I Survived a shark encounter!

Chantell took me to AQWA, Aquarium of Western Australia, where we discovered the incredible and unique marine life of Western Australia.

Chantell inside the tunnel, look at the huge stingray. Everything looks 1/3 smaller through the glass!

They had shallow rock pools to look at. See the big fish looking back at Chantell?

Being a fish lover (looking not eating) it was great to see some of the local aquatic life.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to dive with sharks and turtles so I took the plunge!

I was a little nervous the night before but it wasn't until I saw the shark and all it's teeth that I was beginning to wonder what I was doing.

I'm going to be in there soon!

After signing a waver ( if the shark eats you it's not your fault) the dive master took us out the back to explain it was a good idea not to aggravate the sharks.

Here I come.

Let me out! Let me out!

I just saw a shark.

Here he comes.

Woh that stingray is huge.

A baby turtle looks just like the one on finding nemo. So cute.

Brian the dive master.

AQWA had a wonderful selection of exhibits.

One of the fun exhibits was the touch and feel tank. The fish, little stingray, starfish are able to be patted. They even come up to the surface to let you touch them.

A Lion fish or grumpy rock as we call it.

No it's not a plant it's a sea dragon.

Moray eel.

Clown fish

What a great day!

ARMADALE REPTILE CENTRE

When Chantell asked me what I wanted to do while I was in Australia I immediately said "hold a snake"! So Chantell, Sarah and I went to Armdale Reptile Centre.
The centre is full of snakes but also has an array of lizards, turtles, birds, frogs and other animals.

This is Sarah and I looking at a South American Boa Constrictor. He is 14 years old and weighs around 25kg, twice as heavy as Sarah (3 years).

I was able to help put him in his cage. It took 4 of us, he was so strong. I was pleased to get the tail end.

Sarah was very happy to pat his tail.

The South American Boa Constrictor.

I really love the little frogs

This one was stuck to the glass.

Sarah loved the crocodile. Chantell had to keep lifting her up to look in it's enclosure.

I really loved the centres collection of native birds.

A Tawny Frogmouth.

I was also able to hold this Carpet Python a common snake to the area. Sarah was very gentle patting him. I was amazed at how soft he felt!

We had a great day!

Arrived in Perth

After a great flight I arrived in Perth. The heat hit me like a ton of bricked as I left the Airport.

The next day Chantell and Neil took me up to John Forrest National Park for lunch.

I had a taste of Aussie wild life with Kangaroos sunning themselves right next to our table.

A few locals flew in for lunch too!

Neil feeding the birds.


AUNTY NOO NOO

I'm enjoying spending time with my niece Sarah. Here we are drawing pictures together.


Sarah and her baby at the supermarket.

CRAFTING AROUND

One recurrent theme of this holiday seems to be making cards.

Here is Chantell in her craft room. I call it the black hole cos every free second she has she seems to have been sucked into her room to card.

Chantell giving a card class at her home.

Carding around with some of Chantell's friends.

Me, Sarah, Jazz and Tracey

Rob's day out racing

The Fiat racing club closed Sainsbury Road in Pirongia for the day.  A perfect road for a hill climb with straights many twisty turns!

My Friend Christine even had a go with Blair at the wheel!  She loved it.

Rob in his Fiat Tipo.  

Christine and I Cheered the boys on!

Blair and his Fiat Uno.

Coming back down the hill after the racing.
One poor driver didn't quite make it and was saved a nasty roll down the bank by a piece of good old number 8 wire.

The old and the New

One of the challenges Chantell and I had recently was to use our oldest and newest stamps to make 3 cards and this is what we came up with.

Chantell rotated a corner stamp to make this cool design.  The photo doesn't do it justice as it sparkled with glitter too.

I wanted to use a card design I hadn't tried before.  This extendable insert was fun to make.

I Brought this thank you stamp about 15 years ago and was one of the first I purchased.

Summer is here!

So Now that summer is here we get to enjoy all the fresh fruit!  I love strawberries and got a big surprise when I opened a punnet recently to find the biggest strawberry I think I have ever seen.  It was sweet and juicy too!

Flowers are out so I've planted some pretty flowers to grow at the end of the drive.

Here is Ayla and I with my beautiful lilies.(Almost taken out by ravenous snails!)