Life As It Is ...: Grandies visit to Gympie

A Darwin getaway, Jodi chose to bring the boys, Vance and Kai, down south to cooler climates and at the same time indulge Nana and (Pops) in some grand kids pleasure. For a couple of weeks, Nana and Lizzi are being treated to some 'getting to know you ' time.

The first morning and the Darwinites are feeling the cold

Mum and the boys out on the deck at Azure Avenue

Mainly we stayed close to home, played in the yard, in the sandpit and the vegie garden was another avenue of activity – Vance with watering and eating tomatoes whereas Kai delighted in picking green tomatoes and playing with them. Also Kai loved hiding in the bushes, playing games and sometimes a quiet place for going to the toilet.

Kai convincing Nana the tomatoes were ripe!

Kai playing hidey-ho

Vance - the master waterer

Collecting capsicums

A hand woven dish made from palm seeds, a lovely gift from Jodi - complete with tomatoes from the garden. It looks pretty good on the kitchen bench.

The duck ponds down the road are a good place for kids entertainment, nice stretches of grass, shady trees everywhere and of course the compulsory play equipment. There are a string of ponds frequented by a lot of water birds, mainly Ibis but some ducks, turtles and in the right season some swans. It's a good spot to take the leftover crusts out of the freezer and feed the creatures. It's an ideal place for Lizzi too, she has paths and flat terrain for her walk and she can even sneak in a swim.

Vance taking Nana for a ride

Mum dishing out the bird food

Vance, Jodes and Kai


Vance and Lizzi

One day we were able to get out to Tin Can Bay fairly early in the morning to see and hand feed the local wild dolphins.

The Tin Can Bay Dolphin Story

The Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins have been interacting with residents and visitors of Tin Can Bay for 30 years. It all started with “Scarry” nicknamed due to the numerous rough edges along her dorsal and tail fins. “Scarry” appeared with a young male dolphin, Mystique, believed to be her youngest surviving offspring.
“Scarry” has not been seen since early 2003 but her son Mystique and girlfriend “Patch” still come in to the boat ramp to observe humans and be hand fed.