun just beginning to set.
All too soon it was time to start heading home before the traffic got too heavy, but we had a very enjoyable afternoon.
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Posted May 5, 2007, 2:52 pm
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Padstow, Australia - 5th May 2007
By: becka_kate
So, now I am back at Bec's home, having a rest and getting ready for a new adventure tomorrow!
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Posted May 5, 2007, 2:56 pm
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Padstow, AUSTRALIA - 10th May 2007
By: becka_kate
I've been invited to visit Bec's sister's house and work next week.
Bec emailed my family who said it's ok, so that will be very exciting!
More exciting is that we are all flying to Queensland this weekend.
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Posted May 15, 2007, 8:34 am
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NSW Art Gallery, AUSTRALIA - 10th May 2007
By: becka_kate
The kinder kids went to visit the art gallery today, so Bec let Kalli and I come along. We didn't get to see a lot (because the kinder kids were very busy and excited about being out of school on their first excursion!) but we got to see the scenery out of the bus:
and the statue out the front:
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Posted May 15, 2007, 8:38 am
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Padstow, AUSTRALIA - 11th May 2007
By: becka_kate
Time to get packed to get on the plane to Brisbane.
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Posted May 15, 2007, 8:40 am Last edited May 15, 2007, 9:00 am by becka_kate
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Bald Hill, Australia - 11th May 2007
By: becka_kate
Here we are at the motel. We had an excellent flight into Brisbane airport and then just had to wait in a queue for the luggage and to get the hire car.
We came across this strange little bird at Sydney airport. He thinks he might like to be a ToyVoyager too.
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Posted May 15, 2007, 8:47 am Last edited May 15, 2007, 8:59 am by becka_kate
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Redcliffe, Australia - 12th May 2007
By: becka_kate
It was a very cold and dreary morning. Nothing like I'd been led to expect from Queensland weather, but still we went for a drive to check out some of the local sights.
Our first stop was the beach at Redcliffe.
A marker at the beach said that Redcliffe was named after the colour of the sand / cliffs seen by the first explorers. You can understand why!
I had to have my flipper held really tight to make sure that I didn't get blown away!!
It was so windy that a man who was surfing with a kite kept getting lifted very high into the air!
There was a stage near the beach and I thought I'd pose in one of the windows with the ocean behind me. It was a bit tricky because the wind kept lifting me up too!
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Posted May 15, 2007, 8:57 am Last edited May 15, 2007, 9:21 am by becka_kate
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Bald Hill, Australia - 12th May 2007
By: becka_kate
Then it was time to head back to the Motel so that the 'humans' could get ready to go to the wedding they'd flown up here for. We hoped that by dressing up we'd be allowed to go too, but Bec said it would be rude to go if you hadn't received an invite, so we'd have to stay behind.
So, we had a little party of our own. Made even better when they bought us home the Bonbonniere to share.
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Posted May 15, 2007, 9:21 am Last edited May 26, 2007, 1:07 pm by becka_kate
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Brisbane Airport, Australia - 13th May 2007
By: becka_kate
We got to the airport bright and early and returned the hire car before getting in the very long line to check in - there were a lot of people travelling out of Brisbane airport to all different places in Australia. When we finally got through the line we went upstairs to have breakfast before sitting and waiting for our plane. We passed the time reading and watching the people and planes going past.
We were disappointed to not get any window seats for the flight back (we had to sit in the middle of the plane), so, no photos!
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Posted May 15, 2007, 9:33 am Last edited Jun 6, 2007, 11:03 am by becka_kate
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