Once a year Essex Heights Primary School has a day for grandparents and special friends. It is an important gathering, as it takes up half of the school day.
For Luka this year it was a very special event this year, as we have ‘opa en oma’ from overseas! Continue reading “Grandparents day at school”
Of course the best way to see Australian wildlife is to go on a road trip. But if you would like to see more animals in one day a zoo or a sanctuary are a good alternative.
We started with the three Melbourne zoo’s, the general Melbourne Zoo in the city, Healesville Sanctuary for the Australian animals and the African Weribbee Zoo, but recently we discovered that the sanctuaries can be a great place to visit as well. Moonlite Sanctuary is one of those places. It is about an hours drive South of Melbourne CBD, towards the Mornington Peninsula. A great way to encounter the unique Australian wildlife in just one day. Continue reading “The best way to see Australian Wildlife”
At 6.30 we got our wake-up call, Kai was standing, or rather bouncing (yes, even more than usual), next to our bed. Today we were going to the Australian Open and Kai was ready!
If you are thinking, wait, wasn’t the Australian Open in January? Then you are right, but we are not two months late, Kai was playing a 12 and under (age group) ranking tournament at Melbourne park, home of the Australian Open. Continue reading “Melbourne Park Tournament”
The Peninsula Hot Springs have been on our wish list since we heard about them and last weekend we had the opportunity to go there.
Oliver and I met each other on a campsite in Sweden that had a sauna. Although I politely rejected an invitation to go there back then, sauna’s have played an important part in our lives together. Continue reading “Peninsula Hot Springs”
Wherever you go to in Australia, you are guaranteed to see a hot plate barbecue. They are in almost every park, playground, campsite or close to rivers and beaches. You can even find them in the middle of Melbourne, along the Yara river. And, they are heavily used. Some are coin operated, many are completely free. Continue reading “How to use an Australian hot plate?”
Having only one weekend in New Zealand and wanting to get the most out of it, I was on the lookout for things to do that are “the thing to do” here. One of which was my visit to Hobbiton.
But I was also looking to do some hiking in this largely empty country. Some research on the internet revealed that, apparently, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing falls into the above mentioned category. It’s a day hike between two of the highest volcanoes on the North Island and is quite famous for Kiwi’s and tourists alike.
So I booked a hotel in the area for the night and prepared for a day of mountain hiking. Continue reading “Doing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing”
If you didn’t live under a rock in the early 2000s, you will have seen and experienced the big hype around the Lord of the Rings movies made by Peter Jackson. The are, of course, the adaptation of the even more famous books by JRR Tolkien of the same name. And if you haven’t read them yet, I strongly recommend that you do.
Most movie buffs will know that the films were shot in New Zealand. And since I am here on business for a couple of weeks, I thought I’d take the weekend and go and visit the most famous site of film’s shooting: the town of Hobbiton. Continue reading “Welcome to Hobbiton”
When we left for our big journey to Australia we initially intended to sell our house before moving. However the Dutch housing market was still in the middle of a crisis that started in 2008. Prices dropped by 30% since the peak of the market and there was a very low demand. If we could sell it, it would be with a large loss. So we decided to rent it out to a friend who needed a place to live. Continue reading “We sold our house in the Netherlands”
Last weekend the 12 hour dusk till dawn Melbourne White Night Festival was on again and since we really enjoyed looking at the lights, the artists and listening to the musicians last year we planned a Saturday night in the town again. Continue reading “White Night Melbourne 2017”
As Oliver made beer from scratch, this of course calls out for making our own Bretzeln as well. Bretzeln come from Southern Germany and for some reason they do not master the skills in the Northern part. So I might be up for a challenge. Time to practice Bretzeln baking skills. Since I do not posses these skills I had to do a bit of Googling and found a recipe in German. Continue reading “Bretzeln – A German specialty”
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