Weetbix Tryathon

There's a big kids event that takes place in Canberra which we've missed up until now - the Weetbix Tryathalon.

It's a short tryathalon race - 75 metre swim, 5km bike ride and 500 metre run in the style of a full size Triathlon. The focus is on fun though and nobody times the kids (in truth it would be a nightmare anyway) so it doesn't really matter if you end up first or last.

We had to be there early and we found good spots for our bikes. It was a beautiful sunny February day and the race got underway before the heat of the day really hit.

The kids went off in groups, so it was tricky trying to be all places at once (especially as there was only me - whereas other kids had an entourage of family members who could watch the swimming, cycling and running at various vantage points). Still, with a fair bit of running around I saw them take part in most things. Most incredible was the amount of pushy parents at what was pitched as a friendly/non competitive event.

Both Audrey and Eli had loads of fun. They knew a few other kids taking part and the day was both exciting and inspiring. Well done both of you, you made me proud.

pre-race anticipation

Audrey runs from the pool

 

Eli on his bike

Both the kids rode really well and overtook a lot of the field (non-competitive mind you)



Eli running for the line

with medal

With medal

Australian Open

I'd planned for a little while to take the kids to the Australian Open. I was never really sure what the 'right' age to take them was as I didn't want them to get bored or not be interested in what was going on around them.

Having seen them sit through two seasons of Canberra Raiders (and in doing so become ardent supporters) I thought I'd take the trip as there's a bucket flight operator (Tiger Air) recently started operating from Canberra so by booking early the flights and tickets weren't overly expensive.

We had great seats in Rod Laver Arena. We sweltered on the first day watching Andy Murray (the kids sat glued though a three hour match which was pretty impressive) and then had a night session watching Djokovic and Poland's Radwanska)

Audrey was amazed by how many courts there were (I think there's in excess of 25) and I couldn't help but compare it to Wimbledon which I've been to countless times. It held up well in comparison. I guess it lacked some of Wimbledon's 'tradition' by way of strawberries and cream, but made up for it with a surplus of fun things for everyone to see and do. When we got home the kids were already discussing our trip in 2018!

And Murray (who despite being world no.1 would do better if he adopted a more side on approach to his forehand)

Djokovic serves

Night session fun

Aga Radvanska (Audrey really supported her!)

Melbourne Zoo

We took a trip to Melbourne to stay with a friend of ours and stayed at his beautiful place in Richmond. The main purpose of our trip (apart from visiting Brian and Kim!) was to see the tennis, but we spent a lovely sunny day at Melbourne zoo.

It's considerably bigger than Canberra Zoo and whatever your opinion about zoos (and I accept they're a bit dubious despite their efforts to justify themselves as bastions of animal conservation) it was really well presented. There was lots for the kids to see and do and we ended up spending an entire day there and still didn't see it all. The newer enclosures seemed to be thoughtfully laid out and there was no sign of my experience of zoos from when I was a kid with mentally impaired tigers pacing up and down or folorn looking orangutans looking out from a glass cage not much bigger than a phone box.

Rather, things like the butterfly enclosure were a particular hit (I think we were there for over an hour) and we saw a lot of talks including an excellent one about Australia's own fairy penguins.

Here's some pictures of our sunny day.

The kids pretending to be giant turtles

butterflies

Audrey strokes an albino snake

Penguin feeding time

Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam

Our friends Kirsty and Rob invited us to join them on their holiday to South East Asia. I haven't been to Asia much, apart from Sri Lanka many moons ago and a night in Osaka in Japan which I spent drinking Rum with a group of Australians.

It was such a lovely get-away - made all the better by the fact that Rob and Kirsty had planned everything in terms of accommodation and travel and so we only had to find the cost of our flights (and inoculations) and we could tag along.

It was remarkable how different all three countries were, from the hustle and bustle of Bankok, to the dusty streets of Cambodia and the wild evenings in Vietnam. Of course we only saw tiny microcosms of the country (it would have been impossible to do much more with four kids in tow) but it was great fun for the kids to have friends along and great for me to have a bit of adult conversation for a while as well!

Here's a few pics. It's difficult without writing a journal to describe the whole holiday. I'll put some pics and write a few words.

These are all pictures from Kidzania in Bankok where we spent a wonderful day in a designed for kids theme park. It was remarkable really as the kids could choose 'careers' - anything from fireman to spy to insurance salesman (honestly!) Eli spent a time in a milk factory and Audrey was a TV presenter. It was an amazing place and I think the kids were pretty much the perfect age for it.

In and around Bankok - from the ferris wheel at Asiatique to riding on a tuk tuk.

fun in Siem Reap (around Angkor Watt). It's a beautiful place absolutely overflowing with incredible temples.

and finally Vietnam then home