Getting to know kids, colleagues and family!

We've had some busy times since school has started so I've been extremely lax in getting blogs up on time - especially given that I HATE dragging my laptop back and forth between school and home (I take the train and then walk for 45 minutes so don't want to lug it around) so I have a number of blogs to do to update everything and then my plan is to keep things updated every two weeks at the very least!!!

The week of - and ending with - February 10th was a fun one at school and a great weekend as it provided us with time to socialize and get to know some Aussies! The school Swim Carnival on Wednesday gave a glimpse into the fun of sport at school. Kids dressed according to their houses (Hotham, Macedon or Stirling - houses by colour as in the photo) and the year twelves went all-out with many guys dressing (and swimming) in gowns or dresses. On Friday, one of the art teacher’s had a rooster hanging out in the office before he headed to his new owners and became a curry stew and this brought some excitement… Elaine (an art teacher) and I were worried the rooster may not have enough air in his small box, so I reorganized the top of the box for him. He later freaked us out as he got out of his box which resulted in Elaine using a student’s portfolio to herd him back into his box while I tried to find Anastasia (his human mother) to rebox him! I was worried that if I grabbed him and scared him, he may poop all over and I wasn’t into rooster poop all over me… Unfortunately, Sally (the vegetarian art teacher) had her preps surrounded by the clucking and we joked that if she could top Anastasia’s neighbour’s offer of $5 for the chook, that she could take it and set it free!

On Friday evening, we went my colleague’s home for dinner and for our kids to have a swim and a play with his kids - we had a great evening with lots of laughs, some Australian history, learning about Ned Kelly. Times at school are interesting as there is upcoming work action day on February 14^th so it is interesting to see the similarities and differences between our situation at home and the situation here in Victoria. It is quite ugly here and things are also heating up at home so it will be interesting to see how things pan out for both groups. Teachers here are asking for 20% pay increase, the gov’t is taking issue with this and wants to include performance pay as part of the deal. The problem with performance pay – everyone against it has the same problems with it – is that it creates a competitive work environment that runs counter-productive to the collaboration required to grow strong programs and work together for kids. ANYWAY… enough on that! The situation the gov’t has gotten itself into is that the premier was elected on the backs of teachers after stating during the election that Victorian teachers are the hardest working and deserve to be the best-paid teachers in the country. Unfortunately, the past two years has not brought his promise to fruition so the work stoppage, including keeping all duties to a 38 hour work week are creating a unique climate in schools. So... onto other things!

On Saturday, we hit the beach after our night out on Friday and on Sunday we went to Michelle’s parents’ (Michelle is the wife of my exchange partner). It was great to meet her mom and dad and her sisters (Joanne and Andrea) were there – both with husbands/significant others. Joanne’s two boys were there as well and Hana and Eoin had fun playing with the boys (Luke and Quinn) – it was like having their cousins around as the boys are similar in age to cousins in Calgary and Okotoks. We had a beautiful walk along the beach with very rough tide, some running in and out of the water and bailing-out Quinn before the water could grab him or before he became washed away – he is pretty little and the tide was pretty wild! It was interesting to see such a different type of beach - so rugged! We were at the tip of the Mornington Penninsula and, as you can see, it is stunning scenery!

The other part of our teaching exchange… the school and TEACHING part!!!

This week saw the start of the 2013 Australia school year with teachers back on Tuesday and Wednesday and all kids back on Thursday and Friday!

It was nice to get into school and start to get organized with my classes and courses and to get a feel for the school. Everyone was super-helpful and ready for a laugh or chuckle. There are a number of art teachers – three of us are full-time with 3 other part-timers so there are a lot of people to get to know and lots to get caught up with. People have been really helpful – I am teaching Year 7 Art, 8 Art, 9 Ceramics, 10 Visual Communications and Design and 11 Studio Art. I have 6 courses – five of them are different ones – so lots to keep me on my toes as I get started. The kids seem great – they love my accent and have agreed to help me perfect my own Aussie accent by the time I head home at the end of the school year. I have also made a deal to share Canadian and Aussie slang to further our (collaborative) education and have warned them (when they had some pretty big grins) that I would be running the slang they teach me past other teachers and admin – just incase they get creative and lead me down the wrong path…!

Hana and Eoin had a great start to their new school year as well. Hana had a warm welcome from the grade 5 girls in her 5/6 split class – there are 5 year five girls in total so she seems to be well into the thick of things with them – they have been really great to her. Eoin has made some friends in his 3/4 split class, a few boys who he has been hanging out with and having chats at recess and lunch. Both Hana and Eoin are happy to be back at school. The routine and time with other kids feels good and makes them feel more at home and less like newcomers!

Brad is on the hunt for a teaching contract if one comes up but in the meantime is registered with a number of schools in the area for subbing so hopefully calls will start rolling in for that to keep him busy as well!

Our plan, now that school has started, is to make the most of our weekends - either checking out the area or visiting with friends while making sure to make the most of our beach time by getting there one of the weekend days if we have one free! We are already halfway through our second month here so need to get as much of the sun and fun as we can pack in!

Today, we went to the Melbourne Aquarium. It was a blast with lots of penguins and a good variety of ocean life including sharks... This was a great thing for the kids to see as there is a lot of trepidation regarding sharks but when they saw the sharks swimming around, minding their own business - not frantically trying to devour every fish or creature that came into sight - I think it helped Hana and Eoin (and maybe Brad and I as well?!?!) that we don't have as much to worry about as first expected!

Meanwhile… back in Melbourne!

They have this event here called the Australian Open… maybe you’ve heard of it?!? We returned to Melbourne in time for the Aussie Open and in time for another exchange couple from Red Deer, who are in Cooma for the year, to stay with us while the Open was happening.

Sheila and Adam Sillery stayed with us for a few nights and it was so STRANGE to hear Canadian accents (okay – really to not hear any type of accent!!!) for the time we hung out! I had met Adam and Sheila a few times but Brad had not met them at all – though you wouldn’t know it from the way the guys hit it off!

While Sheila and Adam were at the Open on the Wednesday, we registered the kids for school at Croydon Hills Primary and were lucky to meet Eoin’s teacher, Mrs. Browning (whose students call Boo). Mrs. Browning took about an hour to show us around the school. Eoin made a comment about the classroom and she said that it isn’t until the kids arrive and they start putting their work up on the walls that the classroom has any life to it… That until then, the classroom doesn’t really have any soul. I loved this as it is so true! This is the kind of statement that Eoin also really relates to so he has a good feeling about the way his school year in Australia is going to go! Hana’s classroom is across the hall from Eoin’s (just like at home) and she was pretty excited to find out that her teacher is MR. Sommers (yes – a Mr. – she was pumped to find this out!). I also popped by my school to get some help from the computer techs and to check the place out a bit. People are very friendly and ready for a laugh which creates a good feeling for my upcoming school year.

Thursday and Friday found me with two days of orientation downtown with all the other exchangees. Most of us are Canadian with a couple of teachers from the States, one from England and one from Scotland. There are only two other familes on exchange (kids are 7 and 5 in one family, the second has a one-year-old) which was a bit of a surprise. It was good to meet others who are here. We will be getting together every once-in-awhile on various excursions around Victoria.

We made the most of our last weekend before school officially began! Saturday, we celebrated Brad’s birthday AND Australia Day by going into Melbourne and having a wander around. We had a delicious supper and watched the fireworks, following that up with the Womens’ Final for the Aussie Open in Federation Square (televised on the big screen) with a few thousand people before taking the train home. Sunday, we went to Frankston and spent the afternoon at the beach. When we first arrived, it was pretty quiet – a few Aussies were there, all bundled-up and staying away from the water due to the wind! However, the sun prevailed and the wind died down. When it did, out came the beach cricket set we had brought along. At one point, there were 6 kids, 2 dads and a nana all having a go – it was a blast! The game ended when it became time for a dip and then a dolphin sighting had people running down the beach to get a closer look. Turns out, the dolphins had been swimming about 10 metres from the kids with the kids being oblivious to it! Monday brought a bit of a hang-out day and in the evening, we headed to the MCG for the Melbourne-Sri Lanka cricket match – the fifth in the series, with Sri Lanka already ahead, having won three games. Despite this, we had fun – there was a great atmosphere at the game – pyrotechnics, politically incorrect cheerleading, and a multitude of Sri Lankan fans outcheering the Aussies whenever they could! The game was called off for a bit due to rain but was finally back on after about thirty minutes. In the end, Australia lost by 2 points but it was worth the trip to go to the game. Eoin is obsessed with cricket and Hana also likes it so they have a go at it whenever they can – either at the cricket field at school or when we go to the beach.

Australia Zoo... our hands-on walk on the Australian wild side!

Crikey!!! It has been a LONG time since I last posted and so much has happened! I will split this blog up and just write about our visit to Australia Zoo a couple of weeks ago, on January 16^th.

Brad, Hana, Eoin and I took a day to go to Australia Zoo, about an hour out of Brisbane. It was a GREAT day – very warm – but the zoo was really interesting with lots of hands-on opportunities with the animals which were right up the kids’ alley! Upon entry to the zoo, we were met by a zoo keeper who had a small American alligator we could hold if we wished. Eoin and I took turns holding the little guy, supporting his tummy which felt cool and soft. As we continued, we saw giant tortoises, kimono dragons and LOTS of crocodiles with information on conservation efforts. We took in the sights at a show featuring a number of birds and animals including a massive crocodile called Murray (or as Hana remembered him being called; Marr-eh!). The speed of the crocodile in the water and the power of him completely freaked Brad out! He is planning on staying well-back from any water when we head north later this year!

We had the opportunity to get close to wallabies - Hana and Eoin fed and pet them, koalas – we were able to pet Portia and get up close to many super-cute and zonked-out koalas, and kangaroos who were super-mellow and very, very soft! We were also able to feed the zoo’s three elephants at the public feeding. We lined up and fed the elephants until their buckets were emptied… Eoin must have fed them at least ten times! One of the elephants ate carrots and yams, another ate cantaloupe and the third was given apples and bananas but would put the bananas to the side and eat only the apples – it was funny (and interesting) to see how she navigated this with her trunk!

Eoin pretty much fell in love with every animal/creature he came across and has now decided to add kangaroos to his list of favourite animals. Hana really loved being able to get so close to the koalas.

We returned to Brisbane and were excited to see my Uncle Bren and Auntie Jan as they got back from their holidays. It was nice to have time with them as well as Paul and Cara and Ronan. We spent time with Cara and Ronan at the pool at their place and they hosted supper one evening. Eoin had a guys’ night with Paul – they headed to the arcade then made a pit-stop for ice cream where they saw Wally Lewis, a rugby league superstar and Queenslander whose statue is in front of Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Bren and Jan brought us to some great beaches and we took an afternoon to drive around Brisbane and check out local venues and lookouts. The best part of our time in Brisbane was all the time we had with family. It was so great for us to have Cara and Ronan meet Hana and Eoin and for us to finally meet Ronan. We had some good times with Paul and lots of visits with Bren and Jan which were great for all of us. We were able to met Jan’s mom – who we called Nan – and had a fun afternoon with her! We had a wonderful supper our last night in Brisbane. Everyone was there and we had good visits and laughs and Eoin, Paul and Ronan even had a pass around of the rugby ball after supper.

Leaving Brisbane was sad as it meant we were leaving behind family again but we realize how lucky we are to have some family here and we know we will have more time together this year! The kids loved having another set grandparents during our visit in Brisbane and for our year here!

Snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef at Lady Musgrave Island

After today we are now able to cross snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef off our bucket list! We had a great day - this is how it went...

We started with a rough and bumpy two hour boat ride from 1770 out to Lady Musgrave Island. On the way, Hana and Brad were a little green around the gills (haha - like our fish joke?!?). When we got there, we had a little snack, slopped on the sunscreen and got fitted with our gear - snorkels, goggles and swim fins/flippers, and we hit the water! As we put on our fins, and got into the water, we were greeted by a parrot fish and lots of other bright and flashy fish! It was high tide so we were able to swim over the reef and see lots of other fish as well as three different types of coral, big, giant clams whose mouths closed slowly as we swam by - Hana even swam down to it to touch it and sea cucumbers.

Soon it was time for lunch (Brad didn't have any prawns, he had filled up on them the night before) and after lunch we had a small cruise on a glass-bottomed boat. Through the bottom the boat, we saw larger fish, two turtles hanging out on their "coral spa" - an area where they frequent and where various fish clean them up by eating the algae that grows upon the turtles' shells. We also saw them saw the turtles swimming around the boat - one was a younger guy, the other was a mature female who would probably be laying eggs on the island sometime soon! It was pretty funny to see her swimming around as she kept bobbing her head up and down, out and into the water...

We arrived at Lady Musgrave Island via our little cruise and went for a short island walk, checking out the birds and the trees native to this coral island... CORAL island. Made out of ONLY coral... Cool, hey?!?... It just grew out of the coral from the Great Barrier Reef - the only island of its kind. While on our walk we saw another giant sea turtle. She was beautiful with a reddish, brown shell and drifting near the shore, carried by the water.

We returned to the large boat (pontoon) and had more time to snorkel. By now, the tide had receded and we had the opportunity for closer look at the reef. To change it up a bit, we stuck to the edges of the reef where we saw a greater variety of fish and sea life. Brad and Eoin took off in the direction of the turtles we had seen earlier and were rewarded by a swim near it! Hana and I came across a lagoon ray which was also super cool and also came across a sea urchin with great big long spikes - we kept away from that guy!

Hana and Eoin loved snorkelling for the first time ever (other than for swim club). Seeing all the tropical fish with all the colourful coral in the clear waters is something Eoin will never forget. Hana's highlight was taking the snorkel out and diving deep to get closer looks at the fish in the coral and getting close to the clams, seeing their reaction as she drew near. Sheena loved seeing the fish get too close to certain areas of coral for the creature to react by shooting something smokey-like out at the fish (so technical) AND the excitement of sharing the day with the family. Brad loved it all.

The trip home was less eventful with calmer seas and anti sea-sickness tablets taken by Hana and Brad. As we neared 1770, we hit a sandbar and the entire group were moved to the front of the boat while the captain manoeuvred the vessel past the sandbar! It took some time but we got past/up and over it and slowly moved along until arriving at a pontoon which then transported us in smaller groups back to shore... Loved the Aussie "just go with it" attitude and was happy to hang out as it had meant longer time snorkelling and making the most of our time on the reef!

Now, we return to Brisbane and take a day at Australia Zoo, some time with my aunt and uncle and then head back to Melbourne!

Australia looking awesome with air con!!!

G'day!

As I write this, we are leaving the town of Bundaburg and heading to 1770 (the town, not the year). The past couple of days brought us the amazing experience of seeing a Loggerhead turtle lay her eggs on the beach and a fun tour of the Bundaburg Rum distillery... I'll fill you in on the details!

We drove the 4.5 hours from Brisbane to Bundaburg after getting the air conditioning fixed in the car we bought from my uncle. When discussing the purchase of his vehicle, I was told the AC wasn't working but figured that was fine - Brad and I had driven across Canada 14 yrs earlier and had been fine with it (extra-tanned arms were a benefit of this) but in arriving in Brisbane and driving around in this car without AC, we realised that doing this here was a different story to our previous experience! So, we go the AC fixed and hit the road!

Our reason for going to Bundaburg was to experience the turtle rookery. Between November and February, Loggerhead, Green and Flat-backed turtles return to the beach (called Mon Repos - yes, that's french!!!) near Bundaburg to lay their eggs. As a result, there is a large conservation effort in effect and part of that is education of the public. Nightly tours bring people onto the beach to observe turtles as they lay their eggs and, in some cases, to watch hatchlings as they emerge from the sand (this happens 12-8 weeks after the eggs have been laid) and head for the sea. Researchers and wardens lead groups of people out to the beach, in the dark, as turtles emerge from the water.

We were in the fifth group to be brought onto the beach and as we arrived, a loggerhead turtle was digging a nest, using her back legs and feet as shovels, scooping the sand away. We assembled in a semi-circle around behind her and a warden lit the area behind the turtle with a small light so we could see what she was doing. After about 10 minutes of digging, the turtle began to move forward, away from the nest she'd been digging as there were roots in the sand that would be in the way while she lay her eggs. After advancing, she successfully dug another nest - about 2 feet deep and moved over it to lay her eggs.

As she was laying her eggs, we were able to gather around her in a circle and take photographs. Apparently, the turtles can't see, hear or smell us around them which I thought was amazing. During this time, the volunteers measured her shell and checked her tags. It turned out that this girl was 38 years old and that this was her third set of eggs this season (they lay eggs two or three times/season) and that this year was the first year after five years that she had returned although she had been there before - turtles begin laying eggs at the age of 30 and usually return every year, returning to the same beach from which they were born. As hatchlings, they are imprinted with the magnetic information of the beach as they leave the nest and move to the ocean. When they are ready to lay their eggs, this information guides them back to the beach of their birth.

After laying her eggs, the turtle used her front flippers to fill in her nest. We witnessed the true power of these flippers when she filled up the nest - sand was flying everywhere! Once her nest was covered, our turtle began her trip back to the water. The turtles use the light of the ocean, coming from the surf and the waves to guide them on their way. This girl had a bit of a different path as she went, turning back along the beach halfway towards the water so the warden had to stand in front of her with a light to help guide her towards the water. The warden also brushed some of the sand from the turtle's shell and turned off the light so we could see the phosphorescence on her shell. It was really interesting to see the turtle as she came closer to the water and her final push as she waited for the water to help her into the ocean and out into the night.

Once she was gone, we had to create a new nest for the eggs further up the shore away from the water as a high tide could result in her nest being exposed and the eggs not surviving. The eggs were dug up while another nest was created and the eggs were carried front the old space to the new one. In total, 125 eggs were moved and in 8-12 weeks (dependent upon the temperature) the hatchlings will hatch and move to the sea under the cover of darkness. It is expected that the eggs laid at Mon Repos will mature into female turtles as the sand is darker here - so warmer. Eggs laid in lighter coloured sand result in male turtles...

Hana summed up the experience for us. She said that this experience - watching the turtle make her nest, lay her eggs and move on to the ocean was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The stars that night were amazing, so bright and clear, the weather was nice and warm, the ocean breeze moving over us... It as a great experience and the act of conservation, of moving the nest to assure the safety of the eggs and what is involved in that, is something that, I hope, stays with the kids as a respect for the natural world and the beauty to be found in that. This was a major reason for taking this opportunity of exchange - to see beyond what we would normally know and open ourselves to other opportunities to witness new things.

Now for something entirely different!

We decided to stay another night in Bundaburg and then to head to the town of 1770 to snorkel at Lady Musgrave Island at the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef so, as a result, we had the day in Bundaburg to chill and check things out, and take a tour... It turns out that Bundaburg is home to Bundaburg rum which is sold in Australia and New Zealand with sales in parts of Europe and in Alberta! Too funny... Can you guess where we toured? Of course - the distillery... The people leading the tour were thrilled to share that info with us when they heard we were from Alberta. Apparently, Alberta's import laws for alcohol differ from the rest of North America so they are able to sell there.

Anyway, we went through the tour which was informative, HOT (we were outside for much of it) and tasty (opportunity to have some tasters after the tour - for adults to taste some of the varieties created on site and for kids to have a couple of softies - Aussie lingo for pop/soft drinks). The molasses used in the creation of the rum comes from the process of turning the cane, grown in the area, into sugar (the molasses is the by-product of creating sugar from the cane). During the process, waste that is created in the distilling process is returned to the sugarcane farmers to use on their fields, etc, etc... The barrels are created from wood harvested in the Appalachian mountains and the barrels are massive and built on-site in the building in which they are to be filled with the rum. The barrels are simply the timber planks held together by copper pipe (no other devices (nuts, bolts, etc) are used)! Once aged for a specific length of time (2 years, I think), the rum is transferred to smaller barrels for further ageing and the rum is then bottled - as it is ordered - and shipped out.

As we left, Eoin did handstand #5 in front of the big Bundaburg bottle (part of his handstands across Australia in front of landmarks including Australia's "big" things) and later, handstand #6 in front of the Big Barrel, home to the shop and tourist centre selling Bunderburg softies. If you are interested in seeing his handstands, you can see them on our twitter feed @wolfesdownunder (you can also email us at wolfedownunder@gmail.com)...

As we continue our holidays, we tick off another thing on our list of "things to do in Australia" - something the kids, Brad and I created before coming over. This was one both Hana and Eoin had listed - to swim/snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef. Tomorrow we head out to Lady Musgrave Island to snorkel along the most southern part of the reef. We will definitely update after that, then we head back to Brisbane and out to AustraliaZoo for the day before spending a few days with my uncle and aunt in Brisbane before heading for home in Melbourne, my orientation and the start of school...

Thanks to Hana and Eoin's friends for being in touch. It really makes them feel less homesick and excited to share their news! If you have been to Australia and have ideas for other things we should check out and/or add to our list, please let us know! We have 51 weekends left to fit it all in!

Love to all! Sheena, Brad, Hana and Eoin. xoxoxoxo.

BTW - I have to wait until we are back in Melbourne to include photos so will do that then.

Great start to 2013!

SO... I checked the most recent blog to see where we left everything and was SHOCKED to see our last blog was just after arriving! Here is the scoop since I last blogged...

New Year's Eve was spent at Docklands in Melbourne bringing in the new year with fireworks set off from a barge in the harbour while we were also able to see the other three sites along the skyline from which the fireworks were also set off. It was a great atmosphere and a great start to 2013 - we wanted to do something memorable with the kids and this fit the bill - especially with our trek home after the fireworks as we had about 20 minutes to the train, an hour on the train and, as there were no late busses or taxis (and we still didn't have our vehicle), a 30 minute walk home! We arrived home at 2:15 am, crawled into bed and all woke up at noon the next day!

As the day progressed, it became clear that Brad was getting pretty comfy just hanging out and I feared we'd be stuck at #1 Loddon Court for the remainder of our summer holidays... I decided we had to rent a car ASAP and head towards Brisbane (no seat sales worth our time) so, while Brad rented a car with the help of Carmel (Greg's mom), the kids and I cleared about 20 of the most ripe lemons from the tree in our backyard so we wouldn't lose them while away. Once Brad arrived home with the rental, we used our newfound freedom to open a bank account, change out the SIM cards in our unlocked phones and hit the road!

Day one of driving brought us to Albury, day two brought us to Wollongong - on the way Eoin began his "handstands across Australia" - his homework given by coach Karen (the jist of it being that whenever the kids from trampoline go to international competition, they do handstands in front of landmarks) so, in Holbrook, we came across a giant submarine embedded in the ground (a HMAS Otway S59 to be exact - a new twitter follower of Brad's who knows submarines tweeted that info in) so this began his handstands across Australia... This was followed by supper at the beach in Wollongong and time for the kids to run around. Day three brought us to Coffs Harbour which was interesting as we almost ended up near here the previous year for exchange. We switched things up a bit and stayed in a hostel here. This was way cleaner and less freaky than some of the hotels in which we previously stayed but it was HOTTER THAN HELL so we all spread out on the bunks provided and blasted the fan as we slept!

We wrapped up Coffs Harbour with coffees at Gloria Jean's (Brad and the kids had non-coffees - Tim Tam iced chillers - I think of my S-I-L Krissy everytime I see these) and headed 1.5 hrs up the road to Yamba on the recommendation of the hostel guy in Coffs Harbour. The YHA at Yamba is great - lots going on, great atmosphere, good food, happy hour, band playing in the evening - we made the most of what this hostel had to offer MOST ESPECIALLY the ceiling fan in another ROASTING HOT room but we loved Yamba and had a great day there at the beach, spending most of our time in the water and with minimal sunburns!

On our way to Brisbane from Yamba, we made a pitstop at Bay Kebabs, getting a photo outside with our treasures which, according to my cousin Paul, makes us full-on Aussies (not sure if everyone would agree but we are good with whatever)!

We arrived in Brisbane and my cousin, Paul was here to meet us... A delicious supper, good chats and so nice to have family here! My other cousin, Cara, and her hubby are in Ireland for Christmas and are back later in the week, my aunt and uncle return from their holidays next week. For the moment, we have some day trips planned for around Brisbane and then we are heading north to Bundaburg to see the turtles hatching and moving to the sea from where the eggs have been laid on the beach. Following this, we are spending time with dolphins and continuing on to Fraser Island to return to Brisbane when Bren and Jan are back so we can visit with them before returning to Melbourne... The end of January means school will be beginning again soon so I have the orientation for those on exchange and then am at school getting organized for the kids to begin their classes!

It has been great to have had some time to check out Melbourne a bit and to have had the chance to hit the road as we start to explore the diversity of Australia. Brad and I have been lucky to have been here before but it is been more fun now, with the kids, and they are really enjoying it! The beautiful beaches, warm ocean, new surroundings and friendship of family here has kept us busy! So far the only wildlife we have seen from the highway have been horses, cows, some sheep and two dead wallabies (sorry, had to add that!!!) but we have a lot planned for the next few weeks and to continue to make the most of our summer!

Hope those who are at school have a good start up as they return from Christmas holidays... I have been thinking of you lots and hope things go well with the wrap-up of the semester! Hana and Eoin say hi to their Canadian friends and classmates and hope you will be able to keep in touch!

Talk soon!

Btw - our twitter account is @wolfesdownunder incase that interests you.