Thulani in Brisbane - Part 4

Thulani stayed an extra few days in Brisbane so that he could ride in a rally car with Caitlin, as she was competing in the Australian Rally Championship on the Sunshine Coast. Unfortunately there were some mechanical issues with the car and Thulani never actually made it in to the car, but had to watch from afar as Cait whizzed around the tarmac night stage, somewhat disappointing but that’s rallying!

 On Thulani’s last day in Brisbane, Mandy and Antony were taking part in a 12km trail run, in the Glasshouse mountains North of Brisbane, so Thulani went along, riding in Antony’s hydration pack most of the way with the jelly beans!

 Here is a bit of basic information about Brisbane;

Brisbane is the capital of Queensland - the Sunshine State .The city has striking historical buildings which contrast beautifully with modern architecture contributing to the fantastic cityscape, best viewed by night. Home of the cultural precinct featuring galleries, museums, theatre and festivals Brisbane is also the gateway to the sun, surf and beaches of the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. As a subtropical city, Brisbane has bright, sunny days and generally experiences reasonably mild weather year round. Average temperatures are between 29C (84F) and 21C (70F) in Summer and 22C (72F) and 10C (50F) in Winter. It can get quite warm in summer but remains fairly moderate in winter so there is really no "bad" time to visit. Most locals prefer the Spring when the city is in full bloom, the days are warm and sunny and the nights cool down with a gentle breeze. Brisbane is a popular destination for many domestic and international tourists as it has a longstanding reputation for being "beautiful one day and perfect the next". Brisbane is Australia's third largest city and has a population of 1,052,458 as of 30 June 2009.

Tomorrow Thulani will climb in to his envelope and continue his travels around the world, next stop Hong Kong. Safe and happy travels Thulani!! We have enjoyed having you to stay.

Thulani in Brisbane - Part 3

Here are a couple of photos of Thulani enjoying Mother's day evening by the campfire.

There are also two photos of him checking out the world on horseback. Riding is Helen's passion and she was more than happy to have Thulani along.

Caitlin navigates in a rally car and has the Queensland rally championships this week so we are planning a ride in the rally car and then we will send Thulani on his journey to Hong Kong

Thulani in Brisbane – Part 2

Today Sunday 8^th May was Mother’s Day in Australia and as part of the celebrations Thulani joined Mandy and her friends Sue and Greta to take part in the 8km walk for breast cancer research in Brisbane. Greta is 80 years old and an inspiration because her outlook on life is so amazing. She is also very physically active and Sue and Mandy both had to increase their pace to keep up with Greta who was passing people left right and centre! The photo shows Thulani and Mandy at the start of the walk.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Thulani in Brisbane - Part 1

Thulani arrived safely after a delay in his travels caused by the public holiday for Labour Day. He has joined Mandy, Antony, Helen(20), Caitlin(18) and Al(14) to see what life is like for them in beautiful Brisbane.

He has been to work with Caitlin at Gloria Jean’s coffee shop where the girls all enjoyed his company for the day and gave him a few hints and tips to making the perfect coffee.

Helen lives away from home during the week as she is studying veterinary technology at uni. We had her favourite dinner on Friday evening, “bangers, mash and beans” so here is Thulani sharing this with her.

Helen took Thulani up to see her chooks in the backyard. Thulani wanted to try on Helen’s new boots and act the cowboy.

Here he is checking out the chooks. 

Al does competitive indoor rock climbing and trains on Tuesdays and Saturdays so Thulani went along to give it a go.

Saturday was Mandy’s dad Dave’s surprise 65^th birthday party so Thulani took a trip in the car with Helen, Cait and Al through the lovely countryside to Dave and Jean’s house. Here he is enjoying a front seat view of the rolling hills through the Brisbane hinterland.

We bought Dave a native beehive for his birthday, to help pollinate his veggie garden. Here are Thulani and Dave admiring the new addition to Dave’s garden.

Native bees are very cute little black insects which don’t sting. Sadly their habitat in old hollow trees is being destroyed by new housing developments and they are getting harder to find in the wild.

A bonfire was prepared for the evening of the party. Here is Thulani making sure everything is ready.

Thulani took part in the singing and dancing later in the day. Here he is doing the “Nutbush” with Helen and Cait.

Thulani in Tasmania - Day 9

Day 9 Tuesday 26th April;
 
Thulani leaves Tasmania for Queensland.

 
Have a safe trip little bear, we loved having you stay with us and you were a joy to all who met you. x x x

Thulani in Tasmania - Day 8

Day 8 Monday 25th April:
 
Today is ANZAC day.
 
The clock in this photo is our war memorial in Ulverstone. The 3 columns represent, the army, navy and air force, and Each ANZAC day ex-patriots and/or their families march and lay wreaths of remembrance at the base of the clock. This clock is at the top of our main street in town.

Today Thulani went up to a farm to see some cattle being fed. They were very curious, and Thulani got to sit on the 4 wheeler motorbike. 

 
 

This afternoon we watched a game of Australian rules football.

The Ulverstone team wears red and black. They are called the robins. They played Penguin who wear blue. It was cold there, but we had a great day.

Thulani in Tasmania - Day 6 & 7

Day 6 Saturday 23rd April 
Thulani went shopping with Rosemary and sat quietly while she had coffee with her partner Viv. We bought new pillows!

An aerial view of Ulverstone which is at the mouth of the Leven River.

 

Day 7 Sunday 24th April 
Easter Bunny came to our house. He left a Cadbury egg and some tiny eggs for Thulani.

Cadbury chocolate is made in Hobart, Tasmania and it is the BEST chocolate in the world!

Thulani in Tasmania - Day 4 & 5

Day 4 Thursday 21st April: 
Thulani was back at school for our Cross Country running carnival. The children competed in long distance running. It was a great afternoon and Thulani thoroughly enjoyed himself.
 

Day 5 Friday 22nd April:

 
Today is the beginning of the Easter celebration. We traditionally eat fish on this day. It is a public holiday, and we have the day at home with family and friends. Thulani was lucky enough to eat some of Erin's chocolate coated strawberries from the local strawberry farm.

 

Thulani in Tasmania - Day 2 & 3

Day 2 : Tuesday 19th April: 
Thulani went to Somerset to a nursing home to visit one of Beryl's very dear friends. Her name is Joyce and she is very very ill. She was delighted to hear the story of Thulani, and he brought a smile to her face when Beryl told her of his adventures so far and where he was to go next. He also went to visit some other elderly people at the home and brought great joy to them as well.

Day 3 Wednesday 20th April:

Thulani went to East Ulverstone Primary School where Rosemary is the Acting Principal. Some of the children mapped his journey on an interactive white board and were interested in hearing his story.

Thulani in Tasmania

Day 1: Monday 18th April
 
Thulani arrived safely in Ulverstone, on the North West Coast ofTasmania. Tasmania is an island state, south of the mainland and it is also known as the "Apple Isle". We have beautiful mountains, rivers, beaches and forests.
 

Tasmania is well known for it's fantastic apples, but we also have wonderful seafood, dairy products and wines!
 
Thulani is living with 3 generations of women...Beryl (84), Rosemary (49) and Erin (18). Thulani met Rusky, our pet samoyed, but Rusky is a bit boisterous and playful so she only got to have a quick look at him!

Thulani in Adelaide - Day 6

Day 6 – 10 April 2010

There’s no place like home…

So Sunday rolled around and it was a rainy, grey, drizzly day – the perfect pyjama day!!

Daniel and Gavin made a spy headquarters out of the big box from our new bathroom vanity unit.  Of course Thulani was allowed inside to inspect.  Daniel liked the hidey hole so much that he settled inside with a pillow, blanket and his much loved dog, Snoozy Suzy and Ted Bear.

After the novelty of the box had worn off a bit, the boys showed Thulani some of their Lego. He seemed to particularly like the police station.

So after a pancake dinner (traditional weekend fare in this house), it was off for an early night, ready for school in the morning.  Thulani needed his rest too as he was due to leave us for his next family in Tasmania.  Happy travels Thulani!

Thulani in Adelaide - Day 5

Day 5 – 9 April 2010

Something BIG!!

Australia is known for it’s big things. The big pineapple, the big banana, the big penguin, the big guitar, the big potato, the big prawn, the big croc, the big gumboot, the big koala, etc.  Have a look at http://www.amazingaustralia.com.au/bigthings.htm to see more big things.  So it only seemed fitting to take Thulani to see something big.

Gumeracha (pronounced Gum-u-rac-u) is a township set in the beautiful Torrens Valley region of the northern Adelaide Hills, 36 km north-east of Adelaide in South Australia.  Set in the rolling hills, the town is surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, orchards and farmland and is home to the big rocking horse.

We took Thulani to feed the kangaroos and wallabies (small kangaroo species). 

He even managed to pet a grey kangaroo who was enjoying the Autumn sun!

After all the excitement of the animals, Thulani strolled through the toy shop, having his picture taken with a number of Australian natives – wombat, koala, platypus, kangaroo and devil. 

He even hitched a ride in a kangaroo’s pouch! 

After an obligatory ride on a correctly sized rocking horse, Thulani joined us for a picnic tea before heading back home.  The windy road through the green hills was so similar to the Natal Midlands – it’s uncanny!

Thulani in Adelaide - Day 4

Day 4 – 8 April 2010

School today…

Today Thulani popped into school / kindergarten with Daniel and Gavin.

Gavin (4) attends a kindergarten / child care centre that caters for children up to age 5.  Once they have turned 5 kids start school in the equivalent of Grade 0 (called Reception here).  This happens in the term after their birthday so Gavin will start school in October (Term 4) and will stay in Reception for five terms in total. 

This term the kindergarten children have been watching eggs hatch.  It has been fascinating and the poster accompanying the eggs shows each stage of the egg development.  Great from a scientific viewpoint but has seriously put me off eggs for a while!

The kindergarten is next door to Daniel’s school, Keithcot Farm Primary School. This is a public (government) school with about 600 students.  The school was built in a unique design of smaller buildings more like houses than school classrooms.  The reason for this is so that the facility is multi functional for the future.  For example, the school could easily be converted into an aged care facility if required.

Behind Keithcot Farm Primary School is a private school called Kings Baptist Grammar School that has classes for all 13 years of schooling.  Both Gavin and Daniel will be attending high school there. 

Adelaide schooling uses a unique system where government schools shares facilities with nearby private schools.  Often a government school will be built alongside a private one for this very purpose.  So Keithcot Primary shares a library, canteen, art centre and sports fields with Kings Baptist – a fabulous idea in my opinion.

So that’s the end of Thulani’s tour of schools.  Now home again with me for the more mundane (and undocumented) tasks of washing, coffee breaks, Oprah, etc.

Thulani in Adelaide - Day Three

Day 3 – 7 April 2010

When Life Gives You Lemons…

Today Thulani took part in an experiment.  Daniel and Gavin are very interested in science, particularly as their Dad (Stuart) is an electrical engineer. 

So since our lemon tree has produced madly this year (looks like the laundry grey water agrees with it), it seemed like just the right time to test the theory of making a battery out of a lemon.  The boys assembled all the necessary materials and Thulani had a front row seat.

With copper, nails, wires and a multi meter to test the theory, the experiment began.  Everyone was amazed to see that the lemon did in fact produce electricity – enough to power a calculator!!

More adventures tomorrow – see ya!

Thulani in Adelaide - Day Two

Day 2 – 6 April 2010

Dinner is Served!

Today Thulani enjoyed a traditional Aussie Sausage Sizzle. We had heard that he was DESPERATE for some meat!!  Leanne, Stuart, Daniel (6) and Gavin (4) kept him company outside on a fabulous Autumn evening. 

“We love to eat outside whenever we can and having a gas barbeque makes this a quick option when we don’t have to wait for the coals to be just right.” 

There’s less cleaning up too so Thulani didn’t have any chores to help with and could join the boys in the lounge room to watch one of their favourite shows, Scrapheap Challenge.

Then it was time for bath and bed as it’s a school night.  Sleep tight Thulani.

Thulani in Adelaide - Day 1

Day 1 – 5 April 2010

Thulani Arrives In Adelaide, Australia

 

Adelaide is a coastal city, the capital of South Australia, and the fifth-largest city in Australia. It is known as "The City of Churches". Adelaide has a Mediterranean climate where most of the rain falls in the winter months and summers are hot and dry.

The city was founded in 1836, not as a convict settlement, but as the planned capital for a freely settled British province in Australia. Adelaide was designed in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parkland, making it one of the most planned cities in Australia.  For these reasons it is a fabulous place to live, easy to get around, with plenty of scrupulously clean parks and open spaces. It is relatively low rise compared to other cities and reminds us a lot of Pietermaritzburg from an architecture point of view.

On the sporting front, Adelaide hosts the Tour Down Under bicycle race, the largest cycling event outside Europe and the first event outside Europe with UCI ProTour status.

Today, Adelaide is noted for its many festivals - Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Film Festival, Adelaide Festival of Ideas, Adelaide Writers' Week and WOMADelaide to name a few - its food, wine and culture, its long beachfronts, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors – we build cars J. It ranks highly in terms of liveability, being listed in the Top 10 of The Economist's World's Most Liveable Cities index in 2010.