After our time in Russell, we started our trek south. Our only deadline was that we needed to be in Nelson, on the south island, on Dec 16th to pick up our nephew who was flying in to visit for 3 weeks, woohoo! Heading south, we stopped in Waitomo to see the Waitomo caves that are … More Glow Worms in Waitomo
The Australian National Maritime Museum was a real sleeper hit with our family. I didn’t think Jack would find it all that interesting, but it ended up being one of his favorite things we did in Sydney. It’s located in Darling Harbour and they have around fifteen different ships docked that you can go onboard … More National Maritime Museum
During the ten days we spent in Sydney, we did a LOT. A lot of walking, a lot of ferry rides and a lot of tourist activities. We walked around The Rocks, walked over the Harbour Bridge, walked from Bondi beach to Bronte, did the Maritime Museum, Australia Museum and the Tonga Zoo to name a few…this … More A Piece of Home
Being in Manly Beach meant that the fastest way for us to get into Sydney was to take a ferry. And I would put money on the fact that if you ask Jack what his favorite thing was about Sydney, he would not skip a beat before he shouted out, “The Manly Fast Ferry!” He … More Manly Fast Ferry
One thing that really stood out to me along the Great Ocean Road is that no matter how small the town was where we stayed, they had a SERIOUS playground at the center of town. Our usual routine would be that we’d decide on the town to stay in at the end of the day, … More Get Your Play On
As parents, we often find ourselves giving Jack reminders about making good decisions. And as a 7-year-old, however, Jack often likes to test the limits despite our advice. Sometimes the best way for us to let him learn is to give him a reminder once and then just stand back, let him try what it … More Bad Decisions
With our time in Melbourne wrapping up (say it isn’t so!!) we’ve been trying to hit a few more spots that have been added to our list of “must sees” by friends we’ve met here. We’ve not had the best weather the past few days. It’s been unseasonably wet and chilly so we’ve had to … More Mega Melbourne Day
Last Thursday we woke up to a beautiful, sunny day. The forecast showed rain was going to move in on Friday morning and make for a very wet weekend. We decided that we would make the most of our sunny day on Thursday and spend it all outside. We headed out to the St. Kilda neighborhood … More The Perfect Day
I know some folks have been interested in how you do a trip like this with a 7-year-old. My first answer would be, don’t forget to pack your patience! Overall, Jack has been great so far, but we knew that we’d need to establish some daily weekday routines and expectations to help him adapt to all … More The Daily Grind
Obviously a big part of this trip revolves around navigating; navigating unfamiliar cities and finding our way to various points of interest and locations we want to visit. For those of you that may not know me well, I am admittedly horrible at this. I am good at many things, but map reading and navigation … More Plight of the Navigator
The Detour Diary 