Goodbye Australia

We had one final day in Cairns where I hadn't planned anything.  We decided to spend the day relaxing and doing things close to our hotel.  The following day, we had a 5:30 AM flight so we wanted to have a low-key day and make sure we got to bed on time.  Luckily, Cairns is a very family friendly city and our hotel was within walking distance to several fun (and free) activities.  The ocean near Cairns is not good for swimming because there are so many jellyfish.  Therefore, they have built a city lagoon that is really nice.  Some of the areas have sand with a zero-depth entry for the little ones, some alcoves have a shade to help with the sun, other areas are deeper for those who actually want to swim.  The kids had a great time playing there.

swimming lagoon

relaxing in the shaded water

View of the hotel pool from our balcony.  The kids wanted to take a quick dip

In the afternoon, we went to a nearby playground, called Muddy's Playground.  The kids had played there the first night we arrived and loved it.  It was huge.  It has around 6 different play areas, as well as a water splash ground.  One of their favorite attractions was a seated zip line.  They loved having Tom push them.  (He pushed them so hard they would reach the end of the line and bounce all the way back still at full speed).  We ate dinner at a really good burger place we had discovered and headed home for a good night's sleep.

zipline

We woke up at 3 AM (1 AM Hong Kong time) for our flight.  We had a stop in Brisbane before our 9 hour flight home.  The kids did great on the planes (you have to love in flight entertainment systems).  We are proud of our international travelers.  We got back to our house around 7 PM.  We had told them in the taxi on the way home we would eat quickly, shower, and then go to bed.  About 5 minutes after we got home, I was trying to find Charlotte.  She had decided she was too tired and had put herself to bed.  She is a smart girl.  Luckily, we all got to bed early that night, got a good night's sleep and were fairly refreshed the next day.

ready for an early morning flight

Overall, we had a wonderful time in Australia.  The people were very friendly.  We loved all the outdoor activities and the clean air.  We had just had several weeks of very cold weather in Hong Kong, so traveling to Australia during their summer was especially refreshing.  We ate breakfast in our room every morning so I would go to the grocery store in every city to buy cereal, yogurt, milk, and fruit as well as a few snacks while we were out.  The huge grocery stores full of fresh fruits and vegetables, reasonably priced dairy products, and overall familiar looking foods reminded us of home.  (Except Vegemite.  Tom and I both tried that and thought it was disgusting.  Slimy peanut butter made out of vegetables.  I don't recommend it.)  Woolworths, one of Australia's main grocery chain, had a basket of fruit by the entrance.  Children under 12 could have a free piece to enjoy while their parents shopped.  That is way better (for parents) than the free cookie our grocery store back home gives out.     We were glad to experience so many different parts of Australia.  Hopefully, it is a vacation we will all remember for a long time.