Wellington Adventures: Australia Holiday, July 2015

We've just returned from an absolutely brilliant holiday around Australia! For a family who's travelled the length and breadth of Australia many times, and lived there for extended periods too, it says something about Australia that we can still see new places and get so much enjoyment from the place.

For the first part of the trip we stayed with some old friends, the Lee family, who live in a place called Tamborine Mountain, in southern Queensland. It's 30 kms inland from the Gold Coast - and nothing whatsoever like the Gold Coast! We've known Stacey and Gareth since our days at Bridge the World in London, and as they are from Auckland we used to see them there too once we emigrated. They've been living in Queensland for 7 years now so it's been a while since we last caught up but it was so great to see them again!

Of course, while we were there we did take the obligatory trip into the Gold Coast to visit one of the famous theme parks - we chose Sea World - and went on some rides....

And we saw lots of sea creatures....In fact, our stay on the Gold Coast/Tamborine was very much about Australian wildlife. Apart from the fact that the Lees have an insane number of pets, we saw - and touched - a lot of Aussie creatures. See below for more info!

We also spent a bit of time playing on the beach.

But for a big chunk of time we just hung out at Tamborine with the Lees. I would describe Tamborine as being to the Gold Coast what Nimbin is to Byron Bay. It's a bit hippy, a bit alternative. There's even a fairy shop! There's also a lovely hotel where we had lunch and listened to a band all afternoon while the kids played (and Alfie had a scarey encounter with a big spider).

There's also a Polish Cafe with amazing views and beautiful birds flying around your table while you dine, and where you can get the most incredible hot chocolates - apparently it's a traditional Polish recipe but I have to say at no point during my childhood did I ever get traditional Polish hot chocolate. Just cabbage and potatoes.