Sunday 18 December 2011

Home from the sun, sand and sea

Hello everyone.  I'm back from a lovely week at Rainbow Bay in Queensland.  Charlotte and I stayed in a holiday apartment just across the road from the sea and this was our view.


The water was wonderfully warm and fantastic for body surfing and swimming.  Not all days were as clear as this and we had a couple of whopper thunderstorms with plenty of rain.  But it cleared and the next day was as lovely as ever.

We had lovely walks on the paths along the beach through areas like this with seats dotted along the way.




On our walks we came across animals like the Brush Turkey.


A Bearded Dragon.


Charlotte spotted this pretty dragonfly.

We visited Seaworld which was the highlight of our holiday for me.  We saw penquins above and below the water.

Taking a nap.

We saw polar bears above and below the water.

Pushing off the wall with two big back feet.

I touched a sting ray in this pool.  The sign said not to touch their eye area or ray but we were allowed to touch their body.  I can report they are very slimy.


I spent a long time looking at the dolphins in their pool.  They are such show offs, entertaining anyone with a camera.  One in particular took great delight in flicking water over anyone standing nearby.

This cheeky young one stuck out his tongue.  How cute!

The highlight of the day for me was the Seal Safari we had booked where we spent half an hour with two seal trainers and getting up close and personal with three different seals.  There were a total of ten people in the group which meant we all were given the opportunity to feed a seal.  They came and sat near our feet so we could pat them, look at and feel their flippers and even hug them.

This big guy was my favourite.  His name is Wendall and he is a Californian Sea Lion, big and noisy.  :)
 
Wendall was asked to give us a smile. 

 

Jumping for a fish.

 Showing off for us.


Keeping a very close eye of the where the food is.

This little seal is Ollie and he was having drops put into his eyes which were a bit irritated.  He was very stinky as he is coming into mating season.

Giving us his smile.

Getting pats which he loved.


 
 Showing us how he can flatten his eyes.
Charlotte feeding Ollie.  He had to leap out of the water for his fish.


I've just realised how many photos I've put in this post so will stop now.  I just can't help myself as I love animals so much.  Thank you for taking time to read this post and if you've got to the end, congratulations.

Till next time,
 
Anne  xx







12 comments:

  1. haha awesome! I love penguins and polar bears ^_^ very pretty. and hot australian guys standing in pools lol

    What a great holiday.Its hard to imagine christmas time with warm weather! it doesnt make sense to me :p

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  2. That first picture is just wonderful - complete oppostite to the UK today. We are grey & damp with occasional snow showers (its not laying though).

    Looks like you have a great time - some gorgeous pics too :)

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  3. Looks you both had a spectacular trip! Not sure what would be the favorite of the trip with all those gorgeous sites to see. Seaworld would be very awesome!

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  4. Wow, what memories you will have. Super pictures.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  5. Welcome home Anne, looks like you had a wonderful holiday.........

    Seaworld is amazing isn't it. Love those Penguins and the pic of the dragonfly. Their wings look so delicate, you wonder how on earth they manage to fly.

    I guess it's a grey old day in the Dandenongs today Anne. It's pretty cloudy up here, just hope we get some rain so I don't have to water........

    Have a gerat week,

    Claire X

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  6. It looks like you had a wonderful and relaxing time! What an amazing view!

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  7. Oh Anne, it looks like you had a fabulous time. Your photos of Sea World take me back to when we lived in Brisbane. We spent a lovely day there when I was heavily pregnant with Daughter First Born. Wonderful memories. Thank you, Anne.
    Have a Wonderful Christmas too.
    Sue x

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  8. Wow! Looks you both had a wonderful trip and a great time!
    Love all photos, but the first one is fantastic!
    Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Wow Wow, I love your posts they always bring a bit of sunshine to my bit of the world. Glad you both had such a great break it looks fab would love to do something like that with my daguhter. Have a lovely Christmas xx

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  10. It looks like you had a WONDERFUL time!!
    I love ALL the photos!
    But my favourite is the penguin under water - I love the shape they make.

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  11. Enjoyed all your photos. Amazing chance to interact with some beatiful animals.

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  12. What great photos, it looks like a fantastic holiday.
    Dolphins always look so happy don't they?

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